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THE GOVERNMENT OF KARENNI
MINISTRY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND INFORMATION
KARENNI


HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION COMMITTED BY SLORC

Human rights violations continued by the Slorc troops of LB No. (102), LB
No. (261) and LIB No. (426) in Karenni. The said troops have been forcing
hundreds of local people of Mawchi, Karenni, and prisoners from different
parts of Burma to act as porters without payment since the end of July 1997.
Recently, about one hundred villagers of Dee Maw So town, Dee Maw So
Township, were arrested and tied up, and then loaded to Pasaung town. Those
who were seized were forced to carry supplies and ammunition from Pasaung
town to the area, where they have been operating military offensive against
innocent Karenni people. Many of those forced to act as porters have been
subjected to torture and ill-treatment if they could not carry loads of
supplies and ammunition. Others who were seized as porters have been
extrajudicially killed if they attempted to escape or were enable to carry
their loads. Those who were seriously sick were left to dead beside roads.

Conditions of the porters are often harsh, in many cases amounting to cruel,
inhuman  treatment. The porters have been subjected to ill-treatment,
receiving inadequate food.  The Porters are receiving only one meal per day
while they are forced to carry heavy loads. The porters are forced to walk
through rocky areas and mountainous areas. Those who are sick are also
forced to continue to carry their loads. So far about 50 porters have died
of sickness, tiredness and starvation. Most of them were shot to dead by the
military (SLORC) according to Zaw Win, private soldier of LB No. (102) and
one sergeant (requested not to use his name) of LB No. (261), 27 years old
who have recently surrendered to the Karenni Army and some porters who
escaped to the Karenni controlled area. Prisoners of Mg Sein, Thaung Htay,
Win Kyaw, Than Naing and Mg Naing were among the deaths.

On August 23, 1997, husband Saw Kalo, 58 years old, and wife Naw Moo, 50
years old, were arrested in Lo Po village of No. (2) District by a Slorc
troops of LB (102) under the command of Sein Hlaing (unknown position). The
troops killed the husband. The wife Naw Moo died after being repeated raped
by the troops.

The said three units if  Slorc troops have so far destroyed about one
hundred acres of planted rice paddy which belonged to a number of villages
of No. (2) District.

Conditions of villagers in No. (1) District, who were forced to move to
Slorc relocation sites on 7 July 1997, have been getting from bad to the
worst. Villagers are dying of sickness and starvation every day especially
in Sha Daw relocation site. The dead numbers of children have already
reached to over one hundred.
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Battle News

On 7 September 1997, 6 Slorc soldiers of LIB No. (336) and LIB No. (421)
were killed by Karenni land mines which laid in Ywa Thit area, east of
Bawlake, and Hway Aw Lay area, BP-11 area.

10 September 1997 						   	        To be continued