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Karen refugees to gain from Thai po



Karen refugees to gain from Thai policy change 
04:48 a.m. Mar 26, 1998 Eastern 
By Deborah Charles 

BANGKOK, March 26 (Reuters) - More than 100,000 refugees who have fled
persecution and fighting in Myanmar (Burma) look set to benefit from an
expected change in Thailand's border policy, aid workers and officials said
on Thursday. 

Thai officials are finalising plans to change a long-standing policy and
allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help run
refugee camps along the border with Myanmar. 

``We would like to have the UNHCR play a greater role,'' deputy foreign
minister Suhkhumbhand Paribatra told Reuters. ``We want to create conditions
for more transparency.'' 

International observers and aid workers applauded the proposed change. ``The
international community has had this on their plate for a time - urging the
Thais to give UNHCR a role,'' one U.S. official said. ``It would enhance the
protection of refugees at the border.'' 

The proposed change follows a series of attacks by Myanmar-backed guerrillas
on several ethnic Karen refugee camps. The border camps have housed for more
than a decade 100,000 mostly Karen refugees who fled forced labour and
decades of fighting with the Myanmar government. 

Members of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which is supported by
Myanmar's army, have raided and razed several camps this month, killing at
least five people and burning down more than 1,000 homes. 

A UNHCR spokesman said the organisation was ready to help. 

``UNCHR is prepared to help the Royal Thai government to ease the burden and
assist the refugees,'' he said, adding that UNHCR has yet to receive a
formal request by the Thai government. 

Although non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are permitted to help out in
the sprawling camps along the border, Thailand has rejected repeated
requests from the UNHCR for an established presence there. 

The Thai cabinet has already addressed the camps issue but the final
decision must be made by the National Security Council, which is due to
discuss the UNHCR proposal soon, Suhkhumbhand said. 

``There are a number of things to be worked out - what kind of role (the
UNHCR would play), what kind of commitment (it would have),'' he said. 

The UNHCR, which has a presence at refugee camps on the Cambodian border and
ran camps housing more than half a million Indochinese refugees on Thai soil
in the late 1970s-1980s, conducts regular visits but must have permission to
go to the camps near the Myanmar frontier. 

Aid workers and observers said they would reserve judgment on Thailand's
proposal until they knew what role the UNHCR would actually have. 

``It will be seen as a positive step,'' the U.S. official said. ``But it
will depend on what they can do.'' 

He said Thailand had resisted the move for a while, partly for fear of a
repeat of the Indochinese refugee situation where large camps were set up
for years along the borders. 

Aid workers said they have long complained about the way the Thais treat the
people living in the border camps. 

Various organisations have accused the Thais -- who classify the Karen and
others as ``displaced persons'' instead of refugees -- of forcing them back
into Myanmar into dangerous situations. 

They say if the UNHCR is allowed to run the camps, or has a larger presence
there, it will help ensure the refugees' safety. 

The U.S. official agreed, saying it would also help the Thai reputation. 

``There have been reports of abuses, pushbacks...it would give the
international community a greater measure of security for the refugees,'' he
said. ``It would give (Thais) extra cover and support for their policy. 

The Thai government has been urged by the international community to
relocate the camps deeper inside Thailand. 

``We are trying to move the sites further into our territory to afford them
more protection,'' Sukhumbhand said. ``We've been reluctant to do it last
year or so because of the expense...and environmental impact.'' 

Thailand is cutting spending due to its financial crisis, and bringing in
the UNHCR may help the country's economy, aid workers said. ^REUTERS@ 

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.