Citizenship and the Hill Tribes of Thailand
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PEOPLE WITHOUT A NATION: CITIZENSHIP AND THE HILL TRIBES OF THAILAND By Lindsey Kingston Submitted to the Faculty of the School of International Service of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Ethics, Peace & Global Affairs Chair: Professor Julie Mertus Professor Lucinda Peach ~ 7 / ( h p Y 1 I Date * 2006 American University Washington, D.C. 20016 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1433564 Copyright 2006 by Kingston, Lindsey All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 1433564 Copyright 2006 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © COPYRIGHT by Lindsey Kingston 2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PEOPLE WITHOUT A NATION: CITIZENSHIP AND THE HILL TRIBES OF THAILAND BY Lindsey Kingston ABSTRACT The indigenous “hill tribes” of northern Thailand, impacted by decades of prejudicial government policies, often do not enjoy the economic and political benefits available to the nation’s cultural majority. Denied citizenship, hill tribes exist in a situation of statelessness that threatens the survival of both members and traditions. While some economists are currently asking whether Thailand is the next “Asian Tiger,” many tribes suffer from poverty, health concerns, and trafficking into the sex industry. Without nationality, many members are unable to secure necessities such as legal work, education, welfare opportunities, political representation, a passport and the ability to travel, and documentation of their births, marriages and deaths. The Thai government’s response to the hill tribes has been one of hostility, often viewing indigenous peoples as national security risks. The international war on drugs, as well as concerns about environmental protection in the heavily-forested uplands, further positions the government against hill tribe members within its borders. As Thailand seeks to modernize its image and propel itself successfully into the global marketplace, its response to indigenous rights must be dramatically improved. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The hill tribe situation demands a solution that draws on legal and social reforms for uniting the nation and creating an environment of equality. As the indigenous rights movement reaches the mountains of northern Thailand, it will take a variety of voices to pressure for social action and inspire positive change. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CONTENTS ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................v INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 Methodology..........................................................................................................5 Chapter 1. HISTORY OF THE HILL TRIBES IN THAILAND Relations Between the Government and Indigenous Peoples..................13 2. THE CURRENT SITUATION Application of a Human Security Model.................................................34 3. INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND ASIAN VALUES Differing Perspectives in the Human Rights Debate............................... 52 4. THE MEANING AND IMPACT OF CITIZENSHIP The Social Implications of Thai Nationality for Hill Tribes................... 74 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................93 BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................................106 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABBREVIATIONS ACHR Asian Centre for Human Rights ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations BPP Border Patrol Police CPCR Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights DEPDC The Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities DPW Department of Public Welfare KMT Kuo Min Tang PDA The Population and Community Development Association PHR Physicians for Human Rights TIP Trafficking in Persons UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Reftigees WGIP Working Group on Indigenous Populations v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION Mae Sai lies on the northern Thai-Burma border, a plane trip and a bus ride away from the glitzy shopping malls of Bangkok. From this border town one can access the mountain villages of indigenous peoples, called “hill tribes” by the Thai government, with the help of a sturdy four-wheel drive truck. In these villages, the harsh reality of continuing poverty and discrimination may be witnessed. While some economists are currently asking whether Thailand is the next big “Asian Tiger,” many hill tribe members have not been rewarded by the country’s increasing prosperity. Tribes such as the Karen and Akha, impacted by decades of prejudicial government policies, do not enjoy the economic and political benefits available to the Thai majority. It is not even correct to label these hill tribe people as “second class citizens,” since many are not citizens at all. Denied citizenship by the government, they are often unable to secure legal work, public education, welfare opportunities, political representation, a passport and the ability to travel, or even legal documentation of their births, marriages and deaths.1 The most recent wave of government intrusion in the north, begun in the 1960s, propelled hill tribes into policy discussions revolving around national security and 1 Physicians for Human Rights, “No Status: Migration, Trafficking & Exploitation o f Women in Thailand.” Online. Available: http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/aids/pdf/nostatus.pdf [21 January 2006]. 27. 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 resources. Viewed as possible enemies of the state, particularly in relation to the potential spread of communism within the region, the Thai government sought to bring the hill tribes under control. The international war on drugs, as well as concerns about environmental protection in the heavily-forested uplands, further positioned the government against indigenous people within its borders. Pressured to assimilate into the Thai mainstream yet often denied citizenship, members of the hill tribes find themselves facing human security concerns as a direct result of their statelessness. Limited educational and work opportunities leave many unable to financially support their families, despite a new “iconography of wealth” being transmitted to Thailand by international media. Many hill tribe youth are recruited into prostitution, illegally migrating or being trafficked toward Bangkok and Phuket in a country known as “Asia’s Brothel.” Others are trafficked into forced labor situations, and many more find themselves unable to access health care for a variety of concerns, including HIV/AIDS. As hill tribes struggle with issues related to poverty, as well as health and social problems related to the sex industry, many tribal people also express concern over the erosion of their traditions. Some activists have denied the need for Thai citizenship among the hill tribes because granting citizenship could lead to the assimilation into mainstream Thai culture. Further limiting equality for hill tribes is a political history in Asia of denying indigenous rights. Most Asian states have suppressed minority nationalism, citing indigenous peoples as either being disloyal, uncivilized, or standing in the way of the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3 country’s economic development.2 Suggestions to employ multination federalism, which grants minority groups certain decision-making power that would otherwise be held by the central state government, meets with strong objections in Asia. Obstacles to this form of government include skepticism that substate autonomies will be liberal-democratic, the belief that ethnic mobilization will disappear with modernization, and the fear that minorities will collaborate with state enemies.3 Even the identification of indigenous groups is uncertain territory, since many Asian countries claim that the category of “indigenous peoples” does not apply to their minorities.4