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Published on November 16, 2007

Assoc Prof Phanthip Kanjanajittra, a Thammasat University law lecturer, said such a practice would create hatred between Thais and Burmese. "Repatriating pregnant women is a sign of apparent discrimination and hatred, which will backfire against all Thai people as a consequence," she said.

Phanthip said Sonthi apparently misunderstood the law concerning the nationality of children born in Thailand to illegal immigrants.

"Those children in fact do not automatically earn Thai nationality by birth under an exception under Thai law," she said.

The authorities must exercise caution when dealing with immigrant workers or expatriates, she said. The practice of not issuing birth certificates to children born in Thailand to immigrant workers, whether registered or illegal, is wrong, she said.

Without birth certificates, these children cannot verify their rightful nationality or link to their parents if they return to Burma because they don't have documents proving their status as members of the same family, she said.

"We are not a Wild West or ultra-nationalist society. We need to be careful not to discriminate against fellow human beings residing in Thailand, which is in violation of international laws," she said.

"If we allow rich foreigners to have children in Thailand, we should also allow these poor immigrant workers to do the same."

Ong Bangchun, a Mahidol University lecturer who is a Mon descendant, said Sonthi's planned repatriation was "inhumane and irresponsible".

He said: "How can you force pregnant women to return to their home country when they are not welcome there?"

He said there was no such thing as pure Thais, according to various studies he was familiar with.

All Thais have mixed blood from all races in Southeast Asia going back for generations, he said, so Thais have no right to discriminate against people using state-designated nationality as a criteria.

Ong said several solutions could be adopted to solve the problem of overpopulation among immigrant workers under existing laws and legislation to be passed in the near future.

"But the problem cannot be solved simply by driving them away while they are pregnant," he said.

The Nation [Kwan]