UN Seeks Access To Myanmar Refugees In Thailand

UNHCR said 80 Rohingya boat people are being held on Koh Sai Daeng island off the Thai coast in the Andaman Sea.

 The U.N. refugee agency requested access on Tuesday to 126 Myanmar refugees held in southern Thailand, amid allegations of mistreatment by Thai security forces that led to the deaths of other refugees.

Citing unnamed sources, the UNHCR said 80 Rohingya boat people are being held on Koh Sai Daeng island off the Thai coast in the Andaman Sea.

Another 46 refugees were intercepted on a boat last Friday and handed over to the Thai military, but it was not known where they are now, the agency said in a statement.

The UNHCR said it wanted to assess their situation and determine whether they needed international protection.

"This follows our expression of strong concern to the government last week over allegations that large groups of Rohingya boat people from Myanmar were intercepted in Thai waters, towed out to sea and left to die," the UNHCR said.

There was no immediate response from Bangkok.

Rights groups citing interviews with survivors say hundreds of Rohingya, a Muslim minority fleeing oppression and economic hardship in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar, were detained by the Thai military last month and forced back to sea with little food or water.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has promised a full investigation, but on Tuesday he issued a blanket denial on behalf of the armed forces.

"Let's be clear that Thailand has not violated the human rights of the refugees. The military has maintained that it has not breached any humanitarian principles on this issue," Abhisit told reporters.

The government has pointed the finger at human trafficking networks and called on regional neighbours to help deal with the rising number of illegal migrants.

Security agencies said the number of Rohingya intercepted in Thai waters each year has risen steadily to 4,886 in 2008 from 2,793 in 2007 and 1,225 in 2006.

"Some of the refugees have resorted to deliberate sabotage by sinking their vessels, forcing them to swim to our shores and seek our assistance," Abhisit said.

The UNHCR said there are 28,000 Rohingya refugees living in two U.N. camps in Bangladesh and some 200,000 living outside the camps there.

Many have sailed from Bangladesh and Myanmar in small boats in recent years and turned up in Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia.