SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION (SHRF)

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION (SHRF) - MONTHLY REPORT  -  JULY 1999

SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION (SHRF) - MONTHLY REPORT  -  JULY 1999

NEW REGISTRATIONS IN PANG LONG, LOI-LEM, AIMED TO DRIVE OUT SHANS?

New household registrations by the SPDC (State Peace and Development
Council)
in the town of Pang Long are causing concern that Shan refugees from the
area
are being deliberately deprived of their citizenship.
Since May 22, 1999, the SPDC authorities in Pang Long have been
ordering
headmen of town quarters and villages around the town to compile new
house
registration lists. Anyone not physically present in the household is
not
being allowed to be registered. 
Since the forced relocation of over 10,000 Shan villagers to Pang Long
in
early 1998, large numbers of these Shans have fled to Thailand. With the
new
registrations, those seeking refuge in Thailand are now being deprived
of
their original identity and may not be allowed to return if they wanted
to.

RAPE AND KILLING IN KUN-HING 

On 29.5.99, a combined force of SPDC (State Peace and Development
Council)
troops from Kun-Hing-based IB246 and Loi-Lem-based IB12, led by Capt Soe
Naing
Oo, Capt Tin Maung Win and Capt Than Naing Oo, that were patrolling the
countryside in Kaeng Lom tract, Kun-Hing township, raped and killed 4
young
Shan women who were working on their farms with their parents.
The women were originally from Nam Kham village in Naa Poi tract that
had
been forcibly relocated to the outskirts of Kun-Hing town 2-3 years ago.
They were
working with their parents on their farms when the SPDC soldiers came
and
surrounded them. They were then separated from their parents and taken
to
different places by different groups of troops who gang-raped them and
later
killed all of them.
The victims were:
1. Naang Yaen, aged 20
2. Naang Kham, aged 16
3. Naang Zaan, aged 18
4. Naang Zing, aged 22

8 PORTERS BEATEN TO DEATH IN MURNG-KERNG

During the latter part of May 1999, a column of 80 SPDC troops from
Company
No.3 of LIB514 led by Capt Aung Htun Myint beat to death 8 civilian
porters
who had become too weak to carry their loads during a 25-day military
operation in
which the troops searched remote valleys and mountains in Murng-Kerng
township.
On 17.5.99, the said troops, under the command of the Commander of
LIB514,

Maung Maung Htwe, took 27 civilians from a suburb of Murng-Kerng to use
as
porters. These villagers were originally from Naa Pung village, Wan Phui
tract, that had been relocated to near the town in mid 1998.
After some days, many of the porters became very weak because they were
fed
with very little rice and often had to go without water for very long
periods
of time, and had very little time for rest. But the troops pressed them
on,
beating and kicking those who seemed to be slowing down.
However, at some points, some of the porters became too weak to keep
going
and actually collapsed and could not get up even though the soldiers
were shouting
at them, kicking and forcing them to move. The troops then beat them
with
heavy sticks, aiming at their necks, until they died.
The following porters were beaten to death on 22.5.99:
1. Loong Ma-La, male, aged 49
2. Loong Paan, male, aged 51
The following were beaten to death on 25.5.99:
1. Loong Kham Leng, male, aged 44
2. Loong Aw-Zae-Ya, male, aged 48
The following were beaten to death on 27.5.99:
1. Loong Kun-Da-La, male, aged 53
2. Loong Kham, male, aged 55
3. Loong Kyawng Nya-Na, male, aged 51
The following was beaten to death on 30.5.99:
1. Sai Kaw-Na, male, aged 17

2 BROTHERS, A DRIVER AND HIS SPARE, BEATEN TO DEATH IN SI-PAW

On 23.6.99, SPDC troops from LIB522 manning a checkpoint at a military
camp at Sawng Ke village in Si-Paw township beat to death a car driver
and his
brother.
At the time of the event, there were 4-5 soldiers led by Staff Sergeant
Maung
Pyaung and Sergeant Tin Win at the checkpoint, located at the crossroad
where
roads from Si-Paw, Kae-See and Murng-Yai meet.
On 22.6.99, the 2 brothers had transported machine parts from La-Sio
through
Murng-Yai to Seng-Keo, the main base of a Shan ceasefire group, SSA,
with
their pickup truck and had not stopped to register at the checkpoint
because no
guard was present at the time.
However, on the next day, when they were returning, they were stopped
by the
troops at Kawng Laang village near Sawng Ke. The troops asked them
questions,
shouted at them and beat them so severely that both of them died a short
time
later.
The responsible military officer, in defending his troops, had said,
"They had
passed through our checkpoint yesterday without stopping to register
like other
people. Their behaviour clearly showed their total disrespect for us. We
only
meant to teach them a lesson for that. But our troops accidentally
overused
their force, and we could not help it that they died afterwards.
Shortly after the incident, the parents and relatives of the 2 victims,
together with some responsible officers from the SSA ceasefire group,
complained to the responsible military authorities, asking for
compensation
for the victims and justice to be brought to bear on the perpetrators.
However,
there has so far been no response from the military authorities.

HEADMAN KILLED, VILLAGERS BEATEN UP IN MURNG-PAN

On 15.5.99, SPDC troops of Murng-Pan-based LIB332 beat to death the
headman of Tin Tap village and severely beat up 3 other villagers,
including his 

deputy and 2 village guards who lost consciousness 2-3 times and later
had to be
hospitalized, in the military base in Murng-Pan township.
On that day, about 30 SPDC troops came to Tin Tap village and arrested
the
headman, Loong Sai, aged 48, his deputy, Sai San Ting, aged 46 and 2
other
villagers who were on village guard duty that morning, Sai Zit-Ta, aged
41 and
Sai Nyaa-Na, aged 40. The troops arrested the villagers because they
heard
that some members of the SSA (Shan State Army) had passed through the
village 
that early morning and suspected the villagers had provided food for
them.
The villagers were taken to the military base and interrogated. The
troops
asked them if they had given food to the passing SSA soldiers, and beat
and
tortured them while interrogating them. The headman tried to explain
that it
had been too early when the Shan soldiers passed through the village for
any
one to be up, and no one had seen them and had given them nothing.
However, the SPDC troops continued to interrogate and beat the headman
until
he died and the deputy and the guards until they lost consciousness 2-3
times.
When they were released, other villagers had to take them to the
hospital in
Murng-Pan. They were still being treated at the hospital at the time of
this
report.
RAPE OF 15 RELOCATED WOMEN IN LOI-LEM 

On May 21, 1999, about 80 soldiers from SPDC's IB64, LIB513, LIB514 and
LIB515
raped and beat a group of 15 relocated women from two villages.
10 of the women were from Nai Lao village, about five hours walk north
of the
town of Pang Long, and 5 were from the nearby village of Loi Hong. They
had
been relocated to a site near Pang Long in early 1998, but had sneaked
back
secretly to their old villages to pick their crops of tea in order to
earn
money to survive.
The SPDC troops kept the women, who were aged between 13 and 48, for
one
night
in the village of Loi Hong and raped them. Then on the next day, before
releasing them to go back to Pang Long, they beat them each with a stick
on
their back and legs.

KILLING IN NAM-ZARNG

On 4.6.99, SPDC troops stationed at Kho Lam in Nam-Zarng township shot
dead a
man named Mu-Ling from Nawng Kai village, Ho Nawng tract, at his farm in
Kho
Lam area.

SHOOTING AND ARREST IN LARNG-KHUR

On 15.6.99, a combined force of 15 SPDC troops from IB99 and LIB525,
led
by Lt
Saw Ne Htun and Sgt Kyaw Win respectively, arrested a man named Loong
Kan-Tha
from Son Oi village, Haai Kuay tract, Larng Khur township, for
questioning.
The troops accused Loong Kan-Tha of secretly keeping a handgun and
interrogated him. Since he was not tied or bound, Loong Kan-Tha ran away
as
soon as there was a chance, knowing that it was the only way to save his
life.
Saw Ne Htun shot after him, but missed.
Kyaw Win then led his men and arrested all the members of Loong
Kan-Tha's
family they found at his house. They were:
1. Pa Wo, Loong Kan-Tha's wife
2. Sai Mart, their son
3. Naang Mae, their daughter
4. Naang Kyi, their daughter
These villagers were taken to the military camp at Wan Zit village and
detained there. It was said that they would not be released until Loong
Kan-Tha

was captured or turned himself in.

ROBBERY IN MURNG-PAN

On 6.5.99, at about 9:00 p.m., 15 SPDC troops from Co.4 of LIB520 led
by Capt
Kyaw Thein robbed Loong Thun La of his money and gold at his house in
Murng-Pan
town.
That evening, the SPDC troops knocked at Loong Thun La's house. When
Loong
Thun La opened the door, the troops entered and Capt Kyaw Thein ordered
his
troops to seize him and tied him up. 
The troops then searched Loong Thun La's house thoroughly and found
17-kyat-weight of gold jewelry and 1,465,000 Kyat of money.
After they had searched the house to their satisfaction, they released
Loong
Thun La and left the house, taking the gold and money away with them.
On 7.6.99, at about 9:00 a.m., Sergeant Htun Kyaw and 5 troops from
Co.4 of
LIB520 came to Loong Thun La's house and asked him who he thought were
the
ones
that had robbed him the previous night. Loon Thun La's said that he was
sure
they were Capt Kyaw Thein and his troops.
Sgt Htun Kyaw then told Loong Thun La not to accuse the SPDC soldiers.
He
said
it could have been anyone who had put on SPDC military uniforms. Since
Loong
Thun La had not captured any of the culprits and had no other evidence
against
them, the SPDC troops would only punish him.
Loong Thun La could see no better choice than to keep silent.

LAND CONFISCATION AND FORCED LABOUR IN MURNG-YAI

In early June, SPDC troops in Murng-Yai forced all the villages in 8
village
tracts in Murng-Yai township to cultivate rice for the military.
On 9.6.99, SPDC troops of Murng-Yai-based LIB507 issued an order
requiring
the
villagers from all the 8 village tracts in the area of a Shan ceasefire
group,
SSA 1st Brigade, to cultivate rice for the Burmese army. The following
chart
shows the size of land each respective village tract had to cultivate:
Pa Karng tract had to cultivate 70 acres
Ho Ter tract had to cultivate 90 acres
Wan Zarng tract had to cultivate 90 acres
Kerng Zong tract had to cultivate 30 acres
Nam Sawm tract had to cultivate 30 acres
Wan Kyawng and Parng Sim had to cultivate 30 acres
These lands were rice fields near the main road and military base,
originally
owned by the villagers which had been confiscated and declared military
property by the SPDC troops 1-2 years ago.
The villagers had to take responsibility for all that needed to be done
in
rice cultivation,  including building embankments and clearing and
fixing
irrigation ditches. One person from each house had to go every day for
about
16-17 days.
People were complaining that although they were in the area that was
supposedly controlled by the SSA, and were required to provide certain
support
to the members of SSA, they were still being forced by the SPDC troops
to work
for them. They could not understand why SSA did not protect them from
being
oppressed by the SPDC troops.

BURNING OF CIVILIAN PROPERTY IN TA-KHI-LAEK

On 2.6.99, a group of SPDC troops from Ta-Lur-based LIB316 burned up a
civilian motor boat with consumer goods on it at one of the Mae Kong
river
crossing points at Kaeng Laap village in Kaeng Laap tract, Ta-Khi-Laek
township.

On that day, 3 SPDC troops from LIB316 led by commander Yan Nain came
to Ta
Kaeng Laap ferry on the Mae Kong river, opposite Ta Kaeng Kok ferry in
Laos,
and ordered a motor boat to take his battalion commander and his men
downstream
to Wan Pung village in Murng Phong tract. 
The boat was at the time fully loaded with consumer goods and was about
to go
to sell them at a market on the Laos side of the river, which is one of
the
traditional practices of the local people in the area. The boat owner
tried to
explain the difficulty he was in and begged the troops to spare him this
time.
But the troops insisted on having his boat and ordered him to unload the
goods.
Since it was a market day, and the boatman did not want to lose this
opportunity, he begged them again and again.
After a while, the SPDC commander became very angry and shot his gun
into the
air 3 times, and ordered his men to seize and tie up the boatman and his
crew,
3 in all. He then ordered his men to set fire to the boat in front of
the
lamenting boatman.
The boatman, Sai Oon Peng, aged 36, lost his boat and all the goods on
it.
The
boat was worth 270,000 Baht and the goods, 36,700 Baht. 

BULLYING IN KAENG-TUNG

On 12.6.99, at 14:30 hrs, a line of 10 civilian vehicles were forced to
back
away to give way to a single military vehicle at a stretch of narrow
road in
Kaeng-Tung township.
On that day, a military car from Murng-Phyak, carrying Maj Tin Win and
3
troops from LIB329, and a line of 10 civilian cars met head-on on the
Kaeng-Tung - Ta-Khi-Laek road. It was at about the middle of a stretch
of
narrow road known as Loi Phaa Sakeng where vehicles could not pass one
another,
because there was a steep cliff up on the one side and a steep slope
down to
Nam Laen river on the other.
The military car was coming from the direction of Kaeng-Tung and the
civilian
cars were coming from Ta-Khi-Laek. Normally, and logically, the single
vehicle
should have backed away and given way to the long line of vehicles. It
would
have been much easier and taken much less time.
However, the SPDC Major ordered the civilian vehicles to make way for
him.
That meant the 10 civilian cars had to drive backwards one after
another, find
a wide enough spot and keep to one side of the road. The troops even
shouted at
the people who came out of the cars.
It took them 3 hours to do that while it would only have taken at most
30
minutes for a single vehicle to back away. This is only one of the
innumerable
instances of how innocent people are being treated by the bullying
military
officers.

EXTORTION IN KAENG-TUNG

On 5.6.99, the Kaeng-Tung-based SPDC's LIB314 issued an order extorting
money
from the people in the village tracts of Kaad Fa, Yaang Kaeng and Yaang
La,
Kaeng-Tung township, for fixing the road between Kaeng-Tung and Ta Ping,
leading
to Murng La.
Each house was required to bring 3,000 Kyat to the base of LIB314 no
later
than 10.6.99. With about 3630 houses in the 3 village tracts, almost 3
million
Kyat would be in the hands of the LIB314 in no time.
Many people who could not afford that much money had to sell their rice
or

cattle or other possessions and some had to borrow from their relatives
to
pay.
Many local people have been complaining that there had been several
occasions
in which the SPDC troops demanded money for repairing roads, but they
had
never
seen any roads being fixed with that money. The SPDC troops have always
used
forced labour of the people to maintain most of the roads.

LAHU MILITIA FORCED TO TAX AND PROTECT DRUG TRAFFICKERS IN KAENG-TUNG

On 9.6.99, SPDC troops at Kaeng-Tung-based IB244 had summoned the head
of the
Lahu militia at Paang Nim village, Murng Khawn tract, Kaeng-Tung
township, to
their headquarters and instructed that Lahu militia group at Paang Nim
tax all
the amphetamine traders passing through their area and take the
responsibility
of escorting them up to Murng Pak.
The acquired tax money would be split equally between Lahu militia of
Paang
Nim and IB244 and, if anything went wrong, IB244 would take
responsibility for
all the consequences.
IB244 had sent 7 troops led by Lt Ba Shein to be stationed at Paang Nim
with
the Lahu militia and to collect their share of the tax money from them.
The
Lahu militia had to provide the SPDC troops with food and other daily
necessities free of charge as long as they were stationed at Paang Nim.

EXTORTION IN MU-SE AND NAM-KHAM

On 7.7.99, the SPDC police in Mu-Se forced the people travelling on
vehicles to
buy tickets for a fashion show.
The police, including traffic police, set up a checkpoint in front of
Mu-Se
No.2 middle school to stop cars and motorbikes and forced the drivers
and
passengers to buy one ticket each.
The tickets were sold at 3 different prices: 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000
Kyat
each.
Ignition keys of the vehicles whose drivers refused to buy the tickets
were
simply taken away by the police. Sometimes, the drivers might even be
fined.
Another checkpoint for selling the tickets was set up at the clock
tower in
Mu-Se town.
The tickets were also forcibly sold at the checkpoint of '105th mile'
camp.
Regular bus drivers bitterly complained about it because they were
forced to
buy several times.
The fashion show, which included a team of famous models from Rangoon
and
Mandalay, was staged at the town stadium on 9.7.99 and 11.7.99. An SPDC
Colonel
at Murng-Ko was said to have contracted the show.
This kind of extortion is by no means new. During the Shan New Year
celebration, vehicles that were heading for the Shan festival ground and
not to
the stadium where a travelling Burmese dramatic troupe was performing
were
held
up and ordered to pay 500 Kyat each. 
The same thing happened in Nam-Kham during the few days before the
Union Day.
On 8.2.99, Capt Ant Maw, Chairman of the township SPDC, called a meeting
of
the
headmen of the 15 town quarters and ordered them to sell tickets for the
occasion of the Union Day to the people.
Each large town quarter was required to sell 300 tickets at the price
of 30
Kyat each, and each small quarter was to sell 200 tickets. There are 5
large
quarters and 10 small quarters in Nam-Kham. The money, the full quota,
was set
to be collected on 11.2.99. The Union Day was on 12.2.99.


FORCED LABOUR IN INFRASTRUCTURE IN NAM-KHAM

In early June 1999, the Nam-Kham Township Peace and Development Council
has
issued an order requiring the people in Nam-Kham township to build
embankments
on the banks of Nam Mao (Shweli) river to protect them from being washed
away
by the water current. 
A shift of 30 labourers, which were picked out by turns from the
following
villages, have to provide free labour every day. The villages that have
to
provide forced labour are: Haad Hin, Khae Khun, Kun Hai, Nawng Khing,
Nawng
Khaang, Kawng Waeng, Maan Kaawng, Kung Sa, Zae Hai,Maan Kham, Maan
Nawng,
Kawng
Tap, Paang Tho Lin and Ho Naa.
Some groups of villages have to provide wood and bamboo free of charge:
1. Nur Kawng group have to provide 1,000 pieces of bamboo
2. Haad Hin, Khae Khun and Nawng Khing have to provide 500 pieces of
bamboo
3  Maan Meng, Hin Long and Haang Kwaam have to provide 150 hardwood logs
4. Kawng Kaad, Nam Ma and Waeng Kaang have to provide 150 hardwood logs
Some other villages have to provide stones:
1. Maan Kham has to provide 50 gins of stones
2. Maan Nawng has to provide 30 gins of stones
3. Zae Hai has to provide 50 gins of stones
4. Kung Sa has to provide 50 gins of stones
5. Maan Kwaang has to provide 30 gins of stones
(Note: 1 gin of stones is equal to 4 loads of mini-tractor and 1
mini-tractor
load is worth 1,000 Kyat)
The building of the embankments has not yet completed and is still
continuing
at the time of this report.
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