In late January, Thailand convicted 66 of 78 detained Rohingya migrants from Burma for illegal entry. Found adrift on a boat off Thailand’s southwestern coast, this latest group of migrants has reminded the world of the abuse, exploitation and discrimination the Rohingya sustain as ethnic minorities in Burma and as illegal migrants in neighboring countries.

The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim ethnic minority group from Burma who have been persecuted for their religious beliefs by the military junta. Out of desperation, many Rohingya risk their lives on small overcrowded and ill-equipped boats with inadequate supplies to escape Burma. If caught and repatriated, escapees face further persecution by the military government.

Earlier this month, human rights groups accused the Thai Navy of twice intercepting boats filled with Rohingya migrants and sending them back to the open seas where hundreds later died. A CNN investigation found some tourists had witnessed Thai police arresting and abusing hundreds of Rohingya on a Thai beach.

Thai authorities have denied mistreatment and stated that their normal procedure is to convict then deport illegal migrants back to their home country. The Thai Institute of Forensic Science concluded that the migrants’ wounds were sustained much earlier and mostly likely inflicted by Burmese soldiers. The Thai government stated that it does not have enough resources to take in more refugees, and further argued that the Rohingya migrants do not qualify for refugee status because they fled for economic reasons. It is estimated that up to 20,000 Rohingya migrants have entered Thailand illegally over the years, and illegal Burmese make up six percent of the Thai workforce, comprising mostly of the cheap labor market.

Burma has denied that the recent Rohingya migrants detained in Thailand came from its shores and refuted the notion this ethnic group has ever lived within its borders.

Human rights groups claim the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) were aware of the plight of the Rohingya’s since the early 1990s. They argue that the real solution is for ASEAN to place more pressure on Burma to end the persecution, abuse and discrimination against the Rohingya that causes them to flee their home country in the first place.