Agenda Item 14 (c) Mass exoduses and displaced persons. " ... the situation of human rights in the Shan State of Burma remains as bad as in previous years. The massive forced relocation, displacement and other types of involuntary population movements carried out by the Burmese military regime in the central Shan State since 1996 is still continuing up to this day and still badly affecting the lives of the people. Over 300,000 people from nearly 1,500 villages, mostly farmers, have been dispossessed of their lands and homes and forcibly displaced by the army. Thousands have been seized by the army to work for road construction and other projects without pay. The relocation areas are still being declared "free-fire" zones and people found in these areas are still being shot on sight. At least four massacres were documented in 2000 in Kun-Hing township alone. The worst was on 20 May 2000, when more than 60 internally displaced villagers, including elderly, women and children were killed. These villagers had been hiding in the jungle. When they heard that a patrol of soldiers was coming, they fled towards the Salween River. When they reached the bank of the river, the military troops caught up with them and opened fire killing most of them. Among the 300,000 displaced, over 120,000 fled across the border to Thailand, while the remaining are hiding in the jungle near their old villages. Trying to survive, they are facing tremendous hardship. They live without security, regular food, shelter, and access to medical care..."