Mon Information Service 2.5.1995

[ojasti@xxxxxxxxxx]

MON INFORMATION SERVICE MAY 2 1995



1. WE LAI, A REFUGEE BABY VICTIME. MON REFUGEE BABY SEPARATED. 


2. ACTION CALL "COMPASSION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFIT"


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1. WE LAI, A REFUGEE BABY VICTIME. MON REFUGEE BABY SEPARATED.


	      "	Woman refugee jailed, separted from ill baby "

	
	A woman has been locked in jail and separated from her des- 
perately-ill baby following a raid by police in Mon refugees residing 
at a Bangkok temple, relief sources said yesterday.
	
	We Lai, an eight-month-old baby girl, was listed in serious 
condition at Lertsin Hospital, they said. She was diagnosed as suffering 
from pneumonia, malnutrition and other complications after spending seve-
ral days at the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) on Suanplu Road.
Relief sources described the conditions at the jail as "almost intole- 
rable",with temperatures soaring to 43:C during the day.
	
	We Lai, her mother Naing Bai, and 12 other Mon refugees were 
arrested during a raid on Wat Prok in Yannawa District on April 19, 
and were subsequently sent to the detention centre, according to the 
Mon National Relief Committee (MNRC). The baby was reportedly showing 
signs of illness at the time.
	
	Although Naing Bai's husband is Thai, he is said to suffer from 
mental illness and is unable to support the family.
	
	We Lai and her five-year-old brother are Thai citizens, but Naing 
Bai does not have a residency permit, according to the relief agency. 
	
	On Tuesday, April 25, Naing Bai was sent to a jail in Kanchanaburi 
on the first leg of her deportation, sources said. We Lai was noted to have 
a high fever and was breathing with great difficulty.
	
	The baby was rushed to hospital after immigration authorities 
thoroughly checked her documents, the sources said. She was then placed 
in oxygen and in a mist tent to assist her breathing.
	
	"She has been fighting for her life ever since," a relief 
official said. A private charity had offered to pay for the medical 
services.
	
	We Lai's condition was reported to have stabilized yesterday and 
doctors believed she would live. But Phra Wongsa Pala, Chairman of the 
MNRC, called for her to be reunited with her mother, at least until the 
baby gets better.
	
	"I think this case would shock most Thais if they knew of the 
situation," Phra Wongsa said.
	
	"The authorities should reconsider the situation and allow the 
mother to return to Bangkok, at least until the baby is discharged from 
hospital."
	
	Lt Col Jonglak Wongsaked, an officer at the Suanplu detention 
centre, told The Nation he was recently contacted by relief officials an 
was sympathetic to the baby's plight.
	
	However, he was alerted to the situation only after Naing Bai had 
left the IDC and there was now little he could do to help.
	
	Also arrested at Wat Prok of April 19 was Maung Kyan--a Mon who 
lost both arms and both eyes in a landmine explosion 10 years ago--along 
with his wife and two children.
	
	Maung Kyan recently underwent a cornea transplant operation to 
restore some of his vision, but relief officials feared his condition 
would deteriorate because of the unsanitary conditions at the detention 
centre.
	
	They said that because Maung Kyan had been officially listed as a 
"person of concern" by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, he 
and his family had been sent to the Maneeloi camp for Burmese refugees in 
Ratchburi where he should be able to recover. Naing Bai, however, does 
not have such status.

	MNRC officials said there had been repeated raids on Wat Prok of a 
general crackdown on refugees and illegal immigrants from Burma who are 
residing in Thailand.
	
	They said the crackdown was intended to pressure Mon separatists 
in Burma to sign a ceasefire with  the ruling State Law and Order Res-
toration Council (SLORC).
	
	This would allow a pipeline planned to transport natural gas from 
Burma to Thailand through Mon-held territory to be built and secured, 
they added.

	"What Thai authorities are doing to the Mon refugees today is 
directly connected to Thailand's agreement with Slorc for the purchase of 
natural gas--it's as simple as that," said Phra Wongsa.
	
	Thai authorities, however, said they were merely enforcing the 
Immigration Act.

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The above article, which appeared on the front page of The Nation 
newspaper, a major English language daily in Bangkok, was accompanied 
by a large coloured photographs of the baby on oxygen and in a mist tent 
in Lertsin Hospital.  

As of this moment, the baby's mother has not been allow to return.

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2. COMPASSION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFIT.

The  Overseas Mon Young Monks Union, The Mon Student Organisation, The
Mon National Relief Committee, as well as several international NGOs are 
calling for affirmative action.  

You CAN help!  Call your nearest Thai Embassy or consulate and ask that 
the baby's mother be returned.  At the same time express your concern for 
the safety and well-being of Mon and Karen refugees in Thailand. 

It is also suggest the candle-lite vigils in front of Thai consulates 
would be another appropriate expression concern.  The theme of such 
action should be 'compassion is more important than profit.'

	
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