A Thai legislator has criticized the conditions in camps for Burmese asylum-seekers along Thailand's border with Burma. Senator Kraisak Choonhavan, chairman of the Thailand Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee, toured camps in Ratchaburi and Kanchanaburi provinces on Friday.
He told reporters that conditions in both were extremely poor. Thailand has come under fire by human rights organizations in the past for forcing Burmese asylum-seekers to register at the camps or risk deportation.
The refugees in the camps say they do not have enough water or decent sanitary conditions. They also say they are not allowed access to telephones or the Internet.
Human Rights Watch says the way Thailand handles Burmese refugees threatens to destroy the small Burmese pro-democracy movement in Thailand.
Information for this report is provided by AP.