65 Rohingya boat-people detained in Thailand

BANGKOK, February 26 (TNA) - A total of 65 so-called Rohingya boat people were detained by police on Sunday after their wrecked boat landed in the southern resort island of Phuket, while more than 20 others were able to escape and believed to have been picked up by agents, police said. Alerted by villagers that Rohingya boat-people had landed at Nai Harn Beach in Muang district, police rushed to the scene and found the wrecked boat on the beach and 65 people, begging for food from the villagers, police said. According to police, more than 20 others travelling in the same boat were able to escape as they were picked up by agents before police arrived. The detained Rohingya boat-people reportedly told police that they had left their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine State near the border with Bangladesh 12 days ago and planned to travel to Malaysia and live there for a better future. They told police that they did not know the route and ran out of food three days ago. They also said they decided to intentionally sink the boat which caused it to land at the beach before they were arrested by police. Police said they would inform the Internal Security Operations Command office in Phuket to send these people to a refugee centre in nearby Ranong province. At this stage, there is no agreement between Myanmar and Thai governments for the former to take back the Rohingya boat-people who have fled to Thailand. The Myanmar government does not recognise the Rohingya as one of the 135 official ethnic groups residing in their country. (TNA)