By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – Yesterday, the Thai Navy denied reports of its members opening fire at a boat last February containing 20 Rohingya Muslim refugees, resulting in the deaths of at least two of the asylum seekers.

According to Voice of America, in recent months, thousands of Rohingyas are fleeing the ethnic turmoil and state-sponsored discrimination in Western Burma. As a result, many are traveling by boat to Malaysia and ending up on the West coast of Thailand.

“[N]o [Thai] navy officer could be that ruthless,” said Thai Navy commander Admiral Surasak Rounroengrom.

Mr. Surasak continued to state that the Thai Navy possessed no reason to kill the Rohingya refugees because they were not an enemy.

Although Thailand has refused to accept most of the refugees, it has ordered its navy to stop these boats to provide them with supplies.

“Since the policy is to push them back out to sea, we provide humanitarian aid with food and water, medicine and gas for them to continue their journey. All we do is help them, even fixing their boats [if necessary], before sending them back on their way,” continued Mr. Surasak.

However, according to BBC News, eyewitnesses said otherwise.  Witnesses informed human rights groups that they saw several bodies in the water and even protected some of these refugees during and after the February incident.

“Navy personnel fired into the air three times and told us not to move,” relayed one of the Rohungya refugees to Human Rights Watch (HRW), “But we were panicking and jumped off the boat, and then they opened fire at us in the water.”

Although the spokesperson for the United Nations refugee agency, Vivian Tan, can neither confirm nor deny the events last month, she stated that her agency is worried about the fate of Rohingya refugees.

“U.N.H.C.R. has been advocating that people fleeing persecution should be able to be processed in the country or territory where they arrive.  So, they should not be pushed off for sure,” said Ms. Tan, “They should definitely not be sent back to a place where their lives could be in danger.”

Historically, Thai officials have been suspect of dragging refugee boats that end up in Thai waters out to sea and leave them to die.  Furthermore, they have been accused of selling on asylum seekers to human traffickers.

According to BBC’s South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head, Thai authorities are rarely held accountable for these allegations regardless of their promise to investigate such incidents.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Thai Navy Denies Shooting Rohingya Refugee – 15 March 2013

The United Press International – Thais Deny Firing on Rohingya Refugees – 14 March 2013

Voice of America – Fleeing Rohingya Refugees Fired Upon, Says Rights Group – 13 March 2013