KWO Thank You Letter and update information to Friends and Supporters-the situation in No Boe is improving. The families are not forced to go back anymore.

Karen Women Organization
P.O. 19, Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son, 58110, Thailand,
Tel: 66-53-681084, Fax: 66-53-621410
Email: kwocentral@tttmaxnet.com
Website: http://www.karenwomen.org

KWO Thank You Letter and update information to Friends and Supporters
Date: June 22, 2009

Dear friends and supporters,
Thank you for your effort in trying to stop the repatriation of Karen families by local Thai
authorities in Tha Song Yang district, Tak province in Thailand.

Your cooperation and hard work has had positive results. This morning KWO received news
that the situation in No Boe is improving. The families are not forced to go back anymore.
The local Thai Army leader, who administers the areas, has been removed.

The Karen leader of the group in No Boe is now allowed to enter the area where the new
arrivals are based. Yesterday he was stopped by Thai army and was not allowed to monitor
the situation in the No Boe site.

Villagers are feeling better and are relieved to now have access to adequate food rations,
without any restrictions by the Thai authorities. Villagers and leaders asked the Thai
authorities and UNHCR if they could have a place to settle down before the situation in their
areas is better.

It is understood that UNHCR has already talked with the Thai authorities on this matter. The
Thai authorities have agreed to find an area for the villagers to settle until there is a better
solution.

KWO concerned letter about the forced repatriation of the newly arrived families in Tak

KWO concerned letter about the forced repatriation of the newly arrived families in Tak Province, Thailand

Date: June 22, 2009

KWO is very concerned about the current situation of repeated forced repatriation of the families recently arrived to Thailand in Tha Song Yang by Local Thai authority since June 16, 09. We are particularly concerned for the security and safety of women and children who just ran away from fighting in their areas.

KWO fear that women are vulnerable to rape if they are forced to return and the children are already tired of running.The evidence of two Karen teenage girls raped and killed proof a well founded fear of women being abused if they returned.
KWO would like to call on the international communities to do whatever they can to stop the possible forced repatriation by the Thai local Thai army.

The Thai government and UNHCR should urgently develop a procedure of obtaining proper informed consent from villagers, for decisions about returning to their villages or asking for refuge in Thailand. UNHCR must ensure that adequate protection measures are in place to protect villagers from forced or coerced repatriation.

KWO appeals to the Thai Royal government to not force these newly arrived families and to respect the international law of non-refoulement.

We also call on every concern groups who care for human rights in Burma to give pressure to Thai government to allow the refugees to take refuge until there is peace in Burma and people volunteer to return to their villages.

“Thai authorities should at least wait and see the situation. Forcing back these people during the rainy season and to the place where they still have every reason to fear for their lives is inhumane and a violation of their rights.” said Dah Eh Kler, the Secretary of KWO. “These people just fled to the border a few weeks ago with fear and fresh memories of their attacks.”

update/bamboo by Kwekalu Karen News

http://www.kwekalu.net/update/bamboo.html

thai try to send by Kwekalu Karen News

http://www.kwekalu.net/update/thaitrytosend.html

A base located near to the grave of the late KNU leader, General Mya, was overtaken by the Burmese army last week.

Loss of Karen bases a ‘strategic’ move by KNU
June 19, 2009 (DVB)–The Burmese army is increasingly susceptible to ambushes from the Karen National Union following the overthrow of a number of Karen bases in recent days, says the Union’s joint-secretary.

The offensive between the Burmese army, backed by Karen splinter group the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), and the Karen National Union (KNU), has been raging since 2 June.
Thousands of Karen villagers have fled to Thailand to escape the crossfire and reported forced recruitment into the army.
The KNU has admitted to the loss of three bases to Burmese troops in recent days, although said yesterday that the move was partly tactical.
A base located near to the grave of the late KNU leader, General Mya, was overtaken by the Burmese army last week.
“We opened that spot [for SPDC troops to enter] about three to four days ago and maybe they will arrive today,” said Saw Hla Ngwe.
“That place is a good target for artillery firing and we can ambush them when they enter.”
He added that the offensive was being used by the government to distract attention from the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and a warning to ceasefire groups who are failing to comply with government requests to transform in border patrol militias.
So far around 4000 Karen refugees have arrived in Thailand, with many reporting instances of forced recruitment into the army either as porters or to act as minesweepers.
The UN has sent staff to the area to assess the fallout of a conflict that has attracted international attention.

KNLA Brigade 7 HQ Falls—Thailand Repatriates Refugees

A joint force of Burmese army troops and soldiers of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) seized the headquarters of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 7 on Sunday, its most important victory in a weeks-long offensive in the Burmese-Thai border area,

As fighting raged, Karen sources said the Thai authorities are forcibly repatriating refugees who had fled to Thailand.

The fall of the brigade headquarters of the Karen National Union (KNU) military wing was confirmed by Maj Hla Ngwe, joint secretary (1) of the KNU, who said KNLA forces would now resort to “guerrilla tactics.” only one KNLA Brigade 7 base remained intact, he said.

Hla Ngwe said seven soldiers of the attacking force had died when the assault on the Brigade 7 headquarters began on June 19.

KNU sources say the KNLA’s Brigade 7 has also lost three battalion bases—21, 22 and 101. Half of the battalion 202 base has also been taken.

Sometimes the only difference between a migrant and a refugee is that the former chooses to work and live outside a camp so that he can earn money and support relatives back home

Two NGOs are urging the Thai Government to put words into action: stop categorizing Burmese fleeing atrocities in their home country as refugees or migrants and give them human rights protection.

Just a couple of months after the promulgation of the ASEAN Charter in November 2007, the Thai Government came under fire when it was accused of sending Rohingya people who escaped prosecution from the Burmese junta back into the sea on mortorless boats, resulting in several deaths. Bangkok, which is the current ASEAN chair, reportedly insisted that these Rohingya people, a stateless Muslim minority in Burma, were not “refugees” but “illegal migrants” and should be sent back to the military-ruled country.

Many migrants fit the definition of a political refugee. Yet, they are often perceived as voluntarily leaving their home country to seek better economic opportunities. On the contrary, refugees are perceived with a more sympathetic attitude as victims who are forced to escape armed conflict or human rights abuses in their home countries, said Ms. Jackie Pollock, director of the Migrant Assistance Programme (MAP) Foundation.

In reality, sometimes the only difference between a migrant and a refugee is that the former chooses to work and live outside a camp so that he can earn money and support relatives back home who have not been able to escape while the latter chooses to live in camps provided by the hosting country. “Rather than categorizing people as refugees or migrants, we should look at their needs.” Ms. Pollock said. “People who have been traumatized need to be provided a safe place to stay. I don’t think refugee camps provide that.”

At the MAP’s joint press conference with the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) on 16 June, the two NGOs were calling for increased human rights protection for Burmese migrants and refugees as well as transparent recruitment process of migrant workers to beat human trafficking.

Abuses and poverty brought by military rule are the causes of migration. The NGO activists at the press conference agreed that ASEAN lacks the teeth to enforce its own charter, which outlines the creation of a regional human rights body and human rights protection for ASEAN citizens. Still, the presence of a written agreement gives them a solid footing to present their demands.

Thailand-New Registration for Migrant Workers

View this document on Scribd

Norwegian champion Martin Haug Schilde after winning the South Pole race against Great Britain plants for the first time in history the flag of the Karen people of Burma at the South Pole! Martin Haug Schilde a close friend of Colonel NERDAH MYA,leder of the the Karen Rebells,carried the flag 2475 kilometers on skies with him.

Karen Flag Flies at South Pole

It was norwegian Roald Amundsen who 1911 found as the first human being the Sout Pole in a race with the Briton Scott who died during the race.

The race started at last Christmas end ended at the first week of February.

Temperature at the Southpole was at the time of arrival- 40 degress.

The Norwegian Martin Haug Schilde will through his flag planting reminded the world of the Burmese fight for democracy.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/nationvdo/showvdo.php?id=1940&name=News&cateid=13

see video http://www.karenunited.co.cc/2009/06/bookmark-and-share-karen-flag-flies-at.html

A border relief organisation on Monday accused the Burmese soldiers and their allies of raping women fleeing battles inside the country and called on the Thai government to halt forced repatriation of ethnic Karen women and children, citing humanitarian and security reasons.

Karen women beg Thai government not to repatriate them

In a statement issued Monday, the Karen Women Organisation said it was “very concerned about the current situation of repeated forced repatriation of the families recently arrived to Thailand in Tha Song Yang by Local Thai authority since June 16, 2009″

” We are particularly concerned for the security and safety of women and children who just ran away from fighting in their areas. KWO fear that women are vulnerable to rape if they are forced to return and the children are already tired of running,” the statement said.

KWO said at least two Karen teenage girls raped and killed recently.

“Thai authorities should at least wait and see the situation. Forcing back these people during the rainy season and to the place where they still have every reason to fear for their lives is inhumane and a violation of their rights.” said Dah Eh Kler, the Secretary of KWO.

“These people just fled to the border a few weeks ago with fear and fresh memories of their attacks,” she said.

In the Monday statement, KWO called on the international communities to “do whatever they can to stop the possible forced repatriation by the Thai local Thai army.”

The organisation called on the Thai government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to “urgently develop a procedure of obtaining proper informed consent from villagers, for decisions about returning to their villages or asking for refuge in Thailand.”

Nearly 3,500 people, mostly women and children, from 20 villages along the ThaiBurmese border have fled into the Thai side of the border to escape heavy fighting since June 2, 2009.

Nation