Thailand Should Extend Its Kindness To Refugees A Little Bit Longer

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BURNING ISSUE

Thailand should extend its kindness to refugees a little bit longer

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation

The National Security Council (NSC) recently reiterated its policy to repatriate Burmese refugees who have been living along the western border for more than two decades now, but this may not be the best time because the conflict in Burma is far from over.

Sheltering some 100,000 refugees for a long time is definitely a burden, but Thailand cannot shrug this responsibility due to humanitarian reasons. In the eyes of the international community, Thailand has always been a country of kind people who are ready to extend a helping hand.

Thailand has been sheltering Burmese refugees in nine camps in four provinces - Mae Hong Son, Tak, Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi - since violence erupted in Burma in 1988. The Kingdom has always been a safe haven for all kinds of displaced persons, be they migrants, asylum seekers or refugees. Many of these people are fleeing conflicts that Thailand has no part in.

It is understandable why the NSC wants to get rid of Burmese refugees, but this policy would not solve the problem permanently. It is not possible to say that democracy has returned to Burma just because elections were held last year. The new government is actually just another face of the previous military regime and it continues to suppress the opposition and dissidents, notably the minorities.

Battles between government troops and the ethnic armed forces are still going on in many locations near Burmese borders, because many of these ethnic groups are refusing to become part of the so-called "Border Guard Forces".

Besides, the conflict in Burma after the election has become a bit more complicated because it is no longer a purely political conflict but is mixed with a so-called "development discourse".

Fighting broke out between the Burmese army and the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) early this month at two of the Dapein dams, breaking a 17-year-old ceasefire pact. China's state-owned company Datang is building the dams.

Scores of people died in the latest conflict and more than 2,000 refugees fled to the Chinese border. The Burmese army, meanwhile, has posted hundreds of troops to secure the dams, which are located close to strategic KIO military bases.

Fighting has spread, with clashes breaking out near Shweli 1 Dam in northern Shan State, with offensives near the Nong Pha Dam on Salween River forcing thousands to flee their homes over the past three months. This is making the burden on Thailand even heavier.

"The root causes of Burma's social conflict have not been addressed and despite the formation of a new government, the country is still under the military regime's mismanagement," Sai Sai, coordinator of the Burma Rivers Network, said.

Rather than simply announcing a repatriation policy, the NSC is considering the whole picture and looking for ways to deal with the problem at its root. However, Thailand cannot handle this issue alone, but requires help from Asean and the United Nations.

Repatriation should be at the last stage of the plan, and only take place as and when the conflict in Burma is over. Otherwise, the repatriated refugees will only sneak back in to escape war.

-- The Nation 2011-06-22

[rotary]

It is a sad thing but................................Thailand cannot handle the burden of the refugees. thats a hard cold fact of life. They should be deported back to point of origin.

I know there will be lots of comments on this but Thailand should take care of Thai's and legal residents.

[zappalot]

It is a sad thing but................................Thailand cannot handle the burden of the refugees. thats a hard cold fact of life. They should be deported back to point of origin.

I know there will be lots of comments on this but Thailand should take care of Thai's and legal residents.

actually the biggest part of the cost is paid by the EU and some other western countrys. So the burden is not as big as u think. people with just a fraction of humanity would never even think of sending them back against their will. No one is happy of living in one of these refugee camps. Just the fact that they prefere under these conditions show how bad the conditions in their home country are.

id send the bill to china who support and back up the burma regime.

[Scott]

Thailand is not a signatory to the UN Conventions on Refugees. Thailand doesn't recognize these people as political refugees and does not allow the UN to screen them for refugee status. If screening was permitted, then the genuine refugees could be resettled in other countries and the economic refugees (and criminal elements who are fleeing prosecution, not persecution) returned to Burma.

I am not a big fan of the UN, but it does help with repatriation and protection of the rights of people being returned.

A lot of resettlement countries may not want to take these people, so that's when the arm twisting and pressure is put on the Burmese government to not mistreat returnees.

[xtof2]

Thailand is not a signatory to the UN Conventions on Refugees. Thailand doesn't recognize these people as political refugees and does not allow the UN to screen them for refugee status. If screening was permitted, then the genuine refugees could be resettled in other countries and the economic refugees (and criminal elements who are fleeing prosecution, not persecution) returned to Burma.

I am not a big fan of the UN, but it does help with repatriation and protection of the rights of people being returned.

A lot of resettlement countries may not want to take these people, so that's when the arm twisting and pressure is put on the Burmese government to not mistreat returnees.

Well Thailand did allow them to have a refugee status till 2005 I think. They need that to be resettled in US or any other country.

[Johpa]

It is a sad thing but................................Thailand cannot handle the burden of the refugees. thats a hard cold fact of life. They should be deported back to point of origin.

I know there will be lots of comments on this but Thailand should take care of Thai's and legal residents.

Thailand spends relatively little on the provision and care of the refugees. On the contrary, Thailand probably profits from the presence of these folks by the amount of money their presence generates by the real providers, the NGOs, foreigners who bring hard currency into the country. The business side of the NGOs is significant in towns such as Mae Sot where there are literally hundreds of both professional social workers and perhaps even more volunteers who spend a lot of money during the course of their often extended stays within Thai borders. Then there are the profits that accumulate from the availability of cheap labor, whether that be in the construction trades, domestic servants, not to mention the profits to the police and politicians from the more illegal trades.

So it is a sad thing indeed, but not for the rather heartless Thai polity that enjoys profiting from the plight of the long suffering Burmese peoples. These calls for expatriation of the refugees back into Burma are only used for domestic political purposes to rally voters around the flag, and usually around a political campaign, much as the jingoistic campaign over Wat Preah Vihear along the Cambodian border. And sometimes rather seubeu ex-pats get caught up in the arguments as well.

[FOODLOVER]

"Thai soldiers are detaining illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Burma and forcing them back out to sea in boats without engines", survivors say.

Very kind of you mates! Thanks for the help!

[SAffer]

I met many Burmese people at University and at church, they are nice folk.