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Read this report in:   THAI

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Jul 29 (IPS) — Like many of her fellow Burmese dissidents and exiles living in Thailand, Khin San Nwe says she is depressed by the news of the May 30 clash that led to the re-arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the deaths of dozens of people.

"I feel so sad when I heard the news of Black Friday," Khin San Nwe, a former member of the National League of Democracy (NLD), the political party led by Suu Kyi, said in an interview.

But she could do little in neighbouring Thailand, except carry a small NLD flag at a demonstration outside the Burmese embassy in late July to call for dialogue and reconciliation.

For Burmese living in Thailand, Burma is often far and near. Far because military rule prevents them from going back, yet near because it is just across the border that separates the two countries.

Thailand is home to thousands of exiles and dissidents from Burma, many of whom arrived after the 1988 crackdown by Rangoon on pro-democracy protests and are now living in border areas.

Their number is in addition to the one million migrant workers from Burma and more than 100,000 refugees in Thailand.

Many Burmese exiles often keep a largely low public profile, but the seriousness of the May 30 clash in northern Burma, reportedly plotted by the military junta, drove many out into the streets.

Just as Burmese pro-democracy activists and dissidents living in exile held demonstrations in front of Burmese embassies around the world, demonstrations were held in Thailand in the days after May 30 — marking the first time in about three years that Burmese exiles have staged protests in Thailand.

In the last two months, authorities have been following closely the activities of Burmese opposition members in Thailand. Crackdowns are nothing new, but they do add to the uncertainty many feel about waiting for change that they are not sure will happen — or how.

Khin San Nwe, who fled from Burma in 1999 in fear of being arrested, is now a 'person of concern' with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - meaning she has refugee status and can be resettled in a third country.

She worries about losing her UNHCR status because of her political activities, but still is eager to take part in activities in Thailand to push for democracy in Burma. "I believe I have the responsibility to be something for the NLD and my people,'' she said.

Aung Kyaw Soe, a member of Democratic Party for a New Society who is applying for refugee status, recalls how stressful it was when a crackdown by the Thai authorities happened in January in western Kanchanaburi province.

He and his wife were arrested, but the authorities left their young daughter behind. Today, the two still do not know her whereabouts, or if she is safe. "I worry about my family and our comrades," Aung Kyaw Soe said.

Before the crackdown in Sangklaburi — some dissidents outside Bangkok were later allowed to apply for refugee status with the UNHCR in Bangkok — some local authorities had accused exiles of being troublemakers.

Aung Kyaw Soe remembers one Thai officer telling him, "relations between Thai and Burmese government would deteriorate because you guys (Burmese exiles) are living here."

Aung Kyaw Soe said he told the officer, "We don't care whether you arrest us or not, because we can't go back to Burma and we have no legal rights in Thailand.''

He conceded, however, that Thailand is a better place than Burma to be in as a member of the political opposition, though it is not without the difficulties that come with being separated from one's home country. "A Thai prison is not bad as Burmese prison," he remarked.

The government's cautious attitude toward the large Burmese community in the country stems also from past incidents such as a 1999 raid on the Burmese embassy in Bangkok by the Burmese students and the siege of a hospital in Ratchaburi province.

Crackdowns on Burmese opposition members in Thailand since then are nothing new.

In August last year, nearly three-dozen opposition members were arrested in Sangklaburi on the Thai-Burma border.

At the end of June, Thai police were ordered to keep a close watch on the 1,500 exiles in Bangkok who hold U.N. refugee documents and whose applications for refugee or asylum status are being processed. Many of them are former members of the opposition who have resigned from their organisations.

In the wake of a warning from Rangoon that exiles were planning to planning to kidnap the Burmese ambassador to Thailand to use as a bargaining chip to gain the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Thai police arrested 11 Burmese dissidents, news reports said.

"Thailand will not allowed any group to use our territory for their political activities against neighbouring countries,'' Thai police chief Sant Sarutanond told the press after the arrests.

Before she was detained, Aung San Suu Kyi was critical of such crackdowns and had said: ''It is not appropriate to crackdown on dissidents and pro-democracy activist who do not break the laws in their host country.''

But many have learned to cope with the other things that come with being an exile, ranging from difficulties in traveling and not having proper or complete documents.

Many say they feel insecure while travelling or working for the pro-democracy movement. "Our feeling is not good, because we face arrest wherever we go in Thailand," said Tan Doke, leader of the Burma Labor Solidarity Organisation, which works for social relief for Burmese migrant workers in Thailand.

Thus, opposition members are very careful to follow Thai rules and restrictions while taking part in activities related to the democracy movement, he explained. "We respect the interest and laws of the Kingdom (of Thailand)," he added.

Many political exiles have documents issued by Thai authorities that allow them to travel, but living and working are another matter. Others may have Burmese passports or similar documents from western countries, but most have no papers.

Earlier this month, in the wake of the government's latest focus on Burmese living in Thailand, local authorities visited the office of Burmese opposition groups in the border town of Mae Sot, collecting information on dissidents.

They gave them and other exiled activists a deadline to leave towns in Thai-Burma border. Dissidents in Mae Sot now say they are in a bind. "We are stuck in town, we can't travel," one said.

"We try to follow the law in everything we do," Sit Nai of the All Arakan Students and Youth Congress says of coping with life as an exile. "We don't commit crimes or do any other bad things."

Still, he recalls how he was arrested a couple of times while he was attending seminars or training conducted by Burmese opposition groups. "I feel like a stray dog," he said.

Looking back at their lives in Thailand, Burmese activists say they see that it is far from easy to deal with millions of refugees, workers and exiles in this country. They say they are sympathetic with the many problems the Thai police face everyday.

But, Tan Doke said, there should be space in Thailand for Burmese opposition to operate under the country's rules. "Thailand should give sympathy to the Burmese pro-democracy members for long-term interest with Burma." (END/IPS/AP/IP/HD/NSL/JS/03)