NATION: PM ponders new options fo

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      PM ponders new options
      for refugees

      IN defiance of a long-held foreign policy
      taboo, Chuan Leekpai may become the
      first Thai premier to allow the United
      Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
      (UNHCR) to administer Burmese refugee
      camps inside Thailand. 

      The economy-driven option, pros and cons
      of which are being weighed, has been
      advocated by Chuan to ease Thailand's
      financial burden, according to Foreign
      Minister Surin Pitsuwan. 

      What the UNHCR's mandate would cover
      was unclear but may require legal scrutiny. 

      The proposal was among others discussed
      at the Cabinet meeting Tuesday in light of
      mounting attacks on refugee camps, mainly
      inhabited by Karens loyal to Gen Bomya's
      Karen National Union (KNU), by its rival
      Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA),
      believed to be backed by Burmese troops. 

      However, according to Surin, there are
      those who favour and those who oppose
      this idea. ''Some said it was good because
      the country now could not afford the cost of
      camps; others said it wasn't good because
      UNHCR's rules and regulations might pose
      problems for Thai authorities in supervising
      camps,'' the minister said. 

      He added that the army had proposed
      regrouping the 19 camps dotting the Thai
      side of the border into 11 and moving them
      deeper into Thailand but reported difficulty
      in finding suitable sites. 

      The UNHCR seeks the same protection
      mandate as when looking after Cambodian
      refugees. However, Thai security was
      reluctant for fear that the UNHCR's role
      would become overbearing and prolong the
      refugee's stay when the country had
      suffered from shouldering Cambodian
      refugees for more than a decade. 

      Thailand has long used the camps, which
      houses over 100,000 refugees, mainly
      Karen, as a buffer in the complex rivalries
      between ethnic Burmese insurgents and
      the government. Following the ceasefire
      agreement which the Rangoon government
      secured with most of the armed insurgency
      groups except the KNU, policy has
      changed in favour of their return. 

      Meanwhile, in what Deputy Foreign Minister
      Sukhumbhand Paribatra described as the
      strongest form of protest, the Thai
      government Tuesday handed a protest note
      to Burmese Ambassador U Hla Maung
      about the latest attacks by the DKBA on
      Maw Ker camp in Tak province. 

      The note said the many intrusions by the
      DKBA on to Thai soil had badly affected
      the relationship between Thailand and
      Burma. 

      ''The protest note was handed to the
      Burmese ambassador in what can be
      described as the strongest manner, being
      conveyed by the deputy foreign minister,
      where notes in the past were submitted by
      senior Foreign Ministry officials.'' he said. 

      Moreover, this was the first time that the
      Foreign Ministry had named the intruders
      as the DKBA instead of an ''armed group
      from Burma''. 

      ''We demand that the Burmese government
      take all steps to prevent the DKBA entering
      Thai territory again to attack Thai camps.
      Lives were lost in the invasion.'' 

      ''These repeated attacks violating our
      sovereignty have also badly affected the
      relationship between Thailand and
      Cambodia,'' Sukhumbhand stressed. 

      He declined to comment on reports that
      DKBA troops acted for the Burmese
      government. 

      ''Those attacks should be dealt with
      seriously and sincerely, particularly since
      Burma and Thailand are members of
      Asean. What we should do is increase
      mutual cooperation instead of having such
      problems,'' he said. 

      He stressed that the problems should be
      solved before the annual meeting of Asean
      foreign ministers in July. 

      ''I expect that the problems will have ended
      before the Asean meeting, so that Thailand
      and Burma can enter the meeting with pride
      and unity,'' Sukhumbhand said. 

      The Nation