An update of the Shan refugee situation in Fang District of Chiang Mai province
By the Shan Human Rights Foundation

Summary

This report highlights the plight of the over 100,000 Shan refugees in Thailand. Unlike the Karen and Karenni refugees form Burma, the Shans are not recognized as refugees and there are no refugee camps on the Shan-Thai border. The Shan refugees have therefore been forced to survive as illegal migrant workers.

The report, focusing on the Shan refugees in Fang district of Chiang Mai province, describes how the recent Thai government crackdown on migrant workers from Burma in November 1999 has caused increased insecurity and suffering for these refugees.

Shan refugees interviewed in the report, all of whom had fled human rights abuses committed by the Burmese military regime, describe how during November they were forced to hide in the forests with their families to avoid arrest by the Thai authorities. Many employers are now unwilling to employ illegal migrants, making it difficult for the refugees to survive.

The Burmese military regime is continuing to enforce its massive relocation program in Central Shan State, which has displaced over 300,000 people since 1996, and is causing large numbers of Shan refugees to continue to flee to Thailand.

The SHRF therefore appeals to the Royal Thai Government to allow refugee camps to be set up along the Shan-Thai border, where Shans fleeing persecution in Burma can be provided with security and protection, and be granted the right to receive humanitarian assistance from international aid agencies.

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