[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
KHRG REPORT 97-10 part 1/2
KHRG: REPORT #97-10 Part 1/2 (Orders)
SLORC ORDERS TO VILLAGES: SET 97-B
Central Karen State
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
September 14, 1997 / KHRG #97-10
*** PART 1 OF 2 - SEE SUBSEQUENT POSTING FOR PART 2 OF THIS REPORT ***
[Some details are omitted or replaced by 'xxxx' for Internet distribution.]
Following are the direct translations of some written orders sent from
SLORC Army units to Karen villages in Pa'an District of central Karen
State, southeastern Burma. They include demands for villagers to do
forced labour as porters, at Army camps and on the Pata - Daw Lan road,
demands for food, extortion money, bullock carts and building materials,
demands for villagers to provide their rice quotas to the Army and threats
against those who fail to comply, and orders issued to villages by the
DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which is allied with SLORC)
demanding supplies. Some are simply a summons for village elders to
attend 'meetings' - these meetings at army camps are to dictate forced
labour and extortion payment demands, and even though the Camp may
be 3 to 5 miles away a 60-year old elder is expected to drop everything
and walk there. As a result, many village elders fail to attend them,
which only leads to further threats of 'action' against the elders and the
village.
For background on the current situation in Pa'an District, see "Abuses
and Relocations in Pa'an District" (KHRG #97-08, 1/8/97). For every
order reproduced here, hundreds more are issued every week; these
should be seen only as a small representative sampling. Most of these
orders were handwritten, some typed, and carbon-copied if sent to more
than one village. They were issued by local Army commanders and Law
& Order Restoration Councils (LORCs), which are local-level SLORC
administration at the Township, Village Tract and Village level. A village
tract is a group of villages making up a subarea of the Township and used
as a local administrative unit. While the Township LORC consists of
SLORC officials under direct military control, the Village LORC members
are appointed, often against their will, by the local military. They are
responsible for providing forced labourers, money, materials, intelligence
etc. as demanded by the military and the Township LORC, and they are
the first to be arrested and tortured if they fail to do so; this is what
is meant by the commonly appearing phrase "should you fail the
responsibility will be yours".
Orders #18-25 concern the paddy quotas which all villagers are forced to
sell to SLORC every year at only 20-25% of market price (paddy is
unmilled rice; two to three baskets of paddy are required to get one basket
of milled rice). These quotas, which are constantly increasing even in bad
crop years, drive many farmers into starvation. Those who cannot pay
quota must buy rice on the market to sell to the SLORC or face arrest;
others have no rice left to seed their fields the next year and must take
out a 'loan' of seed rice and other materials from SLORC, which they must
pay back in paddy. When the quota increases again or the crop fails and
they default on these loans, the Army confiscates their land.
Village names, people's names and Army camp names have been replaced
with 'xxxx' or 'yyyy' where necessary to protect villages from retaliation.
Photocopies of the Burmese originals (with the same details blacked out)
are available from KHRG upon approved request. We have attempted to
accurately reproduce the visual page layout of each order, and
underlining, etc. are as they appear in the order. 'Stamp:' gives the
translation of the unit stamp affixed to many of the orders. Italic text
in square brackets has been added by KHRG for clarification where
necessary. Note that Burmese grammar is very different from English,
and therefore some of the phraseology sounds awkward because we have
tried to reproduce the wording as exactly as possible.
As in the originals, numeric dates are shown in dd/mm/yy format. Many
orders call for 'loh ah pay', which we have translated literally as
'voluntary labour', though it is the term used by SLORC to call for forced
labour. The term 'wontan' also appears frequently; it translates as
'servant', and is used by SLORC to refer to porters and other forced
labourers. 'Operation servants' specifically means military porters. Some
of the orders refer to 'rotation' or 'permanent' servants; this refers to
the quota of porters and Army camp forced labourers which villages have to
provide to every Army camp at all times, rotating the people every 3 to 7
days. The orders are almost all addressed to village elders, who are
usually addressed with the correct honorific 'U'; however, some orders
refer to them as 'Ko', a common form of address for a young man, which
is very disrespectful to a village elder. LIB = Light Infantry Battalion;
IB = Infantry Battalion; LORC = Law & Order Restoration Council,
SLORC's local and regional administration.
TOPIC SUMMARY: Army Camp / portering forced labour (Orders #1-10,12),
forced labour on Pata - Daw Lan road (#11), arbitrary detention (#16),
demands for bullock carts (#13), demands for money (#14,15,16),
demands for rice (#14,17), paddy quota demands (#18-25),
demands for Army camp building materials (#27),
summons to meetings (#10,12,19,22,23,25, 27-37,40-46),
DKBA orders demanding supplies/carts (#47-49).
________________________________________________________________
Order #1
Stamp:
#xxx Light Infantry Battalion Date: 9/7/97
Column #2 To: Chairman - U xxxx
xxxx village tract
Subject: Send 20 servants quickly on rotation
Chairman U xxxx must collect 20 rotation servants from xxxx village tract
as
soon as you get this letter and take them to the Column Commander at xxxx
before 4 o'clock. Come together with 7 days of supplies for the servants.
The Column Commander wants to see U xxxx, so come together [with
them]. If you fail it will be your responsibility, Chairman.
1) xxxx [Sd.]
2) xxxx (for) Column Commander
3) xxxx Column #2
4) xxxx xxxx village
5) xxxx LIB #xxx
6) xxxx
Quickly collect the requested number from the villages.
[The 6 villages listed at the bottom of the order are those comprising this
village tract. 'Rotation servants' means they will have to be replaced
with
new ones at the end of the 7-day shift.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #2
Stamp:
10-4-97
#xxx Light Infantry Battalion
To: Chairman
xxxx village tract
Subject: Calling for operation servants [porters]
xxxx village tract was called to send 10 servants to xxxx monastery on
April 10th '97, but failed to send [them]. As soon as you receive this letter,
the Chairman himself must send 10 servants to xxxx. (Second notification.)
[Sd.]
(for) Battalion Commander
Frontline #xxx Light Infantry Battalion
________________________________________________________________
Order #3
Stamp:
#xxx Light Infantry Battalion
9-4-97
Column #1 To: Chairman
xxxx village tract
Subject: Calling for operation servants
To release 10 servants from xxxx and xxxx, send 10 servants from xxxx
village tract to xxxx monastery today for the use of Frontline #xxx Light
Infantry Battalion. If you fail, there will be severe punishment.
[Sd.]
(for) Battalion Commander
Frontline #xxx Light Infantry
Battalion
[The Battalion is currently holding 10 villagers as 'permanent' porters
and wants them replaced with new ones; the villagers being held will not
be released until their replacements arrive.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #4
Stamp:
#xxx Light Infantry Battalion Date:
2/7/97
Column #2 To: Chairman - U xxxx
xxxx village tract
Chairman U xxxx must come and change 18 servants on the 9th and all must
have their own supplies.
[Sd.]
LIB #xxx, Column 2
Column Commander
xxxx village
[This is an order to bring replacements for 18 villagers being held for
forced labour. Everyone must take their own food and any needed tools
along with them.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #5
Stamp:
Frontline #xxx IB
19/5/97
Column 1
To: xxxx [village] upper quarter and lower quarter
Send 2 voluntary servants ['loh ah pay wontan'] from your village to the
camp before tomorrow evening (20/5/97), the headman must bring them
himself.
[Sd.]
Lt. xxxx
xxxx Camp Commander
________________________________________________________________
Order #6
Stamp:
#xxx LIB To: Village Head
2-4-97
Company xxxx [village] lower quarter
Send 2 permanent servants to xxxx camp today, and the village head himself
must come along.
[Sd.]
Camp Commander
xxxx Camp
['Permanent servants' means 'permanent porters'; each village is required
to supply a certain number of people for this at all times, staying at the
Army camp and rotating on shifts of 3 to 7 days duration.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #7
To: Chairman
xxxx Village Tract Date: 16-3-97
Subject: Send voluntary labour
Regarding the above subject, send 10 voluntary servant labourers from xxxx
village tract at 2 p.m. on 16-3-97 to xxxx village without fail. To
repeat:
absolutely without fail.
[Sd.]
Column 1
#xxx Light Infantry Battalion
________________________________________________________________
Order #8
To: xxxx village
8-4-97
Dear gentlemen,
As soon as you receive this letter, send 4 voluntary servants from xxxx
village today by 4 p.m., bring them yourselves to xxxx camp.
[Sd.]
xxxx Camp
8-4-97
________________________________________________________________
Order #9
Stamp:
#xxx Light Infantry Battalion To: Village Tract Chairperson
1-4-97
Company #1 xxxx Village Tract
Send 20 male voluntary servants to xxxx camp today together with a village
elder of xxxx village tract, when you receive this letter.
[Sd.]
Camp Commander
xxxx Camp
________________________________________________________________
Order #10
Stamp: 10-4-97
#xxx Light Infantry Battalion
To: Chairman
xxxx village tract
Subject: Calling for a meeting
1) To discuss issues of operation servants and security matters, come to
xxxx Army Camp at 10 o'clock on 11-4-97 without fail.
2) Should you fail, action will be taken.
[Sd.]
(for) Battalion Commander
Frontline #xxx Light Infantry Battalion
['Operation servants' means forced operations porters, and 'security
matters' means village elders being forced to report opposition movements
to the Army camp and villagers being forced to do sentry duty.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #11
To: Chairman Date:
30-10-96
xxxx village
xxxx village tract
Subject: Doing repair and maintenance on Daw Lan - Pata road and bridge
1) Regarding the above subject, the gentleman's [i.e. your] village tract
has
not finished work on roads and bridges such as smoothing the road and
clearing the scrub along the road. Therefore, as soon as you receive this
letter come to xxxx Army Camp and report.
2) If you fail it will be your responsibility, sir.
[Sd.]
Camp Commander
xxxx Army Camp
Frontline LIB #xxx, Company #1
________________________________________________________________
Order #12
To: Chairman
xxxx [village] upper quarter
The Township LORC authorities will hold a meeting on April 30th at xxxx
monastery, so come before 6:00 a.m.
[Note in different handwriting:] Come together with one servant.
[Sd.]
(for) Column Commander
________________________________________________________________
Order #13
Stamp:
#xxx Infantry Battalion To: Chairman Date:
7-5-97
Column #1 xxxx village tract
Subject: Send 10 bullock carts
Ten bullock carts from your village tract must be sent to xxxx Camp at 5
p.m. today (7-5-97) without fail. If you fail you are warned that action
will
be taken.
[Sd.]
(for) Column Commander
Frontline #xxx Infantry Battalion
Column #1
________________________________________________________________
Order #14
Dear village headperson,
When this letter is received, send 5 baskets of rice and 1,000 Kyats for
village expenses in advance, before the full moon of Ta Baun [late March
1997].
Stamp:
[illegible] Village LORC
Hlaing Bwe Township
[Sd.]
[illegible] Village Tract - Chairman
Village Tract Law & Order Restoration
Council
Hlaing Bwe Township
Karen State
['Village expenses' just means taxes or extortion money for the military.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #15
To: Ko xxxx 23-3-97
Ko xxxx who brings this letter will take 4,500 Kyats from you for servants'
fees. It is very important, so find it quickly. Give it to him today,
I notify you.
Stamp:
#xxx Infantry Battalion
Column #1 Headquarters
With Remembrance,
Sgt. xxxx
Frontline IB #xxx
(I'm the Sergeant from the sniper troops, remember me?)
[Sd.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #16
Stamp:
#xxx Infantry Battalion
24/3/97
To: xxxx village
I write this letter to the Chairman or other person responsible for the
village. The owner of the buffaloes has arrived at our Camp. When you
receive this letter, he will have to wait until tonight. Send the value without
fail. If [you] come, bring money together with you; for each buffalo it is
2,000
Kyats, bring money for 8 buffaloes and come tonight. If you fail to arrive
tonight, we will send [the buffaloes] to the Column at xxxx Camp
tomorrow early in the morning, so do not fail.
[Sd.]
Camp Commander
xxxx Camp
[Apparently the SLORC column has captured and held 8 buffaloes, the
owner has arrived at the camp to get them back but SLORC won't release
them without payment of 2,000 Kyats for each. They've detained the
owner to make sure they get the money, and sent this message to the
village head to send the money or face loss of the buffaloes and continued
detention of their owner. If they're sent to the column at xxxx Camp
they'll presumably be killed and eaten. This is a common means of extortion
used by SLORC Army units.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #17
Stamp: Date:
14-2-97
#xxx Infantry Battalion To: xxxx village leader
Company #2 xxxx [village] lower quarter secretary
I write this letter to you, U xxxx. The subject is that xxxx village tract
is requested to provide 40 baskets of paddy for our Company's fund. The
Secretary of the village will pay the money for 7 baskets of paddy at the
rate of 230 Kyats [per basket].
The Secretary's village [tract] must collect 7 baskets per village and send
them to xxxx Army Camp before 16-2-97, we ask you please. (Without Fail.)
With Respect,
Yours,
[Sd. / 14-2-97]
Camp Commander
xxxx Army Camp
[The secretary of the village tract is being ordered to collect 7 baskets
of paddy from each village and provide a total of 40 baskets to the Army
camp, and the secretary has to find the money himself to pay the villagers
for these baskets of paddy.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #18
Subject: Matters of buying paddy rice
1) xxxx village and xxxx village of Hlaing Bwe township, the mobile paddy
purchasing group will come to each village for a week, so these villages
must prepare and sell the full remainder of their paddy quotas.
2) Therefore, each village tract must prepare and urge the farmers to sell
their quota paddy rice, as well as the remaining paddy rice to be sold to
the mobile paddy purchasing group, within a week.
[Sd./ xx/2/97]
(for) Chairman
(xxxx, secretary)
Copies to: Myanmar Agricultural Products Trading, Hlaing Bwe town
Office copy
Chairman
[Note: in item 2, the 'remaining' paddy rice in addition to quota may refer
to quota rice still owed from last year, interest on government loans to be
paid in paddy, or additional rice to be given for some other reason.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #19
Stamp: Township Law & Order Restoration
Council
Township LORC Hlaing Bwe Town - Karen State
Hlaing Bwe town Ref. No. xxx / xxx / TLORC (HB)
Date: 1997 February xx
To: xxxx
Hlaing Bwe Township
Subject: Selling quota paddy rice to the mobile paddy-buying team
The villages are required to carry out their duty to sell 1,300 baskets of
paddy to the Hlaing Bwe Township xxxx mobile paddy-buying team within
a week.
[Added handwritten note:] The Village LORC Chairman himself must
come to xxxx on xx-2-97 at 10 o'clock without fail.
[Sd. / 25-2-97]
Copies to: Office (for) Chairman
Chairman (xxxx - Secretary)
________________________________________________________________
Order #20
xxxx [list of 8 villages 210 + 30 = 240 [baskets of paddy]
xxxx making up this 120 + 15 = 135
xxxx village tract] 80 80
xxxx 145 + 15 = 160
xxxx 135 + 15 = 150
xxxx 125 + 15 = 140
xxxx 355 + 35 = 390
xxxx 125 + 25 = 150
---- ----
1295 1445
+ 150
-----
1445
xxxx village tract, including 8 villages, quota paddy must be increased by
150 baskets. The increased paddy quota must be according to the plan of
the xxxx village chairman.
[Sd.]
Frontline #xxx IB, Column
#1
[This order shows that the initial quota of 1,300 baskets demanded from
the villagers (see Order #19 above) was suddenly increased to 1,445
baskets by the local Infantry Battalion. The village tract chairman was
given orders to allocate the additional quota which must be given by each
village of the tract. Note that xxxx quarter (the village quarter paying
80 baskets), which was already paying less than the others, has also been
exempted from the increase. It is the only Burman village in the tract;
all of the other villages are Karen.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #21
Stamp:
xxxx Village Law & Order Restoration Council
Hlaing Bwe Township
xxxx [village] upper quarter and lower quarter
The matter of selling rice:
Regarding the matter mentioned above, send the rice to fulfil the remainder
of the quota. Do not fail. If you fail the responsibility will be yours,
gentlemen.
[Sd.]
xxxx Village - Chairman
Law & Order Restoration Council
Hlaing Bwe Township, Karen
State
________________________________________________________________
Order #22
To: Ko xxxx
The Battalion Commander is very angry with you.
Your village quota of paddy rice has to be given by your village. xxxx and
yyyy village tracts have to sell [paddy] according to the Army plan.
Therefore the Battalion Commander said you must not include the paddy
quotas of xxxx and yyyy in the village quota lists. You yourself also come
immediately and meet the Battalion Commander as soon as you receive this
letter.
That is all. Your behaviour is not reasonable.
Place: xxxx Stamp: [Sd.]
Date: 5-3-97 #xxx Infantry Battalion (for) Battalion Commander
Column 1 Headquarters Frontline IB #xxx, Column 1
[This order decrees that the two villages are not to be recorded as having
paid their paddy quotas, and appears to indicate that the matter of
collecting their paddy is now being taken up by the Army Battalion instead
of the LORC, which means serious retaliation if the villages fail to pay.
'Ko' is a very disrespectful way to address a village elder.]
________________________________________________________________
Order #23
Stamp:
Village Law & Order Restoration Council
xxxx, Hlaing Bwe township
7-3-97
Secretary
xxxx
The matter of paddy rice selling and buying:
Regarding the above subject, come and meet me as soon as you get this
letter to discuss the abovementioned issue.
Your absence is absolutely forbidden.
If you fail, it will be your responsibility alone, sir.
[Sd.]
Chairman
xxxx Village Law & Order Restoration
Council
Hlaing Bwe township, Karen State
________________________________________________________________
Order #24
[The following is a blank form used to demand quota paddy rice from
villagers.]
To: Mr./Mrs._____________________________
_____________________________________
Village Tract
Subject: Notification to sell quota paddy rice
Regarding the above subject, Hlaing Bwe Township, ______________ village
tract, field no. ( ), owner Mr./Mrs. _________________ is requested
immediately to sell quota paddy rice to the state from your rice field of (
)
acres, ( ) baskets of paddy to the paddy purchasing group.
Date: 199_ year, ___________________ ( ) date.
________________________________________________________________
Order #25
Township Law & Order Restoration
Council
Hlaing Bwe Town - Karen State
Ref. No. 106 / 3-5 / TLORC (HB) / 1324
Date: 1997 April 8th
To: Chairman and Clerks
___xxxx___ Quarter/Village Law & Order Restoration Council
Hlaing Bwe Town
Subject: Calling for a monthly coordination meeting and ceremony for
granting service charges for rainy season paddy loans
Hlaing Bwe Township Law & Order Restoration Council and
Quarter/Village Law & Order Restoration Councils will hold a monthly
coordination meeting and hold a ceremony for the granting of service
charges for rainy season paddy loans at 10 o'clock on 11-4-97 at Hlaing
Bwe Township Law & Order Restoration Council meeting hall. Therefore
Quarter/Village Law & Order Restoration Council Chairmen and Clerks are
invited to attend without fail (Without Fail).
Note: Bring along the chairmen of the village bank committee.
[Sd.]
Chairman
(Pa/2789, Ngwe Htun Oo)
Copies to: Office
Chairman
________________________________________________________________
- [END OF PART 1 - SEE SUBSEQUENT POSTING FOR PART 2 OF 2]