SHRF MONTHLY REPORT

COMMENTARY

Over the last 2-3 months, increasing numbers of refugees from Shan State, mostly from central, southern and eastern parts where forced opium cultivation by SPDC troops appears to be most rampant, have been coming to Thailand.

Although most of the border crossing points have been closed by authorities on both sides for some time, and despite the news that refugees fleeing to Thailand have often been harassed, robbed and even killed by known and unknown armed groups near the border, these refugees have risked all they have to get away from the unbearable situation in their homeland.

In addition to various gross human rights abuses and oppression, many refugees complained that forced opium cultivation was one of the main reasons for them to leave their native places.

Besides the 5,000 Kyat tax per acre use of land, Burmese military authorities in several townships had issued orders requiring opium farmers to also sell 1 viss (1.6 kg) of raw opium for every acre of land they cultivated, at the price of 120,000 Kyat per viss, to the military.

Because of bad weather and lack of skill, many opium farms had yielded less than 1 viss per acre and, to fill up the quotas, the farmers were required to buy from other more successful farmers at the local market rate of 200,000 Kyat per viss and resell it to the SPDC troops at only 120,000 Kyat per viss. Farmers who could not afford this had no choice but to flee. 

FLEEING REFUGEE SHOT DEAD NEAR THE THAI BORDER IN MURNG-TON

On 20.2.02, a patrol of SPDC troops from IB281 shot at a group of refugees who were heading for Thailand, instantly killing one and wounding two of them, east of BP-1 (Border Point - 1), 1-1/2 miles from the border in Murng-Ton township.

On the day of the incident, a group of about 50 refugees, mostly displaced Shans from central Shan State where their villages had been forcibly relocated by Burmese army troops a few years ago, were walking towards the Thai border, taking a shortcut route about 1-1/2 miles to the east of BP-1 checkpoint in an attempt to evade it.

At one point, the refugees ran into a group of about 5-6 SPDC troops from IB281, led by a Sergeant, who shot at them, killing 1 on the spot and wounding 2, and causing them to flee to different directions.

The one who died on the spot was a displaced farmer, Zaai Wa-Ya-Ma, male, aged 27, originally from Ton Hung village in Naa Poi village tract, Lai-Kha township.

The wounded 2 managed to escape to a village in the area and were still secretly treating their wounds by early March. They were:

Many of the refugees managed to escape to Thailand. Some of them escaped to Naa Kawng Mu village in the area and later fled to Thailand via BP-2 (Border Point - 2).

7 LAHU VILLAGERS RANDOMLY SHOT DEAD IN MURNG-SART

On 10.02.02, 7 Lahu villagers of Pu Na To village in Murng Tum village tract, Murng-Sart township, were shot dead by SPDC troops from Kaeng-Tung-based IB244, at Pu Na To village.

On that day, a column of about 60 SPDC troops from Kaeng-Tung-based IB244 came from the direction of Munrg Tum village and surrounded Pu Na To village.

While surrounding the village, some SPDC troops went into it and randomly shot at the villagers, killing 7 and wounding many in the process. 

It was not certain what were the reasons behind the shooting. However, according to the local people, it could be vengeance taken on the Lahu villagers by the SPDC troops because some time ago they had had a quarrel with some Lahu militia from Pu Na To village.

A DISPLACED PIG FARMER SHOT DEAD AND ROBBED OF HIS PIG IN KUN-HING

On 7.2.02, a displaced pig farmer was shot dead by a group of 4 SPDC troops from IB246, led by Sgt. Hla Hpe, while he was feeding his pigs in a relocation site in the outskirts of Kun-Hing town.

The victim, Zaai Wa-Ya-Ma, male, aged 18, was the only son of Lung In-Ta and Pa Yo, who were originally from Mai Saang Kham village in Wan Lao village tract, Kun-Hing township, that had been forcibly relocated to the outskirts of Kun-Hing town in 1996.
In the relocation site, Zaai Wa-Ya-Ma raised some pigs to earn a living and also support his parents. He was shot dead in his pig sty at about 10:00 hrs. while he was feeding his pigs. After shooting Zaai Wa-Ya-Ma, the SPDC troops also shot 1 pig and took it away.
After that, the SPDC troops went to the village headman and brought him to the killing site, told him that they had shot dead a Shan rebel and showed him Zaai Wa-Ya-Ma’s body, which was lying over the fence of his pig sty.

When the village headman saw the body and recognized it was Zaai Wa-Ya-Ma, he bluntly told the SPDC troops that they had killed an innocent villager who earned an honest living to support his parents. On hearing that, the troops became angry and slapped the headman several times until his face and eyes were badly swollen.
Later, the SPDC troops came back and took the village headman and Lung In-Ta, the victim’s father, to the military base and detained them for 4 hours before releasing them.
On 11.2.02, after they had conducted a funeral for Zaai Wa-Ya-Ma, Lung In-Ta and the village headman, together with the village tract headman and some other village elders and leaders, filed a complaint against the killers at the criminal court in Kun-Hing town.
Strangely enough, the court summoned the soldiers and the villagers and conducted a trial, during which the soldiers tried to prove that Zaai Wa-Ya-Ma was a Shan soldier by producing an old pistol and a hand-grenade supposed to belong to him.

When the village tract headman, the leader of the complainants, asked the soldiers where they got those exhibits, they said they found them in Zaai Wa-Ya-Ma’s house. However, Lung In-Ta testified that the soldiers had not come to the house, but took the pig and left after they had shot his son and the pig in the pig sty.

The court officers then dismissed all of them, saying that they needed time to further consider the case and would summon them again some time later. But so far there has not been any development since then.

2 DISPLACED VILLAGERS SHOT DEAD WHILE CLIMBING TREE FOR FRUIT IN LAI-KHA

On 11.2.02, 2 displaced villagers who were climbing a jackfruit tree at a deserted village, Maak Laang, in Ton Hung village tract, Lai-Kha township, were shot down from the tree by a patrol of SPDC troops from LIB519.

The 2 victims, Lung Saang Awng, male, aged 47 and Zaai Saang Wi, male, aged 35, were originally from Maak Laang village, where the incident took place, which had been forcibly relocated to the outskirts of Lai-Kha town with many other villages in Ton Hung tract in 1997 by the Burmese army troops.

In 2000, some villagers were again forced to move from Lai-Kha town relocation site to formerly deserted Nam Wan village in Ton Hung tract. The 2 victims were among those who had to relocate to Nam Wan village which was only about 2 miles from their original village, Maak Laang.

On the day of the incident, the 2 villagers went to gather wild vegetables around Maak Laang deserted village which was not so far from Nam Wan village where they had been relocated to.

On the same day, a patrol of SPDC troops from LIB519 which was passing by told the villagers at Nam Wan that they had shot dead 2 robbers at the foot of a jackfruit tree at an old village, pointed towards Maak Laang village and told them to go and bury the bodies.

Only when the villagers saw their bodies did they learn they were Lung Saang Awng and Zaai Saang Wi from their village and not robbers as claimed by the SPDC troops. According to the villagers, the 2 men might have been shot down from the tree because there were some jackfruits scattered around and some traces on the bodies and the tree. 

A WOMAN RAPED AND KILLED, HER BROTHER AND SISTER-IN-LAW TORTURED AND DETAINED, IN LAI-KHA

On 14.2.02, a woman was taken away by a patrol of about 28 SPDC troops from Co.4 of LIB515, led by commander Kyaw Myint, and later raped and killed in a forest near a relocation site in the outskirts of Lai-Kha town.

Naang Leng Sa, aged 18, was originally from Wan Khaai village in Paang Saang village tract, Lai-Kha township, which had been forcibly relocated to Lai-Kha town relocation site by the Burmese army troops in 1997.

On the day of the incident, Naang Leng Sa was gathering wild vegetables some distance outside the relocation site when a patrol of the said SPDC troops came by and forced her to go with them.

About 2 days later, on 16.2.02, there was news that some villagers were told by someone from a Burmese army unit that Naang Leng Sa had been raped and killed by the SPDC troops and her body left in a forest. 

Her relatives and some village leaders then went in search and found Naang Leng Sa’s body in the forest some distance from the relocation site. They then cremated her body and 7 days later conducted a funeral rite at the relocation village. 

A few days after the funeral, Naang Leng Sa’s elder brother and his wife were taken to the military base by the SPDC troops. They were accused of trying to defame the Burmese army by spreading news that Burmese soldiers had raped and killed their sister. 

They were interrogated and beaten until they lost consciousness several times, and finally they were put in jail. It was said that they would be locked up for 3 months.
It was learned that Naang Leng Sa was engaged to a young villager and was set to be married in April 2002.

3 FARMING WOMEN RAPED IN LAI-KHA

On 4.2.02, 3 women who were working at their farm were raped by SPDC troops from LIB519 at their farm huts in Lai-Kha township.

A column of about 160 SPDC troops from LIB519 were patrolling the rural areas of adjacent Murng-Nai, Nam-Zarng and Lai-Kha township and on the day of the incident came to a remote farm in Lai-Kha township, somewhere between Kho Lam village in Nam-Zarng township and Lai-Kha town, where there were 3 small farm huts clustered together.

The SPDC troops came to the huts and ordered people inside to come out. When the troops saw only 3 women, one from each hut, they asked about their men folk and the women said their men had gone to get some food at their village and had not yet been back.

There were 3 families from Maak Laang village in Naa Poi village tract, Lai-Kha township staying at that farm and the men had run away and hidden in the forest before the troops reached the farm. Even though the farmers had a pass or permission from the local SPDC troops, they were still too afraid to face an SPDC patrol.

The 3 women were then forced back into their huts and raped by the SPDC troops. Naang Zing (not her real name), aged 18, was forced into her hut and raped by the commander himself. The other 2, Naang Khawng (not her real name), aged 22 and Naang Thun (not her real name), aged 28, were also forced back into their own huts and raped by several other officers.

After raping the women for 3 hours, from 13:00 to 16:00 hrs., the SPDC troops left the women at the farm and continued to patrol the areas.

A WOMAN MOLESTED IN KAENG-TUNG

On 12.2.02, a woman who was fetching water from a well some distance from her village was molested by an SPDC Sergeant, Khin Maung Win, from LIB314 near Nawng Kung village in Kaeng-Tung township.

In the evening of that day, as it was a custom for village women to fetch water from the well outside the village in the evening, Naang Ai (not her real name), aged 19, went to fetch water. As she was returning from the well, carrying 2 pails of water with a shoulder pole, a drunken SPDC soldier came after her and asked for her love. He was Sergeant Khin Maung Win from LIB314 and was looking very drunk.

Naang Ai was frightened and tried to walk as fast as she could, but the soldier came after her and at one point grabbed her by the hand. She shouted for help but no one seemed to hear her and he dragged her towards a nearby bamboo grove.

Naang Ai then threw down her shoulder pole and struggled with all her strength She managed to free herself, and ran into the village shouting for help, and the soldier fled the scene.

Naang Ai and her parents and relatives later tried to file a complaint at a law court in Kaeng-Tung town, but no one seemed to be interested in the case or dared to take action against the culprit. No action related to this case has been taken up to the time of this report.

BEATING OF VILLAGERS IN KAENG-TUNG

On 10.2.02, 5 villagers from Wan Wo village in Murng Laang village tract who were returning from the town market were beaten with a cane by an SPDC soldier from LIB314 at the airfield in Kaeng-Tung town.

These villagers were from Wan Wo village from which a route to the town market had to pass through the airfield just outside Kaeng-Tung town and many villagers usually crossed the airfield when they went to the town market on foot because to go around the airfield meant walking several more kilometres and taking much more time.

When they went in the morning to the town market, the villagers went across the airfield but there was no problem and no one stopped them. But when they returned in the afternoon, they were stopped by a group of 7 SPDC troops from LIB314 who were on security duty at the airfield.

The villagers were forced to stand in line in the hot sun in front of the guardhouse. After some time the commander of the security troops, Sein Win, came to them holding a cane and asked whether they knew crossing the airfield was prohibited during the landing and takeoff of an airplane. One of the villagers, Zaai Laa, said they did not know and no one said anything to them when they came by the same way in the morning.

The SPDC commander then struck Zaai Laa on the head with the cane 3 times and continued to beat the other villagers on their thighs 3 times each. “This is just as a reminder, you will get much more next time”, said the commander after the beating.

MOTHERS OF SMALL CHILDREN CONSCRIPTED AS PORTERS, AND RAPED, IN MURNG-NAI

On 27.2.02, people in Kaeng Tawng area in Murng-Nai township, including many women who were mothers of small children, were conscripted by a column of SPDC troops from LIB519 to serve the military as unpaid porters for 9 consecutive days, during which the women were raped at night by the troops.

A column of SPDC troops from Murng-Ton-based LIB519, led by Capt. Zaw Win, were patrolling the rural areas of Kun-Hing and Murng-Nai township. On the day of the incident, the troops came to Kaeng-Tawng area in Murng-Nai township and conscripted more civilian porters.

These SPDC troops did not even notify the village and village tract leaders about their conscripting of civilian porters in the area. It was late in the morning and most men had gone to work elsewhere and were not to be found in their houses, so the troops took the women who could not go to work with their men because they had small children.
The civilian porters were forced to carry military rations, ammunition and clothes etc., starting from Ton Hung village relocation site in Kaeng Tawng area in Murng-Nai township, to Murng-Pan town in Murng-Pan township.

The journey took about 9 days, from 27.2.02 to 7.3.02, during which they stopped for rest at nights either in the jungle or deserted villages. During those nights, all the women were said to have been raped by the SPDC troops every night.

The following were some of the known civilian porters conscripted from Kaeng-Tawng area on that occasion:

PEOPLE FORCED TO SERVE AS PORTERS TO TRANSPORT MILITARY RATIONS AND AMMUNITION IN MURNG-TON

On 14.2.02, SPDC troops of IB65 of Murng-Ton led by commander Han Sein conscripted 150 villagers from the following village tracts in Murng-Ton township to serve as porters for the military.

1. Mae Ken village tract had to provide 50 villagers
2. Murng Haang village tract had to provide 50 villagers
3. Pung Pa Khem village tract had to provide 50 villagers

Altogether 150 villagers were trucked to the UWSA (United Wa State Army) base at Huay Nam Hoo Khun village and were forced to serve as unpaid porters to transport military things from there to a stronghold of SPDC troops at a place known as Paa Khee near the border with Thailand.

The villagers had to carry heavy loads of rice, all sorts of food stuff and military rations, ammunition and artillery shells, from the Wa base at Nam Hoo Khun up to the Paa Khee stronghold of the SPDC troops every day starting from 16.2.02.

The amount of the military things the porters had to transport was so huge that up until the middle of March, they had not yet finished transporting them.

VILLAGERS IN MURNG-KHARK FORCED TO CUT FIREWOOD FOR THE MILITARY

Starting from 19.12.01, villagers of Huay Zaang village, Phaa Laai village and Paang Kuay village in Murng-Khark township were forced to cut firewood by the SPDC troops of IB227 for their military base.

Each village, about 5-60 houses, had to work for 3 whole days to cut 12 arm-span stacks of firewood for the troops, using their own tools and providing their own food, without getting anything in return.

According to the local people, at least up to the beginning of this year, the SPDC troops in Murng-Khark were still using unpaid forced labour of the people for military purposes whenever they wanted, including the conscription of cars, trucks, ox-carts, mules and horses.

CONSCRIPTED CIVILIAN CAR DAMAGED, REPARATION REFUSED, IN KAENG-TUNG

On 7.2.02, SPDC police ran a conscripted van into the concrete column of the Union Monument in Kaeng-Tung town, Kaeng-Tung township, partly damaging the monument and badly damaging the car.

On the day before the incident, SPDC police in Kaeng-Tung, Sergeant Htay Naing and 4 of his subordinates, conscripted a civilian van car from one of the townspeople to be used for their own pleasure. In the evening, the police drove the car to a restaurant in town and helped themselves to a drinking feast.

The police drank until past midnight and drove the van back to the police station. But the drunken police could not control the car and on the way ran into the Union Monument, breaking off about 2-3 feet of one of the concrete corners and badly denting the front of the car so that the engine also broke down.

The police were so frightened because the Union Day was only a few days ahead, on 12 February, that they immediately found a mason in the town and ordered him to quickly repair the monument, which was finished before daybreak, at around 04:00 hrs.
After that, the police conscripted another civilian car and ordered the driver to drag the damaged car back to its owner’s house and left it there.

Although later the owner of the damaged car tried to ask for some reparation from the police, they refused to pay any, not even to help pay a small part of the repair costs, which were estimated to be about 500,000 Kyat.

LAND CONFISCATION IN NAM-ZARNG

On 1.1.02, SPDC troops from IB66 confiscated about 600 acres of cultivated land from the villagers of Wan Paang, about 3-1/2 miles south of Nam-Zarng town, Nam-Zarng township.

A group of 10 SPDC troops from IB66, led by commander Kyi Soe, came by a military truck to Wan Paang village and called the village headman to the village centre and told him that some land north of their village would be confiscated without compensation because a new military battalion base was to be set up there.

The area of the land confiscated was about 600 acres of pineapple and banana gardens, and wet rice fields annually cultivated by the local villagers for generations.