Thailand suspends Burma refugee repatriation
![Rights activists say they are concerned for the safety of about 1,700 Karens who remain in Thai refugee camps if they are forced to return to Burma. [Reuters]](http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201002/r507508_2721461.jpg "Rights activists say they are concerned for the safety of about 1,700 Karens who remain in Thai refugee camps if they are forced to return to Burma. [Reuters]")
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Rights activists say they are concerned for the safety of about 1,700 Karens who remain in Thai refugee camps if they are forced to return to Burma. [Reuters]
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Thailand has suspended the forced repatriation of ethnic Karen refugees to Burma, heeding calls from US lawmakers and rights groups who said they faced possible death or enslavement.
About 3,000 ethnic Karens entered Thailand in June, when the Burmese regime stepped up fighting against the rebel Karen National Union.
Rights activists say they are concerned for the safety of about 1,700 Karens who remain in Thai refugee camps if they are forced to return to Burma.
A group of 27 US politicians wrote a letter to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva last week, asking him to stop the planned deportation, warning it would tarnish Thailand's reputation for helping resettle refugees.
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