DHAKA: The United States urged governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand to refrain from pushback of new boat arrivals and continue coordination with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.
US state department press office director Jeff Rathke said, ‘We believe needs to be addressed with appropriate speed and resolve through a regionally coordinated effort to save the lives of the thousands of vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers.’
US remain deeply concerned about the urgent situation faced by thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants at sea in southeast Asia, he added in the daily press briefing on Friday.
‘US ambassadors in the region are intensely engaged with governments to encourage a rapid humanitarian response.’ Jeff Rathke said, ‘We urge the countries of the region to work together quickly, first and foremost, to save the lives of migrants now at sea who are in need of an immediate rescue effort.’
However, US Secretary of State John Kerry called his Thai counterpart Thursday night to discuss the situation of migrants in the Andaman Sea and to discuss the possibility of Thailand providing temporary shelter for them, the state department spokesperson said.
The two leaders also discussed the May 29th conference, which Thailand will host.
Nearly 3,000 people have landed this week in Indonesia and Malaysia, where they are receiving assistance.
The US government is now discussing ways that it can continue to support the regionally led efforts in this crisis, and it plan to send a senior delegation to the regional conference hosted by Thailand in Bangkok on May 29, Rathke added.
In reply to a query, Jeff Rathke said that US does not want to get ahead of the Thai internal deliberations on this, but it is clearly important to find a way to address this.
‘Again, we think this is a regional challenge, needs a regional solution, but we’re very glad that the Thai authorities are considering what they might be able to do,’ he elaborated.
In reply to another query about US had any conversations with the Burmese, he said, ‘Our ambassadors in the affected countries but also in Burma (now Myanmar), which – from which most of these migrants are traveling in one way or another, have been engaging Burmese authorities’.
US see a need for Burma to fulfill its previous commitments to improve the living conditions of everybody affected in Rakhine state, he added.
He further said, ‘We press the Burmese government as well to address migrant smuggling and human trafficking of Rohingya, and we think that’s extremely important. So, we monitor the situation in Rakhine State’.
BDST: 1430 HRS, MAY 16, 2015
RS/RR/SMS
