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KHRG Report February 29, 1996 Part
- Subject: KHRG Report February 29, 1996 Part
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 08:27:00
Received: (from strider) by igc2.igc.apc.org (8.6.11/Revision: 1.16 ) id HAA12851; Tue, 12 Mar 1996 07:28:00 -0800
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 07:28:00 -0800
Subject: KHRG Report February 29, 1996 Part 1 of 2
FIELD REPORTS
Taungoo and Other Districts
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
February 29, 1996 / KHRG #96-10
* PART 1 OF 2 - SEE SUBSEQUENT POSTING FOR PART 2 *
SOME DETAILS OF THIS REPORT ARE OMITTED OR BLANKED OUT WITH 'XXX'
FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION
This report provides a summary of some of the daily events in Taungoo,
Papun, Thaton, Nyaunglebin and Dooplaya districts since September
1995. The information was obtained by KHRG in the form of field reports
from human rights monitors and relief workers in Karen districts and
from radio messages transmitted by Karen military units in frontline
areas. It is far from complete, and should be considered only a
representative sampling of the kind of SLORC activities occurring in these
areas. Other KHRG reports should also be consulted in order to get a
more detailed picture of events.
Taungoo District is presently one of the worst hit. SLORC is trying to
wipe out all possibility of civilian support for the few KNLA (Karen
National Liberation Army) forces still left in the area by forcibly
relocating villages, burning villages and crops, destroying food supplies
and shooting villagers. Similar abuses are occurring in Papun District as
SLORC is forcing all villages to move in order to create a free-fire zone
along the Salween River in order to cut KNLA supply lines and block the
flow of refugees to Thailand. In Thaton and Nyaunglebin districts, the
slightest skirmish with KNLA troops is followed by massive retaliation
against villages in the area by SLORC, and in Dooplaya district most
villagers are expecting an offensive to begin at any time. All of this is
happening at a time when the KNU (Karen National Union) is trying to
proceed with ceasefire negotiations with SLORC - however, SLORC
appears to believe that it can gain a stronger negotiating position by
terrorizing and driving the Karen population into desperation.
In the events listed below, many villagers are executed without reasons
given. Usually, this is just because during military operations SLORC
troops see all villagers encountered outside their villages and all villagers
who run away as rebels. After killing them, they report to their superiors
that they have killed rebel soldiers. A large proportion of those executed
are age 60 and above, because they cannot run as fast as younger people.
Some villages mentioned below are reported as being ordered to move
several times; this is because when ordered to move, usually few or no
villagers will obey unless they are physically forced.
The SLORC Army has Regional Commands, such as Southern Command,
Western Command, etc. which consist of many Battalions and are
generally responsible for security duties in various parts of the country,
and Light Infantry Divisions, which have 10 Battalions each and are often
responsible for offensive actions. Sometimes the two are combined, such
as in the Taungoo District operation. Each Battalion generally operates
with a fighting strength of 400-500. The two types are LIB (Light Infantry
Battalion, usually for attack) and IB (Infantry Battalion, usually holding
fixed positions). Strategic Commands, usually consisting of 3 Battalions,
are often formed to conduct operations.
All dates in this report are listed in dd/mm/yy format.
TOPIC SUMMARY: Forced relocation (p. 3-9,10,12,13), burning of
villages (p.2,4,5,9-14), burning of crops and food supplies (p.2,5,9-12),
military attacks on villages (p.4,5,8,10,11,14), shooting deaths (p.2,4-
6,8,10,11,13), executions (p.3-6,10,12,14), rape (p.10), torture (p.7,8,12-
14), detention (p.7-9,12,14), forced labour at army camps (p.6,7,9), as
porters (p.2-9,14), as human minesweepers & shields (p.5,9-11), on roads
(p.3,4,6,7,9), systematic destruction of belongings (p.8,10,11,13,14),
looting (p.4,5,7-14), extortion (p.2,4,6,7,9,13), stopping flow of goods &
people (p.6,7,9), villagers fleeing (p.2,3,9-11), landmines (p.2,3,8,9,13),
Visit Myanmar Year (p.3). Districts: Taungoo (p.2-10), Papun (p.10-11),
Thaton (p.12-13), Nyaunglebin (p.13), Dooplaya (p.13-14).
_____________________________________________________________________________
Taungoo District
[The following messages were received from relief workers in Taungoo
District and radio messages from KNU units in the area. Note: Kler Lah,
one of the main villages in the area, is called Bawgali or Bawgali Gyi by
the Burmese. Tantabin township is Taw Ta Tu in Karen, and Taungoo is
Taw Oo. Most Karen villages in the district also have different names in
Burmese.]
In January 1995, SLORC began Operation "Aung Tha Pyay" in Taungoo
District with the aim of consolidating SLORC control over the district by
driving all villagers to military-controlled areas, killing all villagers who
failed to obey, and cutting off all possibilities of support to opposition
organizations. The operation is led by Southern Command, currently under
Brigadier General Kyi Aung. Strategic Commands #1, 2, and 3 from
Southern Command are involved as well as Strategic Commands #1 and #2
from Western Command. Battalions being used include IB 20 (from
Sittwe, Arakan State), IB 26 (Taungoo), IB 34 (Kyauk Pyu), IB 48 (Oke
Twin), IB 55 (Than Dweh), IB 232 (Sittwe), IB 233 (Buthidaung, Arakan
State), IB 234 (Buthidaung), IB 263 (Buthidaung), LIB 354 (Sittwe), LIB
439 (Than Dweh), and LIB 535 (Than Dweh). Lt. Col. Aung Naing Htun,
head of #2 Strategic Command of Western Command, ordered the villagers
to build his Strategic Command office in Bawgali (Kler Lah), and
demanded a total of 160,000 Kyat from surrounding villages for the cost of
the building. IB 234 demands 30 porters for the Strategic Command office
at all times, and to avoid sending them the villages are forced to pay a
total of 90,000 Kyat per month.
The operation was severely intensified in October 1995, and by the end of
October seventeen villages in Bawgali area had been partly or totally burned
down making almost 3,000 people homeless (villages: Saw Wah Meh,
Maw Thay Der, Law Bee Leh, Beh Lo, Gaw Tu Toh, May Daw Ko, Si
Kheh Der, Plaw Mu Der, Tha Kwee Soe, Bu Sah Kee, Ta Aye Kee, Saw
Mu Der, Pway Baw Kee, Say Daw Ko, Kaw Lu, Zaw Ta Der, and Say Ta
Der [Wah Mi Ber Ko]). In the course of the operation, villages, fields and
harvested crops are burned and livestock is shot in a deliberate attempt to
wipe out food supplies. Paddy prices in the area have soared to 1,000 Kyat
per basket, sometimes up to 1,500 Kyat (double to triple the already badly
inflated prices in urban Burma). Hundreds of villagers are taken as porters
and others are routinely shot on sight. Through 1995 over 40 villagers were
shot dead on sight by SLORC soldiers in Bawgali Township alone,
including 17 people shot dead just between 11 November and 2 December.
After forcing villages to move, SLORC lays landmines around the villages
and along the paths, which have caused many civilian casualties. SLORC
does not map its landmines, nor do KNLA forces who also lay them in the
area.
On 25 March 1995 SLORC ordered forced labour from 13 villages to
begin construction of a road from Bawgali to Bu Sah Kee via Kaw Thay
Der. They stopped during rainy season, then started again in Ye Tho Gyi
area on 14/10/95. Villages must provide labour as follows: Bawgali Gyi
165 people, Kaw Thu Der 80 people, Kaw Mu Der 22 people, Yin Tho
Lay 40 people, Kaw Soe Ko 50 people, Wah Tho Ko 12 people, Ku Lu
Der 20 people, Der Doh 30 people, Ler Ko 5 people, Maw Pa Der 15
people, Maw Ko Der 6 people, Ku Plaw Der 20 people, and Beh Khaw
Der 40 people. The villagers have to cut trees, clear scrub and lay gravel
for the new road. They are given a work assignment they must complete
each day. They receive no food, money or medicine from the soldiers.
Orchards and betelnut plantations have been destroyed for this road without
compensation, especially between Kaw Thu Der and Ku Lu Der. On
18/10/95 SLORC announced on radio that they have provided 42 million
Kyat to build this road for the villagers of the area, but no villagers
receive anything. By December 1995, the road had reached Naw Soh village.
In preparation for "Visit Myanmar Year 1996", orders were given in
Taungoo town that every house along the car road must have a corrugated
metal roof and a brick wall in front [Taungoo is along the Rangoon-
Mandalay road]. Any family which cannot obey must leave their house.
As part of SLORC's project to widen the Rangoon - Mandalay road, many
buildings close to the road must be torn down without compensation,
including some famous buildings such as Keh Ko Keh Ba Church and
Burmese Church, which are in Ok Kyut Tan quarter of Taungoo.
All along the Taungoo - Kler Lah, Taungoo - Leik Tho, and Taungoo -
Thandaung car roads, SLORC has been burning the roadsides (to clear
killing grounds for road security), which has destroyed many plantations of
dogfruit, coffee, durian and betelnut. All the villagers living near these
roads are forced to work on them.
Most villagers in Mu Thaw Der, Kaw Thu Der, Law Bu Ler, Beh Lo, Saw
Wah Der, Mu Daw Ko, Ko Daw Ko, Si Kheh Der, Plaw Mu Der, Tha
Kwee Soe, Bu Sah Kee, Kaw Mu Der, Kaw Thay Der, Wah Law Tee,
Saw Thay Der, Kaw Lu, Ha Toe Per, Thay Ko Der, Klay Kee, Ta Yeh
Kee, Bu Kee, and other villages have fled into the jungle and are trying to
survive there. Estimated population of the 21 villages listed alone is over
3,000.
On 1/9/95, IB 233 led by Lt. Col. Soe Win Tin ordered Ka Sa Pa Doh (30
households), Tee Loh (20 households), and Beh Taw Day (40 households)
villages to move to the side of the road from Baya Na Thi to Tha Pyay
Nyunt army camp. They were told they had 15 days to move, after which
IB 233 would come to the villages and move them by force. IB 233 also
ordered Sah Zee Bone (400 households), Yin Hlaing (100 households), Zee
Pyu Gone (150 households), and Taungoo (100 households, not to be
confused with Taungoo town) villages to move to Aung Mya Aye (between
Zayat Kyi and Taungoo).
On 4/9/95, IB 48 took porters including Saw Bee Ta Chaung from Ye Tho
Gyi village. On 6/9/95 he and a SLORC Army private were both wounded
by a landmine near Si Kheh Der village. The soldiers carried the private to
their camp for treatment but left Saw Bee Ta Chaung outside without any
treatment, and they even made him pay for the rice basket he was carrying
which was damaged in the explosion. He died for lack of treatment on
9/9/95. This is a routine occurrence in Taungoo District.
On 9/9/95 the headmen of Kaw Mu Der, Klay Soe Kee and Ku Lu Der
villages were ordered to a meeting at Bawgali Gyi army camp and given
orders to move to Taungoo, Bawgali and Ye Tho Gyi villages by 30/9/95.
They were told that after that their villagers would be shot if seen in their
home areas. They were ordered to move in order to work on a new road.
Wah Thaw Ko, Ku Plaw Der, Maw Pa Der, Beh Khaw Der, Der Doh and
Maw Ko Der villages were ordered to move to Bawgali for the same
reason.
On 11/9/95, Lt. Col. Soe Win Tin and Column 1 of IB 233 killed two
brothers from Pway Baw Der village: Saw Ker Doh (male, age 42) and
Saw Ee See (male, age 32). They also killed Saw Sein Win from Saw Tha
Der village. All 3 men were village farmers.
On 15/9/95, IB 233 entered Ser Wah Daw Ko village and shot dead 2
villagers. The same day they entered Say Daw Ko village and shot dead
villager Saw Ka Doh Swe (male, age 25) while he was working in his field.
On 16/9/95, IB 48 troops from Bu Sah Kee camp entered Bu Sah Kee
village and burned the houses. All the villagers fled into the forest, and
the troops looted their belongings.
On 17/9/95, IB 35 entered Tee Law Thee Hta village and shot and killed
villager Naw Way Htoo (female, age 45). Four other villagers were injured
and some houses were burned.
On 25/9/95, IB 60 entered Lay Law Kee village and beheaded 3 village
women.
In October 1995, Brigadier General Kyi Aung of Southern Command sent
Infantry Battalion #26, strength 5 companies, with orders to destroy villages
and food supplies in Taungoo District. Lt. Col. Aung Naing Htun,
Commander of Western Command's Strategic Command #2 based in Kler
Lah since August 1995, ordered all villagers in Kler Lah, Kaw Thay Der,
Klay Soe Kee, Ler Ko, Wah Tho Ko, Ku Lu Der, Maw Ko Der, Der Doh,
Ku Plaw Der, Maw Pa Der, Gamu Der and Beh Khaw Der to pay 200
Kyats per household per month as porter fees. Anyone who tries to refuse
is fined 2,000 Kyat.
On 4/10/95, Battalion Commander Maj. Aung Kyi Shein of LIB 440 went
into Kler Lah, captured men and women and forced them to carry supplies
and ammunition to Bu Sah Kee.
On 14/10/95 Lt. Col. Aung Naing Htun arrested Kler Lah village elder Saw
Tha Ba Per, age 50, on suspicion of having contact with the KNU. They
found gunpowder in his house and executed him secretly. On 25/10/95 the
villagers came across Saw Tha Ba Per's decayed corpse, apparently
murdered by Lt. Col. Aung Naing Htun. The Lt. Col. then gave orders to
Saw Tha Ba Per's family to leave the village and had his soldiers destroy
Saw Tha Ba Per's house.
On 15/10/95 Brigadier General Kyi Aung ordered Lt. Col. Aung Naing
Htun to begin forced relocation of all villages in order to consolidate
SLORC control of the region. In Thandaung and Tantabin townships and
hill regions more columns of troops were sent in to drive out the villagers,
with orders to shoot any villagers who attempted to stay in villages against
orders or hid in farmfield huts or the forest.
On 16/10/95, troops from LIB 354 led by Battalion 2nd-in-command Khin
Soe and IB 34 led by Battalion 2nd-in-command Kyaw Shwe surrounded
Kaw Hoh Der village and opened fire on it with mortars and other heavy
and small weapons. There were no Karen soldiers in the village. Saw Po
Htoo (male, age 40), Naw Muh (female, age 12), and Saw Klo Doh (male,
age 10) were killed and many other villagers were wounded.
On 16/10/95, IB 26 Column 1 led by Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Myint
Aung caught and executed villager Saw Kee Lu (male, age 26) without any
interrogation while he was working in his orchard near Saw Wah Der
village. Villagers there had been forced to move to Thit Kyat Seit earlier,
but SLORC gave them permission to go back by day to look after their
orchards and fields; despite this permission, IB 26 continues to kill them on
sight.
On 18/10/95, IB 26 Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Myint Aung entered
Saw Wah Der village with his troops, opened fire and killed 8 villagers (1
woman and 7 men) while they were harvesting rice. Five villagers were
injured. Afterwards the troops looted the village, burned 27 farm field huts
and the accompanying fields, and killed 15 cattle and buffalos.
On 18/10/95, IB 26 Column #1 led by Lt. Col. Myint Aung encountered
Naw Mu Mu (female, age 35) and her 12-year-old daughter from Saw Wah
Der village while they were working in their field. The mother and
daughter tried to run from them, but the soldiers fired and hit them with an
M79 grenade near the top of a hill. Naw Mu Mu was hit in the bladder by
fragments. Her daughter tried to carry her to help but she died on the way.
On 19/10/95, IB 26 Column #2 troops led by Battalion 2nd-in-command
Maj. Aye Kyaw arrested Saw Sah Lu (male, age 43), and his son Saw
Joseph, age 15, near their home at Maw Tha Der village. They executed
Saw Joseph, then ordered his father to lead them to the Karen soldiers, but
he couldn't do it so they executed him as well.
On 21/10/95, troops from IB #26 led by Battalion 2nd-in-command Maj.
Aye Kyaw arrived at May Daw Ko village and found Pi Heh Lay (female,
age 62) harvesting rice. They killed her, put her body on a pile of rice and
burned her. They continued burning all the rice they found in this area. On
22/10/95 they went to Haw Ta Toe village. They shot and killed village
elder Zaw Zaw (male, age 60) in a farmfield, captured two village girls,
destroyed fields and field huts, and looted property.
On 22/10/95, Column 1 of IB 233 led by Lt. Col. Soe Win Tint went to
Saw Mu Der village. In the Ka Mu Kee farmfields they shot and killed
villager Saw Ba Blut (male, age 27) and destroyed the fields as well as rice
stockpiles. Saw Ba Blut leaves a wife and 2-year-old daughter.
On 23/10/95, IB #233 captured 100 male and female villagers in Kaw Thay
Der village. On 24/10/95, all of these villagers were forced to carry
supplies and ammunition to Si Kheh Der, and were sent in front to clear
mines along the way.
On 24/10/95, SLORC troops sent 3 bulldozers to Kaw Thay Der village to
work on the road from Kaw Thay Der to Bu Sah Kee.
On 25/10/95 Brigadier General Kyi Aung of Southern Command and Lt.
Col. Aung Naing Htun ordered villagers from Thandaung township to move
13 miles away to "New Thandaung". Brigadier General Kyi Aung ordered
the village leaders of the moved villages to attend a political re-education
course.
On 27/10/95, IB 26 Columns 1 and 2 led by Lt. Col. Myint Aung and Maj.
Aye Kyaw fired 3 bullets at Saw Heh Tha Blay (male, age 30) from Ta Aye
Kee village while he was working in his field, killing him. They then
burned down all of Ta Aye Kee village, the Roman Catholic Church, and
all the surrounding fields, and shot all the livestock they saw in the
village.
Western Command Strategic Commander Aung Naing Htun and IB 233
commander Lt. Col. Soe Win Tin ordered Hu Mu Der, Ler Kla Der, Kheh
Der, Keh Po Loh, Ta Pa Kee, and Plaw Baw Der villages to move to Klaw
Mu Der village (Yettagone army camp). They had to move by 30/10/95 or
be shot on sight. These villages have a total of 161 houses, population 817
including 234 children under age 10. Those who have gone to Yettagone
camp are facing severe food problems, but when they complain about it
SLORC tells them "We do this by order". Some of the villagers still didn't
move, so on 26/12/95, IB 55 Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Khin Maung
Win ordered these 6 villages again to move to Yettagone camp or be shot.
On 2/11/95, IB 34 entered Leik Tho area and shot and killed villager Saw
Ye Lwin (male) from Upper Nan Cho village.
On 5/11/95, troops from LIB 440 forced men, women and children from
Kler Lah, Kaw Soe Ko, Wah Tho Ko, Kaw Thay Der, and Kleh Soe Kee
villages to carry food and ammunition from Kaw Thay Der to Bu Sah Kee
army camp. When they arrived at the destination the villagers were still not
released, instead they were forced to cut bamboo and rebuild bunkers.
On 11/11/95, IB 55 took people as porters and went to Zayat Kyi in order
to start activities in Taungoo District.
On 11/11/95, Lt. Col. Aung Naing Htun arrested and detained Saw Tun
San (male, age 42), village head and traditional medicine doctor of Kler Lah
village. The following day Saw Tun San was secretly executed. On
12/11/95 villagers found his corpse in an orchard. No explanation was
given.
Since 13/11/95, LIB 440 has been taking villagers as forced labour to work
clearing bush and building roads around Kaw Thay Der, Si Kheh Der and
Plaw Mu Der. Every day villagers must go and take their own food.
On 10/12/95, troops led by Lt. Col. Khin Maung Win of IB 55 ordered
several villages to move to a settlement at Tha Pyay Nyunt army camp, and
said that any village failing to move would have to pay a fine of 30,000
Kyat and a cow worth 5,000 Kyat. On 19/12/95 the villages had paid the
fines as ordered rather than move, but on 23/1/96 orders were given that
food and commodities are no longer allowed to flow to their villages.
Villagers who had gone to Taungoo to buy supplies have not been allowed
to return home, and are currently living stranded in other villages.
On 13/12/95, Strategic Commander Myo Hla from Western Command
issued orders to Kaw Thay Der village that the villagers are no longer
allowed to go to Taungoo town, and that people from Taungoo are no
longer allowed to go to the village. Even Kaw Thay Der villagers currently
staying in Taungoo are not allowed to go home. This measure cuts off all
commodity supplies to the village. Myo Hla told the villagers that if any
fighting occurs near their village, even harsher measures will be taken.
On 14/12/95, LIB 440 stationed in Ta Kwee Soe village shot and killed Ta
Kwee Soe villager Saw Ler Mu (male, married with 3 children) while he
was coming home from his field, then cut off both his ears.
On 16/12/95, Strategic Commander Myo Hla of Western Command called
a meeting at Kler Lah, and ordered that all villages near car roads will have
to provide road security. In the area along the road route from Kler Lah to
Bu Sah Kee no sound of a gunshot or mine explosion must be heard -
otherwise, they will cut off the flow of all food and goods between
Taungoo and the villages, and all the villagers will be forced to move to the
side of the car road. He ordered that no villagers can sleep in their farm
field huts, and if seen there at night they will be killed. Also, that Kaw
Thay Der villagers are not allowed to go to Taungoo town or to stay in
Taungoo town, nor are Kaw Thay Der villagers currently in Taungoo
allowed to return home. He said if they see any Kaw Thay Der villagers on
the car to or from Kler Lah, that car will be burned.
Under command from Western Command Strategic Command
headquarters, IB 55 ordered everyone in Saw Muh Der and Play Sah Lo
villages to move to Tha Pyay Nyunt army camp / village by 17/12/95. The
order stated that after that deadline all villagers found in the villages
would be considered as enemy rebels [and shot].
On 20/12/95, Western Command IB 55 Column #1, led by Lt. Col. Khin
Maung Win, captured villagers from Paw Yer Lo village while they were
carrying their rice at Chaung Ma Kyi. Villagers Saw Tay Kay Nay (male,
age 18) and Saw Maung Thein Dar (male, age 22) were tortured severely
and it is unknown whether they survived.
On 26/12/95, IB 55 Commander Lt. Col. Khin Maung Win called a
meeting at Klaw Mu Der and ordered Ta Pa Kee, Mwee Loh, Plaw Baw
Der, Keh Po Loh, Kheh Der, Ler Kla Der, and Hu Mu Der villages to
move to Klaw Mu Der. All 7 villages were ordered to move to Klaw Mu
Der by 30/12/95 at the latest, and were told that after that date any
villagers seen in the village would be considered as enemy rebels [i.e.
shot on sight].
On 26/12/95, SLORC Strategic Commander Myo Hla of Strategic
Command #1 (under Western Command) gave orders that villagers from
Kaw Thay Der and Kler Lah who have trucks in Taungoo must come back
to Kler Lah by the end of December. They will not be given permission to
go to Taungoo any more. They can only go between Kler Lah and Si Kheh
Der, and only using the Naw Soh road. [This is most likely intended to
make all vehicles available to be commandeered by Myo Hla's troops in
the area.]
On 27/12/95, Strategic Commander Myo Hla and Intelligence Officer Tin
Myo ordered villages around Kler Lah to send over 500 porters to Kler Lah
immediately. They demanded 190 from Kler Lah, 100 from Kaw Thay
Der, 70 from Pah Thaw Der, 60 from Kaw Soe Ko, 30 from Der Doh, 10
from Ler Ko, 10 from Wah Tho Po, 20 from Maw Pa Der, 20 from Nya
Plaw Der, and 20 from Maw Ko Der. They also demanded 1 truck from
Kler Lah and 1 truck from Ler Ko.
On 1/1/96, Strategic Commander Myo Hla called a meeting in Kler Lah
village and demanded forced labourers as follows: Kler Lah village 150
people, Beh Khaw Der 55 people, Der Doh 11 people, Maw Ko Der 8
people, Mu Kheh Der 20 people, and Maw Pa Der 50 people.
Myo Hla is now demanding 200 Kyat from each house in Kler Lah and
Kaw Thay Der every month as porter fees; there are over 1,000 houses in
Kler Lah. None of this money is given to porters. Kler Lah now has to
send villagers as porters and to clear the roadsides every day, and they have
to take their own food. They have to clear the roadsides from Kaw Thay
Der to Bu Sah Kee [to make a killing ground for road security]. Anyone
who runs away from the work is fined 3,000 Kyat. Kaw Thay Der village
has to send 3 groups of people to SLORC: sentries for the SLORC camp at
Kler Lah, sentries for the camp at Naw Soh, and another group of 10
people every day as porters.
On 11/1/96, Strategic Commander Myo Hla demanded 150 porters from
the villages, and said they have to bring their own food to Bu Sah Kee.
Throughout January, Columns 1 and 2 of IB 55 entered villages such as
Klaw Mu Der, Shar Shee Po and Plaw Pu, looted and killed livestock.
On 11/1/96, troops from Columns 1 and 2 of IB 55 led by Capt. Thein Tint
shot up Tee Ler Ghaw village and went around destroying things that
belong to the villagers. They also looted 7 1/2 tins of rice, 40 chickens,
chillies, salt and a big pot.
On 12/1/96, IB 55 Column Commander Tint Nyaing ordered Play Sah Lo
village to move to Tha Pyay Nyunt army camp by 15/1/96 at the latest.
On 14/1/96, the above-mentioned combined column of IB 55 Columns 1
and 2 led by Capt. Thein Tint reached Wah Kay Der village, shot and killed
Naw Day Ghay (female, age 36, with a 7-month-old child). They arrested
one woman and one man and beat them badly before letting them go, and
they destroyed some of the villagers' belongings.
On 15/1/96 LIB 440 Battalion Commander Maj. Aung Kyi Shein took a
column to Kaw Thay Der village and opened fire with small arms and
rockets. Villager Naw Paw Aye (female, age 60) was killed and Saw XiN$XXX
(male) was seriously wounded in the leg.
On 15/1/96, IB 59 of Southern Command went to Kaw Thay Der village.
They arrested villagers Naw XXXX, her eldest son Saw XXXX and her
youst daughter. They detained Saw XXXX in a pit while they stole
150,000 Kyat in cash, rings, necklaces and other things from his mother.
They arrested village elder XXXX and his daughter Naw XXXX, stole
17,000 Kyat from them, beat them, then let them go. They arrested Saw XXXX
and stole everything from his shop, and also stole 1,000 Kyat
from Saw XXXX, 500 Kyat from Saw XXXX and 600 Kyat from Saw XXXX.
On 16/1/96, LIB 340 Battalion Commander Aung Kyaw Hla called a
meeting and demanded one porter from each house. Any family which
does not send someone is fined 1,000 Kyat. He also demanded 10 trucks
for use in transporting supplies, carrying logs and planks, and carrying
troops and wounded.
On 16/1/96 Brig. Gen. Kyi Aung and Strategic Commander Myo Hla
issued orders for people to come to Tar Ta Pay as porters.
On 17/1/96 there was an explosion near Plaw Mu Der village [most likely a
mine] which killed 2 SLORC soldiers and wounded 7, including 2 porters.
On 21/1/96, villagers were forced to carry a shipment of food supplies for
SLORC to their camp at Kler Lah.
On 22/1/96 Kyo Kee, Oo Ber, and Tee Sha Ber villages were ordered to
move to Kler Lah village, and told that IB 55 will come and shoot all
villagers who try to remain in these villages.
On 26/1/96 a landmine exploded at Htar Ko killing one villager (unnamed)
and a buffalo.
Through February 1996, IB 59 and LIB 440 have been active in the Si
Kheh Der, Tha Kwee Soe and Bu Sah Kee areas. They are continually
forcing villagers to carry supplies and ammunition to Bu Sah Kee.
On 2/2/96, Brigadier General Kyi Aung and Strategic Commander Myo
Hla ordered IB 55 Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Khin Maung Win to
force Play Sah Lo village to move to Baya Na Thi. At noon, Khin Maung
Win and his troops reached Play Sah Lo and captured 40 people who were
having a meeting - teachers, schoolchildren, women and men. They took
these people by force to Baya Na Thi, and since then have forced them to
cut bamboo, clear roads and do hard labour. They have told them they will
continue abusing them until they call all their relatives in Play Sah Lo to
come to Baya Na Thi. The troops also went back to Play Sah Lo village
and looted belongings and money worth 30,000 Kyat in total as part of the
effort to force the villagers to move. The same troops have ordered Zee
Pyu Gone, Taw Ku, and Yay Sha villages to move to Sah Zee Bone village.
On 3/2/96, Strategic Commander Myo Hla placed restrictions on travel and
movement of foodstuffs. He is demanding 1,000 Kyat for each travel
permit for cars, and 100 Kyat for travel permits for each person. Myo Hla
is now forcing every house to send one person on rotating basis to clear
roads and go as porters. If a family cannot send anyone they are fined
2,500 Kyat.
On 4/2/96 a porter (unnamed) stepped on a landmine in Si Kheh Der.
On 5/2/96, LIB 440 Battalion Commander Maj. Aung Kyi Shein gathered
men, women, and children villagers and used them as a human shield for
his moving column.
On 6/2/96, IB 20 and LIB 535 formed a combined column of 200 soldiers.
They arrived at Chin Baung Taung village, burned 3 farmfield huts and
ricefields, destroyed the villagers' rice and looted their belongings and
livestock. They forced the villagers in Mein Lah Taung, Sin At Taung, Mi
Ee Taung, Seik Pu Taung and Kywe Kyat villages to move to a combined
site at Bo Tay Gone. They also forced Ah Mya Taung, Shwe Lone Taung,
Chin Baung Taung, and Tee Day villages to move to a combined site at
Shan Lay Pyay. Some villagers have gone as ordered, but some have gone
into hiding or fled northward to the hills east of Pyinmana [it is too hard
to get to the Thai border].
Villagers in Chin Baung Taung area are now being forced to cut a road and
make a bridge in Yin Ga Done and Kyauk Ta Gan. Villagers who do not
go for the work are fined 500 Kyat per person.
On 13/2/96, IB 59 gathered all the old men, children, and women they
could get in Kaw Thay Der village and forced them to lead the way back to
the army camp, making them rush in order to arrive before dark. They
drove the villagers in front of the Column as human minesweepers and
human shields.
In mid-February 1996, Taw Ma Aye village in Tantabin township was
ordered to dismantle their 150 houses, move and rebuild at Aung Myay
Yan Za Pya village. In the new place they are ordering the villagers to make
roads, cut bamboo to make fences for the army, and do other labour, so
much that the villagers do not have enough time to support themselves.
On 17/2/96, Column 2 of IB 59 (based in Naw Soh village) burned 20
houses in Ku Lu Der village. In Kaw Thay Der village, they demanded that
each house give them 1,000 Kyat. They also took 19 cows worth a total of
120,000 Kyat and ordered the villagers to drive these cattle across a
minefield in order to clear it.
On 18/2/96, Brigadier General Kyi Aung of Southern Command ordered
his troops in Column 2 of IB 59 to force the villagers to a meeting. The
troops forcibly gathered both women and men, children, adults and the
elderly, and sent them in front to clear mines between Naw Soh and Si
Kheh Der villages. The soldiers raped Naw XXXX (age 23, single,
daughter of XXXX and Naw XXXX) in front of all the other villagers.
Since this happened, many of the villagers have fled the area to live in
towns or other areas.
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- [END OF PART 1 - SEE SUBSEQUENT POSTING FOR PART 2 OF 2] -