Thai nationality bill to help stateless Thais

[Admin]

Thai nationality bill to help stateless Thais 
Bangkok Post: 29 Jan 2011
STATELESS PEOPLE
Thai nationality bill goes to the cabinet next week

The Thai Nationality Bill will go before cabinet for endorsement on Tuesday, PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey says.

The bill will allow tens of thousands stateless Thais who live along the Thai-Burmese border, mostly in the southern provinces, to apply for nationality.

Mr Sathit yesterday said the bill, which has the support of stateless Thais, replaces one in which stateless people who qualified had to apply for Burmese nationality first and then transform their Burmese nationality into Thai.

For the new bill, a committee including the permanent secretary to the interior and the provincial administration department chief, will verify the nationality of stateless people and directly grant Thai nationality to them. Passage of the bill is expected to help tens of thousands of Thais living in Tak, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Ranong and Phangnga who have no documentation.

They are descendants of Siamese who moved to what is now Burma before the map of the country was redrawn 143 years ago.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob is vowing to give priority to the bill after its backers walked some 320 kilometres to see him.

Ten representatives of the Network of Stateless Thais handed Mr Chai a petition letter on Thursday urging action on the bill. They had just completed the long trek from their homes in Prachuap Khiri Khan and Ranong, where many stateless people live.

About 300 members of the network took part in the journey.

Stateless Buddhist and Muslim residents from the provinces began their march on Jan 13 from the Singkorn Thai-Burmese border checkpoint in Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Their representatives handed their petition to Mr Chai, Mr Sathit, and secretary-general of the National Security Council Thawil Pliensri.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/218799/thai-nationality-bill-goes-to-the-cabinet-next-week

[isanbirder]

There are still tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, of hilltribe people living in the northern provinces and in the Western forest complex who have no nationality, and therefore no right to Thai education.  Umphang Wityakom provides accommodation  and keep for over 300 of these stateless children;  the Government allows them to have the education, but will not help to pay for them.  As they have no citizenship, they have no chance of further education.

[redrover]

If there only choice were to be under the auspices of the benevolent Thai educational system, I'd ask them to take a pass. Let them be.....there's no benefit for them being forced under such benign statehood. Some of us know the real contemporary history behind the relationship of "those people" and the Thai government. Look into it - it ain't pretty.

[boloa]

The stateless Thais of of Bang Lam Poo

An interesting little read ..( BTW it's a pdf file )

http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/the_stateless_thais_of_bang_lam_poo.pdf

[redrover]

You're nobody unless you're an extension of the state.