SHRF MONTHLY REPORT

SHRF MONTHLY REPORT -- FEBRUARY 2003

COMMENTRY

Forced labour, a practice which has been and is still being widely and systematically used by the Burmese military, has been on the international agenda for some years now, and has resulted in Burma accepting the presence of ILO’s Liaison Officers.

However, there has so far been little change in practical terms, especially in the rural areas of Shan State, where members of the Burmese military are attempting to cover up and black out the information about their mistreatment of the people with threats and intimidations. (see story # 8) 

In this newsletter, there are a number of instances of forced labour still being widely and systematically used by the SPDC troops in several townships in Shan State. In Kun-Hing and Murng-Nai township, people are being used en masse in constructing roads and cultivating crops for the military, and in Murng-Sart township people still have to attend to the daily chores of the SPDC troops in the area.

In conclusion, with an army which exists just for its own interest; which sees the people it is supposed to be protecting as its enemies; which has a long tradition of using the forced labour of and foraging off the local populations; which is intransigently increasing its strength simply to hold on to power but without the means to support itself; forced labour and various other human rights abuses will continue to occur.

4 RETURNING REFUGEES ROBBED, SHOT AND DUMPED INTO THE SALWEEN RIVER NEAR PROPOSED DAM SITE IN MURNG-TON

On 28 December 2002, 4 refugees who were returning from Thailand were robbed, shot dead and dumped into the Salween river by SPDC troops from LIB519 somewhere north of Saa Laa village river crossing point in Murng-Ton township.

The 4 victims were originally from the Kaeng Kham area of Kun-Hing township in central Shan State. They had been forcibly displaced by the mass forced relocation program carried out in 1996 by the then SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) troops, and they had later sought refuge in Thailand up until recently when they tried to return to their original places. They were:

1. Zaai Wan-Na (m), aged 37
2. Zaai Non (m), aged 31
3. Lung In-Ta (m), aged 47
4. Naang Non Zing (f), aged 30

On the said day, they reached Saa Laa village and from there they hired a boat and went up the Salween river towards Pa Lao village. But before they reached Pa Lao village, they met a boat with SPDC troops from LIB519 on board near a place called Tang Seng, where there is a proposed dam site.

The SPDC troops stopped the villagers’ boat and searched the passengers. When they found some money and gold ornaments of the villagers, the troops asked where they were going and told the boatman to leave them and return, saying that since they would later also go to Pa Lao village they could take the passengers there. As the boatman left, before long he heard 3-4 gunshots from the direction of the SPDC troops.

On the morning of 30 December 2002, villagers of Saa Laa village found the floating bodies of the said 4 victims stranded at their village river port.

DISPLACED FARMERS SHOT DEAD AT THEIR REMOTE POTATO FARM IN NAM-ZARNG

On 21 December 2003, 4 displaced farmers who were staying overnight to harvest potato at a remote farm in Nam-Zarng township were shot dead by a group of SPDC troops from IB247.

The 4 farmers were all originally from Kung Ai village in Loi La village tract, Nam-Zarng township, which had been forcibly relocated to the outskirts of Nam-Zarng town in 1997 by the then SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) troops. They were:

1. Lung Mon (m), aged 49
2. Zaai Nawt (m), aged 37
3. Zaai Mu-Lin (m), aged 36
4. Lung Wa-Lin (m), aged 40

These farmers had been staying and harvesting potato with their families at a farm at their old village, Kung Ai (relocated). After some days, their families returned to Nam-Zarng town with some harvested potato, leaving 4 of them to continue digging the potato since the harvesting had not been completed.

Two days after the families of the said farmers returned home, an SPDC soldier from IB66 came and enquired whether farmers who had gone to harvest potato had returned because he wanted to buy newly harvested potato. The families then told the soldier that only 4 farmers were left at the farm to continue the harvest.

These 4 farmers were later shot dead by a patrol of SPDC troops from IB247 in the farm hut at their potato farm. One of these troops, who then peddled the potatos which they had probably looted from the farm, later told the villagers that they had shot dead 4 rebels who came to stay at a potato farm after the owners had harvested and left it.

When their families returned to the farm to gather more potato, all they found in the hut were the dead bodies of the 4 farmers which had been shot dead.

2 DISPLACED FARMERS KILLED AND DUMPED INTO THE SALWEEN RIVER IN MURNG-PAENG

In early December 2002, 2 traveling displaced farmers were arrested, detained and later killed and dumped into the Salween river by SPDC troops from LIBH524 at Ta Saai river crossing point in Murng Pu Long village tract, Murng-Paeng township.

The said 2 displaced farmers, Lung Kan-Tha (m), aged 47 and Zaai Ku (m), aged 31, were originally from Kaeng Hin village which had been forcibly relocated to Murng Pu Long village relocation site in 1997 by the then SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) troops.

On 30 November 2002, these 2 farmers were returning from their remote farm somewhere on the bank of the Salween river and were arrested by SPDC troops from LIB524 who were taking security at Ta Saai river crossing, and detained in the military camp there. Since then, the farmers disappeared.

On 4 December 2002, a relative from Murng Pu Long village, who was looking for the 2 farmers found their dead bodies floating at the river port of Huay Pa Lao village some miles downstream of Ta Saai river crossing.

The said relative later made some enquiries and was told by some woodcutters near Ta Saai river crossing that the 2 farmers were beaten to death and dumped into the Salween river by the SPDC troops 2-3 days ago.

12 VILLAGERS TORTURED AND KILLED IN GROUP IN MURNG-SART

In July 2002, 13 villagers were accused of providing food and information to the Shan soldiers and arrested and tortured, and 12 of them were finally killed by SPDC troops from LIB579 in Murng Kok village tract, Murng-Sart township.

During the night of 18 July 2002, SPDC troops from LIB579 searched and arrested 13 villagers, 12 men and 1 woman, at their farms in Murng Kok village tract and detained them at their military camp at Naa Ho Khang village. 

The SPDC troops accused the villagers of being spies who provided information and food for the Shan soldiers and interrogated them. During interrogations, the SPDC troops tortured the 12 male villagers by beating, kicking, putting plastic bags over their heads to stifle them and pouring water into their stomachs, etc., until they were near dead.

On 20 July 2002, the SPDC troops released the woman and took all the men, tied up together in a line, towards a ravine called Huay Pu Maen Yio near the head of Nam Kok river. The 12 villagers had since then disappeared.

Some time later, when the relatives of the 12 villagers and their community leaders went to enquire about them at the military camp of LIB579, they were told by the camp commander that the 12 villagers had been sent to be imprisoned in jails in Kaeng-Tung and Murng-Sart towns. But when the villagers went to the jails in Kaeng-Tung and Murng-Sart towns, they could find none of the 12 villagers there.

The villagers were later told by an old ethnic Chinese man, Kwan Yong, of Yaang Lu village in Kaeng-Tung township, that the 12 villagers were all shot dead by SPDC troops. It was also later learned that this same Kwan Yong was the one who had falsely reported on the 12 villagers to the SPDC troops.

The relatives of the 12 victims and their community leaders could do little more than conducting a funeral according to their traditions. Three of 12 villagers killed were:

1. Lung Naam Non (m), aged 50, from Laai Khaa village in Murng Nim village tract
2. Zaai Saam Keo (m), aged 35, from the same village
3. Kya-Nu (m), aged 40, a Lahu villager from Ho To village in the same village tract

A DISPLACED WIDOW RAPED AND KILLED, HER OX-CART BURNT AND HER OXEN STOLEN, IN NAM-ZARNG

In mid-November 2002, a displaced widow was raped and killed, her ox-cart burnt and her oxen stolen, by SPDC troops from IB66 in a forest in Kho Lam village tract, Nam-Zarng township.

The victim, Naang Awng Sa, aged 34, was originally from Paang Sa village in Naa Poi village tract, Nam-Zarng township, which had been forcibly relocated to Kho Lam village relocation site in 1997 by the then SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) troops. Her husband died in 1997, leaving her and their 2 children to fend for themselves.

On 11 November 2002, Naang Awng Sa went with an ox-cart to gather firewood in the forest some distance from Kho Lam village relocation site and disappeared. Her fellow villagers tried to find her in vain until after some days some villagers found a partly burnt ox-cart at a remote spot in the forest, with no signs of her and her oxen in the vicinity.

Her body was found 11 days after her disappearance, with no clothes on and a knife was left thrust into her vagina. Villagers also saw her oxen in the military camp at Kho Lam relocation site, manned by SPDC troops from Nam-Zarng-based IB66.

RAPE WITH IMPUNITY EVEN AFTER 2 YEARS IN MURNG-SART

Up until the present, 3 SPDC troops from LIB580 who had raped a woman are still enjoying impunity even after their confession 2 years ago, and the victim has never received the promised compensation of 20,000 kyat, in Murng-Sart township.

On 5 January 2001, Naang Wo Keo (not her real name), aged 20, who was returning from catching fish was seized and raped by 3 SPDC soldiers from LIB580 at the edge of a rice field outside her village, Wan Kaat, in Murng Kok village tract, Murng-Sart township.

As soon as the soldiers finished raping her and left, Naang Wo Keo ran into the village without caring to take her clothes and the basket of fish and told her husband about her plight. Her husband then told his father and they all went with their community leader to the SPDC Military Tactical Command commander and filed a complaint with him.

The commander then made an inquiry and, since Naang Wo Keo recognized the 3 soldiers who had raped her, they confessed their guilt to him. The tactical commander then called the battalion commander of LIB580, Aung Kyaw Htoo, and told him to punish them. Aung Kyaw Htoo then promised to punish the 3 soldiers and give compensation of 20,000 kyat for the victim.

Although Naang Wo Keo and her husband asked for 100,000 kyat, stating that she would need medical treatment since she had recently undergone an appendicitis operation and had not been properly healed when she was raped, the military said they could only give 20,000 kyat, and the couple could say nothing more.

However, up until now, no actions are heard to have been taken against the 3 SPDC soldiers in terms of punishment, and Naang Wo Keo has never received anything in terms of compensation.

Not long after the incident, Naang Wo Keo’s husband took her to Kaeng-Tung town hospital to receive medical treatment. Since then, the couple have been staying with their relatives in Kaeng-Tung town up to the present. 

DISAPPEARANCE OF 15 RETURNING REFUGEES IN MURNG-TON

In November 2002, 15 refugees who were returning from Thailand disappeared after being taken down from a truck by SPDC troops from IB65 some distance from BP1 (Border Point-1) crossing point in Murng-Ton township.

The said 15 refugees, 6 young men and 9 young women, were originally from Murng-Kerng, Lai-Kha, Nam-Zarng and Kun-Hing townships in central Shan State. They had come to Thailand in 1999 after being internally displaced for some years following the mass forced relocation program carried out in 1996-97 in central Shan State by the then SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) troops.

After working very hard for 3-4 years in Thailand, and managing to save up a little money, these refugees were returning to find their relatives who were still internally displaced somewhere in Shan State.

When they crossed the border, they were searched by SPDC troops from IB65 at BP1, who found some money and gold ornaments on each of them, before they got on a truck to continue their journey. Not long after they left BP1 and were at a remote spot, the truck stopped and the SPDC troops who were riding with the driver forced the 15 refugees down and took them into the jungle.

They have since disappeared. In late December 2002, their relatives who went in search of them after hearing the news of their disappearance could not find them anywhere. Their relatives in central Shan State had not seen them and they were nowhere to be found in the border areas and Thailand.

Many people who heard the news were quite sure that they must have been killed and robbed of their money and valuables by the SPDC troops, for such incidents were not unusual in the area.

VILLAGERS BANNED FROM TELLING TRUTH, THREATENED WITH TONGUE-CUTTING AND DEATH, IN KUN-HING

In late December 2002, village and community leaders in Kun-Hing township were summoned by SPDC military authorities to the base of LIB524 and warned not to tell anyone anything about the ill-treatment of the people by members of the Burmese military.

The military authorities told the village and community leaders to help cover up all information by not telling anyone about any mistreatment of the people by members of the military such as killing, rape, beating, torture, forced labour and rice procurement, etc., in order to improve the image of the military.

They were also told to warn their respective villagers to do the same and that if information about any misdeed by the military leaked out and was known by the outside world, the one who leaked it would be sought out and punished by having their tongue cut or even by death.

It was recently learned that people in many other townships in central Shan State, such as Murng-Kerng, Lai-Kha and Nam-Zarng etc., have also been similarly warned by the Burmese military authorities in their respective areas.

FORCED LABOUR IN KUN-HING AND MURNG-NAI

Since October 2002, people in Kun-Hing township are being forced by SPDC troops from IB246 to fix the road from south of Kun-Hing town down to Kaeng Tawng area in Murng-Nai township.

Each day, about 80-90 villagers are forced to work on the road from 8 o’clock in the morning until about 4:30 in the evening, with a break at midday to eat the day meal. In the evening, after eating their evening meal, the villagers are not allowed to go anywhere. They are forced to sleep in a group and surrounded by SPDC troops. 

Each group of 80-90 villagers have to work for 11-12 days at a time until they are replaced by another group of villagers of virtually the same numbers. During those days, they have to clear all the brushes and trees within 10 yards on both side of the road and dig the ground to make it even, and straighten the road where there are small bends.

The villagers have to use their own tools, provide their own food and receive nothing for their labour.

Since October 2002, villagers in Saai Mon village tract in Kun-Hing township are being forced by SPDC troops from IB246 to keep watch along the main road between Kho Lam village and Kun-Hing town every day without pay, and have to provide their own food.

Since about the same time, villagers of Kai Eg and Loi Saai villages in Laai Kam village tract, Kun-Hing township, are being forced to cultivate Japanese sesame for the SPDC troops from IB246 at a 5-acre piece of land between Kho Lam village and Kun-Hing town, about 10 miles from the town.

The villagers have to take responsibilities for all the work needed to cultivate the sesame from beginning to end, from preparing the ground up to the harvest.

According to the local villagers, other villages in the township are also still being often forced to work for the Burmese military, in many cases on a routine basis, just like their own villages.

FORCED LABOUR SITUATION IN MURNG-SART

According to the local people in the area of Murng Kok and Murng Nim village tracts, Murng-Sart township, various kinds of unpaid forced labour are still being imposed on the people as before by the SPDC troops in the area.

There are 8 villages in Murng Kok village tract and 9-10 villages in Murng Nim village tract, and there are 3 SPDC military battalions in the area - LIB580, LIB579 and an Artillery Unit. People from both village tracts have to provide forced labour to all the military units in the area.

Every 7 days, each person from every house in both village tracts have to go and work for one of the military units for one day, which means the villagers have to work every 2-3 days at the 3 military units one after another on a rotation basis. That also means the people have to work 3 out of 7 days for the SPDC military on a routine basis.

The kinds of work the villagers have to do generally include clearing in and around the military camps; fixing roads and clearing the sides of the roads; cultivating military farms; building and fixing fences; building and fixing military barracks; gathering and weaving thatched roofing; cutting wood and bamboo; and gathering firewood.

Besides not receiving anything for their labour, the villagers have to provide their own food and use their own tools to work.

EXTORTION AND FORCED LABOUR IN MURNG-TON

Since November 2002, SPDC troops from IB65 at Pung Pa Khem village in Murng-Ton township have been extorting money from travelling displaced persons, and forcing those who could not pay the demanded money to provide forced labour at the military camp for up to 15-20 days.

A car owner, U Hpyu, working under the instruction of Capt. Win Zaw, the commander of SPDC troops from IB65 stationed at Pung Pa Khem village, has been transporting and extorting money from travellers between Murng-Ton town and Pung Pa Khem. Those who could not pay the demanded money were taken to the military camp at Pung Pa Khem village and forced to work for 15-20 days before they were let go.

U Hpyu usually goes to Murng-Ton and waits near the military checkpoint at the exit of the town for displaced persons who are travelling towards the border areas and takes them to Pung Pa Khem village, and puts them up in a kind of makeshift hut he has built. 

He charges each passenger 1,200 baht of Thai money for the transport and 50 baht for one-night lodging, considered by many to be quite unreasonable given the situation of the locality, the short distance of the journey, the poor conditions of the lodging and the destitute life of the displaced persons.

Because of that, many have been stripped of all their belongings and reduced to begging for food in the area and many have been forced to work for the military, before they could go elsewhere.

ROBBERY IN MURNG-SU

The following report is an instance of how SPDC military patrols in Shan State usually treat the villages that happen to be in their way.

On 1.9.02, at about 07:00 hrs., a patrol of about 38 SPDC troops from IB249, led by commanders Htun Kyaw Myint and Kyaw Lin, came to Huay Laai village in Murng Tang village tract, Murng-Su township, and took the following consumer goods from the villagers without paying for them.

The troops killed and ate 5 chickens, took 2 bottles of rice whiskey, 3 pyi of rice, 2 bottles of beer and 7 bundles of cheroots.

After that, the same troops continued to Nam Khai village in Murng Tang village tract, Murng-Su township, and did the following.

They struck open a wooden box of a villager and took a silver knife from it, and they took 5 chickens, 5 pyi of rice, 2 boxes of dry cell electric battery, 1 bundle of cheroot, 2 large rice pot and 11 eggs, without paying for them.