Sep 18, 2006

Shan: Documentation Problems Anger Ethnic Burmese on the Thai Border


More than 400 ethnic Burmese families living along Thailand’s border with Burma have urged local authorities to investigate irregularities in their identification documents.

More than 400 ethnic Burmese families living along Thailand’s border with Burma have urged local authorities to investigate irregularities in their identification documents.

Their complaints emerged after an ethnic Shan man died last week. His family—all of whom had been issued identification cards—reported the death to local Thai officials to apply for insurance and welfare benefits, only to discover that they had no record of the man.

Itthidet Ritdetdamrong, the leader of Pongpha sub-district in Mae Sai, said that problems with official documentation have made life difficult for many ethnic families—some of whom have lived in Thailand for more than a decade.

“Former [government] officers issued temporary identification cards for many families, but they did not record their information officially,” said Itthidet. “Children born to these families, who should have been granted citizenship, did not have any official status.”

Some 1,500 villagers—mostly Shan, Palaung and Lahu who fled Shan State because of fighting between the government and ethnic opposition groups—have had problems with their documentation.

Most of the villagers received their identification papers in 1996, and at that time they had little knowledge about Thai immigration law. Since that time, villagers have asked authorities to review their documentation but say no progress has been made.  

An official from the Mae Sai District Office told The Irrawaddy on Friday that problems with documentation have occurred in other villages along the border and said they could be the result of former officials not doing their jobs correctly, or even corruption within district offices.

“We are investigating these cases, but it is quite difficult,” the official said. “Some villagers have moved to other areas, and officers who issued documents have been hard to track down.”