Thailand urged to put refugee repatriation on hold

Tuesday, 02 February 2010 19:27 Usa Pichai

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Deeply concerned with the plight of thousands of refugees to be deported to Burma from early this month a Karen women’s organization has made an impassioned appeal to the Thai government to halt repatriation.

The Karen Women’s Organization has appealed to the Royal Thai Government not to forcibly repatriate over 3,000 Karen refugees staying in Tha Song Yang, Tak Province, back to a heavily mined war zone in Burma. The group of refugees is sheltered in Thailand since last June after they fled fighting between the Burmese Army and an ethnic armed group in the Ler Per Her area in Karen State, Burma.

“The refugees were told by the Thai Army that they must return to Burma by February 15 and that action to send them back will begin on February 5. They are now living in fear of imminent repatriation into an area which is heavily mined, and where conflict can be triggered again any moment,” according to the statement from the group released on Thursday.

KWO also mentioned that the majority of the refugees are women and children.

The KWO said that on January 28, the local authorities and the Thai Army forced 50 refugees from this group back across the border between 9 am and 11 am to start cleaning up their homes in Ler Per Her village in preparation for their return. They included 20 women and girls, some less than 16 years of age.

“However, KWO would like to state clearly that this area is not safe at all and refugee groups are not willing to return at this point in time. In recent months, five refugees from the area have been either maimed or killed by landmines when slipping back into Burma to look after livestock they left behind. This included a 13-year-old boy whose leg was blown off in August last year, and a woman, who was eight months pregnant, had her foot blown off on January 18, 2010,” the release added.

The refugees were granted temporary refuge in three locations, Mae U Su, Mae Salit and Nong Bua, but have not yet been allowed to move to Mae La refugee camp in Tak Province.

The plan to deport Karen asylum seekers became clear last week after Lt Gen Thanongsak Apirakyothin, Commander of Thailand’s Third Army, admitted that a resolution was adopted at the meeting between Thai officials and related parties to repatriate Karen refugees.

The commander visited the temporary camps and claimed that there is no fighting in Burma now.

Surapong Kongchanteuk, a Human Rights Committee member of Thailand’s Lawyer’s Council told Mizzima on Tuesday that the Thai Army has sent soldiers into the area and pressurized villagers.

“The Thai military has said that there is no fighting in Burma at the moment and that is true but they did not mention the landmines that are very dangerous. We are still discussing the issue with the Human Rights Committee of the Thai Senate. But at this moment we need the military to put repatriation on hold,” he said.

Blooming Night Zan, Joint Secretary 1 of KWO said, "This evidence of people stepping on the landmines is a sure sign that the situation is still very dangerous. Sending refugees back against their will into such a dangerous situation violates the international law of non-refoulement. Although the Thai government is not a signatory of the Refugee Convention, the KWO is very grateful to His Majesty the Thai King, and the Thai government, for its long history of kindness to refugees. We appeal to the Thai authorities now to show your humanitarian kindness again."