PROVINCIAL AUTHORITIES CLAMP DOWN ON MIGRANT WORKERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000030

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, DRL AND G/TIP
LABOR FOR ILAB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/26/2019
TAGS: PHUM ELAB SMIG KJUS TH BM
SUBJECT: PROVINCIAL AUTHORITIES CLAMP DOWN ON MIGRANT WORKERS

REF: CHIANG MAI 24 (BY-ELECTIONS, REDS AND MIGRANTS)

CHIANG MAI 00000030 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Alex Barrasso, Chief, Pol/Econ, CG Chiang Mai.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
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Summary and Comment
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1. (C) According to Chiang Mai's Vice Governor, the strict
enforcement of rules governing migrant workers that he initiated
in the Province in the wake of the February 7 rape and murder of
a local university student (Reftel),which aims to ensure that
all migrant workers are "in the system," will last a few more
weeks. Police contacts confirmed that two suspects in the case,
both of whom are migrant workers from Burma, remain in custody,
though NGOs doubt the culpability of one of them, whose
confession they assert was forced. These strict law enforcement
efforts have resulted in hundreds of workers arrested, and many
"softly" deported, with the situation exacerbated by credible
reports of police corruption and mistreatment by both prison and
police officials.


2. (C) Comment: The problem is not that provincial authorities
want to enforce the law; it is the failure to deal with the
corrupt practices that are credibly reported to accompany that
enforcement. Ensuring that all workers are properly documented,
registered and employed serves to protect them. However, the
detainee abuse and police corruption reported in this case are
indicative of problems that are deep-rooted and will be
difficult to address in the short-term. End Summary and Comment.

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Tougher Law Enforcement Targets Burmese Migrant Workers
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3. (C) Chiang Mai's Vice Governor for Security Affairs Pairot
Saengpoowong confirmed to us on February 25 that he ordered
relevant law enforcement and other entities in Chiang Mai
Province to ensure all migrant workers (particularly those from
Burma) are in compliance with Thai laws governing their status
and work. Agencies involved include the Social Development and
Human Security (SDHS) Office, commercial and industrial offices,
job placement office, immigration, and police. SDHS personnel
are conducting residence checks on migrant workers and advising
landlords against accepting undocumented tenants; immigration
officials are paying more attention to workers' entry and exit;
police are ensuring that workers are properly documented;
commercial and industrial officials are making sure workers are
employed at the appropriate work sites in the approved
occupation; and job placement officials are tracking workers who
have not renewed their permits.


4. (C) Pairot told us the sweeps will take place in two stages.
Initially, they will focus on the area immediately surrounding
the location of the February 7 rape and murder of a Mae Jo
University student. In the second, the police and military will
broaden the area of operation to cover other key districts in
Chiang Mai Province. Pairot emphasized that his primary concern
was to ensure that all migrant workers are "within the system"
and documented in accordance with Thai law. When we asked
whether this meant that he was seeking to enforce a
recently-announced Thai policy that all Burmese migrant workers
must cross the border into Burma to verify their nationality as
part of the process of renewing work permits, he said he was not.

(Note: The policy was announced in January when the RTG also
announced it would not go forward with a widely anticipated
amnesty for illegal migrant workers from Laos, Cambodia, and
Burma, as it had done on multiple occasions in the past. There
is yet no indication that the nationality verification process
for Burmese migrants is being enforced. In fact, , Ministry of
Foreign Affairs contacts told Embassy Econoff that the policy as
announced is less than fully coordinated within the RTG, and may
run counter to Thai immigration/visa regulations. Cambodian,
Lao and other migrant workers have been subject to similar
regulations for some time, but verify their nationality with
officials from their governments within Thailand. The Burmese
government has not provided this same service. End Note.)

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So What's Wrong With Enforcing the Law?
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5. (C) Local NGO staff pointed out several instances in which
officials involved in the sweeps have acted inappropriately or
engaged in blatant corruption. Contacts at the Migrant Justice
Program (MJP) told us a high percentage of the over 350 workers
detained so far were asked to pay bribes of over $240 for their
release. Those who could not pay were reportedly taken to the
Burma border, though they were not handed over to Burmese

CHIANG MAI 00000030 002.2 OF 002


authorities. Many have since returned to Chiang Mai, after
reportedly having to pay brokers just over $300 to ensure their
safe passage. MJP did report that some workers were captured by
the United Wa State Army (an insurgent group engaged mainly in
narcotics trafficking) and turned over to Burmese authorities
after crossing the border, but we cannot verify these reports.


6. (C) In other instances, MJP staff told us police were
ripping up workers' identity documents and telling them they no
longer had legal status in Thailand. Contacts at another NGO --
the Migrant Assistance Program (MAP) -- told us that it is
actually not difficult for workers to obtain new work permits in
such cases. However, they bemoaned frequent occurrences of
these abusive practices. When we raised this issue with Vice
Governor Pairot, he neither affirmed nor denied that such
practices are carried out.


7. (C) MAP and MJP staff also told us that at least one of the
two suspects in custody was forced to confess his involvement in
the crime, though he subsequently told them he had no part in
it. According to the NGOs, this suspect, named Htun, was beaten
twice -- once by a fellow detainee while at the police station,
and then again by prison officials while jailed. He was also
threatened with more bodily harm if he did not confess. One of
the attorneys defending him, who is employed by MAP, told us he
personally saw the scars and bruises on Htun's body. He also
showed us a letter from a fellow inmate detailing the manner in
which Htun was beaten.


8. (C) The other suspect, named Chai, confessed both to the
NGOs and the police that he carried out the crime, and that he
had an accomplice, according to the attorney. However, when he
was shown pictures of Htun, he denied knowing him. According to
the attorney, the police have no forensic evidence connecting
Htun to the crime, and even the police are not certain he was
involved. MJP and MAP staff went into detail to demonstrate to
us that the police picked up Htun based solely on a vague
description they got from Chai, and confirmation by Htun's
former employer that the suspect's name was Htun. (Comment:
Many Burmese have Htun in their name. It is akin to being a
westerner named John or Bob.)


9. (C) Even though Htun has confessed to the crime, MAP's
attorney believes that he still has a chance of receiving a fair
trial. If he denies having committed the crime when he
testifies in court, the attorney told us the judge will not give
his confession much credence. Furthermore, if no forensic
evidence links Htun to the crime scene, it will be even harder
to secure his conviction. The chief police investigator in the
case seconded this assessment. We will continue to track
progress in this case, particularly noting the results of the
autopsy and forensics testing, and what impact they have on
Htun's detention.


10. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Bangkok.
MORROW