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FWD:: Burma Refugees Flee to Thaila



Subject: FWD:: Burma Refugees Flee to Thailand

forwarded by: Philip M.

In a message dated 97-03-19 06:57:33 EST, you write:

>Subj:	Burma Refugees Flee to Thailand
>Date:	97-03-19 06:57:33 EST
>From:	AOLNewsProfiles@xxxxxxx
>
><HTML><PRE><I>.c The Associated Press</I></PRE></HTML>
>
>      By JIRAPORN WONGPAITHOON
>      BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - The Burmese army has attacked on a key
>rebel village, sending another 1,000 refugees fleeing into
>Thailand. Hundreds more were believed to be on their way, relief
>agencies said today.
>      The refugees joined as many as 20,000 other ethnic Karens who
>have sought shelter inside Thailand since Burma launched a massive
>offensive in early February to stamp out the Karen National Union
>rebels and their 48-year rebellion for more autonomy.
>      The Burmese army launched an artillery attack Tuesday against
>Hta Ma Pyo. A lumber yard and sawmill make the town economically
>crucial to the rebels.
>      The shelling, which continued early today, sent at least half
>the 2,000 people living at Hta Ma Pyo fleeing across the border to
>Ban Tako Bon village in Thailand's Ratchaburi province, military
>sources and relief agencies on the border said. The rest were
>expected to arrive today.
>      Thai soldiers allowed the refugees to enter without any problem,
>said Chalida Tajaroensuk, program assistant for the Asian Forum for
>Human-Rights and Development, a local nongovernmental organization
>monitoring the situation on the border.
>      But a Thai military source from the 9th Army Division, which
>controls the border, downplayed the scale of the fighting.
>      The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 400 Karens
>were poised to enter Thailand, but were being asked not to cross by
>Thai troops unless the situation worsened.
>      The Thai army has been criticized by the United States, the
>European Union and human-rights groups for denying entry to Karen
>males of fighting age and for shipping back other refugees,
>including women and children, into the path of the offensive.
>      The policy, adopted in late February as one Karen stronghold
>after another was falling, reversed decades of Thailand's practice
>of granting sanctuary to ethnic minorities fleeing repression by
>Burma's military government.
>      Officials in Bangkok and on the border have issued conflicting
>responses to the criticism, with some suggesting refugees would no
>longer be sent back and others leaving room open for their
>repatriation.
>      About 90,000 refugees from Burma were living in camps in
>Thailand before the fighting started. Thailand had long used the
>Burmese minorities and the guerrilla armies fighting on their
>behalf as a buffer against Burma.
>      The Karen National Union believes Thailand and Burma have agreed
>to crush its revolt in order to secure the border for investment
>and development, including a natural gas pipeline now under
>construction.
>      The Karens are the last major rebel group still fighting Burma's
>military government. A dozen others have signed cease-fires as the
>regime has stepped up pressure in recent years to control the
>unruly border.
>      Peace talks between the KNU and the government broke down partly
>because of the rebels' insistence that any comprehensive peace deal
>include Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of
>Burma's pro-democracy movement.
>      The military has ruled Burma since 1962. The current regime took
>over in 1988, killing thousands of anti-government protesters.
>      The government has rolled back socialist policies that
>impoverished the country and allows foreign investment, but keeps a
>tight lid on political dissent.
>      AP-NY-03-19-97 0654EST
>      <HTML><PRE><I><FONT COLOR="#000000 SIZE=2>Copyright 1997 The
Associated
>Press.  The information 
>contained in the AP news report may not be published, 
>broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without 
>prior written authority of The Associated Press.