Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of individual ethnic groups
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Internal displacement/forced migration of Karenni villagers
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Living Ghosts - The spiraling repression of the Karenni population under the Burmese military junta |
| Date of publication: | | March 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: "The people of Karenni State are living ghosts. Their daily survival is an
achievement; however, it also signifies their further descent into poverty and a
spiralling system of repression. Whilst this report documents the deteriorating
situation in Karenni State over the past six years, this is nothing new for the
ethnically diverse population of this geographically small area. They have been
living in a protracted conflict zone for over 50 years with no respite from decades
of low-intensity conflict and frequent human rights abuses. All the while both
State and Non-State actors have marginalised the grassroots communities’ voices,
contributing to the militarisation of their communities and societies.
Burmese soldiers oppress Karenni villagers on a daily basis. Villagers are isolated
from members of their own communities, and other ethnic groups; they report
daily to local Burmese troops about Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP)
troop movements and other activities in their areas; community members spy on
one another, reporting back to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC);
and they are punished by the SPDC in retaliation for the actions of the KNPP. All
of these strategies create an environment of fear and mistrust between ethnic
groups, communities, and even family members. These tactics successfully
oppress the villagers, as they are too fearful and busy to think beyond daily survival.
Further exacerbating the situation is the fact that villagers face oppression not
only from the Burmese army, but also ceasefire groups and the KNPP. Soldiers
from both the KNPP and ceasefire groups physically maltreat villagers and
undermine their livelihoods. While these occurrences are certainly less frequent
and less severe than similar acts by the SPDC, they still oppress the civilian
population and undermine their ability and capacity to survive.
Additionally the presence of many different actors has resulted in the militarisation
of Karenni State. Thousands of landmines have been indiscriminately planted
throughout the state, without adequate mapping or markings to minimise civilian
causalities. The SPDC, ceasefire groups and the KNPP all recruit and have
child soldiers in their armies. The Burmese army has the largest number of child
soldiers anywhere in the world, and approximately 20 per cent of the KNPP’s
troops are under 18 (the minimum age for recruitment into the armed forces
under Burma’s national law). The increased militarisation of Karenni State has
resulted in increases in human rights abuses.
However villagers are staging their own non-violent resistance movement. They
have developed and implemented a number of early warning systems and
household and village-wide risk management strategies so as to minimise the
impact of the SPDC and other armed groups violence and abuses. These
resistance strategies have become the biggest threat to local and regional
authorities; consequently the villagers are increasingly becoming the targets of
hostilities from the Burmese army.
Most people in Karenni State rely on agriculture as their primary source of income
and are living a subsistence existence. Despite the villagers’ best efforts to secure
their livelihoods, their ability and capacity to do so is constantly undermined by
the SPDC and, to a lesser extent, ceasefire groups and the KNPP via crop
procurement, forced production of dry season crops, arbitrary taxation and fines,
theft and destruction of property and food, forced labour and land confiscation.
This is further exacerbated by the drought that has been occurring in Karenni
State for the past decade, which affects crop yields. When coupled with
skyrocketing commodity prices, villagers’ ability to ebb out a living is further eroded
– to the point of impossibility in some cases.
The abject poverty in Karenni State prevents villagers from accessing basic health
and education services. Whilst the SPDC claims to provide free health care and
education, in reality this does not occur. Health and education services provided
by the state are extremely expensive and are well-below international standards.
As a result, for most people education and medical treatment becomes a luxury
they simply cannot afford.
As a result of poverty some villagers are turning to illegal activities in order to
survive - mainly poppy production. In Karenni State there are two areas where
villagers are growing poppies with the permission of ceasefire groups. Farmers
can earn a significantly higher monetary return on their poppy yields than for
other crops using the same quantity of land. Poppy growers can earn up to
300,000 Kyat per 1.5 kilogram package of raw opium they produce (a 1.5 kilogram
package of raw opium can be produced in four months). A teacher supported by
the SPDC would have to work for 60 months in order to earn the same amount.
Additionally amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) are being produced in Karenni
State. Three factories producing ATS in Karenni State have been identified, again
in areas controlled by ceasefire groups; however as it is difficult to distinguish
between factories and ordinary dwellings it is possible that there are many other
ATS factories in Karenni State that have not been identified. Each factory can
produce between 250,000 and 300,000 pills per month. From the three known
factories in Karenni State between 9 million and 10.8 million ATS pills are being
produced and released into the international drug market each year.
Today over a quarter of the population in Karenni State have been forced from
their homes as a direct result of the actions of the Burmese military junta. Between
70 and 80 per cent of those displaced are women and children. Displacement
has increased 42 per cent since 2002 and represents eight per cent of the total
population in Karenni State. Karenni State has the highest level of displacement
to population ratio in all of eastern Burma. When similar comparisons are made
to the five countries with the largest displaced populations in the world (Sudan,
Colombia, Uganda, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo) the percentage
of displaced persons in Karenni State is alarmingly higher. Over 12 per cent of
Sudan’s population is displaced – less than half that of Karenni State.
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in eastern Burma receive very little assistance,
if any at all, primarily due to the policies of the SPDC, which severely restrict
humanitarian agencies accessing these vulnerable populations. The SPDC
deems IDPs as enemies of the state and implements a shoot on sight policy,
which includes children and the elderly. IDPs are vulnerable to human rights
abuses, exploitation and violence from the
SPDC, as well as food shortages and have
severely limited access to education and
health care services.
The most pressing need of the people and
the IDP population is physical security. Most
people have the capacity to earn a livelihood
mitigating food shortages, to educate their
children, establish a medical clinic and
develop their communities; however, they
lack the security necessary to do so. There
are humanitarian organisations working in
Karenni State, including local community
based organisations (CBOs), nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs) and
international agencies such as the United
Nations Development Programme. Despite
this presence the humanitarian situation in
Karenni State continues to deteriorate and
people are finding themselves slipping further and further into the poverty abyss
– with no foreseeable escape.
The impacts from the situation in Karenni State are not confined to the State’s
boundaries - they spill over into other states and divisions in Burma and also
across international borders, especially into Thailand. These spill over effects
include, but are not limited to: the mass exodus of people from Burma to
neighbouring countries as refugees and migrant workers; illegal trafficking of
drugs and people and associated health concerns, especially HIV/AIDS.
These non-traditional security threats impinge on Burma’s neighbours
economies and social welfare systems, affecting regional stability and security.
The situation in Karenni State cannot be rectified without genuinely addressing
Burma’s complex issues, including ethnic chauvinism, in a participatory
manner, which engages the whole nation’s citizenry. Only when these issues
are truly addressed may the people of Karenni State find peace and start living
life for the future, and not as living ghosts." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Issues |
| Format/size: | | pdf (666K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmaissues.org/images/stories/pdfreports/livingghosts.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Conflict and Displacement in Karenni: the Need for Considered Responses |
| Date of publication: | | May 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Click on the on the html link above to go to a neater, paginated table of contents or on the pdf links below to go straight to the document ....
PDF File 1: Cover and Contents.
PDF File 2: Boundaries; Climate; Physical Features; Population; Ethnic Groups in Karenni; Gender Roles in Karenni; Agriculture, Land Distribution and Patterns of Recourse; Resources; Water; Communication, Trade and Transport Conflict in Karenni; A History of Conflict; The Pre-Colonial Period; The Colonial Period; Independence in Burma and the Outbreak of Civil War in the Karenni States; State and Non-State Actors including Armed Groups and Political Parties; The Role of the Tatmadaw; The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP); The Karenni National Peoples Liberation Front (KNPLF); The Shan State Nationalities Liberation Organisation (SSNLO); The Kayan New Land Party (KNLP; The NDF and CPB Alliances and their Impact in Karenni; War in the Villages; The Formation of Splinter Groups in the 1990s; The Economics of War; The Relationship between Financing the War and Exploitation of Natural Resources; The Course of the War; Cease-fires.... PDF file 3: Conflict-Induced Displacements in Karenni -- Defining Population Movements; Conflict Induced Displacement; Displacement in 1996; Displacements by Township; Relocation Policy; Services in Relocation Sites; Smaller Relocation Sites and so-called Gathering Villages; Displacement into Shan State; Displacement as a Passing Phenomenon; Displacement, Resettlement and Transition; Women outside Relocation Sites. Development Induced Displacement -- Displacements in Loikaw City; Confiscation of Land by the Tatmadaw; Displacement as a Result of Resource Scarcity; Food Scarcity; Water Shortages; Voluntary Migrations. Health and education needs and responses: Health Policy; Health Services; Health Status of the Population; Communicable Diseases; Nutrition; Reproductive and Womens Health; Landmine Casualties; Iodine Deficiency and Goitre; Vitamin A Deficiency; Water and Sanitation; Responses to Health Needs; Education Policy; Educational Services and Coverage; Traditional Attitudes to Education; Educational Services in Karenni; Responses to Educational Needs; Responses from the Thai-Burma border; Responses by International Humanitarian Agencies from Inside Burma. Appendices: A Comparison of Populations in Relocation Sites in Karenni; Refugee Arrivals at the Thai Border; Displacements by Township; Examples of Population Movements. |
| Author/creator: | | Vicky Bamforth, Steven Lanjouw, Graham Mortimer |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Ethnic Research Group (BERG) |
| Format/size: | | 3 pdf files: (1) Cover and Contents (472K); (2) Text-pp1-47 (782K); 3 Text pp48-128 (1300K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/Considered_responses-1.pdf
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/Considered_responses-2.pdf
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/Considered_responses-3.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Update on Karenni Forced Relocations |
| Date of publication: | | 05 March 1997 |
| Description/subject: | | Between April and July 1996, SLORC ordered at least 182 villages in Karenni (Kayah) State, with an estimated total population of 25-30,000 people, to move to various relocation sites. The primary intention of SLORC was to cut off all possibility of civilian support for the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP); SLORC broke a ceasefire agreement to attack the KNPP in June 1995. The villages affected cover at least half the entire geographic area of Karenni. Some villages were marched at gunpoint to relocation sites without warning, but most were issued written orders to move within just 7 days or be 'considered as enemies', i.e. shot on sight without question. [For details see "Forced Relocation in Karenni", KHRG #96-24, 15/7/96.] ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced
relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #97-01) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Karenni (Kayah) State: Update on Relocations (Information Update) (#97-U2) |
| Date of publication: | | 12 February 1997 |
| Description/subject: | | Between April and July 1996, SLORC ordered at least 183 villages in Karenni State, with an estimated total population of 25-30,000 people, to move to various relocation sites. The primary intention of SLORC was to cut off all possibility of civilian support for the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP); SLORC had broken a ceasefire agreement to attack the KNPP in June 1995. The villages affected cover at least half the entire geographic area of Karenni. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic (KHRG #97-01) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Forced Relocation in Karenni |
| Date of publication: | | 15 July 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | "Throughout June and July 1996, the State Law & Order Restoration Council (SLORC) military junta ruling Burma has conducted a mass forced relocation campaign covering more than half of the geographic area of Karenni and affecting at least 183 villages so far with an estimated total population of 25-30,000. The first orders to move came as early as April in Baw La Keh (sometimes spelled Bawlake) area on the Pon River. However, the biggest wave of relocations began on 1 June, when an order was issued to all 98 villages between the Pon and Salween Rivers to move to relocation sites beside SLORC Army camps at Shadaw and Ywathit... "
ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #96-24) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Mass Forced Relocations in Shan and Karenni (Kayah) States |
| Date of publication: | | 16 June 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | "SLORC is currently using mass forced relocation campaigns as a method to try to eliminate all civilian support for opposition forces. In December 1995 and January 1996, about 100 Karen villages comprising all the hill villages in eastern Papun District were ordered to move to military sites in order to cut off any civilian support for Karen forces by completely removing the rural civilian population of the whole area. Includes list of relocated villages..." ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG _#96-U3) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | SLORC Activities in Ler Ba Ko Village |
| Date of publication: | | 31 December 1992 |
| Description/subject: | | "Testimony by a refugee from central Karenni (Kayah) State and List of Villages Relocated in March 1992."
"(Northwest Karenni State) List of 76 villages relocated in March 1992. Deemawso and Pruso Townships March, July 92. Karenni men, women: Rape; forced labour incl. portering and work on the Loikaw-Aung Ban railway -- 91); extortion; forced relocation; religious intolerance (the villages were Christian)..."
ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Supplementary Report on Karenni State |
| Date of publication: | | 15 November 1992 |
| Description/subject: | | "March 92 Karenni men, women, children: Forced relocation; killing; inhuman treatment (beating, deprivation of food and medicine -- especially hard on children); conditions in the relocation camp; forced labour (Aung Ban-Loikaw railway) incl. women and children; torture; extortion; economic difficulties caused by the SLORC occupation -- people scattered in the forest; economic oppression..."
ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced, Kayah |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Karenni State: Forced Relocation, Concentration Camps, and Slavery |
| Date of publication: | | 10 August 1992 |
| Description/subject: | | "March-July 92. Karenni men, women, children: Looting; rape; forced portering; killings; disappearances; forced relocation of more than 20,000 people in 76 villages (see Orders, 12 June 92). Description of conditions in a relocation camp (particularly bad for children); internal displacement; religious intolerance (destroying churches and pressure to convert to Buddhism); pillaging; inhuman treatment(deprivation of food and medicine); forced labour on Aung Ban-Loikaw railway; inhuman treatment during forced labour and arbitrary detention; torture.Including slavery under the United Nations Development Program..."
ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Statements by Karenni Refugees |
| Date of publication: | | 12 June 1992 |
| Description/subject: | | "Statement by Karenni refugees fleeing a SLORC ultimatum to all villagers in a large part of the State where the Karenni opposition is strong to leave their villages or die. Their statements describe some of the SLORC army’s activities in civilian villages of western Karenni..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The SLORC's "Leave Or Die" Ultimatum to Karenni Villagers |
| Date of publication: | | 12 June 1992 |
| Description/subject: | | "Direct translations of stamped and signed orders posted by the SLORC in villages throughout western Karenni State in late March of this year. The large areas affected are in the "brown" or "black" areas (those not firmly under SLORC control, where the KNPP opposition is active)..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
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Internal displacement/forced migration of Mon villagers
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Destination Unknown: Hope and Doubt Regarding IDP Resettlement in Mon State |
| Date of publication: | | 18 October 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: "The growing optimism surrounding Burma’s political and social
transitions has begun to be accompanied by ambitions to resettle
displaced communities along the country’s border with Thailand. As
the notion and its attendant proposals continue to proliferate, it
seems timely to assess how the communities directly affected by this
prospect feel about resettlement. Interviews were conducted with 61
Mon internally displaced people (IDPs) who expressed an array of
views ranging from excitement for better jobs in new locations to
utter refusal for fear of renewed conflict.
Concerns in the IDP community that relocation could lead to a
recurrence of violence or exploitation may seem unfounded to those
flushed with enthusiasm for Burma’s brisk pace of reform. However, it
is precisely because of this rapid shift, after fifty years of a deeply
entrenched system of repression, that many ethnic communities are
unable to abruptly shed their enduring memories of systematic
injustice. Similarly, for people in remote areas, there has not yet been
adequate evidence of improvements to daily life or sufficient trust
built between disparate groups to warrant immediate, broad-based
support.
Importantly, almost all interviewees that addressed resettlement
used “if” to describe their opinions, explaining that relocation is
attractive only if adequate security, employment, education, and
healthcare services are provided. This highlights fundamental
priorities among IDPs, but also showcases the lack of information
currently granted to internally displaced people. For those that had
heard about relocation, many did not know if it was true, or where
and when they might go, or if it even applied to them.
This incomplete information sharing has led to resettlement
constituting little more than a rumor in IDP sites, and the consequent
anxiety and confusion has been unnecessary and detrimental. The
process needed to develop resettlement programs offers a singular
opportunity to build trust with IDP communities by employing an
inclusive and participatory approach.
The varying opinions and levels of support for resettlement
demonstrated in this report serve as a key indicator that the IDP
community is not a homogeneous group about which conclusions can
be easily or independently reached. Some IDPs reported enjoying new
freedoms and infrastructure projects, while other accounts were
framed by doubt, exhibiting vivid memories of past abuses and few
observations of significant change. In any case, each individual IDP or
IDP family has a unique set of values and experiences that will define
what an agreeable future looks like, and each must be given the
chance to make free, prior, and informed decisions regarding
engagement with resettlement programs.
This report’s primary aim is to amplify the voices of Mon IDPs and
encourage the incorporation of their opinions into the development
of resettlement agendas. We urge that the President Thein Sein
government, the New Mon State Party, and associated international
organizations be directly accountable to IDP populations by respecting
their narratives and promoting full transparency in every stage of the
process. While recent, positive changes may provide compelling
reasons for people to return, they should not completely overwhelm
considerations of why they left." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.39MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 October 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Hardship of displaced families in the rural area |
| Date of publication: | | 31 October 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | "...The population displacement’ is a forgotten problem in Burma. While many people are talking negotiation’ and national reconciliation’, but there is no real solution how to stop the displacement in the country. It is also a serious issue which is necessary to consider.
However, the population displacement always relates to war, and so that it is needed to stop war if we want to stop the population displacement problems" |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Women and Child Rights Project (Southern Burma) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 06 April 2004 |
|
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Internal displacement/forced migration of Shan. Palaung and Wa villagers
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Pipeline Nightmare (English and Burmese) |
| Date of publication: | | 07 November 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | "Shwe Pipeline Brings Land Confiscation, Militarization and Human Rights Violations to the Ta’ang People.
The Ta’ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO) released a report today called “Pipeline Nightmare” that illustrates how the Shwe Gas and Oil Pipeline project, which will transport oil and gas across Burma to China, has resulted in the confiscation of people’s lands, forced labor, and increased military presence along the pipeline, affecting thousands of people.
Moreover, the report documents cases in 6 target cities and 51 villages of human rights violations committed by the Burmese Army, police and people’s militia, who take responsibility for security of the pipeline.
The government has deployed additional soldiers and extended 26 military camps in order to increase pressure on the ethnic armed groups and to provide security for the pipeline project and its Chinese workers. Along the pipeline, there is fighting on a daily basis between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army, Shan State Army – North and Ta’ang National Liberation Army in Namtu, Mantong and Namkham, where there are over one thousand Ta’ang (Palaung) refugees.
“Even though the international community believes that the government has implemented political reforms, it doesn’t mean those reforms have reached ethnic areas, especially not where there is increased militarization along the Shwe Pipeline, increased fighting between the Burmese Army and ethnic armed groups, and negative consequences for the people living in these areas,” said Mai Amm Ngeal, a member of TSYO.
The China National Petroleum Corporation and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise have signed agreements for the Shwe Pipeline, however the companies have not conducted any Environmental Impact Assessments or Social Impact Assessments. While the people living along the pipeline bear the brunt of the effects, the government will earn an estimated USD$29 billion over the next 30 years.
“The government and companies involved must be held accountable for the project and its effects on the local people, such as increasing military presence and Chinese workers along the pipeline, both of which cause insecurity for the local communities and especially women. The project has no benefit for the public, so it must be postponed,” said Lway Phoo Reang, Joint Secretary (1) of TSYO.
TSYO urges the government to postpone the Shwe Gas and Oil Pipeline project, to withdraw the military from Shan State, reach a ceasefire with all ethnic armed groups in the state, and address the root causes of the armed conflict by engaging in political dialogue." |
| Language: | | English, Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Ta’ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (English, 2MB-OBL version; 6.77-original; 1.45-Burmese-OBL version) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.palaungland.org/wp-content/uploads/Report/S%20P%20N%20Report/Pipeline%20Nightmare%20report%20in%20English%20version%20(Final).pdf (original)
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/Pipeline_Nightmare-bu-op--red.pdf (full report in Burmese)
http://www.palaungland.org/wp-content/uploads/Report/S%20P%20N%20Report/Immediate%20Release%207%20N... (Summary in Burmese)
http://www.palaungland.org/wp-content/uploads/Report/S%20P%20N%20Report/For%20Immediate%20Release%2... (Summary in Thai)
http://www.palaungland.org/wp-content/uploads/Report/S%20P%20N%20Report/2012-11%20Shwe%20Pipeline%2... (Summary in Chinese) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 November 2012 |
|
| Title: | | The Burden of War - Women bear burden of displacement |
| Date of publication: | | 03 November 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary:
"Worsening conflict and abuses by Burmese government troops in
northern Shan State have displaced over 2,000 Palaung villagers from
fifteen villages in three townships since March 2011. About 1,000,
mainly women and children, remain in three IDP settlements in Mantong
and Namkham townships, facing serious shortages of food and medicine;
most of the rest have dispersed to find work in China.
Burmese troops have been launching offensives to crush the Kachin
Independence Army (KIA), the Ta-ang National Liberation Army (TNLA),
and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), to secure control of strategic
trading and investment areas on the Chinese border, particularly the route
of China’s trans-Burma oil and gas pipelines. In rural Palaung areas,
patrols from sixteen Burma Army battalions and local militia have been
forcibly conscripting villagers as soldiers and porters, looting livestock
and property, and torturing and killing villagers suspected of supporting
the resistance. This has caused entire villages to become abandoned.
Interviews conducted by PWO in September 2012 show that the burden
of displacement is falling largely on women, as most men have fled or
migrated to work elsewhere. The ratio of women to men of working age
in the IDP camps is 4:1. Women, including pregnant mothers, had to
walk for up to a week through the jungle to reach the camps, carrying
their children and possessions, and avoiding Burmese army patrols and
landmines. Elderly people were left behind.
Little aid has reached the IDP settlements, particular the largest camp
housing over 500 in a remote mountainous area north of Manton, where
shortages of water, food and medicines are causing widespread disease.
Mothers are struggling to feed their families on loans of rice from local
villagers, and have taken their daughters out of school. Some women
have left children with relatives and gone to find work in China.
PWO is calling urgently for aid to these IDPs, and for political pressure
on Burma’s government to end its military offensives and abuses, pull
back troops from conflict areas, and begin meaningful political dialogue
to address the root causes of the conflict." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.7MB-OBL version; 7.29MB-original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://eng.palaungwomen.com/Report/The%20Burden%20of%20War.pdf">http://eng.palaungwomen.com/Report/The%20Burden%20of%20War.pdf
http://eng.palaungwomen.com |
| Date of entry/update: | | 06 November 2012 |
|
| Title: | | 10,000 Shans uprooted, 500 houses burned in Burmese regime's latest scorched earth campaign |
| Date of publication: | | 13 August 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | 10,000 Shans uprooted, 500 houses burned in Burmese regime’s latest scorched earth campaign (press release)...
Map of villages forcibly relocated...
Summary of villages forcibly relocated...
Images of the Burmese regime's latest scorched earth campaign |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN), Shan Relief and Development Committee, Shan Sapawa Environmental Organisation, Shan Youth Power, Shan Health Committee |
| Format/size: | | html, pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Roots and Resilience - Tasang dam threatens war-torn Shan communities |
| Date of publication: | | July 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | 'The report “Roots and Resilience” by the Shan Sapawa Environment Organization focuses on the ecologically unique area of Keng Kham, a community of 15,000 that was forcibly relocated over ten years ago; the majority have fled to Thailand. Today the estimated 3,000 that remain are managing to maintain their livelihoods and culture despite the constant threats of the Burma Army and the impending Tasang dam.
Indigenous Shan cultural practices, river-fed farms, sacred cave temples and pristine waterfalls are depicted in photos from this isolated war-zone, together with updated information about the dam project, which has been shrouded in secrecy.
The 7,110 MW Tasang Dam is the biggest of five dams planned on the Salween River; the majority of the power from the dam will be sold to Thailand. Project investors include the Thai MDX Company and China’s Gezhouba Group Company.
Thailand’s support for the controversial dam was recently reiterated when the project was included in its national Power Development Plan.
Military tension has escalated in recent months in Shan State as the Burmese regime has been putting pressure on the United Wa State Army to transform into a “Border Guard Force.” Abuses linked to anti-insurgency campaigns are also on the rise.' |
| Language: | | English, Thai |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Sapawa Environmental Organization |
| Format/size: | | pdf (4.68MB - English; 6.58MB - Thai) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://salweenwatch.org/images/PDF/rootsandresiliencethai.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 October 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Displacement and disease: the Shan exodus and infectious disease implications for Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | 14 March 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract:
"Decades of neglect and abuses by the Burmese government have decimated the health of the
peoples of Burma, particularly along her eastern frontiers, overwhelmingly populated by
ethnic minorities such as the Shan. Vast areas of traditional Shan homelands have been
systematically depopulated by the Burmese military regime as part of its counter-insurgency
policy, which also employs widespread abuses of civilians by Burmese soldiers, including
rape, torture, and extrajudicial executions. These abuses, coupled with Burmese government
economic mismanagement which has further entrenched already pervasive poverty in rural
Burma, have spawned a humanitarian catastrophe, forcing hundreds of thousands of ethnic
Shan villagers to flee their homes for Thailand. In Thailand, they are denied refugee status
and its legal protections, living at constant risk for arrest and deportation. Classified as
“economic migrants,” many are forced to work in exploitative conditions, including in the
Thai sex industry, and Shan migrants often lack access to basic health services in Thailand.
Available health data on Shan migrants in Thailand already indicates that this population
bears a disproportionately high burden of infectious diseases, particularly HIV, tuberculosis,
lymphatic filariasis, and some vaccine-preventable illnesses, undermining progress made by
Thailand’s public health system in controlling such entities. The ongoing failure to address
the root political causes of migration and poor health in eastern Burma, coupled with the
many barriers to accessing health programs in Thailand by undocumented migrants,
particularly the Shan, virtually guarantees Thailand’s inability to sustainably control many
infectious disease entities, especially along her borders with Burma." |
| Author/creator: | | Voravit Suwanvanichkij |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Conflict and Health 2008, 2:4 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (170K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.conflictandhealth.com/content/2/1/4 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | RUNNING THE GAUNTLET: THE IMPACT OF INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT IN SOUTHERN SHAN STATE |
| Date of publication: | | January 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "The plight of Burma's internally displaced persons has largely been overlooked by the
international community and the Burmese government itself. Villagers in the country's war
zones nevertheless have suffered for decades the adverse effects of conflict. For some,
displacement has become a way of life and a multi-generational phenomenon.
Displacement wherever it occurs profoundly changes the persons forced to move. People
lose belongings, jobs, and loved ones. The case of the internally displaced in southern Shan
State is no different.
In this report, the Humanitarian Affairs Research Project documents the impact displacement
has had on civilians in southern Shan State and the living conditions in the various places to
which they fled. The report builds successfully on the work of other local research groups
and adds updated information and perspective to the study of Burma's internally displaced. It
will be a valuable addition to policy makers, academics, and anyone concerned about the fate
of the people of Shan State.
One lesson clearly emerging from the report is that the IDPs in southern Shan State clearly
are in need of protection and assistance. More needs to be done and it needs to be done now.
The Burmese government as well as other domestic and international actors should consider
carefully the ways in which this important goal can be accomplished. This report offers some
recommendations that can help to set the actors on the right path..."....This document contains a Shan version of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Since this is an image file of almost 2MB, OBL has produced the whole document, with GP; the Guiding Principles as a separate document; and the English text without GP. |
| Author/creator: | | GARY RISSER, OUM KHER, SEIN HTUN |
| Language: | | English and Shan |
| Source/publisher: | | Humanitarian Affairs Research Project, Asian Research Center for Migration, Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.9K), 1MB (English text) 1.9MB (Guiding Principles in Shan) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/Gauntlet-minusGP-ocr.pdf (minus Guiding Principles)
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/Gauntlet-GP_in_Shan.pdf (Guiding Principles in Shan) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 September 2005 |
|
| Title: | | AFTERSHOCKS ALONG BURMA’S MEKONG |
| Date of publication: | | 05 September 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:-
"In March 2002, Chinese demolition crews began blasting rapids and reefs along Burma’s Mekong river as part of the ADB-promoted Mekong Navigation Improvement Project, aimed to allow larger ships to travel the river throughout the year. There was no consultation with the over 22,000 Shan, Akha and Lahu peoples living along and relying on the Burmese section of the river.
Suspended during the rainy season, full-scale blasting resumed between December 2002 and April 2003. During this time, Burma’s military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), mobilized over 1,000 troops along the river, who imposed restrictions on the movement of villagers, forcibly conscripted porters, committed sexual violence and extorted funds from local communities. The SPDC also set up new military outposts to expand their control along the Mekong.
Development of the Mekong has thus precipitated further SPDC militarization in eastern Shan State, and further oppression of local communities. It also fits into a development agenda of the Burmese military regime which is benefiting only a small elite, and contributing to environmental degradation and the impoverishment of the majority of the population.
The number of SPDC troops in the area has more than tripled over the past decade, despite the supposed pacification of the area resulting from ceasefire agreements with most of the ethnic resistance groups since 1989.
The ceasefire agreements, together with the opening up of Burma’s economy since 1988, have led to a process of inequitable and unsustainable development in Shan State, whereby the regime, ceasefire leaders and other business elites have profited from unbridled exploitation of the area’s natural resources, with disastrous effects on the environment. It is estimated that eastern Shan State has lost 50% of its forest cover since 1988. Wildlife and forest products are also diminishing rapidly.
The military and business elites continue to profit from the drug trade, while the hill communities growing the opium remain in poverty, and the rate of drug addiction amongst local villagers, particularly along the Mekong River, one of the main drug trafficking routes, is soaring. Luxurious casinos for tourists have been built amidst areas of extreme poverty.
In the absence of democracy in Burma, increased trade and tourism resulting from the Mekong Navigation Improvement Project will only further accelerate this harmful pattern of development in Eastern Shan State.
The LNDO urges the governments of China, Laos and Thailand to immediately suspend the Mekong Navigation Improvement Project until proper environmental and social impact assessments are carried out with participation of affected communities. A prerequisite for this must be the restoration of genuine peace and democracy in Burma.
LNDO therefore urges foreign governments and international funding agencies to withhold support for all development projects inside Burma’s Shan State until a democratic system of government is installed which allows local people genuine participation in decision-making about the development of their area..."
CONTENTS:-
1.
Introduction...
2.
Executive Summary...
3.
The Upper Mekong Navigation Improvement Project:
- Background of the project;
- Environmental concerns;
- Burma’s role in the project...
4.
Implementation of the project - December 2002 to April 2003:
- Lack of consultation with local communities about the blasting;
- Restrictions on villagers’ movements and resulting loss of livelihood;
- SPDC military operation along the Mekong riverbank during the period of blasting;
- Human rights abuses during the military operation
- Compulsory gambling fairs...
5.
Political context of the project:
- A pattern of increased militarization in Eastern Shan State;
- Expansion of SPDC control along the Mekong;
- Forced withdrawal and disarming of militia groups along the Mekong riverbank (December 02);
- “Cracking down” on the Wa (January - March 03)...
6.
Reinforcing inequitable and unsustainable development processes:
- Trade and infrastructure in the hands of military and business elites;
- Unregulated natural resource exploitation;
- Timber;
- Wildlife and forest products;
- Minerals;
- Lack of sincere and sustainable drug-eradication programs;
- Promotion of casino tourism;
- Conclusion and Recommendations...
Appendices:
1.
List of villagers in eastern Shan State along the Mekong River;
2.
Map of Tachilek township;
3.
Map of Mong Yawng township.
(these last two accessible only by clicking the hyperlink, not by scrolling down. For print-out, to keep maps on a single page, use the Shanland URL and print out the sections separately) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Lahu National Development Organisation |
| Format/size: | | html (153K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.shanland.org/Environment/After%20Shock/contents.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 September 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Charting the Exodus from Shan State: Patterns of Shan refugee flow into northern Chiang Mai province of Thailand 1997-2002 |
| Date of publication: | | May 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | "This report gives quantitative evidence in support of claims that there has been a large influx of Shans arriving
into northern Thailand during the past 6 years who are genuine refugees fleeing persecution and not simply
migrant workers. This data was based on interviews with 66,868 Shans arriving in Fang District of northern
Chiang Mai province between June 1997 and December 2002,
The data shows that almost all the new arrivals came from the twelve townships in Central Shan State where
the Burmese military regime has carried out a mass forced relocation program since March 1996, and where
the regime's troops have been perpetrating systematic human rights abuses against civilian populations.
Higher numbers of arrivals came from townships such as Kunhing where a higher incidence of human rights
abuses has been reported. Evidence also shows increases in refugee outflows from specific village tracts
directly after large-scale massacres were committed by the regime's troops..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Human Rights Foundation via Shan Herald Agency for news |
| Format/size: | | pdf (896K) 14 pages |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.shanland.org/oldversion/view-3471.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Exiled at Home: Continued Forced Relocations and Displacement in Shan State |
| Date of publication: | | 05 April 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Continued Forced Relocations and Displacement in Shan State. "This report aims to provide a picture of the current situation in central Shan State, where the military junta ruling Burma has forcibly uprooted and destroyed over 1,400 villages and displaced well over 300,000 people since 1996. This campaign against civilians is still continuing after 4 brutal years, leaving much of the Shan population homeless. In this report, some of the villagers who both lived in relocation sites and hid in the jungle to avoid relocation describe their experiences. Further background and detail on the campaign to uproot the Shan can be found in the previous Karen Human Rights Group reports "Killing the Shan" (KHRG #98-03, 23/5/98) and "Forced Relocation in Central Shan State" (KHRG #96-23, 25/6/96), which are available online at this web site or by request from KHRG, and in the April 1998 report "Dispossessed: Forced Relocation and Extrajudicial Killings in Shan State" by the Shan Human Rights Foundation." ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #2000-03) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Killing the Shan: The Continuing Campaign of Forced Relocation in Shan State (Information Update) |
| Date of publication: | | 23 May 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | "This report aims to provide a picture of the current situation in central Shan State, where the military junta ruling Burma has forcibly uprooted and destroyed over 1,400 villages and displaced over 300,000 people since 1996. This campaign against civilians is still continuing, and the number of villages destroyed is increasing each month. In this report, some of the villagers who have fled in 1997 and 1998 describe their experiences. Further background and detail on the campaign to uproot the Shan can be found in the previous Karen Human Rights Group report "Forced Relocation in Central Shan State" (KHRG #96-23, 25/6/96), and in the April 1998 report "Dispossessed: Forced Relocation and Extrajudicial Killings in Shan State" by the Shan Human Rights Foundation ..." ..... ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocaton, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #98-03) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Dispossessed |
| Date of publication: | | April 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | A report on forced relocation and extrajudicial killings in Shan State, Burma. Since the publication of "Uprooting the Shan," the report by the SHRF detailing the forced relocation program carried out by the SLORC in Shan State during 1996, the SLORC military regime (recently renamed the State Peace and Development Council or SPDC) has been continuing to uproot more villages throughout 1997 and early 1998. Many of the relocation sites that were the results of 1996 relocations have been forced to move again. Human rights abuses such as mass killings, rape, torture and looting have been committed repeatedly by the SPDC troops against the displaced population. This has prompted the need to publish this updated report, containing more complete lists and maps of the relocated villages, and detailing the many extrajudicial killings committed by the military regime in the areas of relocation. We hope that this report will give a clearer picture to the international community of the devastating effects of the forced relocation program on the population of Central Shan State. KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Human Rights Foundation |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Forced Relocation in Central Shan State |
| Date of publication: | | 25 June 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | "Forced relocations (all stories), killings (#2), shootings (#2,11,13), beatings (#8,9,10,14), rape (#7,8,17), burning houses (#1,2,4-7,14,17), burning houses with people inside (#1,2,14,17), looting/theft (#1,4,8,12,17), confiscation of relocated people's rice (#3,12), going back to farm (#1,3,4, 11,12), overcrowding at relocation sites (#1,5,7,12,17), effect on monks (#3,11,13,17), forced conscription for SLORC militia (#3), MTA (#8,11,13,15,17), PNA (#8), SSA (#13), opium (#15), life in Thailand (#15,17), northern Shan State (#13,15). Forced labour: At army camps (#1,3,13,15), as porters (#8,14,15), as road and village sentries (#12,13,17), on Army farms (#2,15), Nam Sang - Kun Hing road (#15,17), Chiang Tong - Kun Hing road (#15), Lai Kha - Pang Long road (#17), Lai Kha - Mong Hsu road (#13,17), Mong Kung - Tsipaw road (#10), Lai Kha - Mong Kungrailway (#7), Lashio - Mu Seh - Kyu Kote road (#15)..." ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced
relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #96-23) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Forced Relocation in Central Shan State (Appendix) |
| Date of publication: | | 25 June 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | "Appendix: List of Shan State villages known to be relocated. This list accompanies KHRG report "Forced Relocation in Central Shan State", #96-23, 25/6/96..." ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
-
Internal displacement/forced migration of the Kuki and other groups along the Chindwin River
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Stop Damming the Chindwin (Burmese, English, Kuki) |
| Date of publication: | | December 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "The Burmese military government, together with
the government of India, is planning to build a giant
hydroelectric dam near Tamanthi on the Chindwin River
in northwest Burma’s Sagaing Division. The dam’s fl ood
reservoir will be almost 1,400 sq km, the size of Delhi, and
will permanently displace over 45,000 people, including
the entire town of Khamti. Already over 2,400 people have
been relocated at gunpoint from the dam site, without fair
compensation.
The Tamanthi dam will adversely affect the biodiversity
and ecological balance of the entire Chindwin River, which,
as the largest tributary of the Irrawaddy, acts as a major
watershed for the whole country. Although the dam will
bring about massive changes to the Chindwin, the entire
dam building process has been shrouded in secrecy, and
there has been a complete lack of public participation in
decision making.
Local indigenous Kuki people have been nourished by the
Chindwin for generations, and are determined to protect
the river from this destructive project. We therefore urge
the Burmese regime and Indian government to immediately
cancel the Tamanthi dam." |
| Language: | | English, Burmese, Kuki |
| Source/publisher: | | The Kuki Women’s Human Rights Organization (KWHRO) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (English, 603K - OBL version; 804K - original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://burmariversnetwork.org/images/stories/publications/english/Stop%20Damming%20the%20Chindwin%2...
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs13/Stop_Damming_the%20_Chindwin(bu)-red.pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs13/Stop_Damming_the%20_Chindwin(ku)-red.pdf
http://burmariversnetwork.org/images/stories/publications/chinese/DammingChindwin_Burmese2.pdf
http://burmariversnetwork.org/burmese/images/stories/publications/burmese/Damming%20the%20Chindwin_... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 January 2012 |
|
|
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