The Refugee Situation in Thailand
In
The refugee situation in Thailand continues to unfold.
the past several months, more than 200,000 Khmer have moved into
Thailand. They fled from camps just inside Kampuchea in response
to the strongest dry season offensive yet of the Vietnamese
against the Khmer resistance forces. Besides this movement of
Khmer, Laotians have been entering Thailand in increasing
numbers. Some 86,000 Laotians are now in Thailand whereas there
were 67,000 in November, 1983.
These recent events underscore the need to revise current
assumptions and policies which limit the options available to
address the continuously evolving problem of the movement of the
Indochinese into Southeast Asia. Policies and assumptions that
need modification include:
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the policy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that all Indochinese seeking asylum in Southeast Asia, in the absence of screening for refugee status, have a prima facie claim to such status.
the policy of the Thai government that the Indochinese are displaced persons or illegal entrants who are allowed to remain in their territory only so long as other countries demonstrate their continuing commitment to resettlement.
the assumption that Thailand has neither national interest nor humanitarian obligation to provide asylum to refugees and others from Indochina except as other countries agree to resettle them.
the assumption that resettlement--and to a certain degree Orderly Departure from Vietnam--are the only viable tools to work with to address these problems. (Resettlement clearly needs to remain a vital element of any strategy for coping with refugee problems in Southeast Asia.)
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