Thailand faces pressure over trafficking in Myanmar
Thailand is at the centre of an international appeal for assistance, as two House committees engage in discussions prompted by 14 countries seeking help to rescue their citizens trafficked into Myanmar by scam centre gangs.
Hundreds of foreigners find themselves ensnared by these online scamming and human trafficking networks, which operate just across the Moei River from Mae Sot in Tak province. Thailand’s role as a gateway to these activities has drawn significant concern from global advocacy groups, labelling it a “gateway to hell.”
House Speaker Wan Muhammad Noor Matha initiated an urgent meeting following the morning House session, where Fair Party list MP Kannavee Suebsang brought the issue to the forefront. Kannavee revealed that embassies and non-governmental organisations from 14 nations had reached out, seeking intervention.
Wan has been approached by the Kenyan and Sri Lankan ambassadors to Thailand regarding the crisis. In response, he convened meetings of the committees on legal affairs, justice and human rights, national security, border affairs, national strategy, and national reform at 5pm yesterday, December 18. However, the outcomes of these discussions remain undisclosed.
Kannavee expressed the need for a deeper approach.
“Even though Thailand has in place mechanisms for screening and helping human trafficking victims, this problem needs to be tackled at its root cause.”
The list MP remarked on the difficulty of monitoring every instance of trafficking, given that over 100,000 foreigners enter Mae Sot annually. Last month, police established a checkpoint on Highway 12 in Mae Sot to prevent foreigners from being lured into illegal work across the border.
The core of Kannavee’s appeal was directed at the prime minister and her deputy overseeing security affairs, urging them to devise a new, more comprehensive strategy to manage this escalating issue.
Wan commented on the shifting dynamics.
“We used to believe this was a problem that only impacted Thailand. Now, it seems Thailand is being exploited by these international criminal syndicates to support their illegal operations.”
The Civil Society Network for Victim Assistance in Human Trafficking has reported that over 300 individuals from more than 10 nations are being detained and coerced into working for online scamming and other criminal syndicates in Myanmar.
Myawaddy, the location of concern, is situated just across the Moei River from the Mae Sot and Phop Phra districts of Tak. This area is largely under the control of the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), who profit significantly from these illicit enterprises, reported Bangkok Post.
The advocacy group has gathered its information from multiple sources, including embassies in Thailand representing the countries whose citizens have fallen into these human trafficking schemes.
Beyond online scam centres, many of which are operated by Chinese nationals, Myawaddy’s illegal activities encompass the trafficking of Rohingya people and drugs. Thailand’s role has increasingly become one of a corridor facilitating these operations, with the group describing Mae Sot and Phop Phra districts as a “gateway to hell.”
Latest Thailand News
