By DENIS D. GRAY,

AP

Posted: 2007-11-05 05:17:27

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) – Pro-democracy activists fleeing Myanmar in the wake of a military crackdown are “living in limbo,” afforded no legal protection and targets of exploitation once they reach Thailand, a U.S. advocacy group said Monday.

An unknown number of students, Buddhist monks and veteran activists, including several protest leaders, have fled Yangon and other Myanmar areas to the Thai frontier. Many say they were about to be arrested along with the thousands of others who were snatched off the streets by the military.

“They are subject to constant harassment, bribery, exploitation. They are forced to live in limbo, lacking any status in Thailand,” said Eileen Shields-West, member of a 12-person team from Refugees International that returned from the Thai-Myanmar border.

The group spent four days interviewing refugees at frontier camps and “safe houses” run by Myanmar activist exile groups trying to assist the new arrivals from the isolated Southeast Asian nation also known as Burma.

The Washington-based group estimates some 2 million Burmese have fled to Thailand in recent years due to repression and a collapsed economy. Hundreds of thousands also have left for Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and China.

“Many of these are legitimate refugees who deserve protection and assistance, but the Royal Thai Government refuses to classify them as such,” the group said in a statement.

Team leader Dawn Calabia said that some of the new arrivals have been able to obtain letters from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, noting that the bearers are “persons of concern” due to their political activities. But the letters are not always recognized by Thai authorities.

Kitty McKinsey, the UNHCR spokeswoman in Thailand, said that 89 Myanmar people have applied for refugee status since the September crackdown. She said their applications were being reviewed by Thai authorities and the United Nations. If approved, they will be allowed to live in refugee camps.

Thai government officials were not available for comment.

Calabia said some Thai authorities have stressed the “pull factor” in the refugee flow: attractive, safe conditions inside Thailand. The group said they are focused on the “push factor,” namely the political and economic conditions in Myanmar that are forcing thousands to flee.

Only the end of military repression and the introduction of a rule of law in Myanmar would halt the refugee exodus, team members said.

The group, which has worked in Southeast Asia since 1979, said that on returning to Washington they would lobby for more “targeted sanctions” against the Myanmar regime rather than blanket economic boycotts which would further impoverish the country.

Such measures would include pinpointing foreign companies that exploit Myanmar’s natural resources to the benefit of the ruling elite, as well as trying to stop countries such as Singapore from providing bank accounts, health facilities and other benefits to junta leaders.

AP reporter Rungrawee C. Pinyorat contributed to this report.