Thailand: Police to Send Migrants Back Out to Sea in Boats

 International New York Times / Reuters | 10 November 2014

More than 200 migrants from Myanmar who are being held in southern Thailand will be pushed back out to sea, the police said Monday. The 259 migrants were found at sea on Saturday, accused of trying to enter Thailand illegally and arrested. They will be put on boats and sent back to Myanmar, the Thai police said. “They are Muslims from Myanmar,” said Col. Sanya Prakobphol, who runs the Kapoe district police force. “They are illegal migrants.” Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State since 2012, when violent clashes with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists killed hundreds and left about 140,000 homeless. Many Rohingya live in apartheid-like conditions and have little or no access to jobs, schools or health care.