Karen Information Center (KIC)
Thai authorities handed over 26 ethnic Karen individuals—including children and youth who faced imminent risk of deportation to Myanmar—to the Karen National Union (KNU) at the border on Wednesday.
The ethnic Karen villagers had been arrested in Phetchaburi Province, Thailand, for lacking legal identification on Aug. 10.
They were transferred to KNU Brigade 4 in Myeik-Tavoy District of at the Htee Khee border area via the Phu Nam Ron immigration checkpoint in Thailand’s Kanchanaburi Province.
The commander of KNU Brigade 4 stated that the transferred individuals reside in the Myeik region under Brigade 4 territory, expressing relief that Thai officials opted to hand them over to the KNU rather than the regime authorities.
“Fortunately, the Thais did not transfer them back to the military junta. If they had been handed over to the military group, who knows what would have happened. This outcome was likely influenced by Thai human rights organizations following up and making appeals.
Now that they have arrived here with us, they can return peacefully to their home areas,” Saw Pho Lay, the KNU Brigade 4 commander, told KIC.
A total of 28 ethnic Karen individuals were originally arrested on Aug. 10 during an inspection by Thai authorities and forestry officers while seeking refuge with relatives in Pa Deng village within Kaeng Krachan National Park, in Thailand’s Phetchaburi Province.
Two individuals were subsequently released after presenting documentation, while the remaining 26 were detained for failing to produce legal papers.
Those detained included six children and two pregnant women.
On Aug. 18, Human Rights Watch issued an urgent statement urging Thai authorities not to deport the 26 ethnic Karen villagers to the regime authorities in Myanmar, warning that forced return would pose severe life-threatening risks.
Additional advocacy by regional bodies such as the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) also warned against refoulement as it would violate international law.
The report from HRW also pointed out that around two months ago, 10 other undocumented residents deported from Pa Deng village lost all contact and remain unaccounted for.
