U.S.Lawmakers Press Thailand

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

                         U.S. Lawmakers Press
                         Thailand 

                         Thursday, March 6, 1997 9:41 am EST 

                         BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thailand came under new
                         pressure from the United States today to open its
borders to ethnic
                         Karen refugees fleeing a Burmese army offensive. 

                         Thailand sent hundreds of Karen men, women and
children back
                         to Burma last week, prompting criticism from the
international
                         community and human rights groups. 

                         The Thais insisted the refugees would be safe. But
human rights
                         groups said they were being sent into the path of
advancing
                         Burmese troops trying to crush the rebel Karen
National Union.
                         Burma's army is accused of rape, random execution
and burning
                         villages. 

                         Three Republican congressmen sent Prime Minister
Chavalit
                         Yongchaiyudh a letter today demanding respect for
the refugees'
                         ``basic human rights'' and calling the
repatriations ``against
                         international law and internationally accepted
humanitarian
                         standards.'' 

                         It was signed by Benjamin Gilman of New York,
chairman of the
                         House Committee on Foreign Relations; Christopher
Smith of
                         New Jersey, chairman of the Subcommittee on
International
                         Operations and Human Rights; and Dana Rohrabacher of
                         California. 

                         Spokesmen for the prime minister's office and the
Thai Foreign
                         Ministry said they had no knowledge of the letter. 

                         The Thai army appeared to succumb to the
international outcry
                         over the weekend, transferring some 2,300 refugees
reportedly
                         slated for deportation to a safer location inside
Thailand. Burmese
                         troops raiding across the border had twice tried to
attack their
                         camp. 

                         A Thai army spokesman, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said
                         it had always been Thailand's policy to help
unarmed people. 

                         The spokesman had been asked to clarify remarks
attributed to
                         Gen. Chetta Thanajaro, the army commander, on
Wednesday that
                         Thailand would allow all Karens to enter the
country if they were
                         unarmed. 

                         The remarks appeared to be a reversal of Chetta's
stance last
                         week to bar entry to all fighting-age males, saying
he did not want
                         Thailand turned into a guerrilla rear base. 

                         But statements from Thai officials have been
inconsistent and
                         confusing over refugee policy and under what
circumstances any
                         repatriations took place. 

                         A spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees had
                         no immediate comment on Chetta's remarks. 

                         The Coordinating Committee of Human Rights
Organizations in
                         Thailand was hopeful Chetta was indicating a new
policy. But the
                         committee's spokesman, Pairoj Pholphit, said he was
not confident
                         it was official and would be carried out. 

                         About 15,000 ethnic Karens have fled to Burma in
the past three
                         weeks. Thailand historically has opened its borders
to refugees
                         from Burma and used ethnic rebels as a buffer
against Burma's
                         military government. 

                         The Karens now fear a change of heart due to warming
                         Thai-Burmese relations linked to cross-border
infrastructure
                         projects.