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Human rights abuse in Monland





New Arrivals and the New Oppression against the Mon Villagers 

In July, the MNRC (Mon National Relief Committee) settles about 15 families
of Mon villagers who fled from the new oppression by Burmese Army that has
happened in Ye Township of Mon State and Yebyu Township of Tenasserim
Division.   These new arrivals are resettled in Tavoy and Bee Ree
resettlement camps.   The oppression has been conducted since May, 1998,
because of the suspicion of the local Burmese troops against the villagers
that they has supported new Mon armed group, which has no name yet.   
Since the NMSP, main armed resistance organization that represents Mon
people, entered into ceasefire agreement over three years ago, the local
Mon villagers were less sufferer than the previous situation in some human
rights conditions such as killings and torturing.   Before ceasefire, the
villagers were always accused as Mon rebel-supporters and many villagers
were killed or inhumanely tortured by the Burmese soldiers because of this
suspicion.   
At the beginning of 1998, the Mon armed group was formed with retired
members of MNLA and started revolting the Burmese Army in the area.   This
new group has about 50 troops and they launched their activities in Ye and
Yebyu townships that close to gas-pipeline.   On 28 May, the Burmese Army's
LIB No. 273 led by Maj. Hla Naing Htwe was attacked by the Mon troops in
border area of Mon State and Tenasserim Division.   After this attack, the
Burmese Army angered to the local villagers and they also accused the local
villagers as supporters of the Mon armed group.   Because of this
accusation, the troops of Burmese Army, have mistreated the local
villagers, including women and village headmen.   
On June 6, about 30 troops of LIB No. 273 led by Maj. Hla Naing Htwe went
into Daneekyar village and arrested all men in the village.   The soldiers
tied these villagers and asked every one who knew the members of Mon armed
group.   If the villagers said they did not know, they were also beaten by
jungle boots or hitting by fists.   If someone said he knew the members
they asked him many questions and whenever the soldiers dissatisfied on the
someone answers, he was beaten by the soldiers again and again.   The
soldiers also took the suspected relatives of the armed group members and
tortured by various ways in a hiding place and then released.   The village
chairman and secretary were also taken away and detained for one night for
their absence to inform the Burmese Army about the activities of the Mon
troops.   
Continuously, on June 6, the same troops of the Burmese Army's LIB No. 273,
went into Kyonekanya village and forced one person from each house,
including women and village secretary, to follow with them to a place about
2 kilometers from the village near the seacoast.   The soldiers asked every
one about the new Mon armed group and their leaders.   The villagers who
gave answers they did not know or see the armed group were separated in one
place and tied with ropes.   All of them were sent to the village back and
detained under secretary's house where he put oxen and cows.   They
arrested the rest 29 villagers, including women, who gave answers they knew
and seen the members of armed group.   These villagers were brought to
Magyi village and detained in a paddy-husking factory in the village.   The
soldiers did not give them water and food for six hours.   About 8 o'clock
night time, the soldiers took the villagers one by one to a place about 200
meters from the factory and interrogated them about the members of the new
armed group under the dark and shady trees.   According to escapees, one
woman about 35 years old, who was the youngest one among three women, was
repeatedly raped by the soldiers.   In the interrogating place, when they
asked questions to each villager, the soldiers also surrounded that
villager.   When they raped the woman, although she asked for help and
cried loudly, nobody can help her.   Then, they also interrogated the other
two elder women, but the villagers did not know for sure whether the other
two women were also raped or not.   On the next day morning, they released
all these women.   The soldiers also punished the rest villagers with
various kinds of torturing for their absence to inform about the activities
of the Mon troops.   On the next day, they released other 4 men from the
group and ordered to untie the villagers who were detained under the
village secretary's house for 2 days.   
Then they continued detaining the rest 22 villagers in the factories and
demanded a ransom of 70,000 Kyat to the release of all villagers.   Thus,
all villagers collected cash and paid them on June 14, and then the
soldiers released the villagers except the village secretary.   They
additionally demanded for another a ransom of 20000 Kyat to free village
secretary.   On June 16, after the villagers paid 20000 Kyat ransom, they
released the village secretary.   
Similarly, the same troops also went into Tawbaung village on June 7, and
beat the village chairman and secretary.   Burmese Army's LIB No. 273 also
cooperated with troops from IB No. 61 closely.   The IB No. 61 also took
responsibility to find the group's members in Ye township area of Mon
State.    On June 6, the troops from IB No. 61, led by Maj. Kyi Lwin Oo
came near Khawza village and arrested some farmers who went to their paddy
fields or fruit plantations in the morning.   They arrested 8 men and 6
women outside of the village, tied them with ropes and brought into
village.   Soon after they reached into village, the soldiers tied all
arrested villagers in the trees and asked the village headmen who were the
relatives of the members of Mon armed group.   The village headmen told
that they were all his villagers and not the relatives of the Mon troops.  
The soldiers did not believe and beat the villagers, and asked them who
knew the members of Mon armed group.   When they dissatisfied on the
answers of the villagers, they also beat the village secretary.   He was
severely beaten and had to lie in the bed about one week for treatment.   
Additionally, about 20 villages in surrounding area were also instructed to
not go their paddy fields, fruit plantations and to the sea for fishing.  
If the Burmese soldiers met them on the way to their work-places, or in
their work-places, they must be accused the supporters or contact persons
of the armed group.   They could be punished to die.   As the villagers are
traditionally farmers and fishermen, whenever they could not go to their
farms or to the sea, they faced much difficulty for survival.   At the same
time, whenever the Burmese soldiers went into villagers, their belongings
including food supplies and livestocks were always looted and less and less
food remained in the village.   
Like Kyonekanya village, besides the villagers could not move to their
work-places, they had to pay addition 90000 Kyat as a ransom to the
soldiers to release the kidnapped villagers.   To get this amount of cash,
most villagers had to sell their paddy, rice and other livestocks in other
villages.   So they got cash and tried for the release of their villagers. 
 Considerably, how the situation the Kyonekanya villagers have faced losing
chance to make income or foods.   
Therefore, some villagers from these villages tried to move to other
villages northern part of Ye town or into Ye town to take refuge.   Most
villages' chairmen and secretaries are not dared to stay longer inside
their own village and moved and have stayed with armed group.    The
villagers have remained without leaders and when the local Burmese Army
battalions ordered to appoint someone to be village chairman, nobody
accepted to be village leader.
Normally, during June and July, the villagers must have to start working to
plant paddy in their farms.   Because of this new movement restriction
against the villagers instructed by the Burmese Army, most villagers in the
area have to abandon the yearly farming activities.   Similarly, the
farmers who have rubber and fruit plantations could not go to work-places. 
 Since they could not in their farms or plantation, they received less and
less income or foods.   Then they decided to move to other villages, where
they felt the situation was better than in their village.   But most of
them expected they could return to their native places again if the
situation poses better.   
This is the population displacement.   Among the escapees, only little
numbers of families reached to border area's Mon refugees resettlement
sites, Tavoy and Bee Ree.  These families have no expectation that they
could return to their homes during this rainy season.   They said the
Burmese Army will make more activities and the punishment against the
villagers will continue, if the Mon armed group continues taking base in
the area.   The Burmese troops always accuse the villagers that they are
supporters of Mon armed group, thus the reprisal against the villagers will
continue.   They also think that more and more villagers will arrive to the
resettlement camps during this rainy season when most displaced persons
clearly know that they could not stay deep inside government control area
longer.   They may find the places where they can survive.   
The armed struggle occurred because of the result of dissatisfaction on the
human rights situation that committed by the government or its local troops
during previous two years after ceasefire.   According to SLORC promise to
NMSP, the both sides should not use forced labour, however, the SLORC
troops and authorities broke this promise and used many thousands of local
Mon villagers to work in the construction sites.   Again, during the 1997
offensives against the KNU in Tenasserim Division, many thousands of Mon
villagers were also arrested to be frontline civilian porters for Burmese
Army.   And the local SLORC/ SPDC troops always collected tax from
villagers permanently and they have to pay regular ransom to the Burmese
Army.   Because of this oppression, as a result, the armed assistance group
was formed to protect themselves and this tension escalates between the new
group and the Burmese Army.   The villagers, who have been constantly
suffered from protracted civil war, are facing the same situation before
NMSP-SLORC ceasefire period again.