The following is a report by the All Burma Students' Democratic Front on human rights abuses carried out by SLORC troops against the Karenni people. Maps, photographs and copies of original SLORC documents have been removed from this version tailored for the net. If you would like a copy of the report with these included please contact us at caroline@ksc15.th.com or PO Box 151 Klong Chan PO, Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240, Thailand. FORCED RELOCATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN KARENNI STATE, BURMA Compiled and published by the ALL BURMA STUDENTS' DEMOCRATIC FRONT Documentation and Research Centre May 1997 INTRODUCTION This report documents human rights violations carried out by troops from the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) against Karenni people in Karenni State in eastern Burma. Information regarding human rights abuses in the area has come from interviews with Karenni refugees who have fled into Thailand, and with officials from the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP). Since May 1996, thousands of new Karenni refugees have arrived on the Thai-Burma border with stories of the mass forced relocation of villages and other forms of human rights violations by SLORC troops. Hundreds of villages have been forcibly relocated, particularly those between the Pon and Salween Rivers. While many people decided to flee to the Thai- Burma border, some moved to the new relocation camps near SLORC- controlled areas. Refugees arrived at the border exhausted and seriously ill due to their long journey. They told of their experiences of human rights violations in Burma, and of the living conditions in the new relocation camps where they said there was a lack of food, shelter and medicine. These refugees are currently living in fear of being attacked by SLORC troops following the shelling of a camp on January 3, 1997. The shelling killed a 19 year-old Shan refugee girl and a 30 year-old father of two. Ten others were seriously wounded. BACKGROUND The Karenni are the major ethnic group living in Karenni State and an estimated 240,000 people from over a dozen ethnic groups live in the state's rugged mountain regions. While most are Karen-related, such as the Kayan, Kayaw or Paku, there is also a small Shan minority and an increasing number of Burman immigrants. Karenni people have claimed that their territory is an independent state from Burma according to a treaty signed in 1875 with the Burmese King Mindon which officially acknowledged the independence of the western Karenni region. This independent status was never altered throughout British rule and maps of the Indian Empire always marked the Karenni State as outside British Burma. Under Burma's 1947 Constitution, the Karenni State was granted the right of succession after a ten-year trial period. But in August 1948, Karenni leader U Bee Htu Re was assassinated by government military police and an armed uprising swept the Karenni State and has continued to the present day. Successive governments have attempted to use the conflict to try to curtail the demand for Karenni independence. Government troops poured into the state at the start of the uprising, and in 1952 'Karenni State' was renamed 'Kayah State' by the then government, the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP). Like the Karen and Mon ethnic groups living along the border, the Karenni have been fighting an armed insurgency against the central government in Burma for decades. This fighting has intensified over the past eight years following the suppression of the pro-democracy movement in 1988 and the SLORC seizing power. MILITARY OPERATIONS IN KARENNI STATE During the last 40 years, civilians always have borne the brunt of government attempts to crush the Karenni independence movement. Under the SLORC's "Four Cuts" (Pyat Lay Pyat) operation, entire communities have been forcibly relocated from their homes and huge numbers of refugees and displaced people in the region. Up until 1995, human rights violations forced some 6,000 Karenni refugees into five camps in Karenni areas bordering Thailand. By late 1993 leaders of the armed opposition were coming under increasing pressure to agree to a cease-fire. Separate talks began in January 1994, with the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and Karenni Nationalities People's Liberation Front (KNPLF), which signed its own cease-fire with the SLORC in May 1994. Shortly afterwards leaders of the allied Kayan New Land Party (KNLP), which operates in parts of the state, also agreed to a cease-fire. The Karenni National Progress Party (KNPP) signed a cease-fire agreement at a ceremony in Loikaw on March 21, 1995, making it the fourth and final armed group in Karenni State to do so. However a month later on June 28 the KNPP issued a statement claiming that the SLORC had broken the terms of the agreement by sending an additional 2,000 troops into its territory and by continuing to take porters from the area. Two days later, fighting broke out after the SLORC launched an attack on the KNPP headquarters near the Thai border. The SLORC insisted that the offensive was launched in order to chase away illegal Thai loggers and to secure a route through KNPP territory to that of drug warlord Khun Sa. Later the SLORC claimed that it had positioned troops in the area close to Thai border because of possible threats to national security during a general election in Thailand. As soon as the cease-fire agreement between the KNPP and the SLORC broke down the first wave of refugees began arriving at the Thai-Burma border near Mae Hong Son Province in Thailand. Throughout 1995 and early 1996, SLORC troops conscripted Karenni people as forced laborers and forced porters during the "Tai Lone Hein" offensive ("echo all over the State"). In February and March 1996, the offensive by the SLORC intensified and Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 fighter planes were used in an operation against the headquarters of KNPP and bases of the All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF). The planes were sold to sold Burma for training purposes only. On March 9, four PC-7 fighter planes dropped shells on the Naw Kaw Ki mountain range near Mae Hong Son Province in a 15-minute attack. The next day, three PC-7s fired three rockets and dropped seven bombs during a 25-minute attack. In two further attacks that day, five PC-7s fired another 13 rockets and dropped another 16 bombs on the area. The bases in the area were subsequently abandoned, and the last of the KNPP border military bases, Kaut Kaut, fell to the SLORC on March 27, 1996. In a statement issued on May 11, 1996, the KNPP reported several successful ambushes of troops in the area between the Pon and Salween Rivers. Following this, some villagers in the area were killed in reprisal by SLORC troops. Commenting at the end of April 1996 on SLORC's recent exoneration of opium-warlord Khun Sa, the Minister of Tourism, Lieutenant General Kyaw Ba, said the SLORC could forgive Khun Sa following his surrender as this was in keeping with the Burmese way. However he said the KNPP, who remained recalcitrant, would not be granted any clemency. "We will smash them", he said. This comment contrasts to the SLORC's highly publicized peace making efforts to encourage "the remaining groups who still have not yet returned to the legal fold...to join hands in building a peaceful, democratic and modern union." Since the beginning of 1996, SLORC has moved some 37 battalions to the Karenni area each consisting of between 300-400 soldiers. There were 27 battalions in place in March 1996, then an extra ten were moved in, including five from 99 Division, following the surrender of Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army (MTA) troops in Shan State . Since the start of the 1996 offensive, human rights violations such as forced relocation, extra-judicial killings, rapes, forced labor, burning villages, and forced porterage were carried out by SLORC troops. During the offensive, some porters who had been taken by troops in Loikaw escaped into Thailand. These porters told of witnessing the death of fellow porters from landmines, beatings and torture, and also witnessing civilians being killed as suspected supporters of the KNPP. According to their testimonies, many villages were reduced to ashes by SLORC troops in order to clear the region. According to reliable sources from the region, many people were reportedly arrested and detained by the SLORC for allegedly having contact with the KNPP and ABSDF groups. In July 1996, Christian Pastor Richard Thomas from Daw U Ku Ward in Loikaw was arrested for allegedly having communicated with the KNPP. Other sources reported that many school teachers in Loikaw were also detained during the month of June-July 1996, for the same charge. LIFE FOR THE KARENNI PEOPLE Human rights violations carried out by Burma’s military against civilians in Karenni State is not a new occurrence. Recent abuses carried out by SLORC troops include extra-judicial executions, arbitrary arrests, torture, rape, beatings and other forms of ill- treatment. Rape and extra-judicial executions have been extensively documented in the context of the forced conscription of Karenni people into front-line porter service and other forced labor for the military. Karenni people have been forcibly conscripted or seized by the military to work as porters carrying arms, ammunition and other supplies, or as unpaid laborers building roads and army camps. The Working People's Daily on May 8, 1992, reported that on the Aungban-Loikaw railroad in Karenni state, over 300,000 people had "contributed voluntary labor" to that project alone. Many prisoners working on forced labor projects in Loikaw are reported to be dying from the cold and a lack of food. Many refugees who fled to the Thai-Burma border have told of their experiences of human rights abuses by SLORC troops. According to them, when soldiers come to a village, many villagers, especially young people, are subjected to arrest and accused of being supporters of Karenni armed groups. Soldiers frequently arrest and torture people who can then only be released when the village headman provides an amount of money and a guarantee that they are not involved with the KNPP. Rice farmers in Karenni State, like farmers elsewhere in Burma, are required to sell a portion of their rice to the SLORC at a fixed price. They must sell to the SLORC between four to ten Burmese-unit baskets (150-400 kilograms) per acre of cultivated land at the fixed price of sixty kyat a basket, or about US$0.60. This is compared to the market price of around 300 kyat. In some cases, SLORC officials took the rice from farmers without paying them. If a farmers' yield was insufficient to cover the SLORC tax because of poor harvests or other reasons, he would be forced to purchase rice at the market price and sell back to the SLORC. Those who fail to pay this tax face arrest by the military. FORCED RELOCATION IN KARENNI STATE Forced relocation has been a strategy of the Burmese military for decades. In ethnic minority areas forced relocation was undertaken both as part of military strategies to deprive the ethnic rebels of their support, and to provide the military with "free labor" for their "development" projects. The mass relocation has often been accompanied by other forms of human rights abuses. Under the "Four Cuts" operation, large areas are declared "free-fire" zones, ethnic minority communities are forced to move to "strategic hamlets" under strict curfews and rigid controls, crops and villages are destroyed, and expulsion orders warn that any villagers remaining in their homes will be shot on sight. At the beginning of 1996 a forced relocation order was given in the Shadaw area of Karenni State, and at the same time the SLORC launched a major offensive against the KNPP in the area. However, even after the forced relocation from the area the KNPP was able to on June 6, 1996, successfully attack a hydroelectric power station at Lawpita, near Loikaw. It is believed that the forced relocation from this area was designed to pressure the KNPP into signing a new and binding cease-fire agreement which would enable the government to open up the area to tourism for the start of 1996 Visit Myanmar Year. Prior to this, the Karenni people had experienced similar forced relocation operations and other forms of human rights abuses. On March 6, 1992, 57 villages with a total population of 8,000 were relocated to Pruso, a small town with inadequate water supplies in northwest Karenni State. The villages were accused of supporting Karen and Karenni rebels and more than 400 people died of starvation and disease at the relocation camps. Those relocated were also forced to provide labor for the Loikaw- Aungban railroad and by that October at least 90 people had died at the work sites. Recent Forced Relocation Orders According to a KNPP statement, a relocation order was issued at the beginning of May 1996 to 296 households from 14 villages located between the Pon and Salween Rivers flowing north to south through Karenni State. Villagers were ordered to leave their homes and relocate to Ywathit municipality in the south of the state. Later, all the villages between the Pon and Salween Rivers began receiving orders to move to centralized security areas in Shadaw. Subsequently on May 31, 1996, the remaining settlements in the river valley received orders under the authority of the Central Command Control to move by 7 June (see Appendix). Local orders were issued by Infantry Battalion (IB) 54 and Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 337 and 530. All of the 96 villages, or approximately 30,000 residents, were ordered to relocate to Shadaw municipality in the north of the state (see Map). The order stated that those found in their homes after the deadline "will be categorized as rebels and will be shot". In the Demawso area villagers were ordered to relocate to several different sites. Around Pruso, Daw Tanaw, Daw Ta Kle, Ke Biso, Daw Leh Ku, and Leh Kut Ku villages were told to move to Ke Lya by June 25, 1996. Villages near Tee Po Klo on the Demawso-Daw Nye Ky highway were ordered to relocate to Tee Po Klo. Those near Da Tama Gyi were given orders to move to Da Tama Gyi and Daw Nye Khu by June 25, 1996. The villagers had also been forced to build fences around Daw Tama Gyi Village for LIB 420 and 423. At least 30 villages around Mae Chee were given orders to move by 17 July, 1996, to five sites in Phasaung township between upper and lower Maw Chee. These sites were Se Ba Gwe, Lokalo Kwe The, Mawchi Aw Ywa, Se Thon Gon, and Se Chauk Gon. The villages ordered to relocate included Sho Do Ko, Plaw Htee, Kaw Thu Doe, Ywa The Doh, Le Law Htee, To Do Lay Ko, Paw Per, Ko Thuro, Bwe Lo, Bo Klo, Pwaw Doh, Ho Sa Kee, Bu Ko, Kwa Kee and Ler Boh. Another eight villages in the Pasaung vicinity were given a June 20, 1996, deadline to relocate. The villages ordered to move included Na Kee, Bo Haw Ku, Ya Tha Ga, Ye Mu Der, Ka Pwe Doh, Ka Pwe Pa and Ka Thu Doh. The villages of Ge Lo, Ywa The Kah, Bhu Ko and Kwa Kee had been burnt down, including all their fields and rice barns. East of the Salween River which is near the border, villages were also ordered to relocate by June 25, 1996, many of them with almost no notice. The order followed fighting at Daw Plaw Du on June 20-21 between KNPP and SLORC troops in which four SLORC soldiers were killed and four others wounded. Despite being relocated, most of these villages have started up once again. The village headmen in the Loilemley area north of Loikaw were also given relocation orders. However, they were able to negotiate an agreement under which they signed papers guaranteeing there would be no fighting in their area. If any fighting did occur, they would be relocated as well as punished for transgressing the agreement. However, KNPP troops attacked SLORC troops in the Loilemley area near Su Plaung Village and accordingly villages around Lin Phon Gyi were forced to move to the Pan Kan area by August 15, 1996. Many villages were given time ranging from three days to a week to relocate, but some were given orders to move within a day. Such short notice forced the villagers to leave all their major belongings behind and most had to abandon their farming during the raining season. Relocated persons were not given any compensation. Any villagers who remained in their homes were to be shot on sight as sympathizers of Karenni armed forces. Villages were also burnt to the ground after a relocation in order to prevent reoccupation. Soldiers also told the villagers that landmines would be planted on the roads and paths surrounding settlements after the residents had been relocated, again to avoid reoccupation. The Karenni Public Relations and Information Department has estimated that as many as 75,000 people have been affected by the mass relocation orders in Karenni State out of a total population of up to 300,000. Ku U Reh, a 47-year-old headman of a group of nine villages near Shadaw municipality explained why he did not want to move to the relocation site in Shadaw town. He is from Daw Kraw Aw Village which is 15-miles south of Shadaw town. "First is the climate change in the rainy season. It was June when heavy rain started. The second reason is the children's' education. Their education would be interrupted if we moved to Shadaw immediately . Third is our farm. We had just started our cultivation because the rains had began. If we had to move, all of our farming would be lost. Fourth is the elderly in the village. The journey is harsh and long for them to walk during the rainy season. Fifth is our animals. It is essential to take all our animals in order to farm or live with them in the future. Sixth is the food supply at the new site. We could not bring our rice and other food stuffs within the short period mentioned in the order. I was sure that the food could not be provided by the authorities when we moved to the new site." Nge Myeu, a 20-year-old Karenni girl from Dee Leh Village told of the difficulty in complying with the order. "I used to live in Dee Leh in Shadaw municipality. There were twenty- five houses in my village. In the rainy season last year (1996), when we were planting paddy, the SLORC sent a letter to our leader ordering our relocation. None of the villagers wanted to move. But the SLORC said if we did not move, they would burn our village and arrest us, so we decided to move." Another refugee woman from Daw Takya said: "The SLORC officials wrote a letter to our village telling us that we had to move to Shadaw - a relocation site. We were told that if we did not go, we would all be killed." In some cases, soldiers suddenly appeared and ordered villagers to move immediately to a relocation site. Preh Mou and Ei Meh, a couple with four children from Daw Tam Wi, say they were ordered to move to a new relocation site within a day. "When we were sitting in the house, the SLORC came into the village and they drove us out of our home and then forced us to go with them to Shadaw - the relocation site. At that time some villagers were not in the village, they were working on their farms. Later I heard that the SLORC troops had met them in the village and killed them at once. They left the bodies in the village." In Phasaung municipality, some villages were destroyed or shelled by SLORC troops in order to threaten villagers to comply with the relocation order. The soldiers then gave the people ten days to relocate to Maw Chee town. Saw Eh Gay, a boy from Swa The Doh Village, explained: "On May 21, soldiers from LIB 418, 429 and 531 led by Htant Lween and Ye Myint (Commander of tactical operation command) arrived and fired M-75 grenade launchers into Law Htee Village in Maw Chee municipality, without any reason. One house was damaged. The next morning they fired again at Kaw Du Doe Village in the same area, but no houses were damaged. After that, Ye Myint ordered that all villages in district No. 2 of Karenni State had to move to relocation areas in Maw Chee within ten days. They also threatened that if anyone did not move, they would be killed." HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS DURING RELOCATION During forced relocation orders, Karenni civilians have been subjected to torture, extra-judicial killings, rape and other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment by the military. Villagers have been killed when they were found in their homes after the relocation deadline, or killed while on their way to Thailand. Information gathered from interviews with Karenni refugees who have fled to Thailand and now live in refugee camps along the border clearly demonstrates the human rights abuses committed by SLORC soldiers. Extra-judicial Killings Scores of interviews with Karenni refugees on the Thai-Burma border provide details regarding human rights violations during forced relocation orders, including extra-judicial killings. Soldiers were given the authority to kill anybody found in their village after the deadline of a forced relocation order. People were killed if soldiers suspected them of being sympathizers for the ethnic armed forces. In some cases people were killed for no obvious reason. Soldiers severely abused people or killed them simply because they could not speak the Burmese language well enough to answer their questions. According to an ex-porter who managed to escape from SLORC troops, a soldier from LIB 530 killed a 60-year-old Karenni elder from Daw Lar Leh Village for this very reason on July 25, 1996. "A young soldier from LIB 530 bayoneted the man because he did not understand the Burmese language. He died immediately and was left on the road. The commander of the column saw the dead body, but did not say anything or take any action against the soldier." A 70-year-old Karenni woman who arrived to the border in late September 1996 also told of the cruelty of some soldiers. "U Law Reh, a 53-year-old Karenni man from Daw Tama Village, was burnt to death in the last week of July when his house was set on fire while he was still inside. I had been left behind in the village by my family because they thought I could not walk to the border and the soldiers would not harm me as I was an elder. However, I hadn't dared remain any longer in the abandoned village after I saw this brutal killing". Ngar Reh, a villager from Daw Htaw Vee Me Le Village spoke of when the soldiers entered his village. "I saw Bu Meh, a 50-year-old woman from Daw Hti Kaw Le Village, being dragged out from her house by the SLORC troops in the last week of July. She was hiding in her house when the SLORC troops entered the village. All of us fled and hid in the paddy fields, but she did not have time to run away. She was shot twice in the stomach and she died instantly." In some cases, soldiers made no attempt to establish the identities or status of their victims before killing them. People were deliberately shot by the troops. According to Poe Meh and Nga Reh, a couple from Daw Nawklu Village, innocent civilians were killed for no apparent reason. "In the first week of August 1996, SLORC soldiers came to Daw Maw Klu Village in Shadaw municipality in Karenni state. The soldiers shot two villagers - they were Bu Meh and her daughter, Klaw Meh. Bu Meh was wounded in the stomach and Klaw Meh was shot in the head and died. The soldiers shot them because they thought Karenni soldiers had been in their house". People who were not able to leave the village before the relocation deadline, or before the troops entered the village, were labeled as "enemies" and arbitrarily killed. Many of these victims were disabled and elderly who were left behind by their families either because the journey to the border was considered too difficult, or because it was thought the soldiers would not harm them. Preh Mou, a 45 year-old Karenni woman from Daw Miku Village told of her experience seeing a disabled woman from her village being killed by soldiers in August 1996. "One woman from Daw Meh Khu Village in Karenni state was disabled and could not get away when the SLORC soldiers ordered her out of her house. She was killed by one of the soldiers with a knife while she was sitting on her bed. " Tee Reh, a 34 year-old Karenni man from Daw Klaw Du Village, told of how he saw the death of an elderly woman who was left behind because she could not walk. Tee Reh had gone to a new relocation site in Shadaw and returned to his village on two occasions with permission from the SLORC in order to collect rice for his family. "When we left the village an old woman stayed behind because she could not walk. We were unable to carry her. The second time I went to the village to collect food I could smell something very bad. I wanted to know what it was so I climbed into the house where the smell was coming from. It was the old woman. She had been killed by SLORC soldiers with a knife. I thought she had been dead about a week." Similarly, Nyine Reh, a 60 year-old villager from Daw Miku Village, saw the dead body of his sister who was left behind in the village. Hoping that he would be able to come back for his sister and take her to Shadaw town, his family left the ailing woman in the village. "We moved but my sister could not walk. She had a pain and felt ill so we left her in the village. I told her that we would come back the next day and carry her. When we arrived at Shadaw, the SLORC wouldn't let us go back. We stayed there two days and then we left without permission. We arrived in our village at about 5 o'clock in the evening and saw that my sister had been killed. There was a hole in her stomach. The SLORC had already left my village when we arrived." Other sources said that in the last week of July 1996, two women from Nga Maloh Soe Village were burnt to death in their village by troops from LIB 530. They were Pay Mo and Ko Mal, both of whom were in their 50s. In another incident, U Se Reiko, a 60-year-old blind Karenni man, was bayoneted by soldiers from LIB 307 on September 24, 1996. Soldiers from the same Light Infantry Battalion killed another four people from Daw Klaw Du Village on October 2, 1996. The four were found hiding in Daw Kalaw Du Village and were killed for failing to obey the order to relocate from the village. Rape There is no doubt that women, particular young girls, are more vulnerable than men to exploitation and deprivation of rights, especially as refugees. Many refugees who arrived at the Thai-Burma border have told of rape and sexual harassment by SLORC soldiers against the Karenni during the mass relocation process. One such rape victim is Hse Mae , a 20 year-old Karenni girl from Daw Leh Ku Village. Hse Mae was gang-raped by soldiers from IB 306 during the last week of September 1996. She remained in her village with her foster mother who was 70 years old. The military column of IB 306 came and randomly arrested villagers who could not escape. Hse Mae was caught by the soldiers and this is her account of what followed: "I did not understand Burmese so I did not know what they were saying to me. However, I understood a little bit from their mime and body language that they would kill me if I attempted to escape. The soldiers kicked me with their military boots on my chest and my legs. I could not stand up due to the beating all over my body. You can see the scars on my body as a result of it. Then they tied a rope to my neck, hands and waist and to a tree. At night the soldiers came and gang-raped me. I could not remember how many. I screamed and asked for help, but in vain. When I refused their will I was beaten up. They punched and slashed my face. It occurred every night until I escaped after ten days." Forced Porterage After the deadlines for the relocation orders were over, SLORC troops launched a "mopping up" campaign in the region between the Pon and Salween Rivers. Soldiers from SLORC LIB 530 were assigned to implement the campaign. Their duties were to kill anyone found in the region without official permission and to destroy all property belonging to the villagers. Both civilians and prisoners were conscripted along the way as porters for the soldiers. About 20 civilians were taken from Daw Tama Village and Daw Bolo Village in Shadaw municipality, and 50 prisoners were taken from Loikaw prison. Prisoners from Loikaw were told that everybody serving a sentence less than five years had to serve as porters during the mopping up campaign. They were also told that one year would be deducted from their sentence for each time served as a porter. Law Reh, a 25 year-old former prisoner from Loikaw, has told of the ill-treatment and extra-judicial killing of porters by soldiers. Law Reh who managed to escape as a porter, said both civilians and prisoners were subjected to beatings if they could not carry their load properly. People were left behind if they fell ill or could no longer carry out their duties. "Those who could not carry their load were beaten and kicked by the soldiers all the way. Six porters were seriously ill and could no longer serve as porters, and the soldiers scolded them and beat them severely. All of them were left along the way without any food, medicine or water. I believe that all of them died for lack of medical treatment and starvation. I myself could not carry my load any longer because my legs were in pain. I explained my situation to the soldiers but they did not show any mercy to me. Sergeant Ko Lay kicked me with his military boots and beat me with a [rifle] butt on my back. They ordered me to keep carrying my load whether I was able or not. They threatened that I would be left along the way if I could not carry my load any more. I saw dead bodies of civilians along the way. The bodies were left on the road and I did not know who they were and where they were from. Some were shot and I think some were beaten to dead because I saw head injuries. I saw at least ten unburied dead bodies of civilians along the way." On August 4, 1996, Law Reh hid in some bushes while the soldiers were taking a rest. After the troops left he stayed there one night and the next day he ran away. He subsequently met up with KNPP soldiers and arrived at the Thai border on August 19, 1996. Lan Reh, a 45 year-old Karenni villager from Tee Kay Leh Village, was arrested by soldiers along with seven other people from his village. As soon as they were rounded up they were beaten and tortured because they could not understand the soldiers questions in Burmese. Later all of them were conscripted for about two weeks as porters to a military column. Lan Reh and his son escaped during fighting between SLORC and KNPP forces. "On June 20 1996, at about 4 pm, 60 SLORC soldiers came in and arrested eight people including my son and myself. We were tied with rope and pulled out of the village. We were questioned by the soldiers, but I did not understand what they were saying, so they stabbed me with a knife on my right hand and under my left eye. Five of them stood around me and pointed a G3 gun at me and pulled me on the ground. Then three of them stood on my back and another one tied a rope around my neck so I could hardly breathe for ten minutes. Then they tied me to a tree for the whole night and next morning we were each given a sack full of bullets to carry." Torture There were numerous reports of many other forms of ill-treatment by SLORC soldiers towards civilians during the relocation process, including torture. Lu Reh, a 35 year-old villager from Nga Maloh Soe Village, explained how soldiers tortured his village headman for being unable to provide information regarding KNPP troops. "Some time before we had to move to Shadaw [around the second week of June], 50 SLORC soldiers came to our village and questioned the village headman. They asked "Did any rebels come here?" Before the SLORC soldiers began asking questions of the headman, the soldiers had already seen and killed two Karenni soldiers. "Why did you lie?" the soldiers said. The soldiers caught the headman and tied his hands with a rope and punched him and hit him with a gun butt. That day they hit him at least nine times then they took him to Shadaw Village. They didn't untie the rope until they got to Shadaw and then they hit him again. He couldn't move or walk. At last the SLORC soldiers freed him in Shadaw Village." Burning Villages and Looting Due to the very short notice for relocation given by SLORC authorities, villagers did not have any chance to take their livestock or food supplies with them, They were forced to take only what essential items they could bring, such as cooking pots and clothing. All other property, including silver coins used for trade, were left behind. When SLORC troops arrived in abandoned villages they took anything they wanted. Villages were razed, animals taken or killed and property destroyed. In Daw Leh Ku Village alone, 22 houses, 300,000 baskets of paddy and about 10 cattle and buffaloes were left behind during the relocation. All this was reportedly destroyed when SLORC troops arrived at the abandoned village. In Ka Ya Kee Village, it was also reported that all Bibles in the Roman Catholic church were burned. According to refugees, one hundred houses in Daw Tama and Daw Bo Leh villages, as well as the local schools and churches, were burnt down on June 15, 1996, by SLORC troops. Soldiers also looted more than 10,000 silver coins, and one villager said he left behind 6,000 silver coins in his home. Many villagers reported that they saw soldiers using and selling silver coins in Shadaw. NEW RELOCATION SITES Conditions Around 20,000 local villagers were forced to relocate to Shadaw as ordered but found that the SLORC had made no provisions for them. Contrary to promises given by the SLORC, it appears that the relocation sites were not prepared for the arrival of large numbers of people, ground was not cleared and water supplies were inadequate. Relocated people reportedly had to buy plots of land at allocated areas, but as they could not afford to build new houses they were forced live in shelters or under other people's homes. In July 1996, SLORC authorities ordered the relocated people to build barrack-style houses which could accommodate 50 people. It is believed many people who have been relocated are in poor health, and due to the lack of access to the region it is difficult to get the exact number of deaths in the new sites. However many refugees who escaped to the Thai border have said that many of their relatives, especially infants and children, have died in the new relocation sites due to insufficient food and medical care. SLORC authorities reportedly provided six small tins of rice for each relocated family, which is adequate for the needs of only two or three people. Local residents in Shadaw apparently helped with other food. There has been no medicine provided to the relocated villagers, and anyone who requires medical treatment has had to go to the hospital in Loikaw. At least two hundred people, mostly children and elderly, have reportedly died due to overcrowding and lack of food. The water supply for both the residents in Shadaw and for the newly arrived relocated villagers comes from one small stream. As a result, the outbreak of diseases, especially dysentery, through the water supply grows in seriousness as rainy season proceeds. Water shortages will be an unavoidable problem in the summer time. Relocated persons are also subjected to restrictions of movement and a written pass is needed in order to leave the relocation site. The villagers have also been ordered to register with the Immigration and Manpower Department and pay a 30 kyat registration fee. People in new sites in Shadaw have reported that they were given no food and that in order to leave the camp and return to their village to obtain food they had to pay 5 kyat for a pass and could be away for only two days. Passes were issued to only one house-hold member. When a person failed to return within the prescribed period, the person faced beating, torture and sometimes detention as punishment. One refugee who arrived at the Thai-Burma border after spending some time in a Shadaw relocation site explained how one man was treated when he was unable to return to the site within the period prescribed in the pass. "One villager asked permission to go back to his village to get food. The soldier let him go for one day. He hurried but it took him a little longer than one day to get the rice for himself and his family and come back. When he returned to Shadaw the soldiers tied him with ropes and beat him with a stick. After hanging him up for two hours, they then put him in prison." Due to the difficulties experienced in the new sites, many people decided to escape to the Thai-Burma border. Because of this exodus it is believed that passes are no longer issued. Those who returned to Shadaw with food had their rice taken from them and put in a common store. The rice was then rationed by the authorities. Many relocated people complained that SLORC authorities video-taped the food distribution to show how they were taking care of relocated people, but then took the food and rations back after the filming ended. In addition, people have been subjected to work as forced or unpaid labor for the military and security forces. If anyone could not carry out this forced work they had to pay 50 kyat per house. Preh Mou and Ei Meh, a couple from Daw Tam Wi Village went to the Shadaw relocation site and stayed there for two months. "When we went to Shadaw, the security forces made us stay in that area for two months. It was as if we were in prison. They did not let us go out. But when the SLORC told us to do work, then we could go out. They told us to work everyday. We had to cut bamboo, build houses, repair roads. They asked us to work from morning to evening, and they gave us food just once a day." Their story is confirmed by Dee Reh, a 40 year-old Karenni villager from Daw Klaw Du Village, who went to a Shadaw relocation site and stayed there for three months. He was also forced to work for the military. "The SLORC officials ordered us to cut bamboo, make a fence and make a road. Each person had to cut 50 bamboo poles and 20 wooden posts. We had to work from 8 am to 3 pm everyday. We had to finish our day's work, if not we had to do twice as much the next day." Not only in the Shadaw relocation sites, but in other places like Maw Chee and the Pasaung area, people were ordered to work as unpaid labor for the military. Saw Eh Gay, a Karen villager from Swa The Doh Village, stayed in Maw Chee Aw Swa site in Phasaung. He said that people there were forced to work for the military. "When I was in Maw Chee Aw Swa, the SLORC authorities ordered us to make a fence surrounding the town, and also lay a pipe between the top of the Moe Loe River to the electricity station. They also ordered us to carry the water for the SLORC soldiers because they lived and made their camp at the top of the mountain. We also had to make a fence around the SLORC camp." At the beginning of August 1996, every household relocated to Maw Chee new relocation site was ordered to provide recruits for the militia. Those who did not comply to the demand were told they would be fined 6,000 kyat. In addition, each family was ordered to give 2,500 kyat in porter fees. Access Foreign visitors are not allowed to visit Karenni State. No international organization or relief organization is allowed to oversee or monitor the situation of the relocated people in the new sites except one Burmese-Christian group. This group is allowed only to view the situation, and is not allowed to provide any assistance to the people. An assistant to the Catholic bishop was caught video-taping the Shadaw relocation sites and has been detained by military intelligence since June 1996. The condition under which he is being held is unknown. Five clergymen, including three Baptist ministers and two Roman Catholic priests, have also been arrested and detained since the beginning of July 1996, by IB 54 under the command of Captain Soe Aung. At least ten civilians were also arrested at the beginning of July 1996 for unknown reasons. THE JOURNEY TO THE BORDER As soon as forced relocation orders were received, many villagers decided to flee to the refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border as they did not dare move to the sites under SLORC control. Although whole villages arrived together at the border, many people left family members behind, and many remain as internally displaced persons inside Burma. The exodus from Burma took place during the rainy season making the journey hard especially for children and the elderly. Many fell ill along the way and died. Some people drowned while crossing the Salween River and streams along the way, while others were killed by SLORC soldiers. During the journey many rested during the day and walked the whole night through. Some were left along the way by their family because they could not continue walking with the group. Although the villages are only a two-day walk from the border, many refugees took at least five days to complete the journey because they had to use paths deep inside forests in order to avoid SLORC troops stationed along the regular paths. SLORC troops were deployed at all the access points to the border to block the mass exodus. Troops from IB 54, based in Loikaw, IB 94, based in Shwe Nyaung in Shan State, and IB 530, based in Lawpita, were sent to the region to prevent the people from escaping to Thailand. Many people who moved to the relocation sites decided to escape and flee to Thailand. On October 5, 1996, a group of 200 refugees arrived at the border which had been ambushed along the way by troops from LIB 307. During the ambush five villagers were shot dead, while many others remain missing. A nine year-old girl also died along the way due to the harshness of the journey. Villagers from Tee Tho Ku Village delayed their departure when a 21 year-old woman went into labor. According to a man from Daw Leh Ku, SLORC troops arrived before the villagers were able to flee, and they razed the village forcing the villagers to accompany them to Shadaw under armed guard. Paw Leh, a 17 year-old girl, gave a birth to her first child on her way to the refugee camps on the border. She gave her personal account of what happened after arriving safely at a border camp . "After two days of walking I went into labor. We had to stop for the night, and I had the baby in the morning. We weren't near a village and it was in the middle of the jungle. My mother and husband and a few others stayed with me and everyone else went on. I rested for about two days in the forest, then we walked two more days to get there." According to a reliable source, Pheme, a 20 year-old Karenni girl who was five months pregnant, died from a miscarriage after being violently hit on her abdomen by a boat while she was attempting to cross the Salween River. THE SITUATION OF REFUGEES ON THE BORDER Despite the heavy monsoonal rains and flooding in the region, new arrivals reached the camps along the border every day from July to November, 1996. As more refugees arrived in the camps they were forced to stay in increasingly crowded conditions, and join refugees who have been taking shelter in Thailand for the past three to five years. The estimated number of Karenni refugees in Thailand reached 15,000 as of March 1997. Many of the newly arrived refugees were seriously ill due to the heavy rains and their exhausting journey to the border, and relief organizations were unable to cope with such an exodus. Between July and December of 1996, 52 people including children and elderly died in Char Le Camp alone. The exact number of deaths in the camps is uncertain as it is believed there have been many unregistered. One major concern is the security of the refugee camps. On March 19, 1996, about 2,500 Karenni refugees in camps 1 and 2, located about seven kilometers inside Thailand, were forcibly relocated by Thai border police to a single camp on the border. The police demanded the refugees pack all their belongings and leave, and threatened that if they did not comply they would burn down the camp and kill the camp leaders. The new camp - Camp-2 or Char Le Camp - is only 30 minutes walk from hill-top SLORC bases, and is where most newly arrived Karenni refugees are staying. The total number of refugees in Char Le Camp reached 7,500 as of March 1997. On January 3, 1997, at 2:07 am, over forty heavily armed SLORC troops attacked the refugees in Char Le Camp. Soldiers from SLORC's LIB 84 brazenly walked into the camp and slaughtered defenseless refugees. The camp was shelled for 20 minutes during which time the SLORC troops used 60mm, 40mm and RPG anti- tank launchers. Ei Pyone, a 19 year-old Shan refugee girl, and Ai Pun, a 30 year- old father of two, were killed in the attack. Ten other villagers including a 13 year- old boy and a two year-old girl were seriously wounded during the shelling. This was the first attack of its kind against a Karenni refugee camp, and it could mark the start of campaign of terror by the SLORC on the refugees. In a similar incident in 1994, SLORC troops launched an offensive against a large Mon refugee camp known as Halokhani near Sankhlaburi. SLORC and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) troops have also launched a series of attacks against refugees in Tak Province, and have burnt Karen refugee camps and threatened refugees to go back to Burma. Current Situation People who have been hiding inside Burma as internally displaced persons or who have escaped from the new relocation sites under SLORC are still arriving at the refugee camps near Mae Hong Son in Thailand. The refugees are living under the fear of further SLORC attacks as the Thai authorities have shown they are not prepared to repel such attacks. Although the camps are supported by Bangkok-based international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Thai government has provided only limited access to border areas. As a result of this limited access and continued fighting, the refugees have insufficient food and medical supplies. The refugees also speak of increasingly repressive measures being carried out against civilians in Karenni State. For instance, conscription for forced porters is still being commonly committed in the region, even in Loikaw the state’s capital. In addition, following the National League for Democracy (NLD) walked out of the SLORC-sponsored National Convention, residents in every quarter of Loikaw were ordered to participate in a "vilification of democracy" rally at the municipal airport. If they refused they faced arrest. In every quarter of the city there are also chapters of the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA), an organization which carries out activities on behalf of the SLORC. Members of the USDA are responsible for monitoring the system of forced labor, collecting fees and reporting on the movement of residents. From July 1996, every household from the 20 wards in Loikaw was ordered to send one person to work without pay on SLORC projects. THAI REFUGEE POLICY Thailand does not recognize anyone from Burma as a refugee. Thai authorities allow them to stay on the understanding that they will be sent back to Burma at "the right time." But it has never been clear what conditions are necessary in Burma for it to be the "right" time for repatriation, or whether the Thai government will allow international agencies, especially the UNHCR, to help both in determining that time and in the implementation of any repatriations. On February 25, 1997, Thai Army Chief Gen. Chetta Thanajaro met in Tachilek, Shan State, with his Burmese counterpart Gen. Maung Aye. Gen. Maung Aye said that the Burmese junta would welcome home all the refugees on Thai soil, but said he wanted Thailand to first help screen them. The next day, the Thai army's Ninth Division, based in Kanchanaburi Province, began indiscriminately screening all Karen men aged 15 or over and then pushed them back across the border into Burma. This group even included obvious non-combatants such as the sick and the elderly. On the same day, the Thai army pushed about 3,000 Karen women and children cross the border to Burma. The women and children had fled to Thailand to escape SLORC's military offensive and took refuge for ten days in Bon Ti Village in Kanchanaburi Province. A senior officer at army headquarters in Bangkok said on February 26, 1997, that the army was "just performing their duty" and that the fugitives were pushed back to "a safe area" in Burma. He said the army had "learned a lesson" from the sudden influx in February of Karen refugees fleeing the Burmese military offensive into Thailand's Umphang District, and did not want a similar situation to happen in Kanchanaburi. A request by the Karen Refugee Committee which urged the government to allow the presence of UNHCR in the border area was also turned down by the Thai authorities. Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Chetta said on March 25, 1997, said that the government had no policy of allowing UNHCR to provide humanitarian aid to Karen refugees seeking shelter along the Thai-Burma border. Similarly, Pakdi Chompuming, Governor of Mae Hong Son where the Karenni refugees are taking refuge, said the government had no policy to allow UNHCR to work on the country's western border. He also said that the refugees would all be repatriated once the situation returned to normal. CONCLUSIONS Burma became a signatory to the Geneva Conventions on August 22, 1992. At a signing ceremony in Rangoon Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw said, " Myanmar has long observed these Conventions in practice....and was therefore happy to reaffirm its commitment to these values." However, the SLORC's arbitrary arrests, torture and extra-judicial executions of persons suspected of being rebel sympathizers are in contravention of the basic right to life, and Articles 5 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Such actions also contravene Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions which ban the use of torture or extra-judicial killing under any circumstance in a situation of armed conflict. The mass relocation orders given to thousands of Karenni people also violates international customary law and basic human rights standards of the United Nations. The orders clearly violates minimum standards of the treatment of civilian populations contained in the Geneva Conventions and accompanying Protocols. Article 17 of Protocol II (1977) states that "the displacement of the civilian population shall not be ordered for reasons related to the conflicts unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand". The International Committee of the Red Cross, in their Commentary on the Additional Protocols, has clarified this statement stating that "clearly imperative military reasons cannot be justified by political motives, for example, it would be prohibited to move a civilian population in order to exercise more effective control over dissident ethnic groups." The practice of mass forced relocation by the SLORC also contravenes other international standards. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 12 states "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home..." and Article 17(2) states "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property". The UN Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/77, entitled "Forced Evictions" states, "The Commission on Human Rights....affirms that the practice of forced evictions constitutes a gross violation of human rights; ...urges governments to undertake immediate measures, at all levels, aimed at eliminating the practice of forced evictions...; recommends that all governments provide immediate restitution, compensation and/or appropriate and sufficient alternative accommodation or land...to persons or communities that have been forcibly evicted." Those who escaped these abuses by fleeing to Thailand have faced further persecution and human rights abuses. In violation of the common international standards set out in the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, to which Thailand is not a party, no persons entering Thailand illegally from Burma are permitted to apply for asylum. As a result, there is no permanent international presence within the camps, leaving the refugees vulnerable to attack by SLORC troops and under pressure to return to Burma. The refugees in Thailand desperately need international assistance and monitoring of their situation. The frequent attacks on refugees inside Thailand and the pressure on them to return to Burma where there is no guarantee of their safety, are the refugees greatest concerns. Consequently, there must be guarantees of the safety of the refugees and guarantees there will be no forced repatriations. RECOMMENDATIONS Burma 1. Burma must apply without exception its obligations under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, in which it is stated that in the case of armed conflict not of an international character, "person taking no active part in the hostilities…shall in all circumstances be treated humanely". Burma has a duty not only to protect civilians from violations of Common Article 3, but also to investigate, prosecute and punish government agents responsible for violations, including summary executions, cruel treatment and torture and attacks against civilians, especially those which have taken refuge in other countries. 2. Burma must implement the recommendation made by the Special Rapporteur in his Report on the situation of human rights in Burma presented to the 53rd session of the UN Commission on Human Rights. 3. Burma must ratify the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 4. Burmese security forces and armed forces must not engage in the killing, torture, rape, ill-treatment, or arbitrary arrest of any civilian. 5. Burmese armed forces must cease carrying out attacks on refugee camps inside Thailand and killing unarmed refugees. Thailand 1. Thailand should accede to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its protocols. 2. Thailand should allow UNHCR and other international humanitarian organizations to provide full assistance to refugees on its territory. 3. Procedures should be established immediately, in consultation with UNHCR and non-governmental organizations, under which Burmese and ethnic minorities from Burma can seek asylum and have their refugee status determined. 4. Thailand must take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of those who have taken refuge on its soil, and must improve security in the refugee camps so that any attempts by SLORC troops to enter Thailand and attack refugees will be repelled. 5. Refugees must not be repatriated against their will. If and when conditions in Burma allow them to return safety, Thailand must permit UNHCR and international NGOs unrestricted access to refugees to assist in the repatriation process. APPENDIX SLORC Relocation Order Township Law and Order Restoration Council Shadaw Township Ref: 101/1-1/Yata-1 (110) Date: May 31, 1996 To, Village Headman Daw Taku Village Shadaw Central Village Tract Subject: To re-establish villages within Shadaw municipality as a hamlet near Shadaw township. Ref: Letter from Combat troops under the Command of Light Infantry Regiment (337) dated 30/5/96 (337/01/G-1) 1. As mentioned in the letter 337/01/G-1, villages between Pon Chaung and Salween Rivers must move near to the area designated for establishing a hamlet by June 7, 1996, at the latest, in order to restore law and order in the area. Anyone who fails to comply with this order will be declared an 'enemy' when the army moves into villages during the clean-up operation. 2. This is therefore to notify you that your village must move to Shadaw by June 7, 1996, at the latest. 3. The Township Law and Order Restoration Council will allocate land to those who comply with the order and move near the town. Sd- Chairman Township Law and Order Restoration Council Shadaw Township CC: 1. Chairman, State Law and Order Restoration Council, Loikaw, Kayah State. 2. Chairman, District Law and Order Restoration Council, Loikaw, Kayah State. 3. Frontline outpost, Light Infantry Regiment (337), Shadaw town. 4. Chairmen, Bazaar, Southern, Central and Aung Chantha Quarters.