§ Baroness Coxasked Her Majesty's Government:
What assistance is being provided, in conjunction with the European Union, to Karen refugees displaced from Burma by the SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) regime's military offensives.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyA grant of £100,000 has been given to the Burma Border Consortium for its work with Karen and other ethnic minority refugees on the Thai-Burma border. No request for further assistance has been received since the recent military offensive and the fall of Manerplaw. The EU earmarked 240,000 ecu for Aide Medicale Internationale, but they have been forced to withdraw from the area due to the fighting. We continue to monitor the situation closely.