YANGON, Myanmar, May 16 (UPI) -- Myanmar's government refused to take the blame Saturday for the escalating migrant boat crisis in southeast Asia and threatened to boycott a Thailand-hosted emergency summit later this month.
Myanmar, criticized for its harsh treatment of ethnic Rohingya, instead accused Thailand of using the summit to divert attention from accusations of human trafficking as thousands are drifting at sea.
"We are unlikely to attend ... we do not accept it if they [Thailand] are inviting us just to ease the pressure they are facing," said Myanmar's presidential office director Zaw Htay. "The root cause [of the crisis] is increasing human trafficking."
The United Nations called on countries that include Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia not to push back migrant boats filled with an estimated 6,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya from Myanmar, but instead rescue them. The United Nations said an estimated 25,000 people have attempted the boat trip in the first three months of the year, but many have died as a result of starvation, disease or beatings from boat crew members.
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- Boat with 500 Rohingya Muslims on board rescued off the coast of northern Indonesia
- Thailand seeks talks on human trafficking with Malaysia and Myanmar
"We haven't received any formal invitation from Thailand officially yet," Htay told the International Business Times. "And another thing, if they use the term 'Rohingya' we won't take part in it since we don't recognise this term. The Myanmar government has been protesting against the use of it all along."
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the May 29 summit was intended to bring together the "15 affected countries," primarily Myanmar, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. Also invited are the United States, Australia, the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration.
"We cannot force Myanmar to attend," Prayut said Friday. "Every country is equal in dignity... Thailand only hopes to bring peace to the region."
Saturday, a boat carrying migrants was towed out of Thai waters. It was later intercepted by Malaysian vessels.
"What we have now is a game of maritime Ping-Pong," Joe Lowry, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration in Bangkok told the New York Times. "It's maritime Ping-Pong with human life. What's the endgame? I don't want to be too overdramatic, but if these people aren't treated and brought to shore soon, we are going to have a boat full of corpses."
