U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey 2001 - Burma

An estimated 600,000 to 1 million Burmese were internally displaced in 2000. A continuing lack of access to the country made it difficult to assess accurately the number of displaced or the conditions in which they were living.

More than 380,000 Burmese refugees and asylum seekers were in neighboring countries in 2000. These included 216,000 in Thailand (mostly ethnic Karen, Shan, and Karenni, along with some pro-democracy activists); 42,000 mostly ethnic Chin and Naga in India; 121,500 ethnic Rohingya in Bangladesh; more than 50 Rohingya in Malaysia; and an unknown number in China (mostly Kachin).

Hundreds of thousands of Burmese lived in neighboring countries, about a quarter-million in Thailand, in refugee-like circumstances. Many may have fled Burma because they feared persecution.

Political Developments in 2000

The political situation in Burma changed little during the year. The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), formerly the State Law and Order Restoration Council, continued to target pro-democracy activists and ethnic minorities. According to the Special Rapporteur on Burma of the UN Commission on Human Rights, systematic intimidation, threats, and coercion continued against leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD – the party that the Burmese people voted into office in 1990 but which the military leaders prevented from taking office).

Forced labor (including forced portering) and forced relocation are the major causes of displacement and refugee flight. According to the U.S. Department of State, "The forced use of citizens as porters by the army – with attendant mistreatment, illness, and sometimes death – remained a common practice." In November, the International Labor Organization (ILO) called on member states to impose sanctions on Burma because of the SPDC's failure to halt the practice of forced labor. It was the first time in its history that the ILO had taken such action.

A report by the UN special rapporteur said that forced relocation continued in ethnic minority areas, and that it was carried out through the use of violence, "including killings, rape, torture, and inhuman treatment of civilians."

The special rapporteur also said that he received "credible reports" that the Burmese military had massacred more than 100 Shan civilians in a series of massacres in Shan State in early 2000. The SPDC has not permitted the special rapporteur to enter the country since his appointment in 1996.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata visited Burma in October. The chief of the SPDC's intelligence unit reportedly told Ogata that the Burmese living in refugee camps in Thailand are not refugees but rebels or the relatives of rebels. Ogata traveled to Burma from Thailand, where the Thai government had urged her to press the Burmese authorities to make possible the return of the more than 115,000 Burmese refugees in Thailand.

Internal Displacement

Ethnic minorities, many of whom are rural people, constitute most of Burma's internally displaced. Significant numbers of ethnic Burmans (Burma's largest and ruling ethnic group) are also displaced from cities or villages, however. Most displacement results from forced labor, forced relocation, and fighting between the Burmese military and ethnic minority insurgent groups.

The internally displaced generally fall into two categories. First are those whom the military regime forcibly relocates from cities or villages to satellite towns or "relocation centers." The military's primary motive for such relocation is to weaken opposition forces by cutting four crucial resources – food, finances, communications, and recruits. Forcing civilians into relocation centers also provides the military a steady supply of laborers.

The second group of displaced consists largely of those who refuse to relocate or who flee the relocation areas because they cannot survive there, and those who flee their homes because of other types of persecution. They generally flee toward the Thai border but often cannot cross because Burmese troops or Thai border guards stop them.

Although it is difficult to determine exact displacement countrywide, displacement figures in specific areas are known. There are more than 300,000 displaced persons in Central Shan State, 300,000 in Karen State, and 50,000 in Karenni State.

Some UN agencies and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are present in Burma, but the Burmese regime restricts their activities, which limits their ability to serve internally displaced persons. Nevertheless, these agencies, along with local NGOs and ethnic-based groups, succeed in providing some assistance. Some critics charged that the government siphons off much of the aid.

Cross-border assistance programs – although limited by various constraints – provide emergency food and medical assistance to some of the most vulnerable among the displaced.

Refugees from Burma

The status of the more than 216,000 Burmese refugees and estimated 250,000 Burmese in refugee-like circumstances in Thailand remained precarious. During 2000, Thai officials became increasingly impatient with the continued refugee presence and new refugee flows into the country. The government's criteria for admitting new refugees remained restricted to "persons fleeing conflict." Thailand did not consider as refugees those people fleeing human rights abuses.

During the year, 1,323 refugees repatriated from Bangladesh with UNHCR assistance. Upon their return to Burma, UNHCR provided the returnees reintegration assistance. The World Food Program gave them six months of food rations. The "Myanmar" Red Cross Society also provided services for vulnerable persons. (The SPDC calls Burma Myanmar.)

Some 42,000 Burmese refugees, mostly ethnic Chin and Naga, live in India. The Indian authorities forcibly returned 200 Burmese Chin refugees in 2000. An estimated 21,500 Burmese Rohingya continue to live in UNHCR- assisted refugee camps in Bangladesh. Another 100,000 Rohingya live outside the camps there.