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I. Introduction

The policy of the Royal Thai Government towards Burmese refugees and migrants is in a state of flux. On the one hand, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s forging of closer economic and political ties with the Burmese government has resulted in an increasingly hardline stance by Thailand towards Burmese exiles, refugees, and migrants—especially those who are visibly and vocally opposed to the military government in Rangoon. This has included the arrests and intimidation of Burmese political activists living in Bangkok or along the border, harassment of Burmese human rights and humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), deportations of Burmese asylum seekers, migrants, and refugees to Burma, and the government’s suspension of screening of new applicants for asylum from Burma by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

At the same time, Thailand has signaled a new receptivity to pressure by the United States and the United Nations to broaden resettlement opportunities for Burmese refugees now living in Bangkok and other urban centers in Thailand. While this should help to improve the situation, Human Rights Watch is concerned that Thailand may offset its agreement to resettle urban refugees by intensifying its crackdown on undocumented Burmese migrants and sealing the border to new asylum seekers from Burma. In addition, with the January 2004 ceasefire agreement between Rangoon and one of the main rebel factions, the Karen National Union (KNU), Thai authorities may begin to pressure increasing numbers of the 142,000 Burmese living in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border to “voluntarily” repatriate to Burma.

During the last year, Burma has attempted to improve its international image by advancing largely cosmetic changes—such as the “roadmap” to political normalization.¹ It is far too early, however, for Thailand, the U.N., and the international community to conclude that the factors that have forced hundreds of thousands of Burmese to flee to Thailand over the last two decades have ceased. This is particularly evident in the government-backed violent attack and arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and hundreds of her supporters in northern Burma on May 30, 2003, and the fact that more than 1,000 political prisoners remain behind bars. There has been no let-up in the government’s persecution of Burma’s Muslim population, systematic rape by government soldiers of ethnic minority women and children, forced labor, arrest of dissidents for peaceful expression of their views, torture of detainees, and forced relocation of ethnic minority villages to clear areas of activists and rebels and make way for large infrastructure projects.

Under these circumstances, for Thailand to forcibly return asylum seekers, refugees and others with a genuine fear of persecution in Burma back to their military-ruled homeland is a violation of international law.

This briefing paper, based on research conducted in Thailand in November and December 2003, outlines recent developments in Thai policy towards Burmese refugees and migrants and offers recommendations to the Thai government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the international community.