Study of internal displacement/forced migration in SPDC-controlled areas

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Description: Briefing Notes by Kevin Heppner, Karen Human Rights Group April 8, 1996 "...Right now the opposition Karen National Union (KNU) is trying to conduct ceasefire negotiations with the SLORC (State Law & Order Restoration Council) military junta ruling Burma. Though the SLORC claims to be making every effort to bring peace to the country, they are still refusing to even discuss any political or human rights issues, and as a result the talks are making no progress. Many observers feel that the SLORC is not yet interested in a ceasefire, but wants to launch major attacks against the KNU first in order to weaken the KNU so it can be forced to accept what amount to surrender terms. Regardless of the negotiations, SLORC continues to worsen the human rights situation for villagers throughout Karen areas. In some areas, such as Taungoo and Nyaunglebin, systematic abuse of the civilian population is being used partly with the intention of driving the KNU towards a ceasefire deal on very bad terms. However, in most areas the abuses are increasing as a direct result of SLORC moving in and exerting stronger control in areas where KNU forces have been weakened or eliminated. Even in areas close to central Burma which SLORC has always strongly controlled, the human rights situation is worsening because more Army Battalions are being sent in to strengthen control over the civilian population, and because SLORC?s use of forced labour is increasing nationwide. The sections below give summaries of the human rights situation prevailing in some example Karen regions, starting from the northern tip of Karen State and moving southward several hundred kilometres to Tenasserim Division..."
Creator/author: Kevin Heppner
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG Articles & Papers)
1996-04-08
Date of entry/update: 2009-11-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "This report documents the situation for villagers in Toungoo District, both in areas under SPDC control and in areas contested by the KNLA and home to villagers actively evading SDPC control. For villagers in the former, movement restrictions, forced labour and demands for material support continue unabated, and continue to undermine their attempts to address basic needs. Villagers in hiding, meanwhile, report that the threat of Burma Army patrols, though slightly reduced, remains sufficient to disrupt farming and undermine food security. This report includes incidents occurring from January to August 2009..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group Field Reports (KHRG #2009-F16)
2009-09-28
Date of entry/update: 2009-10-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 473.59 KB
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Description: Conclusion: "Most relevant reports and surveys I have been able to access state essentially that people from all parts of Burma leave home either in obedience to a direct relocation order from the military or civil authorities or as a result of a process whereby coercive measures imposed by the authorities play a major role in forcing down household incomes to the point where the family cannot survive. At this point, leaving home may seem to be the only option. These factors, which include direct forced relocation, forced labour, extortion and land confiscation, operate in, are affected by and exacerbate a situation of widespread poverty, rising inflation and declining real incomes. In other words, people leave home due to a combination of coercive and economic factors. One has to consider the whole process leading to displacement rather than a single, immediate cause. Where coercive measures, as described in this article, are involved, the resulting population movement falls under the Guiding Principles even if the situation that actually triggers movement, frequently food insecurity, may also be described in economic terms."
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Andrew Bosson
2008-03-17
Date of entry/update: 2008-03-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 45.63 KB
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Description: These mixed pieces from various parts of Burma, including Mon areas, show that coercive measures and other problems which may lead to displacement are ongoing. Reporting by the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM).
Source/publisher: DVB, HURFOM
2007-12-30
Date of entry/update: 2008-01-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 201.91 KB
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Description: This report is a preliminary exploration of forced migration/internal displacement in Burma/Myanmar in two main areas. The first is the status in terms of international standards, specifically those embodied in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, of the people who leave home not because of conflict or relocation orders, but as a result of a range of coercive measures which drive down incomes to the point that the household economy collapses and people have no choice but to leave home. Some analysts describe this form of population movement as "economic migration" since it has an economic dimension. The present report, however, looks at the coercive nature of the pressures which contribute to the collapse of the household economy and argues that their compulsory and irresistible nature brings this kind of population movement squarely into the field of forced migration, even though the immediate cause of leaving home may also be described in economic terms... The second area is geographic. The report looks at those parts of Burma not covered by the IDP Surveys of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, which concentrate on the conflict and post-conflict areas of Eastern Burma. It hardly touches on conflict-induced displacement since most parts of Burma covered in these pages, including the major cities, are government-controlled, and there is little overt military conflict in these States and Divisions. Within these parts of the country, the report looks at the coercive measures referred to above. It also carries reports of direct relocation by government agents through which whole rural and urban communities are removed from their homes and either ordered to go to specific places, or else left to their own devices. The report annexes contain more than 500 pages of documentation on forced displacement and causes of displacement in Arakan, Chin, Kachin and Eastern and Northern Shan States as well as Irrawaddy, Magwe, Mandalay, West Pegu, Rangoon and Sagaing Divisions. It also has a section on displacement within urban and peri-urban areas.
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)
2007-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2007-05-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 716.88 KB
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Description: This questionnaire was put to 560 refugees and migrant workers from Burma in neighbouring countries, in Novemeber-December 2006. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas".
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2006-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
Format : pdf
Size: 178.81 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in Arakan State. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas"
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 463.09 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in Chin State. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas"
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 305.04 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in Irrawaddy Division. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas".
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 182.51 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in Kachin State. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas".
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 177.24 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in Magwe Division. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas".
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 155.31 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in Sagaing Division. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas".
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 213.25 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in Northern and Eastern Shan State. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas".
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 286.72 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in urban and peri-urban areas of Burma. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas".
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 825.62 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in Mandalay Division. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas".
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 169.86 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in Pegu Division (West). This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas".
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 98.1 KB
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Description: A collection of documents on forced relocation/eviction and other coercive measures in Rangoon Division. This is an annex to the IDMC report, "Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma - with an emphasis on government-controlled areas".
Creator/author: Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
2007-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2007-04-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 600.98 KB
Local URL:
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