NEWS - Thousands trapped by border

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: NEWS - Thousands trapped by border closure

BANGKOK POST - August 29, 1999

BORDER

Thousands trapped by border closure
Wa militia accused of beatings, torture

Subin Khuenkaew and Onnucha Hutasingh

Thousands of Thais are believed to have been stranded in the Burmese
township of Mong Yawn after the passing of the Aug 20 deadline for
returning
through San Ton Du border crossing in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district.

Many have chosen to stay because they have work or business to complete,
but
returning travellers also speak of prisoners in jails being forced to
labour
in chains and being beaten and tortured to death by Wa soldiers, who
demand
high payment for their release.

Authorities ordered San Ton Du pass closed on Aug 5 to stem the flow of
drugs from Burma, but allowed Thai nationals who had entered Burma via
the
checkpoint until Aug 20 to return.

A border official said about 100 identity cards of Thai nationals and 12
identification papers belonging to foreigners remained at a military
checkpoint near San Ton Du border pass after the deadline passed.

However, the real figure would be much higher as 4,000-5,000 Thais were
known to have slipped across the border to work.

Col Suthas Jarumanee, the 17th Infantry Regiment's chief-of-staff, said
San
Ton Du checkpoint had been closed to travelling and transport from Aug
21
and all ID cards deposited with the military there would be handed to
Mae Ai
district office.

Some of the 500 Thai nationals who returned from Mong Yawn before the
deadline said many others had been unable to cross in time because they
still had business to conclude or were waiting to be paid.

Khampun Dusirat and Thong-in Paraboonwong are employees of S. Siriwan
Co,
which has been hired by local businessmen to build a casino in Mong
Yawn.

Mr Khampun said he had deposited his ID card with the checkpoint on July
29
before going to work in there.

"Some Thai businessmen and merchants can't come back as they still have
business to do. Many Thai workers can't return as most of them haven't
been
paid yet, while some others must stay on until their contracts are
completed," he said.

Both men said they would try to go back as they had work to finish.

There were about 1,000 Thai workers in MongYawn, while thousands of
others
were working in Mai town or Hung town, they said.

Many pick-up trucks had been stranded in Mong Yawn since Wa troops, who
are
in charge of the town, banned travel on the Mong Yawn-San Ton Du route
last
week, saying it was damaged by heavy rain. A Thai worker who asked not
be
named was concerned about the fate of several Thais who were among more
than
100 people imprisoned in Mong Yawn jail, saying prisoners were being
mistreated, tortured and killed.

"A Shan worker who had a fight with Wa soldiers was repeatedly beaten
until
he was bleeding all over," the man said.

"He was tortured. He was shot in both legs and his ears were chopped
off. He
was chained and left lying in rain and the hot sun for about three days
before he died."The prisoners were not only tortured but also forced to
labour hard on road construction jobs in Mong Yawn.

None Chiangkham of Ban Mai Mok Jam in Mae Ai district said her
brother-in-law and 14 Muser men had been hired by a Thai entrepreneur to
work for a logging business in Mong Yawn but they had been arrested on
log
poaching charges and imprisoned.

"The Thai businessman refused to take responsibility. My sister had to
travel to Mong Yawn several times and tried to bring my brother-in-law
back
home. Wa soldiers demanded 20,000 baht for his release but my family
doesn't
have that much money," she said.

Non said Sanan Komol, who was arrested about six months ago, was seen
working at a road construction site in Mong Yawn about one month ago
with
chains around his arms and legs.

Prior to the closure of San Ton Du crossing, Thai officials asked the Wa
army to release Thai prisoners from prison, but they had not done so.

Mae Ai district chief Krisada Nakkharaj said attempts to get Thai
prisoners
released had failed as there was no proof they had actually entered
Burma.
Most had illegally crossed the border to find jobs.

Another Thai returning from Mong Yawn said people working there must be
careful not to infringe the Wa military's law or use drugs, or they
risked
being caught, jailed and tortured.

Food shortages and price hikes have been reported in Mong Yawn since the
closure of San Ton Du.