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Mizzima: 1400 Karen refugees to be



1,400-Karen refugees to be moved to a new camp tomorrow

By Our Reporter: Bangkok, February 23, 2000
Mizzima News Group

        Nearly 1,400 Karen refugees from Ban Baw Wi refugee camp in
Supang Phun Township of Ratchaburi in Thailand will be moved to Ban Tang
Yan camp tomorrow.  It is not clear yet why the authorities want to move
the refugees to Ban Tang Yan, a Karen refugee camp, which is nearly 300
Kilometers far from Ban Baw Wi refugee camp.  Ban Tang Yan camp is
situated opposite of Sankhalaburi township in Kanchanaburi district of
Thailand.

"They (Thai army) said that there is no more place for these refugees in
Htam Hin. So they want to move these people to Ban Tang Yan" said Ms
Shally, a spokesperson for Burma Border Committee, a relief NGO for
Karen refugees in Thai-Burma border.

Htam Hin refugee camp is situated nearby Ban Baw Wi camp and about 8,000
Karen refugees have been taking shelter in the camp since 1997. It is 10
Kilometers away from the border and there could be, in fact, no problem
to accommodate 1400 peoples more.

These Karen refugees came from Kamaplaw and Mae Pha areas where God's
Army, which raided the Ratchaburi hospital on 24 January, was based. The
Thai army apparently wants to send the refugees to a place far from
Ratchaburi area.

On 31st last month, 128 male refugees along with 300 women and children
fled from Kamapalaw area into Thailand. Thai army investigated them, as
it suspected that some of the refugees might be members of God's Army.

Meanwhile, a three-day regional conference on internal displacement in
Asia began yesterday in Bangkok. The conference is hosted by
Chulalongkorn University and Forum Asia, and sponsored by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Brookings Institution
Project on Internal Displacement, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the
US Committee for Refugees.

However, the conference has made no comment yet on these 1,400 Karen
refugees who will face deportation tomorrow.