THE NATION - November 9, 1999

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THE NATION - November 9, 1999

Headlines

15 deported women raped by Burmese troops

FIFTEEN women deported under the Thai government's campaign to repatriate
illegal immigrants were raped by Burmese soldiers, while two other deportees
were reported to have drowned in an attempt to swim back to Thai soil.

Suchart Wisuwan, president of Tak Chamber of Commerce, said that he was
informed that the women were raped by the soldiers shortly after they
reached their homeland.

''Besides, I have learnt that two Burmese illegal workers who were forced to
leave Thailand across Moei river in Tak province, drowned while trying to
swim back. They did not want to go back to Burma,'' Suchart said.

Two women who said they were raped, identified as Sanda Win and Ma Aye, both
17, are among 400 deported Burmese who managed to return to Thailand and are
now being detained in Tak's Mae Sot district.

Thai Rath, a mass circulation newspaper, quoted Sanda Win as saying that she
and 1,000 other Burmese were repatriated by boat on Saturday. However, they
could not land on the Burmese side of the Moei river because the soldiers
stationed there refused them entry. The boats then left them on an islet in
the river.

Sanda Win said that during the night, around 10 Burmese soldiers forced her
and others to leave the islet for the river bank at gunpoint and raped them.
They were released in the morning and decided to escape back to Thailand.

The Thai government has claimed that about 10,000 Burmese illegal workers
have already been deported under the repatriation programme that started
last week.

However, Pol Maj Gen Charnwut Watcharapuk, deputy immigration police
commissioner, said that about 40 to 60 per cent of the deported workers had
managed to return to Thailand.

Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart said the government could not contact
the Burmese government to discuss the repatriation. However, he insisted
that the government had to deport the illegal immigrants, whom Thailand has
had to support for a long time.

''We could not contact Rangoon about the repatriation. But we will continue
sending them back home as we can no longer bear any burden from their
presence,'' he said.

''I have already instructed governors of the border provinces to impose
strict measures to prevent the Burmese illegal workers from returning,'' he
said.

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THE NATION - November 9, 1999

Headlines

Chuan Orders Probe

PRIME Minister Chuan Leekpai yesterday ordered an investigation into the
news leak about the planned surrender last week of five Burmese gunmen who
had laid siege to the Burmese embassy on Oct 1.

Informed Government House sources said Chuan was ''very upset'' that the
media learned about the group's decision to surrender to Thai authorities,
whereas various intelligence agencies were kept in the dark.

He was also said to be ''very upset'' that various government and security
agencies had once again failed to coordinate and cooperate in intelligence
collection and sharing.

Shortly after the embassy crisis, Chuan had stressed at a meeting of the
national Anti-International Terrorist Committee, which he heads, the
importance of inter-agency coordination and instructed all agencies involved
to strengthen cooperation.

The sources said Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, who is in charge of
capturing the armed group, was also upset last week because the National
Security Council had bypassed him and reported directly to the premier on
the planned surrender.

Meanwhile, Aung Soe, a leading exiled member of the Overseas National
Students of Burma, said yesterday he planned to submit a letter to the Thai
government urging it not to send back across the border illegal Burmese
immigrants.

Aung Soe, who claimed to have been the mediator for the surrender of the
five hostage-takers, said the letter will also plead with Thailand to allow
the group to be prosecuted at the Hague-based International Court of Justice
and be resettled in a third country, either Australia or the United States.

''Only if Thailand accepts the conditions will they give themselves up to
Thai authorities,'' he said.

According to Aung Soe, the group planned to surrender soon.

He had said earlier that he had, on behalf Kyaw Ni who is the leader of the
five dissidents, sent three letters to Chuan stating the group's request for
surrendering.

Kyaw Ni, out of concern for Burmese intelligence surveillance of the exiled
Burmese community in Thailand, did not want to negotiate directly with the
Thai government and thus requested Aung Soe to be the go-between.

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THE NATION - November 9, 1999

Headlines

Is Thailand too kind to Burmese refugees?

ACADEMICIANS, activists and officials were at loggerheads at yesterday's
seminar on Burmese refugees as they were unable to find common ground on how
the government should deal with the plight of hundreds of thousands of
Burmese refugees, exiles and dissidents living in the country.

Human rights and aid workers said the government needs to rethink its
policies towards the Burmese refugees and dissident students living in the
country, while officials said tighter enforcement is needed.

The Interior Ministry's Director of Information and Foreign Affairs, Wannida
Boonpracong, and Senator Charan Kullavanijaya said Thailand has been too lax
with dissident groups in the past and accused some dissidents of exploiting
the ''flexibility'' of Thai authority.

''What we called 'displaced' people are in fact 'illegal immigrants',
according to our law. But because of our humanitarian principles, we have to
treat them as 'displaced people','' Charan said.

But human rights activists Somchai Homlaor and aid worker Jack Dunford,
director of the Burmese Border Consortium, said the government needs to
rethink its policies towards the Burmese refugees and come up with a
comprehensive assessment of the situation.

''Putting them in a crowded camp like Maneeloy is not the answer,'' said
Somchai, suggesting that the asylum seekers should be given greater access
to education and the freedom to carry out their activities like normal
citizens as they wait to be relocated to a third country.

Wannida, on the other hand, suggested that Thailand should not become a
breeding ground for Burmese political activists and so-called ''freedom
fighters'', saying that many exiles do not understand their limitation in
being refugees.

Moreover, said Charan, Thailand does not have a legal commitment to any
international forum such as the United Nations Refugee Convention and,
therefore, the government is not obligated to use anybody's framework or
method in dealing with the refugees.

''Our policy in dealing with the refugees is based on humanitarian
principles. Repatriation has always been on a voluntarily basis,'' he
stated.

A Burmese dissident attending the seminar accused the authorities of
''painting a wonderful picture''. In reality, the situation on the ground is
quite different, he said.

A Burmese student was granted refugee status, but his parents were forced
back to Burma where their fate is uncertain, he said, speaking on condition
of anonymity.

Bangkok-based UN High Commissioner for Refugee's regional representative
Jahansha Assadi said the agency's work has been limited to asylum and
protection as UN officials are denied access to the Burmese side to monitor
the returnees.

Since last Thursday, a wish list has been passed around to Burmese asylum
seekers eligible for relocation to a third country, asking them where they
would like to go.

Assadi said about 16 countries have expressed interest in taking some of the
refugees, but so far only the United States has said publicly that it's
willing to admit about 1,000 out of nearly the 3,000 which come under the
UN's ''people of concern'', or POCs.

About 100,000 displaced people, most of whom are ethnic Karen who had fled
the fighting between government troops and rebel armies, are living in camps
along the Thai border. Almost 3,000 have been granted ''refugee'' status,
thus enabling them to request to be relocated to a third country.

The UN and the Thai government have been tight-lipped over the fate of about
10,000 ethnic Shan from Burma living along the northern border.

Like many other refugees from Burma, the Shan had crossed over to the Thai
side, refusing to be relocated. Human rights groups accused Burma's military
junta of systematically relocating hundreds of villages to keep at bay the
support coming in for the rebel armies.

The issue of refugees has become a hot topic amid growing tension between
Bangkok and Rangoon after five Burmese armed dissidents stormed the Burmese
Embassy in Bangkok.

Rangoon accused Bangkok of using ''kid gloves'' in solving the 25-hour
standoff with the dissidents and responded by closing the border and
cancelling all concessions to Thai fishermen.

Rangoon also refused to cooperate with the Thai authorities and threatened
to shoot its own nationals being pushed back from Thailand.

About one million Burmese are working in the country. Most have taken up
jobs in factories along the border, working for below minimum wages.

Charan called the current repatriation of Burmese workers ''a joke'', as
many are able to return to Thailand at will. He said the authorities should
go after the factory owners who have long ignored the country's immigration
law.

He also warned that Thailand risks being condemned by the international
community especially after Burmese troops have threatened to shoot those
sent back.

''They will accuse us of pushing these people to their deaths,'' he said.

BY DON PATHAN

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THE NATION - November 9, 1999

Headlines

Industries Federation Asks Govt To Replace Repatriated Labour

THE Federation of Thai Industries has asked the government to provide
substitute labour for the 20,000 illegal Burmese workers sent out of the
country earlier this month in an effort to avoid any adverse impact on the
operations of the 136 factories in Tak and other provinces which had hired
the workers.

Prapat Pothiworakul, vice chairman of the FTI, said the repatriation of
workers, resulting from the Nov 2 Cabinet resolution, had impacted on
factories, who are FTI members, located along the border with neighbouring
countries, including Tak, Ranong, and Trat.

In Tak alone, there were about 20,000 foreign workers hired by 136 factories
in the export, agriculture and related sectors. Operations have already been
temporarily closed due to the labour shortage. This will lead to an
estimated annual damage of Bt4 billion to Bt5 billion and may cause
additional non-performing loans of Bt2 billion, he said.

He said the FTI had not received assessment reports from members in Ranong
and Trat yet. While supporting the government on repatriation of illegal
workers, he said, the government needs to identify substitute sources of
Thai labour for the factories, or support relocation of factories to where
there is enough Thai labour.

In addition, he said, the Board of Investment has to work with the
government to solve the problem because some industries in Tak province had
investments from foreign companies and were promoted by the BoI, such as
food, and garment industries.

If there were problems with foreign and BoI-promoted investors, the
country's image will be damaged.

Suchart Wisuwan, chairman of the Tak branch of the FTI, said the government
has to step in to solve the labour shortage, but industries in this
province, which borders Burma, have been unable to find Thai workers to
replace the foreign workers.

''We advertised four times, seeking Thai labour. Only 201 workers actually
started working from the 1,800 who applied for the job. This is partly
because the wages are equal to those in the North [about Bt130 per day] and
so people are not interested in moving to Tak,'' he said.

He said most industries are ready to move if the government can designate
areas where there is enough Thai labour.

BY WATCHARAPONG THONGRUNG

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THE NATION - November 9, 1999

Mailbag

Think before you speak your mind

I was flabbergasted to read in your Nov 6 article ''PM seeks talks on
Burmese repatriation'' that Foreign Ministry spokesman Don Pamudwinai said
that Burmese military threats to shoot repatriating migrant workers were
only a local problem because ''I don't think the authorities of any country
would kill their own countrymen''.

What does Khun Don think happened in 1988 in Burma? For his information, as
many as 10,000 Burmese democracy protesters were shot down in the streets of
Rangoon and other major cities. Since he is representing the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, one would hope that Khun Don also knows that the same
leaders that headed the Slorc in 1988 are still in power as the SPDC in
1999.

Next time, Khun Don should think a bit more before he speaks.

Border Observer

SUAN PHLU, BANGKOK

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