Bangkok Post 31/7/1999

[mandalay@xxxxxxxxxx]

Karens face food shortage after eviction 
We are about to starve to death-' 
Suparajanchitfah 
Prachuap Kbiri Khan 
ore than 200 Thai-Karens,,are facing starvation after being evicted from
Kul Buri national reserve forest to a village 30krn away. 
Since July 15, troops from the 19th Infantry Regiment have moved 206
Thai-Karens from Ban Suan Thurian, where they had been living for half a
century, to Ban Pa Mak in Hua Hin., 
The Karens have been issued special cards by the Interior Ministry
certifying them as "Thai highlanders." 
The troops have reportedly acted on the orders of the Burmese border
operations centre chaired by the provincial governor. 
However, officials have left them with few basic provisions. The Karens are
in desperate need of food, clothing, shelter and medical care. 
"We are about to starve to death," said Jamjaeng Chanupathum, one of the
villagers. 

"We can't make a living without land of our own. The relocation was so
sudden we had no time to collect our belongings' Our rice fields are now
left unattended." 
Officers at the 19th Infantry Regiment referred questions to the provincial
authorities. No one at the provincial hall could be reached. 
An official at Sam Roi Yot district denied the Karens had been left
destitute. "We know there is little food left but we have to admit there is
a shortage of funds and private donations would be welcome," he said. 
But he felt the villagers were used to tough conditions and would cope. He
said they could go back to tend to their fields. 
The official said the relocation was necessary because the Karen settle-
merits were a threat to the reserve forest which was a watershed area and
to national security. , 
Sarawut Piathumrat, a lawyer for the Union for Civil Liberties, accused the
government of infringing on the Karens' constitutional right to maintain
their traditional community and con- serve their customs and culture.