Thai Minister's Statement Spreads Fear in Camps

By ALEX ELLGEE Saturday, July 31, 2010


This picture taken on June 23, 2010 shows a general view of the Mae La refugee camp around 90 km from Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border. (Photo: Getty Images)

MAE SOT—Sitting on a mat in his small, well-decorated bamboo hut, Aung Htet talks about his life and what forced his family to flee to Thailand for safety.

Like many refugees in the Burmese section at the refugee camp here, he was sentenced to one of Burma’s notorious prisons as punishment for his involvement in Burma’s democracy movement.

Released and re-arrested several times, he saw no future for his family. Constantly harassed by the authorities, they finally fled to the border with hope of resettling in a third country.

Until last month, Aung Htet, who spoke on condition his real name was not used, felt relatively safe. His family had created a way of life in the camp, built relationships with neighbors and found a way to endure resettlement delays that cast a shadow over daily camp life.

However, their fragile existence was turned upside down when they recently heard comments made by Thailand’s foreign minister, who was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying that Burmese refugees should return home after the elections.

“Before, we had some kind of hope that we can resettle and give a future to our children,” Aung Htet told The Irrawaddy. “Now, we are not only worried about being resettled, but we are more worried that we could be forced to go back to Burma.”

Since minister Kasit Piromya made the remarks, a degree of fear has spread among refugees from Burma, and there is an increased sense of unease about the future.

Asked what would happen if he was sent back, Aung Htet said: “We cannot go back. It is not an option with this regime.” He said political refugees are well known by Burma’s military intelligence, and they are on blacklists.

“If we are sent back, they will just send us back to prisons for decades and our children will have no future,” he said.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma, there are more than 2,100 political prisoners in Burma. Some observers have said that after the election, a general amnesty for political refugees will be issued so that they can return home without persecution. Sitting around a hut in Umpium camp, a group of refugees told The Irrawaddy that they did not believe in such an amnesty and expected to face punishment if they returned.

Saw Htoo's family had the same fears. When their village was suspected of supporting the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), their house was burnt to the ground, and they fled to Thailand to find safety.

Sitting on a small stool, Saw Htoo said his family did not want to go to a third country and wanted to stay in the camp until it is safe to go back to their village.

“The elections will not bring peace to Karen State,” he said. “It will not do anything to help the Karen people. If they try to send us back, we will beg them not to.”

Recent news that elements of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) had rejected the regime's border guard force order has only confirmed Saw Htoo’s concerns. Reports were entering the camps of heavy artillery fire in Burma, directed at DKBA elements that rejected the order.

“If the SPDC attacks DKBA 907 battalion this week, then we will see all-out fighting up and down the border. It is not going to be safe to return for a long time,” he said.

Around the same time in what was deemed an isolated event, Burmese troops burned a village in northern Karen State close to the KNLA 5th Brigade. According to sources on the border, Burmese troop displaced more than 500 villagers and killed one medic.

A KNU statement said: “SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) troops continue widespread human rights violations against the civilians in Karen State and other Karen areas. This month, the human rights violations by the SPDC troops are on the increase in Papun (Mu-draw), Kawkareik (Doo-pla-ya), Toungoo (Taw-oo), Thaton (Doo-tha-htoo) and Nyaunglaybin (Kler-lwee-htu) Districts.”

The concerns of the international community would not deter Thailand from forcing refugees to return home, said refugees. One Karen refugee said he believed Thailand would do what it wanted in spite of opposition.

“If the Burmese government makes the elections, then this will give Thailand an excuse to send us back,” he said. “They will find ways to break up the groups and pressure us back. They are very clever.”

It would not be the first time Thailand has sent refugees back across the border in the face of international criticism. In 2009, Thai authorities pushed endangered Burmese Muslim Rohingya back out to sea, after they sought safety in Thai waters. In January, more than 4,000 Hmong refugees were sent back to Laos against their will, including 158 UNHCR registered refugees who had been invited by third countries for resettlement.

Also this year, more than 3,000 Karen refugees said they had no choice but to return to Karen State despite their fears of landmines and the DKBA. Many refugees said they could not take any more pressure from Thai security forces who urged them to return home.

Another vulnerable group in the refugee camps is SPDC deserters. One refugee who once held a senior position in the Burmese army said he was terrified that Thailand would send him back.

“In their eyes [the junta], deserting from the army is the worst thing,” he said. “If I was sent back, they would definitely give me a long prison term or the death sentence.

Many refugees saw repatriation as a “death sentence.” one group recalled a refugee who could not take the stress of camp life and returned home. They said he was immediately seized by Burmese intelligence and sentenced to more than 15 years imprisonment.

A local refugee worker recently said that he did not believe the camps would be open in 3 to 5 years, confirming many people's fears.

“We are now referring to this period as the end game,” he said. “If the refugees are empowered to look after themselves then this doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but the danger is funding will leave too quickly. We are already seeing projects being withdrawn.”

One refugee said if they were allowed to go outside the camp and to work in Thailand, it would make their lives much easier, and they would not have to rely on international donors.

“In the camp now, we have no dignity. We exchange our dignity for rations,” said one woman. “But we can only go back when free and fair elections have been held.”
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