* 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 Report 3/97 (June, 1997)
Report One
SLORC Troops intruded into a Mon Refugee Camp,
Halockhani
Report Two
The Dry Season Offensives and Population Displacement
Some Acronyms
SLORC - State Law and Order Restoration Council,
NMSP - New Mon State Party,
MNLA - Mon National Liberation Army,
KNU - Karen National Union,
KNLA - Karen National Liberation Army,
IB - Regular Infantry Battalion of SLORC,
LIB - Light Infantry Battalion of SLORC,
UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees
Report One
SLORC troops Intruded into a Mon refugee camp,
Halockhani
The SLORC's Intrusion into the camp
On
These troops came to the
border camp according to the order instructed from South-eastern Military
Command to check the borderline with the Thai authorities. On 11 May, the two
countries' authorities checked the borderline and no agreement on the exact
borderline was reached. But the SLORC troops
continuously stayed in the camp.
Soon after they reached into
the camp, the soldiers asked several kinds of materials for their commander
from the section leaders including sleeping bed and chicken for daily meals.
When one section leader could
not find a good sleeping bed he was shout by the
commander. The refugees were also asked to provide vegetables and other foods
to all soldiers who stayed in their houses.
Like other border point, soon
after they reached in the camp, the soldiers opened two check-points to collect
tax from the villagers and traders. The first checkpoint was at the entrance of
the camp and the second was in the middle of the camp. The soldiers collected
50 Baht per head from the villagers who passed their checkpoints whether they
were refugees or traders. This was the way they restricted the movement of the
refugees.
The troops also took bases on
the top of the mountains surrounding the camp and the tension between the Mon
National Liberation Army (MNLA) and SLORC troops
intensed every day. The NMSP and MNLA leaders came and met the SLORC commander
every day and told them to withdraw their troops as soon as possible. The Mon
troops also took bases and a good position to fight, at the top of other
mountains. The refugees were lied between the two
troops.
After they checked for the
borderline, the SLORC troops must have to return to their origin base in Three
Pagoda Pass. But they declared to the Mon troops that they had another
responsibility to attack the KNU/KNLA troops near the area, besides the duty to
check the borderline. If the fighting happened in the area between the SLORC
troops and other armed opposition groups MNLA or KNLA, considerably, many
refugees who were blocked inside the camp, must be
killed.
Then, the troops really
planned to build the military barracks inside the camp and on the top of the
mountains. The soldiers also ordered the respective section leaders to provide
bamboo and thatches from each house for the barrack. The section leaders
informed about the SLORC troops' instruction to the NMSP leaders. NMSP refused
to provide these materials and barred the section leaders not to follow the
instruction.
During their stay in the
camp, the SLORC soldiers also made lots of trouble to the relief workers who
worked in the hospitals and camp's relief office. They also asked the MNRC's
camp leader to provide them rice for troops because they faced shortage of food
for the military operation. The soldiers also went to hospital and asked
several kinds of medicines from the health workers.
Background of Halockhani camp
Halockhani camp was
established in the beginning of 1994 by Mon National Relief Committee (MNRC),
to resettle the Mon refugees who were forcibly repatriated by the Thai
authorities in duration from January through March of 1994. Before this
settlement, Halockhani camp was a small village where the ethnic Mon and Karen
were staying together.
At the beginning of 1994, the
Thai authorities had constantly pressured the NMSP to enter into ceasefire
talks with SLORC. In pressing the NMSP, the Mon refugees deep inside Thai
territory, in Loh Loe camp, were used as pawns. These refugees had been taking
refuge inside Thai territory since the fall of Three Pagoda Pass area where was
controlled by NMSP and the Mon villagers were taken refuge there as internally
displaced persons. In the course of the approximately five-decade-long civil
war in Burma, many thousands of Mon villagers lost their homes and escaped into
NMSP controlled area for a safe haven.
When the Thai authorities
conducted the forced repatriation of the refugees, the MNRC, a relief
organization representing Mon refugees, complained not to move these refugees
as the situation inside Burmese territory was unsafe enough to repatriate them.
But the Thai authorities cut foods for the refugees and pressed them to move
from the Loh Loe campsite to Halockhani. Later the refugees abandoned the camp
and agreed to move to Halockhani camp.
Geographically, the
Halockhani refugee camp site situates on a very narrow area between the two
lines of the hills. The camp area is very narrow and the most refugees built
their on the slope side of the hills. When they initially resettled in this
camp, the situation was very unsafe because the camp was five or six hours
walk from the SLORC bases in Three-Pagoda-Pass. The camp was very vulnerable
from the attack of the SLORC troops.
After three months
resettlement, in July, the camp was attacked by the SLORC troops from the LIB
No. 62 from Three-Pagoda-Pass. About 100 troops led by second-in-command of the
battalion Major. Ohn Myint came to the camp and one section of the camp, Baleh
Donephai, was totally burnt down by the soldiers. As result, about 5000
refugees of the entire refugee camp fled across the border into the Thai
territory for their safety.
On behalf of the Mon refugees
who fled into Thailand, the MNRC officially requested the Thai government to
resettle them inside Thai territory for their safety until the Burma retained
peace. The international community including UNHCR in Bangkok and western
governments requested the Thai government to resettle these refugees inside
Thai territory. The refugees, however, were consistently refused by Thai
authorities to take refuge on the Thai soil. Their rice-warehouse was
confiscated by the Thai soldiers and food supplies were cut for some days and
then, they decided to move to former campsite. Eventually, the 5000 refugees
were forced to return to their unsafe camp site over the Burmese border after
one and half month in temporary shelters of the Thai territory. Until
NMSP-SLORC ceasefire agreement, the all refugees had been again living in this
camp in constant fear of possible further attacks by the SLORC troops.
After reaching of the
official NMSP-SLORC ceasefire agreement, the camp situation became more safe. The refugees, however, did not return to their
native villages because they were well-informed about the human rights
situation in their area and they have been up to now adhering in this camp.
Although the ceasefire have been stable, the
activities of the SLORC troops in surrounding areas also made regular threat to
the refugees. In addition, they have worried for the SLORC troop settlement in
the area or in the camp and the SLORC troops actually took base for five days
in the camp.
In conclusion, the NMSP-SLORC
ceasefire agreement is not a political solution to retain peace in the whole
Burma and Holockhani camp, as a part of Burma in border area, will remain
unsafe for the Mon refugees. Additionally, when these refugees were
repatriated, they were not recognized according to international principles of
refugee convention, and they have been, thus, received less protection from the
international community.
Interview
To realize the situation how
the refugees felt while the SLORC troops took base for five days in Halockhani
camp, our human rights workers, conducted a interview
with a refugee in the camp.
Name: Nai Nyein
Age/ Sex: 47 years/ Male
Nationality/ Religion: Mon/ Buddhist
Occupation: Refugee
Native Place: Kwe-tho-nyima village, Yebyu township, Tenasserim Division
Current Place: Halockhani camp, Thai-Burma border
Dated:
When did you arrive to this refugee camp? And Why?
I arrived here about two
years ago. My native village is Kye-tho-nyima village. I came here because I
escaped from the conscription of forced labour. When I was in village (in 1994
and 1995), we, the villagers were always asked the military through village
headmen to work in the Ye-Tavoy construction. I had no time to work in my rice
farm and faced food-shortage problem. Once, I was absent to go and work in the
construction and I was severely beaten by the Burmese soldiers from LIB No.
408, and then I decide to leave my home and village. I came here with my whole
family.
When the Burmese troops came into this village
(Halockhani camp), did you stay in your house and how did you feel?
I was very afraid like other
villagers. I went to Baleh Donephai and carried sugar cane to sell it and when
I arrived home about 5-6 o'clock in the evening, the Burmese soldiers were in
the village. Two young soldiers, about 14 years old, were staying in my house
and my wife and children were quiet. It was hard to decide should I climb to
house and turned to the section leader house. One commander was in his house
and I stood on the road, then he came to me and said not to be afraid and stay
in home. I went back home.
When I dropped sugar-cane in
front of my house, one soldiers came and asked to give
sugar-cane. The other soldiers came and took sugar-canes without payment. I was
very afraid and did not tell anything to them. Every day during their stay,
they always asked for vegetables and meats from us. Every family in the village
were in fear of the fighting happened in their
village, because the Mon troops also took base at the top of a mountain not so
far from the Burmese soldiers. We told each other to flee into Thailand. But it
was too difficult. Many Thai soldiers took base at the entrance of Thai
territory and we had no ID card to go into Thailand. We thought if the fighting
happened, we must be killed.
How did they treat the villagers?
The soldiers went around
every house and checked the population of the camp. They searched around the
houses for arms. They also asked the villagers to tell them the native
villagers and why we fled to this village. We lied
them we came here to get good jobs and more income.
The soldiers also went to the
hospital and made troubles to the female medics. They asked medicines from the
hospital and ordered the medics to take care their commanders. They also asked
the section leaders to provide bamboo and thatches to build the military
barrack. I suddenly remember about the forced conscription of the villagers in
our village to build the military base. They did the same. On the next day, the
Mon commander came and told the villagers to not provide bamboo and thatches.
We were afraid of fighting the two troops.
How did they leave from the village?
After their stay for five
days, they left from the villagers. The Mon commander pushed them every day to
return Three-Pagoda-Pass. At the end, they agreed to return. But they said
about 20 porters from the village to carry their supplies and weapons. The
village and section agreed to provide them 20 porters to carry their materials
because we needed them to leave the village as quickly as possible. The 20
porters carried the materials to a place, Day Sot, on the half way to
Three-Pagoda-Pass.
Report Two
The Dry Season Offensives and Population Displacement
Gross
Human Rights Abuses and the Population Displacement
Since March, after the SLORC troops intensified the military offensives against
the KNU/ KNLA, more Karen villagers have fled to Halockhani refugee camp, which
is administered by the Mon National Relief Committee (MNRC) and the majority
refugees are Mon. The population of Karen refugees had suddenly grown from 500
to over 2000 in dry season (from March to the end of May). These new arrivals
have left from the villages along the Three-Pagoda-Pass -Thanbyuzayat motor
road and villages in Kya-Inn-Seikyi township.
After the intensive
offensives, the SLORC troops occupied many bases of the KNLA troops and the
Karen villagers in the area were accused as rebel-supporters and they were
inhumanely mistreated by the soldiers. These areas had been controlled by
KNU/KNLA for several years and this offensives is the
first one which KNU lost many bases in the area.
Many villages along the
Three-Pagoda-Pass - Thanbyuzayat motor road such as Maezalee, Taungzun, Apalon,
Kyunchaung, and other villages were occupied by the SLORC troops and the
soldiers have also restricted the movement of the villagers. They also forced
the villagers to show the KNU/KNLA bases in the areas nearby and let the
villagers advance in front of the troops in finding the rebels. In each
occupied village, the SLORC troops have planned to build the military
encampment to keep firm control in the whole area and prevent the new
deployment of the KNLA.
Soon after the villages were
occupied, the soldiers confiscated all foods inside the village by forces or
without payment. The soldiers shared a little amount of food to villagers and
then forced them all the time to contribute labour in building military
encampment. The villages were created as concentration camps and the soldiers
used all villagers to be forced labourers. Sometimes, they were used as front-line
porters.
One villager from Kyun Chaung
said,
"The troops closed
all entrances of our village and arrested all villagers including elder persons
and children. They forced the men to cut trees and bamboo to build the military
barrack in our village. They took all our food and kept in their base and
distributed few to villagers. All men had to work in building military barracks
and some were used as porters to carry the rice and ammunition for the
soldiers. One of our villagers, Ba Mu (54 years old) were
disappeared up to now after he was taken as porter in second week of
March."
In using them as front-line
porters, the villagers were forced to advance in front of the troops in the
battle fields as human shields. The porters were also killed by soldiers when
they could not walk more or after they were re-arrested from unsuccessful
escape attempts. Normally, these porters were not fed with adequate amount of
food and water by the soldiers.
In some case, the SLORC troops
also shelled rockets or shot with small guns into village where was believed
the KNU/KNLA used as their base, thus the innocent villagers died. Sometimes,
the fighting also happened inside village and the villagers died. Moreover, when they arrested for porters,
they also fired on escaped villagers in attempting stop them.
For instance,
On February 8, while the
SLORC troops from LIB No. 343 launched a military patrol along the Zami river,
entered a Karen and Mon village, Apalon, the fighting happened inside there and
the SLORC troops fired on two villagers. One girl, Naw Thit Shu (20 years) died
on the spot. The other Karen villager got a severe injury. One shop inside
village was burnt by fire.
These villagers were
originally farmers when they were in the native villages. When the SLORC offensives intensified in the
area, they also lost chance to start farming activities. All movements such as farming, gathering
forest products, trading, of the villagers were totally retracted by the SLORC
troops and if they met the villagers outside of village, they could shoot and
kill them as the area has been declared as Black area or Free-fire zone.
In this circumstance, the
villagers could not survive longer in the area and abandoned their villages,
farms, plantations, livestocks, and etc., and fled into refugee camp or
displaced internally. Very few of them migrated into Thailand as illegal
immigrants to seek jobs. Because of the new arrivals from the area, the
population in Halockhani camp suddenly increased in dry season of 1997 (from
March to June).
Interview
To realize the human rights
situation in villages along the Three-Pagoda-Pass-Thanbyuzayat motor road and
in Kya-Inn-Seikyi township area, our human rights workers also conducted an
interview a villager from these area as an instance.
Name: U Thar Htae
Sex/Age: Male/ 56 years
Nationality/ Religion: Karen/ Buddhist
Occupation: Farmer
Native Place: Kyun Chaung Village, Kya-Inn-Seikyi
township, Karen State
Interview date: 5 June, 1997.
When we conducted with this
victim, he and his whole family were displaced and stayed in a Mon village (Ywa
Thit) near Three-Pagoda-Pass in his friend house.
Why did you leave from your village and when?
I arrived here one month ago.
I cannot survive if we stayed in our village longer. The Burmese soldiers took
all our rice; and they didn't give us to feed our family. That was why I fled
here to escape from the mistreatment of Burmese soldiers and seek a job for
income.
Do you get job here, now?
Yes. Now, I am a worker in a furniture factory.
Can you explain me how the Burmese soldiers confiscated your rice and when?
It was at the beginning of
March. About 500 Burmese soldiers from the joint operation (especially from IB.
61, IB. 32, LIB. 343 and other Light Infantry Battalions and these
troops are under the command of SLORC Brigade No. 44) arrived to our area and
rounded our village up. The soldiers came in and called a meeting with all
villagers. Firstly, they asked how often the Karen troops came to village and
then explained that if we keep our paddy or rice in our village, the Karen
soldiers will take it. They instructed the villagers to carry all their rice in
the middle of the village and keep it in one place.
How did they (the soldiers) keep all paddy and rice
from the villagers? Did they distribute
to the villagers later?
They forced the villagers to
build the military camp and keep all these rice and paddy in their base inside
the village. The villagers have to build a big rice store and all villagers'
paddy was kept there. Yes, they distribute to the villagers. First, they
distribute one basket of paddy to each family for one week. It was not enough
to eat. When we asked them to give, the commander refused. After two weeks we
had to buy our rice from the soldiers. The commander said they will keep these paddy for their troops and if the villagers need they
have to buy it.
How much you have to pay for one basket of paddy?
About 80
Kyat per basket. Most villagers
had no cash to buy and we gathered cash and bought the rice, and then shared it
equally.
You said,
the soldiers also forced the villagers to build their military barrack? How did they conscript the villagers and
when it was?
Soon after they arrived to
our village, the soldiers planned to build the military camp. Recently, the
Burmese Army arrived to our village, they stayed only
few hour and never planned to build their base. This time, they changed their
plan. The conscripted all male villagers including boys to build the military barrack.
These villagers went to their base in the morning and returned home in the
evening. We had to work for the whole day except one hour rest for lunch.
What kind of works did you have to work?
Several
kinds of work. We dug earth to
make bunkers and trenches. We cleared the land and dug the earth for a plain
ground. We built the barrack and cut bamboo to make fence. The trees around the
base were cut down and used in building barracks and etc.,.
Did they use the villagers as front-line porters?
Yes. They brought many
porters together with them and these porters were arrested from other areas.
But they also used our villagers to show the base of the Karen troops. Once,
after two days they reached the villagers, they used about 20 our villagers including
me to show the Karen bases. They forced us to walk in advance and if the Karen
troops shot, we must be killed before them. But luckily, there was no fighting
or shooting from the Karen troops.
Did you hear about the killing of the porters when you
was there?
Yes. When we built the
military barrack, I also talked with a porter from Kya-Inn-Seikyi town. He was
a Karen. He said the two Karen villagers who were arrested as porters from
villages near Taungbauk (a village close to Kya-Inn-Seikyi town) they were
killed by the soldiers on a mountain before reaching to our village. These men
were sick and could not walk more. The soldiers were getting angry on these men
and beat them. Then they shot them and left behind.
Because of the forced labour and portering, did the
men flee from village?
No. You couldn't flee,
because your wife and children were in the village. They also made registration
of the villagers and told the head of family that if they fled from the
village, they will punish their wives and children. So nobody dared to flee
without their whole family. When I fled I brought all my family members. If I
left someone there, he/ she must be severely punished.
When will you return home?
It is depended on the
situation in the village. I will stay here for the whole rainy season and next
dry season, if there is no fighting, I will go back.