Officials revoke driving licences of more than 700 displaced people

20/08/2010
Bangkok Post

RANONG : Transport officials have bowed to local pressure by revoking more than 700 driving licences issued to "displaced people" in the southern province.

The so-called Rights Protection Network for Ranong claimed these people would take jobs from residents in the province.

They also feared that giving displaced people driving licences would complicate social problems and affect national security in the border province.

The displaced people were born Thai but were displaced following the demarcation of the border with Burma by Thailand and Britain when the latter ruled Burma.

The concerns of Ranong residents prompted officials to recheck the procedure of issuing the licences and they found the displaced people had been mistaken as being from the Moken minority group, transport official Chalitja Klongkarnying said.

Moken are sea gypsies in southern Thailand and are among 14 minorities, including hilltribe people and descendants of Thais from Burma and Cambodia, whose identities have been endorsed by the cabinet. Their official status allows them to apply for driving licences. Department of Land Transport officials issued licences to Moken whose identity card numbers began with the number0. The problem occurred when the ID cards of the displaced people began with the same number, Mr Chalitja said.

"Officials only checked their ID cards when they applied for driving licences," he said.

Land transport regulations state that driving licences cannot be issued to displaced people. The Transport Office in Ranong has sent letters to these people telling them to return their licences.

The granting of driving licences to Burmese workers has also been suspended as officials want the department to decide if their passports were sufficient to apply for licences, Mr Chalitja said.