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BP: UN refugee role is not without
- Subject: BP: UN refugee role is not without
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 07 Apr 1998 01:14:00
April 7, 1998
UN refugee role is
not without its
headaches
Saritdet Marukatat
The Chuan Leekpai government needs to carefully think out its
widely welcomed decision to allow the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees to assist Burmese refugees or risk
the danger of prolonging the problem.
The decision approved by the cabinet on Mar 24 has yet to be
fleshed out, but it is expected to come up during Deputy Foreign
Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra's talks in Rangoon today and
tomorrow.
But most officials have emphasised the need to avoid repeating
the experience with Cambodian refugees two decades ago when
Thailand played host to more than 300,000 Cambodians in
several United Nations-assisted camps.
The first wave came in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge seized
power. A bigger wave crossed the border after Vietnamese-led
forces toppled the extremist leadership in Jan 1979 and sparked
a protracted conflict between the regime Hanoi installed and
resistance forces.
It was not until Mar 1993 that Thailand and the UNHCR
succeeded in emptying the last camps along the Cambodian
border.
Some Thai officials believe however that the experience with the
Cambodian refugees could be useful in dealing with the situation
on the Burmese border.
Logistically, there will be no problem in handling some 100,000
refugees who have crossed the Burmese border into the country.
"As far as experience is concerned, we can manage it," Sanan
Kachornklum, a senior supreme command officer, told a
discussion last week. Now a defence adviser to Prime Minister
Chuan, Lt-Gen Sanan was involved in dealing with the
Cambodian refugees from beginning to end.
The plan being negotiated by the UNHCR and Thai agencies led
by the National Security Council calls for Thailand to try to
improve management by reducing the number of camps along the
Burmese border, currently totalling 19, and provide protection
for the refugees by moving them about 10 kilometres inland.
The relocation is seen as aimed at ending cross border raids by
the Democratic Karen Buddhism Army on camps mainly in Tak,
the province lying opposite the stronghold of the Karen National
Union, the strongest ethnic rebel group still resisting a ceasefire
agreement with the government in Rangoon.
The Rangoon-supported DKBA has been trying to demoralise
refugees and pressure them into returning to Burma. Rangoon
claims the camps have become safe havens and refresher stops
for KNU rebels fleeing its suppression efforts.
"Moving the camps further inland at least will give [Thai] armed
forces a mobility to prevent the attacks," said one army officer.
But the conflict between Rangoon and the last remaining rebels is
more internal than the Cambodian war, which drew international
involvement because it stemmed from an invasion by a foreign
force. And Thailand risks being denied the international support
it needs to end the refugee problem on the Burmese border.
Thailand obtained international support for the repatriation of
Cambodian refugees as part of the peace agreements on
Cambodia signed in Paris in Oct 1991. Backers included the five
permanent members of the UN Security Council, the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations and Japan.
The agreements stipulated that the Cambodians be repatriated in
time for general elections supervised by the UN in May 1993.
The influx of refugees from Burma increased after Thailand
abandoned its policy of using armed ethnic minorities as a buffer
against Burmese forces, and pursued contacts with the Burmese
military regime, now known as the State Peace and
Development Council.
The shift of policy enabled Rangoon to step up its suppression of
ethnic rebels, to press for ceasefire agreements and to control
the border adjacent to Thailand for the first time.
Under heavier pressure, the ethnic groups crossed the border in
bigger numbers to escape forced labour, village relocation and
other human rights abuses. Many came further inland to work
largely as illegal hired hands.
Like Cambodia, the regime in Rangoon plans to hold an election
under a new constitution being drafted in the assembly. But
neither the ethnic minorities nor the international community are
impressed with the snail's pace of the drafting process, which has
been boycotted by the National League for Democracy led by
Aung San Suu Kyi.
By Lt-Gen Sanan's reckoning, the election, which would provide
a valid reason for the repatriation of the Burmese refugees, is not
expected to take place for another three to five years.
As the issue of Burmese refugees is between Thailand and
Burma, it would be difficult for the Chuan government to lobby
for help from other Asean members as previous governments did
with the Cambodian situation.
Asean, which includes three Muslim-dominated states among its
nine members, has not touched on the problem of Burmese
Muslim refugees, or Rohingyas, escaping political repression to
Bangladesh for fear of upsetting Rangoon.
Rangoon might not like the Chuan government's decision to
allow the UNHCR to assist Burmese in Thai border camps but
Thailand needs help to look after refugees so it can concentrate
more on protecting its own people.
"We accept that refugees are a burden. We do not want our
people to be a burden to our neighbours but when conditions in
our country are such that our people can enjoy neither political
nor economic security," said Mrs Suu Kyi in a recent message to
the UN Commission on Human Rights.
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