Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
New Delhi, November 13, 2003:

More than 200 Burmese nationals were detained at Lodhi Police Station, Delhi, on 13 November when attempting to protest in front of the headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

On 12 November, Delhi Police issued a prohibition order against demonstrations around the UNHCR office, not allowing the Burmese to demonstrate and forcibly dispersing demonstrators by using water cannons and lathi charges.

According to the police, some of the demonstrators turned violent and tried to enter into the UNHCR compound. The police thus had to use mildforce. In the scuffle, 12 police personnel and 22 Burmese were injured the police claimed.Burmese demonstrators denied the Delhi Police version of the events, saying that it was the police who started provoking the demonstrators.

Demonstrators had not tried to enter into the UNHCR compound but had been
demonstrating peacefully. They alleged that Delhi police had spread a false story to cover police brutality against peaceful demonstrators.

Indian newspapers quoting the Delhi Police yesterday stated that a total of 435 Burmese were rounded up, including women and children. Some were injured
and hospitalised. Most of the detained Burmese were later released at night.
Reportedly 12 Burmese were charged for rioting before a magistrate in New Delhi on 13 November.

Several Burmese refugees have staged daily sit-in protests in front of the UNHCR Office since October. They demand the recognition of refugees by UNHCR
and their resettlement in third countries.

The demonstrators are not representative of the entirety of Burmese political activists in India. Many find that the demonstrators were putting forward unrealistic demands. Critics of the demonstration are ready to concede,however, that Burmese refugees in New Delhi face genuine problems and hardships.

The UNHCR in India has refused to accept the demonstrators demands. In a
reply letter to the demonstrators on October 20, the UNHCR officer-in-
charge Ms. Wei-Meng Lim-Kabaa said that UNHCR does not grant prima facie
refugee status to all Burmese nationals who leave Burma.

" In regard to the request for resettlement, this Office at this time does
not consider this as the most appropriate durable solution ", she added. On the other hand, UNHCR has encouraged Burmese refugees to embark on training and self-reliance activities, so that they could be empowered to improve the quality of their living in Delhi.

When the Burmese continued their demonstrations on a daily basis, the UNHCR
had urged the Indian authorities to take whatever action necessary to dispel
them.