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KHRG Report 97-09 part 1/2
KHRG: REPORT #97-09 PART 1/2 (TENASSERIM)
August 20, 1997
FREE-FIRE ZONES IN SOUTHERN TENASSERIM
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
August 20, 1997 / KHRG #97-09
*** PART 1 OF 2 - SEE SUBSEQUENT POSTINGS FOR PART 2
[Some details omitted or replaced by 'XXXX' for Internet distribution.]
[The map and Interview Annex are not included with this Internet version of
the report. They are available on request from KHRG at sknyaw@xxxxxxxx]
"The SLORC held a meeting and said "Next month you have to move to
Kyauk Taung". Some people went, but most people ran away and
scattered all over the place. As for us, we ran to the forest. We ran
this entire rainy season. We ran in the middle of rainy season and stayed in
the forest for many months, 4 or 5 months. In the forest we couldn't do
anything, just stay under the roof in the rain. We went back secretly and
got food we had stored in the village. My son had gone to Thailand, so it
was only my 2 daughters and I. We couldn't bear it. We couldn't build
anything, it was raining and we were very cold. My children were sick,
and I got sick too. We ran every time we heard the Burmese were coming.
If they see you in the forest they don't ask questions, they just shoot
you.
So we went down and stayed among the Pwo Karen. That village didn't
have to move, but if they do wrong [i.e. if any fighting happens in their
area] the Burmese will force them to move to Mi Sein Kyu, so many of
them are frightened and run away. Staying there we also had to be afraid
of the Burmese coming. They came many times, very often. If they see
people in the village they question them and kill them, so we ran away.
We had to build their roads, and give money also. I was staying there
with my 2 daughters. If we didn't go [for forced labour] we couldn't stay
in the village, so my daughter had to go. They didn't give her anything.
No food. She came back and ate at home. She is 16 years old. She had
to go every day for 2 months, then she got a rest because it was harvest
time. After harvest she would have to go again, every day until the road
is finished. It was very heavy work for my daughter. Now they will start it
again, so we ran away.
I couldn't carry my things with me, because I had to carry my baby. He is
6 years old but stunted. We came here on foot. It took 2 nights and 3
days [for the trip over the mountains from the free-fire zone to the Karen-
held Tenasserim River valley]. By the time I arrived here my chest was
very painful. Now we have nothing, just 2 or 3 blankets. My baby isn't
well, he has a stomach ache and diarrhoea and didn't sleep the whole
night." - Karen woman aged 42, a widow with 8 children, from one of the
free-fire zones in Tenasserim Division explaining how she came to Karen-
held territory. The place where she took refuge and told us her story has
since been overrun by SLORC forces. ("Naw Muh" from Pyi Cha village,
Interview #35)
In September 1996, the State Law & Order Restoration Council (SLORC)
military junta ruling Burma began a campaign of forced relocations and
forced-labour road building in the Palauk-Palaw, Mergui and Tenasserim
regions in Tenasserim (Taninthari) Division of southern Burma. The
campaign, which intensified in January 1997, involved the forced relocation
and destruction of at least 60 Karen villages as well as clampdowns on
Burman and Mon villages in a region measuring about 140 km. north-south
and 20-30 km. east-west. This land corridor lies between the Andaman Sea
coastal motor road in the west and the Tenasserim River valley in the east,
from Palauk (100 km. south of Tavoy) in the north to Tenasserim town in
the south (see map with this report).
The area is almost entirely populated by Karen, with some Burman villages
along the coastal road and the coastal reaches of main rivers. Almost all
the villages ordered to move are Karen, but the people of several Burman
villages were issued orders that all families must move into the centre of
their villages. Generally village headmen are summoned to the nearest
military camp and ordered to move within a few days, though some have
been given less than 24 hours. Villagers are ordered to destroy their own
houses by removing the floor, walls, and roof, and if they do not then
troops will burn their entire village. Several villages have already been
completely or partially burned, including Pyi Cha, May Way, Wa Tho, Ku
Teh, Wa Thu Lo, Ka Weh, Wah Lo, Noh Aw, and Ta Po Kee. The troops
have even burned down SLORC schools in these villages which formerly
had SLORC-provided teachers (though the villagers had to pay for them as
well as the school and all related costs).
The villagers have been ordered to move to the roadsides along the Tavoy-
Mergui-Kawthaung motor road, the Boke - Ka Pyaw - Kyay Nan Daing
motor road, or to Burman villages on the lower Tenasserim River,
depending on the area. No land, materials or assistance are provided. In
every case the villagers are then used every day as forced labour on
various existing and new motor roads. As soon as one road is finished, they
are
assigned to another road, and if there is any break in the road labour they
are called to do forced labour building and maintaining the Army camps in
the area.
Many villagers have moved as ordered, but the majority have fled into the
fields and forests near their villages, where they build shelters in hiding
and try to go back and forth to the village to maintain their fields, harvest
their betelnut and tend their livestock. Whenever SLORC troops enter the area
of their village they must hide, because anyone seen in these areas is shot
on sight. From December 1996 to January 1997 alone, at least 20 villagers
were shot on sight or tortured to death simply for being found around their
villages. Those who have moved to the relocation sites as ordered can
sometimes buy a pass from local SLORC authorities to return to their
village, usually for only 1 or 2 days, but even these passes are no
guarantee against being shot on sight. Villagers in the relocation sites
have also
been arrested; for example, the Baptist pastor of Za Di Win village was
arrested
on 12 January because SLORC blamed him that people in his village hadn't
moved to the relocation site, even though he and his family had. In the
words of a witness, "Since the villagers hadn't returned to Za Di Win and
they hadn't gone to Bena Mi [relocation site], the SLORC arrested the
pastor, Thra Dah Lu. They said, "You are a pastor, why can't you control
your servants?" They tied his hands behind his back and made him sleep
where they leave their shoes ..." ("Saw Ler Htoo", Interview #45).
Villagers paid 20,000 Kyats to secure his release, but by late January he
had still not been released and was being held at a camp of Infantry Battalion
17 with his hands tied behind his back day and night.
Battalions involved include Infantry Battalions #280, 101, 17, 103, 19 and
433. The primary aims of the relocation campaign are apparently to
eliminate the possibility of civilian support for the Karen National Union
(KNU), to bring all civilians throughout the region under direct SLORC
control, and to gain a captive population for forced labour building roads
into the area. These roads would support the establishment of Army posts
throughout the region, where SLORC currently has almost no bases. The
villagers will also be forced to build and maintain these posts. Most of
those interviewed in this report say that if a road comes into their area
they will have to flee permanently.
In early January SLORC troops increased their patrols into the relocation
areas to hunt out and execute villagers in hiding, re-issue orders to move,
and burn villages which had not cooperated. These sweeps led to an
increased flow of people fleeing the free-fire zones to areas held by the
Karen National Union (KNU) along the Tenasserim River, where over
1,000 had already taken refuge and were depending on the charity of local
villagers to survive. Very few fled to Thailand, because the trip is very
difficult and there was no refugee camp in that part of Thailand at the
time. Then in February the SLORC launched its mass offensive against the KNU
4th Brigade area, including parts of the Tenasserim River where these
people were taking refuge.
The offensive is still ongoing, but has already resulted in the fall of
many Karen-controlled areas to the SLORC. [For more details on the offensive
see "Refugees from the SLORC Occupation" (KHRG #97-07, 25/5/97).]
Publication of this report, which is based on extensive interviews
conducted by KHRG in the free-fire zones in January 1997, was pre-empted by
the SLORC offensive; however, the offensive did not target the existing free-
fire zones, but the Karen-held areas just to the east and north.
Therefore, the situation for villagers in the free-fire zones remains much
as they
have described it in this report - except that now there are many more SLORC
troops in the region who can hunt out the villagers in hiding, and with the
fall of the KNU-held areas to the east there is no longer anywhere to run.
In the face of the offensive, even many of those who had fled the free-fire
zones to seek refuge in the KNU-held areas found themselves with no
option but to flee back into those same free-fire zones, where they now
face a life of forced labour in a relocation site or a life in hiding in the
forest and the risk of being shot on sight.
This report is divided into three main parts: an executive summary
(above), a description of the forced relocation campaign and the situation
in the
free-fire zones, and an Annex containing the full text of KHRG interviews with
villagers. If the Annex is not included with this copy of the report, it
is available on request from KHRG. All the names of those interviewed have
been changed to protect them, and some other names and details have been
omitted. All false names are shown in quotes.
Note regarding place names: many places have different names in different
languages. For example, Mergui is known in Burmese as Meik and in
Karen as Blih; Tenasserim is known in Burmese as Taninthari. Villages
often have sections or outlying associated villages with their own names;
for example, Naw Ber village is also known as Pyi Cha Naw Ber, because it is
associated with Pyi Cha; Wah Lo and Noh Aw are often considered as
outlying sections of Pway Palaw, hence Pway Palaw Wah Lo and Pway
Palaw Noh Aw. In some places, 2 or more villages use the same basic
name but are distinguished by the ethnicity of the residents; for example,
there is a Burman Ta Po Hta and a Karen Ta Po Hta (Karen Ta Po Hta is
also known as Ah Sh'Gan) which are separated from each other by a small
river. We have attempted to transliterate place names and people's names
as consistently and accurately as possible, but please note that place
names may be spelt differently in reports by other organisations.
Table of Contents
Introduction / Executive Summary ................... 1
Relocations and free-fire zones
The Relocation Region ........................... 5
Motives for the Relocations ..................... 6
The Orders to Relocate .......................... 8
The Destruction of Villages ..................... 8
Reaction of the Villagers ....................... 11
Relocation Sites ................................ 12
Forced Labour ................................... 15
Effects of the SLORC Offensive .................. 20
Map ................................................ 22
Annex: Interviews ................................. 23
Index of Interviews ............................. 24
Southern Relocation Area (#1-20) ................ 27
Central Relocation Area (#21-34) ................ 48
Northern Relocation Area (#35-53) ............... 57
KNLA Field Reports .............................. 80
Abbreviations
SLORC State Law & Order Restoration Council, military junta ruling Burma
KNU Karen National Union, main Karen opposition group
KNLA Karen National Liberation Army, army of the KNU
KNDO Karen National Defence Organisation, militia/police wing of the KNU
DKBA Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, Karen group allied with SLORC
IB Infantry Battalion (SLORC), usually about 500 soldiers fighting
strength
LIB Light Infantry Battalion (SLORC), usually about 500 soldiers fighting
strength
LID Light Infantry Division (SLORC); one Division consists of 10 LIB
battalions
Kaw Thoo Lei The Karen homeland, also used to refer in general to
KNU/KNLA/KNDO people
Kyat Burmese currency; US$1=6 Kyat at official rate, 300 Kyat at current
market rate
viss Unit of weight measure equivalent to 1.6 kilograms / 3.5 pounds
The Relocation Region
The main relocation region is a corridor of land measuring about 140 km.
north-south and 20-30 km. east-west (see map with this report for details).
This land corridor lies between the Andaman Sea coastal motor road in the
west and the Tenasserim River valley in the east, from Palauk (100 km.
south of Tavoy) in the north to Tenasserim town (250 km. south of Tavoy)
in the south. The region is not densely populated, containing about 40
villages averaging 20-150 households per village. Just to the south in
Tenasserim township, an additional 20 villages have also been forced to
move. Almost all of the villages are Karen, though there are also Burman
and Mon villages along the coastal motor road in the west and along coastal
reaches of rivers.
On a map the main relocation region can be divided into 3 areas: the
northern area, east of the Palauk-Palaw road and containing villages such
as Maw Ma Sa, Pyi Cha, Wa Tho and Mi Chaung Thaik, extending as far
south as Za Di Win. The central area, 50 km. further south, lies east of
the town of Mergui and has villages such as Yah Da Pat, Ka Pyaw, Maw Me
Thi, and Aleh Chaung. The southernmost area lies just north of
Tenasserim town, in the southernmost bend of the Tenasserim River (where
the river flows south, then west for 30 km., then north to Mergui). This
area contains villages such as Mazaw, Tone Pyaw, and Nga Yan In in the
west, and Ta Po Kee, Ka Weh and Ta Po Hta in the east. In the northern
area many of the villages are Pwo Karen, while in the remainder most of
the villagers are Sgaw Karen.
Following is an incomplete list of the villages forced to relocate. (*)
indicates Burman or Mon villages which were not forced to move, but
where everyone was forced to move into the centre of the village.
Northern area: Maw Ma Sa, Pyi Cha, Naw Ber, Mi Kyin Thu, Mi Sein
Kyu, Keh Ma, Paw Ka Toh, K'Say Po Kee, Pa Nweh Po Kloh, Nya Htaw,
Pyi Cha Maw, Wa Tho, Tee Thaw, Shan Toke, Tee Preh Maw, Aw Pu,
Kyaw Leit, May Way, Aw Pu Kee, Mi Chaung Thaik, Za Di Win, Wah Gone (*).
Central area: Naw Tro, Kaw Kee, Kyet Ma Oh, Wa Thu Lo, Yah Da Pat,
Maw Me Thi.
Southern area: West of the hills: Mazaw, Tha Kan, Tone Pyaw, Tone
Pyaw Po, Muka Pala, Nga Yan In, Tee Law Thay Kee; East of the hills: Ta
Po Kee, Bler Hta, Ka Weh, Maw Bleh, Pway Palaw, Noh Aw, Wah Lo,
Ler Kaw Htait (*), Ta Lein Dah (*).
Even further south in the area of Kyeing Chaung of Tenasserim
(Taninthari) township, the villages of Kaw Malaing, Shan Ein Daung,
Kamon Kyone, Myama Ein Daung, and Kyauk Mi Chaung, total
population 2,830, were ordered to move within 18 days to the motor road
between Baw Law and Nyaung Bin Gwin by Infantry Battalion #103 on 25
October 1996. On 8 October 1996, Infantry Battalion #17 ordered the
villages of Htee Thee Day, Plaw Pa Ter, Tha Ya Ku, Chan Tha Oo, Wa
Tha and Pit Tawn, all in the Pawat area well south of Mergui, to leave
their villages within one day or be shot. They were not told where to go. The
villages of Wa Yit, Kyo Taung, Kru Kreh, Kesaw Naw, Sin Gu, Anaing,
Ka Bwee, Lay Loh, and Hgaw Loh in Tenasserim township were also
ordered to move at the end of September 1996. In the Wai Yeh area west
of Tenasserim town, all Karen villages were ordered to move into the
central part of their villages by Infantry Battalions #103, 101, and 17,
who told the villagers they are to be used to build a new road from Lay Thay in
the south up to Beh Ya. These and other relocations south of the
Tenasserim River area are not covered in detail by this report.
In the northern area, villages were ordered to move to sites in the west,
dotted along or near the main north-south Tavoy-Mergui motor road, where
the SLORC Army has posts. Three of the main sites are Kyauk Taung in
the north, Naw Ber, and Kain Kee in the south near Palaw. SLORC has
bases at Kyauk Taung and at Palaw Gone, which is very near Kain Kee. In
the central area, the main relocation site is at Ka Pyaw village, a village
of 170 households. There is no SLORC base at Ka Pyaw, but the new Boke -
Ka Pyaw - Kyay Nan Daing road goes right through the centre of the
village, and SLORC has forced the relocated villagers to build small huts
along this road. In the southern area, villages west of the hills have
been forced to move to sites dotted along the north-south motor road, such as
Shan Taik, Ka Maw and Za Weh, while villages east of the hills have been
ordered to move to Burman villages near the southernmost reach of the
Tenasserim River, particularly Ta Po Hta and Ta Lein Dah.
At least 6 SLORC Infantry Battalions have been involved in the relocation
campaign. Infantry Battalions #280 at Palaw and #101, also with a post at
Palaw though the Battalion is based at Kywe Ku, have taken most of the
responsibility for operations in the northern area. Infantry Battalions
#17 and #101 have been responsible for operations in the central area, though
#101 is now operating more extensively in the northern area. IB #17
supervises construction of the Boke - Ka Pyaw - Kyay Nan Daing road, and
also attacks and loots villages as far north as Za Di Win and Mi Chaung
Thaik. IB #17 was also involved in the burning of some villages in the
southern area in November 1996. In the southern area, the principle groups
are from Infantry Battalions #433 and #103, both based in Mergui, and
#19, which has posts around Taninthari and does most of the supervision of
the T'Gu - Ta Po Hta road construction. Most of these Battalions have
posts in several places. SLORC is constantly rotating its Battalions both
within the region and to other regions, so these are regularly subject to
change, particularly since a major military offensive is ongoing.
Motives for the Relocations
"I can't guess why they come and torture us. I can't guess. We didn't do
anything to them. We are not people who gather ammunition and go
against them. We are just farmers." - "Pati Hla San" (male, 48) from
xxxx village in the southern area (Interview #2)
"It is their policy to relocate the villages and to force them to work,
because they accuse them of supporting the resistance groups. They are
afraid that the villagers will join their enemy." - "Saw Ler Htoo", a
schoolteacher from the northern relocation area (Interview #45)
"The villages near the enemy are Ta Po Hta, Ta Lein Dah, Th'Ray Kee,
and Ler Kaw Htait. Those villages have to work for the enemy full time.
But the other villages like Bler Hta, Ta Po Kee, Ka Weh, and Pway Palaw,
they regard them as Kaw Thoo Lei area, "black area", enemy area, and
they cannot control it. So the SLORC ordered them to move ..." - "Saw
Tha Ker", a KNLA officer in the southern relocation area (Interview #20)
"They have ordered this since September [1996]. They said it was
because Kaw Thoo Lei [Karen soldiers] could go among us." - "Saw Pler
Wah" (male, 55) from Maw Ma Sa village, northern area, speaking about
the reasons his village was ordered to relocate (Interview #37)
There are several clear reasons for this forced relocation campaign. The
primary reason is in line with the current SLORC military strategy that in
every part of the country where there is armed resistance, the entire
civilian population is driven out so that the resistance has no means of
support.
The area is then designated a free-fire zone where any civilian seen is
considered as enemy and shot on sight. This strategy is currently being used in
several other areas as well, including Papun District of northern Karen State,
Karenni (Kayah) State, and Shan State. In the Tenasserim Division case,
the SLORC Army has no permanent bases in the area, so it is clearing out
the civilians to SLORC-controlled sites, then using them as a captive
source of forced labour to build and improve access roads into the region. As
noted by a villager from the southern relocation area, "In my opinion, they
asked them [the villagers] to move to their places so they could make them
work. If the villagers all stay in one place, then it is easy for the
Burmese to make them work." - ["Saw Hla Htoo" (male, 44), a village elder
in the southern area (Interview #14)] The access roads can then be used to
support the establishment of military bases throughout the area which would
severely restrict the activities of Karen resistance. Whether or not the
SLORC would then allow the civilians to return to their villages depends on
how successful they feel they have been in wiping out all traces of Karen
resistance. They would definitely want some civilians around for use as
forced labour building and maintaining their new posts, to act as servants
for the soldiers, to do continued forced labour maintaining and guarding
the roads and on money-making schemes such as logging and forced farming,
and as a source of extortion money. The success of SLORC's major
military offensive on the Tenasserim River this year can only strengthen
their motivation to continue with this campaign to completely control the
region between the river and the coastal plain to the west.
"If the road is good they can transport things better than before. The
more they can transport, the more they can fight until the KNU falls. If
the road is good they will come and stay along the road. They will still
call the villagers to work - I don't think the future will be good. I
think that people will have to flee. If the road is good and they come into
the
village, they will destroy most of the villages. If we have to run we will
run up into the hills." - "Saw Hla Htoo" (male, 44), a village elder in the
southern area (Interview #14)
[When asked about the benefit of the road reaching his village:] "No, if it
is like that we dare not stay any more. How will we finish the road from
Ka Weh to Ta Po Kee? If we stay here we would have to build the roads,
and we would not be free to do anything anymore. If that happens we will
have to stay in the bush. We will have nothing to eat, but we will have to
bear it like this." - "Pati Hla San" (male, 48) from xxxx village,
southern area (Interview #2)
There are also reports that SLORC plans to develop some areas in this part
of Burma as tourist destinations and "nature parks", in some cases with the
support of foreign environmental organisations, and there are confirmed
reports of forced relocations of villagers on islands in the Mergui
archipelago to support these projects. [The possible connection of forced
relocations with foreign-supported SLORC projects in Tenasserim was
reported by The Guardian Weekly (London) on 30/3/97 in an article
entitled "Focus on Burma: Save the Rhinos but Kill the People".]
Whether this is also a factor in the forced relocations documented in this
report will only become clear when we can see how SLORC "develops" this
area.
The Orders to Relocate
"They sent a message to the headman, then he called the villagers together
and read out their order that within 6 days everyone had to move out of
the village." - "Saw Win Htoo" (male, 39) from Tha Kan village, southern
area (Interview #10)
"The Burmese ordered us to move. They arrived in the village. They
called the elders and people were fleeing as fast as they could, many even
fell down and were bleeding as they ran. They ordered us to move within
7 days - after that, if we didn't move we couldn't dare stay." - "Pati Hla
San" (male, 48) from xxxx village, southern area (Interview #2)
The orders to relocate have been issued to the villagers by local military
units which are all under the direct orders of the recently-created Coastal
Command, which is headed by Brigadier General Thiha Thura Sit Maung.
This regional command was created to strengthen SLORC control over
Tenassserim Division by any means necessary, and Sit Maung himself has
been proven responsible for serious human rights violations in his past
career.
In some villages, troops came to the village and told the headman, who was
then left to tell the villagers. In the southern relocation area in
September, a military commander sent out orders for all headmen in the area
to attend a meeting in Ta Po Hta, as noted by a village elder from the area:
"They
ordered the villagers to move in September - they called the village heads
to a meeting in Ta Po Hta and ordered them to gather the villagers and
move. In November they just came to burn the houses." ["Saw Kyaw Ni"
(male, 40) from southern area (Interview #7)]. In other cases, the
military commander simply sent a letter to the headmen informing them of the
order and telling them to inform their villagers.
The Destruction of Villages
"Aw Pu Kee is ruined, Aw Pu is ruined, the villages that are ruined are Mi
Chaung Thaik, May Way, Kyaw Leit, Shan Toke, Tee Preh Maw, Maw Ma
Sa, Wa Tho, Pyi Cha, Nya Htaw, Pa Nweh Po Kloh, ... The Burmese
ordered them to move, all of them. They burned some of the villagers'
houses, and even their [paddy storage] barns. In November they were
ordering them to move. They go village by village." - "Saw Eh G'Lu",
northern area (Interview #45)
To ensure that the people have to move out, in most cases the villages were
ordered destroyed. Most of the relocation orders included an order that
villagers must destroy their own houses, as noted by these villagers:
"They ordered us to destroy our house by ourselves so we did it ... We
took off the roof. They ordered us to take off the floor and the roof but
we didn't do that, we took off only the roof. ... They ordered us to destroy
all the houses, they said if we do not they will burn everything." - "Pi Htoo
Htoo Mo" (female, 68) from southern area, who used to live in a large
house of teak and cement (Interview #5)
"They told us to take out the walls and the floors and put them somewhere.
I said, "If we do that it will take a long time to rebuild so we'll just
take off the roof", but they said "Don't take the roof off, or the wood [posts,
rafters etc.] will be destroyed". They said they wouldn't burn anything,
but then when our time was up [to move] they burned everything. We left only
the roofs, but they burned them anyway. [They may have wanted the leaf
roofs left on in order to start the fires.] They also took things on their
way through. For example, in this house there aren't even any plates left." -
"Than Htay" (male, 29) from southern area (Interview #1)
Karen houses are generally built on posts, with the floor raised 5 to 10
feet above the ground. Some of the orders demanded the complete destruction
of the houses, while others specified that the walls and floors must be
removed, or that the roof and walls must be taken off. This would prevent
anyone from comfortably living in the house, and would also allow passing
SLORC patrols to see easily that no one is in the houses without having to
approach them. To ensure that the villagers complied, SLORC units
promised to completely burn down any village in which the houses were not
properly dismantled.
"Sure, people have to destroy their houses. They have to destroy them.
The houses that are part of Pyi Cha and all the wooden houses all have to
be destroyed, and people must build at the main road. Then when all the
wooden houses are destroyed, they will burn them. They haven't burned
them in our village yet. But they have in Pyi Cha, Wa Tho, and Ku Thay.
The people who live under their power, even outside Pyi Cha, they burned
their houses. They even came upstream [into the hills] and burned
houses." - "Saw Lweh Say" (male, 25) from Naw Ber village, northern
area (Interview #44)
Most of the villages ordered to move have had at least some of their houses
burned down by SLORC patrols, while others have had entire sections or
the entire village burned. The villages of Pyi Cha, May Way, Wa Tho, Ku
Teh, Wa Thu Lo, Ka Weh, Wah Lo, Noh Aw, and Ta Po Kee have all
been either completely burned or had significant portions burned. In Ka
Weh village alone at least 60 houses were burned. Most of these villages
were burned because SLORC knew many of the villagers were still hiding
in the forests nearby and living from whatever food they had stockpiled.
In a few cases fighting occurred near the village so SLORC burned it; for
example, a week after SLORC had ordered Wa Thu Lo to move, they sent
a patrol to the village. On the way they encountered Karen troops and
there was a firefight, so the SLORC troops went and burned 20 houses in the
village. Once villages are marked for burning, the troops destroy
indiscriminately, and in the process they have burned down several
SLORC-run primary schools as well as houses, churches, and even
livestock sheds and latrines. In the southern relocation area, a villager
saw SLORC troops deliberately burn down the SLORC-sanctioned primary
school even though it was set well apart from the villagers' houses:
"The Burmese gave us permission to build this school. We built it
ourselves, we built it up over 3 years. They sent 2 teachers, a husband
and wife. ... This year there was no school. [Q: But it was a SLORC-run
school, so why did they burn it?] They just burned everything that was in
their path, no matter what." - "Than Htay" (male, 29), southern area
(Interview #1)
SLORC knows very well that most of the villagers flee into hiding in the
forests around their villages, so columns are sent out to search out and
destroy their homes, shelters, and food supplies, and to capture or shoot
on sight any villagers who are found.
"The first time they came we didn't run very far, just nearby. Then they
came and looked for us so we fled upstream. The third time they came we
fled up here. That was 20 days ago. They came in two groups - each
group had 100 people. When they come they shoot. We don't know what
they shoot at, whether they're shooting in the sky or at us. We're just
afraid and we run away. The first time they came I was in my house, and
as soon as we heard they were arriving we ran away into the forest,
upstream. I can't run quickly, I just ran slowly. Everyone ran. That
time they killed a man. His name was Than Oo, he was about 25. He and his
wife had no children, but she is about 2 months pregnant. The Burmese
forced her to go back down with them." - "Pi G'Mwee Paw" (female, 70)
from Mi Chaung Thaik village, northern area, who arrived in KNU-held
area at the end of January (Interview #38)
"The SLORC came to xxxx and sent for the headman of our village. They
commanded us to move that very day, and they said if we didn't move they
would know that we are their enemies. They ordered us to move to Ta
Lein Dah. Then a month after that, they came up through Kaw Maw
Praw, they came up past Saw Htay's house and they shot him dead. That
was at Wah Kha, at Ta Nay Lay Ko. ... A lot of them came that time. ...
On their way they burned all the houses, about 40 or 50 houses." - "Than
Htay" (male, 29), southern area (Interview #1)
"In xxxx village there were over 60 houses, before they were destroyed. ...
I was hiding and I watched, I saw the enemy coming but I didn't dare stay
and be seen. I didn't count them, but there were over 100. They started
setting fire to the roofs of the houses. Some of the roofs were high up,
so to reach the roof they set fire to long sticks and reached them up to burn
the roofs. All of the planks were still on my house and they burned it
all. They even burned my toilet, and also my chicken-house and my rice barn,
they burned it all. Then as they came back they ate up all my sugar cane.
They had no knife to cut it so they pulled it all up by the roots." - "Pati
Hla San" (male, 48) from xxxx village, southern area (Interview #2)
"On their way to Mi Chaung Thaik they arrested villagers in May Way,
about 70 or 80 villagers. They made them march 2 soldiers, one villager,
2 soldiers, one villager, and so on, and 40 villagers had to go in front of
the column and they made them walk unsteadily, like they were drunk [i.e.
to zigzag along the path in order to step on any mines], and they told them
to show the way." - "Saw Eh G'Lu", northern area, talking about a SLORC
patrol that came in mid-January (Interview #45)
"They came to my house, tied my son with rope and hit his head with a
gun. They forced me to carry things. They made me start carrying out in
the fields and forced me to carry to Ka Weh, they went and burned the
houses there ... There were about 200 soldiers, and almost as many
porters. I was a porter for 5 days. ... The youngest porter was 15 years
old, and the oldest was 55 - I was the oldest." - "Pu Htoo Nay" (male,
55), a village elder in southern area (Interview #7)
"They came and captured me in my field hut. They said they captured me
to show them to places where they needed to go. ... Some of the porters
that they had captured along their way were 15 years old. The oldest was
over 50. Along the way they shouted at the porters and hit them. They
also left one young porter among the mountains because he could not
carry things - he felt very weak because he was ill. The Burmese thought
he might die, so they left him alone in a wild place. ... They also shot
Saw Pay Lay. They shot him in the back while he was gathering his harvest at
his farm." - "Saw Kyaw Ni" (male, 40), a village elder in southern area
(Interview #7)
Reaction of the Villagers
"So many of them came! I ran up into the mountains, and down into the
valley. They ordered the village to move but we never moved, we just ran
away when they came. I put together some food at my house and took it
with me when I ran. I built a small hut way up a stream." - "Saw Po Gyi"
(male, 30+), southern area (Interview #6)
Some villagers went to the relocation sites as ordered, but the vast
majority fled. Some went to the homes of their relatives in other villages,
often
only to find that those villages were also being forced to move. One to two
thousand fled eastward, to KNU-controlled territory along the Tenasserim
River, where they had to rely on the charity of other villagers because
they could carry along little else but their children. But most villagers fled
to their farmfield huts, into the forest surrounding their villages, or
upstream into the hills, unwilling to go too far from their homes and their
land. In the bush they've built shelters and try to survive by covertly
going back
and forth to their gardens, fields, and paddy storage barns, knowing they face
the possibility of being shot on sight if seen by a SLORC patrol.
"They ordered us to destroy all the houses, they said if we do not they
will burn everything. ... We dare not stay in the house because we're afraid of
the Burmese soldiers. This place was built for keeping cattle, but now we
live in it. We've been living here for 2 months now. ... We can't do
anything except run into the jungle and hide ourselves. If they see us
they will kill us, so we must stay near the forest like this." - "Pi Htoo Htoo
Mo" (female, 68), southern area, who used to live in a large house of teak and
cement (Interview #5)
"In xxxx they burned many houses. More than 30. More than 40. They
also burned rice barns and chicken houses - if we try to count everything
they burned we can't do it. Then I thought we would stay in the forest, in
the bush. I built this hut. In this hut there are 16 people, just my
family."
- "Pati Hla San" (male, 48) from xxxx village, southern area (Interview #2)
"On the 8th of November they ordered us to move to Palaw. We had to
move within 2 weeks. They said we support Kaw Thoo Lei. There are no
Kaw Thoo Lei soldiers in our village, though they passed through fairly
often. I didn't move, I came here [to KNU-controlled territory]. Those
who stayed behind had to pay over 100,000 Kyats to SLORC so that they
could stay in the village. They paid, so they thought they could stay in
the village. But now on January 7th they were ordered again to move to
Palaw. ... I think if they give more money to SLORC then maybe they can
stay for another year." - "Pu Ler Ghaw" (male, 77) from xxxx village,
northern area (Interview #49)
Some villagers defied the SLORC orders by living in their villages by day
and going out into the bush at night, often even sleeping in their villages.
In order to be able to do this, many villagers partially destroyed their
houses as ordered by SLORC - removing part of the roof, most of the floor,
and all of the walls, but then staying in what was left of their homes.
Those who
do this must constantly listen for news of any SLORC movements into their
area, and be prepared to run for the jungle at any moment.
"The Burmese ordered us to destroy all our houses, but the villagers have
only half-destroyed them. The Burmese said if we don't take apart our
houses they'll burn them all. Here I stay in my house with only half the
floor, with no walls, with only a roof. So if the Burmese come we can run
and hide, and they'll think nobody stays here. [Even the ladder to get
into his house was hidden out the back.] Now there are 20 families coming
and going in the village but they can't dare sleep in the village, they
only stay in the daytime and then leave. Only 6 families sleep in the village
at night." - "Saw Keh Ler" (male, 46), a pastor in southern area (Interview
#8)
It is impossible to state exactly how many villagers have been shot on
sight in the free-fire zones of the area, but in December 1996 and January 1997
alone there were about 20 confirmed cases. Most of those who are shot
die, because they are either executed where they fall by the troops who
shot them or they are left to die with no treatment. SLORC troops are very
explicit in telling the villagers that anyone, man, woman, child or the
elderly, sighted in their villages will be considered as enemy and shot on
sight.
"When they saw them, they called them but the villagers ran away and the
Burmese shot at them. There were 1 woman and 2 men, altogether 3 of
them. Two of them escaped. Her husband ran away but he didn't know
the way so he was running toward the Burmese. They knew that he wasn't
a soldier, just a villager, but they shot him. The first bullet hit here
[in the right side of the neck just below the jaw]. He fell down and then they
asked him questions, but he couldn't speak much. They stabbed him in the
heart 3 times with a knife, then shot him dead. They shot him here in the
heart [he signalled the bullet going in the centre of the chest and out his
back], and then took off his trousers and then just left him that night."
-
"Saw Ghay Htoo" (male, 40+) from xxxx village, describing the shooting of
xxxx villager Saw Mi Thaw (age 22) at his field at xxxx, northern area
(Interview #41); Saw Mi Thaw's wife (Interview #40) was 9 months
pregnant at the time her husband was shot.
"... he, his eldest son xxxx and his daughter xxxx, altogether 3, went back
to get rice at their farm and the Burmese came at night. It was at xxxx.
They captured them and beat the father to death. His daughter escaped,
and the Burmese poured petrol on his eldest son and burned him but he
didn't die. He escaped and now he stays with an old man at xxxx" - "Ma
Sein" (female, 30) from xxxx village, northern area, describing the killing
of her elder brother Kyaw Shwe (age over 50) from xxxx (Interview #42)
Hiding in the forests and the fields, most of the villagers have very
little food and no medicines. This year's ricefields should have been prepared
between February and May, then planted in June or July for harvest late in
the year. However, due to the free-fire policy and the military offensive,
it is very unlikely that many of these villagers have had any chance to put in
a rice crop this year. This means that almost none of them will have any
food at all by late 1997, nor will they have anywhere left to run to.
Relocation Sites
"After they moved, the villagers had to build their houses right alongside
the road at Naw Ber, all along the sideroad up to where it meets the main
road, which is 15 minutes' walk away. They settled along both sides of the
road until there was no room left along either side, and then they had to
build along the main road. Some of their houses are about this size [a
small bamboo shack with dirt floor]. Those which they made quickly are
even smaller than this." - "Saw Lweh Say" (male, 25) from Naw Ber
village, northern area (Interview #44)
The SLORC ordered all of the villages to move to relocation sites to the
west, dotted all along the road that follows the Andaman Sea coast. Some
of the main sites along or near this road are Kyauk Taung, Palauk, Naw Ber
and Kain Kee (near Palaw Gone) for the northern area and Kyay Nan
Daing, Pyin Gyi, Shan Taik, La Tha and Za Weh for the southern area. Ka
Pyaw, which is the main relocation site for the central area, is well east
of the main road but is right on the new road being built from Boke to Kyay
Nan Daing. In the southern area, the villages farthest to the east (and
hence over a day's walk from the main road) have been ordered to move
southward, primarily to the Burman village of Ta Po Hta on the Tenasserim
River, which is easily accessible by boat for SLORC troops based in the
town of Taninthari and is also a hub for forced labour on the T'Gu - Ta Po
Hta road.
All of these sites are either very accessible to SLORC camps or along motor
roads where forced labour is being used - usually both. While most
villages have been ordered to move to such sites, Burman and Mon villages (most
of which are already along motor roads or otherwise accessible to SLORC
troops) have been given orders that all villagers must move into the
central part of their villages so that they can be more easily controlled.
While
this may not sound serious, it still amounts to forcing people to destroy their
family homes and is leading to overcrowding and unsanitary living
conditions for many people, combined with the increased awareness of
being tightly watched and controlled by SLORC.
Some of the relocation sites are ricefields along the road which have been
confiscated from farmers, and the relocated villagers are simply told to
settle there; such sites usually have a very poor water supply and flood in
rainy
season. In many other cases, people are simply ordered to move to a certain
village and left to find or buy their own place to build a shelter in the
village or just outside of it. For example, in Ta Po Hta no place at all
was allocated, and there is no extra space; in Ka Pyaw, the new road cuts right
through the centre of the village and the relocated villagers were told to
build shelters there, right along the edges of the dusty road they're being
forced to build; in Naw Ber, the displaced have built shelters all along
the roads leading away from the village.
"It is just an open field like a football ground. There is no place to
plant, it is all other people's land. They gave us no chance to choose a
place."
- "Naw Eh Htoo" (female, 52) from Maw Ma Sa village, northern area,
describing the site to which her village was forced to relocate (Interview
#37)
"They didn't prepare a place for the villagers. They just ordered us to go
down to the Burman side of Ta Po Hta. They ordered us to destroy our
houses - 80 houses were destroyed. They said if we didn't destroy them
they would burn them. They said we had to move so they could cut off the
movements of Kaw Thoo Lei." - "Pu Htoo Nay" (male, 55), southern area
(Interview #7)
"They ordered us to move around the village monastery, not so far from
the road. They sent a letter to the village saying we cannot stay outside
the village [away from the centre of the village], that if the soldiers
saw us outside it wouldn't be good. They said they'd beat us. They said we
have to stay right in the village. The letter said we all had to move
within a week. I moved to the monastery because I was afraid. There are 30
households in our village, and we all moved to the monastery because we
were all afraid. We couldn't go anywhere. I stayed there for 4 months.
Even when we were staying at the monastery they made us pay money, and
I ran out of money so I came here [KNU-controlled area]." - "Naw Yaw"
(female, 35) from Wa Tho village, northern area; shortly after this
interview was conducted, Wa Tho village was ordered to move to Naw Ber
(Interview #46)
"The Burmese ordered us to move to a place near the car road. We went
and stayed there for 2 months, then we ran away and stayed in the forest.
There was nothing there [at the relocation site]. They didn't give
anything, no food, rice, or money. Instead, we had to give them money
and food. Everyone ran away." - "Ma Sein" (female, 30) from xxxx
village, northern area (Interview #42)
The villagers are provided with nothing at the relocation sites, but more
forced labour is demanded of them than ever before in their lives, and in
many cases they even have to continue paying extortion money. For many,
the only way to survive is to go back to their home villages and farms to
find food, but this is not always allowed. The only way people can go is
if the soldiers will sell them a "pass". The type of pass available depends
on the whim of the local military and the distance from the relocation site to
people's home villages. At some relocation sites, passes are only good for
one day (morning to sunset) and cost 15 Kyats per person. At other sites,
the pass may be good for up to 5 to 7 days, but the holder must return to
the relocation site to sleep every night. Where villages are a long
distance away, passes are sometimes issued allowing a villager to be absent
from the relocation site for a few days at a time. However, it is important
to note
that the villagers' home areas are free-fire zones, and any villager seen
there can be shot on sight with or without a pass.
"They ordered us to move to La Tha, at the main road. We had to go and
live in a ricefield beside the car road which is very hot and dry. To
leave we needed a movement order for a 1-day trip, and we could go in the
morning and come back in the evening, but the Burmese soldiers said we
must not go back to our village and that was final. The one-day pass costs
15 Kyats." - "Saw Tha Dah" (male, age 29) from Nga Yan In village,
southern area (Interview #11)
"People have to stay in the fields at Kain Kee, they have to build shelters
and find food somehow. They just built small huts. ... We went there. We
had to go. Four villages had to move there: May Way, Kyaw Leit, Shan
Toke, and Kyaun Hla. There are over 80 households that moved there
altogether. They have to go back to their homes to get their food, like
going back to steal it. You have to get a pass - for 5 Kyats you get a
pass for 5 days. Later we had to pay 10 Kyats to get a pass for 7 days.
With a
pass you can go back to your village in the morning but you have to come
back in the evening, then after 7 days your pass expires. You have to go
back quietly and cultivate, but then when harvest time arrives you are not
allowed to harvest. If we go back to pick our betelnut we have to collect
it secretly, because if a SLORC patrol sees they will shoot you down even if
you have a pass. They haven't shot anyone dead yet, but they said they
will." - "Pu Soe" (male, 66) from May Way village, northern area,
describing how he and 80 other families had to survive at Kain Kee
relocation site (Interview #36)
Some villagers reported that in the northern relocation sites, SLORC was
beginning to order all villagers to hand over all of their rice, then line
up to receive a rice ration each week. The ration is 2 small milktins per
person per day (the average working villager eats 3 milktins per day), and no
ration is given for children under 2 years old. SLORC has done this in many
other forced relocation campaigns, and the purpose is to prevent villagers
from having any rice to give to resistance forces, as well as to make it
harder for them to flee. Although the villagers are theoretically
receiving back their own rice, the military officers generally sell a lot of the
supply to traders, and they also switch their low-grade military ration rice
with
the villagers' good rice. Even without being forced to hand over their rice,
villagers in the relocation sites are probably already facing a serious
food crisis due to the limited amount of rice they could take with them to the
site and the difficulty of obtaining any vegetables or meats. Furthermore,
growing rice is labour-intensive, but the time spent doing forced labour
combined with the restrictions on movement passes will not allow most
people to spend enough time in their fields to grow a proper crop this
year. As a result, many or most of them will probably have to flee the
relocation
sites before long.
"We can't stay there, because starting this year we've been ordered to take
all of our paddy to the SLORC. We must give them all our paddy, then we
must go and ask for paddy from them every week. They started this in
November. They don't give back enough, only 2 milktins per person per
day. For some this is enough, but not for everybody. [Most villagers eat
3 milktins of rice per day.] And they don't give any for children under 2
years old. We must find rice ourselves for our young children. Wah
Gone, Kyauk Taung, Ler Pa Doh and Pyi Cha villagers have to give all of
their paddy to SLORC. Then SLORC sells a lot of it to Burmans who are
traders." - "Nai Thein" (male, 45, Mon) from xxxx village, northern area
(Interview #51)
- [END OF PART 1 - SEE SUBSEQUENT POSTING FOR PART 2 OF 2] -