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KHRG: February Update
Received: (from strider) by igc4.igc.apc.org (8.6.12/Revision: 1.16 ) id PAA01250; Thu, 22 Feb 1996 15:43:58 -0800
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 15:43:58 -0800
KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP: INFORMATION UPDATE
February 18, 1996 / KHRG #96-U2
Information Update is periodically produced by KHRG in order to provide
timely reporting of specific developments, particularly when urgent action
may be required. It is produced primarily for Internet distribution.
Topics covered will generally be reported in more detail in upcoming
KHRG reports.
____________________________________________________________________________
Papun District: Mass Forced Relocations
SLORC has seriously stepped up its campaign to clear the entire rural
population out of Papun District and make the entire area a free-fire zone.
Since December 1995, orders have been issued to every rural village under
SLORC control from Kyauk Nyat in the north to Ka Dtaing Dtee in the
south, from the Salween River (the Thai border) in the east to at least 10
km. west of Papun - an area 50-60 km. north to south and 30 km. east to
west. This area is rugged hills dotted with small villages, averaging 10-50
households (population 50-300) per village. Estimates are that 100 or more
villages are affected. Every village has been ordered to move either to
SLORC Army camps surrounding Papun, such as Papun, Kaw Boke, or
Par Haik, or to DKBA headquarters far to the south at Khaw Taw (Myaing
Gyi Ngu) in Pa'an District. The orders have all been issued by SLORC.
Generally a SLORC column enters the village with only a few DKBA
soldiers accompanying them, and the SLORC officer issues the order.
Villagers confirm that DKBA never operates in the area by themselves
anymore - DKBA soldiers only appear in small groups as part of SLORC
columns. SLORC units involved in the operation include Light Infantry
Battalions (LIB) 340, 341, 434, and Infantry Battalion (IB) 5.
There is no apparent logic to which villages have been ordered to Papun
and which to Khaw Taw; some villages the furthest from Khaw Taw have
been ordered to move there, while some much closer to Khaw Taw have
been ordered to move to Papun. The majority are being ordered to move to
Papun area, where SLORC has allocated sites beside military camps for
them. They have been ordered to take all their food with them because
SLORC says no food will be provided. Villagers have been told that they
will still be allowed to farm their home fields, but they do not believe it
and they are probably right, because SLORC is trying to make this whole
region into a free-fire zone in order to cut KNLA supply lines and to block
the flow of refugees to Thailand. The relocation sites at military camps
will almost certainly be used as forced labour camps. People in them will
regularly be used as porters, army camp labourers, and probably for military
forced labour farming for profit. It appears that the main use of the
detained population will be as forced labour to work on the Papun - Par
Haik - Kyauk Nyat car road to give the military access to the border area,
and to make the 100-km. Papun-Bilin car road into an all-season road.
Until now, the Papun-Bilin road has been washed out every monsoon
season and the villagers are forced to rebuild it every year. Making it an
all-season road will give the military rainy-season offensive capability in
the region. To do this, thousands of men, women, and children will be
required to smooth the road and break rocks and gravel.
Villagers are also being ordered to move to Khaw Taw, most likely because
the DKBA needs a civilian population as a source of new recruits. Villagers
in both Papun and Pa'an Districts, where DKBA is the strongest, confirm
that no one is joining DKBA anymore because DKBA abuses villagers and
is "under SLORC, just part of SLORC".
The main deadlines for the move were between 13 and 18 January.
Thousands of villagers fled their villages before the deadline, because
SLORC and DKBA said that if they failed to move serious action would be
taken, such as burning of villages and shooting villagers as "rebels". Five
hundred to a thousand arrived in Thailand, and said that all villagers are
trying to flee rather than obey the orders. Some are fleeing to Thailand,
others into the hills, and a few are still trying to hide in their villages
but run and hide in the forest whenever SLORC is nearby. Those who fled to
Thailand say that the way is increasingly difficult, that they can only
travel at night and sometimes crossing the Papun - Par Haik car road is
impossible due to SLORC presence. Along the way, all they saw were
completely abandoned villages. They believe that anyone found hiding in
the forest or en route to Thailand will be executed or arrested as porters.
Hundreds of refugees flowed into refugee camps in mid-January, but then
the flow suddenly and almost completely stopped, despite the testimony of
villagers that everyone is trying to flee. This is a frightening
development, because it most likely means that SLORC is succeeding in
blocking many escape routes to the border. If SLORC follows this up by
combing the hills for villagers trapped in hiding, the resulting toll in
death, torture, and rape could be staggering.
Further details will be available in an upcoming KHRG report.
- [end] -