DPM SURAKIART PLEDGES TO RESOLVE SHAN TRAFFICKING CASE

UNCLAS BANGKOK 002291

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, EAP/MLS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KWMN KCRM ELAB PHUM PREL TH TIP KTIP
SUBJECT: DPM SURAKIART PLEDGES TO RESOLVE SHAN TRAFFICKING CASE


1. (SBU) Summary. Ambassador called DPM Surakiart on April 20 to
urge him to press for resolution of the long-standing detention of
six stateless Shan hill tribe trafficking victims in Malaysia.
Ambassador told Surakiart that this case has been an issue of
concern to us since early last year and is likely to be highlighted
in the upcoming TIP report. Surakiart said he fully agreed that the
victims should be repatriated as soon as possible and had instructed
the responsible Thai ministries to do so as soon as the minimum
criteria had been fulfilled. He said he had spoken to the Interior
Minister about the case two days ago, and would do so again late
today to urge resolution. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Ambassador called Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart on April
20 to urge him to press for resolution of the long-standing
detention of six stateless Shan hill tribe trafficking victims in
Malaysia. The Shan victims have been held since a Malaysian police
raid in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, in February 2005. A Thai Cabinet
resolution in June 2005 called for the victims to be repatriated to
Thailand if they could prove their prior residency in this country.
Despite such evidence being provided for most (if not all) of the
women, and despite numerous entreaties by national TIP authority Dr.
Saisuree Chutikul, the MFA and the Ministry of Social Development
and Human Security (MSDHS),the case has been held up by Ministry of
Interior officials who claim that Thai law does not provide for the
repatriation of stateless citizens. Lower-level Ministry officials
are also said to be concerned about the legal precedent that would
be established by following the Cabinet resolution's provisions.


3. (SBU) Ambassador told Surakiart that this case has been an issue
of great concern to us for some time now, and is likely to be
highlighted in the Thailand chapter of our upcoming global
trafficking-in-persons report. Ambassador said the USG was well
aware of the important strides Thailand has made in combating
trafficking-in-persons in recent years, and that we did not want
these efforts to be overshadowed by the failure to resolve this
particular matter.


4. (SBU) Surakiart replied that he was following the case as the
former chairman of the National TIP Committee who had pushed the
June 2005 resolution through the Cabinet. He said he agreed fully
that the victims should be repatriated as soon as possible, and that
he had instructed the Ministry of Social Development and Ministry of
Interior to do so as soon as the minimum criteria of the Cabinet
resolution had been fulfilled. He said he had not been certain of
the number of victims involved, having been told by his staff they
could amount to 13 women. (Note: Embassy has been told by
International Justice Mission, the lead NGO investigating this case
since its inception, that the number is now six, after several women
arranged their release informally and returned to Thailand.)


5. (SBU) Surakiart said he further spoke to Minister of Interior
Kongsak Wanthana two days ago (April 18) to urge his intervention,
claiming that it was the first time Kongsak had heard of the matter.
Surakiart said Kongsak committed to look into the matter as soon as
possible, noting that yesterday (April 19) was a Thai holiday due to
senatorial elections. Surakiart told Ambassador he would call
Kongsak again today to check up on the status.


6. (SBU) Comment: This is not Surakiart's first intervention in
this case. Laboff previously spoke to PermSec Wanlop Phloytabtim in
the Ministry of Social Development on April 12 and was told that
Surakiart had sent an instruction to the Thai Embassy in Kuala
Lumpur to speed up the repatriation process and that "he would pick
up the victims himself." The Thai Embassy had responded that the
Ministry of Interior still had jurisdiction over the case, echoing
the contents of an April 7 letter sent by MFA Director General
Nongnuth to G/TIP Ambassador Miller confirming that "a special
commission" had been set up at Interior. After several false
promises, we hope that the RTG finally cuts through the red tape and
repatriates these long-suffering victims in a timely manner.

BOYCE