BKK POST: BORDER / HUAY KALOK AT

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March 13, 1998


                                     



               BORDER / HUAY KALOK ATTACK CONDEMNED

              UNHCR slams
              Burma over raid
              on refugee camp

              Government asked to ensure their
              security

              The regional representative of the UN High Commissioner for
              Refugees, Amelia Bonifacio, yesterday condemned the attack on
              Huay Kalok as an "act of violence against innocent civilians in
              refugee camps'.

              The UNHCR was "deeply distressed' about the attack on
              Wednesday and immediately sent a team to the area to assess
              the situation, a statement said.

              Two refugees were killed, and more than 40 others injured,
              many seriously, most of them women and children. The camp,
              which previously housed 8,769 people, "was almost completely
              burnt to the ground'.

              Ms Bonifacio, who is based in Bangkok, said the UNHCR
              called on the government to take measures to guarantee the
              security of refugees at Huay Kalok and other camps in a similar
              situation near the Thai-Burmese border.

              Thai authorities identify the attackers as members of the
              pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.

              The United States condemned the attack. US State Department
              spokesman James Rubin called on Burma to halt the "campaign
              of terror and violence'.

              But the Burmese military government angrily denied the
              accusations.

              In a tersely worded statement, a top official in Rangoon's State
              Peace and Development Council rejected claims that it was
              involved in the attack on Karen refugees.

              A senior official in Rangoon's military council yesterday said the
              US was speaking prematurely and did not have all the facts.

              "Regretfully, the US State Department spokesman has been
              reading out a statement prepared by those who don't have any
              idea of what they are talking about,' he said.

              Troops believed to be DKBA members crossed into northern
              Thailand and attacked the camp, killing a woman and child and
              setting fire to more than 1,000 dwellings.

              The Karen Refugee Committee yesterday also said Burmese
              government troops were involved in the assault along with
              DKBA members.

              Huay Kalok, one of three Karen refugee camps in Mae Sot
              district, houses some 10,000 refugees loyal to Karen National
              Union General Bo Mya, a staunch opponent of the DKBA and
              the Burmese government.

              Thai security forces guarding the camp said they engaged the
              raiders in a small arms battle but there were no reports of other
              casualties.

              The Thai military denied accusations it did nothing to prevent the
              attack against the unarmed refugees, which left about 9,000
              people homeless.

              A US aid group and the KRC yesterday slammed the Third
              Army for alleged inaction, despite having at least two hours'
              warning that an attack was imminent.

              "The attackers fired automatic rifles and some rifle-launch
              grenades. There are about 20 wounded refugees, some by
              bullets and some by fire. One pregnant woman and child were
              burnt to death,' the KRC said.

              "Apparently there was no resistance by Thai troops guarding the
              camp.'

              The Burmese government in exile - the National Council of the
              Union of Burma - called the raid a "serious violation of the
              sovereignty of Thailand and a direct insult to the Thai government
              and the Thai people'.

              The Washington-based US Committee for Refugees said Thai
              troops were believed to have "done nothing to intervene'.

              But Third Army chief Maj-Gen Chamlong Phothong said the
              Thai guards did everything they could.

              "It's not true that we didn't fight back. But during the attack we
              were limited in our ability to shoot back because of the number
              of refugees fleeing the scene,' he said.

              He said the military and provincial authorities had agreed to close
              the camp within a week and move the refugees to nearby camps,
              one of which already had about 13,000 refugees.

              Refugees who fled the assault were now being cared for by the
              provincial Red Cross and international agencies.

              Karen refugees living in Thailand have been repeatedly
              threatened with violence in an effort to get them to return to
              Burma.

              The Foreign Ministry spokesman on Wednesday lodged a
              request for an investigation with the Burmese Embassy.

              A security source said the attack was linked to the Salween
              logging scandal.

              The source said those involved in logging at the Salween
              National Park were behind the attack by the DKBA force.

              They hired the breakaway Karen group to launch the attack in
              retaliation for the government's intense investigation into logging
              at the national park, the source said.

              The Burmese government might not be involved in the incident
              but Rangoon was not satisfied with Thailand's lack of seriousness
              in cracking down on illegal logging in their territory controlled by
              minority groups despite several pushes in bilateral talks to stop
              the racket, the source added.

              Burma banned logs crossing the Thai-Burmese border since the
              start of 1994 but allows some logging firms to continue
              operations until next month. - Bangkok Post/Agencies 




                                     




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Last Modified: Fri, Mar 13, 1998