Excellency,

Re: crackdown on Burmese democracy activists and exiles

According to local sources, earlier this month, 11 villagers from Kanchanaburi province were forcibly repatriated to Burma by the Thai Army. Those alleged repatriations are the last of a series of crackdown by the Thai Army against Burmese democracy activists, NGOs and exiles based in Thailand.

At the end of December, in Sangkhlabury (district of Kanchanaburi province, 200 km West of Bangkok), Burmese democracy activists have been told to move out of Thai soil within three days by the Thai Army. The Army claimed that the persons arrested were rebels who had entered the country illegally and used Thai soil to launch attacks against Burmese troops. In addition, in the same zone, 65 ethnic Karens were issued a three days deadline to evacuate their homes. According to the Army, those villagers belonged to the Karen National Union and were not carrying identification cards. Presently, most Burmese democracy organisations in the border town have shut down their office.

According to Forum-Asia, a regional human rights organisation based in Bangkok, the 65 Karen villagers were unarmed civilians living in Thailand since several generations. They were not illegal migrants since some of them possessed ID cards, while the others were in the process of identifying themselves as allowed by the Cabinet resolution of 27 August 2002. That resolution provides for a one-year verification process for all persons belonging to "tribal groups" and no deportation order can be issued against those persons until August 2003.

As an additional restriction, on December 29, the Thai government changed the list of countries for which no visa is required to enter the country; Burmese citizens must now apply for a Thai visa before entering in Thailand and their visa can only be renewed at the Thai embassy in Rangoon. This seems to be part as well of the systematic move of Thai authorities to get rid of Burmese pro-democracy groups.

In August 2002, members from several pro-democracy organisations based in Sangkhlaburi district, including the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area), the All Burmese Students' Democratic Front, the Democratic Party for a New Society, and the People's Democratic Front had already been arrested and deported to the Burmese border. Members of ethnic rebel organisations, the Karen National Union and the Mon Youth Progressive Organisation, had also been arrested. The justification by the Thai army for those arrests was the illegal presence of those persons on the Thai territory. Some of them have been hiding in the jungles inside Burma after being evicted by the Thai military.

The repression exerted against Burmese democracy activists and NGOs seems to be the result of the will of the current Thai government to improve its relations with Burma. Your Excellency is expected for an official visit to Burma on February 9-10 and the Burmese Army chief is planned for a two-days visit in Thailand on January 31.

The FIDH strongly denounces that wave of repression against Burmese activists since their lives will be in danger if they are sent back to Burma. Thailand is neither a party to the UN Convention on Refugees, nor to the UN Convention Against Torture; however, it ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits torture (art 7). In its general comment on that provision, the UN Human Rights Committee specified that "States parties must not expose individuals to the danger of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment upon return to another country by way of their extradition, expulsion or refoulement" . The current policy of the Thai government puts the Burmese pro-democracy activists and exiles at high risk by sending them back to their country; Thailand therefore blatantly contravenes its international Human Rights commitments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In view of the alarming trend described above, we urge you to make sure that Thailand will continue to provide shelter and support for Burmese democracy activists and exiles, as in the past and abide by its international Human Rights obligations.

Sincerely yours,

Sidiki Kaba
President