Thailand is seeking to host a meeting to discuss the issue of undocumented Rohingya in the country with Myanmar and Malaysia, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday.
The premier said even though a number of Thai people and state officials were involved in human trafficking networks, Thailand itself is not the source of human trafficking.
"We have to find places to detain [Rohingya people] pending their legal prosecution. They are, in a way, law breakers," he said, stressing that the Rohingya problem is a topic of interest to the international community.
Thailand is a transit point for Rohingya smuggling, so it has to step up measures to fight it, as it will only worsen when the Asean Economic Community is launched, he said. "I instructed relevant civil servants to resolve the problem in its entirety because this issue has been plaguing the country for a long time," he said.
Thailand hopes to host a multilateral meeting to develop a plan of action, a government source told the Bangkok Post.
Apart from Malaysia and Myanmar, other countries with Rohingya issues including Bangladesh and Indonesia, will be invited. Other participants may include the US, New Zealand and Australia and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration. The Foreign Ministry will coordinate the meeting, which the government hopes will take place this month.