Those able to pay the 60,000 to 70,000 baht (US$1800 to 2100) ransom were released and transported to Malaysia, while those unable to pay were held and allegedly abused. Bangladesh has long pushed back boats carrying Rohingya, forcing them to make the dangerous journey to Southeast Asia.ДЇor several years, people smugglers have been transporting ethnic Rohingya from western BurmaвЂ™s Arakan State, and an increasing number of Bangladeshis, by boat to Thai shores, where they are moved overland and then held in jungle camps for ransom. Prayuth Chan-ocha has called for a regional meeting on May 29 to address the situation.

Senior Thai officials have said that the government has adopted a policy of pushing away boats from Thai shores after providing them with fuel, food, and water. In Malaysia, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar publicly stated that the government will turn back boats and deport those who land ashore.

Indonesian authorities have admitted to pushing back one boat on May 11 and directing it to Malaysia after providing food and water to those on board. Other governments should urge the three governments to work together to rescue these desperate people and offer them humanitarian aid, help in processing claims, and resettlement places for those in need of international protection.вЂќ вЂњThailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia have made things much worse with cold-hearted policies to push back this new wave of вЂboat peopleвЂ™ that puts thousands of lives at risk. вЂњThe Burmese government has created this crisis with their continued persecution of the Rohingya,вЂќ said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. On May 10, 2015, more than 2000 people landed in Langkawi, Malaysia and Aceh, Indonesia, after weeks at sea, saying they had not eaten in days and suffering from serious health ailments from the cramped and unsanitary conditions on board smugglersвЂ™ boats. (Bangkok) вЂ“ Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia should end their pushbacks of boats with Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants and asylum seekers, and instead bring them ashore and provide desperately needed aid, Human Rights Watch said today.ДЄs many as 8000 Rohingyas and Bangladeshis are believed to be stranded in boats in the Andaman Ocean and Malacca Straits without adequate food, water, or sanitation, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported.

Ethnic cleansing game