Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Bua, Tambon Mae Usu, Tha Song Yang district, Tak, Thailand
5 February 2010
Your Excellency,
As a result of skirmishes between Karen National Union (KNU) and combined forces of
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and Burmese government in June 2009, more
than 3,500 Karen refugees have been forced to seek refuge in the district of Tha Song
Yang, Tak, Thailand. More than half of them were children and the rest were women
and older persons. They have been staying at the temporary shelters in Nong Bua and
Usuta villages in Tha Son Yang since then.
Scout Department Special Force 35, called a meeting of the army, United Nations High
leaders of the Karen asylum seekers being hosted at Nong Bua village, Tambon Mae
Usu, Tha Song Yang district. It was aimed to seek ways to push the remaining 1,500-
1,600 refugees back to Burma safely. The Thai military claims the repatriation shall be
voluntary. They insist that safeguards have been put in place to ensure safety of the
But according to Karen Women Organization (KWO)’s recent statement, the area to
which the refugees are supposed to return is not at all safe. “In recent months, five
refugees from the area have been either injured or killed by landmines when slipping
back into Burma to look after livestock they left behind. This included a 13-year-old boy
whose leg was blown off in August last year, and a woman who was 8 months pregnant
had her foot blown apart on January 18, 2010” read the statement. KWO further
confirms that according to their source, the repatriation shall commence on 5 February
and by 15 February, all of the refugees must have been pushed back.
As representatives from civil society, academics, students, activists, NGOs, artists and
Thai public, we are very concerned about the potential impacts and grave consequences
of such repatriation done in haste. As armed conflicts still linger on in Burma, we cannot
rest assured the refugees can be safely resettled in their homeland in the near future.
The numerous landmines planted along the border area shall certainly and substantially
compromise the refugee’s safety. And forcing refugees back to an area where they might
be subjected to fatal persecution constitutes an expulsion and a breach of internationally
accepted non-refoulement principle.
Initially, we urge related Thai authorities including the National Security Council,
Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to suspend any action to push the
refugee back pending genuine participatory and open investigation led by authorities and
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regarding the willingness
of the refugees to return to their homeland. Also, concrete measures have to be meted
out and implemented to ensure that the refugees return to their homeland safely and with
dignity as required by international standards.
To ensure overall transparency and accountability in this matter, concerned civil society
consulted regularly. The attempt shall also help to enhance efforts to develop standard
refugees.
We look forward to receiving creative and prompt response from concerned authorities
and organizations. The more the gaps of communication are bridged, the better the
agreeable solutions based on the respect of dignity and a right to life of all human
beings.
Yours Faithfully,
1. ศูนย์ภูมิภาคศึกษาด้านสังคมศาสตร์และการพัฒนาที่ย่ง
ั ยืน (RCSD)
มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่ - Regional Center for Sustainable
Development (RCSD), Chiangmai University
8. ศูนย์ปฏิบัตก
ิ ารร่วมเพื่อแก้ไขปั ญหาประชาชนบนพื้นที่สูง - Joint
Action Center for Solution of Peoples in Highland Area
9. คณะกรรมการประสานงานองค์กรพัฒนาเอกชนภาคเหนื อ (กป.อพช.)
- Northern Non-Government Organization Coordinating Committee
for Development ( NGO-COD)
32. ชมรมนักศึกษาชาติพน
ั ธ์์ มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่ - Ethnic
Students Club, Chiang Mai University
40. โรงเรียนการเมืองประชาธิปไตยและสิทธิมน์ษยชนภาคอีสาน -
Northeastern Political School for Democracy and Human Rights
บุคคลทัว
่ ไป Individuals
Aung Marm Oo
Sarah Armitage
David Ellem
Amanda Carmichael
Jeremy Vis