Amnesty International is gravely concerned that the Royal Thai Government has continued to forcibly return Karen refugees back to Myanmar, despite a clear and persistent pattern of torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial killings of Karen civilians by the Burmese military. There are fears that the authorities may repatriate all Karen refugees once fighting between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burmese army has stopped, despite evidence that the army continues to seize civilians for forced portering and forcibly relocates them under threat of death in ceasefire areas. There is also concern that those refugees who remain in Thailand are at risk of cross-border attacks. Amnesty International is calling on the Thai government to provide adequate protection and security for all refugees from Myanmar and to allow them to remain in Thailand until they are no longer at risk of human rights violations.
