Don't Let It Happen! Forcible Repa (r)

[bmalcolm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Re: Don't Let It Happen!  Forcible Repatriation of Karen Refugees  and s

spiders in japan!

japanese thai embassy info:

phone:  03-3447-2247
fax     03-3442-6750



somebody please post the fax number for the thai embassy in the u.s. asap!
thanks....


w/metta
b



>From: Ken and Visakha Kawasaki <brelief@xxxxxxx>
>Subject: Don't Let It Happen!  Forcible Repatriation of Karen Refugees
>and students!
>
>Burmese Relief Center--Japan has learned that the situation in Thailand of
>the Karen refugees from Burma is critical.  It is extremely urgent that
>concerted action be undertaken to persuade (pressure) the Thai Government
>not to forcibly repatriate any refugees.  Please place calls or send
>letters, e-mail or faxes to Thai Embassies and consulates.  If possible, try
>to organize a demonstrations in front of Thai embassies and consulates or
>Thai Airways.   The situation here is extremely serious, as Thai
>military/businessmen want the refugees repatriated so they can proceed with
>their joint deals with the SLORC (the road to Tavoy, ports, pipelines, dams
>on the Salween, the Friendship Bridge in Mae Sot, etc).  Nevertheless,
>international pressure, if prompt and persuasive enough, can stop the
>repatriation from happening.  It should be noted that there are also
>Muslims, Tavoyans, NLD, ABSDF, DPNS, and non-aligned students in these camps
>as well.
>
>Because of the delicate situation, it is impossible for NGO's in Thailand,
>who are trying to help the refugees, to initiate ANY action.  The pressure
>must come from outside, from the US, Canada, Europe, Japan and sympathetic
>groups elsewhere in Southeast Asia.  Please act promptly and publicize all
>your efforts.
>
>Burmese Relief Center--Japan regrets its inability to include the addresses,
>fax numbers, and e-mail addresses of relevant Thai authorities in Bangkok,
>or of Thai embassies and consulates overseas with this message.  We will
>appreciate others' posting e-mail, fax, and snail mail addresses to the net
>as soon as possible.  The situation is urgent with repatriation threatened
>as early as March 25th and it is no exaggeration to say it is a matter of
>life and death.
>
>Thank you for your help!
>
>With metta,
>Burmese Relief Center--Japan
>
> - - - - - - -
>
>FORCED REPATRIATION OF REFUGEES
>23 March, 1997
>
>We have learned that the Ninth Division of the Thai Army has told the Karen
>refugees at Pu Muang camp in Kanchanaburi Province that they must return to
>Burma as early as Tuesday.
>
>On the afternoon of 22 March 1997, the Commander of the Ninth Division of
>the Thai Army went to Pu Muang refugee camp (please see the enclosed map and
>background info on the March 21st update).  He lectured the refugees for
>three hours, telling them how good the situation is in Burma now and that he
>had been meeting with the SLORC and had been reassured that when the
>refugees go back, they will not be harmed.  Then he threatened them by
>saying, "If you don't want to go back, where will you stay?"  He told them
>they could not stay in Pu Muang.
>
>The refugees do not want to go back and asked for seven days to try to find
>another place to stay.  However the commander of the Ninth Division said
>that was not acceptable.  The deadline will be this Monday or Tuesday.  One
>NGO worker who came out later reported that the refugees were terrified.
>
>Human rights organisations have been conducting interviews with civilian
>refugees who met with SLORC troops after the troops occupied their villages.
>Many villagers initially stayed, hoping that the SLORC troops would treat
>them well.  However, in virtually every village (except the villages right
>on the Thai-Burma border) the troops looted their houses and took all their
>valuables, rice, and livestock.  In many villages, the civilians were forced
>to porter their own rice to new military post or to the road from which
>SLORC troops transported it into central Burma.  In Chogali, for instance,
>villagers are now being rationed back their rice once every three days, and
>the portions are not sufficient.  Villagers have also had to serve as
>porters, human mine sweepers, and guides for the military.  There have also
>been numerous instances of rape and murder.
>
>Foreign officials who have contacted the Thai Army about the possibility of
>forced repatriations have been told that the Thai Army will not send the
>refugees back against their will.  But the Ninth Division of the Thai Army
>has been intimidating and threatening the refugees and obstructing NGO
>access to the camp.  One teacher sent out an appeal which ended with, "we
>hope to get some kind of help very soon or we will become hostages."
>
>If you could please contact representatives of the Thai government,
>including Thai Embassies and Consulates worldwide, and ask them not to
>forcibly repatriate the refugees at Pu Muang or anywhere else, it would be
>very much appreciated.  Over 2000 civilian lives are at stake if they are
>forced back.
>
>*   *   *   *   *   *   *
>
>SITUATION UPDATE: REFUGEES AT KANCHANABURI AND RATCHABURI PROVINCES
>
>23 March,1997
>
>KANCHANABURI PROVINCE
>
>Pu Muang  (in Karen: Noh Pa Doh) The meeting between the refugee committee
>and the 9th Army at the camp (referred to in the last update) went ahead
>yesterday.  Colonel Manna gave a 3 hour lecture to the refugees outlining
>the benefits of returning to Burma under SLORC.  He used a map of the
>Thai-Burma border and referred to the success of SLORC's border areas
>development plan at Three Pagodas Pass.
>
>This has left the refugees afraid of the future.  They now understand the
>very temporary nature of their refuge in Thailand.  Cut off from contact
>with outsiders, the refugees fear that they could be repatriated without
>anyone knowing.
>
> RATCHABURI PROVINCE
>
>Htaw Ma Pyo Hla Yesterday, 22.3.97, the remaining refugees who had been
>stuck on the Burma side of the borderline at Ke Ma Kee and Htaw Ma Maw
>finally crossed over into Thailand at 3 a.m.  They walked over the border in
>total darkness, as they had been waiting for the order to allow them to cross.
>
>The new site for these people is Ban Huay Sut, which is about 6 kms from the
>border, more or less in line with Ke Ma Kee on the Burma side.  There is one
>small stream for water needs though the access for vehicles involves driving
>up this very stream.  It is not sure that this small water source will be
>adequate thoughout the dry season for the number of people there.
>
>The refugees can make temporary shelters but are not to put up permanent
>structures like roofs or flooring.  The Thai Public Health Dept will set up
>a clinic and a Border Patrol Police checkpoint has been established at the
>entrance of the camp.  Rice and plastic sheeting have been supplied by aid
>agencies on the border.  It is thought that the first group which had
>earlier come out at Meh Hta Kee (600-700) may be amalgamated with the second
>group now at Ban Huay Sut.
>
>It is reported that the 9th Army in the area met with SLORC officers at the
>border at Meh Hta Kee yesterday.  It seems that the subject under discussion
>was repatriation of the refugees now that the border area has been "pacified".
>
>IT IS VITAL TO CLARIFY THE TERMS UNDER WHICH REFUGEES CAN BE SAFELY
>REPATRIATED AND TO ESTABLISH SOME PRECONDITIONS FOR THE PROCESS.  SUCH A
>PROCESS MUST INCLUDE INTERNATIONAL MONITORING OF THE STATE OF PEACE BEFORE
>ANY REFUGEES ARE PERSUADED TO RETURN TO THEIR VILLAGES.
>
>*   *   *   *   *   *   *
>
>SITUATION UPDATE: REFUGEES AT KANCHANABURI AND RATCHABURI PROVINCES
>
>21 March, 1997
>
>RATCHABURI PROVINCE
>
>Htaw Ma Pyo Hla It was reported that the SLORC troops had advanced forward
>of their positions held as of yesterday.  They are said to have arrived at
>the point called Meh Hta Kee, situated right on the borderline.  To reach
>this point, it is alleged by informed sources who know the terrain well,
>SLORC troops must have used the old logging road running from Baw Yah Ka Kee
>to Meh Hta Kee.  This road runs for some of the way THROUGH THAILAND, as it
>twists its way along the top of the border.  The move along the border may
>have been as early as 6 p.m. yesterday.  Despite the proximity of the SLOR
>troops, the Thai military has still been insisting that the refugees were in
>no imminent danger.
>
>The remaining refugees who had still not grouped at the borderline were
>being urged to move as quickly as possible; these are mainly the groups at
>Htaw Ma Maw and Ke Ma Kee.  It was estimated that travelling time for
>soldiers on the march from their position at Meh Hta Kee to the remaining
>groups of refugees is no more than 2 hours.  At the time of this report, it
>still was not clear whether or not all refugees had arrived on the Thai side
>of the border.  It is thought that a large group may still be at the border,
>but on the Burma side, near to Ke Ma Kee.  There appears to be some
>confusion as to the exact place in Thailand where the refugees are expected
>to go.  The 9th Army appears to favour a spot not far from the border,
>midway between Ke Ma Kee and Htaw Ma May.  It is debatable whether this site
>is safe given that the SLORC troops now control the area in the vicinity
>right up to the border.  It has been reported that the District Officer's
>office and the Border Patrol Police favour another site further away from
>the border.
>
>Meh Pya Kee This site is located south of Htaw Ma Pyo Hta area, on the Burma
>side of the border, lying adjacent to Ratchaburi Province.  Displaced people
>had congregated there fleeing the SLORC operations further south on the
>Tenasserim River, particularly from the Ler Pa Doh area.
>
>As of 9.3.97 there were estimated to be some 400 refugees there and agencies
>had been allowed access for food and health care.  It is now reported that
>there could be as many as 1000 refugees there.  If the SLORC offensive
>continues southwards it is inevitable that many more people will flee to
>this place.  Access is difficult even by 4 WD truck and will be impossible
>during the rainy season.
>
> KANCHANABURI PROVINCE
>
>Pu Muang  (in Karen: Noh Pa Doh) The situation at Pu Muang camp seems to
>have deteriorated to the point where it has virtually been sealed off to the
>outside world.  The residents are fearful of some sort of repatriation
>process starting as soon as next week.
>
>A notice has now been posted at the entrance to the camp in Thai, which is
>reported to include such regulations as:
>
>*  No persons entering from the war zone will be allowed to enter the camp.
>*  Reporters and writers without written permission will not be allowed to
>enter the camp.
>*  Health workers, organisation workers and newsmen should not talk to the
>refugees directly.
>*  Refugees are not allowed to cut wood or bamboo for shelters or for charcoal.
>
>(note: this is not a direct translation from Thai but rather is what the
>refugees understand it to say)
>
>It was reported that the Thai army officers met with SLORC officers at the
>border gate known as Baw Yah Ka Kee (behind the camp) on the 19th or 20th.
>The exact content of the meeting is not known.  Following this, Thai army
>officers informed the camp committee that they wished to meet with them on
>Saturday 22 March.  Though the topic for discussion had not been made clear,
>the refugees suspect that it may be some attempt to persuade them to accept
>voluntary repatriation.
>
>A medical agency on the site has been able to improve the water situation by
>installing a tank and having dirty bathing water drain away from the lake -
>the only source of drinking water.  Another agency was told today that they
>would NOT be given permission to supply thatch to shield the refugees from
>the by now blistering sun.
>
>The residents of this place seem to have reached a desperate state and are
>appealing to the world to heed their place for protection and to prevent the
>Thai authorities from forcibly repatriating them.  As their ways to get
>information out of the camp are gradually eliminated, they feel that they
>will be forgotten.  Almost no one can travel in and out of the camp freely.
>The Thai authorities have confiscated 2 vehicles belonging to the KNU.
>http://www2.gol.com/users/brelief/Index.htm