Human Rights Watch press release

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	  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              April
	  26, 1995

For more information:

Zunetta Liddell     44-171-713-1995 - (office)    U.K.33 Islington
High Street
	       44-171-278-4485 - (home)       London, N1 9LH
	       United Kingdom

Mike Jendrzejczyk   202-371-6592 x113 - (office) D.C.1522 K Street
NW, Suite 910
	       301-585-5824 - (home)                 Washington,
	       D.C. 20005

Sidney Jones        212-972-8400 x290 (office) - N.Y.485 Fifth
Avenue, 3rd Floor
	       718-398-4186 (home)                       New York,
	       NY 10017

     HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH/ASIA CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON BURMESE
				REFUGEES

     Human Rights Watch/Asia today condemned three attacks on
Burmese refugees in Thailand since April 23 by Burmese government
troops and their allies, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
(DKBA), and called for Thailand to increase the protection of
refugees in all camps. In the course of the attacks, the combined
Burmese and DKBA forces burned refugee camps, forced scores of
refugees to return to Burma against their will and may have been
responsible for the deaths of two refugees.  Human Rights
Watch/Asia calls on the Burmese and Thai governments to allow an
international monitoring presence along their border in the area
where the raids took place and on the Thai government to allow
full access to the refugee camps by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian agencies, with
whatever security protection may be necessary.
     Since the fall of the Karen National Union (KNU) bases at
Manerplaw and Kawmoora in January and February 1995, over 10,000
Karen have sought refuge in Thailand, joining the 70,000 already
in camps along the Thai-Burma border. The DKBA, a breakaway group
of Buddhist Karen who left the Christian-led Karen National Union
in December 1994, alleging religious discrimination and human
rights abuses by Karen officers, had assisted in the Burmese
government's offensive against the KNU.  Following the defeat of
the KNU, the DKBA began raiding refugee camps, kidnapping Buddhist
Karen leaders and killing others in what are thought to have been
acts of revenge.  The most recent attacks are the most serious
yet, and appear to be linked to leaflets distributed by the DKBA
in early April warning all refugees to return to Burma by April
19.

     On April 23, around 200 government and DKBA troops crossed
the river Moei which marks the border with Thailand and entered
Klay They Loo refugee camp, close to the river in Thailand's Mae
Sam Leb district. Fighting broke out between them and Karen camp
guards. Unconfirmed reports suggest that at least two refugees
were killed in the crossfire, and nine people were taken by the
DKBA. The fighting spread to a nearby Thai Karen village,
resulting in all the residents of that village fleeing, and the
village was reported to have been razed to the ground. The
following day, April 24, further intrusions were made into Klay
The Loo camp and more refugees were abducted.

     On April 25, a separate group of around 200 Burmese and DKBA
troops crossed into Thailand from the north, and were reported to
have attacked Mae Ra Ma Luang camp, north of  Klay They Loo.
Unlike the other camps, this is a new camp established five and
half kilometers inside Thailand after earlier attacks on camps
close to the border. There were over 4,500 refugees in the camp at
the time of the attack. The details of the attack are unclear, but
it reports suggest that sections one and three of the camp were
razed. It is not known how many people were injured in the attack,
nor how many people were abducted. Representatives of French and
German aid organizations are attempting to reach the camp today,
but there has been no confirmation as to whether they have
succeeded. Without protection from Thailand, the area remains very
dangerous for both refugees and those groups seeking to provide
them with food and shelter.

     At midnight on April 25, a further attack took place in Kamaw
Lay Kho camp, which is south of Mae Ma Ra Luang, between the river
and the Mae Sot - Mae Sariang highway. Press reports quoted a Thai
army officer as saying that some 100 troops were involved in this
attack, in which 300 houses were razed and an unknown number of
refugees and Thai villagers were abducted. Since the attack 3,000
residents of the camp have been forced to live in the forest.

     A representative of the Burma Border Consortium, the main
     provider of aid to the refugees, told Human Rights Watch/Asia
that these attacks have dramatically increased the tension in the
camps, with the fear that now any camp could be attacked at any
time.

     It is unclear how the Thai military in the area responded to
the attacks, but the Thai Third Army Region Commander, Gen.
Surachet Dechatiwong, is reported to have traveled to the area to
investigate the incident. He had met with his Burmese counterpart,
Gen Khet Sein, at a Thai-Burma Regional Border Committee meeting
on April 25, where he was reported to have raised the issue of
incursions into Thai territory and was told that the SLORC could
not control the DKBA forces "who are like children staying under
their roof." While Human Rights Watch/Asia has no details of the
current relationship between the government and the DKBO, it is
known that they regularly meet and that the government has
provided financial and military assistance to the DKBA. Moreover,
as a paramilitary group operating from inside Burma (and the
headquarters of the DKBA is just across a river from the large
Kammamung military base), the Burmese government remains
responsible for their actions.

     Human Rights Watch/Asia calls on the Thai government to
protect civilians taking refuge in their country. In cases where
refugees are abducted and taken to Burma against their will, the
Thai government is responsible for permitting refoulement, a
violation of international law.  It also calls on the government
to step up its protection of the camp, rather than forcing the
refugees to provide for their own protection with armed guards,as
this could lead to the camps being considered legitimate military
targets.

	       Human Rights Watch/Asia (formerly Asia Watch)
Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental organization established
in 1978 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally
recognized human rights in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle
East and among the signatories of the Helsinki accords.  Kenneth
Roth is the executive director; Cynthia Brown is the program
director; Holly J.  Burkhalter is the advocacy director; Gara
LaMarche is the associate director; Juan E. Mendez is general
counsel; and Susan Osnos is the communications director.  Robert
L. Bernstein is the chair of the executive committee and Adrian W.
DeWind is vice chair.  Its Asia division was established in 1985
to monitor and promote the observance of internationally
recognized human rights in Asia.  Sidney Jones is the executive
director; Mike Jendrzejczyk is the Washington director; Robin
Munro is the Hong Kong director; Zunetta Liddell, Dinah PoKempner,
Patricia Gossman and Jeannine Guthrie are research associates;
Mark Girouard and Shu-Ju Ada Cheng  are Luce fellows; Diana Tai-
Feng Cheng and Jennifer Hyman are associates; Mickey Spiegel is a
research consultant.