encampments remain in such close proximity to the border and CGDK
armed forces are present in civilian areas, the displaced persons
will remain dangerously exposed to warfare and will continue to
be vulnerable to random violence and abuse. The situation of
some 50-60,000 persons in border camps administered by the Khmer
Rouge could be described as desperate by comparison.
The Khmer Rouge have consistently denied international
relief agencies full access to their camps, and in the last year
have forcibly relocated some twenty thousand persons under their
control to contested war zones along the border or inside
Cambodia. It is therefore crucial that international attention
be given to their situation as efforts are made to develop a new,
broader consensus for addressing the refugee problems of the
region.
The plight of the displaced Cambodians is a particularly
tragic one: having fled violent social upheaval, civil war,
political repression and famine, they now live in tense and
uncertain conditions as hostages of a larger political conflict.
Regardless of their "official" status, they would seem to be most
deserving of safe haven under international protection. In their
present circumstances they have neither such protection, nor the
freedom of choosing to return to their homeland or remain of
their own volition in the resistance-controlled encampments.
Chronic abuse of human rights by the Khmer Rouge, and their
persistent refusal to allow international organizations access to
border areas under their control, demonstrates most dramatically
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