------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: October 30, 1997 Issue #856 Noted in Passing: If our soldiers continue to behave so badly, our whole army will lose its reputation. -- Lt Gen Khin Nyunt to army officers (SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION: OCT. 1997 REPORT) HEADLINES: ========== BKK POST: TIGERS ADOPT NEW TOOL OF TERROR DER SPIEGEL: INTERVIEW WITH DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI BKK POST: PRACHUAB AIMS TO MEND EU RIFT SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION: OCTOBER 1997 REPORT -------------------------------------------------------------------------- BKK POST: TIGERS ADOPT NEW TOOL OF TERROR October 29, 1997 A Correspondent A long insurgency needs lots of money, and it now appears the Tamil Tigers are following other separatist movements by funding their activities with drug profits. Diplomatic officials have put together a new profile of Sri Lanka's separatist movement, the Tamil Tigers. It reveals hard evidence that the group is a terrorist organisation, but also paints the movement as a major player in international drug trafficking. This new view of the group known officially as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, is likely to influence the international view of the Tamil Tigers. Once tolerated and supported as the voice of a repressed Sri Lankan minority, the Tamil Tigers have recently come under close scrutiny. They face tough new sanctions and will find it more difficult to use the many foreign bases they have established, usually in Tamil communities abroad. The United States stunned the Tamils and many of its supporters earlier this month when it officially declared the group a terrorist organisation. As a result, the LTTE is barred under tough laws from raising money or spreading propaganda inside the US. In fact, the US move came after at least three years of debate in the international community over the legitimacy of the LTTE. Various international terrorist reports had mentioned the Tamil Tigers since 1994, mainly because of truck bombs the group has used inside Colombo. Last year, a single bomb killed 90 people. But the confirmation that the LTTE is deeply involved in massive drug trafficking has surfaced more recently. A diplomatic source involved in a recent study of the Tamil Tigers said the evidence is overwhelming and clear. "The LTTE is directly involved with the Burmese regime in making and distributing heroin," said the source. The investigation uncovered direct proof of close collaboration between Burma and the Tamil Tigers. LTTE forces are allowed to train at military bases in southern Burma. In return, they supply couriers for the world-wide smuggling of Burma-produced heroin. In recent months, says a confidential report, Tamil drug smugglers with links to the Tamil Tigers have been arrested in Sri Lanka, India, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, the United States and Canada. Tamil couriers have been caught in some cases with forged or stolen passports. In one drug arrest, German police uncovered a collection of tools and stamps to make forged passports. The Tigers exploit - with money, threats or ideology - overseas Tamil communities, who have contributed to the heroin smuggling. French and Australian police reported to the diplomatic inquiry that they have uncovered links between local gangs and Tamil Tigers. Last November, Indian authorities seized $71 million (2.7 billion baht) worth of drugs when they broke up a trafficking ring in southern Tamil Nadu state, home of most of India's Tamil minority. Tamil Tiger militants and sympathisers both find sanctuary in the Indian state despite government efforts to root them out. Diplomats have concluded the Tamil Tigers' independence fight now has become overshadowed by its outside businesses, first and foremost drugs. The northern Sri Lankan port of Jaffna and a large pirate fleet maintained by the LTTE armed forces play a minor role in the anti-Colombo war. But they play the major part in the Tigers' drug dealing. Similarly, Tamil Tiger troops who have trained near Manipur, in northern India, no longer are a major part of the Sri Lanka resistance. Instead, they have joined forces with Burmese heroin traffickers in the Manipur area. The Tigers, provide security for Burmese drug caravans from the western Golden Triangle into India. Several thousand Manipur residents recently demonstrated against the drug traffickers, closing the Burmese border for two days in protest. "The Tamil drug smuggling network has become an integral part of Burmese drug trafficking around the world," said a Bangkok-based anti-narcotics officer. "The Tigers are not just profiting from drugs, they've made narcotics their chief battle more important than the war in Sri Lanka." Diplomats compared the current Tamil Tigers to Burma's former independence groups among the Shan. "The Thai Yai once were fighting for independence from Rangoon, but they got completely involved in drug smuggling and building their huge profits," said a diplomat in Bangkok. There is much that still is unknown about the Tamil Tigers. But it appears the group is also falling off its principles of fighting for the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka. As more of its narcotics deals are confirmed, it is likely to lose most of the international support it once had. ****************************************** DER SPIEGEL: INTERVIEW WITH DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI September 29, 1997 [BurmaNet Note: This translation was sent to BurmaNet News, and has been slightly corrected for easier reading. It was originally published in German in the magazine Der Spiegel] Q: Madame, in Europe Burma is associated with Aung San Suu Kyi, but still very little is known about your daily life. What is you daily life like? ASSK: Busy. I'm preparing for our party congress, although I don't know if the authorities will allow it to take place. The last two ones were forbidden, and our delegates were put into prison. Q: And when there is no party congress in the making? ASSK: My usual day is made up of political day to day party work. Apart from that we have a lot of duties ordinary parties don't have. For example taking care of our prisoners and their families, providing legal aid for our people who are charged unjustly, that means all of them. So we have to do a lot of social work as well. and we have to keep in touch with the international community. Q: Are you allowed to move around? ASSK: Yes. I visit the party-office in Rangoon. But totally against the law, SLORC has placed restrictions on who is allowed to see me at my house. The road is shut off. Visitors are stopped at the barriers and turned away. They don't like foreign correspondents they don't like some of our elected MPs. There was a point when they even prevented diplomats from coming to see me, but lately they stopped that. Q: But your party colleagues are allowed to come? ASSK: Some are allowed, some are not. Meeting with people coming from outside Rangoon takes a lot of my time from day to day. Q: Do you visit party offices in the country? ASSK: The last time I decided to go to Mandalay they decided that the carriage in which I was travelling was out of order and unhitched it. So I couldn't go. Q: Do you leave your compound for other purposes? Do you go shopping, do you go to the movies? ASSK: No, I am not that fond of shopping and I am not such a cinema-goer either. I haven't been to the cinemas in years. The last time I went shopping a big crowd gathered, which makes it a little bit difficult. And also I don't have the time. I only go out for work purposes. Q: Do you tell the authorities about your plans to leave the house? ASSK: Usually yes. So the military intelligence is accompanying me with a car in front and behind of my car. They say, it's for my own security. Sometimes it's even useful, because they can give me the right directions. But they do not enter the premises of the person I am visiting. Q: So, being more or less confined to your house, you don't miss anything [outside]? ASSK: Not really, I'm an adaptable person. Q: You have had, as we understand, to adapt to pretty harsh working conditions as well. ASSK: Well, the telephone is most unreliable. Of course it is tapped. On top of that it is cut off very often. We are also not granted the licence for a fax machine. We are not allowed to xerox things either. Q: Where do you get your information on the outside world from? Do you listen to the radio? Do you receive international TV programmes? ASSK: I do have a TV, but I hardly ever watch it, because I don't have a satellite dish. So I can see only the Burmese programmes which are not very useful. There is no way to apply for a licence for a dish. So what people do is to buy it first and then get the licence. But I am sure that if any of us uses a satellite dish without obtaining a licence, we would be in trouble. In any case, I am not a great television watcher. Of course we listen to the radio. We read foreign newspapers, if people bring them in for us. Q: How do you contact your family? ASSK: My family calls me every Sunday evening. But sometimes the telephone is cut off for two or three weeks. Q: Madame, communism and dictatorships seem to be disappearing all over the world. Why not in Burma? ASSK: It will disappear in it's own time. Communism and dictatorship didn't disappear all at once in other countries. Q: The Junta is trying to liberalize the economy. Is it possible that the desire of the people for wealth will get stronger than the desire for democracy? ASSK: No, because the Burmese people are not getting wealthy. There is only a very small elite who are getting very wealthy indeed. We used to pride ourselves on the fact that there was not such a great difference between the rich and the poor. This is no longer the case. All these very rich people have connections with the authorities. But the great majority of the people in Burma are getting poorer and poorer. The best proof of that is that the dropout rate at primary schools is rising all the time, because the parents, especially in the rural areas, are either not able to pay the school fees or they need the children to work in the fields. Q: As other countries show, the widening gap between rich and poor is a normal tendency. Once capitalism under democratic conditions is introduced, it will diminish. ASSK: One of the primary reasons for the gap between the rich and the poor is not the open market economy, but rather inefficient economic planning and corruption. Civil servants like policemen start with a monthly salary of 600 Kyats .... Q: ... which means less than three dollars. ASSK: If you go to your hotel for a cup of tea you have to pay four. Ministers get something like 3500 Kyats a month, about 25 Dollars. But if you look at their living style, then you have to start worrying about this country. The corruption is rampant. Even in Russia it is not like that. Q: The Junta wants to introduce a kind of Indonesian system to your country, which means a market economy and a strong army. ASSK: So they say. But they should recognise the fact, that we are different countries with different cultures. I cannot say the Indonesian model will lead Burma to a better situation, because if you are trying to copy another country and you do it inefficiently it can be quite disastrous. If SLORC says: We want our own kind of government, our own kind of democracy, why shouldn't we go for a German or American model? Q: What kind of model would you prefer? ASSK: We should evolve our own way. If the SLORC talks about the Burmese way of democracy we find that very worrying, because we used to suffer under the Burmese way to socialism, which changed Burma from one of the fastest developing nations in Southeast Asia to one of the poorest countries in the world. Any democracy absolutely must guarantee certain basic rights. Having acquired these rights we will then evolve. Q: A lot of Asian leaders declare that western democracy would bring chaos and anarchy to the region. Do you think that democracy and Asian values contradict each other? ASSK: No. Democracy has its roots in human values. Each one of us wants to be valued as an individual of worth and dignity. The foundation of democracy is human rights. Human rights is founded on human nature. It's a universal concept. You should not keep it for either the West, the North, the South or the East. India is one of the most chaotic nations in the world, but its democracy has worked. Not despite, but because of democracy they have kept the nation of so many different peoples and religions together. Q: What do you feel when, for example, the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr. Mahathir talks about Asian values? Can you understand it or do you find it strange? ASSK: It is not strange at all. I can understand perfectly well why some people insist on Asian values. The argument is that democracy is alien to Asia, because it emerged in the west. But do Burmese or Malaysian or Thai people, who can afford it, stop themselves from buying televisions, because they were not invented in Asia? Do they deny themselves the luxury of cars, air conditioners, because these things were not invented in the East? Q: Some people in the west sympathise with the kind of authoritarian regimes of Asia, for instance when the young American was flogged in Singapore because he damaged cars. ASSK: This is not Asian values. In England they stopped only quite recently flogging schoolboys at Eaton. Who says that strict laws are Asian values? Q: Also business people look at the Asian values with some understanding, because they think the investment climate is better in an authoritarian regime. ASSK: Not in the last few months with the currency turmoil. That is the law of impermanence we Buddhists believe in: things change. Q: Everybody is talking about business and not about human rights. ASSK: In Burma a small elite has managed to profit. What we have is not exactly an open-door economy, it is only open to a few. Those few like to talk about business. But if you talk to businessmen, who have the courage to be open, you will find that they are deeply concerned about the situation in Burma. Q: How would you describe the present situation? ASSK: Bad. We are going down. The economy is in very bad shape, inflation is rampant. The trade is very sluggish. Our exports have dropped. Our foreign currency reserves are extremely low. Look at the empty hotels. They are losing money hand over fist daily. Our new economic package is outlining some of our ideas on how to solve that problem. Q: Are you still urging businessmen not to invest in Burma? ASSK: We would change our mind, if we were certain that the money coming in really got to the people who need it, that it really benefits our nation, not just a few people. If the money just makes a few very rich people richer and richer, you encourage these people to try to prevent change. Change would mean a deterioration of their situation. Q: But also normal people are profiting, for example from tourism. ASSK: I'm not saying that there a not a few who get some of the overflow of the wealth. But they are very, very few. You cannot cure the ills of the economy just by making a few people benefit from the overflow of the very, very rich, because the fundamental situation of the economy is so bad. We always emphasize health and education. Not the tourist sector. We need healthy and educated people in order to build and sustain an developed nation. Q: You need the money first. ASSK: We are very much worse off in the health and education sector now than we were eight years ago. It is bad planning, it is lack of concern for the ordinary people, it all comes down to lack of accountability and transparency. Q: The generals would argue, we can't develop the health and education sector, because we don't have enough money. And we don't have enough money because a certain lady is urging western countries not to invest. ASSK: What were they doing with the money that came in? We are worse off now than in the days of Burmese socialism, when there was no foreign business. Why? Because the system is more inefficient, because there is no proper planning. Such things are only possible, because we have a dictatorship. Q: ASEAN has made Burma a full member. It seems that your plea to isolate the Junta was not heard. ASSK: We never said not to take Burma. We said that Burma under SLORC would never be a credit to ASEAN. Secondly we said: Taking Burma into ASEAN would very likely encourage SLORC to become harsher against the opposition, because it would gain confidence. If the internal affairs of a country makes no difference to ASEAN, why did they refrain from taking Cambodia? These are questions which people are asking. Q: So why did they take Burma? ASSK: There are a lot of ASEAN businesspeople, who thought that they would be able to make a good profit out of Burma. We've been arguing since 1995 that this is a mistaken notion, unless there is a real change Burma will not be able to make the transition to the kind of economy that would provide foreign investors with the kind of profits they are expecting. Our priority is not the profit of the foreign investor, but the well-being of our people. Q: SLORC is working on a new constitution, but you are not allowed to work on one of your own. ASSK: They brought out a new law last year, named 5/96: Anybody who does or says anything that will in any way hurt the process of the National Convention can be imprisoned. So if anybody writes and publishes a constitution, they could possibly say that you deserve a good, tough prison sentence. Q: SLORC has begun to talk to your party again the other day. Is that a sign of a more friendly approach towards you? ASSK: Not yet. It is a little bit early to say that they are doing it in good faith. The invitations to the chairman of the party were made in a way which can only be interpreted as an attempt to split the NLD. I say this, because at the first meeting between NLD-Party-Chairman U Aung Shwe and General Khin Nyunt, he made the point that I could not be included in further meetings. They brought up the charge of my having accepted 80,000 Dollars from some US citizen, which is absolute nonsense. We should be allowed to choose who is going to represent us. It's got to be on equal terms. Genuine dialogue must be on equal terms. Q: If Chancellor Kohl called you, what would you tell him? ASSK: There should be a concerted international action to implement the terms of the UN Resolution, which for example calls for the early democratisation of Burma and dialogue between SLORC and us and the ethnic nationalities. The international community should get together and coordinate the efforts to implement the terms of the resolution. We want firmer and better coordinated international action. Q: There is already a boycott of the United States. If the EU would invite you, would you go? ASSK: No, because the generals wouldn't let me back any more. So I have to wait until we have a democracy. Q: When do you think that will be achieved in Burma? ASSK: Soon, I think. But I am not an astrologer. In politics 24 hours can make a lot of difference or 24 years can make no difference at all. Q: Are your sons allowed to come to see you? ASSK: My youngest son is here with me at the moment. He celebrated his 20th birthday with me. It is the first time in nearly two years that he has been allowed to see me. He will go to university in England when he gets back. My other son is studying in the States. Q: Do you see a future for them in Burma? ASSK: It is for them to decide. I don't make decisions for them. Q: Madame, we thank you for this interview. **************************************** BKK POST: PRACHUAB AIMS TO MEND EU RIFT October 29, 1997 Nussara Sawatsawang Delegation arrives in Rangoon today Foreign Minister Prachuab Chaiyasan departs for Rangoon today in pursuit of a compromise between Burma and the European Union by trying to encourage dialogue between the military regime and opposition leader Aung San Sun Kyi. As host of the Asean-EU Joint Cooperation Committee next month, the minister supports Burma's participation as an observer in the meeting which will review cooperation between the two groupings dating back to 1980. The EU has threatened to boycott the meeting if Burma is involved. Mr Prachuab will convey the EU's demand of an 'action plan' from Burma before it will agree to allow Burma's entry into the Asean-EU cooperation scheme. Conditions of the plan include significant dialogue between the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) and Mrs Suu Kyi, the release of political prisoners and improvement of Burma's often-criticised human rights record. Mr Prachuab is due to meet Slorc chairman Gen Than Shwe, vice chairman Gen Maung Aye and Intelligence Chief Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt. He will also hold talks with Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw during his two-day official visit. Burma and Laos were admitted as members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in July, prompting the grouping to include them as a bloc member in the Asean-EU arrangement. Asean also includes Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Thai Foreign Ministry officials initially ruled out EU pressure, saying Bangkok would avoid interfering in Burma's affairs. However, Mr Prachuab is expected to persuade the regime to "take a positive step" towards national reconciliation. "We [Asean] aim to maintain a key role [to bring about dialogue] and see to it that that message is conveyed," permanent secretary for foreign affairs Saroj Chavanaviraj said recently. But an Asian diplomat expressed doubt over the effectiveness of outside pressure, saying that talks would lead to a productive outcome only when Mrs Suu Kyi and the Slorc recognise each other and learn to work together. "They must learn to co-exist. The NLD needs recognition, credibility and a period of tutelage to be part of the government," the diplomat said. Sources confirmed Mrs Suu Kyi and Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon had met in private over lunch during President Fidel Ramos' visit to Rangoon last week. Mrs Suu Kyi was quoted as reaffirming her "strong position" in agreeing that dialogue could be started at the lower level, but added that she and NLD's chairman Aung Shwe must be included in any high-level talks with the Slorc. The NLD turned down Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt's invitation for a meeting last month after finding that Aung Shwe and other members were on the list, while Mrs Suu Kyi was excluded. Mr Prachuab is also expected to urge the Burmese government to conclude an agreement on commercial navigation in the upper basin of the Mekong river shared by Laos and China, officials said. Some of his 18-member delegation will visit Thai prisoners in Rangoon and visit Bago, about 100 kms north of Rangoon, where Burma plans to build a new international airport. ******************************************************* SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION: OCTOBER 1997 REPORT October 1997 From: shan CULTURAL PERSECUTION Since mid-October, Commander of the Golden Triangle Special Regional Command Lt. Gen. Thein Sein issued an order banning all video tapes of Shan language that are being sold or rented in towns and villages all over eastern Shan State. The order says that whoever keeps, sells or rents any video tapes of whatever foreign movies that have been changed to Shan Language will be punished. However, video tapes which are changed to Burmese language and those with their original sound tracks will be allowed to be on the market. The Shan Language video tapes are mostly those which feature historical stories and fables from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand, imported or smuggled in and dubbed with Shan Language. This has become a profitable business in many towns like Taunggyi, Murngkerng, Laikha, Pang Long, etc., over the last 10 years or so. Concerning the oppression of language, many people complain that it is much easier to have a chance to learn Chinese or English than to teach or learn Shan language. In SLORC's eyes, it is as if those who talk about studying Shan language are going to rebel right away. BURNING AND KILLING IN MURNGPAN On 11.9.97, 60 Slorc troops from LIB no.331, led by Capt. Win Maung, were stationed at Wo Lai village, Wan Tham village tract, Murngpan township, and were collecting "tax" from cattle traders who were passing through. In the early morning of the next day, they clashed with about 30 SURA (Shan United Revolutionary Army) troops who were coming from the direction of Nar Leng village and heading for Ho Phai village, at a place one mile east of Wo Lai. The skirmish lasted about an hour during which 4 Slorc soldiers were killed, including one Lieutenant named Hla Maung. One SURA soldier was wounded. On 12.9.97, the Slorc troops ordered all the villagers of Wo Lai to move away and, on 13.9.97, burned down all the 46 houses in the village. One elderly woman named Mae Thao Par could not leave her house and was burnt with it. On 14.9.97, they went to Wan Tham village and shot dead 6 villagers, accusing them of being SURA's supporters, and later burned down all the 6 houses of those villagers. The 6 villagers killed were: 1. Sai Aw Pae Ta, 38 years old 2. Sai Wi Zing Ta, 31 " 3. Sai Mu Ling, 29 " 4. Sai Khat Ti Ya, 37 " 5. Loong Pan La, 48 " 6. Loong Kham Leng, 51 " RAPE AND MASSACRE IN KUNHING On 15.9.97, 120 Slorc troops of LIB no.524, led by Capt. Htun Mya, patrolled the area of Kun Ho Yarn in Kunhing township. When they searched the forest, they found a group of people who had refused to move to the town and were staying there hiding in the forest. There were 99 people, including 57 men and 42 women, with Loong Parn La, 53, as their headman. The Slorc troops gathered them together and photographed them, and told them that they were allowed to live at the place provided they did not give any food to SURA troops and reported to the Slorc troops as soon as possible when they saw any of the SURA troops. The Slorc soldiers continued to search the area for 2 days and 2 nights. When they found nothing, they again ordered the villagers to gather in one place to listen to a speech. This time, however, they tied up all the men and gang-raped all the women for 2 days and 2 nights. After that, all the 99 villagers were said to have been killed by the Slorc soldiers. SLORC COMMANDER SEIZES CIVILIAN'S HOUSE Tactical Command's Vice commander Than Aung forced Loong Aw Ta, a townsman, to pay "tax" for having a house in the town of Murngsart in the amount of 300,000 Kyat. When Loong Aw Ta built his house 8 years ago, it had cost him only 200,000 Kyat. It was a 2-storey, 3 compartment, teak-wood house. SLORC commander Than Aung threatened to confiscate the house if Loong Aw Ta refused to pay the tax or sell it to him for only 30,000 Kyat. Loong Aw Ta had no choice but to sell it at a giveaway price instead of letting it be confiscated. Later, Than Aung sold the house for 700,000 Kyat to a Chinese trader named Lao Li Saen, who came from China via the border towns of Muse, Kiu Khok or Namkham in northern Shan State. Loong Aw Ta, being very upset, has now moved away to Taunggyi. BEATING, RAPING AND BURNING IN MURNGPAENG On 6.9.97, about 60 Slorc troops from IB no.43, led by Capt. Ohn Myint, ransacked Huay Kharn village, Murng Poo Awn tract, Murngpaeng township. They asked the village headman Aw Zing Na, 39, whether the villagers had given any food to SURA members during this month. When Aw Zing Na told them that he had never seen any Shan soldiers since after the MTA surrender (in early 1996), the Captain accused him of being quarrelsome and beat him up until he fainted 5-6 times. The Slorc troops then gathered all the villagers together and chose out 11 young women, aged between 15 to 18 years, and raped them. The Captain also raped Nang Mya Kyi, Aw Zing Na's wife, and ordered her to show him all their valuable belongings, gold and money if she did not want her husband dead. But Nang Mya Kyi was able to produce only 500 Kyat of money, saying that was all she had. On 8.9.97, the Captain then ordered headman Aw Zing Na to tell all his villagers to move to Murng Poo Awn village tract within 3 days. While the villagers were moving, the soldiers went around the village and took what they wanted and the Captain raped one woman after another during that time. On 11.9.97, the Slorc troops burned down all the 37 houses in the village. RAPE IN MURNGTON On 26.9.97, a company of Slorc troops from IB no.277 returned to Murngton from patrolling the countryside, but could not reach the town before dark and had to separate and camp on the outskirts of the town. Capt. Khin Maung Nyunt and his group camped at a nearby village of Pha Khe, Huay Sai village tract. Around midnight, Capt. Khin Maung Nyunt went into the house where there were only a young woman Nang Seng, 18, and some children because their parents had gone to tend their farms and stayed over night. He raped Nang Seng all night and left for the town early in the morning. As soon as the Slorc soldiers had left, Nang Seng went to their farm and told her parents about it. Her parents then went to Murngton and complained to the Battalion Commander Col. Aye Thant about the raping of their daughter. The Slorc commander then called Nang Seng to their base, lined his men up, and told Nang Seng to pick out her rapist. Since Capt. Khin Maung Nyunt had been deliberately left out somewhere and was not included in the lineup, Nang Seng could not find him. Commander Aye Thant then accused Nang Seng and her parents of trying to defame his man and the army and scolded them, and forced them to pay 15,000 Kyat as compensation. RAPE DURING FORCED RELOCATION IN MURNGSART On 2.10.97, Slorc Commander of IB no.49 Lt. Col. Myo Thant in Murngsart summoned the village headman Saw Nan Ta and some village elders of Waeng Nur, north of the town, to the military base and ordered them to move their villagers to near Murngton-Murngsart motor road, near the town and Pa Sak village. The period allowed for the move was 7 days. Waeng Nur village consisted of 245 households. He explained to the villagers that if they moved near the main road and the town they would have access to electricity and they would not have to be afraid of the danger of SURA soldiers any more because they would be near the military base and it would be easy for the Burmese soldiers to protect them. And thus, on 3-4.10.97, all able-bodied young men of the village went to the relocation sites to build shelters before they moved their families and belongings. During that time, 25 soldiers from Slorc LIB no.333, disguised as rebel troops, came into the village and raped the women they could catch, sparing no one, married or unmarried. At one of the houses, there was an old man named Loong Pan Ta, 60, who had very poor eyesight and hearing and had difficulty moving and walking. He and his grandchild, a girl of 14-15, were in the house when some Slorc troops entered and said something to him. The old man gestured that he could not see or hear very well, so they ordered his grand child to open the bed room door, saying that they had to look inside and that they were Shan soldiers who had just moved down from the north and spoke a different dialect. But, though they wore different uniforms, their firearms were of the Slorc army, which no other armed groups possessed. As soon as the girl went into the bed room, the soldiers followed and raped her in the bed room. Though she screamed and struggled and called for help, no one could help her, let alone her disabled grandfather. Altogether more than 20 women had been raped this time. When the men returned and were informed about it, they went to LIB no.333 base and made a complaint to the commander. The commander then lined 80 of his soldiers up and told the women to point out their rapists. Since the rapists were deliberately not included in the lineup, the women were not able to do so. The commander tried to extort money, but dismissed the villagers after they apologised many times. KILLING OF FORCIBLY RELOCATED VILLAGERS IN MURNGPAN Villagers of Nar Paw who had been forced to move to Wan Sar Lar in Murngpan township could not earn a living because there was no arable land in the vicinity of Wan Sar Lar. Therefore, some of the villagers had managed to obtain written permission from the Slorc commander at Wan Sar Lar and went to farm a place where Nam Pang Kharm stream ran into the River Salween. On 8.10.97, about 80 Slorc troops from LIB no.332, led by Maj. Aung Han, came to the place and rounded up the villagers who were staying for a few days to tend their farms. The soldiers beat up and tortured the villagers while asking about the rebels, but the villagers did not know and could not tell them anything. So they killed all the villagers, 9 men and 5 women, and for some reason only one 8 year-old boy was spared. When they asked the boy, he said his parents were not among those killed, they had gone back to their village to get food. The soldiers waited for 2 days but the boy's parents did not turn up, so they sent a message to IB no.65 to come and take the boy and find his parents for him. The boy ran directly to his parents' house when he was taken to his village. It was said that when the soldiers surrounded them, the villagers showed them the written permission, but they said that they were illegal and not effective in the area under their control and finally killed the villagers. SLORC COMMANDER SPEAKS IN MURNGPAN In early July 1997, the Commander of the no.3 Tactical Command and LIB no.332 Lt. Col. Kyi Myint summoned all the headmen and community leaders of the villages that had been relocated to Murngpan town, and the headmen of the quarters and community leaders in the town to the assembly hall at the base of LIB no.332 in Murngpan. There he launched into a long tirade, accusing the people of supporting the Shan resistance movement. Finally he gave them one last warning, "From now on, if our Intelligence hears that any of you secretly contact the rebels or give food to them, there will never be anything like questioning, inspecting, arresting and trial under the law. There will only be one decision made under the front line Tactical Command, and that is, frankly, death. There will be no reason or excuse like before when people used to say that they were afraid of all armed groups and had to do what they ordered; like a sword, they not only had to be afraid of the edge, but also the blade and the hilt. Words like these will not do you any good any more, we will not listen to such things any more. Any authorized officers in the army or the militia can do the killing without reporting to their superiors if they know, see or hear that someone has contact with or supports the rebels." According to some villagers, some Slorc army officers even said to them, "Burmese soldiers and Shan soldiers are quite different. We often heard the Shan soldiers say they need to kill the Burmese soldiers and their supporters, but in reality they don't have the courage and ability to do that. But the Burmese soldiers don't say much, they just act. And when they said they say they'll do something, they really do it." Since then, a night curfew was imposed and, up to September, not less than 15 people have been killed by the Slorc soldiers. EXTORTION AND SWINDLE IN MURNGNAI In Murngnai town, there was a big 2-storey house built of teak wood with a corrugated iron roof owned by a Shan-Lahu man named Khin Maung. He was a relative of the late Lahu leader Sao Fah Noi in Murngton. He had moved to Murngnai where he got married and built the house there over 6 years ago. Recently, around early September 97, a Chinese man named Yi Sarng who had just moved to Murngnai from Lashio, originally from China, began eyeing the house, thinking of opening it up as a shop. He then approached Maj. Khin Than Aye of Slorc IB no.64 who promised to buy the house for him. The Major then accused the house owner of dealing in illegal drugs and searched the house and found 100 tablets of amphetamine (which were said to be planted by the soldiers on his order). He asked the house owner to pay 2 million Kyat if he did not want to go to jail or sell him the house for 15,000 Kyat. Since the owner did not have 2,000,000 Kyat and did not want to be imprisoned, he had to give up his house for only 15,000 Kyat, and went to live in a makeshift hut with his family on the edge of the town. Maj. Khin Than Aye later sold the house to the Chinese man at the price of 800,000 Kyat, and also got 5% commission (40,000 Kyat) for acting as a broker. The house is currently said to be opened as a shop, selling different kinds of merchandise from China. EXTORTION IN MURNGSART On 24.9.97, 2 gem traders Nang Seng Wan and Sai Thun who brought some gemstones from Murngkut, the famous ruby mine in northern Shan State, stopped for a night at their friend Sai Ing Ta's house in Murngsart where they had often stopped many times before. They were on their way to sell their precious stones, of which the purchase price was 300,000 Kyat, at Nong Ook, a border town in Thailand. At night, when Slorc troops made a surprise check for "illegal guests", they were arrested with their host. The rule is that the responsible person of a house is required to report to concerned Slorc officials if he/she has any guests staying overnight at his/her house, or face punishment. The Slorc soldiers searched the house and found some low quality gemstones worth a few thousand Kyat. On the morning of 25.9.97, they pretended to searched the house again and produced 100 tablets of amphetamine -- an event said to be framed by the Slorc troops themselves -- and accused the gem traders and their host of dealing in illegal drugs. After they found the amphetamine tablets, the soldiers ordered the house owner to pay 300,000 Kyat and the gem trader 150,000 Kyat each for their release, otherwise they would be sent to Kengtung on the next day. Having no choice, the 3 victims had to find the money, by selling their valuables and borrowing from friends, and gave it to Commander Myo Thant of IB no.49 on the night of 25.9.97. MASSACRE IN MURNGPAENG On 16.9.97, about 100 troops from Slorc IB no.43 and 50 civilian porters, led by Capt. Aung Zaw Htun, made a search in the area of Murng Poo Awn, Murngpaeng township. At a place 4 miles south of Murng Poo Awn village, some villagers had farms and were staying overnight at their farmhouses. Altogether 63 people -- 38 men, 24 women and four 12 year-old children -- stayed in 5 farmhouses with Loong Khat Ti Ya, 57, as their headman. The Slorc troops shot all of them and proclaimed that they had killed a group of SURA troops. WA, PALAUNG AND LAHU HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT On 2.9.97, Slorc troops from IB no.246 led by Col. Thura Sein Thaung arrested 12 villagers who went to work on the farms at Huay Sai Lao in Kunhing township. He made the villagers pay 1,000 Kyat each for their release and ordered his soldiers to destroy all the paddy plants in the farms. On 1.9.97, at 10:30 hrs., SURA troops from no.958 Brigade, 159/155 Battalion clashed with Slorc troops of IB no.66 at a place near Nam Tok old village in Namzarng township. The fighting lasted about 15 minutes and 8 Slorc troops were killed and 13 wounded. On 2.9.97, Slorc troops of LIB no.422 shot dead Sai Saw San, 29, son of Loong Wa Ling & Pa Saw Thi, of Luk Long village, Wan Tong-Kaeng Lom tract, Kunhing township. On 9.9.97, Slorc troops of no.66 arrested 2 women from Murng Yung area, Namzarng township. They raped the women and eventually shot them to death. The names of the women are not yet known. On 14.9.97, SLORC's LIB no.422 ordered the local leaders in Kaesee township to remove all the fences and enclosures of the farms and fields in the area. Though the local people pleaded for mercy, the Slorc troops themselves destroyed many fences and paddy plants. "SLORC TOP BRASS SPEAKS" Even top ranking Slorc commanders once in a while have to acknowledge the misbehavior and brutality of their commanders and troops towards the civilian population, especially in the rural areas which they call front lines, as was evident in the speech given by Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt at a meeting of army battalion and division commanders at Yangon Division assembly hall on 6.8.94. THE SPEECH OF LT. GEN. KHIN NYUNT WAS AS FOLLOWS: "Today I have called all you officers together to talk about the current lack of discipline in the army. I have heard how all of the officers in the army, both at the front line and the base line are failing to do their duty, and are becoming corrupt. Those of you attending this meeting doubtless already know about this. But I guess you don't want to talk about it. Why aren't you doing anything? The main problem is that some officers at the front line are failing in their duty. Some soldiers at the front line have made an understanding with the enemy and taken bribes. Some soldiers have even reached such a level of understanding with the enemy that they are playing football with them. This is totally unacceptable. How will the enemy respect us or be afraid of us if we do this? If they are not afraid of the tatmadaw troops, then they will continue their oppression of the villagers. I don't want to hear of soldiers who were born and grew up in this country, and who have lived off the state's payroll, acting so irresponsibly ever again. What about the mottos that you have to recite every day: We pledge loyalty to the people of the state; We pledge loyalty to our fallen comrades; We will dutifully fulfill orders from above; I will give my life for my country, my people and my tatmadaw. Have you completely forgotten your vows? Our duty is to serve our country, not simply to play games. To get rid of the country's enemies is the duty of our army. The front line troops should treat their enemies like fire or the sun. If they surrender, you should treat them well, like water or the moon. The insurgents who continue to exist can do so because of the understanding with our soldiers in some districts. Some soldiers, when they arrive at villages, they terrorize and rape the pretty women. Some soldiers enter villages and demand money that they have not been ordered to collect. I don't want all of the fish in the boat to go rotten, just because of one rotten fish. If our soldiers continue to behave so badly, our whole army will lose its reputation. If the army is strong, the country will be strong. I don't want the military to have a bad reputation. It is your duty to control the troops under you and take care of them. You will have to take action and punish any soldiers or any commanders who behave badly. If we want to build up our country, the military must be strong. We must punish the bad, and reward the good. That is all." ************************************************