MONTHLY
HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION REPORT
TENASSERIM DIVISION
Mergui-Tavoy
District Information Department, Karen National Union
July 2003
Contact:
[email protected]
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES:
EXTORTION
RESTRICTIONS
FORCED LABOUR
LOOTING
TORTURED and KILLED
MILITARY:
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EXTORTION
On 22 June, 2003,
SPDC's LIB 561 Column Commander Captain Min Zan Oo demanded 3000 palm leaves
for roofing, 250 logs for fencing post, 5000 betel nut seeds and 5000 durian
seeds from Taket villagers. The demanded items must
be sent to his station. Taket village is about 40
miles in the south east of Mergui town in Taninthayi township.
---
On 9 July 2003 SPDC's LIB 561 Column Commander Captain Min Zan Oo took
away one Honda boat engine, 5 gallons of gasoline and, 1000 dot-fruit seeds to
eat, from Oo Kyaw Thaung at Taket a village 70 km in
the south-east of Mergui.
---
In the first week of
July, Yebyu Township Peace and Development Council
(TPDC), a northern township of Tavoy district demanded 3 tons of planks and
scantlings from each of the villages of Yapoo, Ywa Haun, Tahkawlo
and Milage 60. Those concerned villages must send the
demanded materials to Kaleinaung village (50 miles in
the north of Tavoy by the bank of Tavoy
River).
The purpose is to build a TPDC office in Kaleinaung.
---
On 10 July 2003,
SPDC's LIB (Light Infantry Battalion) 342's No.3 company commander Lt. Htun
Myint demanded 30,000 kyat from each household at Pawa
Plaw Hpa Htaw village 50 km
in the southwest of Mergui. He said those who give the demanded money must be
freed from forced labour duties, military porters, transporting ration and
supply, to Lerhpahdoh outpost and guide duties etc.
---
On
16
July, 2003, Maj. Aung
Kywe, the 2. IC of SPDC's LIB 561 in Taninthayi
Township
in the east of Mergui district, Tenasserim division demanded one pig and one
sack of rice from Taket village for his men.
---
On 28 July 2003
Maj. Aung Kywe demanded money from Taket village
tract (Teninthayi
Township,
Mergui district) for military training they conducted for "Pyithusit" (SPDC's people militia). The villages must
support 30,000 kyat and 2 sacks of rice for each of "Pyithusit"
who were attending the training.
---
On 29 July 2003,
SPDC's LIB 557, which were conducting a military training for "Pyithusit", demanded money from Pawa
Hta for their training and received 170,000 kyat as
they demanded. As the training was going on they said the given money was not
enough and again asked for the villagers to give 2000 kyat per household. Pawa Hta is one of a village
of Pawa
tract and situates between Mergui and Kawthoung town
in Tenasserim division.
---
RESTRICTIONS
On 22 June, 2003,
LIB 561 Column Commander made an announcement for Taket
village (Teninthayi township,
Mergui district) that (1) All the household in the village must construct
bamboo fencing for the house, (2) Every villagers must dig fox-holes under
their houses. (3) All the plantation owner must clear bushes in their
plantations. (4) All the villagers must stay in their own houses or the houses
without family members will be dismantled. (5) The village must construct
sentry post and gate. (6) Villagers must take responsible for sentry duty. (7)
Villagers with musket gun must take permission from him.
On 17 July, 2003,
Taket village tract, in Taninthayi
township, Mergui district was ordered by No.1
Strategic Command Commander that (1) All the villages must send exact
information about KNU troops activities in time. (2) If the information they
sent are not right the whole village's villagers would be conscripted as armed
troopers. (3) Any villager must not go out beyond the village fencing. (4)
Those who have gone out to care for their plantations
outside the village must come back into the village. (5) All the boat engines
must be put on to the houses.
---
On 22 July, 2003,
LIB 342 2nd Commander Maj. Htun Htun
called on all the Taket villagers who tend their
plantations outside the village perimeter and told them not to go back to their
plantations. All the villagers in Taket tract must
stay in their villages. He also told those 15 men from Taket
Kywe Htein Gon, 15 men from Taket
Ywama, 15 men from Taket Hswe Plaw must attend
"people militia" training course. No one must not
go outside of the villages. (Taninthayi township, Mergui district)
---
In
the last week of July 2003, Maj. Aung Kywe, a 2.
IC from LIB 561
ordered the villagers in Taket village tract to take
off the boat engines and send it all to the house of village's head man and all
the boats must be pulled out of the river. He said he did not want to see the
boats travel to the up stream. He will shoot at all the boats which travel to
upstream. He also ordered his men to set up land mines in some important areas
including some villager's plantation. (Taninthayi township, Mergui district)
---
FORCED
LABOUR
Date: 16.6.03
In the last week of
May 2003 Tavoy township PDC had ordered Maungmeshaung village PDC to build 2 sentry posts between Maungmeshaung village and Zeekya
village (in Yebyu township) and 2 Sentry posts
between Maungmehaung and Zaha
villages, by using the labour of villagers. After those sentry posts were
completed the villagers were ordered to work as sentry. According to that order
the village PDC detailed its villagers to serve as sentry 24 hour round at the
4 sentry posts which take 16 men per day for those 4 posts. Those
who absent on his turn had to pay 1000 kyat for the substitution of 24 hours
sentry duty.
---
On 8 July 2003
SPDC's LIB 561 demanded villagers from Taket village
tract to construct an out-post within 3 days. That
battalion 2 IC Maj. Aung Kywe ordered villagers from Taket
Swe Plaw to send 3000 bamboo to the construction site
and villagers from Kywe Htein Gon, Taket Taung Bine,
Taket Ywama villages were
ordered to take responsible for the construction.
---
On 10 July 2003
Pawa tract (an area between Mergui and Kaw Thaung in Tenasserim division) people militia demanded
600 bamboo from Pawa Plaw Hpa Htaw. The bamboo must be
sent to their station in time.
---
On 15 July, 2003,
LIB 557 commander Tin Maung Win ordered villages in Pawa
village tract that those who have elephant must pull lumbers for him to his
camp at Theindaw village. 3 elephants owned by Maung
Kyi, Bo Thet, and Naw Tha May have to go and pulled 20 tons of lumbers each
along with their mahouts and food. (Taninthayi township, Mergui district)
---
On 19 July 2003,
people militia at Tahpohta demanded 1000 bamboo and
must be sent to them on 24
July 2003 as the last date. Tahpohta
is on Tenasserim river bank in the north east of Mergui town.
---
LOOTING
On 15 July, 2003,
SPDC's LIB 342, second column's commander Maj. Kyaw Soe and his troops entered
to Pawa Plaw Hpa Htaw village and took away some rice, curry powder, chili,
cooking oil, salt, chickens and other food stuffs from the villagers which cost
50,000 kyat. He paid nothing for what he took away.
(Taninthayi
township, Mergui district)
---
On 16 July 2003,
SPDC's troops from LIB 560 entered to Manorone
village in the south east of Taninthayi
Township
and looted 70,000 kyat of cash from a woman named Mwa
De Mur. The victim did not know the name of the
looters.
---
TORTURED
and KILLED
On 29 June 2003
an army deserter private Kyaw Moe who was recaptured
by his battalion IB 103 troopers, was tortured inside army confinement and died
by the injuries he was tortured. He had deserted on the midnight of 25 June 2003
while he was on sentry duty took away one MA.1 assault rifle plus 120
ammunitions.
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MILITARY
& EXTORTION
Since in the first
week of July 2003 SPDC's LIB 410 which stationed 50 miles in the north of Tavoy
(Tenasserim division) demanded villages in his activities area to send 10 men
per village to attend Pyithusit (people militia)
training as compulsory. The villages which do not send their men must be paid
for 1500 kyat per household. Those who attend that military training must take
along necessary food stuff from their own village with them. Training in charge
was Myo Min Aung, an officer from LIB 410 and his instructors. He demanded all
villages must take responsible for their expenditures in training period. It
was not available how long the training will take place. Yapoo,
Ywahaun, Tahkawlo and Milage 60 villages are the first batch to attend that
military training.
---
On
5
July 2003 No. 505
Artillery Division HQ have ordered all the battalions to construct concrete
helipad each at their battalions HQs. The construction
must finish on 31
July 2003. All the barracks, family line, office
buildings, officers' residences must be built with timber planks and scantling.
The Artillery Division HQ's Orders not include how to fund the expenditure for
those constructions. The source said the villagers who live in the Artillery
Battalions vicinities would be suffered for what ever needed in that
construction as they have faced before.
---
On 11 July, 2003,
Maj. Gen. Thura Shwe Mann,
Maj. Gen. Soe Win, Maj. Gen. Maung Bo and their 11 men team from SPDC's Defence
Ministry arrived to Kaw Thawng
and on 12 July 2003 met with military and civil officials, women organization
members, departmental officials and explained the state policy on what had
happened on 30th May 2003.
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On 21 July, 2003,
the SPDC military junta had ordered all the states and divisions in the country
to conduct and implement trainings for basic military training and skills to
handle assault weapon for National Defense purposes. All the Anti-insurgency
group members, People Militia (Pyithusit) members,
hard core organization members in the villages, reserved force members,
township civil servants including their family members, family members from all
the military units and battalion headquarters must participate in these
training. Everyone who is between the age 14-40 must
attend the training as compulsory. This order's objective is to defend the
nation from foreign enemies.
According to this
order the Coastal Region Military Command in Tenasserim division had instructed
all the districts, townships administrations council to recruit and send 20-30
hard core persons and 40-60 villagers as reserve from each village under their
control areas according to the size of the villages to attend the training.
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