Burma became a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on August 15, 1991. The SLORC (now called SPDC) promulgated a new Child Law on July 14, 1993 in order to “implement the rights of the child recognized in the Convention.” Chapter V, section 8 of the Child Law states that “The state recognized that every child has the right to survival, development, protection and care, and to achieve active participation in the community.” SLORC’s Child Law was seen as a positive sign internationally and temporarily improved SLORC’s image for the world community. However continuing violations of the rights of children has shown that while national laws to protect children may be in place, little is done to enforce them. Exploitative and dangerous forms of child labor have been widely reported, including working on infrastructure development projects, in military support operations, as child soldiers and in the sex industry. The military government continues to prioritize strengthening the military over improving the heath and education systems the civilian population has little or no access to quality health and education services. In a 2000 report the United Sates Department of Labor cited the SPDC’s apparent lack of commitment to primary education and widespread poverty as factors contributing to child labor in Burma. Almost half of all children get no education. According to UNICEF, out of 1.3 million children born in Burma every year, 92,500 die before their first birthday and 1 in 3 children under 5 are malnourished.

All children in Burma suffer the consequences of a decades long civil war and military dictatorship. However, ethnic minority children are more vulnerable due to the fact that civil war is often drawn along ethnic lines and fought in ethnic minority areas. In addition to contending with the discrepancy between access to social services available to the military and civilian populations, ethnic minorities face the more direct consequences of internal conflict: physical injury and death; torture and rape; forced labor; the witnessing of atrocities; separation from parents and community; no access to health care, education and housing; eviction and forced relocation; life as refugees and displaced people; the destruction of villages and crops. As part of marginalized groups, minority children are in a precarious situation.

Despite a compulsory education law, less than half of children in Burma enroll in school and only 25-35% of those students complete primary school. According to the World Bank, the government only spends 28 cents a year per child in public schools. “By the late 1990’s, the regime’s expenditure on (civilian) education equaled only 1.2% of the country’s Gross National Product – compared to 3.8% for developing countries – and had declined 70% in real terms since 1990. Meanwhile, school attendance has also dropped nationwide, partly because of rising school fees. Schools in some parts of the country have closed down due to lack of state funding.” (Source: Earthrights International, “Valued Less than a Milk Tin: Discrimination Against Ethnic Minorities in Burma by the Ruling Military Regime”, 2001, pp. 21)

Those children who are able to attend school rarely receive a quality education. Textbooks, equipment and school supplies are outdated and in short supply. The requirements for passing grades have been lowered and the introduction of a new exam system has lessened the need to study in order to pass in the primary, middle and high school levels. Cheat sheets are widely available and bribes, corruption and favoritism are linked to passing with high marks. In addition, the low salaries paid to teachers, between 900-1200 kyat per month (approximately $2-3), has meant that teachers put in extra hours tutoring individual students to earn extra money. The effect of this is that teachers cannot devote their full time and energy to their classes and the practice contributes to favoritism and corruption in the education system.

The high cost of tuition and school-related fees is a major factor in prohibiting children from completing their education. School fees include fees for enrollment, textbooks, exercise books, school cleaning, examination papers, sports fees, tutoring and USDA membership. The continuing economic crisis in Burma has meant that the dropout rate is steadily increasing as children are forced to leave school and work and their families cannot afford to pay school fees. A joint research project between the Burma Labor Department and UNICEF found that of 1163 children between the ages of 5 and 14 who dropped out of school in Rangoon and Mandalay in 1994-5, 57.6 had done so because of high tuition and fees.

Female students are disproportionately affected by high drop-out rates. According to a shadow report for the 22nd session of CEDAW prepared by women’s groups from Burma, female children are the most at risk for dropping out of school when a family faces hardship. Fewer than 1/3 of all girls who enroll in primary school make it through. Even though education is highly valued for both male and female children in the majority of Burma’s ethnic groups, because the female’s role in the family is perceived to be helping with family duties, girls are often taken out of school to help provide the family with basic necessities during times of hardship.

In addition to dropping out of school for financial reasons, thousands of children are forced to drop out, or interrupt, their education for reasons such as forced labor requirements, the burning of villages by the military, the extra-judicial killing or arbitrary arrest of parents and the general disruption of village life by military authorities who view all civilian activities as subordinate to military and state interests.

In one example, in late 2000, an elementary school in Naa Kham village, collectively built and supported by the villagers in Kaeng Phawng tract, Kaeng-Tung township, Shan State for more than 10 years was confiscated by SPDC military authorities of the Golden Triangle Special Regional Command, in order to make room for residential buildings for a new teachers college. The college was built on cultivated land confiscated from local villagers who were ordered to build a new elementary school themselves in a place that was not easy for the children to access. (Source: SHRF Monthly Report, February 2001)

On May 26, 2001, SPDC troops burned down two village school buildings in Nyaung-lay-bin Districts. SPDC troops from LIB 11 burned down the primary school building in Mae Ka Ti village and troops from LIB 111 burned down the village school in Mae K’ti, Shwe Tin Kyin township. As a result of increased SPDC activities in Nyaung-lay bin District since the middle of 2000, villagers have had to flee their homes and move from place to place. Temporary shelters have been set up to use as schools in the jungle. These school have no walls or chairs and the children use bamboo as blackboards. (Source: KORD, Nyaung-lay-bin District Field Report, June 15, 2001)

“The school teachers are mostly Burman…There is no Shan language or culture taught at school. They let the students learn about Burmese history, and the good things that Burmans are doing. They don’t teach about Shan – they don’t say anything good or bad about Shan culture.” (Source: Earthrights International, “Valued Less Than a Milk Tin: Discrimination Against Ethnic Minorities in Burma by the Military Regime”, 2001, pp. 23/4)

In Wan Pek village, Murng-Paeng township, Shan State, on July 7, 2001, SPDC banned the teaching of Shan literature and traditional dance at a local Buddhist monastery. Approximately 40 Shan students had been studying under the supervision of the abbot, Ven. Wi-La-Sa until it was banned by the SPDC Department of Religious Affairs. The Director of the Department said it wasn’t appropriate for a Buddhist monk to be involved with the studying of Shan literature and traditional dance, and the students should only be interested in their school lessons, which were all in Burmese. Most of the students were then sent back to their parents in Murng Poo Awn tract by SPDC authorities. (Source: SHRF Monthly Report, August 2001)

Reports from Karen State and a study of education in Mon State have also provided evidence that the education policy of SPDC promotes Burmanization through the education system to the detriment of ethnic minority groups. This has the dual effect of placing ethnic minority students who attend state-sponsored schools at a disadvantage in the classroom behind their native-speaking Burmese peers and promoting the marginalization of ethnic minority members who do attend the state-run education system.

Another way in which ethnic minority children are disproportionately affected is through sheer neglect. Remote areas which are difficult to access, and that are largely populated by ethnic minorities, suffer the most. In the Naga hills, there are only a few matriculates and graduates due to its geographical isolation and neglect by the government. Although there are primary and high schools in some villages and townships, the government appointed teachers are often not found in the villages where they are posted even though they are receiving salaries and use facilities provided by the government. Under these circumstances, schools are being run by villagers at their own expense, using local college drop-outs as teachers. Besides lacking furniture, students are not provided with the requisite textbooks and stationary materials that should be provided free to the students.

“In the last week of March 2001, the military regime SPDC’s Military Intelligence (MI) Unit No. 5, inquired and collected data about the operation of Mon National Schools in the southern part of Ye Township, Mon State, by questioning Mon village headmen with a threatening questionnaire. MI Unit No. 5, which is based in Ye town asked Mon village headmen from Hangan, Kalort, Singu, Toe-tat and Khawza and gave them a questionnaire that contained 9 questions about the operation of Mon national schools, the teachers and students and education. On March 25, village headmen from Singu were asked to meet with MI No. 5 Unit officers and were instructed to provide facts according to questions given by the officers. The questionnaire included questions such as: (1) Whether the Mon National Schools have been operating in the southern part of Ye Township or not?; (2) If they have, whether the Mon teachers have just taught Mon language only or not?; (3) If there are Mon teachers, how many Mon teachers and how many students have attended their classes?; (4) Whether Mon schools and teachers have attempted to operate a competitive education system against the government?; (5) Do the students and teachers have separate school uniforms from government students and teachers?; (6) List the subjects that they are teaching in their own schools; (7) What are their teaching methods and what are the contents of each subject?; (8) Whether villagers have supported Mon teachers with food and shelters, or not?; and (9) Whether NMSP supports these teachers or not. After receiving the questionnaire, the village headmen were instructed to send correct answers to the questions within one week. According to past experiences, whenever MI Unit No. 5 has sent out questionnaires or asked for meetings about Mon education and national schools, it has been one way of threatening the village community to stop their support for Mon schools. They also threaten teachers to leave Mon schools by collecting their background information.

The Mon national education system and community-supported Mon national schools have been established for over 20 years by NMSP’s Education Department. They also have gradually separated to other areas under NMSP control and areas semi-control by SPDC. School teachers are supported by both NMSP (especially for salaries) and the community supports them with food and shelter. When the regime’s education situation deteriorated, the Mon education system gradually developed. In June 1995 NMSP-SLORC made a ceasefire and NMSP leaders asked for Mon language to be taught in government schools. Initially, SLORC promised they would provide this chance, but the promise was broken in 1998 and they tried to arrest Mon teachers and close some Mon schools. Since then, MI No. 5 Unit have always made trouble for Mon schools, teachers, students and students’ parents. In the 2000-2001 Academic Year, according to a report by NMSP’s Education Department, it had about 161 primary schools, 6 middle schools and 2 high schools. There were about 907 teachers in these schools and it had about 37,135 students total. The locations of these schools are in Mon State, some parts of Karen State and some parts of Tenasserim Division.” (Source: HURFOM, Mon Forum, March 2001 Issue)

All of the shortcomings of Burma’s health care system are felt by children. According to the WHO World Health Report 2000, Burma is ranked 139th out of 191 countries in terms of the overall level of health of the population and 190th for the performance of health care systems given the level of resources. Government studies sponsored by U.N. agencies in 1997 found that, on average, 131 of 1,000 children died before reaching the age of 5 years, and that only 1 of 20 births in rural areas was attended by a doctor.  Those same studies indicated that, of children under 3 years old, 37 percent were malnourished, and 13 percent were severely malnourished. (Source: US State Department, Country Report on Human Rights 2001).

The government is estimated to spend US $9 per person per year on all health care even though US $12 is considered the minimum expenditure for basic health care requirements. Burma’s health care system has been found to be the most discriminatory in the ASEAN region in terms of responsiveness. The differences are most likely between ethnic groups, income levels and civilians and the military.

The military government cut expenditures on public health care even more sharply than it cut spending for education and in 1998-99 expenditures for civilian health care were only 0.3 percent of GDP. The result is a health care system with insufficient facilities, too few health care workers, inadequate health education programs and lack of rural services. Children continue to die from preventable illnesses as they lack basic medicines. Furthermore, they are also victims of diseases that strike adults as they can lose their parents.

At the same time the health problems of many are exacerbated by the ongoing armed conflict which disproportionately affects ethnic minorities. The populace is affected directly by things such as landmines and military violence, while displacement and forced relocations are the cause of malnutrition and other conditions that lead to the spread of disease. 

Due to a severe lack of health facilities, a Chin woman estimated that 95% of babies have jaundice, and that the infant mortality rate exceeds 10%. A Chin Pastor refugee has recently estimated that there are as many as 10,000 orphans in Chin State. Orphanages are extremely poor and children must go from house to house begging. He says they are severe malnourished, estimating they get to eat meat about once a month. TB is a serious health problem. (Source: ALTSEAN, Report Card Burma: Still Waiting, 1st Feb – 30 April 2001: 46)

There is much evidence that Burma is on the verge of an AIDS epidemic, the impact of which will surely be felt by children. According to figures from the National AIDS Program, HIV prevalence has increased over the last decade with and average of 2.65% of pregnant women HIV positive in March 1999. According to one estimate, there were anywhere from 42,000 to 58,000 HIV positive children born in Burma between 1988 and 1998. (Source: Beyrer C., War in the Blood: Sex, Politics and AIDS in Southeast Asia, 1998). In addition, there is increasingly high number of young girls being trafficked to Thailand to work in the sex industry. These girls are at high risk for contracting HIV as many of them are sold, and re-sold a number of times, as virgins and therefore the men do not use condoms. Many of the countries ranked lower than Burma in the WHO World Health Report are currently suffering from the ravages of AIDS, a situation which has yet to come to a head in Burma.

Children under the age of 5 can be found in prison with their mothers for 3 reasons, they have no relatives to care for them, their mothers have requested that they stay together, or they are born there. However, all children must leave at the age of 5 and if there are no relatives to care for them they are placed in social services. Female political prisoners are only allowed to keep their children with them if they are born in prison. Male prisoners are never allowed to have their children stay with them.

Children live in prison under the same conditions as other prisoners which includes inadequate health care, unsanitary conditions and lack of nutritious food. Prisoners are allocated 7-8 cups of water a day for washing which must be shared with their children. Meals consist of rice gruel in the morning and two other meals a day of boiled rice and watery soup made with a little fish paste and unwashed vegetables. This must also be shared between the mother and child.

No special provisions are made for education or recreational needs of children in prison. They have no books, toys or play area and because they have to stay with their mothers at all times, their movements are restricted and they can rarely go outdoors or out of the multiple occupancy cells. They are not given immunizations- because there is rarely medicine in the prison clinic, the prisoners must rely on family members or other prisoners for medicine if the children get sick. T.B. is a common problem in prison and also affects children. Because their mothers are not tested for H.I.V., the number of children with this condition is unknown. In addition, women giving birth in prison do not receive adequate pre-natal care and during birth they are only assisted by a midwife who is a fellow prisoner. A high number of children die during childbirth due to complications.

According to one former female political prisoner, there were approximately 50 children staying in Insein prison from 1992-1995. Of these, 15 were born in prison, mostly to long-term prisoners. There are three prison labor camps in Burma that have women prisoners; Pyinmana-Yezin, HtoneBon, and Mandalay-Pathein Gyi. Mothers have to work long days and have quotas to fill; if they don’t they are beaten. For this reason, some women choose to tie their children to trees so they aren’t bothered while they are working. Many children die in the labor camps due to the heat, no health care, and no medicine for treatable conditions such as diarrhea.

There is an unknown number of juveniles serving out time for petty offences in prison labor camps. Conditions in prison labor camps are notoriously difficult, and there are no special provisions made for underage prisoners. In 2001, the Federation of Trade Unions Burma interviewed a 16 year-old escaped convict from (6) New Life prison labor camp in Kyaik Ma Yaw Township, and Mawlamyaing Township, Mon State. He was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment after failing to report to the local PDC office. While in the camp he reported that 3 prisoners died a month from mistreatment and food and health care were inadequate (see interview at the end if this chapter).

In 2001, government and military authorities continued to used forced child labor, including the forced conscription of minor boys into the armed forces. Children have been used as forced labor on infrastructure development projects, income generating projects for the military, and support for military operations. This includes such work as portering, road construction, sanitation and building maintenance for military camps, building construction, acting as messengers and various other chores for military personnel. In many cases, when the military demand forced labor from families or villages children are sent, either to free their parents so they can perform incoming generating work, or to ease the burden for the village. In addition to the duties previously described, there are reports that children have been used as human minesweepers and human shields during military operations.

February 2001: In the months after anti-Muslim rioting broke out in Sittwe, Arakan State in February 2001, approximately 3,000 students, teachers and monks were taken into custody in Sittwe. They were taken by Military Intelligence, Police and Paramilitary forces and held without trial. Students as young as ten and eleven were interrogated. Two thirds of those arrested were released after paying bribes to officials. The rest went missing or were sent to the Thai border for portering and forced labor. Some parents who traced their children to the Thai border followed them there and bribed law enforcement authorities to release their children. In one case A Ko Ko Naing (not his real name), aged 16, of Moouleik quarter, Sittwe, was taken to Tacheleik of Shan State along with 47 of his fellow students. He was forced to porter by the military in areas where there were operations going on. His father paid a bribe to Military Intelligence 10 of Sittwe and went to Shan State to bring back his son. Most parents of missing children have been afraid to ask the authorities the whereabouts of their children. (Source: Narinjara News, ‘Arakanese Students Missing Since The Race Riot’, September 28, 2001)

March 2001: In Moulmein, the capital of Mon state, SPDC’s regime’s local authorities have been using child labor for the construction of the road in March 2000 and additionally, they also collected funds for construction from people under the name of “self-help” program. In Moulmein most roads were built during British colonization of Burma or parliamentary governments before 1962, so they are now in need of repair. Just two years ago, SPDC adopted a “self-help” road construction or road repairs program and has encouraged its concerned authorities to newly build or repair roads in their own area. Policy rebuilt, a ruined road in Moulmein, Tha-main-bran, which is in Myaing-thar-yar city quarter, applied to be rebuilt in March 2001. To avoid requisition of forced labor as ruled by SPDC’s Ministry of Home Affairs, the authorities in Moulmein collected 15, 000 Kyat from each household in that city quarter. Then, with collected funds, the authorities hired labor. But they are using child labor, under 16 years of age, because it is cheaper by half than adult labor. According to a witness, an old mother, who lives in the city quarter, near the road under repair, children under 16 years of age are being used as laborers. She named Khin Lin, a 12 year-old boy, whose father drives a tricycle taxi, a 12 year-old boy, Naing Win, who attended 4 standard as employed on the project. The children are earning about 150 kyats per day. Early in the morning the children start work in the construction site until midday. After one hour rest, they work until sundown every day. These children are not of working age, but they are working for their family’s livelihood she added. (Source: HURFOM, Mon Forum, May 2001 Issue)

From February to June 2001, 1,000 villagers from Pyin Phyu Gyi, San Sin and Winn Way village groups, Thayet Chaung Township were forced to work building a 50 kilometer road between Ye Byat and Tuang Pyork villages to Bann Chuang area. As some of the families had no male members, girls as young as 12 years old and women over 70 were forced to work on the project. The total number of children and elderly working on the project was 70. Some 30 people died while working on the project and over 200 got ill, mostly young girls and elderly women. The causes of death were starvation, malaria, exhaustion and accidents. The villagers went through a similar experience in 1999 and 2000, when 37 people died and 150 were injured and ill while working on road construction projects. (Source: THRF 2001)

On March 4, 2001, in Kaywt city, Tennaserim Division, Ko Mayth Thaw, aged 14, was on his way home from taking his final examination for 6th standard when he was stopped by SPDC troops and sent to Ta Nin Tha Ye District, Tenasserim Division to a military operation area. In August, 2001 he ran away and escaped to Thin Baw Naw Village, Ta Nin Tha Ye township. He was then sent back home by the villagers.
(Source: THRF 2001)

On March 9, 2001, soldiers from LIB 103, led by Lt. Col Aye Kyaing, arrested 80 male and female villagers in Tennaserim Township, Tennaserim Division for use as forced porters. The villagers were between the ages of 12 and 60. They had to carry foodstuffs, rations and arms for three days to Kyauk Lone Gyi camp. Along the way about 20 villagers got ill but were not given any medical treatment and no payment. A 12 year-old boy, Htway Hla broke his right hand. Gyi Tin, 62, of Thin Baw Nan village died while carrying his load. The porters were taken from the following villages: Thin Baw Nan, Ye Pu, Kaw Ma Pyin, Mine Seip, San Pyi. (Source: THRF 2001)

On June 16, 2001, SPDC troops from LIB 514 forcibly conscripted 250 civilian porters, including 108 women and children - some as young as 8, from among the displaced persons who had been forcibly relocated to the outskirts of Murng-Kerng town 4-5 years ago. The forced consription occurred after an armed clash between SPDC troops and Shan resistance soldiers in Murng-Kern township. The SPDC troops took all of the adult men, and when men were not available they took women and children, many of whom were between 8 and 16 years old, to carry ammunition, rice, food stuffs and military items. Some of the children were only able to carry 6 cans of condensed milk, 1 pyi of rice or 10 rounds of m79 motor shells each. If they could not go fast enough they were kicked and beaten. The porters were forced to serve for 16 days without pay, during that time all of the women porters over the age of 15 were said to have been raped by SPDC soldiers. They were released on June 28, 2001. Approximately 5-6 days later, the same SPDC troops ordered the village headmen in the area to provide 10-15 civilian porters from each village. (Source: SHRF Monthly Report, August 2001)

Starting May 1, 2001, a column from SPDC IB 75 under LID 66, operating in Tantabin Township, Toungoo District, Karen State demanded more than 200 villagers for porters. On May 1, the SPDC troops operating in Hu-mu-der village, demanded 200 villagers, including women and children from Klaw-mee-der, Hu-mu-der and Ler-klah-der villages to carry military supplies from Pet-let-wah to Klaw-mee-der village for two days at a time. Also starting in the beginning of May, troops from IB 75 based in Glaw-mee-doe village regularly demanded 12 porters from the villages. The porters included women and children who had to carry food and military supplies. If the villagers failed to provide a porter, they had to pay 700 kyat. The villagers in Glaw-mee-doe area also had to pay 252,000 kyat a month in porter fees, or if the month had 31days, 336,000 kyat. (Source: KIC, Press Release No. 24/2001)

The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers has cited Burma as one of the world’s single largest users of child soldiers. Factors that lead to the use of child soldiers include poverty, displacement, lack of educational opportunities, arms proliferation and the militarization of society. All of them occur in Burma. Many children in their early teens are serving in the Burmese army voluntarily, however other children under the age of 18 are enlisted forcibly. In one example, in 2001, the All Burma Muslim Union reported that SPDC authorities have been stopping passenger buses travelling from Kaw Ka Rate to Myawaddy, Karen State and arresting male passengers under the age of 15. Those who could pay a bribe were released, but others were sent to Pa’an and put on a list to become soldiers. Particularly at risk for forced recruitment are orphaned and street children. Often children are arrested for minor infractions of the law and then given the option of joining the army or going to prison.

According to a March 2001 Karen Human Rights Group report, many children between the ages of 13-19 are enlisted and some as young as 9. In some cases, children were taken from their parents under the guise of wanting to give them educational opportunities, but they were then placed in military schools after which they were expected to join the SPDC. Children are given the same basic training as other soldiers, but if they are not strong enough to carry their own guns or backpacks they can be kept in battalion camps for months or years. If they are too young to be sent out on operations, under the age of 12 or 13, they can be used as forced labor on projects such as digging roads, taking care of animals or cutting grass and bushes. Child soldiers are often beaten by other soldiers or their commanders. The following testimonial comes from a KHRG interview of a former child solder:

Child soldiers serving in the Burmese military often have little or no contact with their families, are underpaid, frequently beaten and not given adequate food or medicine.

On October 28, 2001, a main military command in Ye Township of Mon State, Military Operation Management Command No. 19 called a meeting with all village headmen in Ye township for 3 days and instructed all village headmen to provide the list of men between 15 and 30 years old and instructed that these men must join army. (Source: Mon Forum, Women and Child Rights Project).

Children from the majority Burman and ethnic minority children from Shan and Kachin States are the largest percentage of child migrant prostitutes in Thailand. Although the Child Law states that “every child has the right to… protection and care” very little action has been taken to prevent the trafficking and exploitation of young women from Burma. Government efforts have been ineffective and limited to infrequent arrests and regulations restricting the cross border movement of young females which rarely has any affect in combatting trafficking. Contributing to this problem is the tacit approval, and sometimes complicity, of Thai and Burmese officials in the trafficking of women and children.

The trafficking of women from Burma for commercial sex work in Thailand has been well documented. However a new trend emerging is that trafficked girls are increasingly virgins who are in demand because of the belief that there is less chance that young girls are HIV positive. According to the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), doctors at a clinic in the Thai border town of Mae Sot have reported that the increased demand for virgins has led more and more families to sell their daughters into brothels for a short period of time until the “value of their virginity” has expired, at which point they return to their families. In practice, young girls are sold as virgins several times until the amount they can be sold for steadily decreases.

These young prostitutes are not adequately educated about sexually transmitted diseases and customers who pay more for a virgin girl are rarely willing to use a condom. Child prostitutes are often held against their will after being sold into prostitution and do not receive adequate food or health care and live in physically insecure situations where they fear bodily harm from both their employers and customers. If a girl is no longer profitable because of pregnancy or disease she is often turned out on the street.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, specifically refers to the protection of children in armed conflict and provides that every child has the right to life, survival and development; that no child under 15 should take part in hostilities; that children should not be separated from their parents except for their own well-being; that states should protect children from harm and neglect; and that children of minority and indigenous populations should freely enjoy their own culture, religion and language, as well as all other rights enshrined in the convention, without discrimination.

Children living in conflict areas in Burma are routinely deprived of most of these rights; violence committed against children being the most blatant breach of these rights. Children are victims of rape, torture, landmines and killed by the army and security forces. Girls under the age of 18, and sometimes boys, are routinely raped by SPDC troops operating in their communities and during forced labor. They are sometimes killed to prevent leaving behind a witness to the crime. Persons, including children, doing forced labor, particularly clearing roads and forced portering, are often forced to act as human minesweepers and human shields. In free fire zones, known as “Black Areas”, troops regularly shoot at villagers and into their homes regardless of whether there are children present.

According to Karen Human Rights Group, “Children make up a large percentage of the people shot dead or wounded by the SPDC’s soldiers. A villager from Lu Thaw township related to KHRG how the soldiers came upon her hut in the forest and immediately opened fire on her three children. There were no adults as they were away in the fields. As her two sons were running, one of them 7 years old and obviously not an adult, a rifle grenade landed behind them and wounded the 7 year old boy in the leg. He was carried away by his brother and survived, but many others have not. Some villagers have lost whole portions of their families. During an attack on an IDP site in Shwegyin township in January 2000, “Saw K’Baw’s” [not his real name] 6 month old son was shot in the head and killed while suckling milk from his mother’s breast as she was fleeing. After another shooting in late 1999 in Lu Thaw township a villager interviewed by KHRG learned that he had lost his 13 year old daughter, his 11 year old son, his brother and his uncle.” (Source: KHRG, Flight, Hunger and Survival: Repression and Displacement in the Villages of Papun and Nyaunglebin Districts, October 2001)

Whether or not a child is a direct target of violence, children living in areas of armed conflict are subjected to numerous hardships that mar their entire lives. Family, community and cultural life are disrupted by violence and insecurity. Children witness killing and violence directed against family, neighbors and community members. The emotional and mental toll that this will take over a lifetimes is impossible to calculate. Their opportunity to grow up in an environment that nurtures and promotes their development is taken away from them. They miss out on education, and their health and well-being are directly threatened. The list goes on. Children need special protection because they are vulnerable- both because of the direct harm they sustain and lost opportunities. Children have a crucial role in peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction and need to be recognized as actors in their own right.

On 19 December 2001, approximately 120 combined troops from DKBA brigade 999, led by battalion second-in-command Bo Ga Don, and SPDC IB-35, came to Thay-po-kyu place Thay-doh-kwee village in Mae-pa-leh area, Pa-an District, Karen State and shot and killed Pa-klo villager Saw Pah Bi (M,41), son of Saw Kyaw Yin, and Toe-kor-ko villager Saw Keh Keh ( M,17 ), son of Saw Pa Gay, after accusing them of being KNU spies. (Source: KIC, KNU Press Release No.2/2002, January 9, 2002).

On 18 December 2001, in Mergui-Tavoy District, Karen State, troops from SPDC LIB 561, led by Bo Thant Zin, shot and killed two Ta-po-hta villagers: (1) Khar Maung Di, 14, son of Saw Na Ha and Naw Lah Lah, and (2) Saw Baw Htoo, 16, son of Saw Meh Doe and Naw Dee Aye, without reason, while they were grazing their buffaloes. (Source: KIC, KNU Press Release No. 7/2002, January 18, 2002.)

On 10 October 2001, about 20 troops from SPDC LIB 55, led by Major Myo Thant, came to Bo-khee area, Mergui-Tavoy District, Karen State, and shot at villagers while they were working in their paddy fields. In that incident, a child Saw Eh Htoo (M,10) was killed and villager Saw Blai Yu, (M,30) was wounded in both of his knees. These troops forced Naw Htweh, (F,30) wife of Saw Blai Yu, to take off all her clothes and forced her to go back into the village. (Source: KIC, KNU Press Release No.65/2001, November 28, 2001).

On 8 June 2001, SPDC troops from IB 75, led by deputy commander Thet Tun Aung shot and killed Naw Paw Ler, aged 9, from Kho Lu village, Taw Tha Htoo township, Toungoo District, Karen State. She was killed on her way back home from collecting betel leaves with her brother. Her family could not get her body for three days as there were still troops in the area where her body lay. After seeing the body, her family believed that she had been wounded first in the arm and then shot at closer range, once in the back and once in the head. (Source: CIDKP)

On 29 March 2001, a family of 4 was beaten to death by a patrol of SPDC troops from Nam-Zarng-based IB66, led by, at a rice farm in Ton Hung tract in Murng-Nai township, Shan State. The family, from Ter Hung village, was staying on the farm to clear a plot to grow rice. Zaai Ma-La, 26, and his wife, Naang Kya Yong, 24, their son, Zaai Bee, 6, and their daughter, Naang Thun Nae, 4, had been clearing the land since March 5 and were killed by IB66 troops who were patrolling the area and shooting cattle. (Source: SHRF)

On 24 March 2001, SPDC troops arrived at Htee Ler Hkee, a place in the jungle where villagers were hiding from SPDC troops, on the Tenasserim riverside, Mergui-Tavoy District and opened fire on the villagers. Naw Mu Sei, 17, daughter of Saw Beh was killed, and Saw Be Nuh, 20, son of Saw Nya was wounded. Two other villagers were missing. (Source: CIDKP)

On 24 March 2001, SPDC troops arrived at Htee Thee Hkee, a place in the jungle where villagers were hiding from SPDC troops, on the Tenasserim riverside, Mergui-Tavoy District and opened fire on the villagers. Naw Ka Beh, 7, daughter of Saw Be Po was killed. Pa Te Shwe Ta, 29, son of Saw Po Kyaw was wounded. Two women, Naw Deh and Naw Leh Hka, and their two children were captured and taken away. (Source: CIDKP)

On 14 July 2001, Naang Aam (not her real name), aged 16, was raped by Capt. Naing Oo the commander of Co. No. 4 of LIB 333 of the SPDC, about 1-1/2 miles south of Murng Tum village in Murng Tum tract, Murng-Sart township. On that day, Naang Aam was looking for their cow which they had let loose to graze in the fields south of their village, Murng Tum, when she ran into Capt. Naing Oo who pointed a pistol at her and dragged her by the hand into a nearby bush. As Naang Aam was crying and shouting for help, Naing Oo covered her mouth with one hand and threatened to shoot her dead if she continued to make noise and raped her. When Capt. Naing Oo released her, Naang Aam started to cry and shout even louder than before and he struck her on the head with his pistol butt, and she fell down on the ground. Naing Oo then beat her with a stick until she lost consciousness. Some hours later, Naang Aam was found lying unconscious in a bush by her father who was worried about her having gone too long and had come looking for her. She was then nursed back to consciousness by her father and they walked slowly, helped all the way by her father, back to their village, where she related her plight to her parents. (Source: SHRF Monthly Report – November 2001)

On 2 June 2001, Naang Seng (not her real name), aged 17, of Paang Sa village in Naa Loi tract, Lai-Kha township, was raped by commander Chit Htwe from Co. No. 4 of IB 64 at the edge of a field near her village where she had been gathering vegetables. While Chit Htwe was raping her, Naang Seng’s father who was worried about his daughter and had come after her saw it and shouted for help, and Chit Htwe quickly ran away.

When Naang Seng and her father, with the help of the village tract leader, went to file a complaint with the battalion commander, Aung Kyaw, at the LIB 333 base, she was asked if she would recognize her assailant. When Naang Seng said yes, the commander told all 3 of them to come back the following morning when the troops lined up for morning check, and dismissed them. The next morning, Naang Seng, her father and the village tract headman, accompanied by 13 other fellow villagers, went to the military base and the commander told her to point out her rapist among the lines of 250 or so soldiers. Naang Seng, however, could not find Chit Htwe and told the commander that he was not among the lined-up soldiers. 

The commander then said that those were all the soldiers in the camp and accused Naang Seng of trying to frame one of the soldiers under his command, and asked the village tract headman what he wanted to do. The headman said that if the rapist was not among the soldiers he would just have to drop the case, and asked permission to return home. But the commander stopped them and said that they had insulted him by accusing one of his soldiers of raping their daughter, which was not true, and they would have to pay a fine for that or be put in jail. The 3 villagers who had filed the complaint were obliged to pay 30,000 Kyat each and the other 13 who had accompanied them had to pay 20,000 Kyat each.  The villagers were ordered to pay the money to the village tract headman within 5 days and the headman was to bring it to the commander within 7 days. (Source: SHRF Monthly Report – November 2001)

On 24 April 2001, 4 women from Kam village, Yebyu township, Tenasserim Division were repeatedly raped by 4 soldiers from LIB 407 led by Lt Col Aung Win. The women had been on their way to a donation ceremony in Gaw Zun village. The victims were Daw Myint Sein, 40, Ma Ohn Myint, 25, Ye Ye Win, 18 and Cho Mar, 14. A fifth woman managed to escape. (Source: THRF 2001)

On 30 March 2001, a column of SPDC troops from Nam-Zarng Based IB 66, who had killed a family of four on March 29, tied a man up and gang-raped his 17-year-old niece for several hours in Kun Mong tract, Murng-Nai township, Shan State. As the troops left Ton Hung tract and continued to patrol the adjacent Kun-Mong tract, they saw Lung Wong, 51, and his niece, “Naang Suay Kya” (not her real name), 17, from Kun Kawk village in Kun Mong with an ox-cart carrying pieces of wood and bamboo. The troops stopped them, tied the Lung Wong up and took Naang Suay Kya to another place and gang-raped her, while other troops killed the oxen for meat. Naang Suay Kya was gang-raped by about 13-14 SPDC troops, including Capt. Soe Win, for more than 6 hours. She was able to untie Lung Wong when the troops had gone. (Source: SHRF)

On 6 March 2001, Sargent Than Aung and two of his men from SPDC LIB 349, based at Mon Town, came to Kone-daw village, Nyaung-lay-bin District, Karen State at 12 midnight and arrested U Maung Ni, his wife, Daw Shwe Aye and their daughter, Ma Than Than, 17. They were tied up and beaten severely. Later, Sargent Than Aung repeatedly raped Ma Than Than. All the three were released later. A complaint was made to SPDC LIB 349 Battalion Commander Htay Win regarding this incident, however the complainants were told that if they wanted to stay in peace they should not say anything. (Source: KIC)

On 24 January 2001, 2 displaced villagers were beaten to death and a 14-year-old girl was taken away and raped for 3 nights by a patrol of SPDC troops from Kun-Hing-based IB246 at a deserted farm northwest of Ton Hoong village relocation site in Ton Hoong tract, Murng-Nai township. The victims were 3 villagers, a father, a son and a daughter, from Ton Hoong relocation site. They were gathering wild vegetables at an old farm some distance northwest of Ton Hoong when they were arrested by a patrol of 45-50 SPDC troops from Co.4 of IB246 led by Capt. Zaw Thein, stationed at Ton Hoong relocation site. The SPDC troops tied up the father and the son and interrogated and tortured them, and eventually beat them to death with sticks. Capt. Zaw Thein then raped the daughter and took her along with the patrol for 3 nights before she was released.

1. Sa Ti Ya, aged 35, the father, beaten to death

2. Zaai Khat, aged 16, son of Sa Ti Ya, beaten to death

3. Naang Muay Khur (not her real name), aged 14, daughter of Sa Ti Ya, raped and taken away for 3 nights

Some time after she got back to Ton Hoong relocation site, Naang Muay Khur reported the incident to the village elders and community leaders, and they went to find the bodies of the 2 dead victims and buried them properly. No one dared to do anything more than this, for fear of further abuses. (Source: SHRF)

On 17 January 2001, a villager was beaten to death and his daughter was raped and held for two days by SPDC troops from IB66, led by, about 1-1/2 miles from Ho Ha village in Nam-Zarng township, Shan State. The victims, Lung Seng, 40, and his daughter, Naang Zaw (not her real name), 17, were going to cut firewood, carrying with them a saw, an axe and a knife, when they ran into the column of 70-80 SPDC troops. Lung Seng was interrogated and beaten to death, while Capt. Aung Kyaw raped Naang Zaw. The troops took her but she was released two days later. (Source: SHRF)

On November 1, 2001, when a SPDC military column from LIB No. 378 led by Lt. Col. Sein Tin Aung, launched a military activity in southern part of Ye Township, they were attacked by a Mon splinter group near Mi-htaw-hla-kalay village and the soldiers believed the villagers from that village were supporting the rebels against them. On the next day, on November 2, the commander of LIB No. 278 ordered all villagers from every house to gather in village’s football field including elderly, women and children. Some women also had to bring 3 month old babies and other children with them and gathered them in the football field where there was no shade. They were kept there in the hot sun for about 4 hours. Some children cried because of the heat and hunger, but the commander did not allow them to stay under shady trees or to return home. While the villagers were under the hot sun as a punishment, the soldiers climbed into every house in the village to find evidence of who had supported the rebel soldiers. However, the soldiers took villagers’ properties including gold, home-use materials and others property. After 4 hours in the football ground, and completion of the looting, the soldiers released the women and children to their homes. (Source: Mon Forum, Women and Child Rights Project)

On 15 October 2001, soldiers from SPDC LIB 558, led by Major Myo Thant, on their way from Ka-byaung to Wa-thoo-lor village, found Wa-thoo-lor villager Saw Ta See, (m), age 15, son of Tee Gaw Kay and Naw Pwa Mu Doh, while he was grazing his buffaloes. The troops demanded that he give them his machete and when he refused, they struck him violently on the head with a rifle butt, causing a 2-inch wound. Saw Ta See reported to Major Myo Thant that his soldiers had tried to strike him with his machete, but Major Myo Thant did not take any action against his men. Moreover, he told Saw Ta See that he himself had already had killed more than a hundred people without the knowledge of his senior officers. (Source: KIC)

On 6 April 2001, SPDC troops opened fire on internally displaced villagers hiding in Maw Saw Ko, in the west of the Tenasserim River region, Mergui-Tavoy District. Saw Pla, 38, was killed. Saw Ba So Gay, 12, was captured. The fate of Saw Ba So Gay was not learned after his arrest. The troops burned down five houses, at least 40 sacks of rice and all the villagers’ belongings. (Source: CIDKP)

On 2 April 2001, troops from No. 2 column of LIB 20, under SPDC LID 77, came to Ka-wa area and shot up the village. Villager Naw Ma Pyu (F, 23) and her baby were seriously wounded. The troops forced the villagers to come down from their houses and looted all kinds of belongings of the villagers. They also killed, for food, all chickens and pigs found. In addition, they looted 60,000 Kyat and 30 silver coins from the villagers. They tortured brutally the villagers, who were; (1) Saw Maung Sa; (2) Saw Pa Nge; (3) Saw Pah Kway; (4) Saw Gaw Lah; (5) Saw Da Bleh; (6) Saw Toe and (7) Saw Pah Lee. (Source: KIC)

On 16 March 2001, two members of SPDC police force in Ta-Khi-Laek township stripped naked and beat an 8-year-old Akha child, took away one kilo of seasoning powder he was carrying, and left him unconscious on the road. Aa Mer, an Akha woman from Pung Thun quarter in Ta-Khi-Laek, was hired by someone to carry a little amount of consumer goods across the Mai Sai river. Since Aa Mer had to carry her baby in one hand, she had only one hand to carry the consumer goods and could not carry it all, so she let her 8-year-old son carry a one-kilogram package of seasoning powder with her. After they had crossed the river, they were chased by two SPDC police officers. Although Aa Mer was able to escape by running and hiding, her 8-year-old son was caught by the police. The police officers seized and scolded the boy, stripped him of his clothes, beat and kicked him several times and took away his seasoning powder, leaving him naked and unconscious. Aa Mer returned to look for her son, and found him sitting naked near a pile of clothes, crying. Due to the closure of the border since February 11, 2001, consumer goods have become very difficult to obtain for most of the townspeople of Ta-Khi-Laek. The people in the area try to smuggle in consumer goods from Mae Sai when and wherever possible, especially across the Mae Sai river at remote spots out of the sight of the soldiers from both sides. (Source: SHRF)

Interviewed by : Federation of Trade Unions Burma

Name : Aung Aung

Age : 16 yr. (at the time of the incident)

Prison Registration. No. : 1616

Court where sentenced : Mawlamyaing District Court

Home Address : Zayyar Thiri (11) St., Mawlamyaing Tsp.Convictions : 1) Quarreling with neighborhood P D C official; under Act 5/1, made to report daily to police station for 1 year

: 2) Sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for failing to report to the police station

After his court hearing, on November 25, 2001 Aung Aung was transferred to Mawlamyaing Prison. One month later, on December 18, 2001, he was sent to the No (6) New Life Camp.

Upon arriving at the camp he had to give a Kyat 2,000 bribe to the camp officials so that they would treat him well and so that he would not be assigned hard work. He

had to pay a further bribe of Kyat 1,500 whenever his family came to see him.

Aung Aung reported the following information about conditions at the camp.

The camp officials used convicted laborers to manually operate a heavy machine which removes the skin off the rice seeds and instead of using cows they use prisoners pull the ploughs. There were 320 convicted laborers, of these there were three companies (Company 1, 2 and 3) with 70 laborers in each who worked in the rice fields. Some of the other convicted laborers grew vegetables for camp officials and their families. Other prisoners worked in the houses of camp officials. Most prisoners preferred to work in the houses of camp officials, because the work was much lighter than other kinds of work, but to be assigned to this type of work they had to pay a bribe.

Whenever the relatives of a convicted prisoner came to visit them, they had to give between 100 and 200 Kyats as a ‘donation’ to the prison, even though they had already been forced to pay Kyat 200 to get permission for the visit. Actually, the policemen made the donation box and kept the money. Usually a prisoner who receives a visit from his family considers it a lucky thing. However in this camp it was not lucky, because after the visit, the prisoner had to pay his company commander Kyat 2,000, Kyat 1,000 to his group leader (also a prisoner) and Kyat 200 to the prisoner in charge of his block. If the prisoner couldn’t pay, they would beat him and assign him very hard work. Sometimes, the officials beat the prisoners until they became unconscious or even until they died. A prisoner named Kyaw Myint Oo (aka Moe Gyi) from Aukkyint Quarter, Mawlamyaing was one of these prisoners who was killed by beating. The average death toll among the prisoners is 3 persons per month.

The prisoners in this camp were fed only a cup of rice and bean-curry, which was like water. So the prisoners were forced to scavenge for other kinds of vegetation, chopped crabs, chopped fishes and even water snakes. Due to their poor diet some prisoners suffered from cholera.

At the camp there was only one medic with one assistant. Whenever the workers had an illness or injury they were only given Burmeton, a type of cold medicine. When the prisoners got sick they were fed only a cup of boiled rice in water. The sick prisoners were made work cleaning three buildings and shoveling human excrement from the latrines. Some of the ill prisoners couldn’t tolerate this work and so they fought with the other prisoners, and in some cases even killed each other, in order to get an extra sentence and be transferred to prison from the camp.

The camp is shaped like a square. There are three buildings that are 100 ft long and 20 ft high. There are about 80 to 100 prisoners in each building.

Aung Aung reports that there was religious oppression carried out by camp officials. In the camp there were about 25 Muslim prisoners. The camp officials treated them more brutally than the other prisoners. At some point all of them were severely tortured and as a result of the torture, 2 of them died.

The camp officials did not allow these Muslim prisoners that were killed to be given a traditional religious burial. Instead they just buried them in the same hole.

Name: “Min Zaw”

Age: 14

Ethnicity: Burman

Religion: Buddhist

Education Completed: 2nd Standard

Address: xxxx village, Thatoun* township, Tennasserim Division

Family: Father’s name xxxx, Mother’s name xxxx, six children including “Min Zaw”

Rank: Army normal/ no rank

Unit: Infantry Battalion 246, Company 1

Area: Unit based in Khoun Hein Township, Shan State

Time spent in the army: 3 years

I: How did you become a soldier?

MZ: In 1999 I went with my mother to visit Yangon. My mother returned home first, and I left for home five days later. On the way home there were many checkpoints. At one checkpoint the police stopped me because I had no ID card, and took me to the police station. There the police threatened me, saying that because I had no ID card I could be put in jail for 6 years. Then they told me that I could choose to either go to jail for 6 years or join the army. I was afraid of spending 6 years in jail so I decided to join the army. At this time I was 11 years old.

I: What happened after you joined the army?

MZ: After I told the police that I would join the army they sent me to Mingaladon, which is one of the main places where new soldiers are collected before being sent out to training camps. I stayed here for 10 days. Then I was sent to No. 5 training camp, also called Ye Ni training camp, where I spent 5 months and two weeks in training. The army officer in charge of the training camp was second captain, Tun Naing. Then I was sent to the IB 246 based in Khoun Hein Township. My battalion commander was Second Captain U Myat San. The Sergeants in charge of my company, company #1 were Khin Maung Win, and under him, Hla Theing. Our area of activity was from Khoun Hein to Kholan Township (Southern Shan State).

I: How did they treat you in the army, during and after training?

MZ: When I began the training I was very young, only 11 years old, so I could not understand how to use a gun, and I made many mistakes. So the officers training me would beat me. After training when I was with my unit one time we had to go on a journey (on foot) but I was ill. I told sergeant Myint Win that I was ill and asked if I could stay back, but he forced me to go. Twice a day, in the morning and evening all the soldiers had to line up. Sometimes I was late and then the officers would beat me with a stick, or their hands, or sometimes kick me.

I: What kind of food did they give you?

MZ: We were given only rice and fish paste, no curry. We got one cup of milk every 2 or 3 months. We were given food two times a day, in the morning and evening. We had no lunch and no money to buy extra food so we were always hungry.

I: What happened when you got sick?

MZ: There was an army hospital in Khun Hein that had medicine. I sometimes had stomachaches or headaches and they would give me tablets and then send me back to the line. I would not be allowed to rest. Other soldiers who had malaria were given medicine and then sent back to the line. Only if they had a severe case of malaria or TB were they sent to the hospital.

I: What work did you do in the army?

MZ: For six months we would be on patrol. Two times we had battles with the SSA. We each had to carry a total of 20 kilos of equipment, including our guns, food, and supplies. Everyday we would start walking at 5:30 or 6 am, we would walk for 2 or 3 hours and then we would have a 5-10 minute break. We would stop at 12 pm, when we would eat for the first time some cold rice that we had prepared the night before. After this would have to continue walking until we reached our destination village, even if we had to walk into the night. When we got there we would cook our dinner, saving some food for lunch the next day. One time we had been climbing a mountain for 3 and a half days, and because our equipment was so heavy I was unable to climb any further, so the older soldiers beat me. After six months on patrol we would have one month rest at the army camp. There every day we had to make bricks for building and cut brush around the camp. We worked from 6 am to 10 am, then from 12:30 pm to 4 pm. The older soldiers also had to do this work. We only got to rest on Sunday, then we could leave the army base and go visit the town market.

I: Did you ever go to school while in the army?

MZ: No

I: What kind of weapons did you use?

MZ: A G-3

I: Did you ever have to shoot people?

MZ: Yes

I: How many younger (under 18 years old) soldiers were in your battalion?

MZ: In the battalion 1/3 out of a total of 1,000 soldiers were younger. There were many who were 12 years old. In my Company, Company 1, there were 30 soldiers and 15 were under 18 years old. New soldiers would not be sent to the battalion before they were 12, but they would be taken for training if they were 10 or 11.

I: How did the younger soldiers feel about being in the army?

MZ: Every day they were unhappy, every day they were very homesick, and missing their mothers and brothers.

I: Could you contact your family? Could your family contact you?

MZ: I have been unable to contact my family since I joined the army when I was 11 years old.

I: How did the soldiers treat civilians (villagers) in the area you were stationed in?

MZ: Because we did not know the way through the jungle we would make some villagers walk in front of us. We also took food from the villagers, like chickens and pigs. We also took villagers for porters. Every time we went on an operation we would take 40 villagers for porters. When we came to a village all the villagers would run and hide in the jungle because they were afraid of being taken as porters. If a porter tried to run away then the section commander would tell the captain on his walkie-talkie that a porter had tried to run away, and the captain would say that he should be killed. This happened six times [porters were killed for running away] while I was in the army .

I: Why did you leave the army?

MZ: It was very bad. We were unable to carry all the weight, we did not have enough food, we were always tired. Our officer would order us to go get water or search for food, and even though we were very tired we could not complain. During our training we were told that the army is good for the future of Burma, but after I was in the jungle I think that the army is not good for the people, because of things like forced portering.

I: How did you escape from the army?

MZ: On the night of January 29th we (Min Zaw and Aung Kyaw) had security duty. At 9 p.m. we left our equipment and ran away into the jungle. We kept going till 4:30 a.m. then we were very tired so we slept. When we woke up we walked for 30 minutes until we reached the border and we crossed over into Thailand. We found a path through the paddy fields and we walked until we reached a Thai village, I don’t remember the name of the village. The villagers sent for the police who came and took us to the xxxx police station. We had to stay there for five days, and there was no one who could speak to us in Burmese. Then the police contacted UNHCR who came and brought us to xxxx. We did not tell the UNHCR people our real names, or that we were soldiers, we just said that we were porters. We were afraid that we would be killed.

I: How did you feel about the time you spent in the army?

MZ: I was unhappy every day, every day I was homesick.

I: Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience that we didn’t ask you?

MZ: I want to share my experience with many people.

Name: “Aung Kyaw”

Age: 16

Ethnicity: Burman

Religion: Muslim

Education completed: 4th standard

Address: Phey Township, Pegu Division

Family information: Father and mother divorced/separated, Father’s name is xxxx, Mother’s name is xxxx, five children in the family including “Aung Kyaw”.

Rank: Army normal/no rank

Unit: IB 246, Company 3

Area: Unit based in Khoun Hein Township, Shan State

Time spent in the army: 2 years

I: How did you become a soldier?

AK: When I was 14 years old I was working in an eyeglasses repair shop in the Phey township bazaar. One day I went to work and the owner of the shop told me that today was a holiday and he was closing the shop. The shop owner told me that I could go out and enjoy himself at the bazaar. I stayed out all day, and at 10 pm that night I was returning home with three of my friends, when soldiers stopped us. We were taken to the army camp, and there the army officer said that none of us had ID cards. We were accused of being outsiders (people not from Phey township), and the army officer asked us what they were doing out at night. Then he told us that we should join the army, that the salary was very good, and that by the time we finished our army training we would be big strong men. At the time we didn’t know about the army, and the army officer said that the army is good for the country, so we said we would join the army. My three friends were:

1. “Lin Soe Min”, 13 years old

2. “Zin Win”, 14 years old

3. “Than Ni”, 16 years old

I: What if you had said that you didn’t want to join the army, would you be allowed to return home?

AK: No I was forced to join, I would not have been able to return home.

I: What happened after this?

AK: We slept in the army camp in Phey township for one night. Then we were sent to the Da Nyin Kone soldier collection point in Yangon. After this I was sent to No 4 army training camp in Panglong township Shan State, for five months of training. The head of the training camp was Captain Htain Kyaw. After five months I was sent to Khon Hein IB 246. The seargents in charge of my company, Company #3, were Maung Khin and Win Shwe.

I: How did they treat you in the army, during and after training?

AK: It was difficult to learn how to take out the bullets from the gun, so at the training I was unable to do it properly and the trainers beat me. Also during training sometimes we would be ordered to walk a long ways, and if we were unable to continue we would be beaten with sticks or slapped. After training when I was in the army camp sometimes the older soldiers would get drunk on whiskey and beat me, even though this time I had made no mistakes. The older soldiers would bully the younger ones.

I: Did you ever get sick?

AK: I had malaria 2 times, but I was only given tablets. I was sent to the clinic where the medic examined me, he wrote a note to the head officer that I had malaria and should have 5 days of rest, but the head officer did not allow me to have any rest. If we got sick while in the jungle we were only given tablets. If someone became extremely sick then they would be sent back to the army camp.

I: How many young (under 18 years old) soldiers were there in your company?

AK: In my company, company 3, there were 27 soldiers and 15 of them were younger soldiers.

I: Could you contact your family while you were in the army? Could your family contact you?

AK: I have not been able to contact my family since I was taken for the army two years ago.

I: How do you feel about the time spent in the army?

AK: I was unhappy every day.

I: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience in the army that we didn’t ask you?

AK: I want to share my experience with everybody.

I: did you or other soldiers lay landmines?

AK: Yes we both put landmines many times on the frontlines, surrounding our camps, and also along the paths.

I: Can you tell me about your experience fighting?

AK: We experienced face-to- face fighting with the SSA two times. But we were ambushed by the SSA many times. During the fighting some of the younger soldiers were injured. Soon after I joined my battalion, two of the younger soldiers in another company committed suicide. I don’t know their names.

I: did you learn about the laws of war or the Geneva Convention?

AK: We were given 60 paragraphs about the army, and one said that if someone surrenders (with their hands up) we should not shoot them. But we never experienced this happening. The army officers also told me that if a foreigner asks how old you are, then don’t say that you’re 14, say that you’re 18.

I: Have you heard of the UN convention on the Rights of the Child?

AK: No

MZ: No

I: What do you want to do in the future, now that you’ve left the army?

AK: Go to school

MZ: Go to school

# Photos

GO TO TABLE OF CONTENTS