There are, unfortunately, Muslims in various corners of the world who all too readily scream “Islamophobia” at the slightest perceived insult; who eagerly see plots against them in every action by non-Muslim governments, particularly Western ones. The cry of Islamophobia is not one this paper readily gives in to. But that does not mean it is not real. It is — and it is alive and kicking in Thailand.
The allegations that as many as a thousand Rohingya refugees from Burma were deliberately put back to sea last month by Thai soldiers with almost no food or water and no motors and left to drift and die, that some were even thrown into the sea with their hands and feet bound, simply because they were Muslims, are profoundly shocking. If the allegations are true, this was calculated, intentional genocide.
The Thai authorities deny any wrongdoing. Their denials convince no one. In India and Indonesia, where exhausted Rohingyas have washed up on the beaches, there are persistent reports that they were forcibly sent back to sea to die. Their stories appear to be backed up by Thai officials who, reportedly privately admit to sending refugees back to sea because, as Muslims, they could be potential insurgents. That is outrageous: People being sent to die because they are a certain religion and, because they belong to a certain religion, they might be terrorists. This is not merely inhumanity, it is insanity.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is certainly convinced of the need for an investigation. But it is being given the run around. Its request to the Thai authorities to meet with 126 Rohingya boat people who arrived last week was at first ignored and then turned down: They too have now been sent back to sea.
The Thais are doing themselves no favors. Their response to the UN merely adds to the suspicion that they have something to hide and are involved in a cover-up. Coming on top of claims of Muslims in Thailand’s south being tortured by the military, there is every reason to believe that there is institutional Islamophobia in Thailand — certainly in the all-powerful military. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says he wants to reach out to Muslims. A week ago he went to the country’s Muslim south and promised to end abuses by the military. He has likewise promised to investigate the claims about the Rohingya boat people. But the fact that more boat people can be turned back to sea after an international outcry shows how little control he has of the situation. Thailand’s powerful military is a law unto itself. If all he is up to is damage limitation, then Thailand’s standing with the rest of the world, especially the Muslim world, will plummet. Transparency is needed. There is a human rights crime here. If Thailand is not prepared to investigate this properly, then the International Criminal Court in The Hague will have to act. That is its remit: to act when national courts refuse to do so. It is not merely a case of justice for the Rohingyas, one of the world’s most persecuted peoples. We are all diminished if such human rights crimes are allowed to go unmarked, unpunished.
