TNAG-1527-FCO40-2091-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-general-1986 — Page 184

3.2

described the situation on the Burmese border, where the Karen fugees were located. At present there seemed little that outside agencies could do beyond provide the minimum feeding requirements. The Thai Government was anxious not to appear to be aiding the Burmese rebels. There was a possibility of another Burmese offen- sive during the dry season and the feeling of the refugees within the camps was fairly insecure. A number of refugees had managed to harvest but they were being plagued by rats. A copy of the October Karen Refugee Committee monthly report was available for those interested. [from Committee Secretariat].

Bill Allen went on to describe the other camps that he had visited and agreed to circulate his report [attached to Minutes].

Iranian Refugees in Pakistan

4.

A response from UNHCR to the Committee's letter on Iranian refugees in Pakistan had recently been received and the letter was tabled. [Letter attached].

The Committee noted the points raised in Mr. Von Arnim's letter and the sensitivities of the situation. It was agreed that further action by the Committee would not be helpful at this stage and noted that agencies could be in touch with the YMCA and YWCA which were working locally with Iranian refugees.

REFUGEES FROM IRIAN JAYA IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Jonathan Head (TAPOL) was introduced to the committee. newscuttings and a TAPOL Briefing Paper were tabled.

Several

Jonathan Head reported that the situation for refugees from Irian Jaya in PNG had deteriorated in the last few months. Several groups of refugees had been repatriated to Irian Jaya. In October a group of 12 refugees had been arrested, handcuffed and beaten and forced to return to Irian Jaya against their will. On arrival in Jayapura they had been interned and interrogated and were likely to face anti-subversion charges. Information received by TAPOL indicated that a group of four refugees who had been deported earlier had been executed. The PNG government had made no moves to grant refugee status and although UNHCR had received assurances that there would be no further forcible repatriations, UNHCR was only able to operate in a very limited way. It appeared that the PNG government was anxious to keep the situation bilateral and was under considerable pressure from the Indonesian government to return certain individuals who had been politically active. The PNG government was trying urgently to find third countries to accept five resistance leaders whose presence was regarded as particularly embarrassing but as yet no countries had been found to accept these refugees or the hundreds of others at risk in PNG. Resettlement in the region was usually difficult as most other countries in the region would not want to damage relations with the Indonesian Government.

Irene Khan (UNHCR) reported that the UNHCR Regional Chief of Section was at this time on mission in PNG. There had been no further deportations since the incident referred to. Previously, assurances for the safety of the refugees had been gained from one of the government ministers, while others might have held different views.