BKK Post, April 9, 1998. Chuan to c

[burma@xxxxxxxxxx]

April 9, 1998. Chuan to chair UN talks on Burma border refugees
                      
Achara Ashayagachat

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai will today chair high-level discussions on 
the role that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should 
play with regard to refugees at the Thai-Burmese border.

The meeting at the National Security Council follows consultations 
between UNHCR representatives and officials of the ministries of Foreign 
Affairs and Interior, the Supreme Command Headquarters and the Royal 
Thai Army, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.

The cabinet on March 24 agreed in principle to let the UNHCR assist 
refugees on the border in what was a policy shift as the UN agency 
previously had limited access to the area. Authorities subsequently 
agreed to move camps further inland before the end of the rainy season 
but other steps have not emerged.

According to the official, Thailand wants the UNHCR to play a limited 
role in protecting the refugees and managing the camps, which it feels 
should be largely left to the Interior Ministry.

But Thailand would like the UNHCR to play a "monitoring" role, with 
regard to refugee movements on the border, as well as the reintegration 
of any Burmese who are repatriated, the official added. For the latter, 
it would be up to the UNHCR to negotiate with Burmese authorities, he 
said.

The policy framework being discussed today is intended to foster 
transparency along the border in general, and should help prevent 
illegal practices such as logging and drug trafficking, he added.

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