Model fearing Myanmar military heads to asylum in Canada

AP

Bangkok, September 29

A fashion model from Myanmar who feared being arrested by the country’s military government if she was forced back home from exile has arrived in Canada, which she says has granted her asylum.

Thaw Nandar Aung, also known as Han Lay, left on a flight from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport early on Wednesday morning, according to Archayon Kraithong, a deputy commissioner of Thailand's Immigration Bureau.

Thaw Nandar Aung wrote on Facebook she had arrived in Canada and thanked her fans for their support.

“I will do my best to help my beloved Myanmar and the people of Myanmar as much as I can,” she wrote in the post seen on Thursday.

Thaw Nandar Aung had told Radio Free Asia, a US-government-funded broadcaster, on Tuesday that she was headed to Canada, after having been granted political asylum there with the assistance of the UN refugee agency and the Canadian Embassy in Thailand.

“Everything happened so fast, and I only have a few pieces of clothing. So I will have to go along with what they have planned for me,” she said.

“I have spoken out for Myanmar wherever I go. I have talked to the media about my country while I was staying in Thailand. Since Canada is a safe place for me, I will have more opportunities to speak out on the issue. And as you know, there is a large Myanmar community in Canada, so I'm sure I'll be able to carry on the struggle for Myanmar with their help.”

A phone call to the Canadian Embassy seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Thaw Nandar Aung had been stuck at Bangkok's airport after Thai authorities denied her entry when she arrived on September 21 from a short trip to Vietnam. She has been living in Thailand but needed to leave and enter again in order to extend her stay.

While at the airport she met UN refugee agency representatives in an effort to avoid being sent back to Myanmar.

People denied entry to Thailand are usually deported to their last point of departure, but the UN agency advised her she would be arrested in Vietnam and then repatriated to Myanmar.

A Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson said she had been denied entry into Thailand “due to an issue with her travel document.”   Thaw Nandar Aung denounced her country's military rulers last year from the stage of Miss Grand International beauty pageant held in Bangkok.

She accused them of selfishness and abusing their power for using lethal force to crush peaceful protests, and appealed for international help for her country. 

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