22feb10 ncgub: news on migrants & refugees- 22 feb, 2010 (english & burmese)

8/14/2019 22Feb10 NCGUB: News on Migrants & Refugees- 22 Feb, 2010 (English & Burmese)

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NCGUB: News on Migrants & Refugees- 22 February, 2010 (English & Burmese)

************************************************************* HEADLINES

************************************************************* NEWS ON MIGRANTS

UN migrants expert alarmed over Thailands deportation policy

Returned Burmese Migrant Killed by DKBA

NEWS ON REFUGEES

Karen Refugees Return Home

Thai Human Rights Officials Visit Karen Camps

Thailand: NHRC meets NGOs to resolve refugee issue

Chin National Day Celebrated WorldwideBangladesh cracks down on Burmese Muslim refugees

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NEWS ON MIGRANTS*************************************************************UN migrants expert alarmed over Thailands deportation policy

Friday, 19 February 2010 16:10 Usa Pichai

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - The Thai governments policy that threatens massive

deportation of millions of migrant workers from Thailand has alarmed the UN expert

on human rights of migrants.

Jorge A. Bustamante, UN expert on human rights of migrants, on Thursday, expressed

serious concern about Thailands nationality verification process. He warned that its

implementation in its current form may lead to forced deportation of a large numberof migrants, flouting fundamental human rights obligations, an urgent press statement


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released from Geneva said.

Bustamante, mandated by the Human Rights Council to monitor human rights of

migrants said, A potentially large number of documented and undocumented migrant

workers from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Lao Peoples Democratic Republic face the

threat of deportation from Thailand after 28 February 2010.

On Tuesday, rights organizations in Thailand complained to representatives of the

UNs Special Rapporteur on Human Rights of Migrants and on the Situation of

Human Rights in Myanmar, as well as the Director General of the International

Labour Organisation. The complaint noted that over two million migrants are

threatened with deportation by the Royal Thai Government after 28 February if they

fail to go by the nationality verification process.

In January, the Thai Cabinet passed a resolution allowing a two-year extension of

work permits for approximately 1.3 million migrants provided that they were willing

to submit biographical information to their home governments prior to 28 February2010.

While welcoming the resolution to extend the period of registration, Bustamante was

concerned that the scheme is only applicable to regular migrants who submit

registration before February 28 and does not include irregular migrants. Additionally,

this scheme does not offer options for protecting the human rights of migrants who

have or will not avail themselves of this process.

The precarious situation of migrants in Thailand is further exacerbated by the

requirements of the nationality verification process, said the UN Special Rapporteur

on migrants.

He also warned that Thailand should respect the principle of non-refoulement, by

adding, Among the groups who may potentially be deported, there may be some who

may be in need of international protection and should not be returned to the country of

origin.

I am disappointed, the UN expert added, that that the Government of Thailand has

not responded to my letters expressing calls for restraint; I reiterate my earlier

messages to the Government to reconsider its actions and decisions, and to abide by

international instruments.

If pursued, the threats of mass expulsion will result in unprecedented human

suffering and will definitely breach fundamental human rights obligations, he said.

According to Thailands Ministry of Labour, only 10 per cent of migrant workers

from Lao and Cambodia in Thailand have submitted documents to extend their work

permits till the end of January. The total number of registered migrant workers this

year is about 140,000 against the total 1,400,000 last year.

http://www.mizzima.com/news/world/3557-un-migrants-expert-alarmed-over-

thailands-deportation-policy.html


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************************************************************* Returned Burmese Migrant Killed by DKBA

By THE IRRAWADDY Friday, February 19, 2010

An illegal Burmese migrant was was returned by Thai authorities was shot dead

by Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) soldiers on Tuesday at Zero Gate inMyawaddy Township opposite Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border, according to a

witness.

Zero Gate, a border crossing point on the Burmese side, is controlled by the DKBA,

an ally of the Burmese regime.

DKBA troops shot the man after they tortured him because he tried to escape from

Zero gate, the witness said.

The man, about 17 years old, was a Burmese Muslim who was arrested by Thai

immigration officials at Mae Sot and returned back to the Burmese side to DKBA

Zero Gate during the second week of February, according to the source, who said he

witnessed the incident.

The source said he crossed over into Thailand after paying 1,200 baht. He said that

Burmese migrants deported from Thailand through the DKBA checkpoint have to pay

1,200 baht to reenter Burma.

The man was afraid because the DKBA told him that if he couldn't pay enough

money, he would be sent to a force labor camp, said the source. The man tried to

escape, but he was caught and torture and finally he was shot by DKBA soldiers onthe same day.

At least 2 million Burmese migrants work in Thailand, most of them illegal.

Burmese illegal migrants from across the country are returned to Burma through Thai-

Burma border gates. Mae Sot is a major border crossing between the two countries.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17849

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NEWS ON REFUGEES************************************************************* Karen Refugees Return Home

By SAW YAN NAING Thursday, February 18, 2010

Because of pressure from Thai authorities, more than 300 Karen refugees in Thailandhave returned to heavily mined village areas in Burma, sources on the Thai-Burma

border said on Thursday.

Around 300 Karen refugees have returned to their homes in Karen State since early

February because they did not want to remain on the Thai-Burma border while underpressure and threats by the Thai authorities, a Karen villager told The Irrawaddy.


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The 300 refugees lived in Mae U Su in Tha Song Yang District in Tak Province, part

of 3,000 Karen refugees who fled to Thailand in June 2009 following clashes between

Karen rebels and Burmese government troops and the Democratic Karen Buddhist

Army, an ally of the Burmese regime.

Sally Thompson, the deputy director of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium(TBBC), said,

They were not forcibly returned, but there was pressure on them to go back.

We were not there when they left, Thompson said. What we know is that they are

no longer at the site [in Thailand]. And we believe they have gone back.

The refugees left without any assistance, sources said.

Humanitarian workers said many villagers who have voluntarily returned said that if

renewed fighting broke out they would come back to Thailand.

Human rights groups said the situation in Karen State is volatile and dangerous. The

Thai military halted a plan to repatriate all 3,000 Karen refugee in Tha Song Yang

District by Feb. 15 following pleas by human rights groups and the international

community.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was scheduled to

meet with Karen refugees in Tha Song Yang District on Thursday, according to

border sources.


************************************************************* Thai Human Rights Officials Visit Karen Camps

By ALEX ELLGEE Friday, February 19, 2010

MAE SOT, Thailand The Thai National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

visited Karen refugees at Naung Bwa and Mae U Su temporary camps on a fact-

finding mission on Thursday.

Officials spent about an hour in each camp and interviewed some of the residents at

both camps.

This week, Thailand canceled plans to return 3,000 Karen refugees to their homes in

an area where there has been heavy fighting between Karen rebels and Burmese

forces. The plan was abandoned after heavy criticism by nongovernmental

organizations and the international community.

The general conclusion we got was that the refugees want to return home but not

now, Boonthat Verawonswe of the NHRC told The Irrawaddy.

At the moment, they dont feel safe going back home. They are worried about

landmines, the DKBA and the recent shooting which took place in the area.


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Recently, Thai authorities said that no refugees would be forced to return to Karen

State against their will.

There is no forced repatriation as its not our policy, Col Noppadol

Watcharajitbawom told The Associated Press.

Boonthat Veraongse said he believed that the Thai authorities have stopped forcing

refugees to return, but he said some pressure to return might still exist.

We werent told directly by the refugees that they had received pressure from the

Thai authorities. They said that officers had told them they had been in Thailand for

eight months, and it was time for them to go home.

Boonthat Veraongse said that healthcare and sanitation were issues for the refugees.

The U Su camp has access to a river, he said, but Nu Poh experiences frequent water

shortages.

Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Rachanan Thananand said this week

that the area from which the refugees fled in June 2009 is clear of landmines,

according to information it had received from the Burmese side of the border.

On Monday, officials with the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines told The

Irrawaddy that they were concerned for the refugees because of the presence of

landmines in and around their villages.

Commenting on landmines, Boonthat said that the landmine situation is not clear, but

it was a major concern of the refugees.

When we met with people from the Mae Tao Clinic they told us in 2008, under 50

people were injured by landmines, but last year it was more than 100. That says

something about the landmine situation.

Asked what recommendations the NHRC had for the Thai government, he said, We

need to keep focusing on the non-refoulment policy and for the general safety and

well-being of the refugees.

The NHRC will present its recommendations to the government on Tuesday.

The NHRC is giving the government the opportunity to share their information with

us so we can have a dialogue. Some of our officers will tell them what we think they

should do, and they will tell us what they can and cannot do. We need to make sure

these people are safe.

Three Karen families were sent back to their village, Ler Per Her, in southern Karen

State on Feb. 5, but later re-entered Thailand, saying they felt unsafe in Ler Per Her

and were afraid of landmines.

Some 3,000 Karen refugees were due to be repatriated by the Thai army by Feb 15.

However, the plan was suspended following criticism by human rights groups and theinternational community.


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TBBC has reported that 300 refugees have returned to their homes in Burma from

Mae U Su temporary camp.

On Feb. 4, a number of US congressmen sent a letter to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit

Vejjajiva requesting that Thailand halt the repatriation of the refugees. In the letter,

they said that these refugees will suffer horrific human rights abuses if forced toreturn.


************************************************************* Thailand: NHRC meets NGOs to resolve refugee issue

Source: Royal Thai Government, 19 Feb 2010

BANGKOK, 19 February 2010 (NNT) - Representatives from the National Human

Rights Commission (NHRC) attended a meeting at Mae Tao Clinic run by Burmese

medical doctor, Cynthia Mong at the border Tak province. The area is a residing camp

for 1,100 Karen refugees from Burma.

According to NHRC representative, MD Niran Pitakwatchara, the team reported that

Karen refugees were forced back to Myanmar via land mined routes. The visit was

made with the attempt to make sure the officers performed their tasks in adherence to

human rights principles.

Mr Niran urged the government sector to join hands with officers, while the relief

must be provided without causing trouble for the Thai people.

In addition, the NHRC has invited Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to a meeting on

23 February 2010 to seek better resolutions over the refugee issue in Thailand.

News ID: 255302190047, Reporter : Nereita Tancharoen

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/ASHU-82UNKH?OpenDocument

************************************************************* Chin National Day Celebrated Worldwide

20 February 2010

Chinland Guardian: Today marks the 62nd anniversary of Chin National Day being

commemorated and celebrated across the globe by Chin communities in their

respective dwelling countries.

A string of celebrations is also organised by various groups including Chin students at

their respective colleges and universities in Burma and Chin refugees stranded in

India and Malaysia amid risks of being arrested as well as in Thailand.

Greetings, messages and statements have been sent out and circulated in their email

groups and forums, honouring this special day and at the same time recalling its

significant historical background.


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Chin National Council remarked in its statement that today is the 62nd anniversary of

the auspicious day that the Chin people abolished their traditional aristocratic ruling

system and laid down the foundation of democratic system of government.

A variety of programmes and activities presenting Chin traditional and cultural values

has been prepared in the celebrations which include traditional dances, songs, fashionshows and concluding gigs. In some places, traditional foods such as sabuti [hominy

corn soup] and chang [sticky rice in banana leaves or Chin dumplings] are made

available.

Sports have also increasingly become one of the features of celebrations. Chin

communities in some countries organised wrestling and a series of friendly football

matches. In Malaysia, about 70 Chins took part in wrestling competition held on 19

February 2010, with a huge attendance, according to VOCR (Voice of Chin Reguees)

today.

In parallel with Chin National Day celebrations, a special photo exhibit by a Britishphotojournalist Benny Manser highlighting the continuing humanitarian crisis that

faces Chin people not only in Chin State but also in foreign countries such as

Malaysia and India will be displayed in the UK, USA and Thailand.

In military-ruled Burma and especially in Chinland, Chin National celebration is not

allowed by the ruling military junta. Instead, the junta prefers to let the Chin people

celebrate February 20 as Chin State Day. The Chins usually insisted to celebrate as

National Day and not as State Day.

The Chin people celebrate their national day on the 20th February every year to

commemorate the historic date, 20 February 1948, when more than fifty thousand

Chin leaders across Chin State gathered at Falam Town unanimously agreeing upon

the transferring of the Chin feudal administrative system into a democratic system of

governing.

Chin National Day celebration usually takes one whole day with various activities

where formal political ceremony and speech from the chief guest is followed by

sharing traditional foods, wrestling contests, fashion shows, dances and concerts.

http://www.chinlandguardian.com/news-2009/907-chin-national-day-celebrated-

worldwide.html

************************************************************* Bangladesh cracks down on Burmese Muslim refugees

Sunday, 21 February 2010 15:27 Larry Jagan

The Bangladesh authorities have cracked down on Burmese Muslim refugees seeking

refuge from the brutal Burmese military regime. The police operation has created a

major humanitarian crisis according to an aid agency working in the area, Medicins

Sans Frontieres (MSF).

Over the past few weeks thousands of unregistered Rohingyas have fled theirtemporary homes in Bangladesh and sought safety in a makeshift camp, where they


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have no food, inadequate shelter and cannot work, according to the Arakan Project

which monitors the situation of Burmese Muslims throughout Asia.

The Rohinygas have sought refuge in a makeshift camp, Kuta Palong, near the

Bangladesh border with Burma. The numbers in this camp have swelled to over

30,000 in the past six weeks, according to the Arakan project.

The makeshift camp has nearly doubled in the last four months, MSF told

Mizzima. In January alone, 2,000 Rohinygas refugees arrived. As we speak, more

are arriving out of fear and facing an uncertain future, warned Paul Critchfley, head

of MSFs mission in Bangladesh.

The camp residents do not receive food rations and cannot leave the camp to find

work for fear of being arrested, beaten and forced back to Burma.

Hunger is spreading rapidly among the already malnourished population in the

makeshift camp, and a grave humanitarian crisis is looming, Chris Lewa, the directorof Arakan Proiject told Mizzima.

If the Bangladesh authorities do not stop the crackdown on these refugees

immediately, then there a significant risk of starvation, she added.

Residents in Coxs Bazaar the main town in the border area with Burma told

Mizzima that police and security forces have been targetting Rohingya refugees for

several months now.

Since the beginning of the year, Rohinygas settled outside the two official refugee

camps have been harrassed, intimidated and beaten, according to hundreds of personal

testimonies collected by the Arakan Project.

Thousands have been evicted with threats of violence, Ms Lewa told Mizzima.

Robberies, assaults and rape against Rohingyas have risen significantly, she said.

Local Bangladeshi villagers have also been venting their anger against the refugees.

Aid workers in the area also report Rohinygas being beaten with sticks and women

being raped.

We have treated hundreds of refugees in the camp for wounds from violent assaultsand beatings, said Mr. Critchley. Many women have also been raped.

The refugees all tell a similar stories. We cannot find work and no one helps us,

said Nurul, a 75-year-old former farmer, who has been living in the Kuta Palong camp

for more than a month now with his wife and four children and grandchildren.

My daughter was raped by local youths one evening, when she was returning, after

working as a maid nearby. She told the police and identified the cuplrits: but the

police did nothing, he said.

I have spent all my savings and we have nothing to eat, said Rafiq, a 50-year-oldday labourer who is sheltered in the camp since the end of January with his wife and


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five children. We cannot go out to find work because we will be arrested if we go out.

I cannot sleep at night, and have nightmares about the police raiding the camp and

handing us over to the Burmese authorities, he added.

I fear we will be sent back to Burma, said another Rohingya refugee. Since we

were born, we have always been on the run!

More than 500 Rohingya have been arrested in the past few weeks, some have even

been forcibly returned to Burma, said Ms Lewa.

They could be forced out at any moment, so they're basically holding their families

together. You have a space of slightly larger than a bathroom that has six or seven

people and attached to it is another bathroom, so you have two families living in this

really crammed condition, another MSF staff member, Vanessa Van Schoor, told

journalists in Bangkok recently.

Sometimes I am overwhelmed with fear, said Muhamad, a 35-year-old day labourer.Perhaps the Bangladesh government has a plan to gather all Rohingya in one place

and send us back to Burma.

However, a local district police chief, Kamrul Ahsan denied these allegations telling

Mizzima that only those Rohingyas staying in the country illegally had been arrested.

Senior police officers in charge near the makeshift camp admitted that the authorities

were conducting normal security operations, but only foreigners who entered

Bangladesh illegally were being detained. Between mid-November and mid-February,

more than 500 Burmese illegal immigrants were detained and returned to Burma, said

a local police chief.

This month we have arrested over 50, and sent them back to Myanmar [Burma]. It is

an ongoing operation, the local police chief in Kuta Palong, Rafiqul Islam told local

journalists this week.

The crackdown, he said was prompted by the rise in the number of Rohingya refugees

in the area felling the forests and building shanty towns the Kuta Palong camp and

was an attempt to stem the flow of illegal migrants. If we dont stop them now, the

floodgates will open wide, he said.

There are an estimated 300,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, some of whom

escaped from persecution in Burma in the early 1990s.

There are some 28,000 registered refugees in two camps, monitored by the United

Nations High Commission for Refugees. These people receive food rations and health

care. The others have to fend for themselves.

Human rights groups and aid workers estimate that more than 9,000 refugees arrived

in Burma last year. In December the Burmese and Bangladesh governments agreed

that 6,000 Rohingya refugees would be returned to Burma, though as yet none seem

to have been sent back.


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International organisations, however, fear that any repatriation programme would not

be voluntary as most of the refugees do not want to go.

Though I do not see any future here, it is worse in Burma, said a 60-year male

Rohingya who first fled to Bangladesh in 1992, but returned to his home in 1994

under the UN-sponsored repatriation programme.

I stayed three years, but the extortion, persecution and travel restrictions forced me

to flee again with my family more than 10 years ago.

I pray that one day Burma will be peaceful and that we can enjoy our rights, he said.

Then I can return to my country. Till then, he and most Rohingya refugees want to

stay in Bangladesh; though the authorities may not let them.

The situation for Burmese Muslims in western Burma is intolerable. And the UK-

human rights group Amnesty International (AI) characterised the situation there as

perhaps one of the worst in the world.

There are an estimated 700,000 Rohingya in Burma, where they are not recognised as

citizens and have no right to own land. They are also forbidden from marrying or

travelling without permission.

Discrimination in Rakhine State [where most of the Rohinygas flee from] is

shockingly severe, the UNs special rapporteur for human rights in Burma, Tomas

Ojea Quintana told Mizzima after visiting the area last week.

http://www.mizzima.com/news/regional/3560-bangladesh-cracks-down-on-burmese-

muslim-refugees.html

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22feb10 ncgub: news on migrants & refugees- 22 feb, 2010 (english & burmese)

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