US waives law for Chin refugees

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The US has waived a security regulation to let thousands of refugees from Burma's Chin state request asylum.

Strict laws passed after the 11 September 2001 attacks prevent people who have provided "material support" to armed groups from resettling in the US.

Many Chin refugees had provided such help to rebel groups such as the Chin National Front and Chin National Army.

Washington has already issued similar exemptions for Burma's Karen people, who were in a similar situation.

Burma's military rulers are regularly criticised for their treatment of political opponents and ethnic minorities, and the US has started offering a home to many refugees fleeing from the junta.

'Posing no danger'

The majority of Chin refugees from Burma live in camps in Malaysia, Thailand and India.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has waived a provision of the Patriot Act to allow them to be considered for resettlement in the US, the State Department said in a statement late on Thursday.

"Exercising the exemption authority allows the US to resume significant processing of the thousands of extremely vulnerable ethnic Chin refugees living in Malaysia and elsewhere," the statement said.

But it added that the applicants must meet other eligibility requirements for resettlement, "including that they pose no danger to the safety and security of the United States."