A senior Thai diplomat rebuked Hollywood star Angelina Jolie yesterday for speaking out on behalf of Muslim refugees from Burma.
Jolie - who is deeply involved in the plight of refugees in her capacity as a United Nations goodwill ambassador - called on the Thai government to respect the human rights of Burma's Rohinyga "boat people" last week while touring a camp in northern Thailand for other refugees from the military-controlled nation.
The Rohingya, who are denied citizenship in their native land, have been trying to land in Thailand after treacherous sea journeys in recent months only to be towed back to sea and cast adrift by the Thai Navy.
Virasakdi Futrakul, permanent secretary of Thailand's foreign ministry, said Jolie's mission last week was to inspect a camp that houses refugees mostly from Burma's ethnic Karenni minority not deal with the Rohinyga.
"We probably have to warn UNHCR that they should not have comment on this because it was not the purpose of her visit," he said.
UNHCR spokeswoman Kitt McKinsey did not comment on Virasakdi's remark.
As to Jolie - "She was extremely touched by the plight of the Rohingya people. She expressed the hope that the human rights of the Rohingya people will be respected just as the human rights of everyone in the world should be respected," McKinsey said last week.
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