S.H.A.N : VILLAGERS MASSACRED AND B

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Subject: S.H.A.N : VILLAGERS MASSACRED AND BEHEADED IN SHAN STATES

S.H.A.N : SITUATION IN KUNHING, VILLAGERS MASSACRED AND BEHEADED
                 ( mid-June to mid-July 1997)
 August 24, 1997
( Report from the Monthly Report, July 1997 of the Shan Human Rights Foundation
-SHRF )

After a group of unidentified Shan rebels shot dead 25 civilian Burmese
nationals on 13.6.97 at Pha Larng, Kunhing township, SLORC troops have stepped
up their military campaign against the civilian population. From mid-June to
mid-July, they have killed at least 400 peoples in the areas of Sai Kao, Kaeng
Lom, Kaeng Kham, Kho Lam in Kunhing township. Most of them were villagers who
had been forced to move to relocation sites along the motor roads. These
villagers are being strictly restricted to the relocation sites, not being
allowed to go farther than 3 miles to the north and 1 mile to the south of the
road. However, villagers are risking their lives to get food to survive and are
being shot to death.

Maj. Thein Soe is in command of the no. 1 Tactical Command at Kho Lam and Col.
Than Htun is the commander of the no. 2 Tactical Command at Kunhing. Maj. Thein
Soe is known to have said to the villagers that he would be less upset over a
dead Shan than he would over a lost can of fish paste. Maj. Gen. Pyi Zone,
commander of the Operational Command Headquarter at Loilem, sent the order to
shoot people on sight to Maj. Thein Soe who in turn relayed it to Maj. Sein
Thaung. This Maj. Sein Thaung and his troops are the ones who have been doing
most of the killing, shooting people at will in what they assume to be a
free-fire zone.

On 11.7.97, car drivers from Murngpaeng and Kaengtung who came through Kunhing
and some SSA members saw along the road that branched out from the main road to
Kaeng Lom 26 corpses of villagers laid up in line with their heads cut off and
laid beside their bodies. And on 12.7.97, 17 corpses were seen along the road
between Kaeng Lom and Kaeng Tawng, laid up in the same manner.

>From mid-June until around mid-July, SLORC troops have burnt at least 41
bullock-carts of the villagers. They have also shot not less than 70-80 cattle
and let their wives and children sell the meat around Ka Li, Kunhing and Kho
Lam.

During early and mid-July, SLORC troops ordered the villagers who had been
relocated along the road from Ka Li and around Kunhing town to cut thousands of
bamboo, weave 100,000 sheets of thatch for roofing, cut many hardwood to use as
posts and build new military bases at Kunhing and Ka Li. The villagers are not
allowed to take any food with them, to prevent them from giving food to members
of the resistance. They were instead instructed to eat to their full before they
went to work all day. All the rice and paddy which the villagers had managed to
bring from their old villages were confiscated and kept at the military bases,
and rationed back to them once a week, but not their good nutritious rice. The
soldiers took the villagers' rice for themselves and rationed out poor quality
rice from their supplies.

In addition to shooting cattle for meat, SLORC troops have also been catching
them alive for sale. Since there are a huge number of cattle roaming free in the
areas of Ka Li, Kho Lam, Kunhing, Kaeng Tawng, Kaeng Kham, Ton Hoong, Nar Poi
etc., the soldiers usually catch and bring them to sell at a place 2 miles east
of Ta Kaw bridge that crosses the Salween river, at a giveaway price of about
3,000 Kyat each though they are often big and strong cart-oxen. The buyers are
mostly from Murngpaeng and Kaengtung.

On 17.7.97, a group of merchants from Kaengtung went and bought 56 heads of
cattle at the place, 2 miles east of Salween bridge, for only 3,500 Kyat per
head on average. The traders fetched 7-8,000 Baht per head at the border town of
Tachilek. All were big , strong cattle; the traders did not sell even when they
were offered 20,000 Kyat per head at Kaengtung. The SLORC troops, from the bases
in Kunhing, bring the cattle to the selling place in groups of 10 to 20 heads.

Teak and hardwood lumber from the houses in the old villages are being taken,
using forced labour and cars of the civilian population, to sell in towns such
as Ka Li, Kunhing, Ta Kaw and Murngpaeng, by SLORC troops.
*****