THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

PM lashes out over military’s reputation in human trafficking scandal

PM lashes out over military’s reputation in human trafficking scandal

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed anger to reporters as a court prepared to deliver verdicts in a sprawling 2015 human trafficking case, which saw thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants abandoned at sea and stranded in jungle camps where many died.

The case involved 103 defendants, including a senior military officer, Manas Kongpan. One defendant died during the trial.
Prayut asked people not to blame the entire military for the trafficking crimes while referencing the former Army general.
“There are many people in this human trafficking network. Manas is just part of [the network],” Prayut said on Wednesday before the court issued its verdicts.
“Do not forget that we have 400,000 to 500,000 soldiers. Manas is just one person. Can he ruin the whole Army?” Prayut asked furiously.
However, he said he had no idea how the court’s verdict would affect Thailand’s reputation regarding human trafficking.
The trial began in 2015 targeting suspected syndicates accused of trafficking migrants, notably ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar, to Thailand and on to other destinations. Citizens from Thailand and Myanmar were arrested that year following the discovery of a mass grave in jungle camps in Sadao district, bordering Malaysia in Songkhla province, which had been used by traffickers to hold the migrants.

RELATED
nationthailand