SHRF MONTHLY REPORT

COMMENTARY

Since the report “Licence to Rape”, which exposes systematic rapes of women in Shan State by the Burmese army troops, was published a couple of months ago, the SPDC have at first blankly denied all the what they call “preposterous accusations” but later said that inquiries were to be conducted to refute them. They have recently sent a team to Shan State to investigate the report. 

Since the main object of the investigation was just to refute the “preposterous accusations”, it will certainly not be an impartial one and it will only further intimidate the already frightened local people into sealing their lips tighter. 

SPDC has in its press conferences also mentioned that there was a report about rape victims being hospitalized in Wieng Haeng district of Thailand’s Chiangmai province which had been proved false by the denial of the hospital authorities. SHRF, however, has never written or mentioned any such incident in any of its reports.

Despite the blanket denial and the said investigation by the SPDC, SHRF continue to receive reports on recent rape cases. 

There are 2 rape cases in this newsletter, both committed in June 2002. One of the cases was about a woman being raped by an officer and later handed to 10 of his troops.

SHRF is deeply concerned about the safety of the rape survivors and would like to protect them as much as possible by not revealing their real names and the villages they belong to, so that they could not be easily tracked down and retaliated against.

10 DISPLACED FARMERS SHOT DEAD IN GROUP, A WOMAN RAPED AND HER HUSBAND BEATEN TO DEATH, IN LAI-KHA

In mid-June 2002, a patrol of SPDC troops from LIB515 surrounded a group of 11 displaced farmers, shot dead 10 of them and forced 1 to serve as a guide, at a remote farm some 7 miles west of Lai-Kha town; and a few days later raped a woman and beat her husband to death at a remote farm some 11 miles north of the town.

The 11 displaced farmers belonged to the same extended family originally from Nawng Zem village in Haai Seng village tract, Lai-Kha township, which had been forcibly relocated to the outskirts of Lai-Kha town in 1997 by the then SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) troops. They managed to survive the hard years at the relocation site by secretly growing rice at remote farms and working as day labourers.

On 11.6.02, a patrol of about 35 SPDC troops from LIB515, led by Capt. Maung Win of Company No.4, came to a remote farm about 7 miles west of Lai-Kha town and rounded up the said 11 farmers, including 10 young men and women and a middle-aged man, Lung Puk, aged 57, who was the head of the family.

The SPDC troops accused the farmers of supporting Shan soldiers with rice and food and shot 10 of them dead, leaving only Lung Puk to be used as a guide. The SPDC troops then told Lung Puk that they had killed the farmers because they had given help to the Shan solders who were fighting against them and forced him to guide them to search the area for 3 days before releasing him.

On 15.6.02, after releasing Lung Puk, the SPDC troops continued to search the area and came to another remote farm about 11 miles north of Lai-Kha town, where a young couple of displaced farmers had been working. The couple ran into the SPDC troops at the edge of the farm as they came to it.

The couple, Zaai Taan Nyunt and Naang Mo (not her real name), from (----) village (name withheld to protect the rape survivor) in Naa Mang village tract, Lai-Kha township, were going to their farm when they ran into the said SPDC troops at the edge of the farm. The couple were seized by the troops and taken to different places.

The officer, a Sergeant Major or a Second Lieutenant, who took away Naang Mo raped her, and then let 10 of his troops rape her until she lost consciousness. Zaai Taan Nyunt was beaten to death some distance north of the farm.

When Naang Mo regained consciousness, it was around 4 o’clock in the afternoon and she was alone in a forest some distance away from her farm. She tried to find her husband in and around the farm for a while but could not find him, so she returned to the village and related her plight to her relatives and fellow villagers, but they could do nothing that evening because it was getting dark.

The next day, about 20 villagers went in search of Zaai Taan Nyunt and found his dead body where he was beaten to death north of the farm. The villagers then buried his body properly where it was found and on the 7th day of his death conducted a funeral for him at a Buddhist temple according to their tradition.

Naang Mo was said to have been suffering from sickness and weakness since her ordeal up to the time this report was received.

2 VILLAGERS SHOT DEAD WITHOUT REASON IN TA-KHI-LAEK

On 10.6.02, 2 villagers from Nam Lao village in Pa Leo village tract, Ta-Khi-Laek township, were shot dead by SPDC troops from LIB316 on the bank of Nam Lao stream outside their village.

On that day, the 2 victims, Ai En (m), aged 21 and Ai Yeng (m), aged 20, were returning from Kaeng Laab village, where they had gone on a business trip, when they ran into a group of 7 SPDC troops near the Nam Lao stream outside their village.

The SPDC troops stopped them and asked questions about their identities and what they were doing. After they had answered the questions, the troops shot at them without pointing out their faults or giving any reason whatsoever. They just fired shots at each of them and left towards Kaeng Laab village.

Zaai Yeng was hit in the chest and died instantly. But Zaai En was hit in the side of his stomach and did not die immediately and, after the troops left, managed to stagger into the village and told the villagers about the incident.

Zaai En, however, died of his wound and loss of blood some hours later after the villagers failed to find transport in time to take him to the hospital in Ta-Khi-Laek town.

The villagers dared not report the incident to any SPDC authorities and quietly conducted a funeral for the dead in accordance with their tradition.

A DISPLACED VILLAGE SECRETARY TORTURED TO DEATH IN KUN-HING

On 18 June 2002, a secretary of the community leader of No.3 quarter of Kun-Hing town was tortured to death by SPDC troops from IB246 while serving as a guide, near a place called Loi Kong some distance south of Kun-Hing town, Kun-Hing township.

On the day of the incident, a patrol of about 20 SPDC troops from IB246, led by Capt. Zaw Thein of Company No.2, came to No.3 quarter of Kung-Hing town and ordered Zaai Saw-Ta, male, aged 27, who was serving as a secretary to the community leader of No.3 quarter, to go with them as a guide.

The SPDC troops told Zaai Saw-Ta that they wanted to patrol the area around Loi Kong, some distance south of the town, and ordered him to guide them. Zaai Saw-Ta then led them out of the town towards Loi Kong area.

In the evening of that day, some farmers who were returning home from their farms in Loi Kong area found the dead body of Zaai Saw-Ta in a pit near a foot-path on Loi Kong hill. He was apparently tortured to death. His throat was slit, his body bruised all over and there were marks on his wrists and legs showing that he had been tightly tied with ropes for some time.

When they heard about the incident from the farmers, Zaai Saw-Ta’s relatives went and buried his body and reported it to the SPDC authorities in Kun-Hing town. Since it was on the same day Zaai Saw-Ta was taken as a guide and there were foot prints of Burmese soldiers leading back to the town from where the body of Zaai Saw-Ta was found, it was clear enough who did it.

However, when Kun-Hing town SPDC authorities relayed the message to the authorities at IB246, they bluntly denied it and casually said that it might be the rebels who killed Zaai Saw-Ta.

3 AKHA VILLAGERS SHOT DEAD IN MURNG-PHYAK

On 19 June 2002, 3 Akha villagers were shot dead by a patrol of SPDC troops from LIB329 on the bank of Nam Paang stream near Sop Paang village in Wan Lom village tract, Murng-Phyak township.

The victims, Aa Li (m), aged 18, Aa Jo (m), aged 25 and Aa Laa (m), aged 25, were all from Sop Paang village and on the day of the incident had gone to hunt and gather bamboo shoots to sell and support their families.

While they were gathering bamboo shoots, the 3 Akha men were spotted by a patrol of about 60 SPDC troops from LIB329 who called out to the Akha men to come to them.

The Akha men, however, were too afraid of the Burmese soldiers to go to them and tried to run away, and the SPDC troops opened fire, killing all 3 of them.

The SPDC troops then continued their patrolling and when they reached Wan Lom village they told the villagers that they had killed 3 Shan rebels on the way, and ordered the villagers to go and bury them.

When villagers of Wan Lom saw the bodies of those whom the SPDC had accused of being Shan rebels, they knew instantly that they were just ordinary Akha villagers of Sop Paang village who had gone to gather and hunt for food in the forest. So they went and informed their relatives at Sop Paang village about the incident.

On hearing about the incident, the relatives and fellow villagers of the 3 victims retrieved their bodies and conducted a funeral for them according to their Akha tradition. Although they all knew who had killed the 3 Akha men, no one knew why, and no one dared to report the incident to the SPDC authorities in the area.

A WOMAN RAPED IN HER HOUSE IN NAM-ZARNG

On 26 June 2002, 2 SPDC soldiers from IB66 raped an 18-year-old woman in her house at (----) village (name withheld to protect the rape survivor) in Nam-Zarng township.

On the day of the incident, Naang Hom (not her real name), aged 18, was alone at home when 2 SPDC soldiers from Nam-Zarng-based IB66 came to her house and asked her to sell them one of her 2 little pigs.

When Naang Hom said that she could not sell them because she had just bought the pigs only a month ago and they were still too small, weighing only about 5-6 viss each (1 viss = 1.6 kg), and that she needed to raise them for some more months, the soldiers said they would talk to her about it in the house and told her to go into the house.

When Naang Hom said they could just talk outside the house because there was no one inside, the SPDC soldiers said they just wanted to ask for some sticky rice from her because they were very hungry.

As Naang Hom went into the house to get the rice, the 2 soldiers went after her and, when they were sure there was no one else inside the house, seized her. Naang Hom struggled to get free and shouted out for help. But after she could shout only one time, the soldiers firmly covered her mouth with their hands and held her tightly to the floor, threatening to kill her if she made more noise.

Both SPDC soldiers raped Naang Hom to their satisfaction and left the house. A neighbouring friend who happened to be at home at that time and heard Naang Hom’s voice later asked her about it, and she related her plight to her.

BEATING AND DETENTION OF COMMUNITY LEADER IN NAM-ZARNG AND MURNG-NAI

On 27 March 2002, SPDC troops from one of the units in Kaeng Tawng area of Murng-Nai township arrested and severely beat up a community leader at Phaa Sawnt village in Loi La tract, Nam-Zarng township, and later detained him at their camp in Kaeng Tawng area of Murng-Nai township for 10 days.

The community leader or village tract headman, Lung Haeng Zit-Ta, was newly appointed by the SPDC troops stationed at Kho Lam village relocation site in Nam-Zarng township and told, together with the original villagers of Phaa Sawnt, to go back to their old village, over a year ago.
On the day of the incident, a patrol of SPDC troops from Kaeng Tawng had come that way and when they saw people in Phaa Sawnt village they asked who had allowed them to come back and accused them of harbouring Shan rebels in the village, and asked to see their headman.

When they found the headman, Lung Haeng Zit-Ta, the SPDC troops arrested him, took him into the compound of the village temple and interrogated him, forcing him to tell them where the Shan rebels were.

When the headman said he had not seen any Shan rebels, the SPDC troops accused him of being a Shan rebel and ordered him to hand over his pistol and walkie-talkie.

When he said he did not have anything like that, the troops beat his head and his body with a stick until he was soaked in blood and lost consciousness.

The troops then ordered one of the logging trucks to take him to their base in Kaeng Tawng area and locked him up for 10 days. Finally when villagers of Phaa Sawnt and other community leaders came to ask about him, the troops told them that he was with them and not to worry about him, and said that they already knew about him and would not do any more harm to him.

Some time later, the SPDC troops put the headman under the care of a logging company and sent him on a pilgrimage to lower Burma for one month, so that he could forget his terrible experience and not report it to any authorities.

For Lung Haeng Zit-Ta, however, the one-month pilgrimage could not cure him completely. Even some time after his return home, Lung Haeng Zit-Ta still looked and acted strangely as if mentally retarded.

A MENTALLY RETARDED VILLAGER BEATEN UNCONSCIOUS IN MURNG-TON

On 27 June 2002, a mentally retarded villager of Naa Kawng Mu village in Murng-Ton township was severely beaten up by SPDC troops from IB225 until he was soaked in blood and lost consciousness for about 2 hours, at his house in Naa Kawng Mu village.

On 29 May 2002, a column of SPDC troops from IB225 from Murng-Ton, who were passing through Naa Kawng Mu village on trucks, saw Zaai Zit-Ta, male, aged 40, who was gathering wild vegetables to feed his pigs, outside the village, and forced him to get on a truck and go with them.

The troops were going to the Murng-Kyawt area and when they were camping at Murng-Kyawt, Zaai Zit-Ta secretly escaped. The troops were angry and on their way back they stopped at Naa Kawng Mu village and enquired about Zaai Zit-Ta.

When the SPDC troops found Zaai Zit-Ta in his house, they seized him and tied him up, and beat him until he was bleeding all over and finally lost consciousness. As the troops seized and beat Zaai Zit-Ta, some villagers who saw it ran and told the community leader about it.

The community leader or village tract headman, Lung Haeng La Mawng, then came to the scene and asked the SPDC troops what Zaai Zit-Ta had done wrong to deserve the beating. The troops said that they were teaching him a lesson because he ran away when they took him to serve as a porter.

The headman then said that the troops should tell him when they needed porters and should not seize anyone they found on their way because they could be physically and mentally disabled. As for Zaai Zit-Ta, he was mentally retarded and would often do abnormal things, and sometimes he would go away from his family for 1-2 months without any apparent reasons.

Although the troops stopped torturing him and released him, and apologized to the headman for their mistake, Zaai Zit-Ta had already suffered more than he could endure. He was bruised and bleeding all over and lost consciousness for 2 hours. 

MASS FORCED PORTERING AND DISAPPEARANCE IN MURNG-KERNG AND MURNG-TON

On 24 May 2002, SPDC troops from LIB514, acting on the order of Commander Hla Myint, forcibly rounded up 83 civilian porters in Murng-Kerng town, Murng-Kerng township, to be used in military operations, of which only 51 have returned home safely; 12 have been and are being treated at the hospital in Nam-Zarng town; and 20 have disappeared until the time of this report.

The porters were immediately put on trucks and set off via Lai-Kha, Nam-Zarng, Murng-Nai and Murng-Pan townships to Murng-Ton township, and through Murng Kyawt area to Murng Taw, Murng Thaa and Huay Yaao areas near the border with Thailand’s Chiangmai province where SPDC troops and Shan resistance troops were engaging in fierce battles.

At the time of this report, in early August, only 51 out of the 83 civilian porters have returned home intact. 12 were wounded during the porter service and were treated at Nam-Zarng town hospital, and some of them are said to be still being treated at the hospital after undergoing limb amputations.

The rest, 20 of them, are missing. They have not returned home and they are not among the wounded; they have disappeared. Most of the porters who have returned believed that the missing 20 would not return and consoled their relatives not to expect them, because they had most probably all died while serving as porters.

According to some witnesses, the conditions of the wounded were not good and many of them would become disabled for life and would be difficult to work to support themselves.

The SPDC troops have not mentioned anything about the missing porters and, when asked by their relatives, said that it was other groups of SPDC troops that had taken them away.

Not only did the relatives of the dead receive no consolation, let alone compensation, from the military, the wounded also received no additional help except for simply being dumped at the hospital in Nam-Zarng town.

MASS FORCED PORTERING IN KAENG-TUNG

On 7 June 2002, SPDC troops from LIB529 forcibly conscripted 41 villagers in Paang Kiu village tract in Kaeng-Tung township and forced them to serve as unpaid porters for 7 days.
The porters were from Laao Kai Nur, Laao Kai Tai, Paang Kai, Tong Waa Nur, Tong Waa Tai and Paang Hai villages in Paang Kiu village tract. 

Once they were gathered at a camp in Paang Kiu village tract, each of the porters was given things for them to carry, including foodstuff, ammunition and other logistics, and were ordered to make poles and ropes and arrange the things so that they could be carried on shoulder poles. The porters and their loads were then put on trucks and taken to the base of LIB529.

On 8 June 2002, a column of SPDC troops, with the 41 civilian porters and their loads, set out on foot towards Murng-Sart township. They marched through Murng Sen and Murng Ing village tracts in Kaeng-Tung township, and through Murng Kok, Murng Lung, Phaktu Murng and Thalaang village tracts in Murng-Sart township, and finally stopped at Me Zok village in Murng Kaan village tract, Murng-Sart township.

The journey took 5 days to get to Me Zok where they rested for 2 days, after which the civilian porters were released. During the 5-day journey, they marched all day and stopped at a village during the night. 

The SPDC troops ordered the villagers of the village where they stopped for the night to kill pigs and chickens and cook food for them. The civilian porters, however, were given 2 meals per day with only salt and boiled beans.

PEOPLE IN MURNG-NAI FACE STRICTER RULES IN GROWING RICE FOR THE MILITARY

On 1 July 2002, SPDC military authorities in Kaeng Tawng area of Murng-Nai township issued an order requiring farmers in the area to grow rice for the military at the same time as their own, working every other day in turns for themselves and for the military.

Last year when SPDC troops of the new 4 battalions (set up 2 years ago) in Kaeng Tawng ordered the people in the area to grow rice for them, the farmers did it as a second crop, after they had harvested their own crop. Being the second crop, the yield and the quality of the rice were not as good as expected by the troops.

Therefore this year the SPDC troops issued an order requiring the farmers to grow rice at the same time as they grew theirs. If they tilled their rice fields one day, they would be required to till the military fields the next day and so on. 

Any farmers who failed to follow the order would be put in jail and their rice fields confiscated, said the order.

Many farmers in the area were complaining that the conditions were too much for most of them and were asking whether the situation along the border with Thailand had improved enough so that they could get into Thailand to seek refuge. 

PEOPLE IN TA-KHI-LAEK FORCED TO STAND GUARD AROUND THE CLOCK

Since late May up until July 2002, villagers in 5 village tracts in Ta-Khi-Laek township were forced to stand guard day and night around their villages by SPDC troops of LIB316 based in Ta Lur village tract.

The 5 village tracts mentioned above were Ta Lur, East Murng Laen, West Murng Laen and Nam Kherm village tracts. Each village was required to provide 5 persons to guard their respective villages around the clock and to report any unusual activities to the military authorities at LIB316 or LIB521 immediately.

The SPDC troops temporarily replaced village headmen whom they did not trust with their own men to make sure the villagers did as ordered. The SPDC troops also randomly searched the houses in the villages every night to check identities of the villagers.

According to the local villagers, the most fearful thing for them was that when the SPDC troops wanted to search a house, they would accuse the owners of keeping illegal weapons and would come at any time, and would take what they wanted while searching, including money and valuable things.