Thursday, June 01, 2006

Report: Cambodian Corpses Found in Thailand

The shadow of a Thai soldier next to a corpse in Yala province. Some 300 unmarked graves found two months ago in Thailand's restive south appear to hold bodies of slain migrant workers from neighboring Cambodia and Myanmar, Thai authorities said(AFP/File/Muhammad Sabri)

Thursday, June 1, 2006

By Yun Samean
THE CAMBODIA DAILY


Government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith on Wednesday appealed to families to report any relatives who have gone missing while working in Thailand, following reports that Thai officials have discovered more than 300 corpses in unmarked graves.

Pornthip Rojanasunand, head of forensics for Thailand's Justice Department told The Associated Press on Wednesday that many of the bodies, in a Chinese cemetery in Thailand's violence-wracked southern province of Pattani, died of unnatural causes.

The Irrawaddy magazine on Tuesday quoted Pornthip Rojanasunand as saying that most of the bodies were those of workers from Cambodia, Burma and Laos.

"Police believe they were illegal immigrant workers and 80 percent of them were killed. I plan to perform DNA tests on those bodies," she was quoted as saying in one newspaper.

Khieu Kanharith said the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok is also investigating.

"We just heard the information," he said, adding that he could not confirm if any of the dead were Cambodian.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said the ministry is not obliged to investigate as the case occurred in Thailand. But he added that if it emerges that Cambodians have been killed, the ministry will ask Thai authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. Thai Ambassador Viraphand Vacharathit did not answer repeated phone calls.

The graves, first discovered in January, hit the headlines again last week when Thai Senator Kraisak Choonhavan claimed they contained more that 500 bodies and that many of them were believed to hold the remains of local people killed by state authorities on suspicion of links to the region's Muslim insurgency, The Associated Press reported.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It would be nice for Cambodian military started to kill any Thai worker or bussiness people in Cambodia! If the fuken Thai have the policy of killing Cambodian migrant workers then Cambodia should have the same policy toward the Thai migrant workers and their business people in Cambodia! I see alot of the Thai entering Cambodia all the time. This is an eye for an eye! Blood for blood!

Anonymous said...

I think we have a good reason to declare a War on Thailand. This similar to 9/11 in America, where the Bush administration declare War against Afganistan because Bin Laden murdered the US citizens. Now, Thailand murdered Khmer citizens.

What can Hun Sen do in this case? Will he turned away to defend Khmer citizens now?

We, also, NEEDED to defend people around Preah Vihea ruin complex because Thais terrorized Khmer around there. Thais claimed that Preah Vihear is their. They are making millions of dollar on Khmer soil.

Same problems as always, BORDER ISSUES NEED STRENTHENED FROM THE NEIGHBORS. They are abusing Khmers. Somebody needs to ARMS the villagers to protect themselves because Khmer government are all born from the DOG's ass.

Anonymous said...

There is not Thai polici to kill Khmer you dop. Thai official found out about it and make it public.
Their are bad people every where don't jump like fool.
Don't depend on Hun Sen he kill Khmer too don't you read!
Take care yourself khmer, prepair for uprising!