Backgrounders

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VI. New Visa Rules: Screening Out the “Troublemakers”

In July 2002, the Thai National Security Council adopted a new strategy to use immigration laws as the “principal measure” to hinder and control the activities of organizations doing advocacy for Burma.78 The initial implementation of this new strategy was slow but incremental. However it is now nearly impossible for Burmese human rights defenders, including those who are fortunate enough to possess Burmese passports, to obtain a Thai visa without making a risky trip back to Burma.

Under a new regulation that came into effect on December 29, 2002, Burmese passport holders are now required to possess a visa to enter Thailand. Previously, Burmese nationals, like other ASEAN citizens, were allowed to obtain visas for up to four weeks upon arrival in Thailand. Longer-term visas were generally easily obtained at Thai embassies in the region. Under the new system, various nationalities, including Burmese, must obtain a visa before traveling to Thailand. The problem is that most Burmese passport holders who apply for Thai visas at embassies in ASEAN capitals are now routinely rejected and instructed to return to Burma and apply for a visa there. Thai embassies in Cambodia and Laos have reportedly been instructed not to issue any visas to Burmese passport holders.79 It appears that such instructions have also been given to Thai embassies in other ASEAN countries, and elsewhere.

The new visa and immigration regulations have had a profound effect. Obtaining a Thai visa has become extremely difficult for Burmese, especially for activists and human rights defenders. There have been several cases of Thai-based activists being stranded overseas when their visa applications were rejected. Some have applied for asylum in the places where they have been stranded while others have sought alternative means of reaching Thailand. Many were human rights defenders who left Thailand to attend courses, conferences, and trainings and to do speaking tours and other meetings. As a result, many Burmese activists are now very reluctant to leave Thailand for whatever reason.

In June 2003, the commander of Thailand’s Immigration Police announced that anyone arrested for immigration violations in Mae Sot would have their fingerprints taken, with the prints catalogued on a computer. “Apprehended workers whose prints have previously been recorded will face harsher penalties,” he said. Employers would also be reprimanded, he said.80 This message was reaffirmed and the fingerprint scanning was demonstrated in Bangkok at the year’s end announcement of arrest statistics by the Immigration Department on January 3, 2004.

Increasing numbers of Burmese are being arrested on immigration charges following peaceful actions such as labor strikes, protests, hunger fasts, overseas speaking tours, and other political activities. The fear of being arrested or fined for immigration violations has caused many Burmese activists to restrict their movements and decrease their public activities.

The strict new visa policies may push Burmese refugees and exiles to seek help from criminal groups to provide them with fake passports, visa stamps, a Thai I.D., or work permits. Changing the visa requirement for Burmese nationals and allowing for the lawful presence of some refugees in urban areas could help, rather than hinder, the Thai government’s ability to combat some forms of crime.



78 “Border Update: Fears of Crack Down on Pro-Democracy and Human Rights Groups Still Prevail,” Forum-Asia, September 10, 2002.

79 “New Visa Regulations for Burmese,” Irrawaddy, January 16, 2003.

80 “Burmese Migrants and Their Employers Warned,” Irrawaddy, May 29,2003.


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February 2004