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Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 16:52:37 -0800
Subject: BurmaNet News: Chemical Weapons at Kawmoora

************************** BurmaNet **************************
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
**************************************************************
The BurmaNet News: Thursday, March 2, 1995
Issue #118
Special Issue: On Allegations of Chemical Weapons Use At Kawmoora

          "Then the liquid shell exploded.  The liquid got on us
          and it felt so hot, it felt hot like acid and all our
          skin was burning and peeling off.  We had to fan
          ourselves because it was burning so hot.  Then I went
          unconscious."

               Saw K..., One of the survivors of Kawmoora <See
               KHRG: CHEMICAL SHELLS AT KAW MOO RAH>

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Contents:                                                     

************************************************************** 

1 BURMANET: CHARGES OF CHEMICAL ATTACK "WORTHY OF INTEREST"
2 KHRG: CHEMICAL SHELLS AT KAW MOO RAH
3 BURMANET: SAMPLES AVAILABLE FOR INDEPENDENT TESTING
4 BURMANET: THE FALL OF KAWMOORA AND ITS AFTERMATH
5 KHRG: IS THE SLORC USING BACTERIOLOGICAL WARFARE?

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**************************************************************
***************THE BURMANET NEWS--MARCH 2, 1995***************
************************************************************** 

*****************CHEMICAL WEAPONS AT KAWMOORA***************** 
BURMANET: CHARGES OF CHEMICAL ATTACK "WORTHY OF INTEREST"
February 27, 1995

According to a western diplomat who has closely followed the
alleged use of chemical weapons at Kawmoora, the incident is
"worthy of attention" but it has not yet been determined whether
the weapons used violated the Law of Land Warfare as codified by
the Geneva Convention.

In a barrage on the night of February 20-21, the Burmese army
shelled the Karen base at Kawmoora with several types of
ordinance, including chemical weapons.  The Geneva Convention
bans the use of some, but not all chemical weapons.

At Kawmoora, it appears that three, and possibly four types of
agents were used.  The first, obscurant smoke, is technically
considered a chemical weapon but is commonly used by armies
around the world and is neither banned by the Geneva Convention
nor likely to arouse international concern.

The second agent which appears to have been used was some kind of
incapicant, which accounted for the dizzyness and nausea reported
by Karen soldiers at Kawmoora.  It is possible, although not
considered likely, that this was a mild nerve agent.  If a nerve
agent were used, it would be a clear violation of the Geneva
Convention and if proven, would likely arouse international
condemnation.  Given that the gas was not lethal, it is not
considered likely that it The reason for suspecting that the
agent involved was an incapacitant rather than a nerve agent was
that it does not appear to have been lethal.

It is the third agent which has aroused the most intense
interest.  The Karen troops described a weapon which appears to
be white phosphorus, which is a chemical incindiary weapon, but
while horrific, is not in violation of the Geneva Convention. 
White phosphorus, dubbed "Willie Pete" by the Americans who used
it widely in Vietnam, ignites when in contact with the air and
burns more fiercely if it contacts water.  The only way to stop
it from burning is to smother it completely with sand or dirt. 
If the sand or dirt is removed, the phosphorus begins to burn
again.

The incindiary weapon used at Kawmoora is consistent with white
phosphorus except for one thing; it burned green.  Whatever was
used at Kawmoora has not been encountered before by western
militaries, although Thai Army authorities report that the same
kind of shells have been used in Cambodia.  Fragments from these
shells and other evidence are being analyzed to determine what
they were.

It is possible that a fourth agent was used, but the reports on
this are somewhat contradictory.  It is this fourth weapon, which
if laboratory tests determine was actually used, which is likely
to cause international outrage.  Karen troops report that shells
containing a liquid were used.  According to two reports, this
liquid did not burn, but caused wounds that felt like burns. 
These reports are consistent with a fast-acting blister agent,
which would be a clear violation of the Geneva Convention.

Confirming whether chemical weapons were used will be extremely
difficult.  For example, one way of determining whether a blister
agent was used is to look for damage to the flesh which looks
like burns, but where there is no charring.  However, at
Kawmoora, the final barrage contained chemical, phosphorus and
conventional munitions and inflicted multiple wounds.  This makes
it difficult to determine which weapon caused which wound and may
help to mask the signs of chemical weapons.

Burma is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention but this would
prove little cover from the international fallout if a blister
agent was used.  Chemical weapons of this sort are considered
abhorrent by most civilized states.  One measure of the
international distate for chemical weapons is that it has been a
standing U.S. policy since the Nixon Administration, that any use
of chemical weapons against American troops would be considered
as serious a provocation as a biological or nuclear weapon and
the U.S. reserves the right to respond to a chemical weapon
attack with any weapon.

*****************CHEMICAL WEAPONS AT KAWMOORA***************** 
CHEMICAL SHELLS AT KAW MOO RAH
A Special Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
February 24, 1995     /     KHRG #95-08


In December 1994, SLORC started a major offensive against the
Karen stronghold of Kaw Moo Rah, just north of the Burmese border
town of Myawaddy and the Thai town of Mae Sot.  Kaw Moo Rah had
held out for years against the siege of the Burmese military and
frequent heavy offensives, and this year's offensive was again
proving a major failure, with SLORC suffering hundreds of
casualties without gaining any ground - because Kaw Moo Rah is a
spit of land surrounded on 3 sides by Thai soil, with an open
killing ground on the fourth side.  The 500-800 Karen troops
there were dug in with heavy bunkers impervious to most SLORC
artillery, and the human waves of drugged teenage conscripts
which the SLORC kept hurling at the Karen could never make it
across the killing ground.  Then on the night of February 20-21
1995, SLORC suddenly took Kaw Moo Rah in the space of only 18
hours without even using a ground assault or crossing into
Thailand.  The Karen soldiers were forced to withdraw,
complaining of SLORC shells that caused dizzyness, nausea,
vomiting and unconsciousness.  Whether these shells were some
form of tear gas or a stronger nerve agent remains to be proven
through medical samples.  This preliminary report presents the
testimonies of some of the soldiers wounded in the final assault,
interviewed 36 hours after they withdrew.  After the withdrawal,
Karen forces reported 3-4 dead, 2 missing, and 10 wounded. 
However, KHRG has already independently confirmed at least 20
wounded, and other evidence indicates the number of dead was
probably higher than reported as well.  Witnesses have already
seen SLORC troops dumping several bodies in the Moei River,
either Karen troops or SLORC porters.  While the SLORC claims
that the "Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army" took Kaw Moo Rah,
almost all the troops seen there now are Burmese, and although
several DKBA flags have been planted along the river for show, it
is a large Burmese flag which flies in the most prominent spot at
Kaw Moo Rah's main gate.

Along with the alleged 'chemical' shells, the soldiers refer to
'liquid' shells that caused burning - these appear to be white
phosphorus shells, another form of chemical weapon usually used
as incendiaries.  SLORC is known to frequently use these shells
in offensives and to burn down villages.  The effects when the
phosphorus comes into contact with human flesh are horrifying. 
Before the shelling, SLORC 'ordered' the Thai Army to withdraw 3
km. from the Thai border.  The Thai forces refused to do so, so
the SLORC began shelling close to Thai positions.  In one case,
SLORC mortar shells even landed around a Thai position almost 3
km. inside Thai territory, just outside the gates of Huai Kalok
refugee camp, home to about 5,000 Karen refugees.  People in the
camp's market quickly evacuated.  The Thais responded by
shelling, but also withdrew from some positions.  Many other
shells supposedly aimed at Kaw Moo Rah also fell on Thai soil. 
After the assault, KHRG visited the border at Kaw Moo Rah and
found the ground on the Thai side pockmarked by the impact of
dozens, if not hundreds, of SLORC shells.  Unexploded shells and
fragments were quickly removed by the Thai Army, but some of
these may have been chemical shells, and there are unconfirmed
reports that some Thai villagers from Ban Wan Kaew village had to
be treated for the same dizzyness and nausea symptoms suffered by
the Karen soldiers.  The use of such weapons on a spit of land
projecting into Thailand, with the presence of Thai villagers,
soldiers and border police all around, shows SLORC's flagrant
disregard for Thailand and its people and makes this issue an
international one.  Furthermore, use of such weapons in any
circumstance violates all human conventions of behaviour, even in
times of war.  This must be stopped before it can happen again.

More information is still coming in, but there is no firm
chemical evidence as yet to identify what the SLORC was using at
Kaw Moo Rah; however, there appears little doubt in the soldiers'
testimonies that it was something inhuman and unusual.
_________________________________________________________________
_____________ 
Saw S---, 23 years old, in Kaw Moo Rah for 9 years since he
joined as a Karen soldier at age 14:

This time it was different.  The rockets they used were very
different from before.  Before, even if the shells hit right on
the bunker nothing happened, but this time even if the shell
didn't hit the bunker things happened.  The smoke spreads around
very black, and it doesn't move.  Before, if a breeze blew the
smoke would clear [from their normal smoke bombs used to screen
their ground assaults], but not this time.  It spread until we
couldn't see, then the black smoke gave us a quivering inside our
bodies.  We were wearing glasses and thick cotton masks but it
didn't help.  As soon as the smoke touched your skin, it made
your skin feel all hot.  From the black smoke we immediately got
headaches, then quivering and everybody got dizzy.  All my
friends, many of them were vomiting alot.  My officer was
vomiting too, and his nose was bleeding.  I tried to move but I
couldn't.  I tried to stand and get out but I couldn't, so they
had to carry me.  I fell unconscious for I don't know how long,
and when I woke up I was in hospital.  My friend was unconscious
2 hours longer than me, then after an injection and smelling
salts he woke up.

I was in a bunker right at the front.  All the shells were aimed
at the front bunkers.  The shell that knocked me unconscious
exploded 3 or 4 yards away.  It was very different from anything
they've used before.  Earlier we had a radio intercept that SLORC
brought 2 launchers for the new shells but they didn't even know
how to fire it themselves, so they called for 'the Chinese' to
come and fire it for them.  Some of the shells made black smoke,
some made red smoke [it was night, so the darkness and the fires
from incendiary shells may have affected the colours he saw].  We
saw it before we got dizzy.  There were many, so the black and
red smoke got mixed up together.  Some shells also had white
smoke, like the smoke shells they've used before [to cover their
advancing ground troops].  When the dark smoke shells exploded,
the smoke lasted at least 10 minutes and didn't blow away. 
Before, when they used the regular white smoke bombs the breeze
would blow it away.  The new ones made a smoke cloud 10 armspans
[about 45-50 feet] in diameter.  In other attacks there was dust
around and white smoke so we used masks, and it worked.  But this
time we used the masks and it didn't work, people got dizzy
anyway.  We never got dizzy before.  I've been there since 1984
and I've never seen anything like it.

Most of the shells they used were the smoke.  And the other kind
of shells they used, when they blew up a liquid spread out.  If
the liquid hit people's faces or arms, it burned.  All the burn
victims here are from the liquid.  It burned on the ground, but
if you poured water on it the fire just got bigger, and as soon
as it touched anyone their skin burned off.  They also used other
shells so big that when they exploded they made a crater
chest-deep.  Now [36 hours later] I have no nose or throat pain,
but I still feel dizzy sometimes.
_________________________________________________________________
_____________ 
Saw G---, 34 years old, a Karen Army medic who has been in Kaw 


Moo Rah since 1983:

In the past there was always a ground attack after their
shelling, but this time they just kept shelling all day and night
without a ground attack, so we thought they might be firing
something different at us.  I was in the middle of the camp so I
only saw the smoke of the new shells, but when it reached my skin
I felt hot, burning.  When the shells exploded, some spread
liquid and some spread smoke.  They've never used that kind of
smoke before.  When it explodes near a bunker, the bunker fills
with smoke and the people inside can't breathe and get all dizzy. 
The soldier there beside you [another wounded soldier, who was
laying down and still too incoherent to be interviewed] was
unconscious inside his bunker for 2 hours, and nobody could even
get inside to help him because of the smoke.

They fired their big guns alot, 300 or 400 shells an hour.  They
used to have 80 big guns there, and they'd brought 80 more.  It
was like a rainshower of bombs.  Nobody dared raise up his head. 
They had really big shells - when they exploded close to a tree,
the entire roots of the tree were blown out of the ground.  They
used so many kinds of shells - normal, liquid, smoke.  Before
they always used shrapnel shells, but this time it was mostly
smoke.  The smell of the smoke was really bad, so bad I can't
even describe it.  It made my nose all hot inside, and then I
lost my strength.

Even after the Burmese knew for sure we'd withdrawn, they still
didn't even try to enter Wan Kha [Kaw Moo Rah] until 10 hours
later.  I think they knew there were chemicals.

This attack was more than civil war.  We don't want to fight, I
never wanted to fight them.  But I was born in the [Irrawaddy]
Delta, and we never had any human rights since the day I was
born.  They did so many things to us.  Even though we grew rice,
the government just took it all.  So we had to flee, and I came
here to fight.  Now they come here too, to take everything from
us.  They attack us, and they take everything.  This attack - [at
this point Saw G--- began crying openly]  It wasn't even
fighting.  It was just murder.  They didn't even dare attack us
on the ground, they just kept firing heavy weapons, and all we
have are little guns.  We didn't want to withdraw, we tried to
hold out and wait for the ground attack.  But it never came. 
After firing those shells they didn't even come close because of
the chemicals.
_________________________________________________________________
_____________ 
Saw K---, 28 years old, and Saw M---, 24 years old, both in Kaw
Moo Rah for 6 years, both of whom have second-degree burn wounds
over the upper parts of their bodies [Saw M-- was still too deaf
to participate much in the interview]:

Saw K---:  Both of us have one ear still ringing, and in the
other ear we can't hear anything.  We were in the same bunker, 3
of us.  It was a bunker at the front.  I was facing forward, Saw
M--- was facing out to the left and Saw T--- was facing out to
the right [their burns, from a shell which exploded in front of
their bunker, correspond to this:  Saw K--- is burned on the
front and the upper back, Saw M--- mainly on the right side, and
Saw T--- on his left side.]  I saw black and red smoke shells
hitting other bunkers.  The smell was so bad, and I felt dizzy
and wanted to vomit but I couldn't vomit.  The smoke was dark
blue-black.  It exploded away from our bunker, but it was the one
that made me dizzy.  Then 3 shells hit right around our bunker. 
The first was a normal shell, the second I'm not sure, and when
the third shell exploded I saw red smoke.  Then the liquid shell
exploded.  The liquid got on us and it felt so hot, it felt hot
like acid and all our skin was burning and peeling off.  We had
to fan ourselves because it was burning so hot.  Then I went
unconscious.

After I woke up I tried to get to the medic.  I couldn't see
anything because my eyes were burned, and someone came and helped
us.  Now my eyes are okay, but I can't see very clearly.  Saw
M--- still has bleeding from his ear.
_________________________________________________________________
_____________ 
Saw S---, 48 years old, Buddhist with 3 children, who has been in
Kaw Moo Rah for decades and now has minor shrapnel wounds on his
head and upper body:

In the ground attack before [on Feb. 8-9], the SLORC troops got
very close to Wan Kha - some were killed just outside of our
bunker.  But this last attack wasn't a ground attack.  They just
shelled alot, and the weapons they used were so strong they could
penetrate right through our very strong log bunkers.  I think it
was some kind of delay-fuse Howitzer [artillery designed to
penetrate its target before exploding], 106 mm. [recoilless
shells] and 120 mm. [large-calibre mortar].  Our bunker had heavy
logs on top [Kaw Moo Rah bunkers have at least 3 layers of heavy
logs and are very strong].  The weapons they used before couldn't
damage our bunkers much, but this time they could.  Two layers on
top of our bunker were destroyed and our bunker was shaking alot. 
They used very different weapons in this final offensive.  The
smoke was so strong and smelled very bad.  I have no idea why we
became so dizzy.  Even if the explosion was far away from the
bunker, once we smelled it we became dizzy.  We all became dizzy,
and we could barely control ourselves.

They shelled alot and at least 1 out of 3 shells was hitting
around our bunker.  One shell came through our bunker, and some
of us got bleeding ears and noses.  There was so much smoke and
dust, when we spat we could see the dust in our spit.  I was
almost killed.  They shelled so much, but we have nothing to
shoot back.  Their shelling was like a shower of bombs.  We
couldn't dare raise our heads.  Some soldiers had bleeding ears. 
Our bunker and 3 others were destroyed, but even those in other
bunkers got the smell and the dizzyness.  Even if the shrapnel
didn't hit us, we felt the dizzyness.

They also had shells that spread a liquid like glue.  This kind
of shell didn't have alot of shrapnel, just liquid.  The liquid
was green and smelled really bad, and it spread at least 6 feet
and started burning on the ground.  We could even see the liquid
in the dark, it was glowing luminous green.  When you try to stop
it with water, it just causes it to burn more.  It burned, and to
stop it we had to cover it with dust.  But then if the dust comes
off, it starts burning again.  A long time later we could still
see it burning.  The liquid didn't get on anybody in our bunker,
but I could see that it was burning on our bunker. 
They were using four kinds of shells: shells that just explode
into shrapnel, smaller shells that cause dizzyness, 'liquid'
shells, and shells to destroy the bunkers.  The normal shells
just spread shrapnel so as long as you're not directly hit,
nothing happens, and they don't destroy the bunker.  About 3 or 4
out of every 10 shells  were the ones that make people dizzy. 
They exploded into smoke, and we couldn't see anything.  The
shells that made the smoke were bigger than the other shells but
a different shape.  The smoke made us dizzy and we felt like
throwing up, and our ears and noses were bleeding.  We got dizzy
from the gas and almost unconscious, and then the heavy weapon
shell hit our bunker and 3 of us were killed.  I couldn't see
anything clearly after that, 


I felt my friend helping me out of the bunker and I went
unconscious.  When I woke up I was in the hospital.

Now I can hear on one side, but the other side is deaf.  Last
night I got dizzy again.  Even now, I want to throw up sometimes. 
If I don't move, I don't feel dizzy, but if I try to walk
anywhere I get dizzy again.  I think they used the dirty trick of
using some 'bad' smoke.  Since the old Wan Kha [10 years ago],
they've shelled alot many times but we've never suffered like
this before.

*****************CHEMICAL WEAPONS AT KAWMOORA***************** 
BURMANET: SAMPLES AVAILABLE FOR INDEPENDANT TESTING
March 2, 1995

Blood, urine and fabric samples from Kawmoora have been sent to
at least three laboratories for analyis but further samples are
available.  If you know of a laboratory with the necessary
equipment and experience which would be interested in testing
this material for evidence of exposure to chemical weapons,
please contact BurmaNet.

*****************CHEMICAL WEAPONS AT KAWMOORA***************** 
BURMANET: THE FALL OF KAWMOORA AND ITS AFTERMATH
February 25, 1995
Huay Kaloke Refugee Camp, Thailand

For BurmaNet by "November Charlie"

The following is a summary of the events surrounding the loss of
New Kaw Moo Rah, or Wangkha, by the KNLA 101 Special Btn. and its
aftermath.

***
20 February

At this time the Burma Army forces stationed opposite Kaw Moo Rah
were from 22 Division, having replaced 44 Division after their
failure of February 8.  The 22 Division commanders clearly learnt
from the disaster suffered by the 44th and opted for less
conventional tactics.  As Khin Nyunt is believed to have visited
Thin Gan Gyi Naung twice in the preceding weeks he may have had a
direct role in the decisions made.

The 22 Div. had been shelling since early morning.  However after
1:30 pm a succession o f heavy barrages began.  It is believed
that they "instructed" the Thai Army units stationed opposite to
withdraw to 3km away from the Moei River, where it forms the
border at which Kaw Moo Rah is located.  When the Thais declined
to do this the 22 Div. increased deliberate shelling of Thai
territory, and the Thai artillery units responded by shelling
close to Burmese positions.  One of the Thai artillery pieces, in
particular, was located to one of the far sides of Kaw Moo
Rah/Huay Ka Loke Refugee Camp, (approx. 2-1/2 km from Wangkha, as
the crow flies,) and this unit was targeted for return fire by
the Burmese.  The first shell fired landed just beyond the
refugee camp football field, adjacent to the new market and
housing areas, a couple of hundred metres away form the main part
of the camp.  Subsequent shells fired landed steadily close to
the Thai artillery position, and therefore further away from the
camp, which suggests, firstly, that the Burmese military were in
communication with a spotter somewhere on Thai territory, and
secondly, the at the Burmese did *not* have a policy of
deliberately firing on the refugee camp, as this would have been
an ideal opportunity for them to do so, and claim they were
responding to the Thai aggression.  This thinking, however, was
not shared by shop holders in the market place, and members of
outlying houses, as most of the former arranged for cars
throughout this and the following day in order to remove all of
their stock, and many of the latter moved in to the main part of
the camp. By evening the perimetre of the camp was all but
deserted.

****
21 February

At approximately 12:50 am, in the midst of a heavy barrage,
including time-delayed 105mm shells that were causing serious
damage to bunker positions at Kaw Moo Rah, the Karen interceptors
heard a series of radio messages in completely different code to
that usually employed by the Burmese.  At 1 am Kaw Moo Rah came
under phosphorus shell, and what appears to have been chemical
weapons attack.

Evidence of the case is still being collected, and was hampered
by many events that occurred afterwards.  However, soldiers who
had experienced many years of combat testified to those they met
within the immediate aftermath of the events, and later, that
they were enveloped in clouds of something that they had never
experienced previously, which, with an unbearable smell, caused
dizziness, vomiting, bleeding from the nose and unconsciousness. 
There are apparently differing reports with regards to what sort
or size of shell might have been used, the exact smell of the
gas, it's colour, etc.  All of these are under investigation at
present by agencies including those associated with he American
Embassy.  Regardless, there was definitely an unusual event on
this morning.  It has been suggested that Thai authorities were
aware of what was going to happen and did in fact prepare troops
of their army for it prior to the event, although this cannot be
confirmed.  Indications from the Burmese side that support the
suggestion that chemical weapons were used include their efforts
for a Thai withdrawal from the area prior to the shelling, and
additionally their highly unusual behavior after the base had
been evacuated.

As a result of the attack, the soldiers were left incapacitated
and unable to fight, and therefore the Commander of the Btn.
announced the evacuation.  This began soon after the attack with
chemical weapons and was largely finished by 4:30am.  Soldiers
reaching the other side were disarmed on Thai soil by the Thai
military and arrangement made whereby they were transported to
positions still held by the KNLA in 6th Brigade area later in the
morning.  Casualties were light, and special separate
arrangements were made for the wounded to get medical attention. 
Most of the soldiers, therefore, are now separated from their
families, and will continue to be so for an indefinite period, ad
most families reside in the refugee camp.

The 101 Btn. base, therefore, was virtually deserted by daylight. 
There were a few stragglers, and additionally, two mentally
handicapped men who had stayed there with the soldiers for years
and could not be brought to leave.  The KNLA soldiers were forced
to leave them behind and hoped that the 22 Div. would do nothing
to them, seeing that they are clearly handicapped.  Two western
NGO workers who travelled to the river yesterday took photographs
of bodies in the river, and it is hoped that the two men are not
amongst them, but this is yet to be confirmed, or otherwise.

However, despite the base clearly being empty, the Burmese
exhibited strange behaviour, and rather than entering, began
shelling sporadically, for the course of the first part of the
morning.  It is reported that they did not enter Kaw Moo Rah
until the early afternoon.

In the refugee camp, school exams, which were scheduled for this
week, were cancelled, and the beginning of an air of depression
and muted fear prevailed.  Later int he day an unexploded shell
was found near the main gate to the camp by the Thai authorities,
not far from some Thai houses.  It would appear the pin was not
removed to allow for detonation deliberately.

*****
Since 21 February

As noted previously, investigations with regards to chemical
weapons usage continue, with no clear outcome.

The 22 Divisions soldiers raised the Burmese and Buddhist flags
over Kaw Moo Rah, and announced on Radio Myanmar it's
"liberation" by the "DKBO" (KNLA splinter group).  They
immediately began looting the camp and selling supplies of rice,
roofing sheets, etc. at bargain prices to Thai merchants.  It is
understood that some Thais have set up stalls to sell consumables
to the Burmese.

The future of the refugee camp is now very much in jeopardy. 
Thai authorities offer guarantees of security, but these ring
hollow when it is known that large numbers of the 22 Div.
soldiers have been crossing the river daily in civilian clothes,
and some coming with Thais to purchase things in the marketplace
of the refugee camp.  It is not clear the degree to which they
may or may not be carrying weapons.  On the 23d of February, two
suspected 22 Div. officers entered the school premises (after
classes and exams had been halted,) along with a Thai.  They
spoke to one of the students and left again.  Apart from in the
marketplace, some other people are leaving the camp, or preparing
to do so already, but for different reasons.

It is also believed that some members of the Buddhist community
in the camp crossed the river and met with the Burmese troops a
couple of day previously and were treated very kindly and
encouraged to return and be resettled.  It is possible that given
the proximity of this location to Mae Sot and the outside world,
the SLORC will attempt to make Kaw Moo Rah a new trading point
and as idyllic as possible, as a propaganda device.  Meantime, it
is believed that local Thai authorities are engaged in
discussions with Karen officials with regards to possible
relocations of camp members, whilst Thai ACM Wimol has apparently
voiced his support of SLORC calls for the return of all refugees,
now that Kaw Moo Rah has fallen, to "help rebuild the country."

*****
Other recent news

To the north, there has been unprecedented terrorizing of
refugees on the Thai side if the Salween River.  Ka Htee Hta camp
has been relocated for a second time, after the first camp was
completely looted by Burmese troops who continued to come and
kidnap and execute people at the new location.  Additionally, a
truck full of refugees, being relocated to the south of Mae Sam
Lap is reported to have been fired upon, and the Thai driver and
two women killed, by "unidentified assailants."



*****************CHEMICAL WEAPONS AT KAWMOORA***************** 
KHRG: IS THE SLORC USING BACTERIOLOGICAL WARFARE? [REPOST]
[This article is reposted because the charges raised are similar
enough to current allegations to merit recalling.--BurmaNet]


March 15, 1994

Preliminary Report based on information independently gathered by
the Karen Human Rights Group
*****************
Karen Human Rights Group
PO Box 22
Mae Sot, Tak 63110
Thailand
(email sent to the KHRG at strider@xxxxxxxxxxx will be forwarded)
*****************


On August 12, 1993 in the middle of the night, villagers in a
large part of the Donthami and Yunzalin river watersheds (between
the Bilin and Salween Rivers, in Thaton and Mudraw [Papun]
districts) heard SLORC planes fly low over their areas.  The
planes dropped dozens, maybe scores (the number is unknown) of
strange devices consisting of a 2-metre parachute with a "white
box" and one or two balloons hanging underneath.  The next
morning the villagers started finding the devices in forests and
fields.  SLORC troops in the area never tried to recover the
devices.

Between 3 days and 2 weeks later, villagers in the drop area and
some areas downriver started getting sick with a disease
resembling cholera or shigella.  The symptoms were very serious
diarrhoea with faeces "like rice water", in some cases combined
with watery vomiting, bringing death by severe dehydration within
one to two days; as a Karen medic described it, "You go to the
toilet 3 times, then you're dead".  Other symptoms reported
include nausea, dizzyness, in some cases head and body aches, and
some found that if they pinched their skin and released it, the
flesh stayed pinched out.  The disease was very communicable and
spread very rapidly until it covered most of Bilin Township, made
worse by the fact that villages in the area have no sanitation
and villagers generally just use the forest instead of a toilet
or latrine. Generally it only attacked adults over 15 - many
families were entirely wiped out except for one or two of the
youngest children. Up to this time, the entire area involved had
reported a few deaths per month from dysentery.  Suddenly in
September 1993, village leaders in the area reported 185 deaths
in one month from this disease.  The Karen National Union (KNU)
responded by sending medical teams into the area several times. 
They managed to save many using dextrose/saline intravenous drips
combined with tetracycline\ (in at least one case they saved a
woman from the brink of death with 11 successive 500ml. drips),
but the death toll is now over 300.  By December it appeared that
the disease had abated in most areas, although a few cases are
still being reported.  Deaths have now been reported far from the
original disease area in the major village of Ka Ma Maung on the
Salween River, under SLORC control.  SLORC authorities have
quarantined several villages in the area.  A few cases have also
been reported closer to the Thai border, and with the regular
movement of Karen civilians it could easily spread across the
border into Thailand.

A new outbreak of diarrhoea, possibly the same disease, has just
occurred in March just west of the Salween River where it forms
the Thai border east of Papun.

Since the start of 1994, an epidemic of a very similar or
identical disease has broken out about 100 km. further south in
Dta Greh (Burmese name Pain Kyone) township, between Hlaing Bwe
town and the Dawna Range in Pa'an District.  This area is very
close to Thailand but is isolated by the Dawna Range at the
border. Statistics on this outbreak are not available yet.  A
trader from the area recently reported that "SLORC planes came 2
or 3 times, flying not too high at night.  They dropped things by
parachute - one was near Pwe Taw village.  In the morning the
villagers found it.  It had 4 strings, a very good sheet of
material, a foam box and a broken balloon.  In the foam box there
was something like a bell, some wire and pieces like radio parts. 
One villager took off the sheet and kept it.  After that, many of
the villagers got diarrhoea, and they couldn't cure it because
medicines and IV drips are very expensive and hard to get, so
many people died of diarrhoea.  An average of six or seven people
died in each village, and over 10 people died in my village. 
More middle aged people died than children.  The planes dropped 6
or 7 parachutes around Tha Mo and Pay Hta, which are big
villages, but I only saw 2 parachutes myself."  This account has
not yet been confirmed.  The area where he claims the drop
occurred is exactly where the disease is now occurring.  There
could also have been human transmission of the disease from the
original area to the north.

The disease is curable with basic medicines, but the villagers
in the target area have no access to such medicines; since 1992,
the SLORC has sent #99 Light Infantry Division into the
Donthami/Yunzalin area with specific orders to drive all
villagers in this area into camps or out of the area.Villagers
now affected further south in Pa'an District have suffered
similar tactics.  In the process they have been terrorized,
stripped of all money  and belongings, and thousands have been
displaced or have fled to refugee camps in Thailand (see the
Karen Human Rights Group reports Forced Relocation in Thaton
District (9/1/93), The SLORC's New Forced Relocation Campaign -
Translations of SLORC Orders (8/1/93), Report from Thaton
District (10/3/93), Statements by Internally Displaced People
(28/4/93), and The SLORC's 1993 Offensive Against
Karen Civilians (10/7/93)).  Furthermore, a Karen medic who
operates in the area reports that the SLORC actively blocks any
medicine reaching the area from towns in Burma as part of their
program to make sure no supplies can reach opposition forces. 
Some villagers in the area have been executed when caught with
supplies of basic medicines.

Villagers in the Donthami/Yunzalin area say they have never heard
of such an epidemic, not even in their grandparents' time.  They
also say that as soon as the first people began getting sick,
SLORC troops stopped entering all villages in the area and in
most cases didn't even leave their camps, which is also
unprecedented.

This is a "brown" area, where both SLORC and Karen troops
operate,
and the SLORC has always entered these villages regularly to
capture porters and loot food and belongings.  Villagers who were
used to having to rotate weekly shifts of slave labour
maintaining
SLORC army camps were suddenly forbidden from entering those
camps.

One group of SLORC troops came near a village, but stayed in
the monastery outside the village.  While all the villagers were
getting the disease, only the SLORC troops and the monks remained
healthy.  In Laykay, a large village with a large SLORC army
camp, villagers were forbidden from entering the camp and
soldiers were forbidden to leave.  However, the villagers learned
that the soldiers in the camp had been "vaccinated" (to use their
word) against the disease.  In Yo Klah, where there is also a
SLORC camp right in the village, villagers were forbidden to
enter the camp but soldiers came into the village to order
villagers to keep their food clean and boil all drinking water,
and they forced the villagers to dig latrines for themselves at
gunpoint.  However, they did not go to any other villages to do
this.

Villagers have found many of the air-dropped devices in the
Donthami/Yunzalin area.  The KNU has obtained a number of them,
the Karen Human Rights Group has obtained three, and others have
obtained several more.  They consist of a clear plastic parachute
2 metres in diameter with 4 nylon suspension lines holding a
"white box" and 1 or 2 balloons.  Unfortunately, to our knowledge
none of the balloons have been recovered - villagers report that
in every case, the balloons have been broken when found.  The
"white box" consists of a thick white styrofoam box 31.5 cm. x 17
cm. x 10 cm. deep complete with formed styrofoam lid.  Inside, in
specially moulded slots, are a 6.2 cm. diameter pressure-sensing
anode connected to a swinging arm on a gauge, a 13 x 6 cm.
circuit board, and a small microwave transmitter.  The unit is
powered by small battery which fits in a slot in the bottom, and
there are also one or two slots which are empty on the units we
have recovered.  The entire units, as indicated by printing on
the swinging-arm gauge, a logo on the outside of the styrofoam
box, and the battery unit, were made by "Viz Manufacturing Co.,
335 East Price St., Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19144-5782, USA -
Phone 215-844-2626, Telex 710-670-2626, Fax 215-844-4410".

The devices appear to be typical commercially available
"radiosonde" devices, manufactured to be sent up under weather
balloons.  This is supported by the plastic wrapping for the
battery, which is labelled "Activation Instructions for
Radiosonde Battery".  The battery itself is a disposable chemical
unit 6cm.  x 6cm. x 4cm. thick, made up of clear plastic tightly
wrapped around layers of wax, chemical, and something like
cardboard, all packaged in a white plastic bag with printed
instructions.  It is activated by removing the plastic bag,
immersing it in water, shaking off the excess, then connecting
the power connector, putting it back in the plastic bag and
inserting it in the slot in the radiosonde box.  The battery we
have recovered is printed with the date January 2, 1992, and
other information including "BATTERY, RADIOSONDE.
NSN-6135-01-054-2098.  VIZ 3500-100".  On one unit, the
swinging-arm device has serial number 503-2288 stuck on it, and
the circuit board has serial number 0728868.  Another unit has
serial number 617-1014 on the swinging-arm device, and 0728904 on
the circuit board.  The units also bear a small stick-on
computer-printed label on the box bottom including printing such
as "1392-521, CT 6/2535", which would imply that they passed
through Thailand,as the year 1992 was the year 2535 on the Thai
calendar.

Radiosondes are meant to be sent up under weather balloons, not
dropped out of planes with parachutes.  Unlike all the radiosonde
equipment, which is clearly marked with the VIZ name and logo,
the parachutes have no markings and appear to have been rigged
up by SLORC for this special purpose.  They consist of a circular
sheet of clear "crinkly" plastic, similar to that used to make
ordinary plastic bags.  The sheet has been cut to a diameter of
2 metres, and at least part of the cutting appears to have been
done roughly with hand scissors.  The lines were held on with
ordinary office-type staples.  There are also some other features
which may have been added by SLORC.  One unit was recovered with
a 27 cm. long metal device with 4 radial folding fins attached
to it, which fold out to a diameter of 28 cm. - this appears to
be the tail assembly from an RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade
shell, and was probably attached to make the unit descend
vertically and at a proper rate; it would not work as an antenna
for microwave transmission.  Each pressure-sensing device has a
spot of paint on it which appears to have been hastily
hand-applied; some units are marked with blue paint, some with
red.  Each unit also has a three-wired cable attached to the
circuit board which goes to a slot in the bottom of the box,
where there is a plastic
connector.

Here the cable is soldered to a piece of apparently standard
two-wired household power cord about 20 cm. long.  In every case,
at the other end of this cord about one-half cm. of the wires
have been stripped and soldered, but they are just hanging free
outside the box, not connected to anything.  This may have
something to do with the balloons, none of which were recovered
because the villagers said in every case that the balloons were
broken and destroyed when found.  Villagers who found one unit
hanging from a tree said that the broken balloon was hanging down
and a foul-smelling "black-yellow-green" liquid was dripping from
it.  Other villagers who took devices home said they later
destroyed them because they were giving off a "foul smell".  A
Karen military column which went to villages to retrieve the
devices reported that in several cases, they were told that the

villager who had retrieved the device had later died of the
disease, so the villagers had destroyed it.

While these devices appear to have been originally manufactured
for use under weather balloons, knowledgeable sources indicate
that throwing them out of low-flying airplanes would be virtually
useless for weather applications.  Also, the short length of the
microwave transmitter antenna indicates a very high frequency
transmission, possibly in the gigahertz range, which would only
be receivable along a straight "line of sight".  This would make
sense for a weather balloon, which sends signals down to earth
from heights up to 100,000 feet, but would be useless for
transmitting from the ground where there are some hills and
ground
cover as in the drop area.  The transmission also appears to be
quite low powered because the transistor on the circuit board
does
not even have a heat sink.  These limitations would imply that
the
signals may only be receivable from the planes which dropped the
devices, or that the SLORC was not particularly interested in the
signal anyway.


Possible Explanations

Several possibilities are under consideration.  Firstly, there
may be no relationship between the SLORC air-drops and the
epidemic. However, if this is the case, why did SLORC troops stop
entering the area so quickly, which they have never done before,
and what was the purpose of the air drops?  Dropping such devices
from low-flying planes by night would have very limited
usefulness
for meteorology, and the SLORC has no reason to be studying the
weather in the drop area anyway.  The weather there is very
stable
and predictable, generally not varying for months at a time.
Perhaps the devices are sensitive enough to pick up and transmit
vibrations which would indicate Karen troop movements, similar
to devices used by American forces in Vietnam; however, on first
inspection the devices do not appear to have this capability,
they could probably not transmit for very long on their
batteries,
and many more of them would have to be dropped to be very
effective
for this purpose.  The devices could act as beacons which are
dropped on targets, then transmit a signal which guides in a
guided
weapon, but no weapons were fired on the area.  Another
possibility
is that the barometric pressure readings could be used to help
calibrate the SLORC's Carl Gustav Swedish rockets and other
air-exploding shells to function properly in local areas. 
However,
much of the drop area is only seldom penetrated by Karen troops,
and in the areas where Karen troops do operate, they use
guerrilla
tactics, based on ambush and quick retreat.  There are very few
head-on battles which would involve the heavy use of such shells.
Another possibility is that the barometric readings could help
the
SLORC predict the effectiveness of future strikes with chemical
or
bacteriological agents, chemical defoliants, or napalm.  Advice
from military experts is needed to properly assess these
possibilities.  In any case, an unexplained SLORC air-drop just

days before the outbreak of a once-in-a-century epidemic in the
same area would seem to be quite an incredible coincidence.

The other possibility is that there is a connection between the
SLORC air-drop and the epidemic.  If so, how did the mysterious
devices cause the disease?  The balloons (which we have not
recovered) could have contained the bacteriological agent, or
some
other device could have been attached, which would ideally have
dispersed the agent while the device was still in the air.  The
microwave transmission could be used as a "homing signal" so that
Strategic Headquarters could map the dispersal of the agent.  The
barometric pressure readings might be useful as well in
estimating
its dispersal, or the SLORC may not have been interested in the
barometric information, only using meteorological devices because
they can be bought without suspicion and if found people will
assume they have been used for meteorological applications.
Unfortunately, toxicologists say that it is very unlikely that
they
could recover any trace of the disease off the devices themselves
this long after the fact.  Another possibility is that the
devices
did not deliver the agent, but were only used to map its
dispersal
while the agent itself was sprayed from the planes by some other
means.


Some events from the past are also relevant to the question:

There has been no such epidemic in generations, and the drop area
corresponds to the disease area. In 1985 in the Baw Kloh area of
southern Burma's Tenasserim Division, at least one balloon
attached
to a packet of "powder" was dropped by a Burmese military plane.
Just afterward, a cholera epidemic began in the area which lasted
through the entire rainy season. Almost all villagers got sick,
though only 10 to 20 reportedly died.  Only one balloon was
retrieved, and no proper analysis was done.

In mid-1993 an identical device was recovered in forest less than
10 kilometres west of Manerplaw, across the Salween river from
the Meh Bpa area, where the heaviest fighting occurred in the
SLORC's 1992 offensive against Manerplaw.  During that offensive
SLORC bomber aircraft were over the area every day, but they have
not been back since.  It is not known when this device was
dropped.

The serial number on the gauge is 607-1019, and on the circuit
board 0762537.  A UPC code sticker on the bottom reads "Prod-Seq
# 012907C".  The device is code-marked with blue paint.
In the 1992 offensive against Manerplaw, several Karen soldiers
were wounded on different occasions by air attacks at frontline
positions with suspected chemical weapons.  They suffered burns
and rashes which were still spreading over their bodies months
later, and partial or complete loss of mobility in various parts
of the body with no apparent cause.  In Kachin State the same
year, the Kachin Independence Organization claimed that chemical
shells were being used against them, and that they had
intercepted
messages telling SLORC frontline commanders to withdraw several
hundred metres because SLORC planes were about to drop "chemical
weapon shells".

Well-placed and reliable sources indicate that the SLORC has its
own facilities for manufacturing mustard gas and possibly other
chemical warfare agents, built with the assistance of a west
German
firm.

In the Bundestag (German parliament) on 24 September 1991, the
German government admitted that between 1978 and 1989, a total
of 15 Burma Army officers received "ABC Protection" training (ABC
= Atomic/Bacteriological/Chemical) from the Bundeswehr (German
Army) at Sonthofen Military Academy in west Germany.  When asked
if similar training also occurred in East Germany, the government
answered "The Federal Government does not have any knowledge
about
Burmese citizens also being trained in handling ABC warfare
agents
by the former NVA [Nationale Volksarmee, the East German armed
forces]".  It is interesting that the Burma Army, with no
external
enemies, would be interested in "protecting" themselves against
these types of warfare.  The German government claimed that this
was part of a program offered to many third world countries; the
list of countries which benefitted includes several which have
close ties with German arms manufacturer Fritz Werner, such as
Sudan, where Fritz Werner built a military plant.  In Burma,
Fritz
Werner established the entire arms and munitions manufacturing
industry under the Ne Win regime, which has since been
nationalised
by SLORC.  Fritz Werner has also built "fertilizer" and
"bottling"
factories in Burma for the SLORC, all of which are highly secure
locations.  In the year 1984 West Germany exported DM 16.1
million
worth of chemical pre-products to Burma, and DM 7.5 million worth
of chemical end products.  We are now seeking further information
on all of these points.


Why?

Right now, while the SLORC is trying to convince the world that
it wants to negotiate "peace", and while it sends delegations
worldwide and hires public relations firms in a desperate attempt
to improve its international image, why would it engage in an
act of bacteriological warfare which would bring it unprecedented
international condemnation and probably even force the UN
Security
Council into action?  This is a difficult question to answer,
but not so difficult if one understands the SLORC mentality.
If the SLORC really wants to improve its international image,
why doesn't it simply decrease the grotesque level of human
rights
abuses it perpetrates in ethnic areas?  This would also have the
effect of making villagers less supportive of opposition groups.
 However, the SLORC is now actually stepping up its human rights
abuses, possibly as a form of threat to opposition groups that
they had better agree to negotiate.  The SLORC is now so
confident
of its power and of the support of its neighbouring allies that
it feels it can do anything it likes within the country, as long
as it makes the right statements overseas.  With the news
blackout
it maintains over most of the country, it is confident that none
of its activities in remote areas, like the area in question,
can be proven.  Even when they are proven, the SLORC simply
claims
that the information is "propaganda by terrorist groups" and
flatly
denies any human rights abuses exist at all, confident that no
foreign governments will take action against them.  They probably
would not even realize that to use bacteriological warfare is
to step across the line, putting themselves in the spotlight and
forcing foreign countries to respond.

The epidemic area is the same area where the SLORC has sent fresh
combat troops since 1992, particularly the notorious 99 Light
Infantry Division, to attempt to drive all villagers into
controlled camps or out of the area so that Karen troops cannot
operate.

Much of the region has already been declared a free-fire zone
where any villagers seen are shot on sight.  Many have fled the
area, but many more remain, hidden in the forests or in villages,
and the Karen Army continues to operate.  The SLORC may therefore
be using disease as a last resort to clear out the area's
population by killing some and forcing the rest to flee the
spreading disease. This could also be an experimental operation
in
preparation for more widespread use of bacteriological agents,
possibly against other remote areas or the Manerplaw area.

Although other diseases such as anthrax tend to be generally
preferred for bacteriological warfare, there are also reasons for
the SLORC to choose a disease approximating cholera or severe
dysentery instead.  An outbreak of a non-native disease like
anthrax would immediately be extremely suspicious, and much
easier
to trace back to the SLORC, whereas diseases like cholera and
dysentery already exist in the region.  By using a disease which
is
fairly easy to treat, they can protect their own soldiers against
it quite easily, at the same time knowing that the villagers will
suffer severely because they have no access to the required
medicines.  The disease does not have to kill them all, only
force
them out of the area from fear of it.

However, by forcing villagers to move the SLORC is causing itself
problems now, as evidenced by the fact that the disease has now
spread to other areas well under their control like Ka Ma Maung,
and could spread further into Burma.  It is also spreading toward
the Thai border, and given the general flow of Karen refugees
and others across the borders, it could easily spread to rural
areas of Thailand.  Diseases and bacteriological warfare have
no respect for borders, and if the SLORC is responsible  for this
epidemic then this strategy of theirs has the potential to pose
a major regional threat.  It is imperative that foreign
governments
and the UN Security Council see that such a threat is not
realized.

****************************************************************



**************************************************************
NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:
 ABSDF: ALL BURMA STUDENTS DEMOCRATIC FRONT
 AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
 AFP: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
 AW: ASIAWEEK
 Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt. EQUALS US$1 (APPROX),
 BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
 BI: BURMA ISSUES
 BKK POST: BANGKOK POST (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
 BRC-CM: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-CHIANG MAI
 BRC-J: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-JAPAN
 CPPSM: C'TEE FOR PUBLICITY OF THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE IN MONLAND
 FEER: FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW
 IRRAWADDY: NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
 KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
 KNU: KAREN NATIONAL UNION
 Kt. BURMESE KYAT; UP TO 150 KYAT-US$1 BLACK MARKET
                   106 KYAT US$1-SEMI-OFFICIAL
                   6 KYAT-US$1 OFFICIAL
 MOA: MIRROR OF ARAKAN
 MNA: MYANMAR NEWS AGENCY (SLORC)
 NATION: THE NATION (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
 NCGUB: NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA (THE
        ELECTED, DE JURE GOVERNMENT OF BURMA)
 NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (DAILY STATE-RUN NEWSPAPER, RANGOON)
 NMSP: NEW MON STATE PARTY
 RTA: REC.TRAVEL.ASIA NEWSGROUP
 SCB: SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP
 SCT: SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP
 SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST
 SLORC: STATE LAW AND ORDER RESTORATION COUNCIL (THE MILITARY
        JUNTA, DE FACTO GOVERNMENT OF BURMA)
 TAWSJ: THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
 UPI: UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
 USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
 XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
**************************************************************