Bangkok  - The issue of Rohingya refugees is to be raised at the South-East Asian summit to be held this month in Thailand, which has been accused of abusing the rights of the Myanmar minority group, officials confirmed Tuesday.

The summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) set for February 27 to March 1 is to pursue the theme "ASEAN for the ASEAN people" and start the process of establishing an ASEAN human rights body by the end of the year to handle regional human rights issues, such as the problem posed by thousands of Rohingya boat people seeking refuge and work outside Myanmar.

"Definitely, there will be some sort of a side meeting, and we will discuss the possibilities of more cooperation on the Rohingya," Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Pirobya said of the summit to be held at the Hua Hin and Cha-am beach resorts, about 130 kilometres south-west of Bangkok.

The Thai Navy was accused of abusing the human rights of Rohingya boat people beginning in December by towing more than 10 vessels out to the highs seas and leaving the migrants in engineless boats without sufficient food and water.

Thailand has denied the allegations that navy personnel also beat the refugees and tied them up before putting them in the boats. Of the 1,000 estimated Rohingya allegedly pushed back to sea from southern Thailand, hundreds are still missing and feared drowned.

Survivors of the ordeal found in Indian and Indonesian waters have detailed the abuses they received at the hands of the Thai military.

The Rohingya are a stateless people. Although many originate from Arakan state in northern Myanmar, Myanmar's military junta has refused them citizenship, claiming they are the recent offspring of Arab traders and Bangladeshis and don't qualify as an ethnic minority group.

In the early 1990s, an estimated 250,000 Rohingyas fled government crackdowns to Bangladesh, where they continue to languish in refugee camps.

Indonesia is reportedly considering allowing the Rohingya, who are predominantly Muslim, refugees status, which would qualify them for resettlement in third countries under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Thailand, which claims to have 20,000 Rohingyas working illegally in the kingdom, has thus far refused to classify them as refugees.

"Thailand is not ready to accept them as refugees," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said. "But if the UNHCR has resettlement offers for the Rohingyas, we are ready to help."

Thailand has proposed tackling the Rohingya refugee issue on a regional basis with participation from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. (dpa)