Karen families being forced to return to Burma
Posted on June 22, 2009
Filed Under Burma news, Karen news | Comments Off
Karen villagers fleeing the Burmese Army offensive source: FBR
Thailand is putting pressure on newly arrived Karen refugees to return back to Burma.
The Burma Campaign UK alleges Karen who fled to Thailand to escape the ongoing joint offensive by the Burma Army and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) against the Karen National Union are being pressured to return to areas that are now under the control of pro-government forces, where they are at risk of human rights abuses. Three families have already been forced back into Burma.
Since the beginning of June, over 4,000 Karen villagers are believed to have crossed over into Thailand to escape the fighting (see: Displaced numbers reach 4,000). Aid agencies with support from the Thai government are struggling to meet the needs of the newly arrived refugees.
However, some estimates put the total number of displaced people at closer 6,000.
Zoya Phan, Burma Campaign UK’s International Coordinator said, “It is not just a question of whether or not there is gunfire and mortar bombs.”
“The area that these people lived in is now under the control of the dictatorship, and any Karen returning will face the danger of severe human rights abuses.
Previously documented human rights abuses by Burmese troops against Karen villagers include forced resettlement, forced labour, rape, and the confiscation of crops.
Phan said only a week ago two teenage girls were raped and killed; one of them was eight months pregnant.
She called on Thailand to give the refugees sanctuary and for the UN to put pressure on Burma to end the attacks.
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