Beyond the concept of country is humanity

       The star of all media this past week was indisputably Mong Thongdee,a 12-year-old stateless boy from Chiang Rai. Blessed with a talent for making paper planes, Mong has participated in the paper plane He was invited to join the international competition in Chiba, Japan, on Sept 19 and 20.
       The problem was that he could miss that chance of a lifetime although he has every right to participate under the United Nations' Universal Declarations for Human Rights and is protected by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, both of which Thailand ratified.
       Although this case ended happily later in the week when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva intervened personally on Mong's behalf, it uncovered a flaw in our bureaucracy and the attitude of certain officials.
       Thailand can do much better.Although Mong was born in the Kingdom to registered migrant workers, he is not allowed Thai citizenship according to the Nationality Act. His sponsors brought him to meet the minister of the interior to seek his permission for Mong to join the contest.
       Instead of figuring out a way to help him, the minister ruled out such a possibility and warned him that if Mong ever left Thailand, he could not return to the country.
       The Ministry of Interior (MOI) stuck to this principle although Mong's supporters cited provisions under the two UN conventions, as well as accepted principles of common humanity. The ministry stood its ground and said even if Mong were allowed to leave the country and won the contest, it would not be in the name of Thailand because he is not a national.
       But a high official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) pointed out that in the past an exception was not unheard of, and that the MOI had allowed aliens to leave the country on a case-by-case basis by coordinating with other ministries, including the MOFA. In those cases,the MOFA considered issuing appropriate types of passports and the aliens could return to the Kingdom.
       She added that the MOFA could issue a yellow passport with a validity of one year and a re-entry visa if the MOI asks it to accommodate the request.
       Listening to her, I felt relieved. With the help of civil officials like her Thailand could become willing to make exceptions to the rules when warranted, and avoid being dubbed as a violator of human rights, and Thailand has long held to a clear principle of enforcing the law to the letter, but if there is no applicable provisions for a particular situation, the closest possible provisions shall apply mutatis mutandis - with the necessary changes having been made.
       I remember that during the dictatorial rule of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat (1959-1963), the abbreviated charter in effect in those days, with a mere 20 sections, still had this exception spelled out in the last section:"In a case where no provision under this charter applies,the case will be deliberated based on the customs of constitutional democracy." The provision is similar to Section 4 of the Civil and Commercial Code.
       Those detained without limits under the anti-communist law in those days cited this provision as grounds to appeal their detention to the Criminal Court.They claimed their detention violated principles of human rights and customs of democracy. The court ruled in their favour.
       The world today has changed a lot since those days, especially in terms of human rights, whose principles have become a compulsory subject for undergraduate law students at every university.In my view, the MOFA has greater experience and understanding of human rights issues than the MOI, and the MOI should strive to keep up with global developments. Even the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), of which Thailand is the chair this year,has voted to set up a human-rights organisation. This behooves Thai MPs and senators to study and catch up with the latest global trends.
       Thailand is not Burma, where a person can be detained at will without limits or credible charges, to the condemnation and exasperation of the world community. The MOI has to catch up with the world instead of acting like a cold-hearted dinosaur, as it did with Mong.
       The number of registered migrant workers in Thailand is almost two million,and there are another two million unregistered ones, according the Labour Ministry. The children of registered and unregistered foreign labourers are considered "stateless".
       However, the two UN conventions cited above endorse the rights of children to citizenship and education, whether their parents are in the country legitimately or not.
       Of course, national security is a big concern. But let's not forget that beyond the concept of country is humanity. We cannot deny anyone their basic rights and treat them as if they are not human.Both the international conventions and the Buddhist religion teach us the same thing - to have compassion for our fellow human beings. This philosophy has won us so many friends worldwide,and it is this principle that we must always uphold.