MONTHLY HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION REPORT

TENASSERIM DIVISION

Mergui-Tavoy District Information Department, Karen National Union

April 2003

Contact: [email protected]

 

 

HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES:

Torture

Extortion

Forced Labour

Destroying

Landmine

MILITARY:

SPDC soldiers opened fire on to his fellow

 

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Torture

 

On April 3, 2003 a villager from Manorone forced relocation site in Tenasserim Township, Mergui district was arrested and tortured by Burmese troop. Saw Kah Hko lost his way when he went to the jungle for rattan collecting. He accidentally got to Shan Inn Taw, area close to Burmese troop base. He was arrested and was sent to No.19 Intelligence Unit in Tenasserim town. According a local source he was interrogated and tortured badly. Luckily he knows one of the Burmese Battalion commander so he was sent back to No.3 Strategic Command HQ. Later he was released by paying 30,000 kyat.

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On April 20, 2003, a sergeant major Win Myint from IB (Infantry Battalion) 25, stationed at Paw Taw village on Paw Klo area in the east of Tavoy called on Haw Ter Hta village PDC (Village Peace and Development Council) chairman Saw Ser Hkwa and secretary Saw Hpo Lu Aye and hit them beat them seriously. After such torture he asked for 200,000 kyat fine from those two men. His accusation was the two village leaders have contact with KNU (Karen National Union).

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On April 22, 2003 a troop from Burma army IB 17, led by battalion Commander Lt. Col. Thein Soe entered to Tagu village area in Taninthayi township (in Tenasserim division, the southern most division of Burma). The soldiers captured a 60 year old Oo Saw Aye at his hut in the paddy field and searched his hut. The soldiers found 50,000 kyat (Burma currency) 500 Thai baht and a letter written by a person named "Hnalone" who let Oo Saw Aye buy things for him. When the soldiers asked Oo Saw Aye about Hnalone, he was unable to explain thoroughly, so that he was beaten seriously by the soldiers.

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Extortion

           

On April 27, 2003, a troop from Burma army's IB 285 led by an officer Htun Htun Kyaw combined with Pyithusit (people militia) led by Win Thein, entered to Kawurt village area in the east of Palaw township, Mergui district and faced an ambush set by Karen soldiers. For this case they captured Kawurt village leaders Saw That Taw and Oo Shwe and asked for 50,000 kyat. More over as that troop suffered one man killed and one man wounded, they demanded 120,000 kyat from Kawurt village.

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On April 7, 2003, Burma army's Light Infantry Battalions 560 and 559 which set up its headquarters at Leinnya, Mandaing in Bokpyin township, Kaw Thaung district, ordered Taung Nge village Pyithusit (SPDC's people militia) leader Win Bo to collect and send the villagers to their headquarters for military material and ration transportation purpose to Chaung Chi military outpost on Thai-Burma border.

            Win Bo had demanded villagers for that purpose as follow.

  1. Manorone village            15 persons along with 150,000 kyat. (They went with demanded money)
  2. Hti Nya Ou village          10 persons or 150,000 kyat (They sent only money).
  3. Hkechaung village             5 persons or 100,000 kyat (They sent only money).
  4. Hklaw Thoo Gaw village  15 persons or 150,000 kyat (They went).
  5. Mu Khwa village 10 persons or 150,000 kyat (They went).
  6. La Hpu Nga village            5 persons or 100,000 kyat (They only sent 100,000 kyat).
  7. Taung Nge village            27 persons or 300,000 kyat (They only sent 300,000 kyat).
  8. Kawbawk village 25 persons or 250,000 kyat (They went).
  9. Leinnya village               35 persons or 600,000 kyat (They went).
  10. Mandaing village            35 persons or 600,000 kyat (They went).

                 

90 men have gone to serve as military porters and the villages which  unable to send its men have paid money instead. The total amount (1,400,00 kyat) 1.4 million kyat was paid via Pyithusit leader Win Bo.

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Life in Burmese troops designate forced relocation site

 

21.4.2003

Based on source from Seik Pyone villager in Tavoy District.

 

No. 1 Strategic Command HQ which based at Myitta village (35 miles in the east of Tavoy) had ordered all the village Peace and Development Councils to inspect the population of their villages, and the ins and outs of travelers and inform the Strategic Command HQ daily.

           

With that instruction Seik Pyone village PDC chairman Saw Tin Myaing and his colleagues inspected all the houses in Seik Pyone village up and down one after another every nights and warned the residents to inform him if any guest come to stay at any houses. If absent to inform, he said, the guest would be fined 1000 kyat per person and the house owner would be fined 1500 kyat if discovered. For grant and recommendation one guest need to pay 100 kyat while the house owner inform the village PDC that there came some guests to stay at his house.

           

Seik Pyone village situate 20 miles in the north of Myitta village and has about 100 households. The village PDC dictated one villager per day to come sitting, waiting at the village PDC office and send daily activity information of KNU to IB 25 outpost stationed at Myaykanbaw (Washuhko) village. Any villager who absent to go sit and wait at village PDC office at his turn must pay 500 kyat for substitution.

           

Usually the IB 25 troop along with "Tha Ka Has Hpa"(Anti Insurgency Group) used to arrive to Seik Pyone village once a week. Every time those combined troop arrived to that village, the village PDC collected 300 to 500 kyat per household from the village dwellers saying "to feed and host the troopers". For this purpose only, each house hold have to pay 1200-1500 kyat every month.

           

For "Tha Ka Has Hpa" at Myay kan baw village, Seik Pyone village had to send 2 of its villagers every 3 months as in-term armed personal. It was dictated by the village PDC. The one who refused to serve for that task must be paid 30,000 kyat for substitution.

           

In the last years Seik Pyone villagers has had to supply Myay kan baw "Tha Ka Has Hpa" by giving one basket of rice per household. But at this year 2003, that armed group demanded Seik Pyone village to prepare and care for a 20 acre rice plantation instead. That was why the village PDC has ordered Seik Pyone villagers in February to slash the 20 acre land and burn it, clear it, sow the seed, kill the weed until harvest and send the rice to storage without getting any wages. The village PDC has warned that, those who absent to work at that plantation according to the schedule will have to pay 500 kyat per day.

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Forced Labour

           

Started from the beginning of April 2003, the SPDC authorities from eastern Mergui Township ordered the villagers from Kapyaw area to build a car-road. Villagers from Kapyaw, Yatapa, Boak, Alechaung and Wathulo villages have to do that work. At this report period villages in the eastern part of that car-road are facing the forcible confiscations of land by the military. Villagers' lands became military lands. The villagers themselves have to work for the military full time, thus they left no time to work for their families.

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Since from the last week of April 2003, Burma army's No.12 Divisional Training Center in Mergui district, Palaw township demanded villagers from Pyicha the southern most village of Palaw township on Mergui-Tavoy car-road, to go to the training center and work for the center's necessities on every Saturdays. If the villagers do not go and work as demanded number, the military closed all the roads the villagers used to travel. At this report period the villagers were ordered to boil the "tar" and pour it on the road for surfacing.

           

On April 26, 2003 that military training centre ordered all the Pyicha villagers to buy oil palm sapling from them at Pasawoak village and plant it around each houses respectively. All the villagers have to buy and plant it as compulsory work. Each sapling cost 300 kyat. The villagers don't understand why they have to do such things.

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On 24th February 2003, the No. 2 Strategic Commanding Headquarters Col. Than Myint who command the area in the south east of Mergui district demanded the under mentioned villages to serve as military porters to send military supplies to his out-posts on Thai-Burma border. The under mentioned villages were dictated as followed.

 

            1. Theinhkon village                    12 persons or 480,000 kyat (They did not go).

            2. Met Wah village                       7 persons or 280,000 kyat (They did not go).

            3. Kauk Yoe village                      7 persons or 160,000 kyat (They did not go).

            4. Hle Seik village                        4 persons or 160,0000 kyat (They did not go).

            5. Thebok Leik village                 40 persons (They were rounded up and captured).

            6. Moedaung village                    30 persons (They were rounded up and captured).

            7. Hle Seik village                      36 persons (They were rounded up and captured).

           

106 persons were captured to serve as military porters by IB 103 battalion officer Capt. Aung Naing's troop. The rest villages which did not send its men to serve as military porters were ordered to pay for their quota money (1,200,000 kyat) to No.2 Strategic Command HQ and the last date fixed for them was March 26, 2003.

           

That same No.2 Strategic Command HQ demanded the under mention villages in its command area to send their villager on April 4, 2003 to its HQ to serve as military porter as follow.

 

            1. Ta ket village tract                  102 persons.

            2. Bawlaw village                        138 persons.

            3. Nyaungbingwinn village             32 persons.

            4. Hsin Chay Hpone village           38 persons.

            5. Thamihla village                        56 persons.

            6. Tagu village                            114 persons.

           

All the demanded 480 men were dictated by the village leaders (village PDC) and sent to that military command on 4.4.2003 as demanded.

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Destroying

           

On April 27, 2003, Than Htun Oo, an officer from Burma army's No. 309  Artillery Battalion let his men fell the trees from the deserted part of Pyicha village and made planks and scantling. As those trees were cared or grown by the villagers among their orchards to control the soil dampness the felling caused a lot of damage to the betel and coconut palms planted by the villagers for their livelihood. That officer also confiscated a wood cutting marching from a villager.

           

Pyicha was a Karen village in the southern most edge of Tavoy district partially situated on Mergui-Tavoy car-road. The villagers lived on orchard plantations prepared by their parents or grand parents and cared and extended by themselves. They built their houses in their plantations they own as inherited. Started from 1998 they were forcibly relocated by the military, to the sides of car-road, thus most of them were far apart from their plantations and have to set their new houses in other's (who are living by the sides of car-road) plantation as arranged by the military.

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Landmine

 

On April 10, 2003 an elephant owned by Saw Ki Kho had step on a landmine set by Burma army's No. 17 Infantry Battalion troopers and died. It happened by the side of a monastery at Pawat Plawhpahtaw (Pawat Kwinshe) in Tenasserim township, in southern Tenasserim division of Burma. Related to the death of that elephant the village leaders reported the case to IB 17's 2nd column commander Maj. Kyaw Lwin. That commander responded to them that the activities of the military are not the responsible of villagers and village leaders at all. Be careful to see that our army is trying to gain peace for all of you.

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MILITARY

 

SPDC soldiers opened fire on to his fellow

 

On April 10, 2003 one of the drunken SPDC soldiers opened fire on to his fellow soldiers, and the shootings within their column followed up causing 7 death and 2 wounded including the column commander according to an information reported from Tenasserim township in the southern most division of Burma.

 

It was 1st column from Burma army No.596 Light Infantry Battalion which entered into Theinkhon village in the south east of Tenasserim town at the date the shooting broke out, and rest in the village for the night.

 

At the late evening, one of the soldiers named Aung Than Aye was drunk and opened fire to his fellow soldiers.

 

Other soldiers retaliated to Aung Than Aye and the shooting broke out within the column for a while. After the shootings ceased, it was learnt that seven were died including Theinkhon village head man and two were wounded including the column commander Maj: Pye Nyein.

 

Aung Than Aye was shot to death by other soldiers on the spot. The deputy column commander sent the information to No.2 Tactical Command HQ that Aung Than Aye was an insane personnel in the column.

 

On the date of 13.4.2003 No. 2 Tactical Command (under controlled of No.20 Light Infantry Division) arrived to Theinkhon to investigate the case.

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