BANGKOK — A leading U.S. newspaper has published an editorial harshly criticizing Thailand’s role in the human trafficking of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims.

The Washington Post editorial, titled “How Thailand is contributing to the misery of Burma’s persecuted Rohingya,” slammed the Thai Royal Navy for pursuing lawsuits against journalists that have reported on the plight of Rohingya people.

“Instead of seeking to rectify the situation, the Royal Navy has denied mistreating the refugees and decided to intimidate the messenger,” the editorial reads.

In December, the Royal Thai Navy charged two Phuketwan journalists of criminal defamation and breach of the Computer Crimes Act for publishing an excerpt of a Reuters report that alleged the navy’s involvement with the trafficking of Rohingya.

A similar complaint was also lodged against Reuters this month.

If convicted, both the Phuketwan and Reuters journalists could face up to seven years in prison.

Every year, thousands of Muslim Rohingya attempt to escape religious and ethnic persecution in Myanmar and travel by boat to perceived safe havens, such as the Muslim-majority country of Malaysia.

Boats carrying Rohingya refugees are often intercepted in Thai waters, where they are either detained and sent back to Myanmar, or sold into the hands of human traffickers.

The Washington Post editorial board condemned the navy’s effort to silence reporting on the fate of Rohingya refugees, a move that can only worsen the already tragic lives of what the U.N. has referred to as "one of the world's most persecuted peoples.”

The Washington Post editorial concludes:

This is a sad case of Thailand’s navy attempting to extinguish reporting rather than the misery that the reporting exposed. It is wrong to punish the journalists. But this misguided attempt at coercion is doubly wrong because it attempts to hide the shameful treatment of a people, the Rohingya, who are already suffering far too much.

The Reuters investigation into the plight of Rohingya people recently won a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting.

Last month, U.S. lawmakers cited the Reuters report when they called on President Obama to downgrade Thailand for doing too little to fight human-trafficking and protect Rohingya refugees. 

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LOEI — Hundreds of masked men have attacked villagers in Loei province who are protesting chemical contamination from a local gold mine.

Witnesses said over 300 assailants stormed barricades set up by villagers in Na Nong Bong village in Wang Sapung district last night. The barricades were intended to block operations at the nearby gold mine owned by Tungkum Company. 

The incident is the latest development in the long-running dispute between the villagers and Tungkam Company, which is a subsidary of the mining giant Tongkah Harbour Public Company Ltd. 

For almost ten years, Na Na Bong villagers have tried to shut down the mine because of the widespread contamination of lethal substances they say its operation has caused.

In 2013, Na Nong Bong villagers erected the "Wall of Heart" barricade to stop trucks from entering the mine.

Last night’s masked attackers, many of whom were armed according to the witnesses, quickly overwhelmed the 200 villagers who were guarding the barricade. At least 30 villagers were held hostage at gunpoint while the masked assailants proceeded to dismantle the barricades.

Angsana Puangpaiwan, a 22-year-old resident, said the attackers arrived on two pick-up trucks and four minivans. "Dozens of shots" were fired into the air to frighten the villagers, Ms. Angsana said. 

When other villagers learned about the confrontation at the barricade, they rushed to the scene and attempted to help those who were being held hostage by the armed assailants, Ms. Angsana said.

However, the perpetrators reportedly charged at the crowd of villagers, beating the group back. 

During the clash, a convoy of twelve 18-wheeler truckers drove past the remnants of the barricades into the gold mine, presumably to collect the mined ores left behind by the company’s employees. Rows of armed, masked men guarded the convoy while the minerals were being collected.

After the convoy left, the militants reportedly released their hostages and forced villagers to delete any images of the clash from their cellphones. Some villagers were also forced to surrender their cellphones to the armed men. 

Over 40 villagers were reportedly injured in the assault, and they were only transported to hospital after the perpetrators left the scene, witnesses say.

The villagers pressed charges at Wang Sapung Police Station this afternoon, accusing the perpetrators of attempted murder, assault, and theft. 

Na Nong Bong residents began their protests against the mine in 2006 after some of them began suffering illnesses they suspected were caused by the nearby operation of the Tungkam gold mine.

From 2007-2011, studies by local authorities and environmental agencies reported a widespread contamination of deadly substances such as lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and cyanide in the area adjacent to the gold mine.

Despite the published studies and a lawsuit filed by the villagers to the Administrative Court, the Tungkam gold mine was permitted to continue its operation.

Frustrated by the lack of concrete response from the authorities and the company, Na Nong Bong villagers erected the "Wall of Heart" barricade in late 2013. Tungkam Company hit back with a lawsuit to the Loei Provincial Court, accusing the village's leaders of obstructing the company's enterprise. The lawsuit also demands 50 million baht in damages from the villagers.

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