WOMAN RAPED, HER BROTHER KILLED IN LAI-KHA
On 29.6.2000, Capt. Myint Oo, from the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) Lai-Kha-based LIB515, raped a woman and shot dead her brother who tried to intervene, at a rice farm in Lai-Kha township.

On the day of the incident, Naang Zing U, aged 18, was alone weeding grass in a rice farm when a patrol of 80-90 SPDC troops of Company No.3 from LIB515 led by Capt. Myint Oo saw her and surrounded the farm. Capt. Myint Oo then went to her, while keeping his troops on guard outside the farm, and asked what she was doing and why she was alone.

Naang Zing U explained that she was weeding their farm because it had been neglected for some time and grass had grown so tall that it was blocking the growth of the rice plants and that she was alone because she had come before her parents who would be coming later.
Myint Oo then said that he had some questions to ask and told her to wash her hands and feet and come to the farm hut, built on stilts in the middle of the farm, while he went ahead and waited at the hut. Naang Zing U was too afraid to refuse and did as she was told. However, she did refuse when the Captain told her to go up into the hut, and sat down under it.

Capt. Myint Oo then pulled out his pistol and threatened to shoot her dead if she struggled and dragged her by the arm up into the hut. When they got into the hut, Myint Oo raped her and, out of pain and terror, she managed to scream out aloud a few times.

At that moment, Naang Zing U's elder brother, Zaai Maai, who happened to be coming to the farm by the way where there were no soldiers guarding, heard his sister's voice and ran to the hut. Not knowing that his sister's attacker was an SPDC soldier, he picked up a stick and charged up the hut to rescue her.
However, Zaai Maai was not able to get into the hut. Capt. Myint Oo was frightened by his approach and shot him as he reached the top of the ladder, and he fell down dead on the ground.

A few moments later, while Naang Zing U was crying and hugging the dead body of her brother, Capt. Myint Oo immediately led his troops away.
After conducting a funeral for the dead, no one dared to lodge a complaint with the authorities or do anything else about it.

DISPLACED FARMER SHOT DEAD TRYING TO STOP THEFT OF DRAUGHT-OX, IN LAI-KHA
On 26.6.2000, SPDC troops from IB64 stole an ox and shot dead the owner who tried to stop them, in front of his house at a relocation site near Lai-Kha town, Lai-Kha township.

The ox owner, Lung Kham Leng, male, aged 51, was one of the displaced farmers who had been forcibly relocated to the outskirts of Lai-Kha town from their villages in 1997 by the then SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) troops. Lung Kham Leng was originally from Kung Hak village in Paang Saang tract.

On the day of the incident, a patrol of 30-40 SPDC troops from IB64, led by Capt. Win Myint, was patrolling the relocation site and when 3 of the troops got near Lung Kham Leng's house, they saw an ox tied to a post in front of his house in his compound.

The 3 soldiers, led by Corporal Tin Hla, entered Lung Kham Leng's compound and dragged away the ox. Lung Kham Leng who was in the house saw them and ran out of the house and tried to stop them, saying that it was his draught-ox. But the soldiers did not listen and kept going, so he picked up a stick and beat the soldier who was pulling the ox by the rope.

Corporal Tin Hla then shot at Lung Kham Leng, throwing him down to the ground dead near the gate of his compound.

After shooting Lung Kham Leng, the troops came back and searched the house, taking away a pair of earrings worth 2,000 Kyat; 1,640 Kyat of money and 25 valuable ancient silver coins.

Naang Swe Ing, a daughter of Lung Kham Leng, who was pleading and crying, was slapped several times so hard that she lost consciousness for some time.
After that, the soldiers tied the ox back to the same post and left to report the incident to their patrol leader.

Capt. Win Myint, the patrol leader, then went to the community leader of the relocation site and told him that Lung Kham Leng was shot because he had tried to wrest the gun from one of the soldiers who had come into his compound on duty and another soldier had to shoot him before he could do any harm with the gun, thus making it very difficult for the community leader and others to complain any further.

2 AKHA VILLAGERS KILLED FOR FAILING TO PAY OPIUM TAX IN MUNRG-KHARK
On 12.6.00, SPDC troops from Murng-Khark-based IB227 shot dead 2 Akha villagers for failing to pay 'tax' or protection money for growing opium in their farm in Paa Khaa Long tract, Murng-Khark township.

On that day, a patrol of 12 SPDC troops from IB227 led by Lt. Min Oo was collecting taxes from opium farms in Paa Khaa Long tract area and shot dead 2 of the farmers who did not have ready money and could not pay the demanded taxes.

The 2 Akha villagers who were killed were:

In Murng-Khark township, villagers who grow opium have to pay taxes to the SPDC troops in the area for protection and those who fail to do so could face severe punishment. The amounts of the taxes range from 30,000 Kyat to 50,000 Kyat, depending on the size of each farm.

According to the local people, villagers of Mi Ti Nur and Mi Ti Tai villages in Nawng Tao tract who grew opium had already paid their protection money to the SPDC troops from LIB324 on 16.5.00, at the rate of 30,000 Kyat per farm.

BUDDHIST MONK FORCED TO LEAVE DISMANTLED MONASTERY, IN MURNG-PAN
On 21.7.00, a Buddhist monk, the abbot of Loi Noi monastery in Murng-Pan township, was forced to leave his monastery, which was dismantled by SPDC troops from LIB520.

On 18.7.00, a force of about 80-90 SPDC troops from LIB520 led by Capt. Than Nyunt went to Loi Noi monastery, which was built on a hill top called Loi Noi, and told the abbot that they had received an order from higher authorities to build a pagoda on Loi Noi hill top and the monastery would need to be removed, and warned the abbot to leave within 3 days.

But the monk did not agree to the idea and told the soldiers that he could not leave and stayed on without making any preparation for leaving.
After 3 days, however, the SPDC troops came back and started to dismantle the walls of the monastery even when the monk was still inside.
The abbot, not being able to stop the troops from destroying his monastery, left crying. The monastery had been built only recently and finished on 8.4.98. It had cost 24 million Kyat.

Later, the lumber of the dismantled monastery were taken to the military base and used for building houses and barracks in the base.

REPATRIATED REFUGEES DENIED REENTRY IN MURNG-TON
In July and August 2000, SPDC troops taking charge of a Burma-Thai border checkpoint in Murng-Ton township refused to accept forcibly repatriated refugees that were handed over to them by the Thai authorities.

In late July and early August, at least on 3 occasions, SPDC troops of Company No.3 from LIB330 headed by Capt. Htun Aung, manning the BP-1 border checkpoint in Murng-Ton, opposite Chiangmai province of Thailand, refused to take back refugees that were arrested by Thai authorities on the charge of illegal entry into Thailand and handed back to them at the checkpoint.

The SPDC troops stated that these people were not from Burma; they had not asked permission when they left the country so they did not know who these people were, and refused to accept them.

The Thai authorities, probably having no other choice, then released the refugees in Nawng Ook, a border town near the checkpoint on the Thai side of the border, and the refugees went their own ways.

The following is the list of the 3 incidents documented, in which refugees had been pushed back into Thailand by the SPDC troops:

5 DISPLACED PERSONS KILLED BY LANDMINE IN MURNG-TON
On 2.6.00, 5 displaced villagers from Loi-Lem township were killed in a landmine blast, planted by members of UWSA (United Wa State Army), at a place about 1 mile from Nam Hoo Khun village in Pung Pa Khem tract, Murng-Ton township.

The victims were the heads of five displaced families, altogether 15 men, women and children, who were heading for Thailand.
These families were farmers from Loi-Lem township where they had been forcibly relocated to near the town of Loi Lem from Kung Lao village in Sanin tract by SLORC troops in August 1997.

Over the last 2-3 years in the relocation site in the outskirts of Loi-Lem town, these farmers were not able to earn enough to feed their families because there was no land close to the town for them to farm and they were not allowed to go very far from the town.

However, they had to secretly grow some rice at small and remote plots of land, risking their safety or even their lives because anyone found outside of the relocation site could be shot on sight by the SLORC/SPDC troops. Even so, their farm produce was hardly enough for subsistence.

The situation had worsened year by year and it had become more and more difficult for them to survive in the relocation site, so they decided to seek refuge in Thailand and left Loi-Lem on 21.5.00, arriving at Nam Hoo Khun village in Pung Pa Khem tract, Murng-Ton township, on 2.6.00.

On arriving at Nam Hoo Khun village which was not very far from the Thai border, the 5 men and heads of the families decided to find a local guide and walk to the nearest village in Thailand and hire a car to come back and take their families. They found a Lahu man in Nam Hoo Khun village to guide them and they set off right away on that evening.

They headed uphill towards a place called Kholai Ma, and had gone only about 1-1/2 kms when a landmine exploded, instantly killing 5 of them and seriously wounding their guide, who managed to stagger back to his house at Nam Hoo Khun village and died 2-1/2 hours later.

Lahu village leaders were later told by members of UWSA that they had planted some landmines in the area to prevent their enemies from attacking their camp. However, they did not take any responsibility for the death of the villagers.

On the next day, 3.6.00, the bereaved families hired 5 Lahu villagers to go and look for the dead victims. Zaai Kam, son of Lung Zaai who was one of the dead victims, also went with them and, after seeing all the bodies, hired the Lahu men to bury them properly.

Without their husbands and fathers, the bereaved families decided not to go any further, but to return to Loi-Lem and hold a proper funeral for the dead and decide later what to do next.

Members of the unfortunate internally displaced families were all originally from Kung Lao village, Sanin tract, Loi-Lem township. They were:

RICE FIELDS CONFISCATED IN MURNG-PAN
On 4.7.00, SPDC military authorities of LIB332 confiscated 15 acres of already planted rice fields belonging to the people in Murng-Pan township.
Capt. Thein Htun, one of the company commanders of Murng-Pan-based LIB332 issued a written order to Lung Pan Nyo, leader of the farming community and farm land in Murng-Pan township, stating that he had received an order from his superiors to confiscate 15 acres of land on the eastern side of the military camp to build military storehouses, and the land was to be handed over to the military immediately.

The land had for decades been cultivated as rice fields by local farmers and had now already been planted with rice seedlings for some days, some for 5 days, some for 3 days and some for 7 days.

Three farmers whose rice fields were to be affected by the confiscation went, together with Lung Pan Nyo, and pleaded with the military authorities to wait only a few months until after they could harvest their rice crop before actually taking the land.

But Capt. Thein Htun only explained that it was an order from higher up and he could do nothing about it. He did, however, give 1 sack of poor quality rice to each of the farmers and said that was all he could do.

The 3 farmers who lost their rice fields were:

FORCED PORTERING IN KAENG-TUNG
On 21.6.00, a column of about 60 SPDC troops from IB245 conscripted civilian porters in the area of Loi Ko, Paang Mu, Yaang Mu, Wan Son, Kiu Khi Kai Tai and Kui Khi Kai Nur villages.

Altogether 37 villagers were unexpectedly and so suddenly seized where they happened to be that they had no time to take their food and put on proper clothing, and many had to go barefoot.

The porters were first taken down to the main road where there were trucks loaded with military things, which were divided and distributed among the porters to carry on their backs and shoulders.

On the same day the troops set out again up into the hills away from the main road and the porters were ordered to carry their loads and go with them, towards the area of Murng Sen and Murng In tracts.

VILLAGERS FORCED TO PROVIDE FIREWOOD IN KAENG-TUNG
In early June, SPDC troops of IB226 issued an order requiring the villagers of Wan Zawn village in Murng Laab tract, Kaeng-Tung township, to provide 40 arm-span stacks of firewood for the military.

On 7.6.00, a patrol of 12 SPDC troops from Loi Muay-based IB226 came to Wan Zawn village and told the village headman to provide 40 arm-span stacks of firewood for their military camp within 7 days, from 7 to 14.6.00.

The village headman tried to explain to the troops that it was not yet time for cutting firewood because most of the trees were still too young and would not yield much, and much more trees would have to be wastefully cut to fill the demanded quota.

The troops, however, kept saying that they had to do exactly as told by the order from the higher authorities; there was no way to change or avoid it.

The village headman then called a village meeting, explained about the order to the villagers, and allotted the responsibility equally to the 25 households in the village, 1-1/2 stacks of firewood to be cut by each household.

The villagers not only had to cut and gather their quotas of firewood, but were also required to transport them to the military camp which was 6-7 miles away, so they had to spend their hard-earned money to hire trucks to do that, causing many villagers to complain bitterly about it.

VILLAGERS FORCED TO CUT BAMBOO AND MAKE FENCES FOR THE MILITARY IN MURNG-KHARK
On 3.7.00, SPDC troops of Murng-Khark-based LIB327 issued an order forcing the villagers of Huay Long, Nawng Yaao and several other villages in Nawng Long tract to cut bamboo and build fences for the military.

On that day, 7 SPDC troops from LIB327 led by Lt. Nyan Lin came to Huay Long and Nawng Yaao villages and ordered the villagers to cut and split bamboo for making fences to replace the old and decayed fences of their military base.

The villagers were required to cut 50 bunches of bamboo sticks, each containing 100 bamboo sticks about 6 feet long and about 2 inches thick. They had to be finished before 13.7.00.

After that, the villagers were forced to build the fences for 3 days, from 19 to 21.7.00, and each village had to provide 6 workers for each day.
All the work had to be done using the villagers' own tools and eating their own food without any pay or compensation.

HOSTAGE TAKING AND EXTORTION IN KAENG-TUNG
On 23.4.00, SPDC troops from IB244 arrested 3 Akha villagers of Loi Mi village in Huay Phaa tract, Kaeng-Tung township and extorted 30,000 Kyat of money for the release of each of them.

The 3 villagers were:

These villagers were returning from visiting their relatives at a neighbouring village, Wan Lom Tai, and were on the way between the two villages when they ran into a patrol of about 30 SPDC troops that was coming from the direction of Ta Purm bridge.

The troops stopped them, searched them, accused them of dealing in amphetamines, despite the fact that they found nothing illegal on their bodies, and arrested them, and took them to their village, Loi Mi.

At Loi Mi village, the troops called out the parents of the arrested and demanded a ransom for their release, 30,000 Kyat for each of them. Otherwise they would be handed over to the police who would then put them in jail, they threatened.

The parents, with the help of the village headman, tried to explain about the innocence of their sons and begged the soldiers to release them. But the soldiers kept demanding the ransom while the villagers kept pleading, saying that they did not have that much money.

Eventually, the troops agreed to take a smaller ransom offered by the villagers, 7,000 Kyat for each, and released the victims.

BULLYING AND EXTORTION IN LOI-LEM
On 1.4.00, the SPDC military authorities issued an order prohibiting all the trucks and cars that ran between Tawng-Gi (Taunggyi), the Capital of Shan State, and Murng-Ton, a township adjacent to Thailand's Chiangmai province, not to bring in any cooking oil and gas from Nawng Ook, a border town in Thailand.
On 8.4.00, a truck carrying sesame cooking oil, that was produced in Shan State, was stopped and seized at a military checkpoint manned by SPDC troops from IB9 in Loi-Lem township, on a charge that it was carrying illegal foreign cooking oil.

The driver and owner, Zaai Aw, tried to explain that he did not come from the border but from Nam-Zarng township and the oil was only a local product. But the troops said they were seizing all kinds of cooking oil, whether it was locally produced or not did not really matter, and even threatened to put the owner in jail.
Finally, the owner was told that all his cooking oil was confiscated and he was required to pay a fine of 250,000 Kyat to get back his truck and avoid a jail sentence.

In addition to having lost 100 tins of cooking oil worth 450,000 Kyat, the owner had to pay 250,000 Kyat for his truck and himself.

KILLING OF LIVESTOCK IN KAENG TAWNG AREA OF MURNG-NAI
On 5.4.00, SPDC troops from IB246 shot a water buffalo belonging to a villager and forced a civilian ox-cart to carry the meat to a military camp in Kaeng Tawng area, Murng-Nai township.

A patrol of 6 SPDC troops from an outpost of IB246, stationed at Ton Hung village relocation site in Kaeng Tawng area, led by Capt. San Win, shot a villager's buffalo in a field between Ton Hung and Pa Saa villages and forced an ox-cart to carry the meat back to their camp.

The buffalo belonged to an old man, Lung Ti-Wing, who was originally from Pa Saa village that had been forcibly relocated to Ton Hung relocation site 3-4 years ago.

At the relocation site, Lung Ti-Wing used the buffalo to work in many things to earn a living and it was the only thing that was of any value he possessed. There had been traders who had offered 70,000 Kyat for the buffalo, but Lung Ti-Wing did not sell it because it was worth much more than that to him.

The ox-cart owner whose cart was forced to carry the buffalo meat to the military camp was also a relocated villager originally from Pa Saa. He was given 1 viss of the meat and told to tell people that the buffalo belonged to no one in particular but was just a stray one from one of the passing herds of the cattle traders.

Although he knew that his buffalo had been killed and taken for meat by the SPDC troops, Lung Ti-Wing dared not complain about it for fear of further abuses.

EXTORTION IN TA-KHI-LAEK
On 5.8.00, SPDC troops from LIB526 who were manning a checkpoint at Pa Kok ferry crossing on Nam Mae Sai river in Murng Phong tract, Ta-Khi-Laek township, arrested 2 villagers and extorted 1,200 Baht of Thai money from them.

At about 18:00 hrs in the evening of that day, Lung Saam Ko, aged 50 and his son, Zaai Laa, aged 19, from Wan Kawng village in Fang Min tract, Ta-Khi-Laek township, were arrested by 6 SPDC troops from LIB526 at Pa Kok ferry crossing checkpoint as they were crossing the Nam Mae Sai river-border back from Thailand.

Since people from both sides were allowed to cross the border during the day, until 18:30 hrs in the evening, Lung Saam Ko and his son had gone to visit their relatives across the river in Mae Sai district on the Thai side of the border.

Although it was only 18:00 hrs when they crossed back from Thailand, the SPDC troops at the said checkpoint arrested Lung Saam Ko and his son on the charge of crossing the border beyond the permitted time limit, and demanded a fine of 600 Baht each for their release.

Lung Saam Ko pointed out that it was still early and was still about a half-hour within the time limit, and pleaded with the soldiers to let them go.

But the troops kept demanding the money and threatened to hand them over to the police on a charge of breaking security regulations by crossing the border after 18:30 hrs, an offence punishable at the whim of the authorities.

The villagers, realizing that they could face an unreasonably severe punishment for an offence they did not commit and also further and harsher abuses by the soldiers, could think of no better choice than to comply with their demand.

The villagers paid the SPDC troops 1,200 Baht of Thai money for their release, which was almost all the money they had with them.