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KHRG #96 - 24




		  FORCED RELOCATION IN KARENNI

     An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
	      July 15, 1996     /     KHRG #96-24

 * PART 4 OF 5 - SEE OTHER POSTINGS FOR OTHER PARTS OF THIS REPORT *

[NOTE: SOME DETAILS OMITTED OR REPLACED BY 'XXXX' FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION]

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				  #7.
NAME:    "Koo Kay Reh"   SEX: M     AGE: ?            Kayah farmer
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Baw La Keh Township            INTERVIEWED: 21/6/96

There were 25 families in my village.  Now they've all come here.  The
SLORC soldiers forced us to go [to Ywathit] with them.  In our village
SLORC didn't send any order to move, they sent the troops to make us
move.  They used Battalion #430.  About 80 soldiers came to our village to
make us go.  They gave us only half an hour.  Other villages like Tha Ku
Dah and Wan Loi got orders from SLORC to move, so they had 2 or 3
days.  Our village is the furthest away so they didn't send an order and
people thought we wouldn't have to move, but then when they came they
only gave us half an hour.  They came at 10 o'clock in the morning, and at
half past ten the villagers already had to move.  First we had to go in
between all the soldiers.  Then when we got to the junction the soldiers
turned one way and most of the villagers turned the other way and got back
to the village, so the SLORC didn't get most of the villagers to Ywathit.
First altogether 5 of us were taken to the relocation place.  After we got
there our families were left behind, so SLORC kept us there and told us,
"Unless your families come to the relocation place we won't let you go."
While we were there in the relocation place, the others who had already
been there 2 weeks told us that they didn't have enough food, that there are
many difficulties there and that even when they run out of supplies they are
allowed only 2 days to go to get some rice and food from their villages.
Then they have to come back again to Ywathit.

When we arrived there there were 7 villages already there.  We heard that
altogether there will be 15 villages moved to that site.  The SLORC gives
nothing.  They don't provide any roof, so everyone has to stay in other
people's old and abandoned huts.  They only allocate land around their
Battalion base for us.  They took the ricefields of some Ywathit villagers
and ordered us to stay there, and those Ywathit villagers lost their fields.
It
is a big area.  For water there is a stream, and everyone uses that. There
is
a clinic, not an Army clinic but the Township hospital and clinic.  If you
want to go when you're sick, you have to buy your own medicine and
everything and then go to the hospital to get treated by the nurses there.
It's a long, building, about 150 feet long.

Once you get to the relocation camp it's very difficult for you to come out
again, so I don't think many of them will be able to come here.  Even when
they go out, only the man of the family can get a permit paper and if he
doesn't come back the family will be treated badly by the soldiers.  We
asked the SLORC commander if we could talk to the Township authorities
and get permission to go and get our families and bring them, but then
when we got to our village instead of going back we set out to come here.
It took us 4 days to get here.  Other villages south of Ywathit are much
closer to SLORC, so I think they will have very little chance to make it out
here.  Our village is further out.  There are some people who hide in the
jungle.  From our village, there are only 2 people like that, an old woman
and an old man.  The woman is blind, so they have to help each other in the
ricefields.

We arrived here on the 15th of this month [June], 6 days ago.  Since we
only had half an hour to leave our village, we couldn't carry anything with
us.  We came with only our family members so we have nothing, not even a
machete to build a house.  We feel much safer here than in our village.  Our
village has been robbed one time by SLORC and burned down twice.  We
had nothing but trouble all the time from them.  If we stay in our village
we
have to worry all the time about many dangers, but here we only have to
worry about how to survive.  If it is ever possible for us to go back and
see
our village, we'd like to go back and see what is happening there.

Q:  Why do you think SLORC is forcing people to move?
A:  They do it so that whenever fighting breaks out it will be easy for them
to take porters from the relocation place.  It is also to cut off contact
between the villagers and the Karenni forces.
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				  #8.
NAME:    "Sai Kyong"       SEX: M    AGE: 36         Shan Buddhist farmer
FAMILY:  Married, 3 children aged 2, 7, and 12
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Baw La Keh Township           INTERVIEWED: 3/7/96

Our village had thirteen households.  We got here yesterday, last night, on
the 2nd of July.  It took us 6 days to get here.  We left Wan Mai
[relocation site] at 4 o'clock in the morning.  We left because the Burmese
troops are so oppressive.  I don't remember exactly when they ordered us to
move there, but it was in the 4th month [April].  The letter said that we
must move, if we don't we'll be burnt or driven away like animals.  If that
happened we wouldn't be able to take any food or any belongings along
with us.  The soldiers didn't come, they just sent the letter.  It was #99
[Battalion or Division].  The letter came directly from the Army unit.  We
knew if we didn't go, they would put all of us in jail.

We wanted to come this way [to the Thai border] but there are soldiers all
over the place so it would be very difficult to come this way, so we decided
to go where they had ordered us and later we could try to find a way out.
Everyone wants to get out.  They said there is no limit of time, that we
will
have to stay there indefinitely.  Other villages around us were also forced
to
move:  Wan Pra, Oo Cha Pah, Nam Byin, Oo Ghu Ta, Loi Wing, Pay Lu,
Wan Pak Kee, Wan Loi, Boh Kay Ta, nine villages.

At the new place nothing was prepared for us, we had to go and stay with
our relatives.  Only after a while they showed us the place where we must
live.  We had to clear the place ourselves, on the west side of the paddy
fields where there is thick scrub.  We were forced to clear it.  There is an
Army camp just near the place, soldiers from #99.  They guard all entrances
to our place, we have to ask permission everytime we go outside or come
back in.  They just put a stick at a spot and said "Here is where you build
your houses".  They only marked the place with a stick.  270 families have
been forced to move there from 9 villages.  I don't know exactly how many
because I didn't see the list.  The Army said they would give us food but in
reality they didn't give anything.  They told us they would keep our rice
for
us but we kept it ourselves.  When they came to search for it we hid it.
There is just enough water there for our use.  Many people got sick when
we first arrived there.  Many got 'ma kao lem' disease [Shan name for a
disease involving red and black lumps or sores on your body].  Sometimes
we received some medicine but sometimes we were shouted at and scolded
just for asking for it.  No one from our village died, but two Wan Pak Kee
villagers died.

When we moved there I could take only one third of my belongings.  There
was paddy, rice, and cattle, and other belongings left behind.  We don't
know what happened to them.  The cattle may just go wild, and the other
things probably got ruined.  Now all [from our village] have come here
with me.  The only one left behind was arrested by the Burmese troops.
His name is Ai Hem.  They caught him because he got up late, after we left
early in the morning.  They even followed us, but we had already crossed
the river.  When they followed us, a villager from another village came and
told us that we were being followed, so we just crossed the river and headed
this way.

Since we left we don't know anything about what has happened to our
village.  There's nobody left hiding there in the forest.  The soldiers
searched all over the place and they never found anyone.  If they did they
would force him to leave, maybe they would even shoot him dead.  We
haven't got any chance to go back to our village.  They would hear news
about us and put us in jail.
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				  #9.
NAME:    "Koo Ni Reh"    SEX: M    AGE: 21     Kayah Animist (Yo Yah) farmer
FAMILY:  Married, 2 children aged 18 months and 5 years
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Shadaw Township                INTERVIEWED: 4/7/96

I left on June 5th and arrived here on the 9th.  The Burmese forced us to
move, so I collected all my things and fled to Thailand.  They sent a letter
that said, "If you don't agree to move we'll kill all of you."  It said we
have to move to Shadaw.  It came from #337 Battalion.  They said, "If you
don't go we'll come ourselves and get you, and then you won't be able to
carry
anything along with you to our camp."  We asked permission to stay in our
village, but SLORC refused.  They said if they see anyone in the village
they'll kill them.  They didn't burn our village yet but they killed our
animals, like chickens, pigs, cattle and buffalos.  They said all the
villages in Preh Tho Leh area have to move - Daw Seh, Daw Kraw Aw, Daw Leh
Dah, Daw Ka Shi, Daw Yeh So, Daw Leh Ku, Daw Duh, Daw Ta Ma,
Daw Taw Ku, Daw Kloh Ku, Daw Ee Sah, Daw Ay Syah, Daw Bo Ee,
Daw Kleh Tay, Daw Klaw Lay, Daw Ay Kaya, all of these villages have to move.

Our village has 26 families, and 15 families arrived in Shadaw.  The rest of
us all came to Thailand.  I don't want to stay with SLORC.  We left on the
5th of June, and it took us 5 days.  We were afraid so we hurried to come.
We couldn't carry much with us.  I could carry only 7 or 8 milktins [about 2
kg.] of rice for my family, and only one mat.  It was a long journey to come
here, and we had no boat.  We had to carry the old men and women.  The
old people were very afraid, that's why some of them went to stay in
Shadaw.  Along the way there are no villagers in the deserted villages, no
one to look after the buffalos, cattle, chicken and pigs.  We didn't dare
sleep in those villages because we were afraid the Battalion would catch and
arrest us.  All my belongings were left behind, buffalos, cattle, chicken,
pigs, money ... I couldn't carry anything with me.  I don't know what will
happen to them, but I'm sure they'll all disappear.

Just now they don't torture people, but in 1995 they took all the women as
porters, then when the women were afraid and cried, the soldiers beat them.
This year also, they arrested one woman, and they beat our villagers with a
machine gun and rolled 60 mm. shells up and down their shins.  They
always give trouble to the villagers in our village.  There was also
fighting
near our village, and the bullets even hit my house.

Q:  Why do you think SLORC is forcing everyone to move?
A:  Because SLORC told us, "All the groups have made ceasefires with us
except the Karenni.  Karenni are very headstrong."  They said, "If there is
water, there will be fish."  When they said that, we hurried to run away.
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				  #10.
NAME:    "Koo Nga Reh"    SEX: M     AGE: 45         Kayah Animist farmer
FAMILY:  Married, 5 children aged 2-13
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Shadaw Township              INTERVIEWED: 4/7/96

Our village has 105 houses.  I've been here 12 days already.  I left at 6
a.m.
on the 13th of June.  The Burmese sent a letter and threatened us that if we
didn't go to Shadaw they would come and burn down our houses and
torture the villagers, so we were afraid and we told them we'd come soon.
The 17th was the last day when we had to go to Shadaw.  Then they said if
we didn't go by the 17th, the 27th would be the last day.  It was ordered by
#337 Battalion.  We were very unhappy when we got the letter.  If we were
to hide in the forest they could find us easily, so we had no choice but to
go
there.  Now no families are left in the village or in the forest.  We went
but
we couldn't carry our things because we had to carry our children.  When
we got there they didn't give us any food or houses, and we had to sleep on
the ground.  Everyone has to find their own place to stay.  Some people
stay in the monastery, some have to stay underneath other people's houses.
After we cooked the Burmese ordered us to put out our fires.  Even while
we were cooking they sometimes came and put the fire out.

All the other villages received the same order - Daw Tha Dah, Daw Saw
Cha, Daw Kraw Aw, Daw Mu Seh, Daw Kraw Lo, Daw Klaw Leh, Nga
M'Lo Soh, Bu Law Ku, Daw Ta Ma, Daw Kloh Ku, Daw Kuh Sa, and
Daw Kuh Li, all in Preh Tho Leh township.  I can't count how many
families were in Shadaw, there were so many.  The Burmese told us we're
not allowed to leave Shadaw village.  They said our place would be beside
the cemetery, for 100 or 200 houses.  They ordered the villagers who live in
Shadaw to clear the place, and the Shadaw villagers said, "We can't do that,
it's too big", so they said when the other villagers flee Shadaw they will
follow.

I stayed there only one day.  Then the Burmese said, "You have to go and
get your belongings and rice from your village."  They said, "As long as
you're here we won't give you food.  If you don't bring your food from your
village you can starve and die, we don't care."  That's why we left.  At
Shadaw a lot of people were sick, but when we asked for medicine there
was no medicine for us.  There is a hospital in Shadaw but they asked for
money, and we had no money so we received no medicine.  Many people
had fever.  I could see that if we stayed there for long the situation would
get much worse.  For now they don't make people do labour for them, but
once people have finished building their houses they probably will.

They gave us a permission pass for 15 days to go and collect all our
belongings.  We had to pay 5 Kyat for the pass.  Our whole family went,
and then during those 15 days we left for Thailand.  We slept in our village
for 2 or 3 nights and then we left.  I think that was about the 16th [of
June].  Now I heard that they won't let anyone out of Shadaw any more -
now if you ask for permission, they will only give you their fist.  So
people
don't dare ask permission anymore.

We had to walk 3 days to get here.  It was a really hard journey and we had
to rush.  We had to carry our things and our children, so we got pain in our
shoulders and some people got sick.  About 70 families came.  If we had
stayed in our village the Burmese would kill us.  We're afraid of them, so
we all came to the refugee camp.  Each family could only carry about 10
milktins [3 kg.] of rice, and when it was not enough we asked for some
from some Karenni soldiers.  All of our knives, pots, cups and other
possessions we hid in a cave.  There is no one to look after our animals.  I
think altogether about one million Kyat worth of things were left behind
[for the whole village].  I don't know what will happen to them.  If the
Burmese destroy it we will just have to accept that.

When we got east of the Salween River we arrived at xxxx and xxxx villages
but we didn't see any people there.  Then in xxxx village there were only a
few people.  When we saw people in xxxx village we felt a bit happier, but
they told us, "We are very sad to see you like this.  Soon we will follow
you."  We were always worried that the Burmese would block us on the
way, but our decision was to come all the way no matter what.  We were
lucky.  If they keep forcing people to move I think most people will come
here to be refugees.  I don't know when they'll let people go back to their
villages, 3 months or 3 years, but it will be a long time.  I've never seen
a
situation this bad.  Before we just had to run to neighbouring villages to
avoid them.  But now it's everywhere, and they said they'll burn our
villages
and kill our animals.  I've never faced problems this bad in my life.  I
cannot tell all the things that SLORC does to us.  It's not like before.
Now
we even have to receive our food from other people, it's not like our own
food.  I can't talk about it anymore.
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				  #11.
NAME:    "Koo Soe Reh"   SEX: M      AGE: 25          Kayah Buddhist farmer
FAMILY:  Married, 2 children aged 1 and 2
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Preh Tho Leh Township          INTERVIEWED: 3/7/96

Our village has 14 households.  I've been here one week, I left on a
Monday.  I came because the Burmese gave us trouble.  They sent a letter, I
don't know which Battalion.  I don't know exactly what it said because I
can't read, but other people told me it said we cannot stay in our village,
that we must go.  The Burmese said they'd burn our village if we didn't go.
We tried to talk to them to be allowed to stay in our village, but they
refused us.  So we had a meeting to discuss whether we should go to the
relocation village or stay in our own village.  People said if we come to
the
refugee camp it's very far, and we'd also heard that the refugee camps were
already full with people.  So we went to the relocation place.Because of
their
order, we were afraid so we had to go.  Some people walked in one day, some
took 2 days.  Me, I arrived in Shadaw on a Saturday.

We could only take food with us, pigs and rice.  When we arrived there
some people stayed in the monastery and some people stayed in other
people's houses.  The whole village there was full of people.  We were very
afraid, we didn't know what would happen to us.  Our whole village went to
Shadaw, no one was left in our village.  Our pigs and chickens were left
there, glasses, pots, plates, and paddy, and some belongings were left
behind in our farmfield huts also.  I don't know what happened to all those
things.

All the villages had to move - Dee Leh, Daw Prih, Daw Duh, Ta Tee Leh,
Daw Nyay Ku, Daw Ee Dah, Tee Ku Leh, Daw Ta Ma, Daw Kloh Ku,
Daw Mi So.  We stayed in every place we could see.  The monks also tried
to arrange places for us.  The Burmese built 3 barracks for us and then we
weren't allowed to stay in other people's houses anymore, we had to stay in
those barracks.  They built them in front of the military camp.  There are
300 people in 3 barracks.  The soldiers there were the same ones who
ordered us to move.  They didn't give us food, they told us we have to find
our own food.  When we first arrived at the military camp the Major said,
"We will give rice to the people", and they gave out packets of rice and
took
pictures.  Then after taking the pictures they took back the rice.  They
took
a picture of the Major and the headman.

Lots of people got sick.  When we first arrived we could get some medicine
from the clinic, but not after that.  For the present we didn't have to do
labour for them, but I don't know about the future.  I didn't see anyone
beaten or tortured at Shadaw, although before they used to come to our
village and beat us quite often.

They didn't allow us to go outside the camp without a reason, but at first
they gave us 15 days to go get our belongings from our village.  Some
people also went out without permission, but the soldiers didn't catch them.
We stayed in Shadaw for one week, then when they allowed us to go get
our food we left and just kept coming, directly to Thailand. It took us
about
6 or 8 days to get here, me and my family.  I had so many problems
because I couldn't walk.  My leg was in pain and I couldn't keep carrying
my things.  ["Koo Soe Reh" walked barefoot all the way because he has no
sandals.]  All we had with us were some glasses, mats, pots and plates.  I
think the Burmese did this just because they like to see us having problems,
so they make trouble for us.  They told us that only after 3 or 4 years can
we go back to our village.
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   - [END OF PART 4 - SEE OTHER POSTINGS FOR PARTS 1 THROUGH 5] -