KHRG Update : Papun District

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                       KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
                          INFORMATION UPDATE

         An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
                  June 25, 1997     /     KHRG #97-U3


Information Update is periodically produced by KHRG in order to
provide timely reporting of specific developments, particularly when
urgent action may be required.  It is produced primarily for Internet
distribution.  Topics covered will generally be reported in more
detail in upcoming KHRG reports.
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          Destruction of All Hill Villages in Papun District

Since the beginning of 1996, SLORC has launched campaigns in many
parts of Burma to forcibly move or wipe out all rural villages which
are not under the direct physical control of an Army camp.  In
February/March 1997, SLORC began a campaign to obliterate all villages
in the hills of Papun District, northern Karen State.  The initial
wave of village destruction was carried out through March 1997, but
since the beginning of June 1997 SLORC patrols have stepped up their
efforts to destroy all signs of habitation and food supplies wherever
villagers had managed to rebuild.  KHRG has compiled and confirmed a
list of 68 villages which have been completely burned and destroyed
and 4 more which have been partially burned.  These are all Karen
villages, averaging about 15 households (population 100) per village. 
This list is by no means complete, and right now SLORC patrols
continue to burn villages in the area.

The main areas targetted are the Bilin (Bu Loh Kloh) and Yunzalin
(Bway Loh Kloh) river valleys and adjacent areas west, north, and
northeast of the town of Papun.  At least nine SLORC Army battalions
have been involved in the operation: Light Infantry Battalions #106,
107, 391, 546, 547, and 548, and Infantry Battalions #39, 57, and 59
(#106, 107, and 391 were rotated out of the area and replaced by #39,
57, and 59; at least six Battalions are active at a time).  Each of
the several SLORC posts in the area sends out columns of from 50 to
300 men which move from village to village.  On arrival near a
village, the troops first shell it with mortars from the adjacent
hills, then enter the village firing at anything that moves and
proceed to burn every house, farmfield hut, and shelter they find in
the area.  Paddy storage barns are especially sought out and burned in
order to destroy the villagers' food supply.  Any villagers seen in
the villages, forests, or fields are shot on sight with no questions
asked.  The troops bring porters with them from Papun and other towns,
but if they need more porters they take any villagers they catch, and
they have already taken many women and men, some aged over 65, for
this.  However, the objective is not to catch villagers, as in several
cases they have surrounded villagers in field huts and then simply
opened fire instead of trying to catch them.  The patrols seem to have
no interest in interrogating the villagers, only in eliminating them. 
Villages very close to Papun and Meh Way have been ordered to move to
Meh Way or to Army camps near Papun, such as Toh Thay Pu, but the vast
majority of villages have been given no orders whatsoever, they have
simply been destroyed.  Most of the villagers in the area say they do
not even understand why SLORC is doing this, and that they think SLORC
is just trying to wipe out the Karen population.  KNLA [Karen National
Liberation Army] troops are not based in any of these villages, and
have never yet been in a village when it was attacked.

The villagers generally hear up to a day in advance that a SLORC
column is coming, so they flee further into the hills and very few of
them are sighted by the troops.  Once the troops have destroyed their
village and passed on, they survive in leaf shelters or small huts
which they build in the forest and try to continue taking care of
their fields.  Those whose paddy storage barns have not been destroyed
generally share out their rice with those who have no more food.  Most
are living on plain rice with some jungle leaf soup, and salt if they
are lucky enough to have any.  Almost all livestock has been left
behind and slaughtered by SLORC troops, who simply shoot it, eat a
small part and leave the rest to rot.  SLORC patrols are now returning
to areas which they previously burned out in order to seek out and
destroy the forest huts where the villagers are hiding, destroy any
remaining rice supplies and shoot any people they can find.  Units
rotating in or out of the area or travelling between camps are also
burning any signs of habitation they find.  If they have not enough
time to burn every house or if heavy rains prevent a good fire, they
report the location to the troops at their destination and a patrol is
sent out to destroy the site.

Every new patrol that comes around forces the villagers to flee yet
again and build new shelters elsewhere.  Heavy monsoon rains began in
mid-June and will continue until October, and moving and building are
very difficult.  Malaria and other fevers, diarrhoea, dysentery, and
other diseases are widespread and the villagers have no medicine
whatsoever.  Many children and the elderly have already died.  The
villagers have very few belongings left and little food.  Most of them
have managed to plant at least a limited rice crop in intervals
between SLORC patrols and they are desperately relying on this crop,
although many do not have enough rice to last them until they can
harvest it in November/December.  If the crop fails or if SLORC
interferes with it, the villagers admit they do not know what they
will do and the area will certainly be in a state of emergency.  About
1,000 villagers from the area have managed to escape to Thailand thus
far, but this is difficult and dangerous because of SLORC camps and
patrols and the landmines placed along many of the paths by the KNLA. 
Many of them have also heard of the abuses against refugees by Thai
authorities.  However, if this campaign worsens in any way they may
have no option but to flee towards Thailand.

Making the situation worse, SLORC is trying to build a military supply
road straight across the northern part of the area, from Kyauk Kyi in
Pegu Division (in the Sittang River valley of central Burma) directly
eastward to Saw Hta on the Salween River, which forms the border with
Thailand.  They have burned and destroyed all villages along the route
and have been constructing the road with bulldozers under heavy
military guard.  They have already pushed the road most of the way
through by working from both ends, though the KNLA has now temporarily
stopped the road construction by destroying the bulldozers.  SLORC
cannot capture enough villagers in the area to use them for forced
labour on this road, but the fact that they are using bulldozers
instead of bringing in forced labour from elsewhere makes it apparent
that they are in a hurry to complete this road.  The main purpose of
the road will probably be to support a new offensive along the Salween
River to gain complete control of the river and all adjacent territory
along the border with Thailand.  This offensive, which is expected to
begin after the rainy season, would cut off and contain the Karen
forces in Papun District, block off the further escape of refugees to
Thailand and allow further sweeps through the area to wipe out the
civilian population.  It would also pose a major security threat to
Thailand, as SLORC would probably follow it up with attacks on Karen
refugee camps in Thailand's Mae Sariang District, and may also decide
to begin claiming pieces of Thai territory east of the Salween River.

Details, maps, interviews and photos regarding the situation in these
areas will be available in an upcoming KHRG report and photo set.

                          - [END OF REPORT] -