Thousands of Karen refugees flee Th

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Subject: Thousands of Karen refugees flee Thai camps 


     Thousands of Karen refugees flee Thai camps 



     UMPHANG (Thailand) -- Thousands of Karen refugees who fled fighting in
Myanmar
     have disappeared from camps in Thailand, and officials say they have
either returned
     home or slipped away to work in Thai cities. 

     The camps are in the Mae Sot and Song Yang districts in Tak province. 

     A Thai army source said: "The young men and women have escaped from the
camps
     to find work in the big cities." 

     He said a Thai government move to allow Asian workers, especially from
Myanmar, to
     work legally in 43 of Thailand's provinces had encouraged at least
15,000 refugees to
     leave and seek work. 

     "Only old people and young children are in the camps at the moment --
the young and
     strong people have gone." 

     A refugee official said that a further 1,500 refugees who fled a
Myanmar government
     offensive against Karen rebels earlier this year went home to villages
in Moulmein of
     their own accord last month. 

     An additional 1,200 have informed refugee officials that they are
willing to go home. 

     Deputy chief U Zaw Hlae of Nu Po refugee camp said repatriation would
begin from
     May 20. About 11,000 refugees now lived in the camp, many of whom might
decide
     to return home later, he said. 

     About 100,000 Karen refugees, including followers of the Karen National
Union
     (KNU) guerilla group, have lived in camps in Thailand since they began
fleeing fighting
     in Myanmar in 1984. 

     They have been a target of attacks by a rival Karen group since 1995
when a Buddhist
     faction of the predominantly-Christian KNU defected to Myanmar troops
and began
     to fight the KNU. 

     The KNU, formed in 1948, is the last major rebel organisation still
fighting Myanmar's
     military government. So far, 15 rebel groups have reached ceasefire
agreements with
     the government. 

     Meanwhile, Thai border patrol police seized arms, including rocket
launchers and 30
     AK47 rifles, believed to belong to the KNU, the Bangkok Post reported
yesterday.
     Police suspect the arms have been hidden by Karen rebels who fled
across the border
     into Thailand after Myanmar troops attacked and seized their
strongholds in February.
     The cache was the second to have been found in less than a week. 

     Police believe more are hidden along the border and fear they may fall
into the hands of
     criminals or smugglers. -- Reuter.