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REFUGEES Repatriation to be acceler



Subject: REFUGEES Repatriation to be accelerated




February 7, 1999  
REFUGEES
Repatriation to be accelerated
Processing quicker because of stability

Thailand will speed up the repatriation of remaining Cambodian refugees in the
country now that peace has largely been restored and a government has been in
place in Cambodia.
Mr Kachadpai Buruspat, secretary-general of National Security Council, said a
meeting would soon be held with agencies concerned to accelerate the
repatriation process.
"It's time they go home to live a normal life," he said, adding that the
refugees could go back on their own or with the help of the United Nations
High
Commissioner for Refugees.
Meanwhile, UNHCR said in Geneva that the number of Cambodian refugees in
Thailand has fallen below 20,000 for the first time in nearly two years.
But some 1,800 people apparently fleeing fighting between government forces in
Burma and ethnic Karen rebels have entered Thailand in the last week, said
Judith Kumin, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Some 11,000 Cambodians have returned from the Phu Noi camp in Thailand over
the
last two weeks, Ms Kumin said. UNHCR says another 15,000 have been voluntarily
repatriated since summer 1997.
Phu Noi was closed on Tuesday after its final 1,000 occupants returned to
their
homeland. The refugees, mostly family members of Khmer Rouge guerrillas, had
been in Thailand since a Cambodian government offensive that captured their
last major stronghold at Anlong Veng.
Some 19,500 Cambodians remain in camps at Huay Cherng and Chong Khao Phlu.
UNHCR hopes the latter's residents can start returning next Friday, Ms Kumin
said.
Meanwhile, around 1,800 people have already crossed this month from Burma to
Thailand while another 4,000 are camped on a river bank in Burma and haven't
yet crossed, Ms Kumin said.
Some 100,000 Burmese refugees are camped in settlements inside Thailand.
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Last Modified: Sun, Feb 7, 1999
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