Thai authorities arrest 38 Myanmar national displaced persons in Mae Sot
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NP News - Aug 31
Thirty-eight Myanmar nationals who left the country during the crisis period and were taking shelter in a rescue center located in Mae Sot were arrested by Thai immigration authorities on August 29, according to Nature Center Social Assistance and Relief Society.
Buddhist monks, nuns, civil war refugees, patients, elders, and children were included among 38 displaced persons arrested by the Thai authorities.
“Thailand immigration authorities because of false information have entered and arrested the monks, nuns, and war migrants of the Dhamma clinic opened in accordance with the law in Mae Sot, Mae Pa village on 29.8.2022,” press statement of the Nature Center Social Assistance and Relief Society expresses.
The Nature Center stated to help and protect the 38 detainees in line with the United Nations international human rights standards.
The head of the Thabarwa Dhamma (Thanlyin) Center Sayadaw U Ootamathara has been conducting social aid and relief works in more than 20 centers in foreign and 90 sub-centers in the domestic in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings for world peace and tranquility.
However, one of the news media outlets named ‘Khit Thit’ reported that 38 persons were arrested by Thai authorities because they are Myanmar military spies and related personnel. It reported that the detainees cannot show any proof of their identities.
With regard to such news reporting, the Nature Center expressed in its statement, “Without contacting us in accordance with the ethics of the news media, they have been openly lying and publishing unsubstantiated news citing that they are from the Thai authorities, while there are no official statements from Thai authorities yet and they have been trying to gain political gains from those publications.”
Armed clashes across the country for many decades trigger displacement and leaving homes mostly in Kayin, Kayah and Sagaing Region.
The UNHCR stated, “As of 30 May 2022, there were an estimated 1,037,800 internally displaced persons (IDPs) across Myanmar including 691,200 newly displaced since 1 February 2021.”
Thousands of people especially in Sagaing Region and Kayin State have to flee from the war-torn zones. Civilians found hardships in living, food, and security between fire exchanging by the military and insurgents.