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THE NATION: 980327: Army braced for
- Subject: THE NATION: 980327: Army braced for
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 19:02:00
Politics
Army braced for imminent
Karen attack
TAK -- The Army was out in force yesterday
near the largest refugee camp along the
border with Burma after Prime Minister
Chuan Leekpai threatened retaliation if the
camps are attacked in cross-border raids.
Leaders of the camp at Mae Hla, the
largest of a string of camps sheltering
some 100,000 refugees along the border,
said they anticipated an imminent attack by
pro-Burma guerrillas to mark Burma's
Armed Forces Day holiday today.
Hundreds of Thai soldiers were strung
along the roads around Mae Hla, home to
30,000 people, and taking up position in
the hills to thwart any raid by the ethnic
Karen guerrillas allied with Burma's military
regime.
Army chief Chettha Thanajaro on
Wednesday said the camps should not be
used to harbour anti-Burma rebels and that
able-bodied men suspected of being
combatants should be sent back to Burma
to defuse the threat of more cross-border
raids.
Thailand is grappling for a solution to raids
from Burma, by the pro-Burma Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) guerrillas
against the refugees, mostly Karen.
The refugees largely support the Karen
National Union, which has fought the
Burmese government for more autonomy
for the Karen for 50 years.
In the past three weeks, raiders from the
DKBA have repeatedly crossed the rugged
border, which is nearly impossible to seal
off, and burned two refugee camps and
fired mortars at a third.
Meanwhile, more than 100,000 refugees
who have fled persecution and fighting in
Burma look set to benefit from an expected
change in Thailand's border policy, aid
workers and officials said.
Thai officials are finalising plans to change
a long-standing policy and allow the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) to help run refugee camps along
the border with Burma.
''We would like to have the UNHCR play a
greater role,'' Deputy Foreign Minister
Sukhumbhand Paribatra told Reuters. ''We
want to create conditions for more
transparency.''
Last month, the National Security Council
(NSC) chaired a meeting with UNHCR and
concerned Thai agencies following Prime
Minister Chuan's mandate for UNHCR's
greater role that will verify Thailand's
transparency in dealing with refugees.
At the Feb 19-21 meeting in Chiang Mai,
the working group proposed that UNHCR
be allowed to help assess the situation in
admission or refusal of Burmese displaced
persons into the country, participate in the
registration and repatriation, witness the
voluntary repatriation and help Thailand
solve the refugee problems.
Although the detail has yet to be finalised,
international observers and aid workers
applauded the proposed change. ''The
international community has had this on
their plate for a time -- urging the Thais to
give UNHCR a role,'' one US official said.
''It would enhance the protection of refugees
at the border.''
The Thai change-of-heart follows a series
of attacks by Burmese-backed guerrillas on
several ethnic Karen refugee camps.
DKBA members, supported by the
Burmese army, have raided and razed
several camps this month, killing at least
five people and burning down more than
1,000 homes.
A UNHCR spokesman said the
organisation is prepared to help Thailand
ease the burden of assisting refugees but
has yet to receive a formal request.
Although non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) are permitted to help out in the
sprawling camps along the border,
Thailand has rejected repeated requests
from the UNHCR for an established
presence there.
The Cabinet has addressed the camp
issue but the final decision must be made
by the NSC, which is due to discuss with
the UNHCR representative soon,
Sukhumbhand said.
''There are a number of things to be worked
out -- what kind of role [the UNHCR would
play], what kind of commitment [it would
have],'' he said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kobsak
Chutikul said the Cabinet on Tuesday
considered how to enhance the UNHCR's
position in the camps as they will be moved
further inside Thailand and whether
combine some of the camps for the sake of
logistical practicality.
The UNHCR, which has a presence at
refugee camps on the Cambodian border
and ran camps housing more than half a
million Indochinese refugees on Thai soil in
the late 1970s to 1980s, conducts regular
visits but must have permission to go to the
camps near the Burmese frontier.
The Nation, Agencies