Australia to give aid to Burmese re

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Subject: Australia to give aid to Burmese refugees.


				MEDIA RELEASE 

		MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, ALEXANDER DOWNER

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AUSTRALIA TO GIVE AID TO BURMESE REFUGEES 
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22 April 1997

I am, pleased to announce the Australian Government will provide $1.8 
million to help Burmese refugees.

$ l .3 million will be used to assist with the voluntary repatriation of 
Rohingyan refugees returning to Burma after many
years in camps along the Burma/Bangladesh border. Assistance will be 
channelled through:

 The World Food Programme ($1 million) for relief and rehabilitation ion 
activities, such as food-for-work programs
education and health initiatives

 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ($300 000) for monitoring 
activities to ensure the safety of the
returning refugees. 

The Australian Government has provided over $6.6 million to Rohingyan 
refugees since 1991. We currently rank fifth on
the list of donors from around the world.

$500 000 will be given to the Australian non-government organisation, 
Medecins Sam Frontieres (MSF) for relief and
rehabilitation assistance to refugees in camps along the Thai/Burma border.

This grant comes after recent raids along the border by forces 
sympathetic to Burma's State Law and Order Restoration
Council. The raids left three camps virtually destroyed. MSF which has 
responsibility for health and sanitation in must of
the camps in the region lost all their medical supplies and equipment in 
the attacks. Australia will assist with the restocking
of crucial medical supplies and the rebuilding of clinics to meet the 
health needs of the refugees.

Media contact: Peter Collins, Jane Castles (AusAID)

[22 April 1997].

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