A tripartite round-table in Bangkok on Monday agreed to proceed with the repatriation of 600 people, the first group from refugee camps in the Thai province of Trat.
The decision was made during the first meeting of top Thai and Cambodian foreign ministry officials and regional UN officials since more than 60,000 Cambodians fled fighting into Thailand last year.
“These people have said they would like to go to places that as far as we can ascertain are safe,” said Nellie Chan, head of the Phnom Penh office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
While UN repatriation officials maintain that refugees must volunteer for a UN escort home, the areas to which the people want to return must also be deemed safe by the UN.
A statement issued after the meeting declared that the return of all refugees before July’s scheduled elections is not seen as a prerequisite for free and fair elections.
It is, however, “desirable in order to give them an opportunity to exercise their right to vote,” the statement read.
Parliamentarian May Sam Oeun, in an interview in Siem Reap town last week, said that Funcinpec leaders consider the refugees’ inability to return a sticking point for “free and fair elections.”
“This is a fundamental issue,” the Funcinpec spokesman said. “You cannot ignore 60,000 people who are guaranteed the right to vote by the Constitution.”
So far, 3,595 refugees have been escorted home from Huay Cheung camp in the Thai province of Surin in 15 separate movements since September.
In the space of 13 months between 1992 and 1993, the UN refugee agency escorted some 360,000 people home.
Chan said that continued skirmishes between troops loyal to the Phnom Penh government and anti-government groups in Cambodia’s north and western provinces would “totally rule out any return” of the refugees before the elections.
The UNHCR office staff is to meet next Tuesday to discuss expediting the return of the 600 volunteers.
“It’s not something that should be bound by a date,” Chan said. “It’s not like you’re going out to dinner.”
Other points discussed during the Bangkok meeting included allowing the Cambodian government access to the camps in order to disseminate information and possibly opening extra border crossings to expedite a mass return, according to the statement.
The camps are run by the Thai army and access is allowed to various aid organizations.
