Thailand suspended on Friday the forced repatriation of ethnic Karen refugees from military-ruled Myanmar, heeding calls from US lawmakers and rights groups who said they faced possible death or enslavement.

About 3,000 ethnic Karens entered Thailand in June, when the Myanmar regime stepped up fighting against the Karen National Union (KNU), a rebel group that has been seeking independence in the eastern hills bordering Thailand for the past 60 years.
 

Rights activists say they are concerned for the safety of about 1,700 Karens who remain in Thai refugee camps if they are forced to return to landmine-infested regions in Myanmar.
 

A group of 27 US lawmakers on Thursday wrote a letter to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva asking him to stop the planned deportation, warning it would tarnish Thailand's reputation for helping resettle refugees.
 

Colonel Noppadon Watcharajitborworn, a commander in the western Thai border town of Mae Sot, said the defence ministry has told his taskforce to suspend all repatriation, although 16 ethnic Karens were already sent back earlier on Friday morning.
 

"We have been asked by Bangkok after coordination by the US requesting a temporary suspension. We are also re-evaluating the situation after rights groups voice concerns," Noppadon said.
 

Noppadon earlier said about 160 people had "volunteered" to return from three temporary refugee camps. Rights groups dispute Thailand's claim of voluntary repatriation, saying the Karens would be returning to a landmine-infested region.
 

"Sending these refugees back to Burma is sending them back to possible death, slave labour or forced recruitment as soldiers," said Zoya Phan, a coordinator of the London-based Burma Campaign.

Continuing exodus
The Myanmar junta has long been accused of persecution of the country's ethnic minorities, sparking a continuing exodus. Some 140,000 refugees live in official camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
 

Based on interviews with the refugees, the Thailand-based Karen Human Rights Group said the refugees were told they would be forced to leave Thailand by 15 February.
 

"If you do not go back, we will ask big trucks to come pick you up and throw you all into the sea," one refugee interviewed by the group quoted a solider as saying.
 

Aid workers say the situation on Myanmar's side of the border remains delicate, as low-intensity fighting between KNU rebels and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), aligned with the military, could erupt again.
 

The fighting, they say, suggests little progress in resolving one of the world's longest running insurgencies, raising the prospect of more instability and more refugees.
 

Myanmar is to hold its first election in two decades this year, but critics already dismiss it as a ploy to legitimise and extend military rule.
 

The regime wants ethnic groups to take part, and their support would help the junta claim the country was fully behind its elections. Critics also say the regime is trying to forcibly recruit rebel fighters for an army-run border patrol force.
 

Source: Reuters