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AFP/REUTER(13/3):AI CONCERNED/THAI
Subject: AFP/REUTER(13/3):AI CONCERNED/THAI GEN. PROMISED REFUGEES STAYS
ASIA: AMNESTY CONCERNED OVER THAI POLICY TOWARDS KAREN REFUGEES
BURMA KAREN
BANGKOK, March 13 AFP - Human rights watchdog Amnesty
International said today it feared the Thai government may still be
returning Karen refugees to Burma despite pledges to give them
sanctuary.
"Amnesty International is gravely concerned that the Royal Thai
Government has continued to forcibly return Karen refugees back to
Myanmar (Burma), in spite of widespread international protests,"
the group said in a statement.
The London-based group said it was also worried that Thailand
might repatriate some 100,000 Karen refugees to Burma once fighting
ended between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burmese
government.
Burmese government forces are currently sweeping through the
last areas of southeastern Burma held by the KNU and are believed
to be in almost full control of the territory.
Amnesty said it had documented a long pattern of human rights
abuses against civilians in areas where ceasefires had been
implemented and warned that the Karen refugees would face the same
fate if returned.
"A halt in armed conflict does not in any way guarantee that the
Burmese army will stop ill-treating or killing Karen civilians," it
said.
Human rights and Burmese dissident groups say that abuses by the
Burmese army against civilians in the border areas are rife and
accuse troops of rape, extra-judicial killings and forcing
villagers into porterage.
A Thai foreign ministry statement said on Tuesday that Thailand
was hoping to send the almost 100,000 Karen refugees housed in
camps in Thailand back to Burma once the fighting stopped across
the border.
However, Thai army chief Chetta Thanajaro, who met with his
Burmese counterparts on the border on Tuesday, said Thailand would
give refuge to all those fleeing the fighting in Burma.
He also denied accusations the Thai army had recently turned
away refugees at the border and had forcibly repatriated a group of
women and children.
Chetta pledged earlier this month to stop forced repatriations
of refugees to Burma following an international uproar when some
900 women and children were trucked across the border near the
fighting.
Amnesty said that on Sunday and Monday, some 3,300 refugees were
sent back to Burma from the western Thai province of Kanchanaburi.
The group added, however, that it was not clear if the
repatriations had been forced.
AFP ts
ASIA: THAIS SAY NOT REPATRIATING KAREN, ENFORCING ORDER
BURMA KAREN (CARRIED EARLIER)
BANGKOK, March 14 Reuter - Thailand's army chief today
reiterated that Thailand would not force refugees back into the war
zone in Burma, but said it would enforce stricter rules to ensure
law and order in refugee camps on Thai soil.
Army commander General Chetta Thanajaro made the statement in
response to charges from Amnesty International that Thailand was
forcibly repatriating ethnic Karen refugees to Burma.
"I would like to reassure you that we will not send the refugees
back until the situation is back to normal where we are able to
guarantee their safety," he told reporters.
The London-based rights group said it was concerned that
Thailand was continuing to force Karen refugees back into Burma.
"The organisation fears that the Thai authorities may repatriate
all Karen refugees once fighting between the Karen National Union
(KNU)...and the Burmese army has stopped," Amnesty said in a
statement received here today.
The KNU is the last major ethnic insurgency group still fighting
against Burma's military government.
Last month the KNU suffered a major setback when Burmese troops
sacked their mobile camps inside Burma, causing thousands of
refugees to flee into Thailand.
"Amnesty International appeals to the Royal Thai government to
allow all refugees to remain in Thailand until...they will no
longer be at risk of human rights violations in Myanmar (Burma),"
the rights monitoring group said.
"For the last nine years Amnesty...has documented a clear and
persistent pattern of torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial
killings of Karen civilians by the Burmese military," it said.
Thailand says it does not force refugees back to Burma, but only
disarms fighters and requests they return to Burma.
"I issued an order to field commanders that from now on, they
must seek my approval for any repatriation," Chetta said.
Thailand used to turn a blind eye to movements of KNU guerrillas
operating on its western frontier but recently changed its policy
in order to ensure there were no armed rebels staying in the camps.
The army says the 100,000 refugees, many of whom are family
members and followers of KNU rebels and who have been living in
sprawling camps since the 1980s, would now face strict controls.
"I will begin a register and set order in the camps. Soldiers
will be deployed to oversee peace and order," Chetta said.
In order to separate the guerrillas from the civilians, the new
refugees will be put under close surveillance, Chetta said.
"The young male refugees will be put under special surveillance
to prevent them from sneaking back because these people are the
fighters. If they have left, that means they went to fight," Chetta
said.
Burmese troops have repeatedly accused the KNU of mingling with
the refugees and using the camps as a springboard for their
terrorist operations inside Burma.
REUTER ts