U.S. terrorism laws cited as unfair bar to some needy refugees

Published: 2006-02-09

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A spokeswoman for the Catholic Church's refugee resettlement programs called on the U.S. government to change how some anti-terrorism laws are applied because they are keeping refugees from Myanmar from being admitted. Myanmar was called Burma until the ruling military came to power and officially renamed it in 1989. Many people outside Myanmar, including some officials in the U.S. government, persist in calling the country Burma. At a Feb. 7 hearing of the House International Relations Committee's subcommittees on human rights and on Asia, Anastasia Brown, director of refugee programs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said after 20 years of civil war and instability in the Southeast Asian country, the international community must find a permanent resettlement solution for the 1.5 million Burmese who remain uprooted from their homes. That number includes about 800,000 people who are displaced from their homes but remain in the country. About 700,000 people are in surrounding countries, with more than 450,000 of them in Thailand.

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