* To monitor human rights
situations in Mon territory and other areas southern part of Burma
* To protect and promote
internationally recognized human rights in Burma
human rights foundation of monland
Human Rights Publication
2/95 (May 7, 1995)
P. O. Box 11, Ratchburana, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
Human Rights Interviews on Forced Relocation of Ah Mae Village
Background of interviews
Since the SLORC had planned to construct the gas pipeline through
the Mon and Karen rebel active areas, the SLORC has routinely and
systematically tried to relocate local villages which were believed as the
bases of the rebels. This happened in March and April. Ah Mae village of Yebyu township in the Tenasserim village was a
village which was totally destroyed or relocated by SLORC during the second and
third weeks of April. About 130 families of the inhabitants of Ah Mae village
are Mon people and mostly they are local farmers.
Initially, since the beginning of dry season, when the SLORC
restarted the railway construction, that villagers had to pay for the
taxation and other kinds of taxation every month. As a common situation, while
the SLORC troops came into village, they always arrested some men to use as
porters and sometimes, continuously, they were transferred to the labour conscripts camp to be used as slave-labours of Ye-Tavoy
railway construction. Later when the small fighting occurred between the SLORC
and Mon troops, the village was accused as the military base of Mon troops.
After such allegation, the SLORC had legal rights to confiscate all belongings
of local villagers and destroy the village. Starting in March and April the
SLORC local troops of Light Infantry Battalion No. 408 and 410 ordered the
villagers to move their houses from the Ah Mae village and relocate in other
village named Kyaethonenyima where SLORC have a base. The villagers refused for
the new relocation. The troops came into the village oftenly and punished the
villagers with many kinds of human rights abuses by taking the belongings,
confiscating rice, arresting villagers for portering, torturing the villagers
accused them as rebels and etc.,.
Thus, the villagers had to flee from their village and displaced
in the forest nearby or farm-lands. They faced shortage of food and other
sufferings. At the same time, all their belongings and rice in the village were
regularly taken by SLORC soldiers. In this moment, some are still hiding in the
forest, while some fleeing to the border refugee camps. At the end, the village
became with empty of villagers. According to the villagers who escaped to the
refugee camp, the Ah Mae was pleasant village with nice surroundings and many
kinds of trees growing in the village. For that good
surroundings, the villagers did not to abandon their village. It will be not so
sure, they can return back and stay again in coming
rainy season.
On April 16, about 10 families of Ah Mae village had arrived to
Payaw Mon refugee camp and sought refuge for their safety and survival. Another
about 15 families arrived again at the end of April. To collect the information
on the forced relocation of Ah Mae village, the human rights workers from the
Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) met some escapees from the Ah Mae
villagers in Payaw refugee camp. The following interviews were come out from
those victims who were ever mistreated by SLORC troops.
Interview 1
Name: Nai Ah Krai
Sex/ Age: Male/ 25 years
Nationality/ Religion: Mon/
Buddhist
Occupation: Farmer
Native Place: Ah Mae
village, Yebyu Township
Date of Interview: 24 April,
1995
I just arrived to this camp on April 10 before the new year festival (water festival of Mon traditional new
year). I and my family walked to this camp for four days from Ah Mae village. I
have no longer tolerance of the mistreatment of the SLORC soldiers and decided
to come here. I think the whole of our village was totally destroyed in this
time.
In recent March of this year, the Burmese troops
oftenly entered to our village for several times with reasons to arrest villagers
for portering and sometimes they tried to arrest some certain villager by
accusing the supporters of the Mon rebels. One day in the second week of March,
I was arrested at the entrance of the Ah Mae village by the SLORC's soldiers
when I returned back from farmland east of the village in the afternoon time. I
think the troops was from LIB (Light Infantry
Battalion) No. 408 and led by one unknown commander together with his 80 men
with arms. As soon as they arrested me, they tied me up with a rope. Other 20
of men, women and children were also prevented by them not to move into the
village as they worried the villagers would flee after they heard about the
Burmese soldiers came into their village.
When I was tied up, they asked me how many acres of my farm and
how many baskets of rice can I produce for one acres.
Continuously, they asked me the amount of rice to offer the Mon troops for each
family and how oftenly the Mon troops came into our village. I gave them some
suitable answers which mostly true about the Mon troops and normal production
of rice in my farm. I did not lie them as I was afraid them beating me. Again,
they asked me who were supporters of Mon rebels in Ah Mae and
Chabone village. It is hard questions for me to answer. I told them I
did not know. They angried to me and beated me with their gun butts. And they
asked the same questions to other men who were arrested and tied up like me. If
they dissatisfied for the answers of those men, they also beated them with gun
butts. I think they mostly did not satisfy to three of us among the six men
they asked the questions and they accused us we knew about the Mon rebels very
well and we refused to tell them.
About 5 o'clock in the evening, after they got information that
there were no Mon troops in the village and they entered into the village. The
whole village including men, women and children, after they knew the Burmese
troops came, they fled from the village. It was seem the Burmese troops were
very angry and they shot several time to the sky and if they met the men they
shot directly to those men. After they arrived the
village, they released other three men and all women and they detained three of
us in one big house for one night. At that night, the soldiers climbed on every
houses and took the belongings of the villagers.
In the next day morning, three of us were conscripted as porters
to carry the ammunition along the troops. I carried six shells of 60 mm mortar
which was very heavy for me as I was weak at that time. They told us we needed to
carry the ammunitions to the Mae Than Taung village.
On the way and first day of the trip we went to the Mae Than
Taung village, one of our villagers escaped and the soldiers were very angry
and beated two of us again. And they also warned to us that if they arrested
the escapee,
they will kill in future. We arrived in
half way to Krone Zop village, we slept one night.
The next day we continued the trip again. When we arrived at Krone
Zop village, we slept one night again and I got diarrhea. I could not sleep the
whole night and I became weaker and weaker. In the morning, I told to one
commander that I got diarrhea and to allow me to return home. But he said I
lied him, and he beated me with the his gun-butt and
warned me not to escape. In the morning when we left from Krone Zop village, I
told the soldiers that I was very weak and to reduce the weight I carried. But they refused and I terribly carried those totally 40 kilograms
on the way under the high temperature of hot sunshine.
In the mid-day, when we took a rest on the way, one of our
villagers escaped again. The soldiers were very angry to me and beated me
several times with their boots and gun-butts because the man came from the same
village of me. They told me if they met those escapees in the village, they
will kill and again, threatened me not to escape. They also kept my watch to
prevent me to escape like other villagers. I thought I was nearly died after I
walked together with them for three days as I got diarrhea. Sometime, even I
wanted to take a rest, they did not allow me.
When they arrived at Mae Than Taung
village, they stayed there for three days. In the whole time in there, they
interrogated me to discover if our abbot in the village was as a supporter of
Mon rebels who provided all needs. I told them I did not know was he a
supporter of Mon rebels or not. Actually, in my village there were many village
headmen who arrested and detained by SLORC soldiers in previous time and later,
nobody dare to be a village headman. Even some village headmen who were
selected by them, they ever arrested, beated and detained them for many day if
they were abcent to provide for their troops. For two years ago, the abbot and
village elders arranged for administration of the village, and the soldiers did
not satisfy to the monk as they could not do anything as they liked. They had
no way to reject the leadership of the abbot and tried to accuse him as a
supporter of the rebels. After I totally refused our abbot was a supporter of
Mon rebels, they beated me and forced me to admit. But I did not.
After we slept for three night in Mae
Than Taung, we left from there and went to the Knot Krone village again. I was
too tire. It needs for half day to walk from Mae Than Taung and Knot Krone. When we arrived Knot Krone, my
diarrhea getting very serious and I got sick because of weak. The whole my body
was hot and I could not eat anything. And, I asked for some medicine and
treatment from medic of the troops. He gave only half tablet of paracetamol. My
health condition getting more serious and I approached to their commander and
asked him to release me or kill me as I had no enough strength to carry the
ammunition. The commander told to the medic to check my health condition. The medic
checked me and informed to the commander that I did not lie
him and I had diarrhea. I thought at that time, I was nearly die.
The commander told me to sleep one night in Knot Krone and made sure how much I
suffered from diarrhea. On the next day, the commander knew I had serious
diarrhea and allowed me to return home. I asked the commander to tell his man
who took my watch to return it. He returned me. But, when I went out from the
village, the soldier in the entrance of the village who took for the security
forcedly took all my belonging except clothes on my body. As
I wanted to arrive home quickly and I did not inform the commander about the
soldier taking all my belonging. In the night I slept in one farm hut
and the farmer treated me with herbal medicine for my diarrhea. I arrived at
home on the next day.
After that, as the Burmese troops came
into village oftenly and we were not dare to stay in the village. So, my family and me
fled into the forest near the farmland to escape for the Burmese troops. As I
was a labourer of farming, I had not enough rice for my family to survive and I
took a little food with me. I kept some rice like secretly at the behind of my
house. Nobody was dare enough to stay in the village, as they afraid the
arrests of Burmese troops to use as labours in the railway construction and
porters like me. Actually, at the beginning of March, the SLORC troops had
already issued an order to move to the
Kyaethonenyima village, if the villagers refused they might be
considered as supporters of rebels or rebels, and the soldiers can shoot the
man anywhere who fleeing when they came to the village. While we were staying
in the forest, we had to eat rice soup as we had no enough rice for staying two
weeks. When we had no rice, we catched some fishes for meals. One time I went
to the Wae Dunprin farmland areas and I got very small amount of rice from one farmers, who also hid in the farmland to escape from the
Burmese troops like us.
After the whole my family displaced for two weeks I returned to my
home when I heard the Burmese went out from our village. As soon as I arrived
at home, I knew that all belongings from my house had been taken by Burmese
soldiers. My rice at
behind of my house also confiscated by the soldiers. They
left only about three baskets from totally rice I kept about 30
baskets. I brought all my rice and I
sold it in Chabone village and I decided to flee to refugee camp at the border.
Interview 2
Name: Nai Lon Tin
Sex/ Age: Male / 40 years
Nationality/ Religion: Mon / Buddhist
Occupation: Farmer
Native Place: Ah Mae village, Yebyu Township
Date of Interview: 24 April, 1995
In the second week of February, I was conscripted as forced labour
in the Ye-Tavoy railway construction after I was arrested in my village, Ah
Mae. One day, about 100 Burmese troops of LIB No. 404 came
into our village and arrested all men who unable to escape from them. At
that time, I was recovered from sickness and unable to escape while other men
were fleeing to escape as common when the Burmese troops came into the village.
They arrested seven men in our village including me. Initially, after they arrested,
we were used as porters to carry food rations of the soldiers, ammunitions and
other materials which they took from other villages they had entered. They
forced me to carry five shells of 60 mm mortar. We had to carry those shells
for five days to Kyaethalin military camp. After we arrived Kyaetalin, although
we were very tire and weak they detained us in the camp for one night. On the
next day, they transferred us to Kaetalin labour conscript center where many
other prisoners from several jails of Burma had been used as labours. But we
were as a separate labour group which all of us were arrested in the villages
around the railway construction area. We had no chance to talk with prisoners
and we were put in one place separately with prisoners. In our separate hut,
most of the labours were arrested as porters by the troops in the village and
sent to this labour camp to work. As we knew by the soldiers we, the villagers
were punished as our villages refused to offer the labours for them. Like in
our village, no village headmen and impossible to send the labours and so, they
arrested us to use as labour.
The work time is the whole day, which started 6: 00 a. m in the
morning and stopped 6: 00 p. m in the evening. They gave us for one hour break
to take launch in the mid-day. As we were porters who became as conscripted
labours, we were provided with very small amount of low quality of rice from
the soldiers for two meals each day without any curry. We took our meals only
with salt and fish-paste everyday.
In the worksite, we had to dig the earth for the surface of
embankment of the rail route and sometime, to dig out the earth from the hill
for balancing the equal height of the surface of embankment. Some labours were
sick and laid down on the worksite, and we had witnessed the soldiers beated
them with boots and gun-butts. The soldiers never gave any medicines and
treatments to the labour who were sick. As we had
experienced such atrocity when we were as porters, I maintained my health conditions
to not suffer from any sickness. After two weeks terribly conscripted as a
labour, I was released.
After I returned back from the railway construction, the Burmese
troops had already issued an order to move the villagers and to relocate in the
Kaethonenyima village. All families in the village,
did not want to move from their village by abandoning their houses and surroundings,
farmlands and other plantation which situated close to the village. Anyhow, if
they stayed in the village, they must accuse as supporters of Mon rebels and
they soldiers must shoot anywhere in the village. The villagers had no way for
choice and most of them including my family impossible to stay longer in the
village.
One day after one week I arrived back home, when we were not ready
to flee into the forest, one company of Burmese troops from LIB No. 410 came
into our village and we immediately fled away from the village including my
wife, my sons and daughters. We fled to the Kow Done
farmland area where my farmland was there. We stayed in that area nearly for
three weeks. During we were staying there, sometime, my youngest son went back
to the village, and he said the soldiers took all belongings from our home and
the troops were still staying in the village or oftenly came into village. I
had to borrow for rice and cash from other villages for the survival of my
family. After two weeks we were in farmland, I had a chance to return back to
the village and to have a look to my house because I got informations the
Burmese troops had already left from the village. About 40 baskets of my rice was taken by troops and they crushed many baskets of rice
from our village in two small rice-mills of the village. It left only 10 baskets
of rice in my house. So, I brought all those rice to Kyaethonenyima village and
sold it with cheap price as I decided to escape to the refugee camp. I pay for
the debts which I borrowed some cash when we were in the farmland. I did not
want to stay longer in the village as the Burmese troops always threatened to
us and again, I did not want to stay in the Kyaethonenyima village because I
had no cash to buy some land and to build new house.
We, a crowd of altogether five families, left from the village on
April 8, it took for 5 days on the way to arrive here. It was very hard
experiences to arrive here by avoiding the dangers of the Burmese troops on the
way. When we came here, we heard some SLORC troops' activities after two days
we reached near the Kyaetalin village. In Kyaetalin village the SLORC have
military outpost on the top of the hill and we needed to cross the
under-construction railway and motorway in night time. One night we failed to
cross the railway, as we got informations the Burmese troops went out of their
outpost to take night time patrol. We were too afraid and the night was also
cold. One of babies cried at night as he was sick by cool and the mother had to
close her baby's mouth to be quiet. And at that night we slept in a place very
close to the railway, then about 3:00 a.m., we crossed the railway.
We have ever heard about this camp from traders of our village who
regularly arrive the border area. They told us when we were in the village,
there were many Mons were assisted with rice who were
unable to stay longer in their village for many reasons.
Interview 3
Name: Nai Aye
Sex/ Age: Male / 56 years
Nationality/ Religion: Mon/ Buddhist
Occupation: Farmer
Native Place: Ah Mae village, Yebyu Township
Date of Interview: 24 April, 1995
Since last year, we have fled from the Burmese troops many times
and had no chances to stay in the village longer because of the many kinds of
suppression by them. The whole dry season last year, I stayed in my farmland
which far about 5 kilometers east of the village, and not dare enough to stay
in the village. The Burmese troops conscripted the villagers to be porters or
labours for the railway construction. Even though I was an elder man, I knew
they did not forgive me in conscription of such porters or labours. Under the
hard conditions of shortage of pure water, no enough food in the farmland, at
the beginning of last year, I was seriously sick. My daughter brought me to
Kyaukthaung village and treated me the whole rainy season. Instead of me, my
son had worked in the farmland the whole rainy season.
In the third week of January, after I recovered from the sickness
I returned to my home in Ah Mae again. At the time I arrived to my house, the
Burmese troops oftenly came into our village and
sometime they came to me and suggested to relocate our village and to tell them
the place where the Mon troops took bases as I was elder man among the
villagers. I thought in anytime they can make problems to me if they
dissatisfied for answers. Thus it was unsafe for me to stay in the village and
I would like to stay in my farmland again although my health condition was
sometime seriously occurred. At that time, my son had already fled from the
village and stayed in Kyaethonenyima village for day labourers or sometime as
a fisherman to get some small income and he did not dare to return the village.
In the first week of February, I decided to stay in my farmland again. My
daughter disagreed on me to stay in farmland and prevented me. But I had no way
to choose beside to stay there.
But I was unlucky. On March 30, about 10: 00 a. m about 100
soldiers of LIB No. 408 came close to my farm-hut and I had no ability to
escape and I also considered they would not arrest me as I was old. If I fled,
I worried they would shoot me. There were also thirty porters with them and
they arrested some women from the farms nearby. I though they arrested the
women because they wanted to prevent the flow of information about their troops
if the women returned to village. When they arrived very closely to my hut,
they suddenly surrounded my hut and arrested me. They investigated me with many
questions about the Mon troops. They asked me did I see any Mon troop yesterday
or today and how many of them. I admitted them for true that I met some ten Mon
troops three days ago and I did not meet them yesterday. After they stayed in
my hut about ten minutes and when they left, they told me to show the ways for
their troops as they never came before in this area. I did not know their
destination for sure. Even I have known the ways in this area well, I did not
want to go with them as I was weak because of my age. Therefore, I told them to
forgive me to not conscript me for portering or to show the ways. The
commanders refused. I was put at the front of the troops and so, I was too frighten from the attack of Mon troops.
After we walked for three hours from my farmland, when we
approached to one hill, the Mon troops ambushed to Burmese troops. I quickly laid down on the ground as soon as I heard the sound of the
bullets from machine guns. The women with the troops loudly cried and it was
noisy in the whole incident. Most of the bullets came from the Mon troops who
were on the hill and the Burmese troops had no enough chance to attack back the
Mon troops. The fighting lasted about 15 minutes and the Mon troops retreated
away. The four Burmese soldiers got serious injuries and three died.
As soon as the fighting came to an end, the commander called and
told me "you said there was no Mon troop around here, why did they shoot
us", and he angried too much to me. And, he continued "are they Mon
troops or Ah Mae villagers who attacked us", as I knew well about the
attack, which was ambushed by Mon troops and I told "they are not Ah Mae
villagers and I am sure they are Mon troops". But he did not believe on my
any word. It was seemed that the commander wanted to accuse the attack was
arranged by Ah Mae villagers who were encouraged by Mon troops. After I
consistently refused for that accusation and he was very angry to me and gave
order to one of his sergeants to beat me. The sergeant severely beated by fists
in my stomach several times and told me to admit for the attack of the Ah Mae
villagers. I got a lot of terrible painfulness. Many soldiers around me also
beated in several parts of my body and the sergeant told me again and again to
agree and admit for their accusation. They beated me
for five minutes and I could not tolerate for further torture and I admitted
like their accusation by telling "yes, the Ah Mae villagers attacked
you". After I admitted like that, they stopped beating me. They treated
the wounded soldiers for one hour and they left again. In that time, I was not
only to direct the ways at the front of their troops and also I became as a
real porter by carrying two heavy wet military bags of dead soldiers. On the way, because of the heavy bags, while my walk was slow down,
the soldier behind me beated me with his gun-butt severely. I tried hard
to walk as fast as possible. But impossible to walk fast and slow down again
and he beated me again and again. I thought at that time, it was better for me
if I was died in the previous fighting.
After we walked for one hour, we arrived close to betel nut
plantation area and they stopped advancing. They ordered me and two brave
soldiers to enter to the plantation to check for the Mon troops waiting to
ambush in there or not. After we entered about 10 minutes in plantation,
retreated back and informed the commander that the plantation area is safe.
Thus, all troops entered to plantation area about 20 minutes and took a rest in
one hut. As soon as I put down two heavy bags, one sergeant came close to me
and suddenly beated me with his military boot and also
other two soldiers came to beat me by accompanying with sergeant. I knew they
were very angry to me as they though I showed the way where the Mon took
convenient position to attack them and they were dissatisfy on me for their
friends died in fighting. Although the soldiers severely beated me, the
commander did not stop them. After they satisfied beating me, they treated
their wounded friends for half hour and continued the trip again.
Like previous time, I was at the front of troops and carried two
heavy bags again. After we walked for half hour, when we crossed the small
river, the Mon troops ambushed again. As soon as I heard the sound of machine guns,
I laid down on ground beside the road. In this time when the
commander gave order to his troops to advance quickly, and I put down two bags
and I fled to behind the troops. As the soldiers were hurry in advancing
to attack the Mon troops, they had no time to watch me when I escaped. After I
arrived behind the troops I quickly ran away to reach far from the troops. I ran
to my farmland without stopping in anywhere as I worried the Burmese troops retreated
back again. When I arrived closely to my farmland, I had to cross the big
river. The water level in the river had already increased as the tide is rising
because the river is close the sea. But I swam about 200 meter width of the
river.
After I was not dare to stay in my
village longer or in the farmland and I hid in the forest. I was very afraid
the further arrest of the Burmese troops, as they oftenly came into our village
and sometimes they crossed very closely to my farmland. Like other villagers,
some of my rice in the village was confiscated by Burmese troops and later, my
family members also joined me to stay in the forest. I decided to escape from
my village and sold the left rice to get some small money. I left from my
village on April 12 and decided abandon my farmland.
As the latest information we got, also the abbot left the village
and after that, all villagers abandoned the village and I think, at presence,
the whole village was empty and totally destroyed.
Interview 4
Name: Nai Ah Toee
Sex/ Age: Male/ 28 years
Nationality/ Religion: Mon/
Buddhist
Occupation: Farmer
Native Place: Ah Mae
village, Yebyu Township
Date of Interview: 24 April,
1995
On the full moon day of Mike (February 14), when a group of our
friends happily making the cake and other foods for religious ceremony on the
next day, about 80 soldiers of Burmese troops from LIB No. 410 came into
village. As we considered the Burmese troops will allow us to make cake and
foods for monks as we knew most of soldiers were Buddhism. But, as soon as the
troops arrived in the village, they suddenly surrounded a group of us and
arrested. While some of my friends knew they arrested, they tried to escape. Some were
escaped and seven of us were arrested. "The soldiers tied up with ropes
and detained us in one house. They beated all of us and asked for what reasons
we made the cake and foods. We told them, in tomorrow we would like to
celebrate a religious ceremony in the monastery. But they did not believe us
and accused us we had to celebrate Mon National Day (also on February 15) by
encouragement of Mon rebels. But we refused.
The soldiers ate all foods and cakes which were aimed to
contribute to the monks in tomorrow ceremony. Even though we were too angry,
no one dare to make any argument to them. On that night they went around the
village and they took all belongings of the villagers including rice, clothes,
and even things used in the kitchen. After they finished taking foods and
belongings from every houses, they slept one night in the village.
In the morning of February 15, we were used as porters to carry
the ammunitions and rice, clothes and other materials which confiscated from
our village. They continued the trip to Chabone village. When we arrived at
Chabone village, they detained us again. And they informed to our village, if
our family members wanted to release us, they must pay 5000 kyat of ransom for
each. They offered for three days deadline, and if our family members unable to
pay ransom, they would use us as labour in the railway construction. They told
to Chabone Villagers to quickly inform the families concerned of our village.
On February 16, they brought us to the Ahbure village and detained
us at that village again. When they arrived there they sold some materials
which they confiscated from our village and Chabone village. On both days, they
gave us only one meal food with very few amount of rice without any curry while
they were cooking chicken curry, caught the chickens
from our village and Chabone village. And they also threatened us as we were
supporters of the Mon rebels by making foods and cakes for the troops on February
14. And they told us if our family cannot pay for ransoms, they must use us as
labours in the railway construction. On February 17, as the troops did not get
any informations from our village, they severely
heated all of us and to write a letter to homes. One of my friend
wrote a letter to the village and they allow one man of Ahbure village to send
the letter.
After the families of us heard such information threatening,
otherwise, to conscript us as forced labours, they tried to get some cash. To
pay such ransoms to Burmese troops, they has sold some
belongings and rice quickly. Some family had to sell some parts of their
farmlands while some borrowed the cash
from suitable people in other villages. My family sold rice with cheap
price as we needed to get cash quickly. The villagers also asked the commander
of the troops to delay some more days, as the families surely pay for ransoms.
I did not know why the troops urgently needed for the cash and they agreed to
delay one more day.
As the troops wanted only for some cash, they delayed one more day
in Ahbure village and on February 19, my mother and other women arrived at the
place they detained me and paid the money they brought. And they released us.