"Thousands of Burmese Muslims from the Rakhine (Arakan) State in Myanmar, known as Rohingyas, have fled into southeastern Bangladesh during the first half of 1997. Unlike more than 250,000 Rohingya refugees who came to Bangladesh in 1991 and 1992, these new arrivals are largely living in local villages rather than in designated refugee camps. The Government of Bangladesh has not permitted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to interview these people, asserting that they are all economic migrants. Amnesty International is aware of reports that some of the new arrivals have stated that they have left Myanmar solely because of economic hardship. However, it is concerned that others are in fact people fleeing serious human rights violations in Myanmar, and therefore would be in need of protection. Indeed, it should be noted that the distinction between economic hardship and violations of civil and political rights is not necessarily a clear one; for example, many of the Rohingyas have been unable to make a living due to continuing unpaid forced labour in Rakhine state. Given the grave human rights situation in Myanmar, it is impossible to state in a blanket fashion that Rohingyas are only fleeing economic hardship and therefore are not worthy of protection..." KEYWORDS: REFUGEES 1 / REFOULEMENT1 / MINORITIES 1 / FORCED LABOUR / TORTURE/ILL-TREATMENT / RELIGIOUS GROUPS - ISLAMIC / WOMEN / MILITARY / ARMED CIVILIANS / HUNGER-STRIKE / ARMED CONFLICT / SECOND GOVERNMENTS / UNHCR / RECOMMENDED ACTIONS /