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KHRG #97-07 Part 6 of 6 (Offensives
Subject: KHRG #97-07 Part 6 of 6 (Offensives)
REFUGEES FROM THE SLORC OCCUPATION
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
May 25, 1997 / KHRG #97-07
*** PART 6 OF 6 - SEE PREVIOUS POSTINGS FOR OTHER PARTS OF THIS REPORT ***
[Some details omitted or replaced by 'XXXX' for Internet distribution.]
_____________________________________________________________________________
The Tenasserim Offensive
Just before launching its offensive in Dooplaya District, the SLORC
launched a similar mass offensive in Tenasserim Division of southern
Burma, hoping to capture strongly KNU-controlled territory along the
Tenasserim and Paw Kloh valleys, and the entire strip of territory between
the Tenasserim River and the Thai border. In early February, SLORC
troops were already conducting mass roundups of civilians all along the
Andaman seaboard, from Moulmein (capital of Mon State) southward to
Ye, Tavoy and beyond. Troops surrounded Moulmein town market and
other markets and captured all adult men, rounded up men on their way out
of video halls and other gathering places, and even set up checkpoints along
the main north-south road between Ye and Tavoy to stop passenger
vehicles and capture all able-bodied men. The attack force, much of it from
#55 LID, set out from Tavoy area and moved eastward, capturing Myitta at
the junction of the Tenasserim and Paw Kloh rivers on 8 February 1997.
The force then split into three groups, one pushing southward up the Paw
Kloh River, one to the northeast toward Tho Ka at the Thai border (just
south of the planned gas pipeline route), and the third and largest force
continuing eastward and then southward down the Tenasserim River. The
first force captured the entire Paw Kloh valley before the end of February,
but the force trying to head down the Tenasserim River encountered stiff
resistance and sustained very high casualties. The terrain in Tenasserim is
much more rugged, forested and sparsely populated than most of the
offensive areas in Dooplaya District, giving the Karen forces an advantage.
The attack force in the Tenasserim valley split into two groups, one
sweeping southward along the Thai border and a second force taking a
parallel route southward along the Tenasserim River and adjacent valleys.
As in Dooplaya District, SLORC clearly wanted the border sealed against
the escape of refugees. KNLA 4th Brigade headquarters at Minthamee Hta
and Minthamee Kee fell on 25 and 26 February respectively. The SLORC
forces then headed further south, sometimes using Thai territory, while
another force came eastward from Mergui to take positions further south on
the Tenasserim River. Fighting is still going on several hours' journey to
the south of the former 4th Brigade headquarters.
The situation in the Paw Kloh valley was similar to Dooplaya - some
refugees managed to escape across the hills to the east to reach the
Tenasserim River valley, but the Paw Kloh fell so quickly that many people
were trapped there. The strong resistance put up against the SLORC force
heading down the Tenasserim River valley allowed most of the villagers in
the upper Tenasserim valley to flee to Thailand, but many were then forced
back by the Thai Army into vulnerable areas of Burma just slightly further
south. South of the 4th Brigade headquarters the offensive bogged down,
with strong resistance and most of the troops' supply lines overextended and
cut off. However, the force following the border then moved 10 km.
further south through Thai territory to attack the KNLA from behind, and
shortly thereafter the force following the river managed to move undetected
through terrain just west of the river and suddenly appeared a long way
further south, in the area of Tee Neh Paw and Way Toh Ray. Thousands of
displaced people were still in this area and suddenly had to flee for their
lives for the Thai border, including many refugees who had previously been
forcibly repatriated by the Thai 9th Division. This flight was so sudden
that
there were even instances of children, the elderly and the sick being left
behind to the mercy of the SLORC troops.
Due to heavy fighting, difficulty of terrain and difficulty of access, there
is as yet relatively little information available as to the behaviour of
SLORC troops on entering villages. Most information indicates that upon
capturing each village, if there was any resistance encountered then the
troops burn all or part of the village and torture or execute some of the
villagers. For example, there are reports from several sources that when
they reached Kaneh Khoh village in the Paw Kloh valley, SLORC troops captured
12 women and took them to Ler Muh village. After there was fighting in Ler
Muh village, the 12 women were all raped and killed as a retaliation,
including Naw Kri May, 25, who was raped in front of her husband and family
by 3 soldiers and then executed with a knife. If there is no resistance
encountered on entering a village, the troops are reportedly under orders not
to destroy the village but they often do anyway. Villagers who are caught
outside villages face possible execution or at least conscription as porters,
while villagers found in their villages must depend on luck - their treatment
depends on the mood of the troops. Women porters have been sighted with
SLORC troops at Amla, Minthamee Kee and other locations. It is
important to emphasise that these troops are somewhat desperate due to the
fact that their supply lines are not functioning; many of them are no longer
receiving any rations or supplies, and they are hungry. SLORC units have
crossed into Thailand and demanded rice and porters from the Thai Army
9th Division. While not supplying them any porters, the 9th Division is
now supplying some of the attack force with rice.
Those fleeing to Thailand have faced abuse and humiliation by the Thai
Army 9th Division. When the first floods of refugees flooded across the
border at Bong Ti, on 26 February the 9th Division sent back all boys and
men aged 10 and above directly into a combat zone, telling them to "fight
or surrender". Then over 800 others, mainly the women and children who
remained, were told they would be taken to a safer place in Thailand and
put on trucks, which then drove them southward to the Thai village of Na
Hay where they were summarily pushed back across the border to Hta Ma
Pyo Kee by Thai troops. The 9th Division has conducted similar
repatriations further north at Tho Ka and Tee Lai Pa (with Dooplaya
refugees from Tee Hta Baw). Fortunately, international pressure appears to
have put a temporary stop to such actions. However, those fleeing across
the border are still facing great insecurity, as Thai authorities continue to
insist they are going to be repatriated and the Thai 9th Division is actively
spreading disinformation in the camps (which are closed to most outside
access) that the fighting is over and the SLORC troops have withdrawn
from the refugees' home villages. The refugees are not allowed to build any
semi-permanent structure, and many have been living in the dirt under a
plastic sheet in unshaded farmfields for over a month, during a time when
the weather varied between daily rains and blazing sun.
Many of the villagers are still trapped in the villages and forests between
constantly moving SLORC patrols, and their future is uncertain as the rainy
season approaches. Many of these people were already internally displaced
by SLORC's forced relocation campaign which began in September 1996.
Between September and January, relocation orders were given to almost
every village between the Tavoy-Mergui-Kawthaung car road in the west
and the Tenasserim River in the east, from Palauk in the north to
Tenasserim town in the south - an area measuring about 120 km. north-south
and 30 km. east-west, containing at least 35-40 villages ranging in size
from 20-150 households [see "Free-Fire Zones in Southern Tenasserim",
a KHRG report to be released shortly]. This region lies just
west and south of the main offensive areas. The villages there had already
been declared as free-fire zones before the offensive began; most villagers
were living in hiding, while several hundred had fled eastward to the
Tenasserim valley, where they were staying in villages which have now
been overrun by SLORC as part of the offensive. Many of these people
have been on the run non-stop for 9 months already, with no end yet in
sight. Their home areas remain free-fire zones. Though these areas were
not included in the offensive, it is likely that once SLORC secures the
Tenasserim valley it will sweep these areas for villagers as well.
Consolidating its control over this region will be much harder for SLORC
than it will be in Dooplaya District, because of the difficulties of terrain,
supply, and lower civilian population. There are no good roads to Burmese
coastal towns, and this part of the Tenasserim River is fast, dangerous and
only navigable by small motorized canoes. Part of the reason for the
offensive is the SLORC/Thai plan to build an all-season trading road from
Tavoy eastward along the Tenasserim River valley, crossing the Thai border
at Bong Ti. To this end, bulldozers came just behind the main attacking
force to start work on the road as quickly as possible. However, much of
the area SLORC is taking will still remain inaccessible to easy transport,
and
they will probably not be able to maintain a heavy troop presence there.
Any villagers still in the area will probably be used as porters to carry all
supplies for the troops in the area, and will also be forced to build their
camps and act as servants and sentries. Extortion and looting will be
conducted as per routine by any troops in the area.
As the rains come in June, many of the attack troops may soon be rotated
out or withdrawn and those still in the area may concentrate on setting up
secure positions. If this happens, movement will become easier for both
villagers and KNLA troops, and there will probably be extensive guerrilla
activity in the area. This will likely result in the usual retaliations,
arrests, torture and executions against villages. It is possible that forced
relocation campaigns may be initiated against some of the remaining villages
in the Paw Kloh and Tenasserim valleys, and villages between the Tenasserim
River and the Thai border. However, as yet it is still difficult to predict
the future of this area, as the situation is not at all stable or resolved.
The interviews below were conducted in late March and early April with
refugees who had just fled the Way Toh Ray area when the SLORC troops
arrived.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Interviews with Initial Refugees
#T1.
NAME: "Saw Ber Kaw" SEX: M AGE: 42 Karen farmer
ADDRESS: Ta Pi Lay Ko village, Ler Mu Lah township INTERVIEWED: 3/4/97
[When interviewed "Saw Ber Kaw" had just arrived at the Thai border
with a group of 500 new refugees. A large SLORC force had moved
southward undetected through valleys parallel to the Tenasserim valley
and had suddenly appeared in villages like Ta Pi Lay Ko, which had been
far from the frontline, with little or no warning.]
I'm from Ta Pi Lay Ko. 1,000 refugees had gathered there [from villages
further up the Tenasserim River closer to the frontline]. On 25 March we
started to leave Ta Pi Lay Ko and flee up the Ka Kyu stream. When we
arrived at Haw Thu area we heard Burmese gunshots, and the refugees
divided into 2 groups. One group of about 500 people fled [upstream, east
toward the border] to Ta Pi Kee and the other group went back
[westward] to Ta Pi Lay Ko. The people who ran to Ta Pi Kee hid there,
500 of them. The people who went back to Ta Pi Lay Ko then ran down
the [Tenasserim] river to Si Praw Hta.
At Ka Kyu Hta [upriver from Ta Pi Lay Ko] there was not a single Karen
soldier. In Haw Thu area there were no Karen soldiers. When the
Burmese fired on the villagers around Haw Thu, our group of 500 villagers
fled to Ta Pi Lay Ko, and then down the river to Si Praw Hta. The
Burmese ran after us place to place and then when they arrived at Si Praw
Hta they fired their big guns on us. In Si Praw Hta the Burmese shelled
with 30 big shells. At that time there weren't any soldiers there. Everyone
was villagers. There were only one or two Karen soldiers.
Q: Where did you run to?
A: Me, I was with the group at Si Praw Hta. One was wounded. A man,
over 20 years old. He is from Ta Pi Lay Ko. When the shells landed we
ran, we ran up the streams, place to place until we arrived at the border on
the 28th [of March].
Q: Now where are the refugees?
A: Along the way near Si Praw Hta there are still 80 to 100 people,
because they are sick, they can't walk or they have small babies. Halfway
along the way there's another group of about 300 [a long distance
upstream from Si Praw Hta, towards the border]. At the border at Lay
Per Ko there is a group of 50. Near the border at Huay Ba Klai there are
80 or 100 refugees back there. Some others are in Thailand now. About
another 400 refugees are coming to Naw La Daw and will arrive at 10 a.m.
tomorrow [to cross the border].
_____________________________________________________________________________
#T2.
NAME: "Tha Doh Htoo" SEX: M AGE: 45 Karen Mo Lu Pa La (animist) hill
farmer
FAMILY: Married, 2 children
ADDRESS: A'May village, Ler Mu Lah township INTERVIEWED: 31/3/97
["Tha Doh Htoo"'s elder sister is blind and was left behind in the village
during the rush to flee from the approaching SLORC Army.]
At first I lived in Kyi May, but now I live in A'May village. There are 18
households in A'May village. All of them came here. I arrived 4 days ago.
I spent 3 days coming here from my village.
Q: I heard that one old woman stayed behind near the village.
A: She was left behind at Kleh Pa Taw because we could not carry her,
she couldn't walk and she is blind. She couldn't walk. She is more than 50
years old. Her name is Naw Nweh. Once a long time ago she had a
husband but no children, now she no longer has a husband and she is alone
now.
Q: Where is she now? In the forest?
A: Yes, she is in the forest. She is outside the village. She has nothing
to eat.
Q: If the Burmese arrive what will they do?
A: I can't think about it. We couldn't do anything, we just left her. We
dare not go back, we are afraid, but I think about her. She is my older
sister.
Q: When you fled your village were the Burmese arriving?
A: When I heard that the Burmese Army was coming I ran out of the
village, but the Burmese had already arrived at Klih Thu. Klih Thu is not
far from A'May, just about 1 hours' walk. I heard gunshots from Klih Thu
and I came running straight away to here. It took me 3 days from A'May to
here. On the way here we didn't hear anything.
Q: How do you think your sister will survive?
A: I don't know how my sister will get food. I don't know if she is still
alive or not.
_____________________________________________________________________________
#T3.
M1) NAME: "Saw Muh Taw" SEX: M AGE: 39 Karen Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 2 children
M2) NAME: "Puh Wah Ko" SEX: M AGE: 62 Karen Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 8 children
W1) NAME: "Naw Lah K'Paw" SEX: F AGE: 27 Karen Christian farmer
FAMILY: Married, 4 children
W2) NAME: "Mugha Paw Say" SEX: F AGE: 46 Karen Christian farmer
FAMILY: Married, 4 children
ADDRESS: Tee Neh Paw village, Ler Mu Lah township INTERVIEWED: 31/3/97
[These four were part of a big group that fled together from Tee Neh Paw
village.]
Q: Did you all come from Tee Neh Paw village?
A: Yes, we all come from Tee Neh Paw.
W2: Oh, just here, there are a lot of us!
Q: When did you leave your village?
M1: We started from our village one month ago already. Some of the
villagers are still staying in the jungle. Since we arrived no families have
come. We've just arrived here now, and we heard that the people who were
caught behind in the village, the Burmese arrested them all. They were in
the middle and the Burmese surrounded the village and captured them all.
There are more than 20 households left behind in the village. There are
more than 50 houses in Tee Neh Paw but just over 20 households arrived
here. Many are still staying upstream [in the hills]. We don't dare go
back.
29 households already arrived here.
Q: If they stay among the Burmese what will happen to them?
W1: If the Burmese capture them, they will use them as slaves, rape them
and beat them until they are dead, because that is what the Burmese Army
usually does. They kill the children, they make the husband work, they rape
the wives and daughters. Some of us know the names of people who have
had to face that. Before we came to stay here, whenever we went from
place to place if they captured us they used to do like that. Now we have
all
left our village, we don't know what will happen to the people who are left
behind in the village.
Q: So do you think there's no one left in the village now?
M1: There aren't any more. They are among the mountains. Some of
them were captured by the Burmese, but some they couldn't capture. We
fled with nothing at all. We left all our things. We fled just carrying our
children and things that would fit in a bag.
Q: And your livestock?
W1: It's all still there. We couldn't carry anything, just each mother with
her children and some belongings. We ran first, but the people who fled
after us had to flee in the night. They had nothing. We had some things
but we fled and along the way we hid some of our things here, some of
them there, and by the time we got here we had nothing left. But the
people who fled in the night, they couldn't even carry any of their things
because the Burmese were already arriving. Myself, I gave birth to my
baby along the way. She is now 1 month old.
Q: When you gave birth was your husband with you?
W1: He was there.
Q: Where was the baby born?
W1: We all slept on the ground, and they made a place for me to lay down
there. A nurse from among our Karen people helped me. Now I have 4
children. They had to walk on foot. This one, this one, ... the oldest one
is 5, this one is 4, this one is 2. They all had to walk themselves, but
this small one [the baby] I had to carry. They cried. Walking and crying,
walking and crying along the path.
Q: Did you also come with all of your children?
W2: Yes, all of us. When we came along the way we had to carry rice and
water, and when we saw a stream we just drank from it, but nothing
happened to us [sickness]. We also carried medicine with us and used it.
God helped us also. Other people were getting sick, but we gave them
medicine and no one died.
Q: Did you hear of the Burmese arresting anyone or burning houses in Tee
Neh Paw area?
M1: I hadn't fled yet when they burned my house, I was still in the village.
After they burned my house and they left, then I left the village.
M2: I ran out of my village in the middle of the night when the Burmese
Army entered my village. They shelled everywhere with their big gun
before they entered the village. The Karen soldiers weren't staying in the
village, but they worried that the Karen soldiers might be there so they
shelled with their big guns. When the Burmese shelled with their big guns
we already were fleeing upstream, so no one was wounded. I couldn't carry
anything with me when I ran away, only one pot and some rice. We just
arrived here, and we have nothing.
Q: Do you think the Tee Neh Paw villagers will stay here, or can you go
back to your village?
W2: We're just waiting to hear what the people here say. If people say we
can go back we will go back. If they say we can't go back we will stay here.
We can't think of what to do now, because our place is full of the Burmese.
M1: If there's peace we would like to go back. If there is no peace we
don't dare go back. We'd like to go back and stay in our village.
Q: The Burmese say that if the Karen villagers go back they will make
peace.
A: [Everybody laughs.]
W1: Even if the Burmese make peace, if the Karen don't then how can we
go back? If the Karen and Burmese aren't fighting, then we can go back.
M1: If the Karen fight strongly and the Burmese fight strongly, we can
never dare to go back.
Q: Here do the Thai Army make any problems?
M1: Nothing yet. We're afraid that they'll do something to us, but we can't
think about that.
_____________________________________________________________________________
#T4.
NAME: "Saw Ku Hser" SEX: M AGE: 30 Karen Christian hill farmer
FAMILY: Widower, 2 children aged 3 and 5
ADDRESS: Way Toh Ray village, Ler Mu Lah township INTERVIEWED: 3/4/97
Q: When did the Burmese arrive in Way Toh Ray village?
A: They arrived on the 25th [of March], in the afternoon at about 1
o'clock. They came through the hills, but at Meh Ngaw there's a car road
so they came along the car road. I arrived here 4 days ago. It took me one
day along the way. One of the men in our group had only one child with
him. She was 13 years old, and she died along the way. When we were
fleeing along the path it was raining, and his child got malaria and died
because we had to sleep in the rain. When we were coming, people said
that a group of Burmese Army was crossing in front of us. We had to
hurry up and go in the middle of the night in the rain. So the man whose
child had died had no time even to look after [bury] his dead child's body.
He had no time.
Q: Did all the villagers run?
A: All the villagers ran away, but some of them are still staying not far
away from the village. If the Burmese capture them they will arrest them,
make trouble for them and only some of them will have any chance to
survive. I've heard much bad news from the village since I've arrived here.
We can't do anything. When I was coming along the way I heard that the
enemy came behind us and burned down houses in Way To Ray and Si
Pyet. I would like to go back and see what is happening in my village, but
it's not easy to travel there. I don't dare go back just like this, but if I
had a gun maybe I could go back to my village.
Q: What did you bring along with you?
A: I came along with just what you can see here, Thra! [Thra='teacher',
respectful form of address; he pointed to a small mosquito net, a couple of
shirts, and a small bag of rice.] The villagers carry their things, but when
they hear bad news they have to throw away their things along the path. I
only brought some of my things - I have 2 pots, 3 plates, and a big spoon
for my family. I have two children - the oldest is 5 years old. The other
daughter stayed behind, where she is staying is not far from the enemy right
now. She is 3 years old. My wife died 3 years ago and left me with 2
children - one stays with my mother, and one with my mother-in-law. [He
fled with his mother and oldest child.] My parents stay with me here, but I
don't know where are my mother-in-law and my youngest.
Q: Do you have problems here now?
A: We have problems for all the people, for all the future.
Q: Now the Burmese say they will make peace for Karen people. Do you
dare go back?
A: I dare to go, but I don't dare go back and stay among the Burmese.
I dare to go back if I have a gun in my hand and go with the Karen Army,
then I dare to go back and fight them because I've done that before.
Q: The Burmese call all the Karen refugees to come back in peace and
help build car roads.
A: Our enemy calls us to do this, but never in my life will I do this.
Never in my life will I do their work, even if they order me to do it.
Q: Do you think you'll have to be here long?
A: I don't know whether we'll have to stay here long or not, I can't say.
Q: What about the refugees from Maw Ma Sa, etc. who were in the area?
[The hundreds of villagers who had fled SLORC forced relocation orders
and were sheltering in Way Toh Ray and other villages of KNU-controlled
territory.]
A: Some of them arrived here. They've had to flee two times already, so
they have nothing. I also have nothing, but people have given me some
things. I carried some of my things that were old and left some that were
new. When I ran out of my village, the Burmese weren't shelling with big
guns but they were shooting their small arms. There were just over 10
Karen soldiers - 10 here, 5 there, 3 there ... Our livestock, our rice and
our house furnishings, all of them were left behind, we couldn't bring any of
it. After we got here we heard that the soldiers from the frontline sent a
message that the Burmese had burned down our houses. We heard that a
woman was about to give birth in Way Toh Ray but the Burmese were all
around them, so her husband ran away, they burned the house and she was
burned to death in the fire.
Q: Do you think the Thais are going to make problems here?
A: I don't know yet. It's up to the [camp] leaders here - if they arrange
everything for us it should be alright, but if they can't and the Thais do
anything then we will all die.
_____________________________________________________________________________
#T5.
[The following details were given by a man who had just fled Si Pyet
village on the Tenasserim River. Prior to the offensive, Si Pyet was
sheltering several hundred people who had been ordered to move by
SLORC and displaced from the free-fire zones west of the Tenasserim
River.]
Q: When did you flee Si Pyet village?
A: We ran 8 days ago. When I fled the Burmese Army had arrived at
Meh Ngaw village. I don't know what they are going to do when they
arrive at Si Pyet.
Q: Do you think there are still villagers in your village?
A: No, there is no one in the village but they stay outside the village in
the forest. I don't think they will arrive here because the Burmese are all
around them.
_____________________________________________________________________________
#T6.
NAME: "Naw Kree Eh" SEX: F AGE: 30 Pwo Karen Christian paddy farmer
FAMILY: Widow, 3 children aged 3, 7, and 9
ADDRESS: Aw Pu village, Ler Mu Lah township INTERVIEWED: 3/4/97
["Naw Kree Eh"'s village was ordered to move by SLORC starting in
September 1996, and every place she fled to she faced further abuses until
she ended up in KNU territory at Si Pyet. She then had to flee to Thailand
because of the offensive.]
Q: How long ago did you have to run from Aw Pu village?
A: Now it's 3 months already. We ran from place to place to place, many
times already. From Aw Pu we fled to Palaw town, then to Maw Ma Sa,
then to Pyi Cha / Mi Kyin Thu, then we arrived in Bo Heh Kee, then to
K'Say Hta, then to Si Pyet. I was in K'Say Hta just 2 weeks and Si Pyet
just 5 days, then we had to flee. Then to Meh Pya, and then we arrived
here. [Explanation: as people from a relocated village they would not be
allowed to stay in Palaw town. After they arrived in Maw Ma Sa it was
also ordered to move, as were Pyi Cha and Mi Kyin Thu. By the time they
would have arrived in Bo Heh Kee in January, SLORC patrols were
sweeping the area shooting everyone on sight. K'Say Hta and Si Pyet
were KNU-controlled prior to the offensive, but the SLORC attack forced
her to flee to Meh Pya, then SLORC reached Meh Pya so she had to flee to
Thailand.]
Q: Do you think you'll have to run again?
A: I don't know!
Q: What did you bring along with you?
A: I carried nothing with me, only my children. I have 3 children. This
girl is 9 years old, this one is 7, and the youngest is 3. Two of them came
on foot, and I had to carry the youngest. It wasn't easy! Now we stay here
with 3 families, but we only have two pots. My friend gave us one pot.
Q: From Si Pyet to here how long did it take?
A: One month, from Si Pyet to here. I had to carry my children, carry
rice, and carry our bag because I have no husband. The Burmese killed
him two years ago.
Q: How did they kill him?
A: They came and arrested him and killed him. It was in Aw Pu village.
We didn't know anything, but they said we had made a mistake. They said
he had stolen things. Ask these people here if my husband ever stole
anything! I never knew him to steal anything.
Q: How did they kill him?
A: All over his whole body - they beat him, stabbed him, shot him ... [she
began crying]. They killed him in the village at Kain Kee. At the place
where the Burmese stay. Battalion 17.
Q: What was his name?
A: Saw Jubilee. When they killed him he was 29 years old.
Q: Since your husband died how have you got your food? Could you still
make your field?
A: Now in the village we can't do farming, because the Burmese don't give
us a pass to do it. We have to give to them! We had to give them road fees
and porter fees in our village.
Q: Why did you run from Aw Pu village?
A: Because I'm afraid of the Burmese. They said we had to move. We
had to move close to the Mon area but among the Karen, at Si Go May.
The Burmese came in the middle of the night and called me [as a 'suspect',
because they had executed her husband].
Q: Now do you have any problem with food?
A: I have a little to eat - no chillies, just rice, salt and some
vegetables.
Q: How many houses from Aw Pu are here?
A: 4 houses. There were 22 households from Aw Pu staying [displaced]
in Si Pyet. Some are probably still among the Burmese. They are scattered
all over the place.
Q: Now the Burmese say they're making peace everywhere, do you dare
go back?
A: No, I dare not go back, that is why I came here. I don't ever want to
go back. I never think about going back. If the people here run I'll run,
but if the people here stay I'll stay.
- [END OF REPORT] -
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| SalaThai, Bangkok, Thailand - A FirstClass Network - Tel: (662) 679-8382 |
| BBS:(662) 679-8380 * http://www.sala.net * EMail:jamiezel@xxxxxxxx |
| SalaThai provides Free EMail. Please do not send users Files or add them |
| to any autoforward or LISTSERV server as it clogs the Internet gatway. |
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