[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

The Nation - No forced repatriation



Reply-To: "TIN KYI" <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: The Nation - No forced repatriation of Burmese, says PM

The Nation - Oct 24, 1999.
Headlines
No forced repatriation of Burmese, says PM

THERE will be no forced expatriation of exiled Burmese students to third
countries by the National Security Council, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai
said yesterday.

Those volunteering to leave Thailand for third countries, especially to
resume their education, will be the first to be selected, he said, adding:
''The same rule regarding their willingness to leave still applies.''

However, Chuan said certain groups of Burmese students in Maneeloy Centre in
Ratchaburi would find living with local people difficult if they did not
give up their sometimes aggressive ways.

Chuan was responding to reports that some students were preparing to launch
a protest in response to any plan by Thai authorities to take action against
50 fellow students who detained Nation High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) officials last Monday.

The officials were locked in a room for seven hours by the students after
they refused to pay stipends to other students who were not at the centre on
the day the money was handed out. They UNHCR officials were later released
unharmed.

The students planning the protest are believed to belong to Overseas
National Students of Burma.

They vowed yesterday to protest if Ratchaburi police arrested any of their
friends involved in the UNHCR incident.

Another group, the Burmese Students Group (BSA), at the Maneeloy Centre,
said police should take action against those involved in the incident. The
BSA said it respected Thai laws and had never been involved in protests or
violence.

Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan meanwhile said he expected to reach a
preliminary agreement on the voluntary leaving of Burmese students with
UNHCR officials at a meeting at the latter's headquarters in Geneva later
this month.

He said a crucial factor in the success of the plan was the willingness of
third countries to accept the students and financially support their
education.

The Nation