COMMENTARY

On 16 November 2000, the International Labour Organization called for its member nations to impose sanctions against the Burmese military regime because of its widespread use of forced labour. The junta strongly denounced this move, insisting that it had taken "concrete and detailed legislative, executive and administrative measures (...) in accordance with the ILO Convention No. 29 on forced labour".

SHRF wishes to comment that it has seen no evidence of any effort on the part of the junta to decrease its use of forced labour in Shan State. SHRF newsletters in recent months, including this month, indicate that forced labour is still rampant.

This month SHRF wishes to draw attention to the continued use of one kind of forced labour by the junta, namely "forced portering". This issue details the brutal killing of two elderly porters who could no longer carry their loads in Murng-Nai township.

"Forced portering" is one of the worst forms of forced labour in which civilian porters are forced to carry heavy loads and walk long distances with little rest and food, often for several days.

With the escalation of a dry season offensive by the junta against the Shan State Army along the Thai border, reports have reached SHRF that porters have been used to carry supplies for the junta's troops.

This has been the practice of the junta's troops for decades and there is no sign that they have changed their tactics, despite the ruling of the ILO.

HUSBAND KILLED, WIFE RAPED IN LAI-KHA

On 24.9.00, a patrol of SPDC troops from LIB515 led by Capt. Aung Hpyu killed a farmer and raped his wife at a farm 2-1/2 miles south of Lai-Kha town, and took the wife away with them for 10 days during which she was repeatedly raped.

The victims, a married couple from Kun Hung village, Wan Saang tract, Lai-Kha township, Zaai Za-Ling, aged 26, and Naang Mon, aged 21, were weeding their rice farm on the day of the incident. Zaai Za-Ling ran into a patrol of the said SPDC troops outside their farm on his way to fetch water and was arrested.

The troops took him back to the farm and on seeing Naang Mon they arrested her as well. Capt. Aung Hpyu then took her into a nearby stilted farm hut and raped her.

When they left the farm, the troops beat Zaai Za-Ling on the head with a heavy stick at the edge of the farm, killing him instantly, and took Naang Mon wit them.

For 10 days, Naang Mon was forced to go with the troops and was repeatedly raped by several officers. On the 10th day, she was gang-raped by 10 troops and was let go. But she was not even able to stand up when she was released, and it took her some time to be able to walk back to her village.

CIVILIAN PORTERS SHOT DEAD IN MURNG-NAI

On 16.10.00, a patrol of about 30 SPDC troops from Kun-Hing-based LIB524 led by Capt. Win Maung conscripted 18 civilian porters, including young and old men, from some villages in Kaeng Tawng area in Murng-Nai township and forced them to carry their things and continued to patrol the area.

When they came to a field where 6 villagers' draught-oxen were grazing, the troops shot all the oxen dead and forced the porters to cut them up and dry the meat. After some time, the troops forced the civilian porters also to carry the meat back to their base in Kun-Hing township.

After they had gone some distance, 2 of the porters who were quite old became too weak and tired to continue carrying the meat, which was 20 viss for each (about 35 kilos). Big drops of sweat ran down their faces and bodies and they could not go any further and could not speak properly. Thinking that they were pretending, the troops beat and kicked both of them, causing them to fall down on the ground.

Since the 2 men could not get up, some of the soldiers took away the meat and told them to stand up. When they could not do that, some troops pulled them up by the hands and told them to walk along with the patrol.

The 2 old men, however, were too weak and were so badly kicked and beaten up by the troops earlier that they were unable even to walk slowly on. The commander of the troops then became very angry and said that the 2 men were defying orders and did not want to even walk slowly without having to carry anything, and ordered his troops to shoot them. The 2 porters were shot dead and left on the road.
They were:

The remaining 16 porters had to carry the meat until they reached the base of LIB524 in Kung-Hing township where they were released.

DISPLACED FARMER SHOT DEAD, HIS DRAUGHT-OXEN KILLED FOR MEAT, IN MURNG-KERNG

On 14.8.00, a column of 50-60 SPDC troops from LIB514 led by commander Hla Myint shot dead a displaced farmer and his 2 draught-oxen at a place 2-1/2 miles west of Murng-Kerng town, Murng-Kerng township.

The victim, Lung Paan Zing, aged 47, was originally from Long Zaam village in Ham Ngaai tract, Murng-Kerng township, which had been forcibly relocated to the outskirts of the town by SLORC/SPDC troops (SLORC = State Law and Order Restoration Council) in 1997.

On the day of the incident, Lung Paan Zing was gathering and transporting bamboo from the forest with his ox-cart to make a new fence on a plot of land he used to grow rice over the last 2-3 years which was not very far from the town. He was returning from the forest with split bamboo sticks on his ox-cart when he ran into the said troops about 2-1/2 miles west of the town.

The troops stopped Lung Paan Zing, ordered him down from his ox-cart and beat him repeatedly until he lost consciousness and eventually shot him dead. Some of the troops unyoked the 2 oxen from the cart and shot them dead, cut them up and took their meat, which was later dried and sold in Murng-Kerng town.

On hearing the news, Lung Paan Zing' relatives went after him and found his dead body on the road, near his ox-cart loaded with split bamboo and with no draught-oxen. Even though they were sure that Lung Paan Zing was killed by the SPDC troops, they could not and dared not complain to anyone for fear of further abuses.

ISPLACED FARMER TORTURED AND BEATEN TO DEATH IN KUN-HING

On 18.10.00, a patrol of SPDC troops led by Capt. Tin Aung beat and tortured to death a displaced farmer, Zaai Pan-Zit-Ta, aged 24, at a place 2-1/2 miles south of Ka Li village relocation site in Kun-Hing township.

Zaai Pan-Zit-Ta was originally from Nam Pun village in Ho Yaan tract, Kun-Hing township, which had been forcibly relocated to Ka Li village by SLORC/SPDC troops in 1997. Since then, he had lost his farm land and had been working on other people's land as a hired hand or on some types of contract.

As harvesting time was nearing, Pan-Zit-Ta went virtually every day to look at the rice field he had been contracted to work on to see if the rice crop was ripe enough for reaping.

On the day of the incident, he was going to the rice field, located about 3 miles south of Ka Li relocation site. But before he reached the rice field, he ran into a column of about 80 SPDC troops with some civilian guides and porters.

The troops immediately seized him, took him to a remote spot and interrogated him, beating and torturing him as they tried to extract information. After a while, when they could not get any information they wanted, they left Zaai Pan-Zit-Ta alone and ordered the civilian guides and porters to come and see if they knew him.

When the guides and porters came to look at him, Zaai Pn-Zit-Ta was already dead. While all the porters were shocked and dumbfounded, to avoid further questions and abuses, one of the guides quickly said they did not know and had never seen him before, even though all of them knew Zaai Pan-Zit-Ta very well as an innocent farmer.

Capt. Tin Aung then proudly said, "Good, if you don't know him. He was a Shan rebel" and continued their journey towards Ka Li village, leaving the dead body of Zaai Pan-Zit-Ta as it was.

RAPE OF AKHA WOMEN IN KAENG-TUNG

On 25.9.00, 2 young Akha women from Nam Kaang village in Huay Koi tract, Kaeng-Tung township, were raped by 7 SPDC troops from IB245 at their farm which was not far from their village.

The victims, Aa Mu, aged 20 and her younger sister, Aa Thuay, aged 17, were working in their farm until evening on that day when 7 SPDC troops, who were coming from the direction of Wan Urm village in Murng Khawn tract and were heading towards Huay Koi village, saw them and came into the farm.

When the troops learned that the 2 young women were alone, they seized them and gang-raped them right in the farm until all 7 of them had raped both women several times.

When the troops left for Huay Koi village, even though the older woman, Aa Mu, managed to keep herself conscious, the younger woman, Aa Thuay, completely lost consciousness.

As the troops left their farm and were out of sight, Aa Mu staggered back to her village and reported the incident to her parents. When the parents and some relatives and fellow villagers went to the farm to look for the younger woman, she was still unconscious and they had to treat her for some time to make her come round.

Since the said SPDC troops stopped at Huay Koi village, which was not very far from Nam Kaang village, and forced the headman to serve them food, the villagers knew very well that they were from IB245. However, no one dared to complain against them.

STOLEN CHICKEN OWNER BEATEN IN MURNG-PAN

On 2.10.00, 4 SPDC troops in plain clothes from LIB520 led by Sgt. Thein Myint beat a man with a stick at his house in the outer market quarter of Murng-Pan town, causing serious injuries in his head.

In the evening before the day of the incident, Sgt. Thein Myint and 2 soldiers were found by Zaai Wi-La-Sa while stealing chickens at his house. There was still light enough for Zaai Wi-La-Sa to recognize them and so he shouted that his chickens were being stolen by SPDC soldiers until many people in the neighbourhood ran to his house. The chicken thieves, however, managed to escape with one chicken.

So on the next day, Thein Myint and 3 soldiers wearing civilian clothes came back to Zaai Wi-La-Sa's house and beat him on the head with a stick, splitting his scalp and fracturing his skull.

Later, when Zaai Wi-La-Sa and community leaders lodged a complaint with the military authorities, they only said that they would reprimand the soldiers and would not let such thing happen again and gave Zaai Wi-La-Sa 100 Kyat of money to buy medicine.

ARREST, EXTORTION AND FORCED LABOUR IN KAENG-TUNG

On 15.8.00, 7 policemen from the SPDC's People's Police Force in Kaeng-Tung township arrested 3 villagers at Wan Laao village in Loi Long tract, Kaeng-Tung township, and locked them up at the police station in the town.

The 3 men, Zaai Sai, aged 36, Zaai Zaen Sen, aged 30 and Zaai Peng, aged 25, were Shan farmers who earned a simple living by growing rice and some other crops and vegetables. They had been arrested on a charge of dealing in methamphetamine.

Since there was no evidence against them, when the village headman and some fellow villagers came on 18.8.00 to plead with the police authorities for the release of the 3 men, stating that they guaranteed their innocence, the police released them, but only after the villagers paid 3,000 Kyat to each of the 7 policemen for their time and effort used in arresting them.

During their detention in the police station, the 3 villagers were forced to work from 09:00 hrs to 14:00 hrs every day. Each day, altogether about 11-12 detainees were forced to work in the police station; doing sanitary work, weeding grass, fetching water and polishing floors, etc.

EXTORTION OF INNOCENT WOMAN IN MURNG-PHYAK

On 26.7.00, SPDC customs officers at a checkpoint in Murng-Phyak accused a woman of having gone to work as a prostitute in Thailand and extorted 150,000 Kyat of money from her.

The woman, Naang Non, aged 29, was from Pa Lao village in Hawng Zaang tract, Murng-Yawng township, and was returning home to visit her parents after working in Ta-Khi-Laek, the border town opposite the Thai town of Mae Sai, for some time, when she was harassed and extorted by customs officers manning a checkpoint in Murng-Phyak.

She had been working as a table waitress at a restaurant in Pung Thun quarter of Ta-Khi-Laek town, earning a meagre wage of 2,000 Baht a month, and many regular customers knew her well and could testify that she had not gone to work as a prostitute in Thailand.

She tried very hard to explain about her situation to the customs officers. The driver of the bus she was riding and fellow villagers who were travelling on the same bus also tried to back her explanation, but to no avail. The customs officers kept demanding 30,000 Baht of Thai money and threatening to arrest her if she did not comply.

Finally, with the help of the driver and some passengers, she was able to beg the customs officers to take 150,000 Kyat of Burmese money, an equivalent of 15,000 Baht of Thai money, because that was all she had and she had no Thai money.

The customs officers let her go only after they got the 150,000 Kyat from her.

EXTORTION IN TA-KHI-LAEK

On 19.8.00, a group of SPDC policemen from Ta Lur police station extorted 7,000 Baht of Thai money from a ferry boatman at Nam Khawng (Mae Kong in Thai) ferry crossing in Kaeng Laab tract, Ta-Khi-Laek township.

On the day of the incident, Zaai Taan, aged 38, a villager of Wan Kaeng village in Kaeng Laab tract who earned a living as a ferryman was accosted by a group of 3 policemen led by Corporal Soe Naing. As usual, he was about to ferry some consumer goods from Kaeng Laab across the Mae Kong river to Kaeng Kok market on the Laos side of the border when the police stopped him.

The police told Zaai Taan that they were collecting tax and demanded 10,000 Baht of Thai money from him. Zaai Taan explained that he was only earning 3,000 Baht for ferrying and offered to pay 500 Baht for the tax.

The police said that among the consumer goods there was rice that was illegal and threatened to arrest Zaai Taan if he refused to pay a fine, in which case he would probably face severe punishment.

After some pleading and bargaining, Zaai Taan had to pay 7,000 Baht for a fine and tax to let him cross the river.

ARREST AND EXTORTION IN TA-KHI-LAEK

On 1.9.00, members of USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association -- an SPDC sponsored youth organization) arrested 3 villagers of Murng Phong and extorted 5,000 Baht of Thai money from each of them.

The 3 villagers, Zaai Non, aged 23, Zaai Seng, aged 23 and Zaai Leo, aged 23, were arrested at a motorcycle taxi station in Murng Phong village where they worked by a group of 3 USDA members and 2 policemen, led by U Kan Nyunt, one of the USDA authorities, and were detained at the USDA office in the town.

Though all 3 of them worked as motorcycle taxi drivers, they were arrested on a charge of dealing in methamphetamine and were told to pay 30,000 Baht each for their release.

The parents and relatives of the 3 men tried in vain to plead for their release, stressing that their sons were innocent and that there was no evidence against them. The USDA members insisted that they knew the 3 men were involved in drug trafficking and that was evidence enough to arrest them and put them in jail, and kept demanding the money.

The villagers on their part kept pleading until the USDA members agreed to accept 5,000 Baht for the release of each of them, and the matter was thus settled.

EXTORTION IN MURNG-PAN

On 4.9.00, SPDC police in Murng-Pan seized a civilian truck, confiscated all the consumer goods on it and forced the owner to pay 500,000 Kyat to get his car back.

The car, a Toyota mini-truck, belonged to Zaai Tin, aged 43, who lived in Murng-Pan and made a living as a small trader of consumer goods. He was planning to take a truckload of merchandise to sell in Tawnggi when he was stopped by police as he was leaving Murng-Pan town.

The police confiscated all the following consumer goods on the truck:

Later, Zaai Tin had to pay the police 500,000 Kyat as was demanded by them to get his car back.

HOOTING OF LIVESTOCK AND FORCED LABOUR IN TA-KHI-LAEK

On 6.10.00, SPDC troops from LIB331 shot dead a buffalo and forced the villagers of Wan Na village in Murng Hai tract to cut it up and carry the meat for them almost the whole day to Mae Hok village in Maak Yaang tract.

A patrol of the 10 said SPDC troops shot dead one of the water buffalos they found grazing in a field near the road while patrolling in Murng Hai tract. The buffalo belonged to a villager of Huay Saa village, but because the buffalo was shot near Wan Na village, the troops thought it was from that village and forced the villagers to cut it up.

After that, the troops forced some of the villagers to carry the buffalo meat and follow them all day long until they reached Mae Hok village.

According to the local people, this group of SPDC soldiers seemed to be always hunting for pigs and cattle of the people in the areas along the roads between Ta-Khi-Laek and Murng Hai, and Ta-Khi-Laek and Loi Taw Kham.

The buffalo owner, Zaai Kanthawong, aged 39, a villager of Huay Saa, said that his buffalo was worth 26,000 Kyat when he bought it from a friend a few weeks ago.

ROBBERY IN MURNG-NAI

On 2.10.00, a group of 15 SPDC troops from LIB518 led by Capt. Than Htay, wearing camouflage and civilian clothes and armed with Carbines and M16 assault rifles, held up several civilian cars on the main road between Murng-Nai and Nam-Zarng and robbed them of their money and cargo.

The troops waited at one point on the Murng-Nai - Nam-Zarng main road and stopped a passing car, ordered all the passengers down and robbed them of their money, unloaded all the cargos and ordered all the passengers to get on again and continue their journey. After a while, a military truck came and trucked away the cargo.

On the said day, at least the following 4 civilian cars were stopped and robbed one after another:
1. A 6-wheeler cargo truck, fully loaded with clothes and consumer goods, owned by Maung Aye of Taunggi
2. A 6-wheeler cargo truck, fully loaded with consumer goods, owned by Lung Mo Sae of Pang Long
3. A 4-wheeler truck, fully loaded with consumer goods, owned by Zaai Tin La of Kun-Hing
4. A passenger van; its passengers were robbed of their money, said to be 1,560,000 Kyat in all

FORCED LABOUR AND LOOTING OF BUDDHIST TEMPLE AND MONASTERY IN KUN-HING

On 26.9.00, a patrol of 80-85 SPDC troops from LIB524 led by Maj. Maung Maung burned down a Buddhist temple and monastery at Paang Hok village in Wan Lao tract, Kun-Hing township.

The monastery was a big and well established one, built of best hardwood since 1958, and was once supported by 200 households of devotees before they were forcibly relocated by SLORC/SPDC troops in late 1997.

In May 2000, Capt. Hla Khin, commander of Co. No.3 of LIB524, conscripted 24 ox-carts and 20 civilian forced labourers in Kun-Hing town and went to the deserted village of Paang Hok.

He then ordered them to dismantle many of the wooden planks and timber from the walls, floors and frameworks of the monastery and carted them back to the base of LIB524, and later trucked them to No.6 military base in Nam-Zarng.

The SPDC troops finally burned down the remaining structure of the monastery to completely destroy all the evidence that a structure of worship of the Shan villagers had ever stood at that place.

FORCED PORTERING USED IN DRUG TRADE IN MURNG-SART

On 28-29.9.00, SPDC troops from IB49 conscripted 17 unpaid civilian porters from several villages in Murng Lung tract, Murng-Sart township.

A column of about 60 SPDC troops from the said battalion seized 6 villagers from Wan Long village, 8 villagers from Wan Hung village and 3 villagers from Wan Pen village in Murng Lung tract to be used as unpaid porters.

These villagers were forced to carry heavy bags without knowing the contents from a remote place north of a village called Nawng Leo down to Phak Tu Murng village near the main road.

The 2 places were quite distant and the villagers could transport the mysterious bags only 1 time per day. It took them 2 whole days to carry all the bags that had been forced on them.

The bags the porters had to carry on their soldiers were about half the size of a regular rice sack and the contents were felt like some sort of seeds or grains, and were quite heavy.

It was later learned by some of the porters that the contents were hundred of thousands of amphetamine tablets, produced at some remote places in the jungle in Murng Kok & Murng Lung areas by some dealers, but actually protected by SPDC troops.

In this particular shipment, the merchandise was produced and owned by a Chinese trader named Aa Jung. The SPDC soldiers were taking responsibility for the safe passage of the drugs.

Some SPDC authorities are making good money from giving protection to the drug trade, and more so by using free forced labour.