PRESS RELEASE (r)

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

OFFICE OF THE SUPREME HEADQUARTERS
              KAREN NATIONAL UNION
                       KAWTHOOLEI

                 Press Release No.49/97
Regarding 1997 SLORC Offensive against KNU
                                                                            
               
August 23,1997                       
                Atrocities by SLORC Troops

Kaw-ka-reik District

* 09-8-97 A Sergeant from enemy LIB 549 shot up the audience of a 
video show at Aw-kaw village killing Ma Than Htay 23(F, 6-month 
pregnant) and Nyang Hlaing 13 (M) and wounding Maung Saw Oo 11(M).

Pa-pun District

* 24-7-97: Troops from enemy LIB (439) shot up the village of Maw-law 
village wounding villager Saw Tu Lu 32.
* 29-7-97: Troops from enemy LIB(709) indiscriminately shot at the 
villagers of Thway-doe village, wounding a villager. The troops 
stayed at the village for a day shooting all the chickens and pigs 
found and ate them.

Toungoo District 

* 24-7-97: Troops, led by Tint Lwin Oo, from enemy IB 55 came to 
Ber-gor-doe and ate as well as destroyed the villager's live-stock 
and food supply. They seized all women in Kee-pla-doe and Cor-say-ko 
villages, including young girls and nursing mothers, and forced them 
to carry supplies to Koe-mor-doe village on 27-7-97. When in 
Koe-mor-doe, the troops forced all of them to stay in the village 
church building and desecrate the church by forcing them to relieve 
their nature in it, making all the villagers to be much distressed.
* 29-7-97: Troops from the same IB 55 came to Dek-ko village and 
looted 2 gold chains, 3 rings, a pair of earnings and 2000 Kyat from 
villager Naw Koo Lu and valuables from other villagers also.

Nyaung-le-bin District:

*In Pyu township, troops from enemy LIB (439) charge the people 500 
Kyat, per person, for a permit by it, to work in their fields and 
farms.
* From 7-7-97 to 1-8-97, in Kyauk-kyi township, troops from enemy IB 
(60) and LIB (351) seized 20 women and forced the people to ransom 
them at the rate of 600 Kyat per person. Ma-lad-daw villagers were 
forced to relocate in Tha-beay-neant and then they charge the 
villagers 10 Kyat per person per day, for returning and looking after 
their plantations and orchards.

 (Translated, printed and distributed by the Karen 
Information Center & CCT)
OFFICE OF THE SUPREME HEADQUARTERS
            KANREN NATIONAL UNION
                    KAWTHOOLEI

               Press Release No.50/97
  Regarding 1997 SLORC Offensive against KNU

                Atrocities by SLORC 

Kaw-ka-reik Township                                August 24.1997

* 20-7-97: Accusing Mae-ka-lat villager Saw Chay Heh 25, of being an 
insurgent, troops from enemy LID 356 arrested him and demanded him to 
hand over his weapon. When he could not produce any weapon, the 
troops took him to Lay-tha-ray cliff and booted him down to his death 
from the cliff top.
* 13-7-97: Sixty two Nayung-ta-ko and Naung -ta-marn villagers 
arrived at the border village of Pan-klang of Um-phang township in 
the flight from their villages, when they could no longer bear the 
atrocities of killing, rape, forced labor and extortion perpetrated 
by enemy LIBs 545,546,547,648,549,355,356,357 and IBs 31,61,106,231 & 
etc, in their area.
* 16-7-97: For the same reasons mentioned above, 72 Win-lon 
villaglers arrived at a place near Pan-Klang. At one point on their 
flight, they were fired on by the enemy troops and, as a result, some 
of the villagers were found missing.

Toungoo District

* 05-8-97: A military column from enemy LIB 539 came to 
Ka-shee-kee-doe village and arrested the village head, Saw Ywa Hseh 
Moo Ler. The troops executed him after a prolonged torture.
* 8-8-97: A military column from enemy LIB 706 rounded up all the 
villagers it could find in Play-hsa-lo, Yu-lo,Plaw-baw-doe, 
Lay-kay-lo, Por-part & etc and took them to Ba-ya-na-the village on 
11-8-97. Again on 14-8-97, LIB 706 brought in 120 more villagers, 
including the young and adults, from those villages.
* 09-8-97: Troops from LIB 701 seized 90 villagers, including women 
and children from Baw-ga-leet and Gor-theh-doe villages and forced 
them to carry supplies to Bu-hsa-kee village, on 10-8-97.

(Translated, printed and distributed by the Karen Information Center 
& CCT)
OFFICE OF THE SUPREME HEADQUARTERS
            KAREN NATIONAL UNION
                   KAWTHOOLEI

                     Press Release No. 51/97
   Regarding SLORC 1997 Offensive against KNU
                                                                     
                                                                       
August 25, 1997

                Atrocities by SLORC

Tavoy-Mergui District

* 17-7-1997: A military column led by Captain Myint Shwe from enemy 
LIB 208 came to Pa-nweh-po-klo village and burnt down the village 
Christian church. On 25-7-97, the column arrested Pay-cha villagers 
Saw Kway Poe, Saw Tun Hla and Saw Par Er and then executed them 
without reason. It killed and ate 3 of hte villagers' cattle. Again, 
on 26-7-97, the column came to Pay-cha and burnt down 5 houses and 
pandal.
* 25-7-97: Enemy troops came to Ga-zer-der village and burnt down the 
village Christian church and house.
* 11-8-97: Troops led by their officer, Nay Myo Thu, from enemy IB 
280 ransacked Maw-thaw-kwa village. In addition to looting all the 
villagers' valuables, the troops looted the villagers' food supply as 
well.
* 12-8-97: Again, the same troops came to East Port-taw village and 
ransacked every house in the village.
* 12-8-97: A military column led by 2nd in Command, Khin Maung Win, 
from the enemy IB 280 arrested and executed Ler-der-poo villager Saw 
Bla Day 27. Again, on 13-8-97, the column arrested and executed 
Hseet-ku villagers Saw Ko Sher 52, Saw Ba Nee 26, Saw Pee Ler 18, Saw 
Ba Shwe 34 and Saw Wah Ler 34, without reason.

(Translated and printed by the Karen Information Center and 
distributed by the CCT)