06/22/2004

The Royal Thai Government denies protection and assistance to the Shan people of Burma, who have sought refuge in Thailand in increasing numbers since 1996. The Shan are hardly alone; since 1988, thousands of people from many Burmese ethnic minority groups have fled persecution and violence directed towards them by the Burmese government. The Thai government, which is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention Related to the Status of Refugees, insists that Burmese must meet the very narrow criterion of “fleeing fighting” to be eligible for refugee status. Those considered refugees, who number approximately 128,000, consist primarily of members of the Karen and Karenni ethnic groups and are permitted to reside in nine border camps assisted by the Burmese Border Coalition and other NGOs funded by the United States and other governments.

Shan state is the largest ethnic state in Burma, with a population of approximately eight million people. Thousands of Shan have been seeking refuge in Thailand, especially since 1996, when the Burmese army began forcibly relocating hundreds of villages and towns, expelling about 300,000 people from their homes. People have also fled their communities to avoid being caught in the crossfire between the Shan ethnic army, Shan State Army (SSA), `and the Burmese army. The situation has worsened in recent years, with the arrival of the Wa people, who have been forcibly relocated to southern Shan state by the Burmese government from their original homes along the border with China. At present fighting goes on between the SSA and the Burmese army, with the latter attempting to use the Wa to fight the Shan resistance forces. Further displacement of Shan villagers occurs as additional land is confiscated or villages relocated in Shan state by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the junta that rules Burma.

The Royal Thai Government has prevented the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from accessing the Shan population in Thailand. The Thais consider the Shan to be their ethnic cousins, and believe that their similarities with the Thai should allow them to survive in Thailand without access to any formal protection and assistance programs.

Reports suggest that large numbers of internally displaced people in Shan state are trying to survive in relocation sites, hiding in jungles away from Burmese forces, or making efforts to reach Thailand in search of a safe environment. Those trying to cross into Thailand have to pay large bribes to middlemen, and if caught by the Burmese army, may be arrested. Despite these obstacles, Shan groups estimate that each month more than a thousand Shan come to just one area inside Thailand, swelling the number of Shan asylum seekers to some 200,000.

The Shan who have managed to reach Thailand describe crimes of rape, torture, extra-judicial executions and forced labor being committed by the Burmese authorities. On arriving in Thailand, however, Shan are considered illegal migrants, joining the more than one million “illegal” Burmese workers already in the country. In the absence of any formal arrangement for their survival, and with no local support structure, the majority of the Shan have no option but to earn a living doing any kind of work they can find, even the most dangerous jobs. Others, due to their ties to different groups, and their contacts with the growing number of Shan organizations in areas where local officials are sympathetic to their plight, are able to access humanitarian assistance and education, and find better jobs.

Most of the Shan in Thailand stay in the northern districts of Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, and are mainly involved in agricultural work, particularly in fruit orchards. Heavy pesticide use has affected many Shan workers and contaminated community wells affect more, a situation which has been reported by the Thai press and Thai NGOs. Many Shan agricultural workers live in the open or in crude temporary shelters with no access to Thai health care or schooling. Some are targeted by traffickers and others exploited by their Thai employers.

The Shan interviewed by Refugees International expressed a constant fear of deportation as the Thai government has increased roundups of Burmese illegal migrants, deporting thousands back to Burma each month. Some of them expressed a desire to live in “refugee camps,” as other ethnic groups do. Nang Kham, a teacher in Shan state, fled to Thailand to avoid being caught in the fighting between the SSA and the Burmese army. She is presently living in one of several informal camps for displaced Shan communities along the Thai-Burma border. She told RI, "I cannot go back to my village as landmines have been laid all around it by the Burmese army and the situation for Shan people in Thailand is also very difficult. It is a myth that we will be able to assimilate with the Thais … We need to have a formal camp for us. Right now, many of us just have the clothes on our backs, it is very difficult for NGOs to find us and help us."

At the few informal camps set up along the border, there is no real security and the situation for the refugees remains precarious. Recently, in a move to appease the SPDC, the Thais shut down the only health clinic on the Thai side of the border serving the Shan. RI is concerned that Shan asylum seekers in Thailand are a group at risk and vulnerable to exploitation, arrest, or deportation to Burma.

Refugees International, therefore, recommends that:

- The Royal Thai Government permit the Shan to apply to the new Provincial Admission Boards for recognition as refugees, in the same way as other Burmese ethnic groups.
- The Royal Thai Government not allow deportations of any Shan people until each individual has been examined, and it has been determined that the person is an illegal migrant and not a genuine asylum seeker.
- The Royal Thai Government allow Shan asylum seekers, particularly the most vulnerable populations, such as widows, orphans and the elderly, to reside in camps, and permit agencies to provide humanitarian assistance to the Shan outside the camps.
- UNHCR work to encourage the Thai Government to permit it to provide protection and assistance programs to the Shan.

Source: Refugees International