KATMANDU, Nepal — The authorities in southwestern China are forcibly evicting thousands of encamped ethnic Kachin refugees who fled a renewed civil war in neighboring Myanmar,
pushing them back into the conflict zone in Kachin State in northern
Myanmar, according to foreign human rights researchers, political
analysts and two people in Kachin State.
The forced repatriation appears to be happening in large waves this
week. The refugees fled to China after a 17-year cease-fire agreement
between the Kachin Independence Army and Myanmar’s government broke down
in June 2011. The civil war with the Kachin
is one of many occurring in Myanmar, formerly Burma, and the renewal of
the Kachin conflict has cast doubts on the sincerity or ability of
President Thein Sein to carry out deep political reforms.
A researcher for Human Rights Watch said the repatriations appeared to
have begun en masse on Tuesday. He estimated that 1,000 refugees had
returned to Kachin State and that an additional 4,000 were projected to
return by the end of the week.
In June, Human Rights Watch reported
that 7,000 to 10,000 Kachin refugees were in China and subjected to
squalid conditions and harsh treatment by officials. It also said there
had been some instances of forced repatriation by Chinese officials,
though apparently not as systematic or widespread as now.
“All the refugees in China now are being pushed back,” said a resident
of Laiza, the capital of the rebel-held part of Kachin State. “Many of
them are back already.” On Wednesday, he added, Chinese border guards
expelled a group of refugees from an area called Nong Tau and destroyed
refugee huts even before the refugees had left the site.
Ryan Roco, a human rights researcher who has documented the plight of
the war’s displaced, said he had learned that at least 4,200 Kachin were
being forced out of six camps in Yunnan Province, China, and back into
Myanmar. He said the process, begun last week, appeared to have
intensified since Tuesday. A further 700 were living with family or
friends in Yunnan after being forced from the camps, he said.
Those who have returned to Kachin State are living on both sides of the
conflict zone. Part of Kachin State is controlled by the Kachin
Independence Army, though the rebel group has lost significant territory
since the civil war restarted.
“The actions of the Chinese against vulnerable Kachin demonstrate a
wanton disregard for human dignity and international humanitarian law,”
Mr. Roco said.
Officials in Yunnan and Beijing had been tolerating the presence of the
Kachin refugees for more than a year, although Yunnan officials had
threatened to evict them.
It is not clear why the refugees are being expelled now. An employee at
the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the ministry had no immediate comment
after it was sent a list of questions on Thursday. Calls to the Yunnan
propaganda office went unanswered, as did calls to the propaganda office
of Dehong Autonomous Prefecture, the location of the camps.
The Kachin are Christians, and Chinese religious organizations and some
other aid groups have been allowed by local Chinese officials to help
refugees and internally displaced Kachin.
China has not taken an official position on the Kachin conflict. Kachin
State is rich in jade, timber, mineral wealth and water resources, all
coveted by the Chinese. Several large Chinese dam projects are in the
region, including the Myitsone Dam, which aroused local protests.
China is also a major patron of the Burmese government, though many
Myanmar citizens are wary of or hostile toward growing Chinese
influence.
On Monday, The Irrawaddy, a newspaper based in Thailand that reports on Myanmar, said Chinese officials had pressed the Kachin Independence Organization, the civilian counterpart to the Kachin Independence Army, to accept 4,000 refugees back in Kachin State.
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