Nearly half a million indigenous people and migrants to receive Thai citizenship
The government is cutting red tape to boost the economy. Many new Thais have been waiting for their papers for years and now will finally have access to several rights. Without this amnesty, children born to parents from ethnic minorities would have needed 44 years to receive citizenship.
Bangkok (AsiaNews) – More than 483,000 people from ethnic minorities and indigenous groups will receive Thai citizenship giving them access to a range of services from which they had been excluded so far.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra made the announcement on Tuesday on a proposal of the National Security Council, an agency that plays an advisory role on issues related to territorial integrity and national defence.
The prime minister said that 483,626 people from ethnic minorities were waiting for their papers.
“It does not concern any one ethnic group, but various hill and mountain tribes who had applied years ago, some even 15 years, and were waiting for the outcome of their application," a source told AsiaNews.
According to government officials, without this amnesty, children born today would have had to wait 44 years to obtain citizenship due to red tape.
In Thailand, those who belong to recognised tribal groups receive an identification card, but have access to rights in a differentiated way. "Some cannot move from their areas; others must ask for permission," the source explained.
With this decision, almost half a million people will now have access to education and health care and will be able to regularise their employment status.
Among those who will benefit from the measure are about 335,000 migrants who arrived in Thailand between 1984 and 1999 and between 2005 and 2011. About another 142,000 are children born to parents from ethnic minorities, some recognised and others without papers.
The Thai government recognises nine "hill tribes": Hmong, Karen, Lisu, Mien, Akha, Lahu, Lua, Thin, and Khamu. But it is estimated that at least 70 ethnic groups live in Thailand, about five million indigenous people or 7.2 per cent of the entire population.
In August this year, some elders asked the government to speed up the process of granting citizenship after some members of their tribe passed away without ever receiving their papers.
Many observers note that the amnesty will also give new stimulus to the Thai economy, whose growth has slowed down in recent years. A spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, Jirayu Huangsap, agrees.
The government has deemed it appropriate to grant citizenship to those who have been working in Thailand for a long time so that they can travel freely and continue to contribute to the country’s economic development.
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11/08/2017 20:05
