Burmese workers attacked by Thai authorities and their employers

DVB - December 17, 2003

About 260 Burmese migrant workers who were made redundant at a clothing factory in Thailand were assaulted before they were arrested by their employers, local police, army and immigration departments.

The workers were taking refuge in a Burmese Buddhist monastery in Maesod, Northwest Thailand when they were assaulted. They were arrested and taken away for deportation whether they had work permit or not.

The authorities first arrested a Burmese physician, Dr. Khin Sein who was volunteering for a Burmese workers welfare organisation. The police also confiscated all the possessions of the workers.

Men were first beaten up and women were assaulted later by the police and soldiers. Some senior local authority representatives oversaw the assault and arrest, and the workers believe that a government department is behind the event.

In the past, when Thai employers didn’t want to pay meagre salary to Burmese workers, they invited the police to raid their premises and some Burmese workers were killed for complaining to the tribunals and media.