A group of Rohingya people that was arrested trying to cross illegally into Rangnon, Thailand, remain in prison along the Thai-Burma border after Thai authorities were unable to find a location to repatriate the group.

About 50 Rohingya were arrested by the Thai police in July, as they attempted to enter Thailand by boat. The group, which was assisted by a broker, hoped to find better jobs and asylum in Malaysia.

The Rohingya are a state-less ethnic Muslim minority, traditionally from Arakan area in Western Burma. The Rohingya have attracted sporadic media attention over the last 20 years after facing a variety of abuses. However their status as refugees has been heavily disputed by both Burma and Thailand.

One factor in this dispute has been Burma’s refusal to recognize the group as a legitimate ethnic minority. Having been striped of citizenship in 1982 the group faces regular abuses of religious persecution, land confiscation and arbitrary arrest by the Burmese government.

“Thai soldiers arrested a group of 50 Rohingya migrants, and tried to send them back, but the Rohingya haven’t been sent back yet because they don’t have their own land,” said a Kawthaung resident. “Thai authorities have held them for over a month.”

According to an article published by the New Light of Myanmar, a Burmese government controlled newspaper, on January 30th, 2009, there are more than 100 ethnic groups officially recognized by the government in Burma, however the Rohingya are not amongst the sanctioned groups.

Early last January a group of Rohingya people, who had been living in Arakan State in western Burma, were arrested by Thai authorities after they landed in Rangnon, according to an article published by the Irrawaddy. In a widely criticized response, the Thai authorities beat the attempted refugees and forced them back on boats, setting them adrift without engines, and few supplies.

At ASEAN’s 14th summit meeting, the Burmese foreign minister, Nyan Win, stated that the Rohingya are not Burmese ethnic and that there are no Rohingya in Burma. The Junta has insisted that it will only take back migrants who can prove they are “Bengali”, an ethnic group the government recognizes.