BANGKOK, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Governments of Thailand and Myanmar have successfully organized the return of the second group of 93 displaced persons from Myanmar to their homeland earlier this week, Thailand's foreign ministry said late Wednesday.
The ministry said a total of 20 persons from Ban Mai Nai Soi Temporary Shelter in Mae Hong Son Province left Thailand and entered Myanmar at the Ban Huay Ton Nun - Me Se border area in Mae Hong Son Province, while 73 others from temporary shelters in Kanchanaburi Province and Tak Province used the Mae Sot-Myawaddy international border crossing in Tak Province as entry point into Myanmar on May 7.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also assisted relevant government agencies in the preparation and logistical arrangements for the return.
"The success of this second return demonstrated the continued good will and efforts of both governments," the Thai foreign ministry said.
The return of the first group of displaced persons took place in October 2016.
Thailand has been providing shelters to Myanmar displaced persons since 1987. Approximately 100,000 displaced persons still reside in the nine temporary shelters located in the Thailand-Myanmar border provinces, namely Mae Hong Son, Tak, Kanchanaburi, and Ratchaburi.
Recent development in Myanmar, especially the peace process, has generated interest for voluntary return. In this connection, Thailand and Myanmar have been closely cooperating and facilitating the return to Myanmar on a voluntary basis and to ensure safety, dignity, as well as sustainable return.
The ministry said both countries will further discuss on future returns at the second meeting of the Joint Working Group to be hosted by Myanmar in the second half of 2018.
