Yangon blasts Thai labor move

Yangon blasts Thai labor move

YANGON (AFP): Authorities in Myanmar have described as "pitiful" the repatriation of hundreds of their workers from Thailand and accused Bangkok of double standards.

"It is rather pitiful that Myanmar nationals, legal or otherwise, once welcomed in Thailand are now being sent back home," the report in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said yesterday.

Thailand is cracking down on illegal workers and recently deported about 500 Myanmar workers found not to have visas.

Thailand -- desperate to alleviate its mounting unemployment problems -- has said it will repatriate about 300,000 illegal workers over the next six months, many of them from Myanmar or Cambodia.