[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

KHRG #98-06 Part 1/5 (Karenni)



from: khrg@xxxxxxxxx


                   A STRUGGLE JUST TO SURVIVE

          Update on the Current Situation in Karenni


    An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
              June 12, 1998     /     KHRG #98-06

*** PART 1 OF 5 - SEE OTHER POSTINGS FOR OTHER PARTS OF THIS REPORT ***

Since mid-1996 the State Law & Order Restoration Council (SLORC) 
military junta, now renamed as the State Peace & Development Council 
(SPDC), has forcibly relocated and destroyed over 200 villages covering 
at least half the geographic area of Karenni (Kayah) State in eastern 
Burma.  At least 20,000-30,000 people have been displaced, forced to 
move into military-controlled camps where many of them have been 
starving and dying of disease, or to flee into hiding in the forest where 
they face similar suffering as well as the possibility of being shot on
sight 
by SLORC/SPDC patrols.  Some have escaped to Thailand but the vast 
majority are still struggling to survive in the relocation sites or in
hiding 
in the forests near their destroyed villages.  There is no sign that their 
situation will improve anytime soon, as the SPDC continues its campaign 
aiming at the complete military control of Karenni State and the 
obliteration of all possibilities of resistance.

This report provides an update on the current situation in Karenni, which 
has been previously described in "Forced Relocation in Karenni" 
(KHRG #96-24, 15/7/96) and "Update on Karenni Forced Relocations" 
(KHRG #97-01, 5/3/97).  This report is based on interviews conducted by 
KHRG in April and May 1998, as well as interviews (#2, 4, 6, 7, and 11) 
conducted and contributed by M.T., a human rights monitor for the 
All-Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF).  KHRG would also like 
to thank the Karenni National Progressive Party and the Karenni 
National Women's Organisation for their cooperation and help.

This report consists of a summary of the current situation supported by 
quotes from interviews, followed by the full text of the interviews.  All 
names of those interviewed have been changed and some details omitted 
where necessary to protect people.  False names are shown in quotes; all 
other names are real.  At the end of the report is a list of villages that
had 
been relocated as of 1997 and the relocation sites at that time.  The 
number assigned to each village corresponds to the numbered dots on the 
map at the end of the report.

____________________________________________________________________________
_

                             Table of Contents
 
   Preface ...........................................  1
   Table of Contents .................................  2
   Abbreviations .....................................  2

   Summary of the Current Situation ..................  3
      Background .....................................  3
      Conditions in relocation sites .................  4
      Forced labour ..................................  6
      Villagers living in hiding .....................  7
      Recent relocations .............................  8
      Villagers fleeing to Thailand ..................  9
      The Karenni National Democratic Army & Party ...  9
      Forced Recruitment to SPDC militias ............ 10
      The future of Karenni .......................... 10

   Index of Interviews ............................... 12

   Interviews and Field Reports ...................... 13

   List of Villages Affected ......................... 30

   Map ............................................... 33


                         Abbreviations

SPDC   State Peace & Development Council, military junta ruling Burma
PDC    Peace & Development Council, SPDC administration at the local level
SLORC  State Law & Order Restoration Council, former name of the 
       SPDC until Nov. 1997
KNPP   Karenni National Progressive Party, Karenni resistance force 
       fighting SPDC
KNPLF  Karenni Nationalities People's Liberation Front, Karenni 
       resistance group which made a ceasefire deal with SLORC in 1994
KNLP   Kayan New Land Party, Karenni resistance group which has a 
       ceasefire with SPDC 
KNDA   Karenni National Democratic Army, armed group formed in 1996, 
       reportedly by SLORC, which acts as a SLORC/SPDC militia and 
       proxy army
KNDP   Karenni National Democratic Party, political wing of the KNDA
IB     Infantry Battalion (SLORC/SPDC), usually about 500 soldiers 
       fighting strength
LIB    Light Infantry Battalion (SLORC/SPDC), usually about 500 soldiers 
       fighting strength
LID    Light Infantry Division (SLORC/SPDC); one Division consists of 
       10 LIB battalions
Kyat   Burmese currency; US$1=6 Kyat at official rate, 200+ Kyat  at 
       current market rate
Baht   Thai currency; US$1 = approximately 36 Baht at time of printing
Viss   Unit of weight measurement; 1 viss = 1.6 kg / 3.5 lb
Pyi    8 small milktins of rice, weighing about 2 kg / 4.4 lb
____________________________________________________________________________
_

                   Summary of the Current Situation


"?most of the people living in those areas are unwilling to move down 
to the relocation sites at Mawchi, Pah Saung and Baw La Keh.  They 
don't go because they can stay hidden in the jungle along the Karen 
State - Karenni border, so they just move around there and avoid the 
SPDC troops.  They're living in the jungle, they stay together with the 
Karenni Army there.  But they've been doing that for almost 2 years 
now, so they have to face the problem of lack of food.  I'm not sure 
about the next year, how long they can keep staying in that area by 
themselves without any support.  They have no chance to cultivate crops, 
because SPDC troops are moving around in the area.  All the villages 
are burned down now, including the churches, the schools, the entire 
villages. ? If they see anyone in the area, whether soldier or civilian, 
they shoot him dead with no questions asked.  If they find people's rice, 
first they take whatever they can for themselves and then they burn 
whatever is left.  Especially in the area between the Pon and Salween 
rivers.  There are still around five hundred people hiding in that area, 
staying together with the Karenni troops there.  They move around and 
try to find some food.  All they can find is some of the food that families

have left behind there, but there is no more food.  They have no way to 
keep on surviving there.  Some try to flee to the [Thai] border but at the 
moment it is hard to travel because there are no boats to cross the rivers.
 
Also, east of the Salween river all the way to the border there are so 
many SPDC troops, so the villagers are scared that they will be caught." 
- "Koo Nga Reh" (M, 40+), a KNPP official describing the situation of 
villagers in hiding (Interview #9)


Between April and July 1996, the SLORC issued orders to at least 182 
villages in Karenni (Kayah) State to relocate to military-controlled sites 
within 5 to 7 days.  The primary intention was to bring the civilians under

tighter military control and cut off any possibility of civilian support
for 
the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).  The other resistance 
groups in Karenni, the Karenni Nationalities People's Liberation Front 
(KNPLF), the Kayan New Land Party (KNLP), and the Shan Nationalities 
People's Liberation Organisation (SNPLO), have already made ceasefire 
deals with the SLORC.  However, the KNPP is a significantly larger and 
older resistance force than the others.  The KNPP made a ceasefire deal 
with the SLORC in March 1995, but the SLORC simply used the ceasefire 
as cover to move its troops into offensive positions and then broke the 
ceasefire by launching an offensive against the KNPP in June 1996.  The 
bulk of the forced relocations were implemented at the same time.  
Fighting has been ongoing ever since, despite the false SLORC/SPDC 
claim that the KNPP surrendered in 1996 and that there has been no 
fighting in Karenni since then.  Currently the bulk of the fighting is in
the 
southern part of the State, in both in the southeast and the southwest.

The villages affected by the forced relocations cover at least half the 
geographic area of the State and are home to at least 20,000-30,000 
people.  They were given no more than a week to move to the Army-
specified sites, and the written orders issued to their villages stated
that 
after that week they would be considered as enemy troops and shot on 
sight if seen in their villages by SLORC/SPDC patrols.  After receiving the

relocation orders many people fled into the forest, while others went to
the 
specified relocation sites, unable to take anything more than their
children 
and whatever load they could carry on their backs for the often long walk 
through the hills.  Some of the sick and elderly had no choice but to 
remain behind in their villages because they were not physically capable of

either fleeing or making the long walk to the relocation sites.  However, 
the SLORC was true to its word, and shortly thereafter patrols started 
sweeping the villages area by area, taking anything of value that was left 
and then burning all signs of habitation.  Villagers caught in these areas 
were either forced to relocation sites or shot on sight.

At this point some people still tried to remain hidden in the forest, but 
most gave in to the order and moved to the relocation sites, which were 
scattered through the state at Shadaw, Ywathit, Mawchi, Pah Saung, Baw 
La Keh, and other smaller locations.  As more villages were relocated, 
more sites were created.  All were under complete control of the Army, 
usually located adjacent to new or existing Army bases.

In the relocation sites the Army provided nothing at first; villagers had
to 
find materials to build their own shelters and were reliant on whatever 
food they had brought along with them.  Within weeks many started going 
hungry and getting sick from lack of food and good water.  In response, 
the SLORC officers controlling most of the sites gave permission for 
villagers to return to their villages for one week, as their last chance to

bring food, belongings, livestock and supplies.  For most villagers one 
week only allowed them time for one trip on foot, so it was impossible to 
bring back anything that would support them for very long.  However, 
many took the opportunity to bring back whatever they could, while at 
least as many others used it to escape into hiding in the forest or to
attempt 
escape to the Karenni refugee camps already existing in Thailand.  They 
had seen what life held for them in the relocation sites, and they were 
determined not to go back.

In the relocation sites the situation started off badly and has only 
deteriorated over time.  In the beginning the troops in many of the sites 
forced the villagers to hand over whatever rice they had brought, then 
rationed it all back out to everyone.  This rice only lasted a short time,
then 
most of the villagers received nothing.  When more began to starve, the 
troops began issuing rations consisting of rice and sometimes salt.  At
first 
each person received one pyi [about 2 kg] of rice each 3 days, but this was

soon cut back to one pyi per week, less than half what a person needs to 
survive.  Currently, villagers in the relocation sites only receive this,
or 
even less.  Aid organisations and the Catholic Church [many Karenni 
villagers are Catholic] have attempted to provide food and other aid for 
the people in the relocation sites, but the SPDC will not allow them in the

sites and usually insists that any aid must be given to the Army, which can

then distribute it; generally when this is done in Burma the Army simply 
keeps the aid.  It is not clear where the rice currently being issued to
the 
villagers is coming from; it may be from the Church, or it may be from the 
rice which the SPDC is now forcing all farmers in Karenni to hand over 
for nothing.  Farmers in areas which have not been forced to relocate now 
have to hand over at least one third of their crop to the Army, while
others 
have been ordered to grow a second crop in dry season (which requires 
irrigation, is harmful to the land and threatens the main wet season crop 
because it prolongs the life of insects and parasites).  All of this dry
season 
crop has to be given to the Army.  It is almost certain that the SPDC is 
either being given or stealing the rice from somewhere, because it goes 
against their normal practice to ever give anything to villagers in 
relocation sites.


"They didn't give us enough rice.  There was not enough water for all of 
us at Mawchi.  Especially in the hot season we had to go very far to fetch 
water.  Some people got diarrhoea due to the unclean water.  We 
received no health care.  The Burmese who called us there ought to have 
given us health care, but they never do that.  There was a pharmacy but 
the villagers could not buy the medicines because they were very 
expensive.  Some seriously ill people died because the cars [public 
transport on small trucks] only ran sometimes. ? If you look at the 
shelters [in the relocation site] you can see that they are very small and 
not properly built, because it was not easy for the people to go and cut 
trees and bamboo.  The Burmese who called us there ought to supply us 
with water, food and health care, but they never take care of us." - "Paw 
Lweh" (F), a village headwoman who had just escaped Mawchi relocation 
site (Interview #4)

"Mawchi is so poor that people have nothing to eat. ? you can't store 
enough rice in your home for one month, just for three days.  You must 
keep the rest in the church and go to get some of it every three days.  
This is your own rice.  They don't allow the villagers to keep all their 
belongings in their own homes, because they accuse the villagers of 
supporting the Karenni army and giving food to the Karenni Army.  
Even in Mawchi. ? If you are in Loikaw, the capital, you can buy rice 
and you can eat it there, but you can't bring rice from Rangoon to 
Mawchi [the SPDC won't allow it], you can't bring rice from Loikaw to 
Mawchi or to or from the areas to the east." - "Saw Kler" (M, 20+), 
Mawchi town (Interview #3)


Villagers at some sites try to find paying labour just outside the camps,
but 
the surrounding villages have already been made destitute by SPDC 
looting, extortion and crop confiscation so there is very little paying
work 
to be found.  Even though the villagers have little or no food to eat, the 
SPDC in most relocation sites refuse to allow them to cultivate any land.  
One exception is Nwa La Bo relocation site north of Loikaw, where 
permission was given for villagers to farm outside the camp; however, 
they had to pay 50 Kyats each time they wanted to leave the camp and 
permission is often suspended for various reasons, so many of the crops 
have failed from neglect.  In Nwa La Bo the Army forces villagers to go 
and work in a nearby Army vegetable plantation several times a month; the 
soldiers tell them the vegetables are for the people in the relocation
site, 
but the people there never see them.


"They gave only rice and salt.  But they gave us a chance to find some 
more rice - they would let us farm outside the camp, but we had to pay 
for a ticket to get out.  Each ticket costs 50 Kyats.  Then if they heard 
any strange news, for example news that the rebels were close by, they 
wouldn't allow us out.  So we couldn't go out to the fields and the paddy 
crop was destroyed. ? Sometimes they forced us to do forced labour in 
the Army plantation between Nwa La Bo village and Chet Kae village 
over one hour's walk away. ? They forced us to carry things, dig the 
earth and do other things.  They forced us to do that three or four times 
a month.  The soldiers said that they were planting vegetables for the 
refugees [the people in the relocation sites] but we never got any of 
them." - "Nyi Reh" (M, 26), Daw Leh Da village, describing Nwa La Bo 
relocation site north of Loikaw (Interview #2)


Most of the relocation sites have insufficient water for the people living 
there, and people often have to walk long distances to get water or use 
unclean water.  Disease is a very serious problem in the relocation sites; 
the KNPP believes that at least 300 people have died of treatable illnesses

in the sites since 1996, and the testimony of villagers who have lived in 
the sites appears to bear this out.  Villagers who have escaped from the 
sites regularly state that every member of their family was sick, that at 
least one person in each family was sick, or that they knew of several 
people dying of disease every month.  The major killers appear to be 
malaria, diarrhoea, and dysentery, though respiratory ailments, skin 
diseases, and almost every infection and parasite which exists in the
region 
are also widespread.  There are medical clinics in some of the relocation 
sites and pharmacies in some of the adjacent villages, but the clinics will

only treat villagers if they can pay a cash bribe on top of having to buy 
their own medicines from the pharmacies, and the medicines are extremely 
expensive.  Most villagers in the relocation sites have no money to pay 
either the bribe or the price of the medicines, and many have died as a 
direct result of this.


"They had a hospital but if you didn't give them money they wouldn't 
treat you.  Some people died because they wouldn't treat them.  In two 
years I saw three patients die, one old man and two children." - "Nyi 
Reh" (M, 26), Daw Leh Da village, describing Nwa La Bo relocation site 
north of Loikaw (Interview #2)

"[At the clinic in Shadaw relocation site] they didn't treat us very well. 
I 
saw a woman there who died when her baby was only 6 days old.  They 
would inject one ampoule of medicine into two or three people. ? but if 
we paid money we could go to the medic's house and be properly 
healed." - "Klaw Reh" (M, 50), Daw Kraw Aw village (Interview #1)


Some of the relocation sites have basic schools and Buddhist monasteries, 
but there appears to be a policy of forbidding the construction of
Christian 
churches.  Villagers have repeatedly been denied permission to build 
churches in the sites, even though a large proportion of the Karenni 
population is Christian, primarily Roman Catholic followed by Baptist.  
When the forced relocations first happened, some of the Catholic priests 
and lay preachers from the villages were told to go to Loikaw and stay 
among the church representatives there rather than to the relocation sites 
with the other villagers.


"They built a Buddhist monastery but they didn't give permission to 
build a Christian church so we couldn't build one, and the Christians 
had no chance to worship." - "Nyi Reh" (M, 26), Daw Leh Da village, 
describing Nwa La Bo relocation site north of Loikaw (Interview #2)


- [END OF PART 1 - SEE SUBSEQUENT POSTINGS FOR PARTS 2 THROUGH 5] -