------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: April 17, 1997 Issue #697 HEADLINES: ========== UN COMMISSION: RESOLUTION ON BURMA BOSTON GLOBE: HOOKED ON HEROIN KHRG REPORT: #97-02- FAR SOUTH ***************************************************** UN COMMISSION: RESOLUTION ON BURMA April 11, 1997 From: darnott@gn.apc.org UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL E/CN.4/1997/L.97 11 April 1997 COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Fifty-third session Agenda item 10 QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO COLONIAL AND OTHER DEPENDENT COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and United States of America: draft resolution 1997/....Situation of human rights in Myanmar The Commission on Human Rights, Reaffirming, that Member States have an obligation to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms as stated in the Charter of the United Nations and as elaborated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on human rights and other applicable human rights instruments, Mindful that Myanmar is a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Geneva Conventions on the protection of victims of war, Recalling previous resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights on the subject, most recently General Assembly resolution 51/117 of 12 December 1996 and Commission on Human Rights resolution 1996/80 of 23 April 1996, 1. Welcomes (a) The report by the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/1997/64); (b) The report of the Secretary-General on his discussions with the Government of Myanmar (E/CN.4/1997/129); (c) The continuing cooperation by the Government of Myanmar with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the voluntary repatriation and reintegration of returnees from Bangladesh; (d) The scheduled visit of a special envoy of the Secretary-General to Myanmar from 7 to 10 May 1997, in the discharge of the good offices functions of the Secretary-General, for discussions with the Government and other political leaders of Myanmar as he may consider appropriate, in order to assist in the implementation of General Assembly resolution 51/117 and of the present resolution; 2. Expresses its deep concern (a) At the continuing violations of human rights in Myanmar, as reported by the Special Rapporteur, including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, death in custody, torture, arbitrary and politically-motivated arrest and detention, absence of due process of law, including trial of detainees in secrecy without proper legal representation, severe restrictions on freedoms of opinion, expression, movement, assembly and association, forced relocation, forced labour by children as well as adults, including portering for the military, abuse of women and children by government agents and oppression of ethnic and religious minorities; (b) At the absence of significant steps towards the establishment of democratic government after the democratic elections of 1990, while noting that according to the Special Rapporteur, the absence of respect for the rights pertaining to democratic governance is at the root of all the major violations of human rights in Myanmar; (c) That the Government of Myanmar has not yet agreed to a visit by the Special Rapporteur; (d) That most of the representatives democratically elected in 1990 have been excluded from participating in the meetings of the National Convention, that severe restrictions have been imposed on delegates, including members of the National League for Democracy, who have withdrawn and subsequently were excluded, at the end of 1995, from the sessions of the Convention and who were unable to meet or distribute their literature, and that one of the objectives of the Convention is to maintain the participation of the armed forces (Tatmadaw) in a leading role in the future political life of the State, and concludes that the National Convention does not appear to constitute the necessary steps towards the restoration of democracy; (e) At the restrictions placed upon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders, at harassment, detention and forced resignations of elected representatives, at the recent attack against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the National League for Democracy and other supporters of democratic groups in Myanmar, including persons peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression during the recent student demonstrations; (f) At the forced relocation and other violations of the rights of persons belonging to minorities, resulting in a flow of refugees to neighbouring countries, and at the recent attacks on members of the Karen ethnic group, resulting in death, destruction and displacement; (g) At violations of the rights of children in contravention of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular by the lack of conformity of the existing legal framework with this Convention, by systematic recruitment of children into forced labour, and by discrimination against children belonging to ethnic and religious minority groups; 3. Calls upon the Government of Myanmar (a) To guarantee an end to violations of the right to life and integrity of the human being, to ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of thought, opinion, expression, association and assembly, the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial judiciary and the protection of the rights of persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, and to urgently improve conditions of detention; (b) To take urgent and meaningful measures to ensure the establishment of democracy in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in the democratic elections held in 1990 and, to this end, to engage at the earliest possible date in a substantive political dialogue with the leaders of political parties returned at the elections of 1990, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and with leaders of ethnic groups, as the best means of promoting national reconciliation and restoration of democracy, and to ensure that political parties and non-governmental organizations can function freely; (c) To cooperate fully with the relevant mechanisms of the Commission, in particular the Special Rapporteur, and to ensure his access to Myanmar, without preconditions, in order to allow him fully to discharge his mandate, and to cooperate with the Secretary-General or his representatives, including through access to any person deemed appropriate by the Secretary-General or the Special Rapporteur; (d) To ensure the safety of all political leaders, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and to release immediately and unconditionally detained political leaders and all political prisoners, to ensure their physical integrity and to permit them to participate in a meaningful process of national reconciliation; (e) To consider becoming a party to the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as well as to other human rights instruments; (f) And all other parties to the hostilities in Myanmar to respect fully their obligations under international humanitarian law, including article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, to halt the use of weapons against the civilian population, to protect all civilians, including persons belonging to ethnic or religious minorities, from violations of humanitarian law, and to avail themselves of services as may be offered by impartial humanitarian bodies; (g) To fulfil its obligations as a State party to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and to the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention 1948 (No. 47) of the International Labour Organization, and to cooperate more closely with the International Labour Organization, in particular with the Commission of Inquiry appointed in accordance with article 3 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization; (h) To create the necessary conditions to remove the causes of displacement and of refugee flows to neighbouring countries and to create conditions conducive to their voluntary return and their full reintegration in safety and dignity, in close cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; (i) To fulfil its obligations to end impunity of perpetrators of human rights violations, including members of the military, and to investigate and prosecute alleged violations committed by government agents in all circumstances; (j) To investigate the circumstances which led to the death in June 1996 of Mr James Leander Nichols while detained by the Government of Myanmar, and to prosecute any person who could be held responsible; 4. Decides (a) To extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, as contained in Commission resolution 1992/58 of 3 March 1992, for a further year, and requests the Special Rapporteur to submit an interim report to the General Assembly at its fifty-second session on human rights in Myanmar and to report to the Commission at its fifty-fourth session, and to keep a gender perspective in mind when seeking and analysing information; (b) To request the Secretary-General to continue to give all necessary assistance to the Special Rapporteur to enable him to discharge his mandate fully; (c) To request the Secretary-General to continue his discussions with the Government of Myanmar and anyone he may consider appropriate in order to assist in the implementation of General Assembly resolution 51/117 and of the present resolution; (d) To continue the examination of the situation of human rights in Myanmar during its fifty-fourth session under the agenda item entitled "Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world" ...... Adopted by consensus, 16 April 1997 ************************************ BOSTON GLOBE: HOOKED ON HEROIN: BURMA'S MILITARY GOVERNMENT HAS BECOME A NARCO-DICTATORSHIP - AND THE WORLD IS PAYING THE PRICE. April 6, 1997 By Dennis Bernstein and Leslie Kean While authorities in most of the world are battling a heroin epidemic that is claiming a new generation of 13-year-old addicts, authorities in Burma are quietly supporting the drug trade fueling that epidemic. Burma is swiftly becoming a full-fledged narco-dictatorship, with all aspects of the central government either heavily influenced by or directly incorporated into the burgeoning drug trade. "Drug traffickers have become the leading investors in Burma's new market economy and leading lights in Burma's new political order," says Robert S. Gelbard, an assistant US secretary of state. Burma's decision to weave the drug into its permanent economy has ramifications well beyond its borders. As the flow of heroin out of Burma increases, the drug is sold more cheaply and, as a result, more widely in the United States and elsewhere. Growing, too, is the incidence of AIDS that comes with the habit and its sharing of needles. The problem, evident on US streets, has reached tragic proportions in Burma's neighoring countries. At least 60 percent of the new, pure heroin that finds its way into the veins and nostrils of thousands of young Americans is coming, according to State Department officials, compliments of the military junta that rules Burma. The regime is known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC, and it rules the country, which is also known as Myanmar, with an iron fist. Heroin exports from Burma have more than doubled since the SLORC takeover in 1988, according to the State Department. ``Burma is the world's largest producer of opium poppy by far, particularly since...the SLORC took over the country,'' says Gelbard, and is ``responsible for the vast majority of heroin on the streets of the United States.'' Burma's role in supplying drugs to the world has already made that country the target of a divestment campaign similar to the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s. Ten municipalities, one county and the state of Massachusetts have passed selective purchasing laws against Burma, saying they will not do business with companies that invest there. `Drug money is so pervasive in the Burmese economy that it taints legitimate investment,'' says one State Department official. ``Since 1988, some 15 percent of foreign investment in Burma and over half of that from Singapore has been tied to the family of narco-trafficker Lo Hsing Han.'' Evidence now shows that foreign corporations investing in Burma not only prop up the military junta financially, but they allow for the expansion of the drug trade by providing convenient conduits for money laundering. According to Geopolitical Drugwatch, an international watchdog group in Paris, the SLORC's national oil and gas company - Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprises, or MOGE - has been the main channel for laundering the revenues from heroin exported under the control of the Burmese army. MOGE is in partnership with the US oil company Unocal, Total of France, and a Thai company in building a controversial $1.2 billion gas pipeline in southern Burma. Other US companies are dealing directly with the drug traffickers through a company known as Asia World, which is controlled by the legendary Han. Under pressure from human rights activists, California's Wente Vineyards last November canceled its contract with the company. In December, Northwest Airlines offered bonus miles to travelers staying at the Trader's Hotel in Rangoon, which is co-owned by Asia World. Last week,a spokesman for Northwest said that the promotion was discontinued ``sometime after the first of the year.'' But a representative answering the hotel's reservation line provided written confirmation that the policy was still in place. "That the Burmese economy is based on narco-dollars is quite obvious," says Dr. Sein Win, Prime Minister of Burma's Government in exile. ``It is incredible that a US company would promote a business owned by known drug dealers.'' How, exactly, does Burma's government encourage the drug trade? Consider how the government recently moved to reinforce Han's control over drug trade routes. Last year the government awarded his company the construction rights to a new 102-mile road from Lashio, a city located in the heart of Burma's opium poppy fields, into China. Asia World will be allowed to collect tolls on all vehicles passing along the road. At the same time, Han was awarded a 25-year contract to own and operate a new port out of Rangoon. Taken together, the two contracts reinforce Han's control over the country's drug exports - and his partnership with the military government. Although it is easy for many Americans to measure the drug trade's damage in US terms only, the effect of Burma's drug-driven economy on its neighbors, and on Burma's own civilian population, deserves attention. Since the military junta took over Burma in 1988, levels of drug addiction in China have increased more than seven times. The National Institute on Drug Dependence, based in Beijing, reports that in 1989 there were about 70,000 addicts in China. Six years later, that number had grown to more than 500,000. Zun You, a Chinese social scientist, reports that approximately one in six males from the Kachin ethnic group, on both sides of the border, are injecting drug users. And with that comes AIDS. Indeed, the bulk of China's AIDS cases are clustered along its border with Burma - specifically in three districts in Yunnan Province, according to Dr. Chris Breyer of Johns Hopkins University. Meanwhile, another neighboring country, India, is also seeing a sharp increase in drug use and AIDS along its 1,000 mile border with Burma. Authorities estimate that $1 billion in drugs is transported to India every year on National Highway 39, which connects Central Burma with India. Recent reports indicate that two new drug refineries were opened along the border between Burma and India in order to increase the supply of heroin to India. The northeastern Indian state of Manipur, bordering Burma, had 600 addicts when the SLORC came to power in 1988. As of 1996, according to specialists in the region, there were an estimated 40,000 addicts in the same location. Like China's Yunnan province, Manipur - on the border with Burma, has the worst AIDS epidemic in India. Inside Burma itself, where the poppy explosion is most deeply felt, the twin epidemics of heroin and AIDS are out of control. And SLORC government policy only feeds the problem, according to interviews with Burmese students, AIDS specialists, and Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. ``The government appears to be more interested in stamping out political activity than drug addiction,'' Suu Kyi said recently from her home in Rangoon. ``Very few university students on the campus could get away with engaging in political activities, but they seem to be able to get away with taking drugs.'' That view is seconded by an exiled Burmese college student now studying at the University of Wisconsin. ``Our professors told us that the regime would rather have you become heroin addicts than speak against the regime. The heroin explosion is happening with the knowledge, the endorsement, even active encouragement by the state officials.'' Jade mines owned by the government in northern Burma give their work force the option of being paid in hard drugs rather than cash, according to Benjamin Min, who once worked in the Ministry of Mines. In that remote region, off limits to Westerners, 90 percent of addicts are HIV positive; in the rest of Burma, according to the World Health Organization, the 500,000-plus addicts suffer an HIV infection rate of 60 to 70 percent. Yet the government refuses to allocate money for health services, and downplays the incidence of AIDS. In a dark, windowless room hidden in the back of a dingy tea shop in the Burmese city of Mandalay, a recent visitor reported this scene: A junkie shoots heroin into the arms, thighs, and necks of a string of clients using a single needle. The shooter stops occasionally only to wipe the needle with a rag or sharpen it on a stone. Investigators report that up to 200 addicts will use one needle. Another scene, reported by a visitor to the Thai-Burma border, captures the consequences of such practices. ``There are regular funerals now, two or three a day, for AIDS victims, where the bodies are cremated. This is many more than a year ago. You can hear firecrackers during the funerals and see clouds of black smoke rising up from the villages. This is because they burn rubber tires with the bodies. They believe that it kills the virus and keeps it from spreading.'' Narcotics officials estimate that this year's opium poppy harvest from Burma is expected to increase by 10 percent over last year's. And the more heroin exported out of Burma, the more that is likely to reach US streets, schools and neighborhoods. Government figures show that the volume of heroin imported into the US, and likewise heroin consumption, has doubled since the mid 1980's. Taking heroin is now too often considered chic; the drug is purer than it used to be, it's easy to get, and a hit can be cheaper than a six pack of beer. An August 1996 report by the National Narcotics Intelligence Consumers Committee - a panel made up of representatives of the 12 federal agencies fighting the drug war - describes New York City as ``the largest heroin importation and distribution center in the United States.'' It says that roughly half of the yearly heroin seizures made in the States occur in the New York City metropolitan area. Jane's Intelligence Review reports that the amount of Burmese heroin sold in New York City has tripled since 1989. According to a DEA supervisor in New York, more women have become heroin users in recent years. But the problem is not just New York's. Chicago is suffering its own deluge of heroin, and in San Francisco, law enforcement officials are only half-joking when they say that in some areas it is as easy to buy heroin as cigarettes. In that city, heroin deaths more than doubled from 1991 to 1994. In Boston, Asian heroin is driven up from New York. A Drug Enforcement Administration official in Boston says the agency is redoubling its efforts against heroin, which is blamed for a recent rash of overdose deaths. George Festa, special agent in charge of the DEA New England Field Division, and New England's highest ranking DEA official, says that 13 and 14-year-olds are selling heroin on the streets of Boston. Most, he said, have no idea of the drug's Burmese origins, or the danger it poses. ``I don't think young people realize that they're dealing with poison,'' Festa says, ``I don't think they realize, going back to Burma, how this stuff is manufactured, the chemicals that are used under unsanitary conditions . . . Many times what you're putting in your nose or into your veins was smuggled into the country in somebody's internal cavities.'' Dennis Bernstein is an associate editor of Pacific News Service and co-host of Flashpoints, a daily investigative radio report that airs in the San Francisco area. Leslie Kean is co-author of "Burma's Revolution of the Spirit" and director of the Burma Project USA. This article was written with support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. ************************************************* KHRG REPORT: #97-02- FAR SOUTH March 10, 1997 From: Saw_Knyaw@sala.icn.net (Saw Knyaw) ATTACKS ON KAREN VILLAGES: FAR SOUTH An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group March 10, 1997 / KHRG #97-02 This report concerns an area in southern Tenasserim Division, about 180 km. (110 mi.) north of Burma's southernmost point which lies at Kawthaung (Victoria Point). Apart from the Andaman Sea coastline, the area inland is hilly, forested, and not so heavily populated as most parts of the country. The people are Burmans, Muslims, Mons, Karens and Thais - the Thais are not Tai Yai (Shan), they are of the same ethnicity as the Thais of southern Thailand. In this area the Karen are a minority, having only a handful of villages, but they are often singled out for heavier burdens of forced labour and other forms of persecution. Part of the reason for this is the existence of Karen National Union (KNU) and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA 12th Battalion) in the area, headquartered at Kaw Thay Lu adjacent to the Thai border. In October 1996, SLORC ordered all the Karen villages in the area to move to SLORC-controlled relocation sites around the Burman village of Le Nya, where they were to be used as forced labour rebuilding the Boke Pyin-Le Nya motor road. Then in mid-November 1996 troops from SLORC Light Infantry Battalion #358 went through the area and burned completely the Karen villages of Nan Ka Prao, Waw Pa Doh, Ler Pa Doh and Kyet Der. In December or January they also burned part of Meh Naw Roh village. All of these villages had been ordered to move. The Karen villages of Ze Daeng and Kaw Bawt were also ordered to move. In every case, SLORC told the villagers they would kill on sight anyone caught in the area after that, and some villagers have been executed as a result. By 23 November, Light Infantry Battalion #358 troops were already beginning to set up a base on the burned remains of Nan Ka Prao village. Part of the Battalion then began attacking the Mon Army to the north. Some of the villagers moved to the relocation site as ordered and have subsequently been used as forced labour on the motor road. SLORC has provided them with nothing. Most of the villagers fled into the forests near their villages and are still there living in hiding. Several hundred fled to Karen-controlled territory near Kaw Thay Lu, where they were given help by the KNU. However, in February 1997 SLORC launched an offensive against KNLA 12th Battalion, and at the time these interviews were conducted 3 full SLORC Battalions (#262 and #342 based in Kawthaung and #432 from Boke Pyin) were poised to attack 12th Battalion headquarters at Kaw Thay Lu. Several hundred refugees fled across the border into Thai territory, but the Thai Army stopped them and pushed all the men and boys over age 10 back to Kaw Thay Lu telling them to fight along with the soldiers. Only 4 men (generally old men) per village were allowed to stay with the women and children, who were forced to stay just 1 km. from Kaw Thay Lu in a narrow, dark and malaria-infested gully, building tiny shelters in the middle of a streambed. The Thai soldiers then set up their positions behind the refugees, more with the idea of blocking the refugees from going further than protecting their border. This has proven to be the normal Thai strategy at refugee sites; should the SLORC Army cross the border, it also allows the Thai soldiers time to flee while the refugees are being killed. As of 18 February there were 282 refugees in the gully, all but a few of them women and children. The Thai authorities had promised them that should there be fighting in Kaw Thay Lu itself they would be allowed to move to a site a few kilometres further inside Thailand. At the time of printing of this report, the situation has not changed and Kaw Thay Lu is still awaiting an expected attack. The names of those interviewed in this report have been changed and some details omitted to protect them; false names are enclosed in quotes. TOPIC SUMMARY: Forced relocations (Interviews #1-6), burning of villages (#1-6), killings of villagers (#1), forced labour (#1-4), child forced labour (#1), extortion (#1,3), situation at relocation site (#4), male refugees forced back by Thai authorities (#2), refugee fears (#2,4,5), Nan Ka Prao village (#1-4), Ler Pa Doh village (#5), Meh Naw Ro village (#6), treatment of Burman and Thai villages in the area (#1-3). _________________________________________________ #1. NAME: "Saw Hsah Muh Lah" SEX: M AGE: 54 Karen Christian hill farmer FAMILY: Married, 6 children aged 17-31 ADDRESS: Nan Ka Prao village INTERVIEWED: 18/2/97 ["Saw Hsah Muh Lah" was a village elder in Nan Ka Prao village, and was one of the few men allowed to cross the border by the Thai authorities.] Q: When you were in Nan Ka Prao village did the Burmese ever order you to work? A: Yes, they made problems about building the road from Le Nya to Boke Pyin. So we couldn't stay there, and we had to come up here. The road has all been built before, we build it, then when it's finished the rains come and ruin it, then we have to build it again. So we have to go - if you can't go you have to pay money, and if you can't pay money then you have to go. If we can't go we have to hire someone, sometimes it is 2 or 3 thousand [Kyats], sometimes 1 or 2 thousand. We had to go one time every month, one person from every house. There are over 40 houses in Nan Ka Prao village. If the adults can't go then the children have to go, children around 12 and 13 years old. And old men over 50 or 60 years old often have to go on behalf of the young men. Each time it is for about 14 or 15 days. The Burmese don't give anything, they [the labourers] have to take care of themselves and survive on their own food. Some of them get sick, and then we have to substitute another person for them. Q: Did they order Nan Ka Prao village to move? A: Yes, we already had to move over 2 months ago. The Burmese came to the village and ordered all the villagers to move to Le Nya, which is in their area. It is about 3 or 4 hours' walk away [from Nan Ka Prao]. So some of the villagers moved there because they were afraid, but some of the villagers didn't go there or come here, they just fled and stayed somewhere else. As for us, we fled up here. The Burmese killed 2 of the villagers who didn't go to the relocation place, and they said they would kill all the villagers who disobeyed them and fled somewhere else if they saw them. Q: Where did they kill the 2 villagers? A: They killed the 2 villagers in the forest near Nan Ka Prao village. It was about a month ago. One was Kyi Lin, he was over 30 years old, he had a wife and 4 children. He was a Nan Ka Prao villager. The Burmese saw him when he was harvesting rice at his farm. They didn't ask him anything, they just saw him and shot him dead. Because they said they would kill any villagers they saw who disobeyed and didn't go to Le Nya. Q: What about the other villager who was killed? A: That happened the first time the Burmese came, over 2 months ago. Over 100 soldiers came from Battalion #358. They gathered all the male villagers and took them along with them. There was a young man among the villagers and the Burmese accused him of being a Kaw Thoo Lei [Karen army] soldier and then tortured him. Later on they realised he was not a Kaw Thoo Lei soldier, but they killed him anyway. They killed him along the way. Even his parents didn't know, and no one dared to search for his body. His name was Saw Peter, he was a Nan Ka Prao villager about 22 years old. Q: How many households moved to Le Nya [as ordered]? A: I would guess that maybe over 40 households moved there [from other villages as well as Nan Ka Prao]. I don't know how they stay there. Maybe they have to build the road. As for us, we didn't go there, instead we came to the Karen area among Karen people. Many people are staying in the jungle. But we would starve if we stayed a long time in the jungle, that's why we came up here. And up here is Karen revolution area, so I thought we'd have some hope of getting [or growing] some food. Q: I heard that the Burmese burned your village. A: Yes. They burned all the houses, they ate all our livestock and they cut down all the coconut trees and betelnut trees. None of the villagers were there, everyone had run. Q: Why did they burn the village? A: They say we help Kaw Thoo Lei [KNU/KNLA], and Kaw Thoo Lei is their enemy. They had ordered everyone to move, so they said if people didn't move they were going to destroy everything and everything we had. When we came here, I could only bring 2 or 3 pieces of clothing. We came as a group of 2 or 3 families, 14 or 15 people altogether. It took us 4 nights along the way because of the children. There were no Burmese along the way. Q: How many Karen villages are in Nan Ka Prao area? A: There are 4 villages - Nan Ka Prao, Ler Pa Doh, Waw Pa Doh, and Kyet Der. All of them were burned by the Burmese, they did the same to all the villages. Q: What about the Thai and Burman villages? Do the Burmese make problems for them? A: Yes, they make problems in every village. They order them to move to Le Nya - the Burman villages which are far from their [Army] place. Some of them have moved, some of them have fled. Q: When you got here how did you get food? A: When we first arrived we got rice from the Karen revolution, because we were staying with them. Then when they didn't have any more food for us the gawlewah [westerners] helped us with food. Now we've been in Thailand for 5 or 6 days, because we don't dare stay in Kaw Thay Lu anymore. The Burmese are coming there to attack and destroy, so we fled here. There are about 70 households here now. Altogether over 200 people [actually 282]. There are people from Nan Ka Prao, Waw Pa Doh and Ler Pa Doh, and from Kaw Thay Lu village. As for the people from Ze Daeng, they couldn't come up here even if they wanted to, because the Burmese are making many problems for them and blocking them. Q: If the Burmese reach Kaw Thay Lu can you still stay here? A: No, we wouldn't dare stay here [only 1 km. away]. We'd have to flee again to another place. ____________________________________________________________ #2. NAME: "Naw Lah Lah Htoo" SEX: F AGE: 30 Karen Animist hill farmer FAMILY: Married, 5 children aged 8 months to 11 years ADDRESS: Nan Ka Prao village INTERVIEWED: 18/2/97 Q: How many houses are there in Nan Ka Prao village? A: There are about 40 or 50 houses in Nan Ka Prao village. Q: I heard that the Burmese ordered the village to move. A: Yes. We got here over 2 months ago because the Burmese expelled us. They came up to Nan Ka Prao village, ordered the villagers to move and made problems. They burned all the houses. Some of the villagers came up here and some of them went down to the Burmese area. We just came here quietly, so the Burmese didn't know it. The people who went down where they ordered are staying in Kyaw Mote. As for me, I would not move here. I fled when all the other villagers were running into the jungle. We were in the bush for about 3 weeks. Then I went and stayed at Boke Pyin for about a week, then I went back to my village again and it had already been burned by the Burmese. Then I couldn't do anything, so I came to stay here in Kaw Thay Lu. I couldn't bring along any sleeping- mats, I just brought along some rice and one blanket. Then we couldn't stay in Kaw Thay Lu because the [Karen] leaders were worried that there would be troubles for us when the Burmese came. That's why we came here [1 km. into Thai territory]. I came here with all my children. My husband is still staying on the mountaintop [the Thai authorities would not let him cross the border, even though he is just a villager and has never been a soldier]. Q: How many Karen villages are in Nan Ka Prao area? A: There are many Karen villages, like Nan Ka Prao, Waw Pa Doh, Ler Pa Doh, Kyet Der, ... Waw Pa Doh has 12 houses, Ler Pa Doh has 30 houses. All these villages had to move. Now there are still some villagers living there, but they've run and are staying in the forest [around their villages]. They were ordered to move to Le Nya and Ma Kaw, which are among the Burmese and the Mon. The Burmese said they will kill all the villagers who are living in the jungle, they said that these are bad people. They say all the people who stay in the jungle or come to Thailand are bad people, that we all help Kaw Thoo Lei [KNU/KNLA], and that only the people who go to their [relocation] place are good. Q: Are there Thai and Burman villages there too? A: There are also Thai and Burmese villages there. The Burmese make difficulties for them too. All the villagers [Karen and others] who stay around Le Nya or go down to the places among the Burmese have to build the road and carry heavy things [as porters]. They're building a road to Boke Pyin, and one to Le Nya Kee and Nan Ka Prao. The Burmese said they'll build a camp in Nan Ka Prao. Q: Are Burman and Thai villagers also fleeing? A: Yes. Only a few of the Thai villagers are still staying there now. Some of them are moving to Thailand. Q: Why hasn't your husband come here? A: He hasn't come because the Thais won't allow the men to come, so all the men have to stay in Kaw Thay Lu. The Thais only allowed 4 men to come and stay here among us. I don't know why the Thais said that. My husband is not a soldier, he is just a villager. I don't know how long I'll have to stay here, but I've been here a week now. Q: If the Burmese attack Kaw Thay Lu do you dare stay here? A: No, I wouldn't dare stay here. Q: What is your situation here? A: We just got rice and salt while we were fleeing [from the KNU]. Yesterday we were given some sardines and noodles too. My children are healthy but I am not well, I feel bad and have pain in my back. ____________________________________________________________ #3. NAME: "Naw Htoo Paw" SEX: F AGE: 21 Karen Christian hill farmer FAMILY: Single, 7 brothers and sisters, lives with her parents ADDRESS: Nan Ka Prao village INTERVIEWED: 18/2/97 I'm a hill rice farmer, but our farm has been left behind because we had to flee. The Burmese ordered us out starting in 1996, they ordered us to move to Le Nya. Some people moved there but as for us, we didn't want to stay among the Burmese, so we came to the Karen revolution area. Before we stayed on the hill, but the Karen leaders told us we better come here [into Thailand] because the military situation was getting worse. Q: Before they ordered you to move did you have to do any work for the SLORC? A: Yes, people had to work building the road and carrying heavy things, and some people had to pay money when they couldn't go there. The road goes from Boke Pyin to Le Nya, among the Burmese. In our village we just collected money and sent it to the Burmese. There are over 40 houses in Nan Ka Prao village. Our village has been burned by the Burmese 2 times. They have already burned 3 of my houses. The first time was about 20 years ago, and the second time was in [November] 1996 when we were there. It was after they ordered us to move out. They burned many houses - all they left was the church. At that time, I was hiding in the jungle. We were in the jungle, trying to build a small shelter like this one [she was being interviewed in a tiny 4-foot by 5- foot shelter in the forest with a plastic sheet for the roof]. Later some Karen soldiers and villagers who had gone and seen it told us. The Burmese burned every house except the church. Q: How did you get food in the jungle? A: Before, we had hidden some rice, salt and fishpaste in the jungle, so that when things like this happen we could get it. Also, when these things happen we carry a little rice along with us, so we can survive for a short time. Then we fled out to here. Q: Are there any other Karen villages in Nan Ka Prao area? A: Yes, there are 3 others - there are Nan Ka Prao, and Kyet Der, Waw Pa Doh and Ler Pa Doh - 4 villages altogether, close to each other. They all have to move, and the Burmese burned all of them. Some of the people went to the Burmese [relocation place] and half of us came to the revolution area. Only a few households from Nan Ka Prao went to the Burmese place. Some others are just staying along the way there but not going all the way to the Burmese area. Those people are building small shelters and farming in the jungle. It is only really old men and old women who can't walk, can't do things or can't see who are going to the Burmese place. From other villages a few are here, a few are hiding in the forest and a few went to the Burmese place. We were staying in the jungle for 1 or 2 months, and the Burmese attacked the Karen once when we were there. We just kept moving around in the jungle and staying along the upper reaches of streams. If the Burmese saw us during that time it wouldn't be easy - they would surely kill us. Then we came here. We spent 4 nights on the way to get here. We couldn't bring anything except 2 sets of clothing, all our other things were taken by the Burmese. As for the food we brought, it was all finished on the way coming here. Then when we got here they [the KNU] gave us some rice and salt. At first they gave us 10 plates, 5 blankets and 1 pot because there are 10 people in our family. We arrived in Kaw Thay Lu in November, after we had fled. Q: How many households from Nan Ka Prao village have arrived here? A: There are 22 households here from Nan Ka Prao village. In the jungle there are more people than there are here. They would come if the situation was better, but for now they just have to hide in the jungle in the upper reaches of the streams. Q: Do the Burmese make problems for the Thai and Burman villages too? A: Yes, they also have to work. As for the Thai villagers, many of them have fled to their motherland. ____________________________________________________________ #4. NAME: "Naw Wah Mo" SEX: F AGE: 50 Karen Christian hill farmer FAMILY: Married, 4 children ADDRESS: Nan Ka Prao village INTERVIEWED: 18/2/97 When they came I was in the village, but we didn't dare face them so we fled into the jungle. Later I saw the places they'd burned. There were no more houses, nothing was left. All the houses were burned except for the church. Q: What about the Nan Ka Prao villagers who went to the relocation place, how are they staying? A: Some of them have made rafts and are living on the water [in shelters built on bamboo rafts in the river] and others are living on the sand bank [the sandy riverbank]. I wasn't there, but that was told to me by someone who saw it. I heard that the people who moved there are now building the motor road. The Burmese ordered all of the people to move there, but we didn't go. I don't know why the Burmese do things like this. I've been staying in Kaw Thay Lu for 2 months now. Now we have come here [across the border to Thailand] because we are afraid of the Burmese. I don't think we can go back to Nan Ka Prao. If the situation was good we could go, but not if it is bad. We're really afraid right now. ____________________________________________________________ #5. NAME: "Saw Bleh" SEX: M AGE: 46 Karen Animist hill farmer FAMILY: Married, 4 children aged 1-19, wife is about 7 months pregnant ADDRESS: Ler Pa Doh village INTERVIEWED: 18/2/97 Q: What problems did the Burmese make in your village? A: The Burmese came to the village and ordered us to move out, but we didn't and we fled. It was about 3 months ago. They said that they would kill us if they caught us after that. There are about 30 houses in Ler Pa Doh village and 20 houses in Waw Pa Doh village. Waw Pa Doh is right across the river from Nan Ka Prao. Ler Pa Doh is 30 minutes' walk from Nan Ka Prao. Q: Were you there when the Burmese ordered the village to move? A: Yes, I was there in my village. They came to the village and they burned all the houses. I was hiding in the bushes. I saw them burning the paddy in my rice barn, the paddy which I grew on my own hill farm. There were a lot of them. It was over 2 months ago, then they came again. They came and burned the houses 3 times, because the first and second times not all the houses were burned completely. After the third time all the houses were burnt. All 30 houses. Q: What area did you flee to? A: We just went and hid in areas upstream. Altogether 3 households from Ler Pa Doh arrived here. More households went to the Burmese place than came here. It took 3 days to come here. All our children came on foot with us. This one is 5 years old, and this one is 4. Q: Why did you come into Thailand? A: We dare not stay there [just across the border at Kaw Thay Lu] because the Burmese will attack, so we had to flee into Thailand. If the Burmese arrive there we won't dare stay here either, we'll have to move to another place. Q: Could you go back and stay in your village again? A: We can't stay back in our village if the Burmese are there. If the Karen leaders tell us the Burmese are not there anymore then maybe we could go and stay there. ____________________________________________________________ #6. NAME: "Naw Lah Ghay" SEX: F AGE: 28 Karen Christian hill farmer FAMILY: Married, 1 child aged 19 months ADDRESS: Meh Naw Roh village INTERVIEWED: 18/2/97 I married a [Karen] soldier, and I stayed in Meh Naw Roh. Meh Naw Roh is a Karen village. It is a big village with about 100 houses. I stayed in the village, but my husband was living among the soldiers. Then we couldn't stay in the village because the Burmese ordered us out, so I came to my husband [in Kaw Thay Lu]. Meh Naw Ro is about a week from here on foot, one day's walk from Nan Ka Prao. Now there are no more villagers in the village because the Burmese wouldn't let them stay. The Burmese said they would kill any villagers they saw. It was about a month ago. Some of the villagers went down to the place we were ordered to move at Le Nya, some fled upstream into the jungle, and some came to the Karen revolution area. The Burmese came to the village, but there were also Karen soldiers staying at the village. There was fighting. All the villagers ran away, and the soldiers stayed in the village. Then after that the Burmese burned 7 of the biggest houses in the village. My husband is a soldier so I was afraid [that SLORC would arrest her], and I fled the village and came up here. I came along with our child. We only brought a few things. *******************************