Appeal to Commander of Burmese Stud

[brelief@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Appeal to Commander of Burmese Students' Center (Safe Area)  re. mess arrangements

November 30, 1999

To:     Camp Commander
        Burmese Students? Center
        Moo 7, Ban Maneeloi, T. Wang Manao, A. Pakthor
        Ratchburi Province

        Burmese Students? Center

Re:     Equal right in BSC

We would like to express our utmost appreciation that the Royal Thai Government
has been assisting Burmese students to be able to take refuge in Thailand
particularly in the Burmese Students? Center. We however are going through
strange situation in the camp especially for those who officially entered in
the camp on the 11th and the 24th November, 1999.  We faced barbed-wire between
old camp and new camp that we felt was the division of the two camp. We also
experienced unsafe atmosphere that soldiers with arms were moving around the
camp. We appreciate the fact that the authorities accepted our request to
create freedom of movement between old camp and new camp although the
barbed-wire fence has not been completely removed. It was very great to see
that no armed soldiers move around the camp unnecessarily.  

We have one more serious issue that it is an indicator to see how equal we are
among the camp residents. We have been requesting you to eat together with our
fellow students at the same mess of the BSC. We accepted the fact that it is
inconvenient to arrange this right away that we waited for three weeks already.
We however are not able to wait longer than this period that it is such
inconvenient arrangement for all of us. This is why we requested equal right
for each and every residents of the camp in terms of food arrangement.  As the
result of the mass meeting of the new arrivals today, we have made final
resolution that we will not accept the present ration system any more.  So, we
call for:
1.      Immediate arrangement to eat at the BSC mess for the new arrivals. 
2.      Stop individual ration system immediately.

Thanks for your every effort to help us.

(Signed)
Myat Thiha
Thein Htun Aung
Than Oo
Thet Thet Lwin  
Soe Paing


CC.     Jahanshah Assadi, Regional Representative for Thailand, Cambodia and
Vietnam, UNHCR

                                

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