Two leading advocacy groups for Myanmar migrant workers living in Thailand have been forced to suspend their activities following disagreements with the embassy in Bangkok, cutting off support for thousands of overseas laborers.
The Myanmar Association in Thailand and the Aid Alliance Committee for Myanmar Workers both resigned from the embassy’s committee on workers following a meeting with the country’s ambassador to Thailand on Monday.
“It was our decision [to resign],” Ye Min from AAC told the Global New Light of Myanmar. “They said they couldn’t take responsibility for our safety and we didn’t see eye-to-eye on some matters as well… The organization will continue to exist. We’ve just been forced to suspend our advocacy activities for the time being.”
Up to 10,000 Myanmar nationals living and working in Thailand have been deported in recent days, as Thai authorities crack down on immigrants. Last week, authorities declared that both the MAT and AAC be investigated over a statement they gave to local media.
The embassy has now confiscated both groups’ cards identifying them as migrant worker advocacy groups, according to Moe Aung Naing, an embassy official.
“The embassy’s workers assistance committee met with the ambassador on 7 August,” he said. “The embassy took in the current cards of both groups which resigned as they will be issued with new ones by the Thai government.”
The Thai-based advocacy groups have been locked in dispute with the embassy for several weeks. Last month, the MAT urged Myanmar’s new government to replace the “rude” staff due to their unhelpfulness in dealing with nationals in need of consular assistance.
“To be frank, the embassy isn’t as cozy with [migrant] workers as the AAC is,” migrant worker Kyaw Min Htaike told New Light.
“We’ve never even heard of people from the embassy providing assistance the entire time we’ve resided in the country. To rely on an embassy that doesn’t do its job is funny.”
