Trump administration to allow 872 refugees into US this week

WASHINGTON: The US government has granted waivers to let 872 refugees into the country this week, despite President Donald Trump’s executive order on Friday temporarily banning entry of refugees from any country, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document seen by Reuters.

A Homeland Security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the waivers, noting that the refugees were considered “in transit” and had already been cleared for resettlement before the ban took effect.

Refugees preparing for resettlement typically have severed personal ties and relinquished their possessions, leaving them particularly vulnerable if their plans to depart are suddenly canceled.

The waivers, granted by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), came amid international protests against Trump’s rushed executive order. Critics said the order in some cases was not clearly communicated to the agencies responsible for implementing it.

It was not known if additional waivers would be granted, the official said. The document did not give the nationalities of the refugees who will be admitted into the United States.



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Over the weekend, non-refugee visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries also targeted in Trump’s executive order were detained, deported and in some cases blocked from boarding flights to the United States.

The countries covered by the traveler ban were Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.

The internal DHS document said that between late Friday and early Monday 348 visa holders were prevented from boarding US-bound flights. In addition, more than 200 people landed in the United States but were denied entry, the document showed.

More than 735 people were pulled aside for questioning by US Customs and Border Protection officers in airports, including 394 legal permanent US residents holding green cards, over the same time period.

Trump said the executive order he signed on Friday was designed to protect the United States “from foreign terrorist entry.”

The order stopped all refugee admissions for 120 days while government officials determine how to ensure that any refugees admitted do not pose a threat.

The 872 refugees to be admitted this week, under the waivers, were screened using Obama administration procedures, which typically take two years and include several interviews and a background check.

The DHS said on Sunday night that green card holders would be allowed to board US-bound flights, but would be subjected to additional scrutiny upon arrival.



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The public guidance from DHS also said some people from the seven majority-Muslim countries could be allowed entry to the United States on a case-by-case basis.

Congressional Democrats and some foreign countries, including key US allies, put pressure on Trump on Monday over the executive order.

Democratic Senators tried to force a vote on a bill to rescind the order, but were blocked by a Republican lawmaker. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said she had 27 co-sponsors for the legislation. But under Senate rules it takes only one member to prevent a vote, and Republican Senator Tom Cotton blocked consideration of the measure.

The Democrats’ leader in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, said he would bring legislation on Monday evening seeking to end the ban, although the measure stood little chance of being passed by the Republican-led Congress. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com

Malaysia working with UNHCR on more secure refugee cards

Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that the new cards have been issued since June under the collaboration between the Malaysian government and UNHCR. — file picturePUTRAJAYA, Aug 18 ― The Malaysian government is collaborating with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to issue new refugee identification cards with high security features, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

Zahid, who is also home minister, announced that the new cards have been issued since June under the collaboration between the Malaysian government and UNHCR.

“The issuance of the card will go through tight screening steps. Therefore, the process of replacing the old UNHCR cards will take a bit of time.

“This move is intended to tackle the problem of the issuance of fake UNHCR cards,” he said in a statement today after chairing a meeting on UNHCR-related issues.

Zahid also said a joint task force will be formed in which the UNHCR and Malaysia will work together to register and issue the new cards, but said the process of determining refugee status remains fully under the organisation based on the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol.

The joint task force comprised senior officers from the Home Ministry, the National Security Council, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and UNHCR, he said.

On June 21, UNHCR Malaysia representative Richard Towle launched the new card with better security features to overcome past weaknesses that allowed counterfeiting.

According to a New Straits Times’ report then, Towle had said the new card is backed by better biometric data collection, besides including security features such as 3D holograms and bar codes.

The UNHCR had also launched the UNHCR VERIFY-MY mobile application, which Towle said would enable local enforcement agencies or those doing UNHCR work to scan the “Secure Quick Response” (SQR) code on the new cards to verify their authenticity.

UNHCR’s Senior Protection Officer (Oversight) Michael Wells had said the old version of the card was easier to replicate, while the new card had one of the best technologies globally with a biometric scan of fingers, face and retina.

The NST had earlier this year reported that there are syndicates selling counterfeit UNHCR cards ― that are only meant for verified refugees and asylum seekers ― to illegal immigrants.

http://www.themalaymailonline.com

France opens first international-standard refugee camp

CALAIS: France opened its first international-standard refugee camp in the teeth of official opposition today while demolition continued at the nearby Calais “Jungle” camp.

Three families of Iraqi Kurds were the first to arrive at the new camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkirk on the northern French coast, an AFP reporter said.

They came from another site nearby where around 1,000 people have been living in miserable conditions with limited protection from the cold.

The new camp, featuring some 200 heated wooden cabins and proper toilets and showers, has been built by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) with the support of the local town hall, despite opposition from the French government.

The 3.1 million euro migrant accommodation is thought to be the first in France to meet international standards, and MSF said they hoped soon to have 375 cabins, catering for 2,500 people.

“It’s a great day for human solidarity,” said local mayor Damien Careme, who fought a battle with the authorities.

“I’ve overcome a failure of the state,” he said, adding that he could no longer stand the sight of around 75 children living in the original camp.

The move has frustrated the government which has been trying to move refugees away from the northern coast and into centres where their movement is more controlled.

The government’s representative in northern France, Jean-Francois Cordet, said last month: “The government’s policy is not to reconstitute a camp at Grande-Synthe, but to make it go away.”

The authorities began a second week of demolition at the region’s largest refugee camp, nicknamed the “Jungle”, in nearby Calais on Monday.

Thousands of migrants have been living in the Jungle and other smaller camps along the northern coast, desperate to reach Britain where many have family or community ties and see better hopes of gaining employment or education.

Most have turned down offers from the French government to move into heated containers alongside the Jungle, or into accommodation centres elsewhere in France, fearing doing so would end their dreams of reaching Britain.

Unlike these alternatives, the new camp at Grande-Synthe will not restrict the movement of migrants and refugees, MSF said.

In Calais, a group of children tried to offer white roses to the line of riot police holding back migrants and volunteers as workers resumed the dismantling of makeshift shelters in the Calais camp.

Nine Iranians who last week stitched their mouths shut in protest at the demolition, said they were carrying out a hunger strike.

Some two hectares (five acres) of the Jungle were destroyed last week, and authorities said it could take a month or more to demolish the southern half of the camp.

Local authorities say there were between 800 and 1,000 migrants living in the southern half, while aid groups say there were around 3,500.

– AFP

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com

IN THAILAND, WAITING GAME CONTINUES FOR MYANMAR REFUGEES

The political transition has brought far-reaching change to Myanmar, but for tens of thousands of refugees in camps in Thailand life remains in limbo.

By JARED DOWNING | FRONTIER

About 10,000 people came up as missing last year when Thailand and the United Nations counted every refugee left in the nine camps just across the border. They hadn’t been resettled abroad, nor had they turned in their ration cards and been officially repatriated to Myanmar.

They were just gone, slipped through a hole in an old camp fence, found a boat to take them over the shallow Moei River and vanished into the jungles of Kayin State.

Of course, they kept their refugee documents and ration cards, just in case they wanted to slip back and re-join the more than 110,000 “displaced people” in “temporary shelters” as they are called by Thailand, which never signed the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

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Yet these temporary shelters have been standing since the 1980s, long enough for the first comers to have children and grandchildren in the camps, long enough for countless magazine stories and documentaries, and possibly long enough even to outlast the vicious conflicts that first sent them there.

“The refugee leadership are saying, ‘It's time to go,’ but they're not saying ‘let's go,’” said Iain Hall, senior field coordinator for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at Mae Sot, Thailand.

A race against time, in which in any year or month Thai authorities will suddenly decide to shut down the camps and send everyone packing ready or not, to a wild, landmine-infested jungle, is how decades of speculation have painted the situation.

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“[Rumours are] sometimes fueled by NGOs or CBOs who hear this and they spread it: ‘Tell all the refugees that the camps are going to be closed because they’re doing the military head count!’ It’s irresponsible,” said Mr Hall.

He insisted that this is false and that Thailand has and does honour the right of displaced people to a safe, dignified and, especially, voluntary return, UN convention or not. He said the hearsay escalated after the Karen National Union signed a ceasefire with the government in 2012, and reached a crescendo after Thailand’s 2014 coup, when the military began a physical headcount of the camp residents.

“We spent a long time doing damage control,” said Mr Hall.

Instead, the decision-makers, he explained, will be the refugees themselves, especially their leaders. Each camp contains its own leadership committee, which in turn is overseen by the Karen Refugee Committee, a semi-political body with ties to the KNU.

The KRC has no authority to order anyone home, but in a culture with deep respect for leadership, a word from the top would invariably set things in motion.

Thus, the question is, what are they waiting for?

Two young children walk through one of the Mae La camp’s winding lanes. (Steve Tickner / Frontier)

Promised land

“If we go back, we won’t have the land,” said KRC chairman Pastor Robert Htwe, who crossed the border in 1975 to minister to displaced Karen Christians.

Land is a problem and a significant amount of is heavily mined. Despite the recent multi-party ceasefire, large tracts in Kayin and Kayah states remain in volatile political limbo as the KNU, Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and Tatmadaw hammer out boundaries. There are decades-old ownership and title disputes to untangle. In some places, untamed bush covers where thriving villages once stood.

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The exiles can re-plant and rebuild, said Pastor Htwe; Myanmar’s hill tribes, if anything, are capable and resilient. But ‘land’ for him and his people is bigger than titles, soil and hidden bombs. ‘Land’ means security, and within the old, tattered camp fences, people can still find some sort of healthcare, they can still send their children to school, and, most importantly, they can know that these things will probably not go away, despite the endemic rumour mill.

They cannot say the same for anywhere across the Moei River.

The signs are encouraging. The KNU and the Myanmar government finally seem to be working together and there’s reason for optimism. But after decades of having promises delivered and then broken, Pastor Htwe and his people have become accustomed to biding their time.

“Many people, they want to go back, but we don’t know our future,” he said.

Even “going back” means different things to different people. The majority want to eventually return home rather than being resettled in a third country, a consensus cited by Pastor Htwe and supported by UNHCR surveys. Some want to return to their own villages. Others want to stay together, to preserve the deep-rooted communities that have formed in the camps. Families have joined and joined again; new clans and even subcultures have emerged. Some talk about simply packing up their huts and rebuilding them on Kayin soil.

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It’s a pipe dream, said Pastor Htwe. He said discussions within and among the KRC, KNU, Myanmar government and other parties all prioritise sending people back to their original villages, if possible. “If we return, we cannot stay together like in the camp.”

Define: refugee

More troubling for Pastor Htwe are those who do not wish to return at all.

“[Now] there are a lot of ethnicities,” he said. “After resettlement in 2005, a lot of people came from Burma for the resettling, not as refugees.”

He is referring to when the Thai government, with UN assistance, began resettling registered camp members en masseto countries such as the United States and Australia. Supposedly to curb opportunistic migration it also limited new camp registrations to special cases, such as people with certain medical conditions or at risk of gender-based violence. It resulted in something of a divide in the camp community between the registered old guard and unregistered newcomers.

Pastor Htwe believes the unregistered population, on the whole, has strengthened the idea that the refugees are only looking for a ticket to the West. “They will tell you, ‘We don’t want to come back.’” This in turn has made it more difficult to retain the interest of outside donors and supporters.

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Daw Moe Moe Win has lived for 10 years in sprawling Mae La camp near Mae Sot. She is Chin, but her husband is Karen. She has fled conflict twice, she said, first from Chin State, and then, after studying English in Yangon, from her husband’s village in Kayin.

They are unregistered, having arrived at the camp a month before registration ended, but Daw Moe Moe Win said she was not there only because of the possibility of being resettled abroad. Even if she was, years of camp life would not be worth it.

“We don’t want to be a refugee. People look down on us,” she said. “I’ve lived in Mae La ten years and I have only been out [in the city] maybe ten times.”

She and her husband want to return to Myanmar, but they wouldn’t say “no” to somewhere else either. “Where is safe? That is the first priority.”

Myanmar is not safe, not in her mind or the minds of her fellow refugees, despite the ceasefire. “When I was growing up, I saw ceasefire. At that time they said ‘ceasefire,’ but they destroyed the Chin land, the Chin people.”

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The war in Kayin was a 70-year conflict, fraught with bullets and torched homes, as well as also broken promises and dashed hopes. The situation is tense in many of the newly-stable conflict zones. The newspapers might say peace while packs of zealous soldiers-turned-bandits seek revenge in the jungle, and old land mines still cripple children. The fear, at least, is enough to keep Daw Moe Moe Win in the camp.

Mr Hall agrees with focusing on repatriation rather than resettlement elsewhere. “Resettlement is a protection solution. We’re not a travel club,” he said.

But he believes most camp residents, including those who are unregistered, do not want to move on to a third country. About half of those left in the nine camps are still registered, yet requests for resettlement abroad have plummeted in recent years.

In other words, there are thousands of people who have been offered a free pass to a third country and said “no.”

“That told us something,” said Mr Hall. “We think the majority would like to go home.”

And the feeling is growing, especially as a new generation emerges in the camps.

“They're youth,” Mr Hall said. “They're 15, 16 and 17, and they're in a refugee camp. And they're in restrictions, they can't leave the camp, and they're going, ‘What is this life I've got? I don't want this life. Whether it's Holland or Myanmar, whether I get to Thailand illegally or whether I get to resettle in the US. I'm just a kid.”

Children reflected in a pond at the Mae La Oon refugee camp. (Vincenzo Floramo / Frontier)

Slow exodus

Ten thousand, at least, have already left.

The missing people were most likely what the UN calls “self-assisted returns,” people who just pack up and leave without alerting the KRC, the UN, Thai security or anyone else.

“They often tend to be the most successful. Why? Because they don’t need the support. Because they made the decision without anyone badgering them,” said Mr Hall.

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He said they usually keep their refugee documents and ration cards “just in case,” and sometimes drift back across the Moei River to visit friends and family in the camp and bring news from home.

This is the exodus we can expect for now: Not floodgates opening, but a trickle of people wandering over to the other side to see how things are, gradually dissolving the barrier between camp and country.

“A lot of them have just had enough.”

http://frontiermyanmar.net

Malaysian police nab 2 Myanmar men in mass graves case

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Police team chief says suspects found during search for 6 other foreigners in relation to human trafficking camps along Thai border

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian police have detained two Myanmar nationals during a search for six other foreigners wanted in relation to mass graves of human trafficking victims found along the border with Thailand last year.

The chief of a special police team investigating the case told Anadolu Agency Wednesday that the two men, both in their 30s, were found at an immigration detention center as they had been deemed victims of human trafficking.

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They were, however, named by other victims during a suspect identification process last week, Goh Kok Liang said by phone.

“They were kept at the immigration detention center as illegal immigrants, only until they were named as prime suspects involved in the mass graves,” he said.

“They are not the traffickers but should have plenty of knowledge on the actual criminals. I cannot say more because we are yet to record a statement and this is a highly secretive case,” he added.

Police are still searching for the other six suspects, included among whom are Myanmar and Thai nationals.

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“We are getting arrest warrants for the six suspects so that once we locate them, we can remand them,” Liang said.

“They are also involved in a small way in the human trafficking syndicate.”

In May last year, 159 gravesites – some holding more than one body – were found at 28 human trafficking camps in the northern Malaysian towns of Padang Besar and Wang Kelian near the Thai border.

The discovery came after more than 30 corpses were found in jungle camps in southern Thailand.

According to Malaysian authorities, the camps on the Malay side of the Thai border had become a safe haven to temporarily house the migrants – many of them Muslim Rohingya who have been fleeing Myanmar in droves since 2012 – while Thai authorities carried out their operation on the other side.

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The crackdown by Thai authorities on the camps had also scared traffickers into abandoning their human cargo at sea.

Following a tri-nation conference on the crisis May 20, Indonesia and Malaysia announced they would take those they considered to be refugees – predominantly Rohingya – in for one year before the international community finds homes for them, while those classified as economic migrants – predominantly Bangladeshi – would be repatriated.

Since the discovery, Thai police have charged at least 88 people – including a general – with human trafficking while Malaysia detained 47 people – including four police officials – as of November.

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Stop pretending refugees don’t exist here, Putrajaya told

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 ― Putrajaya can no longer afford to ignore the rising influx of foreigners seeking refuge in Malaysia and must assume greater responsibility to assist with relief efforts currently undertaken by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as well as NGOs, a DAP lawmaker has said.

Damansara Utama state lawmaker Yeo Bee Yin said that the onus in on the federal government to look into reforming legislation to address the matter, pointing out that its current policy does not recognise the rights of refugees as Malaysia did not sign the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees or the 1967 Protocol.

Refugees coming to Malaysia are usually sent to countries like Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States for resettlement.

“The 'can’t see can’t hear' system is framed in such a way as if the refugee don’t exist in the country,” Yeo said in a statement here.

“The question now is can Malaysia refugee policy remain status quo in the face of the rising number of refugees? Should we recognise the status of refugee and their rights?

“What cross-boundary solutions should we advocate? How can we get the funding from the international community to help with refugee management in Malaysia?” the Selangor lawmaker asked, adding that the government has a responsibility to ensure that the female refugees are not sexually exploited and that their children are not deprived of a formal education.

Yeo proposed that the government form form a non-partisan refugee committee comprising of representatives from both sides of the political divide, relevant NGOs and international organisations such as UNHCR to discuss ways to reform the current legislative and administrative framework to deal with issues related to refugees.

Yesterday, the Home Ministry classified the over 1,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya who recently arrived at Langkawi are classified as illegal immigrants because Putrajaya does not recognise any refugees- even if they come from countries in conflict.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the 1,058 nationals from Bangladesh and Myanmar will be held at the Belantik detention centre in Kedah over the next one to three months before they are sent back to their home countries.

“As far as Immigration is concerned, everyone is an immigrant,” Wan Junaidi told Malay Mail Online yesterday.

“We’re not a signatory to the United Nations’ Refugee Convention. We are not recognising anybody coming to our country as refugees; it doesn’t matter if the country is a country of conflict. So we classify them as illegal immigrants,” he added.

Out of the 1,058 migrants, there are 993 men, 104 women and 61 children, according to Wan Junaidi. There are 486 Rohingya and 672 Bangladeshis.

UK news website BBC reported on Monday the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as saying that the recent discovery of dozens of bodies in a mass grave in south Thailand, believed to be of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh, has prompted a Thai crackdown that is deterring people smugglers from landing.

BBC said the Bangladeshis and Rohingya, whom the United Nations views as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, are usually brought by people smugglers to Thailand and detained until they can raise money to continue their journey to Malaysia and beyond.

US news channel Al Jazeera America reported Sunday that some 1,600 Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugees have landed in Malaysia and Indonesia, apparently after human traffickers abandoned ship and left them alone.

Langkawi deputy police chief Jamil Ahmed reportedly said that most of the migrants were weak and thin, with one of them saying that they have not eaten for three days.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/stop-pretending-refugees-dont-exist-here-putrajaya-told#sthash.QDmGwpSd.dpuf

Uncertainty, Concern Surround Thai Govt Headcount of Refugees

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Concerns and uncertainty over the future of tens of thousands of Burmese refugees living on the Thai-Burma border continue to grow as Thai authorities proceed with headcount operations in all nine refugee camps.

Refugees, aid NGOs and the UN said Thai authorities are taking refugees off food distribution lists, tightening restrictions on their movement, and appear to be categorizing residents in order to facilitate their future removal from the camp.

A dearth of information surrounds the actions of the Thai military government, however, and much about the activities remains unclear as neither refugees, aid groups nor the UN have been informed about details of the plan.

The Thai junta, which seized power through a coup in May, announced in the Thai media in recent weeks that it wants to cooperate with Burma to repatriate the refugees by 2015, but it has not mentioned any details of the plan.

Recently, local Thai authorities began carrying out a headcount in the nine camps that have housed some 120,000 refugees for about two decades.

Last week, headcounts were carried out at Mae La, the biggest camp, in Tak Province, and at Ban Mai Nai Soi in Mae Hong Son Province, and smaller camps in Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi provinces. Preparations are under way to begin the process in Mae Ra Ma Luang and Mae La Oon camps in Mae Hong Son Province soon.

Saw Honest, chairman of the Mae La camp, which is home to some 40,000 refugees, said Thai soldiers had called residents to assemble at the camp grounds and read out the names of households registered with the camp administration and The Border Consortium (TBC).

If refugees were not present, he said, their names were removed from the household registration cards and they would no longer be eligible for food and other aid distribution from TBC, a coalition of aid organizations supporting the camps.

Saw Honest said he believed that the Thai government had the authority to remove people’s UN refugee status if they were not present in the camp during the headcount, but it appeared that this had not happened so far.

“The [headcount] is the first step. But, we don’t know their intention in the next step,” he said, adding that Thai authorities had told him that the headcount was meant to “update the refugee population registration and they will keep this record as the updated one. It is like they want to clarify who has refugee and who has migrant status.”

He added that the headcount exercise was not affecting refugees who are applying for individual third country resettlement with UN help.

Naw Day Day Poe, deputy secretary of Mae La refugee camp, said, “We don’t know what exactly will happen after this [headcount] program, but things are getting serious.”

Thai military officials told news agency Reuters last week they were conducting the headcount in order to get an updated refugee figure and to ascertain how many refugees were leaving the camp in order to work—which has been prohibited by Thai authorities—or whether economic migrants were among the camp residents.

Many of the refugees regularly leave the camps to find ways to support their livelihoods.

Thai authorities have announced that they delisted some 3,000 camp residents as eligible for refugee support at several camps in Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi provinces.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Thai provincial authorities were carrying out the headcount without its involvement, adding that the agency had been kept in the dark about its purposes.

“You’ll have to ask the authorities as we are not involved in the headcount and don’t know what they plan to do with the results,” said Vivian Tan, a UNHCR spokesperson.

“From what we can observe, the headcount is being conducted in an inconsistent and ad hoc way across different camps,” Tan said.

“In some camps, refugees are told that if they are not present for the headcounts, they will be taken off food distribution lists. In some other camps they have been told that they do not have to be physically present and that their families or leaders can account for them.”

Duncan McArthur, Partnership Director of TBC, said, “There are precedents of Thai authorities de-registering [UN] refugees for violations of Thai law, but the current purpose of the headcounts is unclear.”

Last week, Thai media reported that a senior junta member would attend a Thai-Burma Regional Border Committee on Aug 1-3 in Mergui, Tennaserim Division, to discuss refugee repatriation with the Burmese government.

The UNHCR has said that conditions in eastern Burma are not yet right for organized repatriation due to presence of unmarked mine fields and the lack of critical infrastructure, services and livelihood opportunities. It said both Burma and Thailand agreed with the UN that the return of refugees should be voluntary and safe.

The refugees, most of them Karen and Karenni minorities, fled ethnic conflict in eastern Burma in the past two decades or so. Thailand has allowed the refugees to stay on its soil and live in camps with support from UN and aid groups, but has long insisted their presence is “temporary” and has put restrictions on camp residents.

A particular concern during the Thai government’s repatriation push is the status of some 58,000 refugees, more than half of all camp residents, who do not have official UNHCR refugee status.

Those who fled Burma after 2005 were prevented from obtaining such a status, as the Thai government withdrew support for the UN registration process, although it did allow refugees to live in camps and register with NGOs for aid. Prior to 2005, the Thai Interior Ministry and the UN had jointly provided official refugee registration cards.

“The vast majority of unregistered refugees appear to have fled from the effects of conflict just like registered refugees before them. It is not clear how unregistered refugees will be treated on this occasion, but they remain more vulnerable to forced repatriation,” said McArthur of TBC.

Htee Wah, a refugee in Mae La Oon camp, said unconfirmed reports circulating among residents and NGO staff suggest that Thai authorities want to dismantle all but one of the refugee camps.

“We heard after the headcount process, refugees who are eligible for third country program will be asked to resettle in the West. Refugees who want to return home will be sent back,” he said. “Those who want to remain in Thailand will be kept in Mae La Ma Luang camp. After that, Thai authorities will shut down the rest of the refugee camps.”

Thai media have previously reported that the Thai government was planning to register refugees in the aforementioned three categories in order to facilitate their repatriation and dismantle or size down the camps.

Thai authorities are also tightening restrictions on movement of the refugees in order to limit opportunities to work outside the camp, said Tu Tu, an official from Karen Refugee Committee in Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son Province.

Thai authorities believe that some camp residents are migrants looking for job opportunities, while some refugees work outside of the camp illegally, according to Tu Tu, adding that authorities also allege that Burmese camp residents are involved in illicit cross-border activities such as timber and drug trade, and human trafficking.

Kyor Dah, a refugee in Mae La Onn camp, said, “It seems the Thai regime wants to clear up the refugee population in order to expel unregistered refugees and economic migrants who live in the camp and refugees who live outside the camps.

“If the refugee population decreases, it will be easier for them to shut down the camps,” he said.

“We are very much worried about the inspections by Thai authorities, as they are ordered by the military. Now they [the military] have power, so they can do everything that they want to. They can repatriate us or shut down the camps if they want.”

At Mae La Oon and Mae La Ma Luang camps Thai soldiers have begun patrols near the camps and regular inspections of camp residents’ refugee status and their belongings, Kyor Dah said, adding that in some cases motorbikes and cars without proper documentation were seized from residents.

“They said that refugees should be living like poor refugees. People who own properties are not like refugees,” he added. Many refugees rely on small remittances made by their relatives who resettled in third countries to buy such properties.

US to ease sanctions on imports from Myanmar

In a move that is expected to give a significant economic boost to Myanmar, the US has said it will begin easing restrictions on imports of goods from the southeast Asian country in recognition of efforts by its government to bring the country back on the road to democracy.

The announcement was made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her meeting with Myanmar’s President U Thein Sein on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

It comes just a week after Myanmar’s pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi embarked on a historic visit to the United States and urged lifting of sanctions on her country.

“In recognition of the continued progress toward reform and in response to requests from both the government and the opposition, the United States is taking the next step in normalizing our commercial relationship. We will begin the process of easing restrictions on imports of Burmese goods into the US,” Clinton said before her meeting with Sein here.

Clinton expressed hope that the move would provide more opportunities for the people of Myanmar to sell their goods into the US market.

“We have watched as you and your government have continued the steady process of reform, and we’ve been pleased to respond with specific steps that recognize the government’s efforts and encourage further reform,” she said.

Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein meets to resolve ethnic conflict

Reuters

YANGON: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi held talks with the country’s president on Sunday in their first official meeting since she took up her role as a member of parliament.

The democracy champion met Myanmar leader Thein Sein in the capital Naypyidaw early Sunday, according to Zaw Htay of the president’s office, who was unable to give details of the subjects under discussion.

He added that Railway Minister Aung Min, a key figure in efforts to resolve the country’s ethnic conflicts, was among those present at the talks.

Recent clashes between Buddhist ethnic Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya have left dozens dead and tens of thousands homeless in Rakhine state in the west of the country. Suu Kyi has disappointed some rights campaigners by not offering stronger support to Myanmar’s estimated 800,000 Rohingya, described by the United Nations as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.

Myanmar has come under international pressure over the conflict, after the United Nations voiced concerns of a crackdown on Muslims and Human Rights Watch issued a report alleging abuses by security forces in the region. The government, which denies the rights group’s claims, has given the go ahead for Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to deliver aid to affected areas after talks last week, the pan-Islamic body said on Saturday. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has ordered $50 million in aid be sent to a Muslim minority in Myanmar which a human rights group said has been targeted by the authorities since sectarian riots in June.

A report on the Saudi state news agency said the Rohingya community had been “exposed to many violations of human rights including ethnic cleansing, murder, rape and forced displacement”. “King Abdullah has ordered that assistance of the amount of $50 million be provided to the Rohingya Muslim citizens in Myanmar,” said the report which was carried by Saudi media on Sunday. It did not say who was to blame for the abuses. reuters

Burma, Thailand Sign Dawei MoU

Burma’s President Thein Sein and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pictured outside Thailand’s Government House on Monday (Photo: Simon Roughneen)

BANGKOK—In his first visit to next-door neighbor Thailand as president, Thein Sein on Monday signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) aimed at tightening the growing economic links between the two countries.

The MoUs focus on the Dawei [Tavoy] deep-sea port on Burma’s southwest coast, on development cooperation in Burma, and on joint energy sector projects.

In a brief press conference earlier on Monday at Thailand’s Government House, the Burmese president thanked Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for her country’s “ongoing support for political and economic reforms.”

Questions were not permitted at the press conference, during which the Thai premier did most of the talking and which centered around economic issues. Yingluck thanked Thein Sein for his “reaffirmed commitment to Dawei,” the multi-billion-dollar port and special economic zone which is being developed by Thai conglomerate Italian-Thai Development (ITD) but about which doubts have emerged in recent months, amid concerns that ITD is struggling to raise the backing and finance needed to make the project happen.

Burmese officials have publicly questioned the viability of Dawei, with other port and economic zone projects under development inside the country at Kyaukpyu in the Bay of Bengal near the Shwe Gas pipeline, and at Thilawa outside Rangoon, while India is backing a new port and jetty at Sittwe in conflict-ridden Arakan State.

“Both sides agreed to build connectivity between Dawei and Laem Chabang,” said Yingluck, referring to the port 100 km southeast of Bangkok that Thein Sein visited on Sunday, and which will be linked to Dawei by road, according to current plans.

During his visit to Laem Chabang on Sunday, Thein Sein was briefed by Thailand’s Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board on the port and on possible benefits of the Dawei- Laem Chabang link.

Thailand is Burma’s second-largest trade partner after China, with a reported trade volume of US $4.5 billion for the fiscal year 2011-2012.

The Thai prime minister proposed opening three additional border crossings between the two countries, one near Chiang Mai, one near Mae Hong Song and one near Kanchanaburi, though no mention was made of the 140,000 or so Burmese refugees living in camps on the Thai side of the 2,300-kilometer (1,300-mile) border, amid cutbacks by Western donors which could prompt some of the refugees to return to Burma prematurely to areas that are heavily mined.

The Thai government, however, pledged to “take care of the Myanmar labour in Thailand in a just manner and according to Thai law,” according to Yingluck. There are 2-3 million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, most of whom work in low-paid menial jobs in sectors such as fishing and construction.

Trafficking of Burmese labor is common, however, and recent years have seen frequent revelations alleging slavery and mistreatment of Burmese at the hands of Thai employers and Burmese traffickers.

Meanwhile, 92 Thais who were arrested in Kawthaung in Burma on July 4 will appear before a Burmese court on July 27. The issue was not raised at the press conference but according to Thai officials, Yingluck was set to discuss the fate of the 92 separately with Thein Sein.

http://www.irrawaddy.org

New Role for Americans to Promote Human Rights in Burma

On Wednesday, President Obama lifted the ban on U.S. investment in Burma without putting any safeguards in place. President Obama ignored the advice of the human rights community, who implored his Administration to ensure only responsible investment was permitted and human rights were respected. For the first time since 1997, U.S companies will now be allowed to do business in Burma, including with Burmese government owned businesses, an actual requirement all foreign companies are subjected to by the Burmese government.

What this means for human rights in Burma and your role in promoting human rights and democracy for the people of Burma.

A) Sanctions against the Burmese regime and its cronies are leverage to push for democracy and human rights. By lifting the investment ban, the United States loses leverage to bring about more reform, while the people of Burma are still suffering human rights abuses and mass atrocities at the hands of the Burmese regime. There is now only one sanction left–the import ban–which must be renewed by Congress before the end of July. Call your Senators to support the renewal of the import ban.

Burma’s military still commits heinous human rights abuses against Burma’s ethnic civilians, particularly in Kachin State, where their military won't allow international humanitarian aid into the region. The Burmese regime refuses to admit there are still hundreds of political prisoners behind bars. In an extremely worrying move, President Thein Sein told the UN on Wednesday, he wants the Rohingya put in camps or deported, a request the UN immediately refused. Something must be done to end these abuses!

We must send a strong signal that real reform respects human rights, not profits. The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act is the ONLY influence the United States has left to pressure the Burmese regime to move forward with genuine democratic change.

B) Investment without safeguards will contribute to human rights abuses and profits for the Burmese military.  More and more farms have been confiscated and some farmers have been arrested for refusing to leave their land. In addition to the most egregious human rights abuses in conflict zones, throughout the country the regime carries out forced labor, forced relocation, extortion, land confiscation and burning of civilians’ crops and farms, some of it in the name of making way for foreign investment. American Oil and Gas companies are now allowed to partner with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a Burmese government company who generates billions of dollars in profits for the Burmese military. The money our corporations will invest can fuel this murderous machine. For a more detailed explanation of the dangers of investment without safeguards, check out our blog, the LA Times and IPS. 

In the months ahead, as American companies enter Burma, we will need our supporters, like you, to help ensure their activities and investments do not involve land confiscation, human rights abuses and money to those who obstruct political reform and commit human rights abuses.

The people of Burma will need our help—will you speak out to for the people of Burma? Right now, you have the power to keep the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act (S.J.RES 43) in place by calling your Senators to cosponsor the bill, but time is running out. The bill expires in less than 3 weeks, you have to call your Senators now!

Click here for calling instruction, congressional scorecards to check where your Senators stand and the background of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act.

Thank you for speaking out for the people of Burma.

Myra and USCB team