US lawmakers appeal to Thailand on Karen

By Manager Online 5 February 2010 18:02

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US lawmakers on Thursday implored Thailand not to deport thousands of ethnic Karen villagers back to military-ruled Myanmar, saying they were at grave risk of human rights abuses.

Around 4,000 villagers escaped to Thailand in June when the regime stepped up its campaign against the Karen rebels, one of the few ethnic insurgent groups yet to sign a peace deal in the nation formerly known as Burma.

Twenty-seven US lawmakers sent a letter to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva urging Thailand not to repatriate the Karen, with reports saying the operation could begin imminently.

"If forced to return, these refugees will suffer horrific human rights abuses," said the letter led by Representative Joseph Crowley, a Democrat from New York.

"They will undoubtedly be subject to forced labor, executions, torture and mutilations, forced recruitment as soldiers, including child soldiers, and theft and extortion, making their survival very difficult," he said.

While praising Thailand for taking on the burden of settling tens of thousands of refugees, the lawmakers warned of repercussions for forced repatriation.

"Historically, Thailand has developed a reputation as a country that provides refuge to those fleeing serious persecution, but actions like this will undermine and tarnish this reputation," the letter said.

The appeal comes weeks after Thailand defied appeals by the United States, European Union and United Nations and sent thousands of members of the Hmong community to Laos.

Hmong activists said that the group risked persecution in Laos, but Thailand said they were illegal economic migrants.