Thailand today denied the existence of forced labour in its fisheries industry.
“There is no forced labour in the Thai fisheries industry, and fishing vessels departing from Thailand have been installed with global positioning system (GPS) and are registered, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Gen Prawit Wongsuwarn.
However, he admitted that he did not know what happened when those vessels were in Indonesian waters, and said he did not discount the possibility that those vessels might change their flag when they arrived there.
He was speaking to the media after chairing a meeting with the relevant government agencies at Government House here with regard to helping the fisheries workers on the Indonesian island of Benjina.
A foreign news report yesterday alleged Thailand’s involvement in forced labour in the fisheries industry on an Indonesian island.
According to the report, men, mostly from Myanmar, were brought to Benjina through Thailand and forced to fish, and their catch was shipped back to Thailand and then sold globally.
Gen Prawit said he was informed that there were about 700 fishermen on the island, but he did not have information on how many were Thais and foreigners.
Officials from Thailand are expected to fly to Indonesia tomorrow to look into the matter.
Responding to the report, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said the Thai government gives high importance to combating human trafficking and in bringing the perpetrators to justice to the fullest extent of the law.
It said the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) had begun official investigation into the Benjina incident well before the publication of the news report.
The investigation revealed a connection among the human trafficking cases found in the waters off Ambon and Benjina, it said.
The government had initiated measures to solve the problem at the root cause and mitigate risks in the long term, it said.
One such measure was the registration of at least 1.6 million foreign migrant workers, the majority working in the fisheries industry.
It said an improved monitoring and surveillance system in the fisheries industry would be implemented.
2015 BERNAMA