Hundreds of Cambodian migrants arrested and tortured in Thailand
At least 800 Cambodians were detained last month for breaching immigration laws. NGOs have reported mistreatment and serious rights violations. Cambodia is in a weak position vis-à-vis its neighbour, on whom it depends economically. With the COVID-19 pandemic ending, Thailand is attracting Cambodian migrants again.
Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) – The recent roundup of Cambodians in Thailand is raising concerns in Cambodia but also among international organisations that defend migrant workers’ rights.
Last month, Thai authorities detained at least 800 Cambodians for violating Thailand’s immigration laws.
In addition to the large number of people involved, the case has set off alarm bells because of the conditions in which people are being held.
According to various sources, detainees are being subjected to ill-treatment and torture (in a country that has not formally abolished it), while pictures have been posted online showing people in chains.
For Thai authorities, the pictures are a useful deterrent to stop anyone who might contemplate entering the country illegally; at the same time, illegal migration has become an issue in Thailand’s parliamentary election next Sunday.
An estimated two million Cambodians are currently present in Thailand to work, half of whom are registered. Almost all of them are employed in low-skilled and low-paying jobs, in construction, agriculture and fishing.
While the lack of a response from the Cambodian government to the crackdown is not likely to stop Cambodians from going to Thailand, it will probably expose those already there to greater Thai pressure and encourage more repression.
Most of those detained last month were making their way back to Thailand after celebrating Khmer New Year in mid-April in their own country.
Since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, many Cambodians, some of them returnees, have crossed the border hoping to find a job despite Thailand’s struggling economy.
The anti-Cambodian clampdown is the only action of its kind; many rights groups fear that it is due to the weakness of the Cambodian government vis-à-vis its big neighbour.
Cambodia is weary about antagonising a country that employs a large proportion of its workforce and with whom it has profitable trading relations. At the same time, Thailand has refrained from criticising the autocratic rule of Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, who has been in power for nearly 40 years.
In Cambodia, a local NGO, the Centre for Alliance of Labour and Human Rights (CENTRAL), has expressed concerns about the high number of arrests and the conditions in which people are being held.
“Through the data we have recorded, we have seen a large uptick in the number of Cambodian migrant workers who were arrested,” the group said in a statement released last week.
“Between January and April, 1,297 Cambodians were arrested, including over 700 women and more than 60 children,” it added.
What is more, “Many of those arrested have been tortured, often handcuffed and placed in pre-trial detention in cramped buildings.”
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14/07/2022 18:08
18/01/2018 13:54
