KHRG Report: SLORC's 1993 Offensive

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Subject: KHRG Report: SLORC's 1993 Offensive Against Karen Civlians

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      AN INDEPENDENT REPORT BY THE KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP

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        THE_SLORC'S_1993_OFFENSIVE_AGAINST_KAREN_CIVILIANS        
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In three parts

Part 1 of 3

July 10, 1993


Filename: jul10_93.1_3

This report consists of summaries of transcripts of statements with
31 refugees from throughout Pa'an, Thaton, and Papun Districts in
Karen State, Eastern Burma.  Their stories are fairly grim and do
not make for pleasant reading.  Due to its length, this report is
divided into three parts.


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When Burma's SLORC junta mounted its biggest ever offensive against
the headquarters of Karen and democratic forces in Manerplaw in
1992, it was universally condemned for the swath of destruction and
terror its Army cut through the country.  This year, the SLORC
claims to have ceased all such offensives, and is busily trying to
repair its international image.  However, it continues to mount
smaller offensives, and in SLORC-controlled areas of Karen State,
it has unleashed a major military offensive against Karen
civilians, a campaign of terror and forced relocation which is now
taking place out of sight of the world community.  Fresh SLORC
troops have been sent in, particularly 99 Light Infantry Division,
with orders to systematically subjugate the Karen civilian
population through terror and forced relocation.  Entire regions of
western Karen State are being declared free-fire zones, while
civilian populations are being driven into relocation camps and
garrison villages, where they form a pool of slave labour and
porters for future offensives.

The campaign is spread throughout Papun District in the north,
through central Thaton District, to Pa'an District in the south. 
It is a large region about 200 km. from north to south, forming a
large crescent behind SLORC lines directly west of Manerplaw.  This
indicates that this strategy is largely aimed at preparing for a
fresh large-scale offensive on Manerplaw, by preventing the
civilian population from helping the opposition in any way, making
their home areas free-fire zones to allow SLORC troops unrestricted
movement, and setting them up as easily accessible slaves for when
the offensive comes.

Several thousand refugees from this campaign of terror have already
arrived at the Thai border, and hundreds more are now arriving
every week.  However, the vast majority are still inside, hiding in
the jungle or fleeing from village to village, preparing to become
refugees in the near future.

The following statements were made by people from villages spread
throughout Pa'an, Thaton, and Papun Districts.  The similarity of
their stories shows that these are not isolated incidents, but
systematic policy being directed from Rangoon.  Their stories have
been transcribed from recorded interviews in Karen, and represent
a random sampling of recent arrivals; the people still arriving
could easily fill several reports like this every week with their
horrific stories of abuse.

Some of these statements were given by refugees now in Thai border
camps, others by displaced people still hiding inside Burma, and
others by people still living in their home villages.  For this
reason, the names of those interviewed have been changed, and the
names of their villages omitted.  All names mentioned in their
accounts are real, although these have been blanked out where
necessary.  In the accounts, Burmese soldiers often call people
"Kaw Thoo Lei" and "Ringworm".  Both of these are terms used by
Burmese troops to refer to Karen soldiers.  "Kaw Thoo Lei" is the
name of the Karen homeland, while the derogatory "Ringworm" refers
to a parasite common to people who ride elephants.

Please feel free to use this information in any way which may help
end the suffering which these people describe.  

_________________________________________________________________

NAME:     Naw Htoo Say    SEX: F     AGE: 30
ADDRESS:  Papun District

The Burmese soldiers abuse us so much we can't even describe it. 
Whenever they see any villager, the soldiers do whatever they want
to them before they even interrogate them.  They torture people,
and no one can vouch or plead for their freedom.  They say, "If we
find anyone outside the village that person must be our enemy.  If
they were civilians they would stay in the village."  Now they've
given an order that we're not even allowed outside the village
without a special paper.  If we want to go out, we have to ask
their permission and pay them 1 Kyat for each person who's going,
and they give us a paper that's only good until sundown.  If they
catch us outside without a paper or if we're absent from the
village at any time, then they do whatever they want to us.

They torture people in many ways.  Sometimes they slash people's
skin and put salt and chillies in the wounds - I saw them do this
to 7 men one time.  They make people go without food, and another
time they took out a villager's eye.  We often find the bodies of
villagers the soldiers have killed.  They never bury them, just
strip them naked and leave them laying there.  Usually they accuse
people of being Karen soldiers before they kill them, and if the
village headman tries to plead for them then they beat him too.  We
can barely survive in the village anymore.

They also order porters from every village based on its size.  My
village has 50 houses, so they order at least 10 porters every
time, usually once a month, and they have to go for the whole
month.  It's terrible as a porter.  They give out just rotten rice,
once or twice a day depending on the situation, but never enough. 
They take women as porters many, many times.  They say, "The men
are not enough for us, so we have to take women porters".  They
think if they have women porters, then the Karen soldiers won't
shoot at them, so they go behind the women.  They send 5 women in
front of each soldier.  They send men and women porters out in
front of their column without heavy loads to carry, mainly to find
the landmines.  When that happens, the porters are wounded by
landmines.  A great many porters are wounded by landmines.

The soldiers always take women now, because all the men have fled
the village.  In the village the soldiers call the women, and if
they like a girl they ask for her love.  When she refuses they
force her and rape her.  I have two friends to whom they've done
this: Naw L--- and Naw M---.  The soldiers were terrible to them. 
We want to report it to their officer, but the soldiers say, "If
you go and report it then you must be a Karen soldier".  They just
want to rape women and then disappear.

The soldiers also demand money to buy themselves a volleyball or
whatever else they want.  Our village has 2 headmen, and they have
to alternate days going to the army camp to report.  One time when
the soldiers demanded money for their personal things we refused to
pay, but when they didn't get their money and the headman didn't go
and report, they fired a mortar shell at our village.  Luckily it
hit outside the village and no one was hurt, but 2 cows were
killed.

They take our livestock so often we can't even describe it.  They
point their guns at us and say, "Which is more valuable - your life
or your livestock?", so we can't stop them.  Sometimes they shoot
our cows, take just a little meat and then leave the rest laying
there.  Sometimes they want to drink coconut milk but they're too
lazy to climb the tree to get the coconuts, so they just cut down
the tree and take them.  Another time a group of soldiers ordered
some families to go with them, then while they were gone another
group of soldiers came and looted everything they had.

We always have to be ready to go and work for them.  Usually they
make us go cut bamboo, build fences, dig bunkers and other work at
their military headquarters.  We have to work for them so much, I
can't count the times.  If we don't go one time, they make us pay
32 kg. of beef or pork, or sometimes 64 kg., and then they
interrogate us.  When we go, we have to take all our own food. 
Worst of all, when we build a fence, if they decide they don't like
it they force us to tear it down and build it again.  This happens
all the time.

They all wear a badge that says 99 [Light Infantry Division], and
underneath there's a picture of a coffin on one side and a dog on
the other.  They never tell us their names - they just say "We're
99".
_________________________________________________________________

NAME:     Pa Ka Baw      SEX: M     AGE: 29
ADDRESS:  Papun District

When I went to cut my sugarcane I met with the Burmese and they
caught me.  I told them I have children and a wife, that we don't
have much rice at our house and that I must work in our fields so
we can survive, so I can't go as a porter.  I thought the Burmese
would have mercy on me but they didn't free me - instead they made
me go as a porter.  They made me start carrying.  If we got enough
food to eat we could carry, but they gave us almost nothing, so I
couldn't keep carrying the whole day.  I saw the soldiers beat my
friend in his back until he couldn't walk, just because he couldn't
carry.

Another time Maung Bu and his wife went to get betelnut leaves, and
on their way back they met some Burmese along the path and the
Burmese killed them.  They don't even ask any questions before they
kill the villagers.  What will become of the children?  The
children become orphans.  No matter what we tell them, they have no
mercy.  When they come to the village they act like robbers.  Now
I have no money, but before I had a shop.  Then Burmese 301
Battalion came - their commander is Min La Aung.  They came in my
house and ate whatever they want.  They took many things from my
shop but never paid me.  Finally I had no more rice, and what could
I do?  My friend had to give me food to live.  They took the
chickens I was keeping for my daughter and everything in my shop,
so I had nothing.  I said, "Please don't", but they said "Please? 
I don't know that word."

The villagers have no place to go.  If they go stay in the jungle
the Burmese kill them.  If they stay in the village the Burmese
catch them and force them to be porters.  They have no mercy.  As
porters, they only give us 3 spoonfuls of rice three times a day,
and the rice is rotten but we have to eat it or we'll die.  They
follow us with guns everywhere, even when we go to the toilet.

I lived in N--- village for 3 years, and I also saw the hard life
of the villagers there.  There were many orphans because the
Burmese had killed their parents.  They killed Naw Di Yah, Maung
Lway, Pa Poh, Maw Pye Ya's mother-in-law, and Ma Thay's
grandfather.  When the villagers worked in the fields the Burmese
came and shot them, even though they're all just civilians.  If
they keep doing this the people of Burma will be lost and Burma
will be destroyed.

If they order us to go as porters for 10 or 15 days we can go, but
now they order us to go for 5 or 6 months, so how can I care for my
family?

They took all the animals in our village and also went to the
monastery and robbed the monks' servant.  They said he was a Karen
soldier pretending to be a monks' servant.  Whenever they steal
anything they say it belongs to Karen soldiers, and the villagers
can't stop them because they're so afraid.

When I went to K--- village I saw an old man sitting with tears
dropping from his eyes.  I asked him why he was crying.  He looked
at my face and asked where I was from, so I told him I'd just been
a porter but ran away because I couldn't carry anymore.  He said,
"But if you run away the Burmese will kill you", but I told him I
didn't care because I must get back to my family.  I asked again
why he was crying, and he said, "Look at my sugar cane - the
Burmese cut it all down, so I can do nothing.  I had two cows but
the Burmese killed them, and my two buffalos as well."  I asked if
he was sure the Burmese had cut all his sugar cane, and he said "Ba
Du La's servants came here."  He said "Ba Du La's servants" had
been here for 30 or 40 years, and if you see them you must run.  I
told him I didn't understand, so he told me "Ba Du La's servants"
are the Burmese soldiers.  [Ba Du La was an ancient Burmese king.]

The Burmese go around all our fields and say it's "food for
Ringworms".  When the rice is growing they walk on it instead of
the path, and at harvest time they pull up the paddy and sit on it. 
They know it's bad but they still do it.  If children are bad it's
the parents' fault, and if the leaders are bad then the troops will
be too.  They couldn't do such things without their leaders'
approval.  They're more like animals than people.  No - animals are
better than them.  They are the fathers of robbers.

When I was sick I cut my hair like a monk and stayed at home.  The
soldiers came to the village, caught me and accused me of being a
"Ringworm".  I told them about my family and the village headman
vouched for me but they wouldn't free me.  They tied me like an
animal with very thick rope.  Then they dragged me onto the road
and beat me with a gun.  They took me to L--- monastery and put me
under the building all night.  They'd caught me at 10 a.m., and I
only got a little food the next morning.  Later that day I was
starving so I asked for food, but a soldier said, "This man is a
Ringworm - don't give him food".  I asked for water and one soldier
who was Karen said, "We are all the same, so I can give him some
water", but when he went to get it the officer stopped him.

They made me follow them, and we walked the whole day.  When I saw
a river I asked for a drink but they wouldn't let me.  For two days
they gave me nothing.  The friendly soldier gave my friend some
water, but the officer saw and yelled, "Who told you to give him
water?"  He also tried to give me some but I couldn't take it
because my hands were still tied.

Then we moved again to L--- camp.  I got no food for a week so I
got sick, and the only water I got was from the friendly soldier,
who hid water and then gave it to me.  I said to the officer, "You
don't give me any food.  You don't give me anything."  He got angry
and beat me the whole night, slapped my face and spat in my face. 
The village headman kept pleading for me but still they wouldn't
free me.  Later the officer ordered them to give me one cup of
water each day, so they put some in a milk tin and gave it to me,
but the friendly soldier warned me to drink only a sip at a time to
make it last.

Then the Burmese caught 3 more villagers.  There was a 78 year old
man, and they tied him up along with two girls.  They untied me,
but I was too weak to stand so I could only lie down.  Then Karen
soldiers attacked the Burmese with guns and 3 RPG's
[Rocket-Propelled Grenades], and the Burmese officer was killed. 
When the RPG's exploded, the old man told me to untie the girls
because we had a chance to run.  I went and untied them, but I
couldn't walk so they lifted me by my arms and carried me.  The old
man was too old to carry me, so the girls told him to go ahead,
they carried me and we got away.  When we were away from the camp,
one girl stayed with me while the others went to get help.  The
villagers came and carried me away.  When I arrived at the village
I was starving, but whenever I ate anything I got great pain in my
abdomen.  A man said I should only eat boiled rice, so I did and I
got better.  Now I'm getting stronger.

When I arrived at my home some villagers and one Burmese villager
visited me.  The Burmese man said, "Why did they treat you like
this?  Now I don't dare stay here."  I said, "But why? You are
Burmese", and he said, "I'm Burmese but not like them.  I'm a
civilian."  Later, many villagers all told me that he was dead.

After a month, I went to a monastery where there was a feast.  I
helped carry water and wash the plates.  The Burmese knew about the
feast, so they came to catch porters.  Other people thought they
wouldn't because we're the same religion as them and it's a
Buddhist feast, but they took porters anyway.  They also looked for
me everywhere and caught me. Then they drove us on, and sometimes
we went a whole day with no food.  Some people only had on very
thin clothes when we were caught, but when it rained we had to
sleep in the rain.  I ate "po thwe daw" leaves and forest
vegetables because otherwise I would have died.  We had to eat like
buffaloes.  Some people stole the soldiers' rice to survive.  Once
I heard a shout so I looked, and saw that the Burmese had caught
some people stealing just a little rice, but they were beating them
very badly.  They beat one boy very hard on his chest, and later he
always had chest pains.  They beat another in his back until he
couldn't walk or stand.  They ordered him to carry a load but he
couldn't, so they beat him more and then left him behind when we
moved on.  I thought he would die for sure, but some villagers came
and carried him away later and saved his life.  I was near death
too, but I survived.
_________________________________________________________________

NAME:     Saw Pa Thu     SEX: M     AGE: 18
ADDRESS:  Papun District

The Burmese come to the village and make me go as a porter.  They
always make me carry very heavy bullets.  Then I can't carry them,
and they beat me.  They give me just a little rice, but it's
rotten.  There's never enough food.

During the Sleeping Dog Mountain fighting we had to carry a lot. 
I saw two women die, and the Burmese dumped their bodies in the
river.  My tears were falling.  The Burmese asked me, "Is that your
wife?", and I said, "No, just my friend".  Then he said, "I'll kill
you and the others too."  We had to carry bullets and shells 5
times a day up the mountain.  It's very high, but we had to climb
it every day without a rest.  Some of us got sick but they gave us
no medicine.  The Burmese leaders in the city sent many Burmese
women to encourage their soldiers, and when they came the soldiers
were very happy.  They didn't make the Burmese women carry
anything, but the Karen women still had to carry.  They always
guarded the Karen women, and never freed them.  I was there for 1
month, then I ran away.

Then we were back in our village for months before 99 Division
came.  They came to the village and caught many people, including
me.  They called me a Karen soldier, and I said I'm not.  They
asked, "What's your commander's name?", and I said, "I have no
commander.  I'm a villager."  They beat me, tied me up and took me
to T---, but then some of us hid and ran away.  We went back to our
village, but so did they.  They caught me and made me point out my
house and my parents' house.  They said to my parents, "Your son is
a Karen soldier", and beat my old father twice, until my father was
almost dying.  We had many animals, but then they took them all. 
They ate my father's cow and 3 pigs, and they said, "We'll burn all
the houses here.  If we see men here, we'll kill them."  Then the
women didn't dare live in the village anymore either, and everyone
ran away.  I came here with my parents, but I wanted to get my two
cows so I went back.  I was pulling my cows away but the Burmese
saw me and shot at me, so I had to run away without my cows.  We
couldn't carry anything with us, and we came here to stay with my
relatives instead of going to the refugee camp.  Many villagers
went to the refugee camp or to other villages, because the Burmese
said they'll kill everyone in our village.

Since then I went to visit my Aunt in H--- village, but the Burmese
caught me there and accused me of being a Karen soldier again. 
They tied me up and dragged me to the officer, and I was very
afraid because they'd caught me so many times already.  I thought
this time I would die for sure.  The officer said, "You see this?"
and showed me his gun.  Then they put a cloth around my head so I
couldn't see, and stabbed my skin with a knife until I couldn't
bear it.  My aunt came and pleaded for me, and they told her "You
must give us one cow".  She gave them her cow, and then they beat
me some more and dragged me along the road to P--, interrogating me
all the way, before they freed me.
_________________________________________________________________

NAME:     Saw Tee Ler    SEX: M     AGE: 60+
ADDRESS:  Papun District

I want to know why the Burmese torture people like this.  They
asked me questions and I told them I didn't know, but then they
pulled my hair, beat me and stabbed me.  They did this until I was
almost dying.  I told them I wasn't afraid of death, and that if
they killed me that would be good for me because I couldn't suffer
their torture anymore.  We are all people on this earth, but they
have no mercy on other people.  Karen people have mercy, so we
don't go and kill Burmese people.  I don't understand it.  I've
seen this happen for 40 years.  I'm very old now, and I still think
some day it will be better, but the Burmese are even stronger now
than before.  

They force all the men and women to work.  Even if women are
pregnant they must go and carry heavy things, so they have
miscarriages and lose their babies.  Why do they oppress us like
this?  We are all the same, all people.  We feel great sorrow in
our hearts but we can't change it.  We speak to them but they don't
care what we say.  They just oppress all the women and men, and we
must suffer it.  We never have happy times anymore because the
Burmese Nation is always oppressing us.  We can't stay near them. 
We're very sad to live in this country with the Burmese.  To tell
you the truth, it makes me very sad, but I'll never find a place to
stay in another country.  I have no education, so I must stay here.
_________________________________________________________________

NAME:     Eh Htoo Pa     SEX: M     AGE: 40
ADDRESS:  Papun District

Many groups of Burmese soldiers come to our village, but especially
99 Division.  On January 16 they came and took 30 baskets of paddy. 
They didn't pay anything so the headman asked them and they said
"We'll pay you later".  But they never did.  Instead, a few days
later they came and caught porters, and killed our cows and ate
them.

Sometimes their trucks come, and on January 25 the Karen soldiers
shot at their truck, so the next day the Burmese collected the
villagers, including women, and ordered them to find the landmines
on the road.  They also forced us to pay 25,000 Kyat, and they only
gave us 3 days to find the money.

In March one time they told us not to go to work the next day. 
Then they came, collected the men and asked us, "Where are your
guns?"  We told them we have no guns.  Then they took one man and
interrogated him while they beat him, kicked him and scared him
with fire in his eyes and mouth.  He couldn't suffer it anymore, so
he broke down and said "Yes, I'm a soldier" even though he wasn't. 
Then the Burmese killed him.  They also treat many other villagers
the same way as that man, villagers who are 50, 60, even 68 years
old.  Another man named Pa K--- was a village leader.  The Burmese
accused him of having a gun and a radio.  They tortured him, and
they told the women to go find the gun and radio.  They said, "If
you can't find them we'll burn your houses."  Then on January 28
those troops had to move out, and they took Pa K--- and many other
villagers with them.  Only some of the villagers came back, so
people went to plead for the others but the Burmese wouldn't free
them.  They demanded money.  We gave them 5,000 Kyat, and then the
other villagers came back, carrying the body of Pa K--- with them. 
The soldiers had beaten and kicked him to death.  One of the women
they'd kept with them and used as a porter was Naw G---.  She was
very afraid when she was a porter because she saw many soldiers
coming back wounded.  When she got home, she was very sick, and she
died on April 2.

This 99 Division is very bad.  The officer who stays around my
village and all the other leaders are all very bad.  Now they take
porters, and while the porters are still gone they come and demand
more porters.  Then when two of the porters ran away, they fined
our village 2 goats.
_________________________________________________________________

NAME:     Eh Ser Mo      SEX: F     AGE: 50
ADDRESS:  Papun District

Even old women have to go and work for the Burmese soldiers,
because the majority of the men have to flee the village as soon as
the Burmese are nearby.  So the women get caught because we have to
stay behind to care for the children and protect our property.  All
the single girls and widows also have to flee the Burmese to avoid
being raped.

If Karen soldiers come to the village we don't report it to the
Burmese, so they torture the headman.  Many times they abuse the
villagers and kill them outright for no reason.  They use many
kinds of torture.  Sometimes they cut off people's ears, and they
slice people's arms and bodies and then put salt in the wounds. 
They pour too much water in people's mouths.  They torture people
like this until they die.

They order us to send porters but we don't dare go because they'll
send us to the frontline and make us walk in front to step on
landmines.  So we try to give the soldiers money instead, or we
have to hire someone to go in our place.  It's very hard to hire
porters, and very costly - we have to give them at least 8,000 Kyat
for a month.  Most of the people who will go for money are Indians. 
They have no choice, because they have no other way to make a
living, so they sell their lives for money.  When they come back,
they tell us that the Burmese only feed them their leftover rice,
just once a day.  Those who can't carry anymore are either left
behind or kicked off the mountainside.

When the Burmese come to the village, they order all of us to go
and stay by their headquarters for a few days.  Then we have to
stop all our work, even if it's planting time.  At their camp, we
stay in small lean-to's that we make, just a roof with no floor. 
We take as little as we can, because if the soldiers see anyone
with good clothes or things, they take them.  The soldiers must be
very poor to do that.

Whatever they want us to do, we have to do.  We have to dig, and if
they want houses then we have to cut the bamboo and wood, get
leaves for the roof, and build them.  They do nothing except give
orders.  We also have to dig trenches all around their camp and
make barriers out of sharpened bamboo sticks.  We have to cut their
firewood too, and many other jobs.

Whenever we want to go outside the village we have to buy a paper
for 1 Kyat, which is only good for one day; 1 Kyat for each person. 
They only allow us to go work our fields 2 days a week.  As for the
men, whenever the soldiers call for labour they don't come, they
stay hidden in the jungle.  It's very bad for the men, because
whenever the soldiers see people in the forest they shoot them.  If
the person gets away, he's okay.  If not, he's killed.  When the
soldiers see people out working their farms they shoot at them too. 
They killed 3 people from my village that way.

They order labour again and again.  We have to carry ammunition and
supplies, usually for one day at a time.  Every house has to rotate
sending their cart and bullocks to do labour at the army camp. 
They built their camp near the village, and they come and take
whatever they want.  Once the villagers tried to stop them, but
they just showed their guns to say "Here, you see?", and went on
catching our livestock.  They say, "Don't you know, haven't you
heard about 99 Division?  Don't make me kill you."
_________________________________________________________________

Karen Human Rights Group
Box 22
Mae Sot, Tak 63110
Thailand

(Email for the KHRG sent to strider@xxxxxxxxxxx will be forwarded
to them)