Civilians arrested for porterage in

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Subject: Civilians arrested for porterage in Mon State

Civilians arrested for porterage in Mon State
	For the on-going major offensive of the SLORC against the Karen National
Union, thousands of civilians in Mon State have been rounded up in towns and
sent to the KNU sixth Brigade and fourth Brigade areas.
	The male civilians have been rounded up at market places, video halls and
on the streets in Belin, Thaton, Paung, Mudon, Thanbyuzayat and Ye, Mon
State.  People have been taken from Moulmein, city of  Mon State in last
week and it has been the first time that porters to be collected massively
by the SLORC army, according to the local people from Molmein. 
	Eyewitnesses told that convoys of military vehicles, comprising about 300
vehicles arrived to Moulmein on February 7, 1997 and headed to the south
from Moulmein and Mudon on  February 8, 1997. The vehicles carried the large
numbers of heavy military equipment and ammunitions, said the eyewitnesses.
People were rounded up at Moulmein Central Market, Railway Station and piers
on February 8, 1997. 
20,000 kyat is required as ransom to pay the soldiers for one people taken
as porter. Moreover, 200 Kyat have been collected from each house in
Moulmein as porter fee. If the family members from each house was unable to
pay, one porter per house was taken. 
	South-Eastern Region Military Command, based in Mon State has ordered that
all ten townships in Mon State have to recruit 400 porters each for this
military offensive. The price of substitute porter is between 20,000 to
35,000 kyat as people attempted to avoid the forced porterage by hiring
substitutes. 
	So far there have about 5,000 male age between 13-60, been taken as porters
in Mon State by the Slorc military Division 11,22,44,55 and 99. For that
reason, many towns in Mon state were deserted of men, according to the local
people from Mudon.

All Burma Students' Democratic Front