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FORCED RELOCATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS



Subject: FORCED RELOCATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN KARENNI STATE  Part II

Both civilians and prisoners were conscripted along the way as
porters for the soldiers. About 20 civilians were taken from Daw
Tama Village and Daw Bolo Village in Shadaw municipality, and 50
prisoners were taken from Loikaw prison. Prisoners from Loikaw
were told that everybody serving a sentence less than five years
had to serve as porters during the mopping up campaign. They were
also told that one year would be deducted from their sentence for
each time served as a porter.
  
Law Reh, a 25 year-old former prisoner from Loikaw, has told of
the ill-treatment and extra-judicial killing of porters by
soldiers. Law Reh who managed to escape as a porter, said both
civilians and prisoners were subjected to beatings if they could
not carry their load properly. People were left behind if they
fell ill or could no longer carry out their duties.
  
"Those who could not carry their load were beaten and kicked
by the soldiers all the way. Six porters were seriously ill and
could no longer serve as porters, and the soldiers scolded them
and beat them severely. All of them were left along the way
without any food, medicine or water. I believe that all of them
died for lack of medical treatment and starvation. I myself could
not carry my load any longer because my legs were in pain. I
explained my situation to the soldiers but they did not show any
mercy to me. Sergeant Ko Lay kicked me with his military boots
and beat me with a [rifle] butt on my back. They ordered me to
keep carrying my load whether I was able or not. They threatened
that I would be left along the way if I could not carry my load
any more. I saw dead bodies of civilians along the way. The
bodies were left on the road and I did not know who they were and
where they were from. Some were shot and I think some were beaten
to dead because I saw head injuries. I saw at least ten unburied
dead bodies of civilians along the way."
  
On August 4, 1996, Law Reh hid in some bushes while the soldiers
were taking a rest. After the troops left he stayed there one
night and the next day he ran away. He subsequently met up with
KNPP soldiers and arrived at the Thai border on August 19, 1996.
  
Lan Reh, a 45 year-old Karenni villager from Tee Kay Leh Village,
was arrested by soldiers along with seven other people from his
village. As soon as they were rounded up they were beaten and
tortured because they could not understand the soldiers questions
in Burmese. Later all of them were conscripted for about two
weeks as porters to a military column. Lan Reh and his son
escaped during fighting between SLORC and KNPP forces.
  
"On June 20 1996, at about 4 pm, 60 SLORC soldiers came in
and arrested eight people including my son and myself. We were
tied with rope and pulled out of the village. We were questioned
by the soldiers, but I did not understand what they were saying,
so they stabbed me with a knife on my right hand and under my
left eye. Five of them stood around me and pointed a G3 gun at me
and pulled me on the ground. Then three of them stood on my back
and another one tied a rope around my neck so I could hardly
breathe for ten minutes. Then they tied me to a tree for the
whole night and next morning we were each given a sack full of
bullets to carry."
  
TORTURE
*******
  
There were numerous reports of many other forms of ill-treatment
by SLORC soldiers towards civilians during the relocation
process, including torture.
  
Lu Reh, a 35 year-old villager from Nga Maloh Soe Village,
explained how soldiers tortured his village headman for being
unable to provide information regarding KNPP troops.
  
"Some time before we had to move to Shadaw [around the second
week of June], 50 SLORC soldiers came to our village and
questioned the village headman. They asked "Did any rebels come
here?" Before the SLORC soldiers began asking questions of the
headman, the soldiers had already seen and killed two Karenni
soldiers. "Why did you lie?" the soldiers said. The soldiers
caught the headman and tied his hands with a rope and punched him
and hit him with a gun butt. That day they hit him at least nine
times then they took him to Shadaw Village. They didn't untie
the rope until they got to Shadaw and then they hit him again. He
couldn't move or walk. At last the SLORC soldiers freed him in
Shadaw Village."
  

BURNING VILLAGES AND LOOTING
*****************************  
  
Due to the very short notice for relocation given by SLORC
authorities, villagers did not have any chance to take their
livestock or food supplies with them, They were forced to take
only what essential items they could bring, such as cooking pots
and clothing. All other property, including silver coins used for
trade, were left behind. When SLORC troops arrived in abandoned
villages they took anything they wanted.
  
Villages were razed, animals taken or killed and property
destroyed.
  
In Daw Leh Ku Village alone, 22 houses, 300,000 baskets of
paddy and about 10 cattle and buffaloes were left behind during
the relocation. All this was reportedly destroyed when SLORC
troops arrived at the abandoned village. In Ka Ya Kee Village, it
was also reported that all Bibles in the Roman Catholic church
were burned.
  
According to refugees, one hundred houses in Daw Tama and Daw
Bo Leh villages, as well as the local schools and churches, were
burnt down on June 15, 1996, by SLORC troops. Soldiers also
looted more than 10,000 silver coins, and one villager said he
left behind 6,000 silver coins in his home. Many villagers
reported that they saw soldiers using and selling silver coins
in Shadaw.
  

NEW RELOCATION SITES
*********************  

Conditions
  
Around 20,000 local villagers were forced to relocate to Shadaw
as ordered but found that the SLORC had made no provisions for
them. Contrary to promises given by the SLORC, it appears that
the relocation sites were not prepared for the arrival of large
numbers of people, ground was not cleared and water supplies
were inadequate. Relocated people reportedly had to buy plots
of land at allocated areas, but as they could not afford to build
new houses they were forced live in shelters or under other
people's homes. In July 1996, SLORC authorities ordered the
relocated people to build barrack-style houses which could
accommodate 50 people.
  
It is believed many people who have been relocated are in poor
health, and due to the lack of access to the region it is
difficult to get the exact number of deaths in the new sites.
However many refugees who escaped to the Thai border have said
that many of their relatives, especially infants and children,
have died in the new relocation sites due to insufficient food
and medical care. SLORC authorities reportedly provided six small
tins of rice for each relocated family, which is adequate for the
needs of only two or three people. Local residents in Shadaw
apparently helped with other food. There has been no medicine
provided to the relocated villagers, and anyone who requires
medical treatment has had to go to the hospital in Loikaw. At
least two hundred people, mostly children and elderly, have
reportedly died due to overcrowding and lack of food. 
  
The water supply for both the residents in Shadaw and for the
newly arrived relocated villagers comes from one small stream. As
a result, the outbreak of diseases, especially dysentery, through
the water supply grows in seriousness as rainy season proceeds.
Water shortages will be an unavoidable problem in the summer
time.
  
Relocated persons are also subjected to restrictions of movement
and a written pass is needed in order to leave the relocation
site. The villagers have also been ordered to register with the
Immigration and Manpower Department and pay a 30 kyat
registration fee. People in new sites in Shadaw have reported
that they were given no food and that in order to leave the camp
and return to their village to obtain food they had to pay 5 kyat
for a pass and could be away for only two days. Passes were
issued to only one house-hold member. When a person failed to
return within the prescribed period, the person faced beating,
torture and sometimes detention as punishment. 
  
One refugee who arrived at the Thai-Burma border after spending
some time in a Shadaw  relocation site explained how one man was
treated when he was unable to return to the site within the
period prescribed in the pass.
  
"One villager asked permission to go back to his village to
get food. The soldier let him go for one day. He hurried but it
took him a little longer than one day to get the rice for himself
and his family and come back. When he returned to Shadaw the
soldiers tied him with ropes and beat him with a stick. After
hanging him up for two hours, they then put him in prison."
  
Due to the difficulties experienced in the new sites, many
people decided to escape to the Thai-Burma border. Because of
this exodus it is believed that passes are no longer issued.
  
Those who returned to Shadaw with food had their rice taken
from them and put in a common store. The rice was then rationed
by the authorities. Many relocated people complained that SLORC
authorities video-taped the food distribution to show how they
were taking care of relocated people, but then took the food
and rations back after the filming ended.
  
In addition, people have been subjected to work as forced or
unpaid labor for the military and security forces. If anyone
could not carry out this forced work they had to pay 50 kyat per
house. Preh Mou and Ei Meh, a couple from Daw Tam Wi Village went
to the Shadaw relocation site and stayed there for two months.
  
"When we went to Shadaw, the security forces made us stay in
that area for two months. It was as if we were in prison. They
did not let us go out. But when the SLORC told us to do work,
then we could go out. They told us to work everyday. We had to
cut bamboo, build houses, repair roads. They asked us to work
from morning to evening, and they gave us food just once a day."
  
Their story is confirmed by Dee Reh, a 40 year-old Karenni
villager from Daw Klaw Du Village, who went to a Shadaw
relocation site and stayed there for three months. He was also
forced to work for the military.
  
"The SLORC officials ordered us to cut bamboo, make a fence
and make a road. Each person had to cut 50 bamboo poles and 20
wooden posts. We had to work from 8 am to 3 pm everyday. We had
to finish our day's work, if not we had to do twice as much the
next day."

Not only in the Shadaw relocation sites, but in other places
like Maw Chee and the Pasaung area, people were ordered to work
as unpaid labor for the military.
  
Saw Eh Gay, a Karen villager from Swa The Doh Village, stayed
in Maw Chee Aw Swa site in Phasaung. He said that people there
were forced to work for the military.
  
"When I was in Maw Chee Aw Swa, the SLORC authorities ordered us
to make a fence surrounding the town, and also lay a pipe between
the top of the Moe Loe River to the electricity station. They
also ordered us to carry the water for the SLORC soldiers because
they lived and made their camp at the top of the mountain. We
also had to make a fence around the SLORC camp." 
     
At the beginning of August 1996, every household relocated to
Maw Chee new relocation site was ordered to provide recruits for
the militia. Those who did not comply to the demand were told
they would be fined 6,000 kyat. In addition, each family was
ordered to give 2,500 kyat in porter fees.
  
ACCESS
******
  
Foreign visitors are not allowed to visit Karenni State. No
international organization or relief organization is allowed to
oversee or monitor the situation of the relocated people in the
new sites except one Burmese-Christian group. This group is
allowed only to view the situation, and is not allowed to provide
any assistance to the people.
  
An assistant to the Catholic bishop was caught video-taping the
Shadaw relocation sites and has been detained by military
intelligence since June 1996. The condition under which he is
being held is unknown.
  
Five clergymen, including three Baptist ministers and two Roman
Catholic priests, have also been arrested and detained since the
beginning of July 1996, by IB 54 under the command of Captain Soe
Aung. At least ten civilians were also arrested at the beginning
of July 1996 for unknown reasons.
  
  
THE JOURNEY TO THE BORDER
**************************  

As soon as forced relocation orders were received, many villagers
decided to flee to the refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border
as they did not dare move to the sites under SLORC control.
Although whole villages arrived together at the border, many
people left family members behind, and many remain as internally
displaced persons inside Burma.
  
The exodus from Burma took place during the rainy season making
the journey hard especially for children and the elderly. Many
fell ill along the way and died. Some people drowned while
crossing the Salween River and streams along the way, while
others were killed by SLORC soldiers. During the journey many
rested during the day and walked the whole night through. Some
were left along the way by their family because they could not
continue walking with the group.
  
Although the villages are only a two-day walk from the border,
many refugees took at least five days to complete the journey
because they had to use paths deep inside forests in order to
avoid SLORC troops stationed along the regular paths. SLORC
troops were deployed at all the access points to the border to
block the mass exodus. Troops from IB 54, based in Loikaw, IB
94, based in Shwe Nyaung in Shan State, and IB 530, based in
Lawpita, were sent to the region to prevent the people from
escaping to Thailand. 
  
Many people who moved to the relocation sites decided to escape
and flee to Thailand. On October 5, 1996, a group of 200 refugees
arrived at the border which had been ambushed along the way by
troops from LIB 307. During the ambush five villagers were shot
dead, while many others remain missing. A nine year-old girl also
died along the way due to the harshness of the journey.
  
Villagers from Tee Tho Ku Village delayed their departure when
a 21 year-old woman went into labor. According to a man from Daw
Leh Ku, SLORC troops arrived before the villagers were able to
flee, and they razed the village forcing the villagers to
accompany them to Shadaw under armed guard. Paw Leh,a 17 year-old
girl, gave a birth to her first child on her way to the refugee
camps on the border. She gave her personal account of what
happened after arriving safely at a border camp .
  
"After two days of walking I went into labor. We had to stop
for the night, and I had the baby in the morning. We weren't near
a village and it was in the middle of the jungle.

My mother and husband and a few others stayed with me and
everyone else went on. Irested for about two days in the forest,
then we walked two more days to get there."
  
According to a reliable source, Pheme, a 20 year-old Karenni
girl who was five months pregnant, died from a miscarriage after
being violently hit on her abdomen by a boat while she was
attempting to cross the Salween River. 
  
  
THE SITUATION OF REFUGEES ON THE BORDER
****************************************
  
Despite the heavy monsoonal rains and flooding in the region,
new arrivals reached the camps along the border every day from
July to November, 1996. As more refugees arrived in the camps
they were forced to stay in increasingly crowded conditions, and
join refugees who have been taking shelter in Thailand for the
past three to five years. 
  
The estimated number of Karenni refugees in Thailand reached
15,000 as of March 1997. Many of the newly arrived refugees were
seriously ill due to the heavy rains and their exhausting journey
to the border, and relief organizations were unable to cope with
such an exodus. Between July and December of 1996, 52 people
including children and elderly died in Char Le Camp alone. The
exact number of deaths in the camps is uncertain as it is
believed there have been many unregistered.
  
One major concern is the security of the refugee camps. On
March 19, 1996, about 2,500 Karenni refugees in camps 1 and 2,
located about seven kilometers inside Thailand, were forcibly
relocated by Thai border police to a single camp on the border.
The police demanded the refugees pack all their belongings and
leave, and threatened that if they did not comply they would burn
down the camp and kill the camp leaders. The new camp - Camp-2 or
Char Le Camp - is only 30 minutes walk from hill-top SLORC bases,
and is where most newly arrived Karenni refugees are staying. The
total number of refugees in Char Le Camp reached 7,500 as of
March 1997.
  
On January 3, 1997, at 2:07 am, over forty heavily armed SLORC
troops attacked the refugees in Char Le Camp. Soldiers from
SLORC's LIB 84 brazenly walked into the camp and slaughtered
defenseless refugees. The camp was shelled for 20 minutes during
which time the SLORC troops used 60mm, 40mm and RPG anti-tank
launchers. Ei Pyone, a 19 year-old Shan refugee girl, and Ai Pun,
a 30 year-old father of two, were killed in the attack. Ten other
villagers including a 13 year-old boy and a two year-old girl
were seriously wounded during the shelling.
  
This was the first attack of its kind against a Karenni refugee
camp, and it could mark the start of campaign of terror by the
SLORC on the refugees. In a similar incident in 1994, SLORC
troops launched an offensive against a large Mon refugee camp
known as Halokhani near Sankhlaburi. SLORC and Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army (DKBA) troops have also launched a series of
attacks against refugees in Tak Province, and have burnt Karen
refugee camps and threatened refugees to go back to Burma.
  
CURRENT SITUATION
*****************
  
People who have been hiding inside Burma as internally displaced
persons or who have escaped from the new relocation sites under
SLORC are still arriving at the refugee camps near Mae Hong Son
in Thailand. 
  
The refugees are living under the fear of further SLORC attacks
as the Thai authorities have shown they are not prepared to repel
such attacks. Although the camps are supported by Bangkok-based
international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Thai
government has provided only limited access to border areas. As a
result of this limited access and continued fighting, the
refugees have insufficient food and medical supplies.
  
The refugees also speak of increasingly repressive measures
being carried out against civilians in Karenni State. For
instance, conscription for forced porters is stillbeing commonly 
committed in the region, even in Loikaw the state s capital. In
addition, following the National League for Democracy (NLD)
walked out of the SLORC-sponsored National Convention, residents
in every quarter of Loikaw were ordered to participate in a
"vilification of democracy" rally at the municipal airport. If
they refused they faced arrest. 
  
In every quarter of the city there are also chapters of the
Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA), an organization
which carries out activities on behalf of the SLORC. Members of
the USDA are responsible for monitoring the system of forced
labor, collecting fees and reporting on the movement of
residents. From July 1996, every household from the 20 wards in
Loikaw was ordered to send one person to work without pay on
SLORC projects. 
  
  
THAI REFUGEE POLICY
********************  
  
Thailand does not recognize anyone from Burma as a refugee.
Thai authorities allow them to stay on the understanding that
they will be sent back to Burma at "the right time." But it has
never been clear what conditions are necessary in Burma for it to
be the "right" time for repatriation, or whether the Thai
government will allow international agencies, especially the
UNHCR, to help both in determining that time and in the
implementation of any repatriations.
  
On February 25, 1997, Thai Army Chief Gen. Chetta Thanajaro met
in Tachilek, Shan State, with his Burmese counterpart Gen. Maung
Aye. Gen. Maung Aye said that the Burmese junta would welcome
home all the refugees on Thai soil, but said he wanted Thailand
to first help screen them. The next day, the Thai army's Ninth
Division, based in  Kanchanaburi  Province, began
indiscriminately screening all Karen men aged 15 or over and then
pushed them back across the border into Burma. This group even
included obvious non-combatants such as the sick and the elderly. 
  
On the same day, the Thai army pushed about 3,000 Karen women
and children cross the border to Burma. The women and children
had fled to Thailand to escape SLORC's military offensive and
took refuge for ten days in Bon Ti Village in Kanchanaburi
Province. A senior officer at army headquarters in Bangkok
said on February 26, 1997, that the army was "just performing
their duty" and that the fugitives were pushed back to "a safe
area" in Burma. He said the army had "learned a lesson" from the
sudden influx in February of Karen refugees fleeing the Burmese
military offensive into Thailand's Umphang District, and did not
want a similar situation to happen in Kanchanaburi. 
  
A request by the Karen Refugee Committee which urged the
government to allow the presence of UNHCR in the border area was
also turned down by the Thai authorities. Army Commander-in-Chief
Gen. Chetta said on March 25, 1997, said that the government had
no policy of allowing UNHCR to provide humanitarian aid to Karen
refugees seeking shelter along the Thai-Burma border.
   
Similarly, Pakdi Chompuming, Governor of Mae Hong Son where the
Karenni refugees are taking refuge, said the government had no
policy to allow UNHCR to work on the country's western border. He
also said that the refugees would all be repatriated once the
situation returned to normal.
  
  
CONCLUSIONS
***********  
  
Burma became a signatory to the Geneva Conventions on August
22, 1992. At a signing ceremony in Rangoon Foreign Minister U Ohn
Gyaw said, " Myanmar has long observed these Conventions in
practice....and was therefore happy to reaffirm its commitment
to these values." 
  
However, the SLORC's arbitrary arrests, torture and
extra-judicial executions of persons suspected of being rebel
sympathizers are in contravention of the basic right to life, and
Articles 5 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Such actions also contravene Common Article 3 of the Geneva
Conventions which ban the use of torture or extra-judicial
killing under any circumstance in a situation of armed conflict.
The mass relocation orders given to thousands of Karenni people
also violates international customary law and basic human rights
standards of the United Nations. The orders clearly violates
minimum standards of the treatment of civilian populations
contained in the Geneva Conventions and accompanying Protocols.
Article 17 of Protocol II (1977) states that "the displacement
of the civilian population shall not be ordered for reasons
related to the conflicts unless the security of the civilians
involved or imperative military reasons so demand". The
International Committee of the Red Cross, in their Commentary on
the Additional Protocols, has clarified this statement stating
that "clearly imperative military reasons cannot be justified
by political motives, for example, it would be prohibited to
move a civilian population in order to exercise more effective
control over dissident ethnic groups."
  
The practice of mass forced relocation by the SLORC also
contravenes other international standards. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights Article 12 states "No one shall be
subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family,
home..." and Article 17(2) states "No one shall be arbitrarily
deprived of his property". The UN Commission on Human Rights
resolution 1993/77, entitled "Forced Evictions" states, "The
Commission on Human Rights....affirms that the practice of forced
evictions constitutes a gross violation of human rights; ...urges
governments to undertake immediate measures, at all levels, aimed
at eliminating the practice of forced evictions...; recommends
that all governments provide immediate restitution, compensation
and/or appropriate and sufficient alternative accommodation or
land...to persons or communities that have been forcibly
evicted."
  
Those who escaped these abuses by fleeing to Thailand have faced
further persecution and human rights abuses. In violation of the
common international standards set out in the UN Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees, to which Thailand is not a
party, no persons entering Thailand illegally from Burma are
permitted to apply for asylum. As a result, there is no permanent
international presence within the camps, leaving the refugees
vulnerable to attack by SLORC troops and under pressure to return
to Burma.
  
The refugees in Thailand desperately need international
assistance and monitoring of their situation. The frequent
attacks on refugees inside Thailand and the pressure on them to
return to Burma where there is no guarantee of their safety, are
the refugees greatest concerns. Consequently, there must be
guarantees of the safety of the refugees and guarantees there
will be no forced repatriations. 
  
  
RECOMMENDATIONS
***************  
  
BURMA
  
1. Burma must apply without exception its obligations under
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, in which it is stated
that in the case of armed conflict not of an international
character, "person taking no active part in the hostilities shall
in all circumstances be treated humanely". Burma has a duty not
only to protect civilians from violations of Common Article 3,
but also to investigate, prosecute and punish government agents
responsible for violations, including summary executions, cruel
treatment and torture and attacks against civilians, especially
those which have taken refuge in other countries.
   
2. Burma must implement the recommendation made by the Special
Rapporteur in his Report on the situation of human rights in
Burma presented to the 53rd session of the UN Commission on Human
Rights.
   
3. Burma must ratify the International Convenant on Civil and
Political Rights; the International Convenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights; and the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
   
4. Burmese security forces and armed forces must not engage in
the killing, torture, rape, ill-treatment, or arbitrary arrest of
any civilian.
   
5. Burmese armed forces must cease carrying out attacks on
refugee camps inside Thailand and killing unarmed refugees. 
  
THAILAND
  
1. Thailand should accede to the 1951 Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees and its protocols.
   
2. Thailand should allow UNHCR and other international
humanitarian organizations to provide full assistance to refugees
on its territory.
   
3. Procedures should be established immediately, in consultation
with UNHCR and non-governmental organizations, under which
Burmese and ethnic minorities from Burma can seek asylum and have
their refugee status determined.
   
4. Thailand must take all necessary measures to ensure the
protection of those who have taken refuge on its soil, and must
improve security in the refugee camps so that any attempts by
SLORC troops to enter Thailand and attack refugees will be
repelled.
   
5. Refugees must not be repatriated against their will. If and
when conditions in Burma allow them to return safety, Thailand
must permit UNHCR and international NGOs unrestricted access to
refugees to assist in the repatriation process.
  
    
APPENDIX
********
  
SLORC Relocation Order
  
Township Law and Order Restoration Council
Shadaw Township
  
Ref: 101/1-1/Yata-1 (110)
Date: May 31, 1996
  
To,
Village Headman
Daw Taku Village
Shadaw Central Village Tract
  
Subject: To re-establish villages within Shadaw municipality as
a hamlet near Shadaw township.
  
Ref: Letter from Combat troops under the Command of Light
Infantry Regiment (337) dated 30/5/96 (337/01/G-1)
  
1. As mentioned in the letter 337/01/G-1, villages between Pon
Chaung and Salween Rivers must move near to the area designated
for establishing a hamlet by June 7, 1996, at the latest, in
order to restore law and order in the area. Anyone who fails to
comply with this order will be declared an 'enemy' when the army
moves into villages during the clean-up operation.
  
2. This is therefore to notify you that your village must move
to Shadaw by June 7, 1996, at the latest.
  
3. The Township Law and Order Restoration Council will allocate
land to those who comply with the order and move near the town.
  
  Sd-
  Chairman
  Township Law and Order Restoration Council
  Shadaw Township
  

CC: 

1. Chairman, State Law and Order Restoration Council,
Loikaw, Kayah State.
2. Chairman, District Law and Order Restoration Council,
Loikaw, Kayah State.
3. Frontline outpost, Light Infantry Regiment (337), Shadaw
town.
4. Chairmen, Bazaar, Southern, Central and Aung Chantha
Quarters. 

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