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UNHCR appeals to Bangladesh for acc



Subject: UNHCR appeals to Bangladesh for access to Burmese refugees


	UNHCR appeals to Bangladesh for access to Burmese refugees
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	 1.32 p.m. EDT (1732 GMT) July 18, 1997

 GENEVA (AP)  The U.N. refugee agency appealed Friday for
 access to thousands of Burmese Muslims who have crossed into
 Bangladesh during the past two months. 

 The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has asked Bangladesh
 for permission to check on the 5,000-7,000 new arrivals, UNHCR
 spokeswoman Pam O'Toole said. The agency has not received a
 reply, she said. 

 "We are not being given access to these people, many of whom are
 being jailed and/or forcibly returned,'' O'Toole said. 

 Many of the new arrivals have said they had left Burma for purely
 economic reasons, but some have told reporters they are fleeing
 forced labor and torture in military-ruled Burma, she said. 

(18 July 1997, FOXNews)

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	News and Information Dept.
	All Burma Students' Democratic Organisation (ABSDO) [Australia]
	Tel/Fax: 61+03+9813 2613

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