Document Actions

FORCED RELOCATION IN MURNG PAN

No. of villages relocated:
No. of households relocated:

61
2,031

Map of VILLAGES FORCIBLY RELOCATED IN MURNG PAN TOWNSHIP (1996 - 1998)

Background of the area
The southern part of Murng Pan is thickly forested with teak. The valleys in the northern part are highly fertile, and rice, onions, garlic, sugar-cane and peanuts, soya-beans and sesame were grown in abundance.

In 1996, the SLORC confiscated the rice-fields to the west of the town in an area of about 4 square kilometers, giving no compensation to the owners. They then divided up the land into plots of about 10 yds x 10 yds, and sold them off at about 20,000-30,000 kyats each. At the same time, the long-standing Muslim quarter (about 80 households) in the east of the town was ordered to move, without compensation, to the old cemetery to the west of the town.

Relocation
There was no forced relocation of villages in this area in 1996. However, in 1997 the SURA began operating in Murng Pan, and in May of 1997 the SLORC responded by ordering outlying villages to relocate to the town and along the main road. Initially 47 villages were forced to move. They were given 12 days to move in. Then on July 8, there was a Shan army attack on a police outpost at the western gate of the town, and further villages were forced to relocate to Murng Pan.

Extrajudicial killings in Murng Pan township in 1997
SHRF has documented the following extrajudicial killings of villagers either found near their old villages or in the actual relocation sites in the Murng Pan area in 1997:

Date

No. of villagers Killed

site of killing

killed by SLORC/SPDC Batt./Reg.

early Apr.

7.6.97

8.6.97

13.6.97

4.8.97

13.9.97

14.9.97

8.10.97

2

3

1

5

2

3

1

6

14

(beaten to death)

old woman (burned alive)

(tortured, killed despite having written permission toreturn to their village)

Kan Kan

Wan Jong

Murng Pan mil. Base

west of Murng Pan

Pung Khin

Ho Lin, Loi Noi, Kung Kaeng

Wo Lai

Wan Tham

Nar Paw

Loi Bo Ma-1

LIB 332

LIB 520

LIB 332

LIB 332

LIB 332

LIB 331

LIB 331

LIB 332

Total:

37

people killed

Conditions in the relocation sites
Nothing was provided for the villagers in the relocation areas. Since the relocations began in May 1997, the villagers have not been allowed further than a radius of 3 kilometers from Murng Ban to cultivate their fields.

Some of the villagers who had been relocated to the town have ended up buying plots of the land to the west of town that had been confiscated by the army in 1996.

Personal tools

Document Actions

FORCED RELOCATION IN MURNG PAN

FORCED RELOCATION IN MURNG PAN