U.S critical of Thailand.

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		U.S. Critical of Thailand 
		*************************

                          By PATRICK McDOWELL 
                          Associated Press Writer 
                          Thursday, February 27, 1997 5:43 am EST 

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- The Thai army is 
forcing thousands of desperate refugees
back into Burma's war zones, violating 
Thailand's tradition of offering safe haven to those
fleeing persecution, the United States said 
today. 

Thai soldiers are believed to have sent as many 
as 5,000 ethnic Karen back into neighboring
Burma over the past several days, including 
women, children, young boys and old men. The
civilians are fleeing a massive Burmese army 
offensive against Karen guerrillas. 

``We are deeply concerned by the reports, which 
we have confirmed, and we are in touch
with the appropriate authorities to convey this 
concern,'' said a U.S. Embassy spokesman
who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

Since the offensive began around Feb. 11, 
Thailand has allowed 15,000 refugees to join
more than 90,000 Karen and other minorities who 
have lived in refugee camps in Thailand
for years. 

The shift in policy followed a meeting Tuesday 
between Gen. Chetta Thanajaro, the Thai
military's commander-in-chief, and his Burmese 
counterpart, Gen. Maung Aye, in the border
town of Tachilek. Chetta said afterward that 
Karen men would no longer be allowed refuge.

The Karen National Union has been fighting for 
autonomy from the military government in
Rangoon since 1949. 

Thai military officials have said they do not 
wish Karen guerrillas to operate from their soil
and claim to have received guarantees from the 
Burmese for the safety of returning refugees.

The rebels claim the Thais are working with the 
Burmese to wipe them out. 

The refugees fear both the fighting along the 
border and the Burmese military government's
policy of forcibly relocating villages. Human 
rights groups accuse the army of random
execution, rape and slave labor. 

The U.S. Embassy spokesman said that sending 
the refugees back ``runs counter to
Thailand's traditional policy of providing safe 
haven to those fleeing persecution.'' 

Two U.S. Embassy officials who tried to drive 
from the Thai town of Kanchanaburi,
opposite the offensive's southern front, to 
inspect reports of refugee movements were turned
back Tuesday by Thai police, the spokesman 
said. 

The United States has been one of the most 
vocal critics of Burma's military regime overall,
particularly the restraints the junta places on 
pro-democracy demonstrators. 

A dozen prominent international human rights 
groups jointly demanded that Thailand allow in
Burmese refugees. Sending back ``any 
noncombatants, be they men, women or children, is
a violation of customary international law and 
must cease immediately,'' the groups said. 

The National Council of the Union of Burma, a 
political umbrella of insurgent and opposition
groups, said Burmese troops were forcing 
villagers they captured to act as porters and
human minesweepers. 

Those who tried to run away were executed, said 
the group, which urged Thailand to
provide sanctuary for the refugees. 

The Burmese army is reportedly using an 
estimated 100,000 troops to crush about 2,500
insurgents of the Karen National Union and 
allied groups based along the rugged border.
The rebels, unable to defend territory and 
resorting to guerrilla tactics, have abandoned
several bases. 

Nongovernmental organizations reported that 
about 40 KNU fighters had been killed in the
region over about the last week and that a 
total of 200 in the Burmese army were either
killed or wounded. 

For decades, the Thais supported the KNU as a 
buffer against the Burmese army. But the
potential for greater economic 
development has warmed relations between Thailand and
Burma, also known as Myanmar. 

A $1.2 billion natural gas pipeline owned by 
the Burmese government and French and U.S.
oil companies is being built through Karen 
territory to sell gas to Thailand. The rebels vow to
destroy it. 

Thai companies also are bidding to develop a 
deep water seaport at Tavoy, 240 miles
southeast of Rangoon. Highways through Karen 
territory linking the port to Thailand are
already planned. 

 [The Associated Press, 27 Feb 1997].

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