( CNN ) -- Myanmar will allow Rohingya refugees back into the country if they can prove that they are Bengali , Thailand 's foreign ministry said . A photograph released by the Thai navy shows a group of men captured on December 12 . The agreement was reached in side talks between the Thai and Myanmese foreign ministers during the 14th ASEAN summit , a meeting of Southeast Asian nations held in Thailand over the weekend , said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thairit Charungwat on Monday . Thousands of Rohingya refugees -- a Muslim minority group from Myanmar -- have fled to Thailand over the years , saying they are persecuted by Myanmar 's hard-line military government . In recent months , controversy has erupted as the Thai military has been accused of intercepting boatloads of Rohingya , sabotaging their vessels and abandoning them at sea . Thailand eventually acknowledged such actions , after initial denials . About 20,000 Rohingya migrants already live in Thailand , according to its foreign ministry , which says Thailand is being inundated . The refugees -- who lack documentation -- live on the fringes in Thailand and Myanmar . But in Myanmar , `` things like forced relocation , forced conscription , forced labor -- these things are exacerbated for the Rohginyas , '' said Benjamin Zawacki of Amnesty International . `` In addition to that , they suffer from what is really systemic discrimination , systemic persecution . Things , for example , like not being able to marry outside their ethnicity , very strict restrictions on movement , the inability to work for the government , to hold jobs as civil servants . They are summarily disenfranchised . They are not able to vote . They are not even held to be citizens . '' The latest group of 78 Rohingya boat people , who arrived Thailand a month ago , has been detained there . Some of the 78 have required medical treatment , after being abused by the Myanmese navy , they say . `` They will have to be sent back , according to our law , '' Thailand 's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told CNN . `` They are entering the country illegally . '' Watch CNN 's `` The Forgotten People '' on Rohingyas ' escape to Thailand » . Myanmar says it will take refugees back if they can prove that they are Bengali , a recognized ethnic group in Myanmar . Proof would include confirmation by relatives , a standard practice in a country that often lacks documentation . But the refugees have resisted being returned to Myanmar , saying they would be killed . `` At least this issue is being raised at international and regional level , '' Charungwat said . `` Myanmar has also started to establish communication and participation on this issue , and join with ASEAN , as it is a regional issue to be solved . ''
Amnesty International : Rohingyas face systemic discrimination , persecution . Thailand 's PM Abhisit : `` They will have to be sent back , according to our law '' Agreement reached during ASEAN summit .