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Activists call on Korean gov't to support building Myanmar refugee camp

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A group of activists who support democracy in Myanmar hold an online meeting, Tuesday, with 12 Korean lawmakers, including Rep. Lee Yong-sun and Rep. Lee Yong-bin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), to propose and discuss a plan to build a refugee camp, using funds from the Korean government. Courtesy of the Myanmar Democracy Network of the Republic of Korea
A group of activists who support democracy in Myanmar hold an online meeting, Tuesday, with 12 Korean lawmakers, including Rep. Lee Yong-sun and Rep. Lee Yong-bin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), to propose and discuss a plan to build a refugee camp, using funds from the Korean government. Courtesy of the Myanmar Democracy Network of the Republic of Korea

By Jung Da-min

A group of activists who support democracy in Myanmar has urged the Korean government to build a refugee camp in a border area between Myanmar and Thailand.

The poster for an online meeting held Tuesday between activists who support democracy in Myanmar and 12 Korean lawmakers / Courtesy of the Myanmar Democracy Network of the Republic of Korea
The poster for an online meeting held Tuesday between activists who support democracy in Myanmar and 12 Korean lawmakers / Courtesy of the Myanmar Democracy Network of the Republic of Korea
The activists, including members of the Myanmar Democracy Network of the Republic of Korea, held an online meeting, Tuesday, with 12 Korean lawmakers, including Rep. Lee Yong-sun and Rep. Lee Yong-bin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), to propose and discuss the construction of the camp in Myanmar's Myawaddy and Thailand's Mae Sot regions, using funds from the Korean government.

"We call on the Korean National Assembly to support the construction of refugee camps in Myanmar in principle. We call for humanitarian assistance from both the Korean government and the international community to minimize hunger and refugees occurring," the lawmakers said in a statement released Wednesday.

They also said the Korean National Assembly did not acknowledge as the official government of Myanmar the Myanmar military regime that overthrew the democratic government established by citizens through a coup.

According to the activists, over 30,000 Karen people, who reside in Myanmar's border state of Kayin, have already entered Thailand due to multiple air raids by Myanmar's military, which has illegally seized power by occupying the country's capital, Naypyitaw, and detaining leaders of the civilian government.

"The protests by the Myanmar people, who are crying out for the restoration of democracy against the illegal seizing of power through a coup that took place on Feb. 1, have been continuing over three months. In the meantime, more than 780 innocent citizens have been slaughtered and we do not know if 4,000 people who have been taken somewhere are alive," the activists said in a press release, Tuesday.

"In addition, they have carried out indiscriminate air strikes against unarmed civilians, claiming many lives and turning many people into refugees who cannot but leave their homes. The number of such refugees has exceeded 30,000."

The activists said that they plan to build the refugee camp, after getting permission from the Thai government, and modeling it after Turkey's Kilis Refugee Camp, a temporary shelter for Syrian civilians that is considered to be among the most successful examples of the construction and operation of a refugee camp.

They added that the refugee camp for Myanmar people, if built in the border area, will be operated jointly by civilian organizations, the provisional civilian legislature and the government of Myanmar ― called the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) and the National Unity Government, respectively.

They said the funds could be taken from the Korean government's budget for investment and official development assistance for Myanmar, which has been suspended since the military coup, as well as from funding from the Korea International Cooperation Agency, under the foreign ministry here.

"The Korea Safety Project is about saving lives," Chung Beum-rae, co-chairperson of the Myanmar Democracy Network, told The Korea Times, Wednesday, referring to the activists' plan to build the refugee camp in the border area between Myanmar and Thailand. "The refugee camp needs to be built before the rainy season, which starts in June and lasts until October, as refugees are prone to catching contagious diseases like malaria during the rainy season."


Jung Da-min damin.jung@koreatimes.co.kr


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