About 350 displaced Thais in Tak province have asked the Central Admnistrative Court to order the Interior Ministry to grant them Thai nationality after fighting for official recognition for years.
Displaced people in Tak show ID cards issued for the displaced when they arrive at the Central Administrative Court to seek Thai nationality. (Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
Boonpan Wongkhamkhrue, 35, a resident of Mae Ramat district and a leading member of the group, said on Friday that obtaining Thai nationality was the ultimate hope of people like herself. She and other displaced people have already submitted the necessary documents for Thai nationality verification to the court.
Ms Boonpan was born in Myanmar, as her father was a Thai who had crossed the border to make a living, she said. Her family returned to Thai soil when she was about one year old.
All five family members missed out on an earlier civil registration survey and this deprived them of Thai nationality, she added.
"We are calling for Thai nationality. Our grandparents are Thais and we have evidence to prove our claim," she said. "A younger brother of our father who lives in Sukhothai and his children living in Mae Sot district of Tak are our key witnesses that we are Thai."
Chan Wongkhamkhrue, 67, Ms Boonpan’s father, pleaded for understanding for displaced Thais who were deprived of state assistance and rights. He urged the court to order the Interior Ministry to grant his group Thai nationality and Thai ID cards that would recognise their official status.
Noiping Jaikiew, 75, a resident of Mae Ramat district, said he had been waiting a long time for Thai nationality but had not given up hope.
Two of his children had obtained Thai nationality under Article 23 of the Nationality Act that allows people born in Thailand before Feb 26, 1992 to apply for Thai citizenship, said Mr Noiping.
He wanted to have official recognition like other Thais so he would be entitled to state welfare benefits, rights to occupy land, and electoral rights.
Surapong Kongchantuk, chairman of a Lawyers Council of Thaiand (LCT) subcommittee on the stateless, migrant workers and the displaced, said the council provided assistance to 351 displaced people to lodge their petition with the Central Administrative Court.
Currently, they hold ID cards for the displaced. The cards only allow the holders to temporarily stay in the country and they have no rights like other Thai people, said the human rights advocate.
This group was among 1,000 displaced people in Tak who earlier petitioned local authorities in 2012 to approve their applications for Thai nationality, said Mr Surapong. Their applications were later forwarded to an Interior Ministry committee on Thai nationality, but the panel found they were not qualified. The panel notified them in November last year and they decided to pursue the matter in court.
Mr Surapong maintained that the residents in question in Mae Ramat and Mae Sot were Thais by descent, but had missed out on being included in official surveys.
A group of displaced residents of Tak hold a banner calling for Thai nationality. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)