(V) FORCED RELOCATION AND INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PERSONS
5.1. Background
Though there is no fighting in the other areas along the border, forced relocation of the people to leave their home communities and move to government-designated areas, is on-going phenomenon in Burma. The scale of forced relocation and internal displacement is extremely difficult to assess accurately due to the poor communication links between large areas of the country and the outside world. Two million people are estimated to be the internally displaced civilians in Burma.
Forced relocation during the counterinsurgency strategy is the one of the main causes for the internally displacement in Burma. It has been forcing thousands of civilians from their homes and villages as well as to be the internally displaced persons for many years. The military has continued its policy of relocating villagers who could provide a support or be sympathisers for the armed ethnic groups.
In addition to the use of forced relocation as a counterinsurgency strategy, forced relocation is increasingly taking place in order to make way for the unprecedented number of government infrastructure projects currently planned or underway throughout the country. The rapid growth in the size of the army — from an estimated 170,000 in 1988 to 350-400,000 today — and its increased control of ethnic minority inhabited territory has also resulted in villages being relocated to make way for the construction of military bases, as the army seeks to extend its presence throughout the country.
Forced relocation for counterinsurgency purposes is part of a strategy known as the “Four Cuts” by which ethnic minorities living in places where armed opposition groups are active are relocated into areas under government control. Generally villagers are given very little advanced notice that they are to be relocated and villages are frequently destroyed or declared “free fire” zones. That means that anyone found in the zone would be regarded as a member of an opposition group and liable to be shot without any questioning. The Burmese authorities claim that ethnic minorities who have to relocate do so voluntarily, but there is considerable evidence that this is rarely the case. Some relocation places are more appropriately “concentration camps’’ with barbed wire fencing, much like “strategic hamlets’’ than villages. SLORC does not provide new building materials or fields for relocated victims; villagers must fend for themselves in their new environment, no matter how suitable the soil and surroundings are to habitation.
Orders are given without adequate notice by local military commanders that villagers must leave their homes, carrying what possessions they can. The gas pipeline and related Ye-Tavoy railway have been the reason for massive upheavals of whole areas by SLORC. Often villagers are forced to relocate near a military base or into towns, where concentrations of population are less difficult to control than in the jungle. Also, SLORC creates a “resource pool’’ to be more readily tapped for forced labour this way. There has been reports of arrests, arbitrary killings, rape and other forms of torture by the military in the context of forced relocation.
SLORC’s policy of social and political control over the people has forced many people to flee. This is nothing new and has been going on since the Ne Win Era, affecting millions of Burma’s citizens, with two million being displaced in the past seven years alone. The military aims to isolate and to ensure that insurgent groups do not have any support among the people. This lack of stability, for homes and welfare of common people, aims at strengthening SLORC to maintain control over the people and to consolidate power in the ethnic areas.
While massive relocation is going on in the countryside, even urbanites are not exempt from such upheavals. In connection with Visit Myanmar Year 1996, there have been many reports of forced relocation throughout Burma. SLORC has forced inhabitants of Rangoon, Mandalay and other major cities to relocate to “satellite towns’’, which are little more than shanty towns without running water or electricity, so that the centres of these cities can be sold off to foreign developers for hotel facilities and other projects. Thereby, electricity is drained from outlying areas and other neighbourhoods. The new towns are also easier to control should a repeat of 1988 ever occur, with the people spread out over geography that is easily manageable for the military to quell dissent.
5.2. Displacement after the Fall of Manerplaw
After the fall of Manerplaw on 27 January 1995, SLORC continued its offensive as they wanted to set up permanent establishment along the entire Salween and Moei River sections of the Thai border. In the process of the Manerplaw/Salween offensive, tens of thousands of villagers suffered the most. At least 100 Karen villages were destroyed or no longer exist. The following is just a partial list:
Tee Thay Kee, Tee Taw Kloh, Kler Thay Lu (t), Tee Thay Kee (t), Mae Po Hta (t), Mu Yu Hta (t), Baw Shaw Lu (t), Pa Hee Lu (t), Pway Baw Lu (t), Htoo Wah Lu (t), Ka Paw Lu (t), Ga Ma, Ya Deh Ni, Lah Hee Lu, Thu Mwe Hta, Mae Let Hta, Gawa Yeh, Meh Leh Kee, Oo Ghay Thu, Meh Bpa, Mae Nyaw Khei, Meh Pru, dozens of small villages in Meh Pru area, Mae Kong Kay, Mae Paw Mu Hta, Pu Mya Lu (t), Thay Law Hta (t), Mae Paw Mu Hta (t), many villages Mae Paw Mu Hta areas, Bwa Der, Maw Leh Meh Hta, Meh Ku Hta, Meh Nyo Hta, Nya Ku Pu, Wah Ku Der, Ee Thu Ku, Ko Ra Hta, Baw Bo Kyu, Klaw Hta, Ko Lar Hta, Htoo Ka Toe, Htay Day, Htoo Bway Kay, Htay Kler Toe, Saw Bway Der, Moi Yeh Hta, Du Ho Reh, Kyauk Hnyat, Thee Muh Hta, Weh Gyi, Weh Gyi (t), Oo Thu Hta, Ka Htee Hta (t), Bon Ya Hta (t), Oo Da Hta (t), Oo Kweh Hta (t), Yaung Nai Oo (t), ... and many others not named here.
Those denoted by (t) were displaced Karen villages or refugee camps on the Thai side of the border. Many of civilian-only villages were burned and destroyed by advancing SLORC troops or forced to flee before SLORC could arrive. Those who remained in their villages suddenly found themselves with no Karen Army in the area to protect them. In these cases, many fled as soon as SLORC appeared near the village, or after SLORC had shelled or shot at the village upon entering it. Villages in Kyauk Hnyat area of the upper Salween River found that after their area was occupied, DKBA began posting notices in some villages stating that all villagers must join DKBO or their villages would be burned. When this happened, Christians were the first to flee, followed by Buddhists.
Many villages west of the Salween River were forcibly relocated south and west to areas further inside Karen State in the area of Myaing Gyi Ngu, headquarters of DKBO. It appeared that SLORC and DKBA tried to clear all civilians out of the region within 10 km or more of the Thai border, effectively establishing this swath of territory as a military-only zone. It have seemed SLORC is trying to introduce a “Fifth Cut”: in addition to the “Four Cuts” strategy to cut off the opposition from civilian support, SLORC tried to do everything it enabled to cut off the escape route of refugees to Thailand. Over the past year or two, SLORC seems to have realised that the flight of refugees is a weak point in its complete control over the country; there has been a great increase in SLORC’s verbal attacks on refugees in the media and in SLORC pressure on neighbouring countries to return the refugees. In recorded conversations last year, some senior SLORC Intelligence officers discussed how in the Irrawaddy Delta they have no problem with forced labour projects because the people cannot escape, but in areas closer to the borders such as Arakan State and the Ye-Tavoy railway, people flee to neighbouring countries, causing problems for the projects and international bad publicity for SLORC. The regime may feel that if it can eliminate the embarrassing existence of refugees, it will be one large step closer to absolute power within Burma and general acceptance abroad. While most people agree that it would be virtually impossible for SLORC to completely block its long and forested border with Thailand, it could certainly decrease the flow of refugees to a trickle if it can establish a wide “free-fire” military-only zone adjacent to the border, and if Thailand is willing to co-operate by immediately handling back any refugees it captures (as it is already doing along the Shan State border), then this “Fifth Cut” could be very effective. Fewer people would even try not to escape if they knew they had little chance of succeeding. New refugees reported that there were 700 Karen families from Kyauk Hnyat area who wanted to flee to Thailand but were trapped between two main SLORC lines extending north-south along the Salween River and east-west from Kyauk Hnyat to Papun.
Of those who fled that offensive, over 10,000 arrived in Thailand, many were hiding in the mountains and forests of their home areas, many fled to the homes of relatives or friends in villages or towns further inside Burma, and some had to go, whether by force, threats, fear, or willingly, to DKBA camps. In these DKBA locations, they were provided with food from SLORC. One particular location near Myaing Gyi Ngu has been set up by SLORC as a “model village”, and is now regularly featured in their media as a propaganda exercise. SLORC Television and print media have shown SLORC generals and SLORC “Non-Governmental Organisations” (such as “Maternal and Child Health-care and Welfare Association” headed by Intelligence Chief Khin Nyunt’s wife) visiting the “model village” to give gifts to dazed-looking Karen villagers who have “fled the yoke of KNU rule”. SLORC’s Burmese-language radio reported that SLORC had invited foreign NGOs to come in and give aid to these “refugees”, but as yet there have been no reports of any takers. It appears likely that SLORC will have maintained one or two such places as they are for show, while most villagers who went to DKBA were kept in other villages — where they were treated well for a few months, then subjected to be porters and labourers for the SLORC military. The testimony of “Saw Htoo Thaw” under “Personal Accounts”, interview 24 gives an insight of life in the “model village”, including forced labour and forced conscription as porters and soldiers. [Source: KHRG]
5.3. Food as a Tool for Forced Relocation
In the rainy season of 1994 (June-October), record rainfalls caused severe flooding which destroyed paddy crops throughout Karen areas, including Papun District. When the dry season came SLORC and DKBA worked together to steal or destroy village food supplies throughout Papun District, using food as a weapon to forcibly relocate villagers in several areas to the camps near SLORC Army bases or to DKBA’s headquarters at Khaw Taw (Myaing Gyi Ngu). Many villagers lost most or all of their already insufficient rice supply from last year’s harvest. Although next harvest would not due until at least November, attacks on villages by SLORC and DKBA forced most villagers into the forest and they were not able to plant again. A human rights monitor who returned from Papun District reported:
“The situation of villagers in the area where I conducted interviews is very critical and serious. Most of them are without rice and they don’t have adequate shelter. Children are malnourished and have no medical care.”
DKBA continued to order all villages in the area to move to their headquarters at Khaw Taw near Kamamaung, which is far to the south in the plains and very foreign to these hill villagers. Christians and Animists feared persecution in Khaw Taw and Buddhists were aware that their sons would be forced into DKBA once they got there. DKBA burned villages such as Bwa Der which refuse to go. SLORC Strategic Commander in Papun ordered the heads of 12 villages in the Papun area at a meeting that they would be forcibly moved to Khaw Taw at the end of rainy season [See also under “Personal Accounts”, interview 89]. For DKBA, this strategy was aimed at getting them more conscripts and a larger civilian population under their control; for SLORC, they may be trying to clear all areas in Papun District close to the Thai border in order to set up a large free-fire zone and effectively block any further refugee flows from all northern Karen districts to Thailand.
Since January 1995, many villages have been forced to move to intermediate villages closer to SLORC camps. These intermediate villages, such as Wah Mi Day and Kler O Der, were then forced to move to Khaw Taw. Villages which resist were subjected to harassment, attacks, looting, burning, and villagers were tortured and used as human shields and human mine-sweepers.
As a consequence, over seven hundred refugees from several parts of Papun District crossed the Salween River into Thailand in May and June [1995], and are now in refugee camps. Thousands more were in hiding in the forests of Papun District, not knowing where to go next and what to do. Many of them wanted to escape to Thailand but were blocked by large numbers of SLORC troops along the way. Villagers from north and northeast of Papun have been daunted by the obstacle of a car road which runs northeast from Papun through Par Haik to a new SLORC base at Kyauk Hnyat near the Salween River. There are killing grounds along both sides of the road which is heavily patrolled by SLORC troops. To reach the Thai border, the villagers have definitely to cross this road. [Source: KHRG]
5.4. Displaced in the Name of Development Programme
Since the construction of Ye-Tavoy railroad has been going on, local civilians have been accused of being supporters of the rebels. Forced relocation campaigns against the local inhabitants living around the gas pipeline area and other confrontation zones have been carried out, where armed opposition groups are active. These areas are still engineered by local SLORC troops more terribly than before. To establish a "free fire zone", many villagers in the area have suffered severe mistreatment and routine and systematic relocation of their villages which were "labelled" by SLORC as base areas of the rebels. In March and April 1995, civilians in Moulmein District were accused of being supporters of Mon rebels, which had been a signal for their relocation to be conducted by SLORC troops. The same plight happened to Ah Mae village in Yebyu Township, Tenasserim Division, which was totally destroyed and relocated by the SLORC during the second and third weeks of April 1995. About 130 families of the former inhabitants there are of Mon nationality and most of them are local farmers.
Initially, since the beginning of dry season, when the SLORC resumed the construction of the railway, those villagers were levied various kinds of taxes every month. As a common situation, whenever the SLORC troops arrived at the village, they always arrested men to use as porters and then they transferred these civilians to conscript labour camp to be used as labourers for the construction of Ye-Tavoy railway. Since the beginning of March and April 1995, SLORC troops from LIBs 408 and 410 have ordered the villagers to move their houses from their home village of Ah Mae and to relocate in another village named Kyaethonenyima where SLORC have a base. Upon refusal by the villagers to relocate to a new place as they lived in their original land for generations, SLORC troops considered that the villagers were encouraged by the local armed ethnic group. In April, when light fighting broke out between SLORC and Mon troops, the village was considered a base area of the Mons. After such an allegation, the SLORC troops justified any confiscation of the villagers’ properties and eventually destroyed the village. The troops came into the village very often and punished the villagers inhumanely by taking their belongings, confiscating rice, arresting villagers for portering, accused them of being rebels and using torture. The villagers were also forced to show the bases of Mon troops.
On the eve of Water Festival (13 April 1995), SLORC troops issued an order saying anybody found in the village would be shot dead, leading the abbot to leave the village. Thus, the villagers had to flee from their village and were displaced in the nearby forest and farmlands. They faced shortage of food and other hardships. At the same time, all their belongings and rice in the village were regularly taken by SLORC soldiers. Some were hiding in the forest while others fled to refugee camps along the border. At last, the village was uninhabited. According to the villagers who escaped to a refugee camp, Ah Mae was a pleasant village with nice surroundings of various kinds of trees growing there. For that reason, the villagers did not want to abandon the village. It has not been sure whether they can return and stay in the near future.
On 16 April 1995, about 10 families from Ah Mae village arrived in Payaw Mon Refugee Camp and sought refuge for their safety and survival. Another 15 families arrived again at the end of April. [Source: HURFOM]
[See also under “Personal Accounts”, interview 140-143]
5.5. Clearing the Way for Gas Pipeline
In February 1995, after signing a gas exploration agreement with foreign oil companies — UNOCAL of USA and TOTAL of France — SLORC have tried to relocate many local villages which were possible for the rebels to harbour and attack the gas drilling areas and gas pipeline route. To prevent such attacks in the furture, SLORC destroyed Mon-inhabited Kyauktayan village in Yebyu Township. From the point of view of SLORC troops, Kyauktayan village which was situated on the Andaman seacoast and housing about 250 families was regarded as a strategic position for the rebels to attack the gas drilling areas by boats.
On 16 February, about 100 SLORC troops from LIB 406 led by Col Aung Min and Lt-Col Win Aung penetrated Kyauktayan village, arrested all the village heads and took them to Natkyizin outpost. Then the soldiers ordered them to move their villagers to Natkyizin. As most of the inhabitants were fishermen, it was impossible for them to move. Although the village headmen insisted the impossibility of relocating their villagers, whose means of survival was fishing along the seacoast, their complaints were turned down by the military. Then, the commander issued an eviction notice, saying to move the village within one week without any complaint or, if not, the SLORC troops must destroy the village. As the villagers did not want to move, on 23 February, the troops entered their village again and destroyed all the houses within two days and drove out all inhabitants. It was very inconvenient for
the villagers to move into Natkyizin village because they had no money to afford for land and facilities. Therefore, the villagers were forcibly displaced in the nearby jungle and faced with innumerable hardships. It was impossible for them to take refuge in the border areas as the village was far away from the refugee camp. [Source: HURFOM]
After the survey team for the gas pipe line was attacked by the Karen troops on 8 March 1995, many local Karen and Mon villages were again vulnerable to forced relocation by SLORC troops. During the attack, five workers died and many others were wounded.
At night on 23 March, about 80 troops from SLORC IB 104 led by Lt Aung Nyein arrived at Taungchun village together with 40 porters. As soon as they arrived there, the soldiers attempted to arrest all the men in the village. This led to many men fleeing from their village overnight. At about 10:00 a.m. on 24 March, the village was totally reduced to ashes with the allegation of harbouring the rebels. All the villagers there were driven out and ordered to move to Kyaethonenyima village. There were about 60 households in that village which was inhabited by Mon and most of them were farmers.[Source: HURFOM]
5.6. Torture Leads to Displacement
During the military operation launched from November 1994 and March 1995 by combined SLORC troops of IBs 31 and 62, Mon villagers from Line, Kawkhalein, Kyaikabin, Palaingkamort, Kawgo, Kanni, Kawkyaik, Pinekamar, Kawjamalein and Kotkataw villages in Kyaikmaraw Township, Mon State, were constantly tortured and many of them fled from their villages and were displaced in the jungle or on the farmlands around the area along side of Gyaing River.
Combined SLORC troops based in Kawkareik Town and Kawbain village in Karen State and mostly led by Col Ohn Myint, Lt-Col Than Win, Capt Aye Min, Capt Thin Hlaing and Capt Aung Lwin, continuously accused the local people of being supporters of Mon troops and committed various kinds of human rights violations. [Source: HURFOM]
In the last week of January 1995, these combined troops of SLORC led by Col Ohn Myint ordered the villagers from Line, Palaingkamort, Kyaikabin and Kotkataw villages in Kyaikmaraw Township to relocate as soon as possible to Kawbain village where there is a military base. After they issued the order, a Buddhist abbot from Palaingkamort village approached them and appealed not to implement the relocation campaign. The soldiers were angry at the abbot and coercively disrobed the abbot. After that, most of the men in the villages dared not return to stay in their home community again.
In February 1995, SLORC troops led by Col Ohn Myint issued another order saying,
“If the civilians were innocent or had no connection with the rebels, they must remain in their villages and then must relocate to Kawbain village as mentioned in the previous order. If the villagers refused to abide by the order, they would accuse those villagers of being rebels.”
After the troops issued this order, they often came into the villages, destroyed some houses and took the villagers’ belongings from the houses where there was no man as they accused those men of being rebels. Family members of those men were also afraid to stay in the villages and fled to join their husbands in some farmlands to escape from the dangerous situations. Later on, as the troops came and tortured the village headmen, many villagers fled into the jungle east of their villages. Some villages were nearly and totally destroyed as nobody wanted to stay any longer in the villages. [Source: HURFOM]
On 24 April 1995, SLORC troops from IB 62 confiscated the rubber plantation near Yaungdaung village in Mudon Township, Mon State, and planned to relocate about 400 families who resided in Kwankhabawe village and more than 300 families dwelled in Htonemine village. The owners of rubber plantations who were mostly from Yaungdaung village, did not receive any compensation from the military. Moreover, the military forced the villagers to cut down all rubber trees and to clear ground for the settlement of planned villagers. Of the villagers who were vulnerable under the military’s forced relocation campaign, some fled from their village and hid in the forests near the Taungnyo mountain which lied in the east parallel with Mudon-Thanbyuzayat Motorway. Most of the villagers did not want to move away from their villages because they costly owned rubber plantations and low-rice farmlands which are close to their villages. [Source: HURFOM]
5.7. Militarisation Leads to Forced Labour, Execution and Displacement
In January 1995, SLORC began Operation “Aung Tha Pyay” in Taungoo District with the aim of consolidating SLORC control over the district by driving all villagers into military-controlled areas, killing all villagers who failed to obey, and cutting off all possibilities of support to opposition organisations. The operation is led by Southern Command, currently under Brig-Gen Kyi Aung. 1st, 2nd and 3rd MSC under Southern Command are involved as well as 1st and 2nd MSC from Western Command. Battalions being used include IB 20 (from Akyab, Arakan State), IB 26 (Taungoo), IB 34 (Kyaukpyu), IB 48 (Oktwin), IB 55 (Sandoway), IB 232 (Akyab), IB 233 (Buthidaung, Arakan State), IB 234 (Buthidaung), IB 263 (Buthidaung), LIB 354 (Akyab), LIB 439 (Sandoway), and LIB 535 (Sandoway). Lt-Col Aung Naing Htun, head of 2nd MSC of Western Command, ordered the villagers to build his Strategic Command office in Bawgali, and demanded a total of 160,000 Ks from surrounding villages for the costs of the building. IB 234 demands 30 porters for the Strategic Command office at all times, and to avoid sending them the villages are forced to pay a total of 90,000 Ks per month.
The operation was severely intensified in October 1995, and by the end of October seventeen villages in Bawgali area had been partly or totally burned down, making almost 3,000 people homeless (villages: Saw Wah Meh, Maw Thay Der, Law Bee Leh, Beh Lo, Gaw Tu Toh, May Daw Ko, Si Kheh Der, Plaw Mu Der, Tha Kwee Soe, Bu Sah Kee, Ta Aye Kee, Saw Mu Der, Pway Baw Kee, Say Daw Ko, Kaw Lu, Zaw Ta Der, and Say Ta Der [Wah Mi Ber Ko]). In the course of the operation, villages, fields and harvested crops were burned and livestock were shot in a deliberate attempt to wipe out food supplies. Paddy prices in the area have soared to 1,000 Ks per basket, sometimes up to 1,500 Ks (double to triple the already badly inflated prices in urban Burma). Hundreds of villagers were taken as porters and others were routinely shot on sight. In 1995, over 40 villagers were shot dead on sight by SLORC soldiers in Bawgali Township alone, including 17 people who were executed just between 11 November and 2 December. After forcing villages to move, SLORC planted land-mines around the villages and along the paths, which have caused many civilian casualties. SLORC does not map its land-mines, nor do KNLA forces who also planted land-mines in the area. [Source: KHRG]
5.8. Visit Myanmar Year 1996 Leads to Displacement
As a preparation for “Visit Myanmar Year 1996”, orders were given in Taungoo Town that every house along the Motorway must have a corrugated metal roof and a brick wall in front [Taungoo is on the Rangoon-Mandalay Motorway]. Any family which fail to obey has to leave their house. As part of SLORC’s project to extend the Rangoon-Mandalay Motorway, many buildings close to the road have been torn down without compensation, including some famous buildings such as Keh Ko Keh Ba Church and Burmese Church, which were in Ok Kyut Tan Quarter of Taungoo.
All along the Taungoo- Bawgali, Taungoo-Leik Tho, and Taungoo-Thandaung motorways, SLORC has been burning the roadsides (to clear killing grounds for road security), which has destroyed many plantations of dogfruit, coffee, durian and betel-nut. All the villagers living near these roads have been forced to work on them.
Most villagers in Mu Thaw Der, Kaw Thu Der, Law Bu Ler, Beh Lo, Saw Wah Der, Mu Daw Ko, Ko Daw Ko, Si Kheh Der, Plaw Mu Der, Tha Kwee Soe, Bu Sah Kee, Kaw Mu Der, Kaw Thay Der, Wah Law Tee, Saw Thay Der, Kaw Lu, Ha Toe Per, Thay Ko Der, Klay Kee, Ta Yeh Kee, Bu Kee, and other villages have fled into the jungle and are trying to survive there. Estimated population of the 21 villages listed alone is over 3,000. [Source: KHRG]
5.9. Recent Forced Relocation in Tenasserim Division
Since December 1995, with the accusation of having contact with the armed ethnic groups in the region, hundreds of specific villages in Tenasserim Division have been ordered to relocate to a designated area which is under SLORC control. As local people’s former villages were closed to their fertile farmland, it was convenient for them. Recently, commander of Thayetchaung-based SLORC LIB 403 has ordered the villagers in Ait Ait village-tract — Ait Ait, Kyauk Takwa, Mee-laung-chaung, Malakar Chaung, Pa-on (Karen), Pa-on (Mon), Kyauk-Se, Kin Pun Chone, Se Taw, Kamar Ain, Pe-Chaung Pya and Padauk — to relocate or their villages would be burnt down if they do not co-operate with the army. [Source: ABSDF]
[See also under “Personal Accounts”, interview 22-23, 26-30, 43-44, 75-76, 83, 87-88, 90-101, 103, 106, 113, 121-125, 130, 146-149, 153, 199, 211-213, 219-220, 223-224, 238-239, 258, 266-268, 276-277, 281-283, 285-291, 294, 300, 308-309]
5.10. List of Incidents
5.10.1. On 23 February 1995, Loikaw Township LORC in Karenni State ordered the people living in the main street, in front of the station, to rebuild concrete buildings or brick houses urgently. They were also ordered to build the wall by 15 November to meet "modernisation". It cost 20,000-30,000 Ks for building the wall of each residence. Due to lack of money, the common people who could not afford to carry it out had to move to a new area, selling their houses at extremely low prices. In July, SLORC also ordered to relocate some houses for road extension. SLORC never arranged to provide assistance for these distresses nor offered to pay compensation. That was attributed to the SLORC’s programme which aims to attract foreign tourists for the planned Visit Myanmar Year. Similar cases have been occurring throughout the country. [Source: ABSDF]
5.10.2. From 1 to 15 March 1995, the commander of SLORC IB 68 forced local people in 26 villages of Murng Keng, Warn Kart and Murng Tom village-tracts of Tanyan Township, northern Shan State, to leave their villages within 15 days and come to stay near the SLORC troops at Warn Kart village of Warn Kart village-tract. They threatened to burn down the houses of those who refused to leave their villages.
After the people had left their villages and gone to stay at Warn Kart, they realised that there was not enough space for them to live, to plant and to plough. They then had to get permission to go back to their old fields (some up to 15 miles away) to work, but they had to come back the same day. At the check point, anyone who did not have any permission was accused of being supporter of the MTA and was beaten savagely.
Table 6. List of the households that fled away from those three village-tracts:
1. Na Kor 50 households
2. Norng Ham 30
3. Norng Tsarm 35
4. Norng Lurm 25
5. Fai Lang 30
6. Nam Look 30
7. Koan Mon 70
8. Loi Lurm 30
9. Mark Kharm 80
10. Na Sorng 45
11. Ho Sor 30
12. Vein Kwaii 40
13. Parng Lor 40
14. Warn Norng Noo 20
15. Na tee 42
16. Na Leang 22
17. Koan Nim 33
18. Na Lao 41
19. Nam Sork 85
20. Norng Khar 34
21. Na Kong 30
22. Kor-leng 31
23. Kew Saii 65
24. Tse le 41
25. Ho Moan 42
26. Worn Korng 32
Total 1,043
[Source: S.H.A.N]
5.10.3. On 2 May 1995, ninety four families of Aung Tha Sa quarter in Kalemyo, Sagaing Division, were forced to move to a remote area and build a village there at their own expenses. The families of Maj Aung Khin, U Ba Ohn (ex-chairman of the SLORC Regional Administrative Council) and U Ngwe Thein (an Inspector at Kalemyo police station) were paid compensation by SLORC even though their houses had not been torn down. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.4. On 5 May 1995, DKBA troops entered Bwa Der village, south of Papun, towards the confluence of the Salween and Moei rivers in Karen State. The soldiers ordered the villagers to move to Noh Pu and Tee Nu Khaw Hta, then on to Khaw Taw (Mying Gyi Ngu). As the villagers refused to go, the DKBA troops burned down the church, all of the five houses and all the rice barns in the central part of the village. And they said that if the villagers did not move by 8 June 1995, they would take them by force. Later on, all villagers abandoned the village. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.5. At the end of May 1995, villagers remaining in Thay Ko Der village, Papun District, and other villages in Ka Lor Hta village-tract, including Meh Kya Po Der village, were forcibly moved to Pah La, located on the outskirts of Papun Town. SLORC forced the ethnic Indians living in the area to provide food to these villagers. Each Indian family had to contribute one basket [33.5 kg.] to two baskets [67 kg.] of rice monthly. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.6. In late May 1995, villagers from several village tracts were ordered or forced to move to Khaw Taw (Myaing Gyi Ngu), headquarters of DKBA. In Meh Nya Hta village-tract, the affected villages under the relocation campaign included Meh Ku Hta, Meh Nyo Hta, U Thaw Hta, and Klaw Hta. In Bwa Der village-tract, Paw Di Der, Saw Leh Der, Bwa Der, Meh Pa, and To Po Pwa Der villages were also subjected to forced relocation. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.7. In late May 1995, further down the Salween River closer to Ka Ma Maung, in Hlaingbwe Township of Karen State, villagers in Meh Prih, Tee Baw Kho and Tee Baw Kee villages were forced to move to Meh Prih Pa Doh. villagers in Tee Hay Loh, Waw Maw Loh, Kwee Law Ser and Paw Tah Kwee were forced to move to Mah Nyaw village. Villagers from Dta Thu Klah, Ban Kyo Hta, Boh Kyi, Meh Ka La, Ta Khaw Ko, Bwe Kay and Kyawpa Tah Po Bu villages were forced to move to Khaw Taw (Myaing Gyi Ngu). As all of these villages were far from the Thai border, they had no chance to escape. Each person who went to Khaw Taw got only four pyi of rice per month. [About 6 kg, less than half the ration for a single person in the refugee camps, which is less than they would eat in their village.] [Source: KHRG]
5.10.8. During the first week of June 1995, the Buddhist abbot of Tse-dee Dhat Fung Lo Monastery (which is situated in the north of Sensai Quarter, Tachilek Township, at the foot of Loi Sathoon Hill) asked the Chairman of Township LORC for a large plot near the SLORC military base of LIB 311 to resettle over 200 homeless households. Permission was granted, and each family had to pay 4,000 baht for legal permission to stay at the site. However, three months later, new chairman of Township SLORC Capt Win Aung ordered them to relocate from that site. Their newly-built homes were destroyed; some families fled to their relatives’ in Tachilek and some fled to Mae Sai in Thailand.
Those who had nowhere to go, almost eleven households in total, gathered together and settled west of Sensai Quarter, next to the cemetery. On 24 August 1995, Capt Win Aung ordered these people to move and destroyed their make-shift homes. All of them, therefore, had to shelter in Thailand as refugees. [Source: S.H.A.N]
5.10.9. After 23 June 1995 attack of SLORC IB 25 on Thabyu Chaung village, Thayetchaung Township in Tenasserim Division, villagers from Thabyu Chaung and nearby Kyauk Htu village (800 population), Sin Ku Aing village (1,000 population), and Nyaung Pin Seik village (500 population) fled their villages and went to a KNU-controlled area near the Thai-Burmese border. SLORC troops then set the whole Thabyu Chaung village ablaze. The majority of the population were Karen in that village, which lies 45 km from Thayetchaung and 90 km from the Thai-Burmese border. Some 100 civilians ran for their lives and eventually escaped to Emara village, opposite Kanchanaburi Province 12 km from the Thai-Burmese border, on 29 June. About 500 civilians from the nearby villages left their home communities in fear of SLORC‘s persecution and proceeded to the Thai-Burmese border. Among the escapees were Buddhist monks, pregnant women and children. [Source: ABSDF/KHRG]
5.10.10. In July 1995, SLORC IB 92 drove out villagers of the following villages in Bilin Township, Mon State, from one place to another.
Table 7. Displaced Villagers in Bilin Township, July 1995
No. Village No. families No. of people Village tracts
1. Ee Su Kee 44 253 Ee Su Kee
2. Klee Taw Naw 20 86 “ “
3. Maw Kee 6 25 “ “
4. Thay Kee Klah 12 45 “ “
5. Htote Po Hta 35 n.a. Meh Naw Ther
6. Noh Key 57 “ “
7. Pe Wah Hta 72 “ “
8. Kaw Htee Kee 69 “ “
9. Kaw Htee Hta 70 “ “
10. Paw Ru Kee 25 “ “
11. Meh Naw Ther Kee 17 “ “
12. Ha Lay 17 “ “
[Source: KNU]
5.10.11. In August 1995, Capt Nyan Lwin from SLORC LIB 520 ordered the villagers of Tong Zu and Hui Zoi to move into town or nearby villages such as Ho Phai, Nong Hee and Nyong Kham, where some had their relatives. The villagers from a total of over 70 households had to move within seven days. The order said, after the deadline anyone found on the road, in the woods or even in the farms and fields, would be shot on sight. The Burmese soldiers then moved away, leaving only seven households from both villages to look after the monks and the monastery (or to gather information for them).
The villagers, unwilling to lose their houses, cattle, farms, fields and other property, collected money among themselves to bribe the army. A total of 200,000 Ks was sent directly to Lt-Col Kyi Lin, Comdr of LIB 520. About half a month later, an order was issued that all the villagers who had moved to town had to go back to their respective villages of origin. [Source: S.H.A.N]
5.10.12. On 25 August 1995, about 200 SLORC troops from LIB 520 led by Maj Kyi Lin came from Mong Pan to Ton Kwai village and proceeded to Nong Harn village in Wan Khook village-tract, Mong Pan Township, South Shan State, where they asked for two bullock carts. Two men — the village headman Loong Phong (56, husband of Nai Yane and son of Loong Ku and Pa Nang) and Sai Tame (37, son of Loong Yan Na and Pa Nang) — had to drive the carts for them. When they arrived at Hui Pah Leng Stream between Nong Harn and Wan Larn villages, about 3 miles from Nong Harn, they clashed with MTA troops. After that the soldiers forced the villagers from Wan Larn and Nong Harn to evacuate their homes. The villages are thus then deserted. There were 20 houses in Wan Larn and 37 houses in Nong Harn. [Source: S.H.A.N]
5.10.13. In September 1995, SLORC troops under the command of Capt Thein Han from Mong Pan-based LIB 332 forced people from Lower Tong Kwai village, Upper Tong Kwai village, Wan Laan village, Nong Harn village, Wan Nam Wor Poong village and Kant Kan village to move into town. [Source: S.H.A.N]
5.10.14. On 1 September 1995, IB 233 led by Lt-Col Soe Win Tin ordered Ka Sa Pa Doh (30 households), Tee Loh (20 households), and Beh Taw Day (40 households) villages to move to the side of the road from Baya Na Thi to Tha Pyay Nyunt army camp in Taungoo District. They were told they had 15 days to move, after which IB 233 would come to the villages and move them by the use of force. IB 233 also ordered Sah See Bone (400 households), Yin Hlaing (100 households), Zee Pyu Gone (150 households), and Taungoo (100 households, not to be confused with Taungoo Town) villages to move to Aung Mya Aye (between Zayatkyi and Taungoo). [Source: KHRG]
5.10.15. On 1 September 1995, SLORC troops from Coy 1 commanded by Capt Thein of LIB 20, under the command of LID 77, combined with DKBA troops entered Ta Meh Kee village in Thaton District and burned down the house of Tee Maung Khin. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.16. Since the arrest and torture of 20 men from Kant Kan village, Wan Khook village-tract, Mong Pan Township, southern Shan State, by 200 SLORC troops led by Capt Gyi Myint from LIB 332 on 9 September 1995, the village has become virtually deserted. Only about 15 houses are still inhabited out of the original 68. Most of the villagers were hiding in the jungle and some have fled to Thailand.
The last group that crossed the Salween River heading for Thailand consisted of 5 families (including 11 women and children). Among the victims were Loong Sai Ya (had to abandon 2 fields, 2 farms, 18 buffaloes, 10 cows, 3 pigs, 80 chickens and 10 lang of paddy), Sang Or (lost 16 fields, three farms, five buffaloes, eight cows, 20 chickens and 40 lang of paddy), Sai Swe (had to abandon four fields, one farm and five lang of paddy), Nang None (lost three fields, two farms, six buffaloes, one pig, 15 chickens and 10 lang of paddy) and Sai Tame (had to leave one pig, 10 chickens, five lang of paddy and one bullock cart). [Source: S.H.A.N]
5.10.17. On 9 September 1995, the headmen of Kaw Mu Der, Klay Soe Kee and Ku Lu Der villages were ordered to a meeting at Bawgali Gyi army camp and given orders to move to Taungoo, Bawgali and Ye Tho Gyi villages by 30 September 1995. They were told that after that period their villagers would be shot if seen in their home areas. They were ordered to move in order to work on a new road. Wah Thaw Ko, Ku Plaw Der, Maw Pa Der, Beh Khaw Der, Der Doh and Maw Ko Der villages were ordered to move to Bawgali for the same reason. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.18. On 15 September 1995, Maj Ngan Lwin of SLORC LIB 332 ordered the villagers of Wor Hwe Tsoi Tung Tsu to abandon their village and resettle in the town of Mong Pan within one week. On 18 September 1995, some elderly villagers went and begged for permission to remain in their village. They were told that this would be granted if they could pay 220,000 Ks to Major Ke Lin from Coy 2 of LIB 332 in Mong Pan the following day. [Source: S.H.A.N]
5.10.19. On 16 September 1995, SLORC troops from IB 48 stationed at Bu Sah Kee [Bosar Khee] camp entered Bu Sah Kee village in Taungoo District and burned down the houses. As all the villagers fled into the forest, the troops looted their belongings. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.20. At 4:00 p.m. on 25 September 1995, IB 54 Column Commander Aung Myint burned down 11 houses in Bler Ghaw village, Yeh Mu Plaw village-tract, Papun District, and looted all the belongings of 12 families including their money, rice, clothing, blankets, cooking pots, plates, machetes and jewellery. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.21. On 26 September 1995, local SLORC authorities in Thandaung Township, Karen State, issued an eviction notice to all the ethnic villages in the area to relocate to the designated area called “Developed and United village” on 15 October 1995 by the latest. It also harassed the villagers at gun point that those who failed to abide by the order would be regarded as illegal persons and faced harsh action.
As a first step, over 370 households in 18 villages — Ye Lone village, Greater Chin Poung Taung village, New Chin Poung Taung village, Amara village, Ngwe Taung village, Upper Myauk Nan Cho, Lower Myauk Nan Cho, Koe Dit Ywa Tan Shay, Koe Dit Nyaung Bin Taung, Koe Dit Thayet Taung, Min Lan Taung, Upper Kywe Kya, Lower Kywe Kya, Seik Phu Gone village, Tit Poke Pin, Hle Sakhan, Sin An Taung and Mi Ei Gyi — were ordered to relocate. The designated area is located near Shan Le Pyin and Baw Dhi Gone villages and those who were forced to relocate were Karen and Padaung (Kayan) [known as long-necked hill tribe ethnic whose women put metal rings around their necks giving them a long-necked look] ethnic nationalities with the intention to make money during Visit Myanmar Year in 1996 by having these ethnics "within reach" of tourists. As they were forced to move during the harvest, victims were faced with many problems of subsistence. [Source: NLD-LA]
5.10.22. On 21 October 1995, SLORC troops from LIB 20 commanded by Capt Thein Tun combined with DKBA troops entered Ta Meh Kee village and burned down the house of Naw Mu Tu. The following day they also burned down the houses of Naw Htoo Htoo, Naw Tut and Naw Sheh Mo. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.23. Western Command Strategic Comdr Aung Naing Htun and IB 233 Comdr Lt-Col Soe Win Tin ordered Hu Mu Der, Ler Kla Der, Kheh Der, Keh Po Loh, Ta Pa Kee, and Plaw Baw Der villages to move to Klaw Mu Der village (Yettagone army camp) in Taungoo District. They had to move by 30 October 1995 or be shot on sight. These villages have a total of 161 houses, population 817 including 234 children under age 10. Those who have gone to Yettagone camp are facing severe food problems. When they complained about it, SLORC told them, “We do this by order”. When some of the villagers still didn’t move as of 26 December 1995, IB 55 Bn Comdr Lt-Col Khin Maung Win ordered these 6 villages again to move to Yettagone camp or be shot. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.24. Brig-Gen Kyi Aung, Comdr of SLORC Southern Command, ordered 2nd MSC Comdr Lt-Col Aung Naing Tun to relocate the villagers from certain villages in Taungoo District to a designated area which is under their total control within the given deadline of 15 October 1995. The regions to be relocated are Thandaung Township in Karen State, Tantabin Township in Pegu Division, and other locations in Taungoo district, Pegu Division. According to this order, West Day Lor, East Day Lor and East Klin Wah villages in Thandaung Township were forced to move to a place near old town and new town of Thandaung.
On 25 October 1995, Brig-Gen Kyi Aung ordered Lt-Col Aung Naing Tun to forcibly relocate all the villages between the area of Day Lor and Ray Khat Guin to a new location, 13 miles away in new Thandaung Township. All the village leaders who were forced to relocate were then forced to attend the basic military training by the order of Brig-Gen Kyi Aung. [Source: KNU/KHRG]
5.10.25. On 28 October 1995, SLORC troops from LIB 20 commanded by Bn Comdr Han Tint penetrated into Doh Ter Kee village in Thaton District together with DKBA soldiers and burned down the houses of U Pah Kyi, Maw Na and Pa Ta Khu. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.26. On 31 October and 1 November 1995, Bn Comdr Han Tint and Coy 1 Comdr Thein Tun from SLORC LIB 20 together with DKBA troops burned down 3 houses and stole 7 goats from Doh Teh Kee and Su Kee villages in Thaton District. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.27. At 8:00 a.m. on 19 November 1995, over 300 strong SLORC combined troops from LIBs 545 and 546 under Bn Comdr Thura Bo Ni, IB 230 under Coy Comdr Tun Myint, LIB 310 under Than Tun, and 5 DKBA soldiers, arrived at Pah Kyat village in Kyon Doe Township, Karen State, and fought with KNLA forces there for a short time. After the fighting the SLORC troops went to U Paun Moke’s house and looted everything, including all clothing and blankets, plates and utensils, 4 1/2 tons of wooden planks, 4,000 Ks in cash, 20 chickens and 3 cattle. One of the SLORC officers took U Paun Moke (67) away from his house and interrogated him while continuously pricking him with the point of a knife and threatening him. When U Paun Moke was finally freed and returned to his house, the soldiers had burned it to the ground. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.28. At 6:00 p.m. on 21 November 1995, about 100 strong SLORC troops from IB 230 commanded by Bn Comdr Thet Oo penetrated into Win Kat village, Kyon Doe Township. The following morning, KNLA forces attacked the column at 9:10 a.m. After the fighting, the SLORC troops looted everything from 6 houses, shot two bulls and one buffalo, and burned two houses to the ground. In one house they didn’t burn, they scratched “IB 230” on the walls with charcoal. From 23-25 November the same troops entered Tha May Doh village and looted cash, food, valuables and other belongings. Estimated loss from Pah Kyat, Win Kat, and Tha May Doh villages amounts to 755,000 Ks of property burned and 546,250 Ks of property stolen by SLORC troops, a total of 1,301,250 Ks. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.29. In Tantabin township, Sha See Bo, Ye Sa Say Pyu Kuang, and Taung Ku villages have been moved Taung Mam Heh and Kaser Doh, Htee Lor, Per Taw Din, Ple Sah Lor, Your Lor, Lay Oo Lor and Paw Pak villages were relocated to Pa Ra Ner Tho while Plaw Baw Der, Ta Pa Kee, Plee Lor, Ker Deh, Kaw Po Lor, Peh Lor, Hoo Mo Der and Kaw Kla Der villages had to move to Kaw Klaw Pe Der village. Moreover, Par Kaw Der, Deh Deh, Maw Koh Deh, Ku Plaw Deh, Kaw So Koh, Wah Tho Koh and Kah Koh villages had to move to Kler Lah (Bawgali).
Communication and transportation were under control of SLORC to separate the Karen rebels from their own people. Prices of basic commodities were hyper-inflated. Local inhabitants were facing survival problem as a tin of rice was 1,000-1,500 Ks. Moreover, SLORC troops attempted to destroy their crops. Some villagers who were forced to relocate had to abandon their houses and gardens to avoid the accusation of SLORC that they harboured the rebels.
In 1995, SLORC deployed nine more battalions in Taungoo District in order to control the villagers. These troops were more active in Tantabin Township and were posted at several strategic points. Ten villages (1,750 people) had to leave their homes. They became homeless and had to hide in the forest. Wherever the SLORC troops arrived at, they burned, looted, and removed everything useful found in the villages. The soldiers created forest fires to destroy secret rice barns and household materials hidden in the forest. This caused many of villagers' possessions to be destroyed needlessly. Moreover, the soldiers were also ordered to shoot and kill any villager who refused to comply with their order. [Source: KNU]
5.10.30. Military columns from SLORC IB 55 and LIB 535 which has been penetrating Tantabin Township issued orders to the people living in the villages located on the west bank of Day Lor River in Thandaung Township to move to the area designated by the authorities between 12 and 30 December 1995. Moreover, the order also said that those who failed to abide by the order would be regarded as enemies. [Source: KNU]
5.10.31. Sel Pho Hta, Arnel Khaw Da, Kalaw Hta, Thay Phla Hta, Kala We Del, Maw Khaw Del, Bob Thay Del villages in Papun Township, Karen, were ordered by a combination of SLORC IB 391, LIB 10 and some DKBA to move before 13 February 1996. Those villages would be burnt down if they failed to abide by the order, which was issued by joint column of IB 391 and LIB 105. Local people from these villages fled to other places and became internally displaced persons. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.32. Under the command MSC headquarters (Western Command), IB 55 ordered everyone in Saw Muh Der and Play Sah Lo villages in Taungoo District to move to Tha Pyay Nyunt army camp/village by 17 December 1995. The order stated that after that deadline all villagers found in the villages would be considered as rebels [and shot]. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.33. On 29 December 1995, Kel Pa Hta village in Papun was reduced to ashes by a joint miltiary column of IB 391 and LIB 105 after accusing the villagers of having contact with KNU. [Source: KNU]
5.10.34. On 26 December 1995, Bn Comdr Lt-Col Khin Maung Win of IB 55 called a meeting at Klaw Mu Der and ordered Ta Pa Kee, Mwee Loh, Plaw Baw Der, Keh Po Loh, Kheh Der, Ler Kla Der, and Hu Mu Der villages in Taungoo District to move to Klaw Mu Der. All 7 villages were ordered to move to Klaw Mu Der on 30 December 1995 by the latest, and were told that after that period any villagers found in the village would be considered as rebels [i.e. shot on sight]. [Source: KNU/KHRG]
5.10.35. On 28 December 1995, a joint military column of SLORC LIB 105 and DKBA entered Kheh Pa Hta village in Papun District and burnt down some houses and all the rice barns they saw and looted property and livestock. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.36. At 2:00 p.m. on 29 December 1995, a combined column of SLORC IB 19 and DKBA entered Kheh Pa Hta village, burned down 44 houses and shot and ate the villagers' livestock. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.37. On 29 December 1995, SLORC troops from LIBs 391 and 105 (both are under LID77) led by Lt-Col Tin Yu entered Maw Lo Kloh valley in Papun District and burned some houses and rice in Kheh Pa Hta village. [Source: KHRG]
5.10.38. On 29 December 1995, SLORC TOC Comdr Myo Hla summoned the villagers at 13-Mile village of Taungoo and gave instructions that all the Maw Nay Pwa Karen villagers should be moved to Palaw Mee De village on 31 December 1995 by the latest. Then the commander of IB 55 repeatedly issued the eviction notice to the villagers. [Source: KNU]
5.10.39. On 30 December 1995, Southern Command Comdr Brig-Gen Kyi Maung summoned representatives of villagers in Shar See Bo and Ye Shan village-tracts to Taungoo and gave instruction that all the villages in the hilly region and nearby villages must be relocated to Shar See Bo and Ye Shan village-tracts. [Source: KNU]
o0o
I. Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions
II. Arbitrary Detention and Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances III. Rights of Child
IV. Forced Labour and Slavery V. Forced Relocation and Internally Displaced Persons
VI. Deprivation of Livelihood VII. Minority Protection
VIII. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, Degrading Treatment or Punishment
IX. Freedom of Belief: Discrimination Against the Right to Practice Religion and Intolerance
X.
Freedom of Opinion and Expression XI.
Freedom of Assembly and Association XII.
Freedom of Movement
XIII.
Abuse of Women XIV.
The Refugees Situation and Forced Repatriation