************************** BurmaNet ************************** "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ************************************************************** The BurmaNet News: February 1, 1995 Issue #103 Special Issue: Karen Refugee Crisis ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QUOTE OF THE DAY: [They] "will be pushed back without having to wait for fighting to cease...My understanding is that it is a military, not a political, matter. If it was a political matter we would give them protection...but I want to stress that we will certainly push them back, we cannot let them stay here for years." Sanan Kachornprasart, Thailand's Interior Minister Contents: *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** 1 BURMANET: FEW CASUALTIES IN MANERPLAW FIGHT, KNU REGROUPING FOR GUERRILLA WARFARE 2 KNLA: THE BATTLE SITUATION 3 NATION: FLEEING KAREN REFUGEES TO BE SENT BACK WITHOUT WAITING FOR A LULL IN FIGHTING 4 BURMANET: SITUATION NOTES ON THE THAI-BURMA BORDER 5 KNU: FORCED RELOCATION OF ZAW HE VILLAGE, MURDER OF HEADMAN 6 VOA: SITUATION IN BURMA 7 AP: BURMESE EXPAND OFFENSIVE 8 BURMANET: THAI POLICE HAND REFUGEES TO SLORC AT MYAWADDY, USE AS PORTERS FEARED 9 REG.BURMA: KAREN REFUGEES 10 KHRG: SLORC SHOOTINGS & ARRESTS OF REFUGEES 11 VOA: U.S. CALLS ON BURMA TO END ATTACKS ON KAREN ************************************************************** The BurmaNet News is an ********************************* electronic newspaper * * covering Burma. 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For a * vernedbytheru * free subscription to * leoflaw...Iam * the BurmaNet News, send * n ota frai * an e-mail message to: * d.. * * .D * burmanet@igc.apc.org * aw * * Au * Subscriptions are handled * ng * manually so please allow * San * for a delay before your * Su * request is fielded. * uK * Letters to the editor, * yi * comments or contributions * . * of articles should be ********************************* sent to the strider address as well. For those without e-mail, BurmaNet can be contacted by fax or snailmail. Tel/Fax: (in Thailand) (66)2 234-6674 By snailmail: Attention to BurmaNet, care of Burma Issues PO Box 1076, Silom Post Office, Bangkok 10504 Thailand By email: burmanet@igc.apc.org *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** BURMANET: FEW CASUALTIES IN MANERPLAW FIGHT, KNU REGROUPING FOR GUERRILLA WARFARE February 1, 1995 Kawthoolei Casualties in the fighting around Manarplaw were extremely light considering the number of people with guns around. The KNU withdrew rather than fight a pitched battle. According to a KNU colonel, the Karen forces withdrew once the SLORC, with their DKBA guides, were across the Salween in force. Even though the KNU still held the high ground, they would have been forced to defend along two ridgelines stretching some 20 kilometres. With DKBA defectors to guide them, the SLORC troops would have been able to penetrate the thin defence lines. Rather than fight under these conditions, the KNU ordered a general evacuation and consequently, casualties were extremely light (between 20 and 60 killed, probably closer to the lower number). Manarplaw was the best known of KNU bases, but dozens of smaller bases remain in KNU hands further inside Burma. The corrent SLORC offensive seems to be aimed at the bases right on the Thai border; Manarplaw and Kawmoora. Inside Karen State (Kawthoolei), some 1 million people live in territory firmly controlled by the KNU and approximately another 2 million live in contested areas. After the fall of Manarplaw, rumors circulated briefly that Gen. Bo Mya was wounded, but the reports turned out to be groundless. BurmaNet has received several enquiries have been received about the Karen Human Rights Group staff. The KHRG staff was safely evacuated to the Thai side and are with the refugees at Pwe Ba Lu, where they have resumed work. Although a large number of refugees and troops are demoralized over the evacuation, there is a sizable group within the Karen National Liberation Army that is not disappointed with their departure from Manarplaw. Among the second and third tier officers (colonels and majors), there is a group that has been pressing Gen. Bo Mya to end the strategy of defending fixed positions and move to aggressive guerilla warfare. One young officer claimed that over the last two months, they have finally been getting the attention of Bo Mya and this particular officer discussed the end of Manarplaw with barely disguised glee. If views of these two officers are representative of the rest of the KNU leadership, we can expect to see a more mobile, bloodier campaign of hit and run tactics, targetting SLORC government personnel, infrastructure and foreign investment projects which cause harm to the Karen people. *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** KNLA: THE BATTLE SITUATION February 1, 1995 Karen National Liberation Army Kaw Thoo Lei Due to the massive SLORC force consisting of Divisions 22,33,44 and 66 brought up against our troops, we were forced to give up Manerplaw. Now battalions from the Light Infantry Regiments 201, 203, 204, 209 and 210 are reinforcing the Nawta area. Battalions of the Burma Regiments 338 and 339 have moved up to Hlaing Bwe. On the Wanka front, the 441 Tactical Command and battalions of LIR 1, 118, 335, 9, 356, 357, 102 and BR 2 are poised for a major attack with armor reinforcing them *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** NATION: FLEEING KAREN REFUGEES TO BE SENT BACK WITHOUT WAITING FOR A LULL IN FIGHTING February 1, 1995 About 10,000 Karen refugees forced into Thailand by recent Burmese army attacks "will be pushed back" into Burma "without having to wait for fighting to cease," Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart said yesterday. Sanan's statement confirmed fears of private aid agencies who have expressed strong opposition to any forced repatriation of refugees before the Burmese offensive against armed ehtnic groups dies down. He said he considered the latest Burmese operation against the Karen guerrillas an internal affiar of Burma and "not a political matter", se "we [Thailand] can push the refugees out at any time." Thailand, he added, "will assist only those who are wounded or sick, and send them back immediately when they are well enough to travel, without waiting until the fighting stops." "My understanding is that it is a military, not a political matter. If it was a political matter we would give them protection...but I want to stress that we will certainly push them back, we cannot let them stay here for years" he said. The Interior Minister said Thailand would arrest Karen leader Gen Bo Mya if he was found to be taking refuge in the Kingdom. Meanwhile, Karen guerrillas are preparing for a possible major Burmese offensive against he area under the Karen National Union 4th Bridgade in the southern Tenasserim division, after their outpost in the area was attacked last Saturday. Preparations are being made in response to Burmese army movements and reinforcements in the Mergui and Tavoy districts, where KNU forces are active. A senior KNU leder from the area, while acknowledging that the situation has been calm since cthe clashes last Saturday, predicted that an imminent major offensive against hte KNU's 4th Brigade would take place "soon." Saturday's attack on a KNU frotnline outmost at Kawmawhaw, which is under the control of the KNU's 10th Battalion, forced about 1,200 refugees to take refuge in Thailand's Bong Ti Pass in Say Yok district of Kanchanaburi province. The assault was conducted by about 100 Burmese troops from the 25th Battalion. Kwee Htoo Win, KNU governor of Mergui and Tavoy distric, said in an interview yesterday that he believed the offensive is aimed at smashing the KNU's southern strongholds and facilitating the passage of a gas pipeline which will run through the 4th Brigade's area. He said the Kraen had benve been consulted by either Thailand, or US or French oil firms--Unocal and Total--which are partners with the Burmese junta in a multi-billion dollar project to extract natural gas from the Gulf of Martaban and transport if for sale in Thailand. "We have tried to contact the [US and French] companies but we have heard nothing from them in response." Kwee Htoo Win said. He did not state clearly whether the KNU would obstruct the projected gas line but said "everything that benefits Slorc, we will destroy." The Burmese and Karen troops who engaged in clashes last weekend are currently confronting each other on opposite banks of the Tenasserim River, which runs parallel to the Thai froniter and is between 15 and 40 kms awayu. A senior Thai official in Bangkok said yesterday that local Thai security officers in the region had not allowed Burmese troops to enter into Thailand to tatack the Karen from the rear, as Thailand will not tolerate territorial violations by either side in the conflict. The official said after the clash, Thai border patrol police and rengers had been sent to strengthen the border area to prevent any forces from trespassing onto Thai soil. The KNU governor predicted that between 7,000-10,000 people living close to the area of confrontation and the 4th Brigate Headquarters at Minthamee could be affected if the Burmese offensive starts. Minthamee is about 20 km south of Kawmawhaw. The whole population of 50,000 people who live along the river could pour into Thailand if the Burmese army stages an all out offensive to wipe out the 4th Brigade's controlled area. *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** NCGUB/DAB/NDF/NLD: JOINT STATEMENT REGARDING SLORC OFFENSIVE AGAINST MANERPLAW January 28, 1995 Manerplaw has been the Headquarters of our Burmese opposition organizations struggling for democracy and antional freedom. We, NCGUB, DAB, DDF and NLD(LA) are therefore issuingf this joint statement regarding the recent SLORC offensive against Manerplaw. 1 SLORC has declared widely that it intends to bring about cease-fires with various ethnic minority groups, border area developments and national solidarity. But now the recent SLORC offensive against Manerplaw demontstates that in practice it does not want national solidarity and contradicts its own declaration. 2 On the other had the varios armed groups decided to depart from their earlier decision that they should only talk jointly and such they tried talks one by one. Some of them have obtained a cease fire with SLORC, while some are still in processes of negotiation and some are still looking in an appropriate means to begin negotiation. The KNU was still in the process of trying to obtain negotiations with the SLORC, but the SLORC's recent offensive has demonstated its insincerity. 3 Recently the SLORC declared that except for the Khon Sa group in Shan State it intedns to negotiate with all other ethnic armed organizations and will engage in reconstruction work of the nation. But the recent offensive against Manerplaw shows that the SLORC is attempting to deveive the people of Burma and the international community as well. 4 Although the SLORC has captured Manerplaw by military means, this hshoudl not be regarded as the final victory for SLORC, but rather as just a temporary military win. This can not solve the essential underlying political problems in Burma. As such the consequences which arise in future will be the responsibility of SLORC. 5 We acknowledge and honor the effors of the KNU and KNLA to denfend Manerplaw against hte SLORC's offensives. We all stand united with KNU to resist and over-come the SLORC offensives. 6 We will continue out struggle to finish the military dictatorship from Burma, and try hard to find the solutions to Burma's problems by political means, and establsih a Federal Union for Burma, where theer will be full human rights and genuine democracy. Signed, U Maung Aye Information Minister, NCGUB Myint Zaw, Joint General Scty, DAB Khaing Soe Naing Aung, General Scty, NDF U Tin AUng, Vice Chairman, NLD(LA) *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** BURMANET: THAI POLICE HAND REFUGEES TO SLORC AT MYAWADDY, USE AS PORTERS FEARED February 1, 1995 Mae Sot, Thailand; Myawaddy, Burma A three week long roundup of "illegal immigrants" by Thai police in the border town of Mae Sot has wound down. During the crackdown, approximately 400 ethnic Burmans who did not have legal papers or the money to bribe their way out were handed to SLORC authorities at the Moei River crossing at Myawaddy. The handover took place on January 20, 1995. The "illegals" are refugees from Burma who do not live in the refugee camps. They are regarded by the Thai government and UNHCR as "economic migrants" rather than refugees. Reports from Karen people in Mae Sot indicate that the returnees have been used by SLORC forces as porters in the current offensive. Reports of their use in forced porterage have not yet been confirmed. Due to the large number of porters used and the confusion of battle, a number of porters regularly escape and end up in refugee camps along the Thai border. If this instance of porterage turns out to be true, border sources expect to see some of the 400 turn up in camps in the near future. *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** BURMANET: SITUATION NOTES ON THE THAI-BURMA BORDER February 1, 1995 by Wednedsay Observer for BurmaNet Thai-Burma border 1. Overall Political Analysis The current offensives against Karen strongholds at Manerplaw, Ka Moo Raw and Htee Hta (4th Brigade) mark a rapid escalation of Burma army efforts to gain control over Karen-held strategic border points. The Burma army has had the resources to mount this campaign for some time, but chooses to do so now, apparently with a crisp, border-wide strategy. Burma-watchers may be surprised at SLORC's timing; why launch a huge offensive just as international recognition is coming to fruition? Why risk increased contact and approval with the world when the status quo-- successive ceasefire deals and a declared unilateral "ceasefire" were winning praise globally? My speculation is that SLORC has entered into a clandestine deal with Thailand, and that last week during his visit Thaksin Shinawatra sealed the agreement with Rangoon. Thailand is banking on two massive energy projects with Burma: the Martaban pipeline and, a little further down the road, damming the Salween. Both of these projects will provide long-term energy resources to Thailand; both of these projects will provide large amounts of long-term foreign exchange for Rangoon; both of these projects are threatened in all stages by continued armed resistance in Karen and Mon states. Other projects, such as the completion of a bridge and road network linking Mae Sot to Moulmein and beyond, and rail and road links to connect a deep sea port at Ye to Western Thailand, also promise economic gain for both countries. Both are also threatened by continued insurgencies. Of course, one unpalatable ramification of an all-out assault on the rebels would be an enormous refugee influx to Thailand-- a scenario that Thailand is eager to avoid. We can speculate that in the past five years or so since relations with SLORC have warmed, fear of another large refugee influx inhibited Thailand from encouraging large-scale military operations against the rebels. Also, lucrative local business interests provided incentive for official and non-official Thai policymakers from putting the brakes on Karen timber. But now the stakes have been raised way beyond the timber game, in which the KNU had figured heavily. Is it possible that SLORC and Khun Thaksin cut a deal: SLORC would wipe out the KNU, ABSDF, NMSP (?) and DAB once and for all by displacing them from the border jungles. Thailand would have to accept thousands of refugees. NGOs would provide humanitarian assistance, but the Thais have the power and the right to set up and control the refugee camps, access to them, and distribution of aid. With the formerly rebel-held areas under SLORC control, both countries could argue that the villagers would be safe, as combat had ceased. Within one year, a huge forced repatriation program would begin, including all recent arrivals as well as all refugees who have come since 1984 (who have now all been registered by the MOI). Meanwhile, SLORC troops would secure and prepare the Salween and pipeline routes for energy projects. Supporting evidence: -Proximity of Shinawatra's trip -Agreement to sign further accords on the gas agreement -Shinawatra's Foreign Ministry immediately issuing a statement that refugees would be accepted short-term, while the MOI, which in the past had been the issuing office, was silent even though it has a new tough guy on refugee affairs. Possible future supporting Indicators: -Further Thai military and government control over refugee camps and assistance (which has been hinted at for months) -Dialogue within the next four or five months about the Salween projects -Harassment of KNU and other leaders, including possible arrest or restriction to special camps -Road-building from Myawaddy westward -Shinawatra extending personal business and political contacts with key players in the aforementioned projects 2. Conjecture on the Situation in Karen State SLORC's seizure of Manerplaw deals a crippling blow to mobility of Karens in the mountains of some parts of Karen state. Soldiers, civilians seeking refuge in Thailand, people who periodically trek back from the border to their villages (and vice-versa), aid workers, students, missionaries, teachers, and anyone else who had use the Moei to reach the critical juncture of the Salween to head north into 3rd and 7th brigade areas will either choose not to travel or travel only at risk of confrontation or harassment with the Burmese soldiers. The freedom to travel thus is a mainstay of the traditional Karen life, as well as the perception that the mountains belong to the Karen people. Thus restricted, whatever infrastructure has existed in the form of schools, covert aid programs, decentralized training, fact-finding and other communications will face extreme hardship. Up until now, many if not all of these activities were coordinated and launched from Manerplaw under the protection, in many cases, of the KNLA. Unless either the Burma army or incumbent Karen elements can sustain or replace these systems, Karen villages-- particularly displaced Karen villages-- will face serious setbacks in their struggles to survive. Depending on how extensive the Burma army's grasp on the territory becomes, some of the economic sabotage that has been documented in other parts of Burma may follow suit and be added to the repertoire of human rights abuses by which the Burma army has subsisted and defined itself. Perhaps these village-level abuses will be particularly harsh in areas that once enjoyed the protection of and provided sustenance for the KNLA. Economic abuses would include: land confiscation, crop taxing, forced labor on military farms an business projects, rearrangement of village political structures to channel resources to the military. *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** KNU: FORCED RELOCATION OF ZAW HE VILLAGE, MURDER OF HEADMAN Karen National Union intelligence sources January 17, 1995 Kaw Moo Rah, Kaw Thoo Lei Chronology of the forced relocatoin of Zaw He village. 25 November, 1994 Warrant Officer Kyar Ma Naw, Battalion 97, demanded Yan Koke village, (near Kawkreik,) to pay 2,000 kyat each month for the next 5 months in recompense for a Burmese soldier who was killed near their village. 1 December, 1994 U Ba He, the village head of Zaw He village was arrested by a patrol from the 230 Battalion, headed by Capt. Kyaw Moh Thoo, and was subsequently secretly executed. Naung Keing village was required to give Mya Pa Daing, the headquarters of the 230 Battalion, headed by Capt. Kyaw Moh Thoo, porter fees at the rate of 4,000 kyat for 1 month througout 1994, thus bringing the total given for the year to 48,000 kyat. 29 December, 1994 An officer of the 230 battalion demanded Tee Po San village give 30,000 kyat and Naing Keing village give 20,000 kyat, "for the construction of a school at Mya Pa Daing." 1 January, 1995 Zaw He village forcibly relocated, and cannot be traced. The reason for this, and the execution of U Ba Eh has been given as first, that U Ba Eh was accused of being a "robber" by the 230 Battalion and second, that a Karen soldier who was killed at the nearby Po Kya bridge was found to have been a member of the village. *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** VOA: SITUATION IN BURMA DATE=1/30/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-173172 TITLE=BURMA SITUATION (L) BYLINE=DAN ROBINSON DATELINE=BANGKOK CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: NON-GOVERNMENT AID AGENCIES IN THAILAND ARE CONTINUING EFFORTS TO ASSIST REFUGEES FROM BURMA FLEEING A GOVERNMENT OFFENSIVE AGAINST ETHNIC KAREN REBEL AND OPPOSITION FORCES. FROM V-O-A'S SOUTHEAST ASIA BUREAU, CORRESPONDENT DAN ROBINSON REPORTS KAREN OFFICIALS; SPOKESMEN FOR THE BURMESE OPPOSITION ALLIANCE; AND, THAI MILITARY OFFICIALS SAY FIGHTING IS CONTINUING ALONG THE BORDER. TEXT: SEVERAL DAYS AFTER THE FALL OF MANERPLAW -- THE MAIN BASE OF KAREN REBELS AND OTHER GROUPS IN THE BURMESE DEMOCRACY ALLIANCE -- GOVERNMENT FORCES ARE REPORTED CONTINUING ATTACKS. REPORTS SAY SEVERAL THOUSAND BURMESE TROOPS ARE PRESSURING REMAINING KAREN UNITS ALONG THE MOEI RIVER, SOUTH OF MANERPLAW -- AN AREA ABOUT 250 KILOMETERS EAST OF RANGOON. THAI AUTHORITIES ARE PERMITTING NON-GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO ASSIST AN ESTIMATED SIX THOUSAND REFUGEES WHO HAVE FLED ACROSS THE RIVER MARKING THE BORDER. AN OFFICIAL OF ONE RELIEF AGENCY, WHO ASKED NOT TO BE IDENTIFIED, TOLD V-O-A MANY REFUGEES WERE SCATTERED IN THE JUNGLE -- IN HIS WORDS -- WAITING FOR THE DUST TO SETTLE. HE SAYS THERE IS A CONTINUING NEED FOR FOOD, BLANKETS AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES. // OPT // THE RELIEF OFFICIAL SAYS AN ESTIMATED THREE THOUSAND KAREN CIVILIANS WHO FLED MANERPLAW TO A SMALL VILLAGE (KWAY-BAW-LU) HAVE MOVED FURTHER INTO THAI TERRITORY. ANOTHER FOUR THOUSAND OR SO REFUGEES HAVE ARRIVED IN ANOTHER AREA. // END MEANWHILE, THE LEADER OF THE KAREN REBELS -- GENERAL BO MYA -- REMAINS IN THAI TERRITORY. KAREN STATEMENTS VOWED THAT THE REBELS WOULD RE-GROUP AND RESUME THEIR GUERRILLA CAMPAIGN. IN A V-O-A INTERVIEW, TIN MAUNG WIN -- A SPOKESMAN FOR THE EXILE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE OF BURMA (D-A-B) -- SOUGHT TO DOWNPLAY THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LOSS OF MANERPLAW. HE URGES THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST BURMESE GOVERNMENT ACTIONS: // TIN MAUNG WIN ACTUALITY // YOU KNOW WE NEED A CONCERTED EFFORT. NOT ONLY THE UNITED STATES BUT BRITAIN SHOULD SPEAK OUT, AUSTRALIA SHOULD SPEAK OUT, GERMANY SHOULD SPEAK OUT, THE SAME AS THE UNITED STATES. AND ALSO THE ASEAN NATIONS. I THINK THIS IS A SITUATION THAT CONCERNS NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES AND THEY SHOULD BE MORE VOCAL ON THIS THING. I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY HAVE KEPT THEIR MOUTH SHUT ON THESE THINGS. // END ACTUALITY // TIN MAUNG WIN SAYS HE LACKED ACCURATE INFORMATION ON KAREN LOSSES. HOWEVER, A REUTER REPORT -- QUOTING REBEL AND THAI MILITARY SOURCES -- PUTS REBEL LOSSES ANYWHERE FROM 15 TO 60 DEAD. IN THE FIRST OFFICIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE OFFENSIVE, BURMA'S MILITARY-CONTROLLED MEDIA SAYS MANERPLAW WAS TAKEN BY KARENS WHO BROKE AWAY FROM THE MAIN REBEL MOVEMENT. KAREN REBELS ADMIT THEY WERE HURT BY AN INTERNAL SPLIT THAT EMERGED IN DECEMBER, PITTING BUDDHISTS AGAINST CHRISTIAN K-N-U MEMBERS. OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN SAY SOME OF THE MUTINEERS ACTED AS GUIDES FOR GOVERNMENT TROOPS IN TAKING MANERPLAW. (SIGNED) *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** AP: BURMESE EXPAND OFFENSIVE January 30, 1995 BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Burmese forces attacked the Karen rebels' last major northern base Monday and moved against guerrilla positions to the south, Thai military and aid sources said. Some leaders of the ethnic rebel movement, along with thousands of followers, have fled to Thailand, and more refugees are expected. Refugee estimates run from 6,000 to 15,000. The Karen, in rebellion for 46 years, were the strongest of more than a dozen ethnic insurgencies fighting for greater autonomy from the brutal, military-run central government. In recent years the Rangoon government has crushed or negotiated peace deals with most of the insurgent groups. Last week, Karen rebels said Burma's military regime launched its biggest offensive in at least three years against the group. The headquarters of the Karen National Union at Manerplaw, about 150 miles east of the Burmese capital of Rangoon, fell to government troops Thursday after six days of fighting. Thai border patrol police officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the rebels also lost six other bases along the Thai-Burmese frontier to the north and south of Manerplaw. The officers said Burmese troops were attacking the rebel stronghold of Kawmoora and had opened up another front further south, opposite the Thai province of Kanchanaburi. Nearly 1,000 refugees fleeing the offensive were reported inside Kanchanaburi, and more Karen villages were being evacuated. Burma's junta rulers, who crushed a pro-democracy uprising in 1988, have been condemned by human rights groups for widespread abuses, including arbitrary execution, torture and rape of villagers in ethnic minority areas. End.. *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** BURMANET: *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** REG.BURMA: KAREN REFUGEES From: Christina Fink To: reg.burma@igc.apc.org Subject: Karen Refugees Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII I received a call from Thailand with the following information: Karen refugees are being allowed to stay in Thailand in new camps around Puay Baw Loo village. NGOs are not being allowed to take supplies into the refugee areas, but they can drop the supplies off at the Thai checkpoint on the road into Puay Baw Loo. The Karen can then pick up the supplies and take them to the refugees. Reporters are not being allowed into the Puay Baw Loo area, but some Karen have been able to come out and give interviews to the reporters. The Karen refugees are safe at the moment, and they are not being shelled by the Burmese troops who continue to occupy Manerplaw. Christina Fink *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** KHRG: SLORC SHOOTINGS & ARRESTS OF REFUGEES Manerplaw An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group January 14, 1995 / KHRG #95-02 There are currently over 60,000 Karen refugees registered in refugee camps in Thailand. These camps are scattered along the Burma border for hundreds of kilometres, from Kanchanaburi in the south to the Mae Hong Son area in the north. None of these refugees or camps are officially recognized by either the Thai government or the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. They only receive strict rations of rice, salt and fishpaste, little or no clothing or educational aid, and extremely limited medical assistance, all of which comes from overseas agencies and is tightly restricted by the Thai Ministry of the Interior. As a result of the overcrowded and restrictive living conditions in some of the camps, thousands of other refugees avoid them and stay in villages outside the camps, where they receive no aid and must earn their living themselves. Both these people and those inside the camps find that they need their own sources of food, money and building materials in order to survive, but they are not allowed to plant anything or cut any bamboo or wood on Thai soil. Some find sporadic day labour for Thai farmers, but many find they have to take the risk of planting fields, cutting bamboo or searching for vegetables on the Burma side of the border. Over the past year, there has been an alarming increase in the numbers of these refugees who are being arrested, tortured, or shot on sight by the SLORC Battalions who control the areas across the border. This report documents some of the incidents which have occurred in the Moei River area where it forms the Thai/Burma border north of the Thai town of Mae Sot. The incidents documented here make up only a small sample of the hundreds of arrests, disappearances and killings of refugees which the SLORC has conducted up and down the border. These incidents are of special concern right now, because Thai authorities are starting to indicate that they want to repatriate all Karen refugees as soon as possible. Over the past year, the Thai Army has already been conducting large-scale forced repatriations of Mon refugees and refugees from Shan State. In the Mon case, refugees were driven into an area where they were later attacked and fled, only to be driven back there again; while many of the refugees from Shan State were handed back to SLORC patrols who then took them as frontline military porters. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has done nothing to protect those refugees, and has given no indication that it will do anything to protect Karen refugees in the event of a forced repatriation (refoulement). Instead, UNHCR Bangkok chief Ruprecht von Arnim recently commended the Thai authorities for their "changing attitude" towards refugees from Burma, while a UNHCR press release volunteered to "assist in any voluntary repatriation operation". Von Arnim held up the UNHCR-assisted repatriation of Rohingya Muslim refugees from Bangladesh as an example - however, recent reports by Mdcins Sans Frontires, Refugees International and others have stated that most of the Rohingyas are being forced back against their will, that many of those who tell UNHCR they don't want to go have subsequently been deprived of food, beaten by camp officials, and summarily sent back, that many returnees are being taken for slave labour by SLORC and their land is not being given back to them, and that UNHCR is seldom to be seen in the camps in Bangladesh or in Burma, where they reportedly stay exclusively in the towns and only travel escorted by SLORC Military Intelligence. The Thai authorities and UNHCR seem to feel that Karen refugees are only in Thailand because of battles between SLORC and Karen forces, when in fact it is Burma Army repression in their villages which drove these people to Thailand. As documented in other KHRG reports, this repression, including slave labour, looting, extortion, destruction of homes and crops, torture, rape, and killings, is only getting worse. The incidents documented in this report should be enough in themselves to show why no repatriation should even be considered until there is significant improvement in the human rights situation in Burma. The SLORC's attitude toward refugees remains clear: SLORC leaders have repeatedly been quoted stating that "there are no refugees in the border areas, only insurgents in the disguise of refugees". A typical article in SLORC's newspaper "The New Light of Myanmar" (15/9/94) referred to people who fled from forced railway labour as "those who lived in insurgent camps and kept going into the other country [Thailand] as 'refugees'." Some of the soldiers' comments mentioned in the following testimonies make it clear that SLORC tells all its soldiers to consider refugees as insurgents (see for example Interview #7 with "Pi Lah Ghay"). This attitude is hardly likely to suddenly change in the event of a repatriation deal. Some of the testimonies show that the refugees do not even feel safe on the Thai side of the river if SLORC is on the other side, because SLORC troops have shown little respect for the Thai frontier in the past. Only a few days before our visit to Don Pa Kiang refugee camp, SLORC soldiers crossed the river in civilian clothes, stole some cattle, took them back across and then demanded extortion money from the refugees to get them back. Some of the people interviewed live in refugee camps, some live in villages on the Thai side. The interviews were all conducted throughout November 1994 in several camps along the border north of Mae Sot. Across the river the area is controlled by several battalions of SLORC #44 Light Infantry Division. The testimonies sometimes refer to sawmills; these are small Thai-owned sawmills, often on the Burma side of the river. All logging has been banned in Thailand since 1988, so Thai loggers pay large bribes to SLORC commanders to take logs from Burma, and often hire refugees to work for them. Sometimes the Thais fail to pay the ever-increasing bribes, so the soldiers go after their sawmill. Thai loggers also log illegally on the Thai side, then bring the logs along the river as though they came from Burma. The "river" referred to by many people is the Moei River, which is the border. All interviews were conducted on the Thai side of the river. In this report, people often refer to others as "uncle" or "nephew" - Karen people often refer to their elders or juniors this way. Where it does not refer to a real relative, we have put it in quotation marks. SLORC soldiers often accuse people of being "Kaw Thoo Lei", the name of the Karen homeland, which SLORC men use to mean "Karen soldier". Two currencies are mentioned: Baht (Thai currency; US$1=25 Baht), and Kyat (Burmese currency; US$1 = 6 Kyat at official rate, 120 Kyat at market rate). Names of those interviewed in this report have been changed to protect them - throughout the report, false names are denoted by enclosing them in quotation marks. All other names are real. Please feel free to use this report in any way which may help alleviate the suffering of the peoples of Burma. TOPIC SUMMARY: Shootings and killings of refugees (Interview #1,2,3,4,5,7,12,13,14,16,17,18, 19,20,21,22,23,24,26), arrest, torture and detention of refugees (Int #1,6,7,8,9,10,12,20,28), disappearances (Int #15), extortion(Int #9,10,25,28), shootings in villages(Int #26), forced labour (Int #12,26), forced portering (Int #27), robbery (Int #10,11,19,24). (See list below for a more comprehensive index.) VICTIMS OF INCIDENTS IN THIS REPORT The table on the following page lists the victims of the main abuses mentioned in this report. All the Battalions listed are in #44 Light Infantry Division. IB = Infantry Battalion, LIB = Light Infantry Battalion. IB #1 and LIB #3 hav e both been rotated home now, and LIB #9 arrived in August. Refugees say LIB # 9 is much worse than the others. Note: all numeric dates throughout this repor t are given in dd/mm/yy format. Names enclosed in quotation marks have been ch anged to protect interviewees. Battalion No. Date Name Age Sex Incident Refug ee at No. Interview # 1 Jan/94 Pa Dee Mah 50 M Shot dead Kamaw Lay Ko IB ? 24 2 Jan/94 "Saw Po Thay" 18 M Shot at " IB ? 24 3 19/2/94 Pa Wah Mu 35 M Shot dead Tala Oh Kla IB 1 21,22 4 19/2/94 Kalay Tay 40 M Shot dead " IB 1 21,22 5 19/2/94 "Pa Kyaw" 23 M Shot at " IB 1 22 6 19/2/94 Saw Wih ? M Shot at " IB 1 21 7 28/2/94 Pa Doh 40 M Shot, wounded " IB 1 23 8 28/2/94 "Maung Tay" 40 M Shot, wounded " IB 1 23 9 28/2/94 Ta Bwey 25 M Shot, wounded " IB 1 23 10 28/2/94 Thaw Aye 16 M Shot, wounded " IB 1 23 11 Apr/94 "Saw Ler Wah" 32 M Arrested, detained Gray Hta LIB ? 28 12 4/5/94 Kyi Way 24 M Shot, wounded Noh Pa Doh LIB 3 n/a 13 May/94 "Pa Boe" 29 M Detained,tortured Noh Pa Doh LIB 3 12 14 5/6/94 "Pa Htoo" 38 M Shot, wounded Don Pa Kiang LIB 3 20 15 5/6/94 name unknown 19 M Arrested, detained " LIB 3 20 16 3/7/94 Saw Kya Po 34 M Disappeared " LIB 3 n/a 17 3/7/94 Pa Yah 28 M Disappeared " LIB 3 n/a 18 July/94 Po Htoo Doh 60 M Detained,tortured Noh Pa Doh LIB 3 9,10 19 July/94 "Pa Lah" 38 M Shot, wounded Gray Hta LIB ? 26 20 20/8/94 Pa Noh Ter 36 M Shot dead Tala Oh Kla LIB 9 16 21 20/8/94 Pa Noh Kee 36 M Shot dead " LIB 9 16 22 21/8/94 Po Tha Htoo 19 M Shot at, drowned " LIB 9 16 23 2/9/94 Saw Eh Say 27 M Shot at, drowned Noh Pa Doh LIB 9 4,3 24 3/9/94 Kwe Tha 39 M Shot dead Ka Na Su LIB 9 17,18,19 25 3/9/94 "Saw Ler Thu" 30 M Shot, wounded Don Pa Kiang LIB 9 17 26 3/9/94 "Saw Bway" 34 M Robbed Ka Na Su LIB 9 19 27 19/9/94 "Thein Lwin" 24 M Detained, tortured Noh Pa Doh LIB 9 6 28 3/10/94 Maung Tin 38 M Disappeared Kamaw Lay Ko IB ? 15 29 3/10/94 Pa Paw 50+ M Disappeared " IB ? 15 30 27/10/94 Naw Koh Mit 19 F Shot at, drowned Wah Pa LIB 9 n/a 31 28/10/94 Pa Klih Bo 43 M Arrested, killed Kler Ko LIB ? 13,14 32 28/10/94 Pa Dee Dee 15 M Arrested, killed Kler Ko LIB ? 13,14 33 29/10/94 Saw Tah Kee 30 M Arrested, still held Noh Pa Doh LIB 9 7,8,2,10 34 29/10/94 Maung Kyaw Pu 27 M Arrested, still held " LIB 9 8,7, 10 35 29/10/94 "Saw Bo Gyi" 42 M Arrested, robbed " LIB 9 11 36 29/10/94 Day Wah 27 M Shot dead " LIB 9 2,3,5,12,7 37 29/10/94 Ah Toe 18 M Shot dead " LIB 9 2,3,4 38 29/10/94 "Naw Tee Ker" 27 F Shot at " LIB 9 3,2 39 29/10/94 "Kaw Thaw" 21 M Shot at Don Pa Kiang LIB 9 2 40 30/10/94 Pleh Ghaw 35 M Shot dead Kler Ko LIB 9 1 41 30/10/94 "Aung Htoo" 35 M Arrested Kler Ko LIB 9 1 42 8/11/94 "Maung Aye" 32 M Escaped porter " LIB 9 27 43 9/11/94 "Toe Aung" 42 M Arrested,extortion Noh Pa Doh LIB 9 9,10 44 9/11/94 "Naw Paw Kee" 45 F Arrested,extortion " LIB 9 9,10 45 9/11/94 Mi Sho 40 F Arrested,extortion " LIB 9 9,10 46 9/11/94 Ma Tay Myint 21 F Arrested,extortion " LIB 9 9,10 47 9/11/94 Pu Lu 21 M Extortion " LIB 9 9,10 48 26/11/94 "Htoo Klay" 48 M Arrested,extortion Tala Oh Kla LIB 9 25 #1. NAME: "Aung Htoo" SEX: M AGE: 35 Karen Buddhist farmer ADDRESS: Noh Po Kee village, Pa'an District - now in Kler Ko refugee camp, Thailand FAMILY: Single We came to Thailand about 10 years ago because we were afraid of the Burmese, so we ran. They tortured people. We didn't dare stay anymore. The whole village came. Nobody lives there anymore. The Burmese never arrest us here, but in our village they shot people every time they saw them. This year I went back to Noh Po Kee on October 30th, because it's not so far. My uncle and I went to collect betelnut, and we were staying in a little field hut. He went to look for betelnut in the village while I stayed in the hut. I was cooking rice for us. Then I turned my head and I saw a Burmese soldier. Just then another soldier ran up behind me and stuck his gun against my back. He had come up running, and I hadn't seen him. There were 3 of them, but then more came. They said "Don't run away". Then they took me and the officer tied me up to a tree. They asked me, "Do any [Karen] soldiers stay here? How many?" I answered, "Sometimes many, sometimes few." They also asked about the refugees. They asked, "Do you sometimes go to the refugee camp?", and I said "No, I never go." If I said I went, they would have killed me. At 9 o'clock [a.m.] my uncle came back from the village to eat with me, and he met the soldiers along the path. I heard the sound of his shouting from over by the cliff. I also heard gunshots: "Ta! Ta! Ta!" I couldn't count them- 7, 8, or 10 gunshots, I think. I never saw him after that. The soldiers tied me up and tied one of my hands, so I couldn't walk ["Aung Htoo"'s leg is deformed from polio, and he can only walk slowly and with difficulty, leaning on a stick. He still has a mark on his wrist from the rope he was tied with.]. Then they said they would come with me and take me half way home. They carried me a short way, then they told me to go back home alone. They didn't beat me, but they would have beaten anyone else. My uncle's name was Pleh Ghaw. He was 35. When I got back here, some villagers went to look for my uncle. They found his dead body the next day [October 31]. They saw it, but I didn't ask them how many wounds there were. I couldn't go there anymore. We used to survive by growing betelnut, but now we can't, neither here [in Thailand] nor there. [Pleh Ghaw's widow added: "Nobody told me about the body. If they told me, I feel like I would die! I thought I would go there with them, but I couldn't. If you ask them about the body they can tell you. Nobody told me anything. I couldn't eat anything, and I still can't. Nobody would tell me if he died or didn't die. We have 3 children - the eldest is a girl, 15 years old. The second is a son, aged 12. The third is 11. I just have to stay here like this, and now my children are sick. We have nothing, and we can't buy anything. We just have rice that people give us. My head feels very heavy, and my eyes are dark."] [Note: the man who found the body reported that Pleh Ghaw was hit in the chest by 2 bullets. There were no visible marks of torture.] _______________________________________________________________ #2. NAME: "Kaw Thaw" SEX: M AGE: 21 Karen Christian farmer/boat driver ADDRESS: Gker Ghaw village, Myawaddy Township Now living in Beh Klaw refugee camp, Thailand; interviewed at Don Pa Kiang camp FAMILY: Single, 2 brothers and 3 sisters I have been in Thailand for 7 years, because my father was in the KNU [Karen National Union] so we found it very hard to stay in our village in Burma. I stay in Mae La [a refugee camp also known as Beh Klaw, 60 km. north of Mae Sot] but I came up here to visit my uncle. On October 29 [1994] I went to the other side of the Moei River and went fishing. There is a place to fish a little ways from the river. That day many others had gone to fish before me [other witnesses confirm that there were 15 people fishing at the pond]. While we were all fishing at the pond at about 11:30 a.m., we heard people calling us from Noh Pa Doh on the Thai side of the river. They yelled, "Don't come back!", but we didn't hear them well and we thought they were shouting "Come back quickly!" Only four of us ran toward the riverbank to get back by canoe, but on the way the SLORC soldiers were waiting for us hidden in the bushes. When we passed them they started shooting at us. We didn't see them, but they saw us and started shooting. As we arrived at the riverbank we tried to split up. Two of us ran in one direction and the 2 others ran the other way. I was with Day Wah. I jumped and dived into the river, and Day Wah jumped in the boat. The soldiers were sitting and shooting at us from the bushes along the path. They shot at me while I was running but they didn't get me because I dived into the water. They shot Teacher Day Wah first. Two soldiers shot at him, one sitting and one standing, with a G3 and a carbine [G3 is the standard Burma Army automatic assault rifle; carbine is a bolt-action rifle, usually carried by officers or NCOs]. Day Wah was hit by a G3 bullet in the chest and he died immediately. He fell into the water while I was in the water. After they shot Day Wah I saw the 2 soldiers running back into the bushes. I tried to swim across the river with only my nose above the water and the rest of my body underwater. When I got to the other side I could see that the soldiers weren't there anymore so I got out of the water. I just sat there. I wanted to cry, I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't. I just rested for a while and then came back to the village. Across the river there is bamboo, and behind that there are fields. There were 2 soldiers shooting at us, and I saw 4 others hiding in the bamboo. The other 2 villagers ran further down the river, took off their trousers and started swimming. They were one man and one woman. Then the soldiers arrived at the riverbank. The woman couldn't swim and asked the man to take her across the river, but he couldn't. He tried to help her but he let her go when the soldiers started shooting. The soldiers shot at the woman. I looked downriver and saw this while I was floating in the river. I also saw Teacher Day Wah fall into the water, and I saw 2 people with the soldiers at the riverside, one of them tied up with his hands behind his back. I saw one soldier shaking the man and shooting his gun in the air right beside the man's ear. It was the disabled man. [Saw Tah Kee: see testimony #7 by "Pi Lah Ghay", his mother.] Then they all disappeared into the bamboo. The other people who were at the pond hid in the bushes and after the soldiers left they all came back. Nothing happened to them. Day Wah was my "uncle". His sister is married to my uncle. He was 27 years old and single, and he was the teacher in Noh Pa Doh primary school. As for me, I feel bitterness and pain for what SLORC is doing to the people. I'm afraid of them. I was helping my uncle in his peanut field, but now I don't dare go anymore. There is nothing we can do about that - the weeds will just grow over everything. _______________________________________________________________ #3.