http://www.shanland.org/oldversion/index-1953.htm
Shan Refugee Camp
Burnt Down By Thai Army
A refugee camp under the protection
of Shan resistance was put
to the torch by the Thai army yesterday,
reported Shan army sources.
A make shift camp made by
refuge-seeking Shans, 2 kilometers
deep inside Thailand near
Pangbawng Village, Mailarn Tract, Pang Mapha District, Maehongson
Province, was set fire by the raiding Thai army (Company 751,
Battalion 5, Regiment 7) at noon yesterday, as the 300 exiles, who
had arrived there last month with the assistance of Yawdserk's Shan
State Army, helplessly watched.
The
Shans, among whom were small
children and newly-borns, were then
driven back across the
border,
said the source from
Maehongson.
"Shans are not considered refugees
by Thailand", said Kham
Harnfah. "And as such, they
are not
entitled to relief aid like Karens and
Karennis".
More than
100,000 non-Burman
refugees, designated as
"persons of concern", are living in camps
along the Thai border and looked after by foreign humanitarian
organizations.
"Nobody understands why Thais, who
are historic kindred of
Shans, are exercising a policy of
discrimination towards them", said an aid worker.