SHRF MONTHLY REPORT

COMMENTARY

Procuring rice quotas from the farmers in Shan State by the successive ruling Burmese military regimes is nothing new. It has been going on for decades since the military seized power 40 years ago.

Even though the military authorities have been forcing the farmers to sell their rice on a quota basis at a price much lower than the contemporary market price, they have not in any way helped the farmers to increase or even maintain their production levels.

On the contrary, they have managed to reduce the country from being one of the major rice exporting and prosperous countries in the region four decades ago to one of the poorest with a large portion of its population on the brink of starvation at present. 

However, as the country’s economy has become increasingly worse over the years due to their mismanagement and incompetence, the military in turn has put more pressure on the farmers to squeeze out increased rice quotas for export to acquire the desperately needed foreign exchange.
The farmers are now facing extreme hardship in producing rice to fill up their quotas and still have enough to feed their families. Due to various reasons, many farmers could not produce enough to make ends meet and some could not even meet their quotas, and have been harassed and/or punished. 

In the two cases reported in this newsletter, farmers who tried to delay the submitting time of their rice quota were shot at, and those who tried to persuade the military authorities to be reasonable were apprehended.

MOTHER KILLED, DAUGHTER RAPED, IN KAENG-TUNG

On 6 October 2002, Pa Kham (not her real name), aged 51, was killed and her daughter, Naang Man (not her real name), aged 15, was raped by 2 SPDC troops from IB245, at their house in Paang Hung village, Paang Law village tract, Kaeng-Tung township.
Pa Kham was a single mother who lived with her teenage daughter, Naang Man, at Paang Hung village and they made a living by cultivating a vegetable garden near their village. In the evening of the said day, after they had returned home from their vegetable garden, 2 SPDC troops suddenly came into their house.

When the 2 SPDC troops saw Naang Man cooking alone in the house, they grabbed her and raped her right in the middle of the house. As she was grabbed by the troops, Naang Man managed to shout out a couple of times, and her mother came out of the bedroom.
When Pa Kham saw her daughter being attacked and raped by the SPDC troops, she shouted at them and grabbed a kitchen knife as if to strike at them. One of the troops then jumped up and kicked Pa Kham, causing her to fall down, and struck her with a rifle butt several times in the head

Pa Kham died instantly of the beating and Naang Man was raped by the said 2 SPDC troops until they had satisfied themselves. After the troops left the house, Naang Man cried and went to report her plight to the village headman, who in turn reported it to the head of people’s militia in the area.

Although the head of the people’s militia had listened to the case and said he would take it further to the regional military commander, no action has so far been taken in relation with this case at the time of this report.

2 DISPLACED FARMERS SHOT DEAD, AN OX STOLEN, IN MURNG-KERNG

On 27 October 2002, 2 displaced farmers who were leading an ox were shot dead and the ox was stolen by a patrol of SPDC troops from LIB514, led by commander Aung Nyunt, near a main road some distance outside of Murng-Kerng town.

The 2 displaced farmers, Lung Wan, aged 51 and Zaai Khat-Ti-Ya, aged 31, were originally from Haai Ngern village in Yaang Loi village tract, which had been forcibly relocated to the outskirts of Murng-Kerng town in 1997. At the time of the incident, they managed to get permission from the local SPDC military authorities to cultivate their rice fields.

On the day of the incident, as the 2 farmers went to irrigate their rice fields, they found an ox grazing in one of their fields and they helped each other catch it. As they knew the ox as belonging to one of their fellow villagers, they took it with them on their return to give back to its owner.

As the 2 farmers approached a main road some distance from the town, they ran into a patrol of 15-16 SPDC troops from Co.3 of LIB514, led by commander Aung Nyunt, who shot at them without warning.

Lung Wan was killed instantly. Khat-Ti-Ya was hit in the thigh and dropped to the ground, holding the rope that tied the ox in his hands. One of the SPDC troops then went to Khat-Ti-Ya and took the rope from his hands, pulled the ox away from him, and shot him dead.

A FISHERMAN BEATEN TO DEATH, HIS FISH STOLEN, IN MURNG-NAI

On 27 October 2002, 5 villagers who had caught fish together were robbed of their fish and one of them was severely beaten up, causing death later, by 3 SPDC troops from LIB518, led by Sgt. Aung Soe, in Saai Phe village tract, Murng-Nai township.

The said 5 villagers were from Saai Phe village in Saai Phe village tract and had gone to catch fish together in the area. When they were returning with their catch, they were stopped by 3 SPDC soldiers from Co.4 of LIB518, led by Sgt. Aung Soe.

The SPDC troops forcibly took some fish from the villagers’ catch, saying “These are for our battalion commander; these are for our major and these are for our captain, etc.”, deliberately choosing the big and beautiful ones and leaving only the small and ugly ones for the villagers.
One of the villagers, Lung Man, aged 53, who was the oldest and a kind of leader of the group, begged the SPDC troops to take also the small ones and leave some of the big ones for the villagers because they needed to sell them to buy rice to support their families, and they would not be able to get enough money to buy rice by selling only small fish.

The SPDC Sergeant then said to the villagers that it was not his concern whether the villagers had any fish or not, but they must have a lot of fish. Lung Man then became angry and retorted, “Why don’t you go and catch for yourselves if you want a lot”.

The Sergeant then hit Lung Man on the back of his neck with a rifle butt, and Lung Man fell to the ground. After a moment Lung Man managed to get up and the SPDC troops kicked him down again, and continued to kick his stomach and his body several times, and left the place taking the fish with them.

The other 4 villagers had to carry Lung Man back to their village and sent him to Murng-Nai town hospital on an ox-cart. Lung Man, however, suffered from the beating all night and died at dawn on the next day at the hospital. No one has so far dared to complain about the incident.

The 5 villagers who had gone fishing together on the day of the incident were: Lung Man (m), aged 53; Zaai Lu (m), aged 29; Zaai Laek (m), aged 19; Naang Ung (f), aged 12 and Zaai Mu (m), aged 21.

A VEGETABLE GARDENER RAPED IN KAENG-TUNG

Some time in September 2002, a woman who was weeding her vegetable garden was raped by an SPDC soldier from LIB314 in her vegetable garden outside of Zurng Tai village in Murng Lang village tract, Kaeng-Tung township.

Naang Aam Dip (not her real name), aged 26, was weeding grass alone in her vegetable garden which was not very far from her village when an SPDC soldier from LIB314 came into the garden and asked her for some garlic.

When she nodded to the SPDC soldier, meaning that he could take some garlic from the garden, the soldier suddenly came up to her and grabbed Naang Aam Dip and, holding her tight to the ground, raped her to his satisfaction right in the garden.

As soon as the soldier left, Naang Aam Dip cried and ran back into the village to tell her husband what had happened to her. Although her husband took Naang Aam Dip to the village leaders and filed a complaint with them, no one dared to take the case further.

A FARMER SHOT AND WOUNDED FOR BEING UNABLE TO PROVIDE RICE QUOTA, IN KAENG-TUNG

On 5 October 2002, a farming couple who could not fill the rice quota required to sell to the military was summoned by SPDC township authorities and, as they arrived, was shot at by an officer who was collecting rice quotas at Kaad Tao village in Kaad Tao village tract, Kaeng-Tung township. A bullet hit and broke the right arm of the wife.

On 3 October 2002, members of SPDC Kaeng-Tung township authorities responsible for collecting rice quotas had come to Kaad Tao village and collected rice from the local farmers in Kaad Tao village tract. 

The farmers were required to sell 12 baskets of unhusked rice for each acre of land cultivated at a rate far lower than the current market price. Some farmers who had lost their rice to the floods during the continuous heavy rains could not produce enough rice to fill the demanded quotas.
Among them was a couple from Paa Zaam village, Lung Taan, aged 46, the husband and Pa Aam, aged 42, the wife (not their real names), who did not have enough rice and thought of filling their quota later after they could sell their cattle to buy rice from others, and did not show up at the collecting centre.

On the day of the incident, a messenger was sent for Lung Taan and Pa Aam to come to see the SPDC authorities at Kaad Tao village. As the couple arrived at the buying centre, one of the officers in charged pulled out a pistol and shot at them, without mentioning a word.

A bullet hit the right arm of Pa Aam and she twisted and fell. Lung Taan then quickly knelt down, put his hands to his forehead and begged for mercy, saying that they did not have the rice because their rice field did not yield enough due to poor soil and that they would try to fill up their quota as soon as possible.

After saying thus, Lung Taan lifted his wife and carried her to the village tract medical dispensary which happened to be close by. When he was told by the health workers that his wife’s arm was broken, he immediately hired a car and took her to the Kaeng-Tung township hospital.
Why the SPDC officer had shot at the couple without uttering a word is still a mystery among the villagers, and no one seems to dare to enquire about it.

DISPLACED FARMERS BEATEN, THEIR LAND AND PROPERTY CONFISCATED, AND DRIVEN AWAY, IN MURNG-TON

In October, 2 displaced farmers were arrested, beaten and detained by SPDC troops of LIB519, and later were forced to leave their land and house, which were also confiscated, at Wan Naa village about 1-2 miles from Murng-Ton town.

These farmers were originally from Naa Khaa Awn village in Ngaa Teng village tract, in Kaeng Kham area of Kun-Hing township, which had been forcibly relocated in 1997 by the then SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) troops. The farmers did not go to the relocation site but came to Thailand instead.

According to Zaai Aw, male, aged 42, head of the family, after working in Thailand for 3 years, they managed to save up some money and went back to Shan State and bought a small plot of land, consisting of a small house and a vegetable garden, at Wan Naa village near Murng-Ton town in Murng-Ton township.

After staying at Wan Naa village for more than one year, during the festival marking the end of Buddhist Lent in October, while children of Wan Naa were playing with fireworks one night, SPDC troops from LIB519 came and arrested Zaai Aw’s son and Zaai Aw’s younger brother and took them to the military camp.

Ai Ta, aged 20, Zaai Aw’s son and Zaai Laek, aged 35, Zaai Aw’s younger brother, were accused of being members of the Shan resistance and having often led the Shan soldiers to snipe at SPDC soldiers, and were severely beaten up until their heads were fractured and bleeding, and locked up in the camp.

The next morning, Zaai Aw and the village leaders went to the military camp and pleaded for the release of Ai Ta and Zaai Laek, guaranteeing their innocence and their not having any connections with the Shan resistance.

The SPDC troops then told the village leaders that if these people were originally from Kaeng Kham (in Kun-Hing township), they were bad people and must be driven away, and their land would be taken by the military.

On 23 October 2002, the SPDC troops from LIB519 actually came and forced Zaai Aw and his family to leave their house and land immediately and banned them from taking anything away. Because they had no choice, Zaai Aw and his wife, their 2 sons and Zaai Aw’s younger brother, once again fled to Thailand.

A FRUIT DEALER BEATEN AND ROBBED OF HIS FRUITS IN TA-KHI-LAEK

On 4 September 2002, members of SPDC police force in Ta-Khi-Laek township slapped the owner and forcibly took away a truckload of fruits, worth 35,000 Thai baht, from the house of a fruit dealer in San Saai quarter of Ta-Khi-Laek town.

On that day, a police sergeant, Kyaw Than, and 6 policemen, and 2 members of Ta-Khi-Laek township SPDC authorities, came to the house of Zaai Naw Ae (not his real name), aged 36, and forcibly seized the fruits he kept in his house, saying that the fruits were illegal and were to be confiscated.

When Zaai Naw Ae explained that the fruits were not illegal because he had bought them legally from Thailand and had paid the required tax to the SPDC checkpoint at the border to import them, the police sergeant slapped him 3 times on the face and said, “How dare you argue! If I say they are illegal, they are illegal. Do you want to go to jail?”.

Sergeant Kyaw Than then ordered his men to load all the cardboard boxes of fruits they found in the house on to the six-wheeled truck they brought with them and drove away, leaving Zaai Naw Ae and his wife helplessly standing dumbfounded and gazing with tears in their eyes.
Zaai Naw Ae and his wife had bought 28,000 baht worth of fruits from Mae Sai on the Thai side and paid 7,000 baht to the Burmese authorities at the border checkpoint to bring them to Ta-Khi-Laek, so, according to them, there was nothing illegal about it.

The next day, when they heard that fruits were being sold at low prices at the SPDC township office, Zaai Naw Ae went there and joined the line of people queueing to buy fruits. But before he could buy any fruits, he was pulled out of the queue and driven away by Sergeant Kyaw Than himself, who said “Do you want to go to jail? How dare you come here! Go home!”.

FARMERS ARRESTED FOR SUGGESTING CHANGING THE UNFAIR PRACTICE OF RICE PROCUREMENT IN KAENG-TUNG

In October 2002, during the time when the SPDC authorities were collecting rice from the farmers in Kaeng-Tung township, 14 farmers from various village tracts who made suggestions to change the unfair method of rice procurement by the military were arrested and put in jail.

The farmers were required to sell their rice at the rate of 12 baskets per acre of cultivated land, no matter how the yields turned out to be, at the price of 300 kyat per basket, while the current market price was 4,200 kyat per basket.

The method was so unfair that many farmers faced substantial losses and some were not able to fill up the rice quotas required to sell to the military. In such a situation, some 14 courageous farmers tried to make the following suggestions to the authorities in an attempt to ease their virtually unbearable burden.

They suggested that the authorities take only 3 baskets of rice for each acre of land and they would happily give them for free. Or, if the authorities still wanted 12 baskets from each acre, they could pay their rate for 5 baskets, but for the remaining 7 baskets, they should pay according to the current market price.

The SPDC authorities did not agree to any of the suggestions, but immediately arrested the 14 farmers and put them in jail.

PEOPLE FORCED TO GROW CROPS FOR MILITARY ON LANDS CONFISCATED FROM DISPLACED FARMERS, IN MURNG-PAN

Since July 2002, SPDC troops of LIB520 have been forcing people in Murng-Pan township to grow crops for them on lands confiscated from farmers whose villages had been forcibly relocated in 1997 by the then SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) troops.

Rice fields around Tawng Kwaai Tai village, Laan Naa village and Mai Haeo Lao village in Ho Phaai Long village tract, Murng-Pan township, left deserted by their original owners since the 3 villages were forcibly relocated in 1997, have been confiscated by SPDC troops of LIB520 earlier this year and people in the area are being forced to cultivate crops for the military.

Farmers with mini-tractors in Ho Phaai Long village tract and Murng-Pan town have to provide their tractors for tilling the ground and the others have to work in planting and harvesting the crops.

After the rice crop, the farmers are being required to cultivate garlic for the military. Although the tractors’ owners receive a little money for the costs of their tractors’ fuel, all farmers receive nothing for their labour.

VILLAGERS FORCED TO STAND GUARD AND GROW CROPS FOR MILITARY IN LAI-KHA

Since March 2002, villagers of Wan Mai Paang Peng village in Wan Pung village tract, Lai-Kha township, have been forced to guard the Lai-Kha-to-Loi-Lem main road and since September 2002 have also been forced to grow sesame by SPDC troops stationed at Nam Tawng bridge in Wan Pung village tract, Lai-Kha township.

Villagers of Wan Mai Paang Peng village, which has more than 30 houses, have to build 2 tents some distance from each other along the road between Lai-Kha and Loi-Lem and take turns to guard the road. Each tent has to be manned by 3 villagers for 3 days at a time, to watch out for the Shan soldiers in case they come that way to cross the road.

Since September 2002, villagers of Wan Mai Paang Peng village have also been forced to cultivate Japanese sesame for the SPDC troops. Each household has been given 1 ‘pyi’ of sesame seeds and told to find land on which to grow them, and take care of them up until the harvest time.

RICE FIELDS CONFISCATED IN MURNG-TON

In August 2002, 55-1/2 acres of rice fields belonging to villagers of Me Ken village, Me Ken village tract in Murng-Ton township, were confiscated by SPDC troops from IB65 and given to Lahu people’s militia in the area.

The rice fields belonged to the following 2 villagers:
1. Lung Hing (m), aged 53, had 26-1/2 acres
2. Lung Kan-Ta-Ma (m), aged 57, had 29 acres

These 2 farmers had been cultivating these lands as a livelihood since a long time ago. However, during the rice planting season this year they were not able to cultivate their lands for growing rice because they did not have enough money to hire tractors for ploughing and workers for planting rice.

The SPDC troops accused the 2 villagers of deliberately refraining from cultivating their fields because they did not want to sell the rice quotas to the military, and issued an order confiscating the lands.

Although the owners, with the help of the community leaders in the area, tried several times to appeal to the military authorities to get back their lands, their appeals had only fallen on deaf ears. The lands were eventually handed by the SPDC troops over to the head of the Lahu people’s militia in the area to, as they put it, help him feed his men.

SHOP OWNERS INTIMIDATED FOR ASKING FOR DEBTS IN TA-KHI-LAEK

On 10 September 2002, shop owners who asked for the debts owed to them by members of the SPDC police force in Ta-Khi-Laek town were scolded by the police who also threatened to put them in jail.

Members of the SPDC police force in Ta-Khi-Laek had been taking consumer goods on credit from several shops selling consumer goods in town for some time and their overall debts had amounted to hundreds of thousands of Thai baht at the time of the incident.

These policemen were notorious for often framing civilian vehicles which they were searching by stealthily dropping 5-6 tablets of methamphetamine into the vehicles and extorting money from the drivers.

On 8 September 2002, one of the vehicles the police framed happened to belong to the UWSA (United Wa State Army), an influential armed group under a ceasefire agreement with the SPDC. Members of the UWSA were angry and complained about it to the highest SPDC authorities in Rangoon, resulting in the transfer of the whole police force in Ta-Khi-Laek town.

When the shop owners heard about the transfer order of the police, afraid of losing their money they went to the police station and demanded the debts owed to them by members of the police, taking with them the statistical lists of the debtors.

Instead of paying their debts, however, the police, especially Capt. Hpe Theing, angrily scolded the shop owners and even threatened to beat them and put them in jail. The shop owners were frightened and dared not say anything more, but quietly returned to their shops.

On 13 September 2002, the whole police force from Ta-Khi-Laek police station left the town apparently indifferently, as if they had done nothing wrong.