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DOSSIER ON FORCED LABOR IN BURMA
- Subject: DOSSIER ON FORCED LABOR IN BURMA
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 05 Jun 1995 19:07:00
FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA
A COLLECTION OF DOCUMENTS 1987-1995,
COMPILED BY THE BURMA PEACE FOUNDATION.
The Burma Peace Foundation has compiled a 1400-page dossier on
forced labour in Burma. It comes in a loose-leaf binder. At 5
cents per page plus binder etc., this costs $75. Postage is
extra. If anyone would like a copy, let us know. Immediate
delivery cannot be guaranteed, as BPF is very busy keeping up
with the antics of our friends in Rangoon. However, if you need
it in a hurry, or if you cannot afford the cost, but need the
dossier, make your case.
IF YOU HAVE DOCUMENTS ON FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA NOT IN THIS
DOSSIER, PLEASE SEND (MAIL OR EMAIL) TO BPF.
.................................................................
The following is the intro and contents:
INTRODUCTION
This dossier on FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA is part of a trilogy
compiled by the Burma Peace Foundation, the other dossiers
(currently being updated) are FORCED RELOCATION IN BURMA and
ECONOMIC OPPRESSION IN BURMA (extortion, looting, pillaging and
the economic impact of forced labour). Together with killings,
disappearances, torture, rape, inhuman treatment etc., the
combination of forced relocation, forced labour and economic
oppression has led to the collapse of the Burmese village,
especially in the border regions. In the areas covered by most of
these documents, thousands of villages have been abandoned and
hardly any has lost less than 25% of its members. The village
people either swell the estimated one million internally
displaced or join the flow of refugees to neighbouring
countries. The agent of this collapse is the Burma Army, under
the current incarnation of military rule in Burma, the State Law
and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC.
The point in putting all these documents on forced labour
together is to create a blunt instrument with which to beat the
skeptical into submission and demonstrate the persistent and
wide-scale nature of the abuse. They provide a mere glimpse into
the activities of the Burma Army, whose numbers are approaching
400,000 at present and scheduled to reach 500,000 by the end of
the century. The Thai/Burmese border is the main source of the
information in this dossier, which therefore covers the Shan,
Karenni, Karen and Mon more than the other peoples of Burma who
over the years have suffered no less -- the Kachin, for instance
-- but who are further away from the international eye.
TYPES OF FORCED LABOUR
The most notorious form of forced labour in Burma is forced
portering (FP), whereby the army raids villages and towns for
porters to carry its supplies and ammunition for offensives in
the border regions or for routine operations. File 1 covers FP
from 1988 to the 94/95 dry season offensive against the Karen.
Since 1992, there has been an increase in other forms of forced
labour. As illustrated in files 2,3,& 4, these are of three
main types:
* Work on large-scale infrastructure and "development" projects:
e.g. construction and maintenance of roads, railways, bridges,
airports, hydro-electric schemes etc. In many cases these are
related, directly or indirectly, to foreign investment and
tourism. Several hundred thousand people are currently being
forced to work on such projects, of which the notorious Ye-Tavoy
railway is only one. Land for these projects is confiscated,
without compensation, from the farmers.
* Military-related labour: e.g. building, maintaining and
guarding military roads and bridges, sweeping roads for mines,
and building and servicing military camps. As in the case of
"development" projects, land for these installations, which
include training grounds and military farms, is confiscated from
the local people, who are often obliged to do forced labour on
their former property.
* Work on commercial projects for the army such as paddy-and-
fishpond and tree-planting operations, which the local farmers
have to build up and maintain. The required land, needless to
say, is confiscated from local people.
The overall picture is of a LARGE INCREASE IN FORCED LABOUR OVER
THE LAST THREE YEARS. People are conscripted as porters and for
other forms of forced labour over at least 8 months of the year,
overlapping with vital agricultural activities like planting and
harvesting. Forced labour is thus a major factor in the collapse
of the village economy, and as well as violating civil and
political rights, constitutes a major infringement of
international norms on economic, social and cultural rights, and
the right to development.
A NOTE ON SOURCES
This dossier contains material from a wide variety of sources --
journalists, international and local human rights organisations,
SLORC in Rangoon and SLORC local commanders, the organisations of
the non-Burman nationalities, independent and semi-independent
Mon and Shan groups, diplomats, legal analysts, United Nations
Special Rapporteurs, international trade union bodies, refugee
agencies and so on. They all have their special concerns and it
would be too much to expect all of them to be absolutely
objective all of the time. However, the large number and variety
of observers on the Thai/Burmese border means that here at least,
reports are subject to a high level of scrutiny and
cross-checking, and most false or exaggerated stories can be
spotted and put into perspective. The approach taken by the
editor of this dossier has been to use a coarse filter and let
the reader make his or her own assessment. However, it may be
useful to group the sources used and make some brief comments on
their methods and orientation, where known.
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch Asia, US Committee for
Refugees, Article 19, Anti-Slavery International, Refugees
International, International Commission of Jurists, Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights etc.. These organisations put a high
priority on producing accurate and impartial reports. Before
writing a report they generally undertake a country mission, do
their own interviews (EI or LI)* and consult widely, seek maximum
corroboration of facts, and couch their analyses within
international law. However, although most of the above have
repeatedly requested access to Burma in order to undertake
fact-finding missions, the Burmese military has not given
permission. Their fact-finding therefore has tended to
concentrate on the regions which are accessible from the borders,
together with the occasional clandestine visit.
* See list of abbreviations
INTERNATIONAL BURMA SPECIALIST ORGANISATIONS
Project Maje (PM), Burma Peace Foundation (BPF). BURMA ACTION
GROUP UK (BAG) Sympathetic to the ethnic groups and democracy
movement. Do their own interviews (EI) and seek accuracy of fact.
HUMANITARIAN ORGANISATIONS
Based in Thailand: Jesuit Refugee Service, Burmese Relief Centre
Medecins Sans Frontieres and other medical and refugee groups.
They do their own interviews (EI) and cross-check. Very sound in
analysis and fact.
LOCAL HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) and Southeast Asia Information
Network (SAIN) are the main ones quoted. Their pro-democracy bias
and sympathy for the village people and ethnic groups is clear
from their analyses and focus, and they do not generally report
on violations of human rights by non-Burman ethnic groups.
However, in this editor's experience they are reliable on facts.
They do their own interviews (EI & LI)
SEMI-INDEPENDENT
Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), The Committee for Publicity
of People's Struggle in Monland (CPPSM) and the Human Rights
Foundation of Monland. These groups support their ethnic group,
as is clear from their analyses, but they have not been known to
fabricate information. The SHRF occasionally reports on human
rights violations by the Mong Tai Army as well as by SLORC. There
is one document in file 3 on the Ye-Tavoy railway, dated April
94, which looks as if it may come from CPPSM, but no doubt for
for security reasons the soource is not named.
ORGANISATIONS OF THE NON-BURMAN PEOPLES
Karen National Union (KNU), Government of Karenni, New Mon State
Party, Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), Rohingya
Solidarity Organization (RSO), All Burma Student Democratic Front
(ABSDF) which publishes Dawn. These groups are clearly biased,
but are not generally known to fabricate information, though the
accuracy of some of RSO's reports has been queried. Perhaps this
is due to lack of alternative sources in Arakan to cross-check
with.
SLORC
The Generals in Rangoon say (1) that forced labour does not
exist; (2) that unpaid labour occurs, but that it is traditional
voluntary contribution of labour. However,interviews with
victims, and the SLORC Orders, frequently threatening, which are
sent to villages demanding labour, present another picture.
JOURNALISTS
Some Bangkok journalists tend to jump on a rumor before it is
fully checked, but they generally get it right in the end. Some
reports are based on their own interviews in Bangkok or on the
border. Similarly for the wire services. At any rate, most press
reports included in this dossier are at least a few months old,
and have stood the test of time. Burmanet is an electronic
conference on Burma which carries stories from many sources, and
whose editorial comment is generally sound.
UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL PROCEDURES
Those quoted in the dossier are the Special Rapporteur on
Myanmar, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions and the
Special Rapporteurs on Torture, on Executions, and on Religious
Intolerance. They receive information from UN, governmental and
non-governmental sources, and submit the allegations to SLORC,
which comments. So far, only the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar
has visited the country. When he goes he does his own interviews
though, so far, rarely without the presence of SLORC Military
Intelligence. These circumstances, as he states in his reports,
do not contribute towards candid interviews.
DIPLOMATIC AND GOVERNMENTAL SOURCES
Some of the best information and analysis
TECHNICAL STUFF
SECURITY ISSUES
Names and other details which may endanger interviewees or their
villages have been changed or blacked out. For similar reasons
one or two reports are not attributed.
ORGANISATION OF THE DOSSIER
These documents on forced labour in Burma are arranged
chronologically within four categories:
1. Forced portering;
2. Forced labour other than portering;
3. Forced labour with international implications, for instance on
the pipeline and what can be argued is its supporting
infrastructure like roads or railways (eg the Ye-Tavoy railway)
4. Forced labour on tourist projects.
In this dossier there are no ethnic divisions, and UN documents,
to their dismay, are lying cheek-by-jowl with press clippings,
raw interviews, legal analyses and reports from biased sources.
Where forced portering (FP) and other forms of forced labour (FL)
are covered by the same report, the abbreviations "FP" and "FL"
have frequently been scrawled alongside the relevant paragraphs.
The division of the whole dossier into four files is by no means
precise. There are many cases of FL in file 1 which do not appear
in files 2&3, and likewise for FP. There are one or two overlaps
and cross-references, and in the distant future there may be a
thematic index.
In its present state, the dossier contains whole reports where
they are not too long, rather than extracts. In some cases,
reports which may have little direct information on forced labour
are enclosed if they are useful background documents on, for
instance, gas pipelines and the corporations involved.
IF ANY READER HAS FURTHER DOCUMENTS ON FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA,
PLEASE SEND THEM TO THE BURMA PEACE FOUNDATION, FOR
INCORPORATION
INTO THE DOSSIER
Abbreviations
ABL=Aung Ban-Loikaw railway
AI= Amnesty International
AP=Associated Press
ASI=Anti-Slavery International
AW=Asia Watch (changed in 1994 to Human Rights Watch/Asia --
HRW/A)
AWSJ=Asia Wall Street Journal
BAG=Burma Action Group UK
BI=Burma Issues and B.U.R.M.A., its former name
BP=Bangkok Post
BPF=Burma Peace Foundation
BU=Burma Update produced by Jesuit Refugee Service, Bangkok
C=Child (someone less than 18 years old)
CD=Camp Duty=cutting wood, carrying water, cooking, building and
repairing fences and barracks,
digging bunkers and trenches, cleaning, serving as messengers,
working on the camp farms, doing sentry
duty etc. According to several reports, CD frequently involves
sexual duties
CHR=United Nations Commission on Human Rights
Dawn is published by ABSDF (All Burma Student Democratic Front)
DI=Diakonia, produced by Jesuit Refugee Service Asia/Pacific
EI=Expatriate interviewer
F=Female
FC=Forced conscription
FEER=Far Eastern Economic Review
FL=Forced labour
FP=Forced portering or forced porter(s)
FR=Forced relocation
GA=United Nations General Assembly
HR=Human Rights
HRW/A=Human Rights Watch/Asia (formerly Asiawatch)
ICFTU=International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
ICJ=International Commission of Jurists
IHT=International Herald Tribune
ILO=International Labour Organization
IPS=Inter Press Service
IRRC=Investor Responsibility Research Center
IT=Inhuman Treatment (beating, deprivation of food and water etc)
KHRG=Karen Human Rights Group
KIO=Kachin Independence Organization
KNPP=Karenni National Progressive Party
LCHR=Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
LI=Local interviewer
M=Male
NGO=Non-governmental organization;
NYT=New York Times
PM=Project Maje
RB=Road Building
RD=Road Duty=sweeping the road for mines, guarding it,
particularly at night, and reporting the sighting of any "enemy"
to SLORC.
RI=Refugees International
SAIN=Southeast Asia Information Network
SHRF=Shan Human Rights Foundation
SR=Special Rapporteur (appointed by the UN Commission on Human
Rights)
SWB=Summary of World Broadcasts (BBC)
TN=The Nation (Bangkok)
TNCs=Trans-national corporations
UNSubCom=UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities
UNWGIP=United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations
USCR=US Committee for Refugees;
WPD=Working Peoples Daily (Govt Daily, now re-named New Light of
Myanmar)
YTR=Ye-Tavoy railway
CONTENTS
The dossier is divided into four files. References of individual
documents follow that classification, thus 1/1 is the first
document in file 1 on forced portering; 3/32 is document 32 of
file 3 on forced labour relating to foreign investment, and so
on. In editing the dossier some documents have been removed or
their place changed. That is the meaning of "moved" in the
Contents. Added documents are called 0/0a etc. Dates are in dd mm
yy format.
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND ARTICLE BY EDITH MIRANTE
1. FORCED PORTERING
Forced Portering is the best-documented and internationally
criticised form of forced labour in Burma. People are rounded up
from villages and cities, snatched from streets and fields,
loaded down with enormously heavy loads of ammunition, foodstuffs
and other items; and with very little food, water or sleep, and
no medicine, they are driven up and down mountains and through
sub-tropical jungles, raped, beaten, frequently to death, and
killed or abandoned when unable to continue.
1988-1989
1/0 Experienced diplomat 1.12.88 "Experience of a
Press-ganged army porter"
1/1 AI 8.89 Karen State IT and killings of....FP.
Testimonies
1/2 BP 22.10.89 article on murdered porters in Karenni
State
1990
1/3 US State Dept Country Report on Burma 1990
1/4 Asia Watch 11.3.90 Murdered Karen porters
1/5 KNU 31.3.90 Testimonies of (mainly) Burmese escaped
porters
1/6 AI 5.90 Killings of porters. Former soldier gives
rationale for killing abandoned FP -- to prevent them
revealing whereabouts of Govt troops to enemy. Students
made FP. Some beaten to death
1/7 Asia Watch 5.90 Substantial legal analysis of forced
portering in terms of: Geneva Conventions, ILO
Convention 29 (Articles 18, 2) -- cases. Killings of FP
-- cases. IT of FP -- cases. Porters at frontline --
injuries, cross-fire.
1/8 USCR 5.90 FP of Rangoon residents incl students
1/9 KNU 18.5.90 FP interview
1/10 KNU 6.90 Burman FP testimonies
1/11 AI 10.90 IT, torture & killing of FP. Kachin FP incl F,
C, old people; FP of students
1991
1/12 BI 1.91 FP profiles incl. 4 F who disappeared
1/13 US State Dept 1991 country report. FP incl F & C
1/14 CHR 91 NGO Statement. FP of F, C. Torture, IT, killing
1/15 ILO 6.91 Committee of Experts
1/16 AI 8.91 killing and IT of porters. Cases
1/17 KNU 8.91 porter interview
1/18 BP 10.9.91 article on 1/16 AI report
1/19 PM 9.91 interviews on FP in Kachin State. IT
1/20 LCHR 18.10.91 Testimony to US House of Representatives
1/21 ICJ 12.91 report on FP
1992
1/22 SHRF 1.92 women FP
1/23 KNU 7.1.92 mini-testimonies, lists, professions &
photos of (mainly Burman)FP
1/24 AI 1.92 IT & killings of FP incl Muslim woman
1/25 KNU 23.1.92 figures and summaries of FP, incl F, C. 80%
of Burma Army are teenagers, some 15,16.
1/26 KNU 25.1.92 FP women interviews. IT, rape. raped at
night, carry by day
1/27 BP 30.1.92 article on 1/26 KNU interviews
1/28 Observer (London) 12.2.92 article on FP. rape incl of
pregnant woman
1/29 KNU 26.2.92 testimony of (Burman) M, F, C & some up to
60yrs old FP, IT (food, water, shelter & sleep
deprivation); Killings: some starved, some shot, some
beaten, some burned to death. Some killed in battle
1/30 ABSDF 12.91-6.92 Summaries of FP in Karenni State.
Killings of FP
1/31 AI 5.92 Killings, torture and IT incl food deprivation
of Rohingyas during FP incl. C and a Muslim cleric
(malawi). methods of recruitment. Mass rape
1/32 KNU? 12.6.92 report on FP in Karen State
1/33 ILO 6.92 Committee of Experts
1/34 KNU? 3.7.92 Palaung FP in Karen State.
1/35 BBC Burmese Service 28.8.92 FP in Karen State escape to
Thailand
1/36 Reuter 28.8.92 FP in Karen State escape to Thailand.
1/37 Govt of Karenni 9.92 FP in Karenni State
1/38 KHRG 31.10.92 FP in Karen State.
1/39 ABSDF/KNPP 31.10.92 FP in Karenni and Shan States.
1/40 AI 11.92 Killing and IT during FP
1/41 KHRG 13.11.92 Burmese Muslim FP
1/42 KHRG 31.12.92 FP testimonies, Karen State
1993
1/43 KHRG 10.1.93 Shan FP testimonies - Saw Hta offensive.
Substantial report
1/44 CHR 93. SR on Torture. IT during FP
1/45 CHR 93. SR on Executions. Killings during FP
1/46 ICFTU 25.1.93 submission on FP to ILO under ILO
Convention 29
1/47 CHR 93. SR on Myanmar. 1993 report. includes legal
analysis of FP
1/48 CHR 93. NGO statement
1/49 CHR 93. NGO statement
1/50 CHR 93. NGO statement
1/51 CHR 93. Resolution.
1/52 KHRG 16.2.93 Interviews. Female FP
1/53 KHRG 17.2.93 Interviews. Male FP
1/54 KHRG 28.4.93 Interviews FP
1/55 KHRG 1.5.93 Photo evidence of murdered porters
1/56 KHRG 1.5.93 Photo evidence of murdered porters
1/57 KHRG 15.6.93 FP of women
1/58 SWB 25.6.93 Cites TN on FP
1/58a KHRG 10.7.93. Massive FP incl F and old people. F used
as human shields and mine-human sweepers. Many wounded.
Economic impact of FP and FL. Many villages abandoned.
Men flee village to avoid FP. IT (beating, food
deprivation) and killing of FPs. Important report. many
descriptions of FP
1/58b moved
1/59 KNU 8.93 FP
1/59a UN HR Sub-Commission 8.93 Resolution
1/60 AI 10.93 killing, torture during FP
1/61 ABSDF (Dawn) 10-11.93 FP cases incl killing
1/62 KHRG 10.11.93 FP cases
1/62a KHRG 14.11.93 FP
1/63 SR on Myanmar 11.93 Disappearance, killings, IT, incl
of Muslims
1/64 SHRF 10.12.93 killing during FP
1994
1/65 AI 1.94 killing and IT during FP
1/66 US State Dept Country Report 1.94 deaths, rape, IT
during FP
1/67 AI 1.94. killings during FP, FP of women
1/67a BRC 13.1.94 Interview with Shan porters
1/68 TN 15.1.94 FP of Shan
1/68a BRC 2.92. FP interviews in Thaton Dist. of Karen State
1/69 SR on Torture (CHR 94, 2-3. 94) Torture and killings
during FP
1/70 SR on Executions (CHR 94, 2-3.94) killings during FP
1/71 TN 14.5.94 Shan SP
1/72 RSO 24.5.94 FP of Muslims
1/73 Reuter 25.5.94 FP roundups in Shan State
1/74 BRC 4.6.94 Interviews with Shan FP
1/75 KHRG 20.6.94 SLORC deserters on FP
1/76 US House Foreign Affairs Com. 29.6.94 Testimony of T.
Hubbard
1/77 US House Foreign Affairs Com 29.6.94 Testimony of HRW/A
1/78 moved
1/79 Shan State Assoc. 21 7.94 List of Shan FP
1/80 BRC 7.94 Shan FP
1/81 KHRG 7.8.94 SLORC defectors on FC and FP
1/82 KHRG 10.8.94 incl FC, FP
1/83 SHRF 8.94 killings while escaping FP
1/84 moved
1/85 KHRG 20.8.94 FP in Shan State FT
1/86 Overseas Young Mon Union, 8.94 FP
1/87 KHRG 1.9.94 incl FP in Karen State FT
1/88 KHRG 23.9.94 incl FP in Karen State
1/89 RSO 1.10.94 FP in Arakan
1/90 ILO 11.94 Report on Myanmar's non-compliance with ILO
Convention 29
1/91 ASI 94. Ethnic Groups in Burma by Martin Smith
(extract). Overview of FP in Burma
1995
1/92 CPPSM 1.95. 5,000 FP seized in Mon and Karen States in
94/5 offensive
1/92a BU interviews, FP, FL of Mon refugees
1/93 BP 17.1.95 Escaped Mon porters crossing into Thailand
1/94 Burmanet 1.2.95 Refoulement of alleged forced porters
by Thailand
1/95 KHRG 4.2.95 FP interviews with Kawmoorah porters
1/95a KHRG 25.2.95 FP interviews with Manerplaw and Kawmoorah
porters
1/96 BP 17.3.95 Prisoners used as porters against Khun Sa
1/96a KHRG 22.3.95, FP interviews from 6th Brigade offensive
1/97 HRW/A 3.95 "Burma: Abuses Linked to the Fall of
Manerplaw" -- especially FP. Important report, contains
cases and legal analysis
1/98 BP 28.3.95 On the publication of the HRW/A report
1/99 KHRG 8.4.95 Porters in SLORC's Salween Offensive
1/100 KHRG 11.4.95 Summary of types of FP
2. FORCED LABOUR OTHER THAN PORTERING
This file documents forced labour on SLORC's commercial
enterprises, its large-scale "development" projects and the
quasi-military activities of building, guarding and maintaining
military camps, roads and bridges.
1987-1991
2/1 KNU 8.87 FL of Karen
2/2 PM 5.91 FL of Rohingyas
2/3 SHRF 25.12.91 FL, rape
1992
2/4 US State Dept Country Report 92 FP, FL incl women
2/5 KNU 21.4.92 building army camp. rape
2/6 Asia Watch 7.5.92 FL in Arakan. Cases
2/6a KHRG 10.8.92 Karenni State, FR, FP, FL on ABL, part of
the Border Area Development (BAD) Program. Interviews.
Conditions on railway.
2/7 BI 8.82 Burmese girls forced into prostitution in
Thailand
2/8 KHRG 13.8.92 FC, FL
2/9 KIO 20.8.92 FL in Kachin State on hydro project etc
2/10 BU 30.8.92 FL in Pa'an District
2/10a Dawn 8-9 92 (Chin State?) Naga Hills. FR, FL, FP RB,
Building barracks
2/10b BI 9.92 FP, FL on ABL
2/10c BP 14.10.92 FL and deaths on ABL
2/10d TN 14.10.92 FL and deaths on ABL .TN 13.10.92 Escaped
porters in Karenni State. FP
2/11 DI 28.10.92 FL
2/12 AI 10.92 FL, FP killing during FL incl of Muslims
2/13 SHRF 1.92- FL in Shan State
2/14 SHRF 12.9.93 FL, FP in Shan State. disappearance
2/14a Jakarta Post 14.10.92 FL on ABL railway
2/14b KHRG 15.11.92 Karenni area. Interviews. FL, IT, on ABL
incl FL of C.
2/14c KHRG 31.12.92 Karenni State FP, FL on ABL. Details of
work. FR.
1993
2/14d WPD 8.1.93 Inauguration of a section of ABL by the
German Ambassador
2/15 US State Dept Country Report 1.93. FL incl of Muslims
2/16 SR on Religious Intolerance 6.1.93 FL, FP incl
killings, rape, IT of Muslims
2/16a WPD 10.1.93 Inauguration of section of ABL
2/16b WPD 10.1.93 History of ABL
2/16c Govt of Karenni 3.93? Alternative history of ABL
2/17 KHRG 10.3.93 FL in Karen State
2/18 KNU 1.93-3.93 RD, mine-sweeping
2/19 KHRG 5.5.93 RD, FL
2/20 moved
2/21 KHRG 10.6.93 road, bridge and camp building,maintenance
2/22 ILO 6.93 Committee of Experts FP, FL
2/22a KHRG 10.7.93 moved to 1/58a. Many descriptions of FL
2/23 moved
2/24 FEER 15.7.93 FL in Karen State
2/25 Dawn 7/8.93 FL in Karen and Karenni States
2/26 Asia Inc. 10.93 Article on FL in road-building in Shan
State
2/27 moved
2/28 DI 11.93 FL incl C on road, rail construction
2/29 RSO 15.11.93 Preparation for FL in Arakan. Threats
2/29a KHRG 15.11.93 Karen F, CD, RD
2/30 KHRG 16.11.93 RD
2/31 KHRG 6.12.93 RD, FL on dam, fishponds, FC, FP
2/32 UNGA 12.93 resolution (extract on FL))
1994
2/33 RSO 1.1.94 RB, RD in Arakan
2/34 CHR 94 SR on Myanmar FL, FP
2/35 CHR 94 Canada Asia Working Group FL, FP
2/36 CHR 94 NGO Statement
2/37 CHR 94 NGO Statement
2/38 CHR 94 NGO Statement
2/39 CHR 94 Resolution
2/40 BPF 12.2.94 Interview with Pa'O leader
2/41 RSO 15.2.94 FL on radar station, roads, logging in
Arakan
2/41a KNU 16.2.94 RB.
2/42 KHRG 17.2.94 road, camp duty, FP
2/43 KHRG 23.2.94 paddy & fishpond project(commercial)
2/44 BRC? 2.94 mine-sweeping, road duty, FP
2/45 KHRG 16.3.94 RB, FP,
2/46 KHRG 10.4.94 FL in Karenni State, for roads, rail,
paddy & fish-ponds
2/47 RSO 1.4.94 Order for 4000 FL on Chinese-paid TV station
in Arakan
2/48 KHRG 23.4.94 Karen State FP, incl F, FL on camps,
bridges, road duty, F couriers, mine sweeping
2/49 moved
2/50 KHRG 26.5.94 FP FL build & guard road, couriers,
mine-sweeping, logging
2/51 RI 6.6.94 FL in Arakan
2/52 KHRG 24.6.94 building camps, FP incl F, build, maintain
& guard (military) roads, plant (military) trees &
rice, killing, IT of FP
2/53 US Senate 29.6.94 FL, mine-sweeping, road building, FP,
killing during FP
2/54 AI 20.7.94 FP, FL incl Mon on YTR
2/55 UNWGIP 27.7.94 FL on railway & military construction in
Chin State
2/56 moved
2/57 KHRG 8.94 FC, FL, FP
2/58 KHRG 25.9.94 SLORC officers talk about FL
2/59 moved
2/60 BP 27.11.94 SLORC denies FL
1995
2/60a KHRG 31.1.95 Karen interviews. Economic effect of FL
2/61 CHR 95 SLORC memo on "voluntary contribution of labour"
2/62 CHR 95 SR on Myanmar on FL & FP (extract)
2/63 The Passage 12.94 (Burmese students in India) FL on
railway construction in NW Burma
2/64 ASI 94. Ethnic Groups in Burma by Martin Smith
(extract). Overview of FL in Burma
2/65 Dawn 4.95 FL on railway construction
2/66 Dawn 4.95. Other FL.
2/67 FTUB statement 25.4.95
3. FORCED LABOUR RELATED TO FOREIGN INVESTMENT
This section deals mainly with the proposed gas pipeline and its
associated infrastructure (direct or indirect). The Ye-Tavoy
railway, being built with forced labour is, according to SLORC
and its foreign partners in gas, nothing to do with the
pipeline. Many international observers and the ethnic resistance
groups consider that such a large project as a pipeline requires
an efficient means of transport for materials and workers, and
the military units necessary to protect the pipeline, and that
the railway is it. Several documents and maps in the file support
this argument.
1993
3/1 CPPSM 5.93 Mon FL on Thai/SLORC road.
1994
3/2 CPPSM 1.1.94 Mon, Karen FL, IT on YTR, FP. Details of
work rotation. List of affected villages
3/3 KNU 8.2.94 FL on YTR, FR, RB, RD
3/4 Dawn 1-2.94 FL on YTR etc.Technical details & list of
villages contributing. Flight of villagers. RB. Gas
pipeline route -- FR
3/5 CHR 94 NGO Statement (ICFTU on YTR)
3/6 TN 19.2.94 Article on flight from FL on YTR
3/6a TN 11.3.94 Article on pipeline/FR. Discusses route and
Thai involvement, YTR/pipeline.
3/7 KHRG 23.4.94 FL on YTR. Interviews with Mon, Karen,
Burman. Details of construction. HR violations.
Important report
3/8 moved
3/9 SAIN 4.94 "Burma, Human Rights & Natural Resources"
extracts. Pipeline details, photos of FL. FR along
pipeline route. Thai involvement. Discussion of
Oil & Gas corporations.
3/10 Burmanet 8.5.94 Intro to 3/11.
3/11 Anonymous Mon author 4.94 The most comprehensive report
so far of FL on the YTR. Discusses control centres,
types of work, working conditions, recruitment of FL,
numbers involved, fines and punishments by SLORC, land
confiscation, general and local background, connection
of railway to gas pipeline, etc. Interviews, maps.
3/12 IRRC 25 April 94 Proxy report for Unocal Annual
Meeting. Discusses gas pipeline (Total/Unocal), YTR, FR
on pipeline route. Total denies FR.
3/13 Greenpeace 27.4.94 extract of report on pipeline, FL,
FR, YTR/pipeline. Interviews. HR violations. RB. Thai
involvement. Maps.
3/14, 3/15, 3/17 moved
3/16 AP 19.7.94 FL on YTR. HR violations. Total and Unocal
deny pipeline/railway link. Others affirm (missing).
3/18 AP 21.7.94 (SF Chronicle) FL on YTR. Pipeline links.
3/19 UNWGIP 94 NGO Statement. Pipeline. FL
3.20 UN Sub-Commission 94 NGO Statement. FP, FL, YTR.
3/21 moved
3/22 AWSJ 9-10 Sept 94 Thai/Total,Unocal/Burma gas deal.
YTR/pipeline link. FL, FR. UNHCR statement on
FL/pipeline
3/23 Article 19. 9.94 "Paradise Lost?" by Martin Smith.
Extracts on oil & gas TNCs, pipelines, YTR, FL, FR,
tourist projects
3/24 PM 10.10.94 Quotes on FP, FL/pipeline etc
3/25 moved
3/26 CPPSM 10.94 "Forced labour & forced relocation in the
name of foreign investment (Burma)". 16pg report. YTR
interviews on flight, recruitment, conditions of work.
Quote from SLORC general saying the YTR, rather than
use SLORC money, will rely on local labour.Pipeline/
YTR links. List of FR villages. Threats to sabotage
pipeline by insurgent groups. Discussion of
responsibility of the oil/gas TNCs
3/27 AI 11.94 Killing and IT of FP. FL on RB, YTR. SLORC
statement on FL
3/28 moved
3/29 HRW/A 12.94 (extracts) FL. Incl list of Development
projects in Burma using "voluntary labor" from "New
Light of Myanmar" (SLORC Daily). YTR. 20 people
interviewed. Methods of recruitment. Important
report
3/30 KNU (Mergui/Tavoy) 12.94 35pg report on extortion, FL,
RR, pipeline. Discussion of "voluntary" nature of the
FL. Foreign investment, military build-up. Pipeline
chronology, incl FR, FL etc. Interviews incl with a
defector. Translations of SLORC Orders. Photos, map.
1995
3/31 BPF 17.1.95 Interview with Mon refugees. FL on YTR,
digging holes, FP
3/32 BPF 17.1.95 Interview with Mon refugees. FL, FP
3/33 BP 20.1.95 On a BBC film on FL on YTR (moved to Tourist
file)
3/34 BP 22.1.95 FL for tourism, on YTR (BBC film) (moved to
tourist file)
3/35 CPPSM 1.95 Interview with Mon FL
3/35a CPPSM 1.95 on FL for the YTR. SLORC troops beat
members of a depleted village because it had not met
its quota for FL. Lists indicating nos. of labourers
required per given village
3/36 BP 31.1.95, & Asian Age 4.2.95 on Thailand's signing
of gas deal
3/37 BI 1.95 Interview with Karen farmer FR, killing. Living
in relocation camp, FL on rubber plantation, shrimp
ponds, YTR, photo.
3/37a BU 1.95 Interviews with Mon refugees. FL on YTR, FP,
IT, killing
3/38 US State Dept Country Report 1.95 FL on tourist
projects, YTR
3/39 ICFTU 3.2.95 Statement on FL on tourist projects (moved
to tourism file)
3/40 KNU (Mergui/Tavoy) 9.2.95 FL and extortion in Tavoy
Dist. Interviews
3/41 KNU (Mergui/Tavoy) 3.3.95 Report on SLORC military/
economic plans for Tenasserim. Also on FL, FP,
extortion and other HR abuses
3/41a moved
3/41b Human Rights Foundation of Monland 3.95. FL on YTR, FP,
Interviews
3/42 BI 4.95 FL on YTR
3/42a ABSDF 11.4.95. YTR, FL, FP.
3/42b KNU (Mergui/Tavoy) 4.95. Call for an independent
hearing on the pipeline.Data on FR, FL, and other HR
violations. Interviews, map.
3/43 Sunday Post (BP) 7.5.95 Important articles on YTR, FL,
TNCs ETC.
3/44 IRRC 18.4.95 Burma section of Texaco Proxy report,
looks at the pipeline and FL
3/45 Burmanet 11.5.95 The pipeline, FL and Unocal, referring
to the 7 May reports (see 3/43).
3/46 Reuters 22.5.95 Report on the Unocal shareholder's
meeting (pipeline, FL)
3/47 Houston Chronicle 23.5.95 on the Unocal meeting.
4. FORCED LABOUR ON TOURIST PROJECTS
Tourism is one of the means by which SLORC hopes to gain foreign
exchange. It has designated 1996 as "Visit Myanmar Year".
However, tourist installations and infrastructure are being
constructed with forced labour, as these documents indicate.
1993
4/1 Dawn 10-11.93 Shan FL on tourist and rail projects
(list of FL villages)
1994
4/2 NYT 17.7.94 FL "Burmese using forced labour on tourist
projects". Tens of thousands of Mandalay citizens doing
FL on the Gold Palace in Mandalay.
4/3 IPS 20.7.94 FL on Mandalay Palace moat and YTR
4/4 TN/SAIN 30.10.94. FL for tourist projects - Mandalay
Palace moat incl chained prisoners some of whom were
monks. FL of townspeople & farmers (at planting
season), YTR
4/5 TN? Late 94? letter FL & Tourism
1995
4/6 Burma Action Group (UK) 1.95 "Burma, the alternative
guide" (extracts on FL, incl map of FL, details of 3
major FL projects). Important.
4/7 BP 12.1.95 Tourism in Kentung (Shan State)
4/8 Der Spiegel 3.2.93 Photo of FL on Kentung road
4/9 Asia Inc. 10.93 FL in Shan State etc
4/10 BP 20.1.95 FL, tourism in the broader context
4/11 BP 2.1.95 On a BBC film on FL on YTR
4/12 BP 22.1.95 FL for tourism and YTR (BBC film)
4/13 TN? Letter 31.1.95 More on the moat etc.
4/14 ICFTU 3.2.95 Statement on FL on tourist projects
4/15 TN 29.3.95 On Visit Myanmar Year 1996 -- a summary of
the projects and the opposition
4/16 AWSJ 7.4.95 On Visit Myanmar year
4/17 Asiaweek. Letter referring to April 7. tourism and FL
4/18 TN 13.4.95. ABSDF says the Tavoy Yebyu railway, built
with FL, is for tourists
4/19 AP 4.5.95 pros and cons of the Year
4/20 AFP 6.5.95 Reports on BAG's arguments against the Year
4/21 ASI May 95? Martin Smith on SLORC's heavy-handed
tourist plans
4//22 NCGUB 25.5.95 NCGUB position on the Year
4/23 Conde Nast Traveller (date?) Anti-Year piece by a
travel writer. Quotes FL etc.
Burma Peace Foundation 5 June 1995
BURMA PEACE FOUNDATION
777, UN Plaza, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10017, USA
Tel (+1-212) 338 0048; Fax 692 9748; email darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx