As more and more Burmese go to Thailand in pursuit of relative freedom from persecution and poverty, Burma's closet neighbor is seeking new ways to address the root causes of their immigrant problem.

For more than 60 years, Karen rebels have been fighting a civil war against the government of Myanmar...In February 1949, members of the Karen ethnic minority launched an armed insurrection against Myanmar's central government.
In pictures: Sixty years of war.

Over 60 years later, the conflict continues, with more than a dozen ethnic rebel groups waging war against the army in their fight for self-rule.

Now, the war is entering a new and bloody stage.

Confusion arose when the Thai Labor Ministry requested Cabinet approval to relax the repatriation of illegal immigrants. Earlier, the Ministry had announced that the labourers would be forced out by May 1.

An international symposium on migration in Asia was recently held in Bangkok. Burma sent a delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister U Khin Maung Win. Independent analysts and NGOs estimate that there are one million Burmese illegally working and living in Thailand. However, Thai officials put the figure at 800,000.

In addition to greater international attention on their plight in exile, Thailand’s growing community of Burmese Muslims wants a voice in the political future of their country... "...The desire for equal protection—at home and in exile—seems to be the order of the day for Mae Sot’s Burmese Muslim community. Like the majority of refugees, they wait for the opportunity to return to a free Burma.

The Pa-O are one of the ethnic minorities of Burma. They live primarily in the Taunggyi area of southwestern Shan State. A smaller number live in the Thaton area of Mon State in Lower Burma. The Pa-O in the Thaton area have become "Burmanized" -- like their neighbors the Mon and Karen, they have adopted Burmese language, dress and customs. The Pa-O in southwestern Shan State have learned to speak Shan, but have maintained their own distinct language and customs, including their traditional dark blue or black dress.

Up to a million people have fled their homes in eastern Burma in a crisis the world has largely ignored.

Burma's refusal to release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, and the boycotting of the constitutional convention this month by the main opposition, has thrust Burma into the spotlight again.

But unseen and largely unremarked is the ongoing harrowing experience of hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Burma, hiding in the jungle or trapped in army-controlled relocation sites. Others are in refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:-
1. Food Security from a Rights-based Perspective;
2. Local Observations from the States and Divisions
of Eastern Burma:-
2.1 Tenasserim Division
(Committee for Internally Displaced Karen Persons);
2.2 Mon State (Mon Relief and Development Committee);
2.3 Karen State (Karen Human Rights Group)
2.4 Eastern Pegu Division (Karen Office of Relief and Development);
2.5 Karenni State (Karenni Social Welfare Committee);
2.6 Shan State (Shan Human Rights Foundation)...

Deportation from Thailand of Burmese migrants, half of whom are women

...In the last four years, the Burmese army based in Mon State has confiscated thousands acres of farmland. The farmers whose land had been confiscated were not given any compensation. They have no opportunity to take legal actions against the army. As a result, many farmers who lost their lands left to Thailand to seek employment. Those who stayed in villages and towns became landless and jobless..." Land confiscation by the Burmese military - description, analysis and case studies.

Final report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. David Weissbrodt,
submitted in accordance with Sub-Commission decision 2000/103,
Commission resolution 2000/104 and Economic and Social Council
decision 2000/283
Addendum
Summary of Comments Received from U.N. Member States to
Special Rapporteur's Questionnaire..."This Addendum IV summarizes1 the comments received from 22 Member States in
response to the questionnaire prepared by the Special Rapporteur and disseminated pursuant to

As many illegal immigrants wish to live in Thailand permanently, another serious problem arises - the growing number of stateless children. Between 1993 and 1996, the Mae Sot Hospital near the Thailand-Burma border delivered 2,202, 2,026, 2,031 and 2,077 stateless babies respectively.