The news about 59 Rohingya "abandoned" near southernmost Satun province early this month reminds us that fighting the heinous crime of human trafficking will be a hard-won battle.
In the latest example, the Royal Thai Police found 31 men, 23 women and five children abandoned on Koh Dong, about 20 kilometres from Koh Lipe, on June 4.
A preliminary probe indicated the victims were travelling by boat from Bangladesh to Malaysia. They were dropped off on the island about a week ago, and were apparently misled into believing Koh Dong was Malaysian territory.
The news report came at an unfavourable time as the US State Department will release its 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) either later this month or next.
Thailand fared poorly in the most recent TIP, dropping from Tier 2 to the Tier 2 Watch List. That's only one step away from Tier 3, the worst ranking for a country in terms of fighting human trafficking.
The government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha immediately promised to work harder to reclaim Tier 2 to protect the country's image.
On June 5, Thailand's Anti-Human Trafficking Day, Gen Prayut reiterated the government's commitment to ending this scourge, which has been on the national agenda since 2015.
The government has integrated policy and measures at local and national levels in line with action plans under the 20-year anti-human trafficking strategy to meet the challenge.
The problem, the PM said, has become more complex given the pandemic, more volatile border situations, and online trafficking.
According to Social Development and Human Security Minister Chuti Krairiksh, legal actions against the perpetrators have increased to 188 lawsuits this year, 55 more than in 2021. Of these, 107 involved online trafficking to lure people into forced labour, up 37 on-year.
The government, he added, has also prosecuted officials involved in the crime. In addition, a more efficient system has been set up to help victims who are pursuing legal cases and to separate human trafficking victims from those of other crimes. The Don Muang Centre for human trafficking is being opened.
Last year, the government helped 354 people avoid or escape human trafficking, 123 more than in the previous year. It has also issued guidelines for officials to give victims at state shelters more freedom of movement and the right to use mobile phones.
The June 5 speeches were clearly an attempt to disprove some damning allegations from opposition MP Rangsiman Rome of the Move Forward Party (MFP) about official complicity and corruption, which he claimed has impeded efforts to break the trafficking rackets and prosecute the traffickers.
In his Feb 18 contribution to the general debate, Mr Rangsiman highlighted the plight of Pol Maj-Gen Paween Pongsirin, the former lead investigator of a human smuggling tragedy involving Rohingya in 2015. Pol Maj-Gen Paween, citing threats to his life, later resigned and sought asylum in Australia.
His exile prevented the probe from reaching the top masterminds.
On April 21, Al Jazeera aired worldwide a programme called Thailand's Fearless Cop, featuring a rare interview with the former police investigator about why he had to flee for his life. The documentary further damaged the government's claim to fight human trafficking.
Defence Ministry spokesman Gen Kongcheep Tantrawanit quickly dismissed the allegations of military involvement in human trafficking, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon's alleged interference in the Rohingya probe.
However, his claim that the problem has eased under the government's close watch was put into doubt when the Navy and Tarutao National Marine Park officials found the 59 Rohingya earlier this month. The traffickers are believed to have ditched them there as they fled the Malaysian authorities at sea.
The criminals remain at large but the Thai authorities must conduct a serious investigation to arrest the traffickers and uproot their networks on Thai soil.
Of equal importance, the authorities must afford the victims the proper protection. Life in limbo or a lengthy stay in a prison-like environment has seen many try to escape the shelters.
Since children are often trafficking victims, the government must prohibit all forms of child labour. At present, the law still allows children over 15 to work, when they should be in school.
The government must prove its commitment through its deeds -- not words nor excuses. That commitment starts with confronting official complicity and corruption as the crux of the problem. If not, any chance of uprooting these criminal networks will be slim indeed.
