New Delhi (mizzima) - Authorities in Thailand are allegedly encouraging ethnic Karen refugees recently arrived in the wake of fresh fighting in eastern Burma to return to their homes, according to humanitarian aid workers along the Thai-Burma border.
Iris, Coordinator of the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP), a group working to help internally displaced persons inside Burma, told Mizzima on Monday that Thailand’s border security forces have urged Karen refugees to return to their homes, assuming the fighting to be over.
“The authorities are urging the refugees to go back but the situation back home is not yet conducive with the fighting still unabated. Nobody is daring to go back home, because their lives are not safe there,” explained Iris.
She said in June the Burmese Army killed three internally displaced persons in Karen State, a pregnant woman and two teenage girls as they were hiding in the forest.
“They [refugees] face a danger to their lives,” reiterated Iris.
Since early June, the Burmese Army and its military ally the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) have launched a military offensive against the Karen National Liberation Army, Burma’s longest surviving ethnic armed resistance group and the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU).
The fresh conflict has forced thousands of Karen villagers to flee their homes and cross into Thailand seeking refuge.
According to the CIDKP list, thus far 3,447 refugees have fled to Thailand and more than 1,000 have entered refugee camps, while over 2,000 remain waiting outside the camps.
“At this moment the safest place for them [refugees] is the camps,” said Iris.
David Thaw, a central committee member of the KNU, confirmed that Thai border security personnel have been attempting to persuade refugees to return home as they believe the fighting has ceased.
“They [Thai authorities] said since the fighting is over, it would be safe for the refugees to return home. But it is not a strong pressure, rather it is like a suggestion, as the refugees have no proper accommodation in which to live [along the border],” David Thaw told Mizzima.
According to him, while some refugees are squeezed into existing camps, the rest are left to live outside the camps where there is no proper shelter or regular food supply.
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday told Mizzima that they are not aware of any government order to repatriate the Karen refugees and directed Mizzima to contact the Ministry of Defense, which was not immediately available for comment.
However, Zoya Phan, International Coordinator for Burma Campaign UK (BCUK), said since June 16th at least three families have been forced back into Burma by Thai authorities.
“They [refugees] fear for their lives if they return home. They cannot stay there until the military operations stop,” said Zoya Phan.
“We urge the Thai government to accept these refugees, and allow them to stay in their country and help them,” she added.
Meanwhile, David Takarpaw, Vice-Chairman of the KNU, said to date minor battles continue across the border in Karen State.
Last week, the Burmese Army and the DKBA overran one of the KNU’s strongest outposts, the 7th Brigade.
He said civilians were compelled to flee because they fear not only the Burmese Army but also the DKBA, who force people into military service and collect money from them if they refuse.
“They fear both the DKBA and Burmese Army, so they have no choice but to flee,” emphasized Takarpaw.
