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KHRG #98-09 Part 5 of 5 (Dooplaya)
- Subject: KHRG #98-09 Part 5 of 5 (Dooplaya)
- From: khrg@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 02 Dec 1998 19:57:00
DOOPLAYA UNDER THE SPDC
Further Developments in the SPDC Occupation
of South-Central Karen State
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
November 23, 1998 / KHRG #98-09
*** PART 5 OF 5: SEE PREVIOUS POSTINGS FOR OTHER PARTS OF THIS REPORT ***
[Some details omitted or replaced by 'xxxx' for Internet distribution.]
Landmines
"His name was Paw Eh Pa. We did not know if it was a Burmese or
KNLA landmine, but it was put on the way to Kwih Kler, near the top of
the village. He went to his farm at 5 a.m. with his wife along the sandy
path. His wife was walking in front of him when he stepped on the
landmine. His wife was sprayed with sand and she dared not call to her
husband. All that was left of her husband was his head, chest and one
hand. His feet were found very far from where he died and his liver,
intestines and stomach were destroyed. His left hand was wrapped in
his sarong, and his right hand had disappeared. His slippers and torch
were destroyed and pieces were spread everywhere. We think it was a
Burmese landmine. I saw this all with my own eyes." - "Saw Htoo Po"
(M, 25), Meh T'Ler village, central Dooplaya (Interview #3, 9/98)
In areas like Dooplaya, the KNLA can only operate in small groups and
are dependent for ammunition on very tenuous supply lines. To
compensate for the imbalance in numbers, to harass the SPDC troops and
to protect caches and supply lines, they are increasingly relying on
landmines. Most of these mines are of their own design and manufacture,
but quite effective. The SPDC responds by increasing their own use of
landmines. The KNLA usually lays mines slightly off pathways, not in
fields or just outside villages, and always tries to tell local villagers
which
pathways to avoid because they are mined. However, this is not always
effective, particularly in areas where the KNLA cannot enter villages
because the SPDC is based there. As proof of this, villagers continue to
be
blown up by KNLA mines. The SPDC lays its mines on pathways to
farmfields and in other areas where villagers commonly go and never tells
anyone where the mines are, making these especially dangerous.
Landmines are not yet as much of a problem in Dooplaya as they are
further north in Pa'an district, where they have become a major cause of
fear and flight among the villagers [see "Uncertainty, Fear and Flight:
The Current Human Rights Situation in Eastern Pa'an District" (KHRG
#98-08, 18/11/98)], but they may become more of a problem as time goes
on and they are already becoming an issue in the daily lives of the
villagers
in all parts of Dooplaya.
"Six villagers from Kyo G'Lee and one person from K'Neh Thay Po Lay
were injured by Burmese landmines. The KNLA landmines haven't
hurt any villagers, but the Burmese plant landmines on the paths which
lead to the farms and everywhere. They also plant them on the road.
They don't tell the villagers where the landmines are, which is why the
villagers get injured by the landmines." - "Saw Muh" (M, 36), xxxx
village, eastern Dooplaya (Interview #11, 9/98)
"The KNLA tell [the villagers] where they have put their landmines, but
the Burmese never tell us. Although many villagers die as a result of
their landmines they still don't tell us where they put them. Some people
get hurt by their landmines when they go to their farms. Some people
went fishing and got hurt by their landmines. They never tell the
villagers. ? I know that one person from Kyaw Plaw died from a
landmine and another had to have his leg amputated. ? His name is Ku
Lu Po, he is 40 years old and has a wife and children. Another person
died in the jungle, he was a Bo Kler villager. That happened last
summer." - "Pu Eh Thee" (M, 68), xxxx village, eastern Dooplaya
(Interview #12, 9/98)
In eastern Dooplaya the villagers are quite aware that there are many
landmines around and many are afraid to go too far from their villages
because of this. In central Dooplaya, there have been several reported
cases this year of villagers being maimed or killed by landmines. It is
not
always clear which army laid the mine. One of the worst cases occurred
on March 22nd 1998 near Kwih Kler in central Dooplaya. Pa Gaw Gu
from Htaw Wah Law village was being forced to use his small truck to
carry SPDC rations and was giving the family of Saw Po Dee a lift. The
truck hit a vehicle mine (apparently planted by the KNLA) along the road
and was blown apart. Saw Po Dee's 6-year-old daughter was killed and all
of the others were wounded.
"The Burmese were going to come to bring their rations, but instead
they forced a villager who owned a car to take the rations to them. ?
The car with 4 people in it from Htaw Wah Law village hit a landmine.
The car had Saw Po Dee, his wife, Ma San San, from Kwih Kler village,
his 6-year-old daughter and the driver, Pa Gaw Gu, inside. The car was
carrying rice, chillies and beans for the Burmese, and these were spread
everywhere after they hit the landmine. Their 6-year-old daughter died,
I saw her brain had come out of her nose. If she hadn't been shielded
by the rice sacks her body would have been completely destroyed. His
wife and the driver escaped out of the front of the car, but Saw Po Dee
was thrown from the car and fell. His mouth was bleeding and he was
bruised. The Burmese put him on an intravenous drip and then they
forced a car from Kwih Kler to take him to Kyaikdon. His wife, whose
eyes were swollen from crying, went with him. The Burmese took his
daughter to the Burmese camp and covered her body. They didn't allow
people to see her but I had gone to see [the accident site] before they
took her away and felt such pity for the girl." - "Saw Htoo Po" (M, 25),
Meh T'Ler village, central Dooplaya (Interview #3, 9/98)
Though there are not yet reports of SPDC troops systematically using
porters as human minesweepers as they do in Pa'an district, this may be
because villagers in Dooplaya are not yet aware enough of landmines to
realise that this is what is happening when they are sent out in front of
the
military column. A few villagers have already referred in interviews to
being sent out in front of the military column when they are portering. If
the use of landmines continues, this will probably become a more common
and systematic practice by SPDC troops.
"The Burmese knew the way but they made trouble for us and forced a
villager to go in front of them. I think they were afraid. I'm not sure
why, maybe they were afraid that the enemy would shoot at them." -
"Saw Htoo Po" (M, 25), Meh T'Ler village, central Dooplaya, describing
his experiences while portering (Interview #3, 9/98)
"No one has stepped on landmines recently, but in May my cousin Saw
Lay Htoo, Ka Lu Po, Naw Kyaw Ta and Mu Dwaw stepped on a
Burmese landmine in Kyo G'Lee village. Ka Lu Po died immediately
and Saw Lay Htoo died later in the Mae Sot hospital [in Thailand]. The
other two only sustained injuries. Saw Lay Htoo was 33 years old. He
was married with two children but one of his children had already died.
A landmine exploded in xxxx village after I was arrested [in June] and
injured one of my uncles, Pa Haw. People carried him to Kyo G'Lee
village and the Burmese injected him with medicine but he died soon
after. He was 50 years old and had a wife and children. Nobody goes to
their farms on that path anymore, people must take a different path, a
car road. The Burmese put landmines on the paths, beside the paths
and on the oxcart tracks." - "Pa Boh" (M, 38), xxxx village, eastern
Dooplaya (Interview #9, 9/98)
Future of the Area
"Things are getting more difficult every day. Even the Burmese leaders
capture each other and put each other in jail. If they can capture and
imprison even the people who have authority, then how are the villagers
supposed to tolerate them? That's why the villagers are fleeing from
Burma." - "Pa Bway Htoo" (M, 44), Dta La Ku elder (Interview #6, 9/98)
The SPDC is without doubt determined to continue consolidating its
control over all of Dooplaya district. As this occurs it will carry the
usual
byproducts of SPDC control for the villagers: increasingly systematic
extortion of food and money, standing orders for rotating forced labour of
various kinds, and forced labour on infrastructure, Army farms and
money-spinning projects for local battalions. The KNLA is likely to
continue its small-scale guerrilla activities throughout the region, and
this
will likely cause the SPDC to continue the sporadic forced relocations of
villages, arrest and detention of suspected KNLA collaborators, and tight
restrictions on the access of farmers to their fields. As the struggle
continues, the KNLA may become more reliant on landmines and the
SPDC may respond by doing the same and by taking more porters as
human minesweepers, as their troops already do in Pa'an district.
"Even if the KNLA gives them all of their weapons there will be no
peace at all. They cannot give us peace because they have persecuted us
from the beginning. The Burmese can lie about many things. If the
KNLA give them all of their weapons, they will still persecute the Karen
people. They will continue to force them to carry things like rice and
ammunition. They will also continue to beat them and force them to dig
mud for road construction." - "Saw Muh" (M, 36), xxxx village, eastern
Dooplaya (Interview #11, 9/98)
"If there is no KNLA maybe the Burmese would persecute the Karen
people. Look, they stayed far from the village but they came here, it is a
long distance from their place. They didn't do anything to us because
the KNLA are nearby, but if there were no KNLA they would do
whatever they want to us. If you look at the people from the lowlands,
they are oppressed, beaten, persecuted and killed by the Burmese often."
- "Pu Eh Thee" (M, 68), xxxx village, eastern Dooplaya (Interview #12,
9/98)
The DKBA and the KPA are an uncertain factor in the future of Dooplaya.
It remains to be seen whether the KPA will succeed in becoming a major
player in the district, or whether they are marginalised by the SPDC and/or
the DKBA. The initial question is whether the current reappearance of
DKBA troops in northern and central Dooplaya will be expanded to cover
areas further south in the district, and how many DKBA troops will be
involved.
The situation will likely become increasingly difficult for the villagers
who
are currently internally displaced in central and southern Dooplaya, until
they may have to choose between fleeing for Thailand or returning to
SPDC control in their villages. If extortion and forced labour continue to
become more systematic in the villages, it can be expected that more
villagers will flee to become internally displaced or to head for Noh Po
refugee camp in Thailand. Currently it is very hard for new refugees to
gain admittance to the refugee camp, because the Thai authorities state
that
all new refugees are to be forced back unless they are "fleeing from
fighting". Many new arrivals will probably be forcibly repatriated on
arrival. The Dta La Ku people are facing an especially difficult
situation,
and may spend much of the near future running back and forth across the
Thai border.
"I can't do anything. I think that I would have to stay because I'm very
old but I'm not sure if I would be able to stay. I don't know if the young
people will dare to stay or not. If they don't dare to stay they can run.
As for me, I'm very old and cannot run, if they want to kill me then let
them kill me." - "Pu Eh Thee" (M, 68), xxxx village, eastern Dooplaya,
discussing what he will do if the SPDC troops return to his village
(Interview #12, 9/98)
"If the Thai Army forces us back we go back to our villages, if the
Burmese Army makes trouble for us we come here [Thailand]. All the
Dta La Ku people plan to flee and come here because when we asked the
Burmese commander to allow us to be exempt from being porters,
because it is against our religion, the Burmese said that the Dta La Ku
people are troublemakers and they should leave Burma." - "Saw Meh
Doh" (M, 44), Dta La Ku elder from xxxx village, southern Dooplaya
(Interview #K4, 9/98)
According to villagers within Dooplaya, the SPDC may be planning to use
either the DKBA or the KPA to attack Noh Po refugee camp over the
coming dry season. SPDC patrols already made repeated incursions into
Thailand in March 1998 to test out the Thai defences, but stopped short of
actually attacking the camp. If an attack comes, it is difficult to
predict
whether Thai forces will defend the camp, or abandon it to be destroyed as
they have done with other refugee camps. They have already stated that at
some point in the near future they want to move the camp to another site
further north, possibly consolidating it with other existing refugee camps.
If so, they may allow it to be destroyed as a way of coercing the refugees
to move to a new site. However, if the camp does move it will be far from
refugee crossing points, thus making it even more difficult for villagers
in
Dooplaya to escape the complete control of the SPDC.
"?we have to stay and die if the Burmese come because we have no
place to run to. If they persecute and kill us we will have to suffer, but
if
they don't kill us we can live. If we run away our food will not follow
us. When we ran away last time we felt bad that our rice was still in the
village. When I first came back it was only myself and my youngest son,
the others didn't come back. I came back and I stayed here. Later, I
heard a dog barking and I saw many Burmese soldiers. They called me
to come down from my house. Then they went into my house and took
all that they wanted, such as my clothes and blankets. I don't know if
the others will run or not but I've heard them say that they don't know
where to run either. We don't want to stay in another country." - "Pu
Tha Wah" (M, 66), xxxx village, eastern Dooplaya (Interview #13, 9/98)
"I worked in my village but I couldn't get any support. Burma is our
country but nobody there treats us fairly when we work. When my
children got sick, I had to buy medicine for them in the shop and treat
them myself. When I stayed in xxxx for the last two months I spent over
10,000 Kyats that way, and I realised I could not stay like that anymore.
If I'd stayed there much longer my children would have died there, we
all would have died there." - "Naw Ghay Wah" (F, 31), schoolteacher
from Pa'an district who was ordered to move and become a teacher in
Dooplaya after the SLORC occupation (Interview #4, 9/98)
"I would like to say that if the situation is good in the future I will
tell
you about the good things, but if the situation is bad I will tell you
about
the bad things. What I have told you is true and I hope that the
situation will be better in the future. Now we villagers have difficult
lives because the SPDC persecutes us. I would like to ask the foreign
countries to please help us and to do whatever they can as soon as
possible." - "Saw Win Than" (M, 50), xxxx village, southern Dooplaya
(Interview #2, 4/98)
________________________________________________________________________
Examples of Written SPDC Orders to Villages
Following are the direct translations of some SPDC written orders which
were sent to villages in different parts of Dooplaya between December
1997 and July 1998. The names of the villages which received the orders
and some other details are blanked out and replaced by xxxx where
necessary to protect the villages involved. Copies of the Burmese
originals of the orders are included on pages 85-90 of this report. The
Order Numbers on the Burmese copies correspond to the numbers given
on these translations. Please note that Burmese grammar is very different
from English, so the phrasing of some of these translations may sound
awkward because we have attempted to translate as directly as possible.
Note that all numeric dates are in dd-mm-yy format.
Order #1
Stamp: Date: 1-6-98
Frontline Light Infantry Battalion #xxx To: Chairman
Column 2 xxxx village
To build xxxx camp, you are informed to come with (26) voluntary
labourers with one bowl of rice each, to xxxx monastery on the 2nd at
8 o'clock without fail.
[Sd. / 1-6-98]
(for) Battalion Commander
Frontline #xxx Light Infantry Battalion
[In this order the term 'loh ah pay' is translated directly, and it implies
'voluntary'; however, the labour is forced and not voluntary.]
___________________________________________________________________________
Order #2
Stamp:
Frontline Light Infantry Battalion #xxx
Column 2 Headquarters
To: Chairperson
xxxx village
Kya In Seik Gyi township Date: 18-7-98
Subject: Permanent rotation servants required
You the headperson are informed to send 5 permanent servants with their
own rice to arrive today for the use of Frontline #xxx Light Infantry
Battalion, Column 2, and prepare to rotate the servants every 5 days.
[Sd.]
Column Commander
Column 2
#xxx Light Infantry Battalion
[In SPDC written orders, porters are generally referred to as 'servants'
(wontan).]
___________________________________________________________________________
Order #3
Stamp: Date: 1-6-98
Peace & Development Council
xxxx village (IMPORTANT - DO QUICKLY)
To: Village Head
xxxx + yyyy villages
Subject: The voluntary labour carts must arrive
Regarding the above subject, according to the order from the Township,
#12 Military Operations Command Headquarters requires cart porters
urgently. Therefore, [send] 1 cart with 1 team of bullocks together with
enough rations from each of your villages to arrive at the Village Peace
and Development Council office together at 4 o'clock this evening without
fail, you are informed.
Note:
Today, 1-6-98, Monday, at 4 o'clock in the evening they must arrive
together. If there is failure and those from the Army camp come to arrest
you, it will not be our responsibility. One village must give one bullock
cart. Do it by drawing lots.
[Sd.]
Chairman
Peace & Development Council
xxxx village, Kawkareik Township
___________________________________________________________________________
Order #4
Stamp:
Village Peace & Development Council
Date: 12-5-98
Ye Township, xxxx village
To: Chairman (xxxx village)
Subject: Requesting assistance with the servants' fees
Regarding the above subject, according to the agreement of the xxxx
village tract headmen and small village leaders, xxxx village is assessed
(two thousand) for servant's fees. Therefore, [you] are informed to come
and pay this money at xxxx village.
[Sd.]
Member (1)
["Servants' fees" are more commonly known by villagers as "porter fees".
They are not actually used for porters, it is simply a name used to extort
money for the military.]
___________________________________________________________________________
Order #5
Stamp:
Infantry Battalion #61 To: Chairman
xxxx village
Subject: Informing [you] to send logs
[You] are informed to send (30) logs, (6) inches in diameter and (8) feet
in
length, for repairs to the camp, to xxxx camp before 25-1-98. If [you]
fail
to send [them], it will be the gentleman's [i.e. your] responsibility
alone.
[Sd. / WO II]
Camp Commander
['WO II' means 'Warrant Officer 2'.]
___________________________________________________________________________
Order #6
Stamp:
To: Chairman Infantry Battalion #61
<xxxx village> 25-10-97
Subject: To repair camp buildings
According to the subject mentioned as above, the gentleman's village was
informed to send wood by the 25th of the month, however no wood has
been sent until now. Therefore, it is informed that the gentleman yourself
should come and report to the camp commander what date you will send
wood.
[Sd. / 25-10-97]
xxxx camp
___________________________________________________________________________
Order #7
Stamp:
Village Peace & Development Council Date: 20-12-97
Ye Township, xxxx village
To: Chairman / xxxx village
Lottery money should be sent to the Township soon, therefore you are
informed to come and give money to xxxx VPDC [Ya Ah Pa, short for
Village Peace and Development Council] on 21-12-97.
[Sd. 'xxxx']
Chairman
Village Peace & Development Council
Ye township, xxxx village
[This is just another way of taking money from villagers; the village
elders
are given a number of tickets and ordered to sell them and hand over the
money, whether they can actually sell them or not.]
- [END OF REPORT] -
Note: The 'Selected Interviews' and 'Field Reports' have been omitted from
this version for brevity, though they are included in the version
which can be viewed at our website:
http://sunsite.unc.edu/freeburma/humanrights/khrg/archive/