A diplomatic row between Thailand and Malaysia over the fate of 131 Thai Muslims who fled to Malaysia in August, allegedly to escape ethnic violence and repression, has worsened as it begins to gain international attention.
Indeed, Thailand insists that the "escape" of the refugees was engineered by separatist Muslim militants precisely to drag United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) into the ethnic conflict simmering in its southern provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani.
Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wants the UNHCR to stay away from the villagers, who fled following violence and counter-insurgency operations by Thai armed forces in and around their village in Narathiwat, and not grant them refugee status.
Malaysia, on the other hand, says the UNHCR should be allowed to carry out its humanitarian mission and insists that Thailand guarantee the safety and rights of the villagers, now held at an immigration detention camp, before they can be returned home.
The positions of both countries hardened this week with words exchanged between leaders through their respective media. The flap is developing into a standoff that is affecting the sometimes choppy bilateral relations.
Thailand has accused Malaysia, which shares a border with the three Muslim-dominated southern provinces, of aiding and sheltering separatist insurgents. Malaysia denies those charges.
Full Story: Asia Times Online