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DOSSIER ON FORCED LABOUR-CONTENTS
- Subject: DOSSIER ON FORCED LABOUR-CONTENTS
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 12 Nov 1996 02:09:00
INTRODUCTION AND CONTENTS
OF A NEW 2300-PAGE DOSSIER
BY THE BURMA PEACE FOUNDATION (BPF)
FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA:
SELECTED DOCUMENTS 1995-1996
and a few from further back
which were not included in the previous dossier
INTRODUCTION
This dossier on Forced Labour in Burma is part of a trilogy
compiled by the Burma Peace Foundation, the other dossiers
being "Forced Relocation in Burma" and "Economic Oppression in
Burma" (extortion, looting, pillaging and the economic impact
of forced labour). Together with killings, disappearances,
torture, rape, inhuman treatment etc., the combination of
forced relocation, forced labour and economic oppression has
led to the collapse of the Burmese village, especially in the
border regions. In the areas covered by most of these
documents, thousands of villages have been abandoned and
hardly any has lost less than 25% of its members. The village
people either swell the estimated one million internally
displaced or join the flow of refugees to neighbouring
countries. The agent of this collapse is the Burma Army, under
the current incarnation of military rule in Burma, the State
Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC.
Types of forced labour
The most notorious form of forced labour in Burma is forced
portering (FP), whereby the army raids villages and towns for
porters to carry its supplies and ammunition for offensives in
the border regions or for routine operations. Since 1992,
there has been an increase in other forms of forced labour. As
illustrated in the dossier, these are of three main types:
* Work on large-scale infrastructure and "development"
projects: e.g. construction and maintenance of roads,
railways, bridges, airports, hydro-electric schemes etc. In
many cases these are related, directly or indirectly, to
foreign investment and tourism. Several hundred thousand
people are currently being forced to work on such projects, of
which the notorious Ye-Tavoy railway is only one. Land for
these projects is confiscated, without compensation, from the
farmers.
* Military-related labour: e.g. building, maintaining and
guarding military roads and bridges, sweeping roads for mines,
and building and servicing military camps. As in the case of
"development" projects, land for these installations, which
include training grounds and military farms, is confiscated
from the local people, who are often obliged to do forced
labour on their former property.
* Work on commercial projects for the army such as paddy-and
fishpond and tree-planting operations, which the local farmers
have to build up and maintain. The required land, needless to
say, is confiscated from local people.
The overall picture is of a large increase in forced labour
over the last five and a half years. People are conscripted as
porters and for other forms of forced labour over at least 8
months of the year, overlapping with vital agricultural
activities like planting and harvesting. Forced labour is thus
a major factor in the collapse of the village economy, and as
well as violating civil and political rights, constitutes a
major infringement of international norms on economic, social
and cultural rights, and the right to development.
A NOTE ON SOURCES
This dossier contains material from a wide variety of sources
-- journalists, international and local human rights
organisations, SLORC in Rangoon and SLORC local commanders,
the organisations of the non-Burman nationalities, independent
and semi-independent Mon and Shan groups, diplomats, legal
analysts, United Nations Special Rapporteurs, international
trade union bodies, refugee agencies and so on. They all have
their special concerns and it would be too much to expect all
of them to be absolutely objective all of the time. However,
the large number and variety of observers on the Thai/Burmese
border means that here at least, reports are subject to a high
level of scrutiny and cross-checking, and most false or
exaggerated stories can be spotted and put into perspective.
The approach taken by the editor of this dossier has been to
use a coarse filter and let the reader make his or her own
assessment. However, it may be useful to group the sources
used and make some brief comments on their methods and
orientation, where known.
International human rights organisations
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch Asia, US Committee
for Refugees, Article 19, Anti-Slavery International, Refugees
International, International Commission of Jurists, Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights etc.. These organisations put a
high priority on producing accurate and impartial reports.
Before writing a report they generally undertake a country
mission, do their own interviews and consult widely, seek
maximum corroboration of facts, and couch their analyses
within international law. However, although most of the above
have repeatedly requested access to Burma in order to
undertake fact-finding missions, the Burmese military has not
given permission. Their fact-finding therefore has tended to
concentrate on the regions which are accessible from the
borders, together with the occasional clandestine visit.
International Burma specialist organisations
Project Maje (PM), Burma Peace Foundation (BPF). Sympathetic
to the ethnic groups and democracy movement. Do their own
interviews and seek accuracy of fact.
Humanitarian organisations
Based in Thailand: they include Jesuit Refugee Service,
Burmese Relief Centre. They do their own interviews and
cross-check. Very sound in analysis and fact.
Local human rights organisations
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), Southeast Asia Information
Network (SAIN) and Images Asia are among those quoted. Their
pro-democracy bias and sympathy for the village people and
ethnic groups is clear from their analyses and focus, and they
do not generally report on violations of human rights by
non-Burman ethnic groups. However, in this editor's experience
they are reliable on facts. They do their own interviews.
Semi-independent
The Committee for Publicity of People's Struggle in Monland
(CPPSM), Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) and Mon
Information Service (MIS). These groups support their ethnic
group, as is clear from their analyses, but they have not been
known to fabricate information.
Organizations of the non-Burman peoples
Karen National Union (KNU), Government of Karenni, New Mon
State Party, Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), Rohingya
Solidarity Organization (RSO), All Burma Student Democratic
Front (ABSDF) which publishes "Dawn". These groups are clearly
biased, but are not generally known to fabricate information,
though the accuracy of some of RSO's reports has been queried.
Perhaps this is due to lack of alternative sources in Arakan
to cross-check with.
SLORC
The Generals in Rangoon say (1) that forced labour does not
exist; (2) that unpaid labour occurs, but that it is
traditional voluntary contribution of labour. However,
interviews with victims, and the SLORC Orders, frequently
threatening, which are sent to villages demanding labour,
present another picture.)
Journalists
Some Bangkok journalists tend to jump on a rumor before it is
fully checked, but they generally get it right in the end.
Some reports are based on their own interviews in Bangkok or
on the border. Similarly for the wire services. At any rate,
most press reports included in this dossier are at least a few
months old, and have stood the test of time. Burmanet is an
electronic conference on Burma which carries stories from many
sources, and whose editorial comment is generally sound.
United Nations Special Procedures
Those quoted in the dossier are the Special Rapporteur on
Myanmar, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions and the
Special Rapporteurs on Torture, on Executions, and on
Religious Intolerance. They receive information from UN,
governmental and non-governmental sources, and submit the
allegations to SLORC, which comments. So far, only the Special
Rapporteur on Myanmar has visited the country. When he goes he
does his own interviews though, so far, rarely without the
presence of SLORC Military Intelligence. These circumstances,
as he states in his reports, do not contribute towards candid
interviews.
ABBREVIATIONS
These abbreviations may appear in the text or scribbled
in the margins.
ABSDF=All Burma Students Democratic Front
AFP=Agence France Fresse
AI=Amnesty International
AP=Associated Press
BI=Burma Issues (formerly B.U.R.M.A.)
BP=Bangkok Post
BPF=Burma Peace Foundation
CHR=United Nations Commission on Human Rights
CL=forced labour or portering by someone of less than 18 years
CP=forced portering by children
CPPSM=Committee for Publicity of People's Struggle in Monland
Det=detention/1.
Disap=disappearence(s)
EO=economic oppression/2.
Ex=execution/3.
FC=forced conscription
FEER=Far Eastern Economic Review
FL=forced Labour (other than portering)
FP=forced portering or forced porter(s)
FR=forced relocation
GA=United Nations General Assembly
GS=General Studies
GSM=government-sponsored migration
H=health, or rather, lack of it.
HM (or H.M.)=human minesweeper(s)
HRW/Asia=Human Rights Watch/Asia
HS (or H.S.)=human shield(s)
HURFOM=Human Rights Foundation Of Monland
IA=Images Asia
ICFTU=International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
IDP=internally-displaced person(s)
IHT=International Herald Tribune
ILO=International Labour Organization;
IRRC=Investor Responsibility Research Center
KHRG=Karen Human Rights Group
KIO=Kachin Independence Organization
KNPP=Karenni National Progressive Party
KNU=Karen National Union
LC=land confiscation (a major form of economic oppression)
Loot=looting
MIS=Mon Information Service
NCGUB=National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
Pill=pillaging
PL=prison labour
Rec=(forced) recruiting
RI (or R.I.)=religious intolerance
RSO=Rohingya Solidarity Organisation
SAIN-Southeast Asian Information Network
SLORC=State Law and Order Restoration Council
SO=SLORC Orders (for workers, money, goods etc)
TN=The Nation (Bangkok)
Tort=torture
UPI=United Press International
WL=forced labour or portering (also WL(P)) by women
(See also the list of abbreviations for the yearbook - GS8)
NOTES
/1. Amnesty International and other analysts consider that
forced portering is a form of arbitrary detention.
/2. "EO" (economic oppression} appears throughout the dossier.
It refers to the many ways in which the Burma army's
activities make it difficult for village people to maintain
their economic life. Forced labour is itself a major form of
economic oppression, since when people are working on roads
and railways, they cannot be in their fields. Other forms of
EO are the excessive and arbitrary taxation, the paddy
procurement policy and the pervasive extortion, looting,
pillaging and, of course, forced relocation of whole villages.
/3. Executions (Ex in the margins) is used rather loosely in
the dossier and refers to any action of brutality, neglect or
deliberate murder, which results in death.
CONTENTS
This dossier is divided into a number of sections for ease of
use. Documents are placed chronologically in each section. The
letters in brackets are those used in the margins to mark a
particular theme. The sections are:
General studies (GS)
Forced labour other than forced portering (FL)
Forced portering (FP)
Forced labour with implications for foreign investment (IN)
Forced labour of children (CL)
Forced labour of women (WL)
Forced labour on tourist projects (TL)
Prison forced labour (PL)
The military and forced labour (ML), including forced
conscription (FC)
International Labour Movement (ILM)
International Labour Organisation (ILO)
UN General Assembly (GA)
UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
Statements by governments on forced labour (G)
SLORC statements on forced labour (SL)
Burmese Law relevant to forced labour (BL)
Slorc Orders for forced labour etc (SO)
The following areas which do not have specific sections
in the dossier are cross-referenced to specific documents.
Use of forced porters as human minesweepers (HM)
Use of forced porters as human shields (HS)
Use of elderly people in forced labour including forced
portering (EL)
Health issues in the context of forced labour (H)
Internally Displaced people (IDP)
Forced Relocation (FR)
Racism (R)
Religious Intolerance (RI)
Refugees (Ref)
Rape (Rape)
Where documents deal with a number of topics, including
different forms and dimensions of forced labour, the code name
of the particular form of forced labour, for instance FP for
forced portering, or HS for human shields, is written in the
margin alongside the relevant passage.
THIS DOSSIER CONTINUES THE BURMA PEACE FOUNDATION DOSSIER
"FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA" DATED MAY 1995 (CONTENTS ENCLOSED
IN ANNEX)
General studies(GS)
Under this heading are general studies in the true sense, plus
reports and articles which cover forced labour and forced
portering more or less equally. In this and other sections,
where the different kinds of forced labour follow each other
in the text, the compiler has frequently scribbled "FL"
(forced labour) and "FP" (forced portering) and other
abbreviations in the margins. When a document is over 10 or so
pages, its length is mentioned. The order is chronological
within sections, unless another logic prevails
GS1 KHRG "The logic that drives slave labour in Burma".
31/10/94
GS2 Arakanese Student Congress Report on human rights
violations in Arakan. 13/3/95
GS3 HRW/Asia "Burma, Entrenchment or Reform?" -- "human
rights developments and the need for continued
pressure" 7/95
GS4 KHRG "Myawaddy-Kawkareik Area Update" 6/8/95
GS5 Committee for Arakanese Refugees Relief and Welfare
"A report on the influx of Arakanese refugees into
Mizoram State of India". 13/8/95
GS6 KHRG "The Current Human Rights Situation in Burma"
5/9/95
GS7 UPI "UPI World Issues: Forced labor" 27/9/95
GS8 NCGUB Human Rights Documentation Unit "Human Rights Year
Book 1995 -- Burma" (ext racts). About 20 pages of
general intro to Burma, incl. maps, followed by the
Forced Labour section (80 pgs, incl photos). This is
mainly a thematic and geographical overview of forced
labour in Burma, with a list of 61 incidents of forced
labour, portering etc. Personal Accounts (interviews)
from the Yearbook are scattered in different places in
the dossier.
GS9 KHRG "Forced Relocation in Papun District" 4/3/96 (16pp)
GS10 IA "Forced Labour and Human Rights Abuses in Karen
areas of Toungoo and Papun Districts, Burma" 3/96 (23pp)
GS11 ACFOA (Australian Council for Overseas Aid) "Slave
labour in Burma -- an examination of the SLORC's forced
labour policies" 5/96 (48pp)
GS12 Project Maje "A Swamp Full of Lillies -- Human Rights
Violations Committed by Units/Personnel of Burma's
Army.1992-1993". 3/94 (60pp). Under each single or
multiple listing of Burma army units (battalions for the
most part) are brief summaries of the incidents of human
rights violations each has been responsible for.
Commanding and other officers are also listed where
known.
GS13 Project Maje "Dacoits Inc -- Human Rights Violations
Committed by Units/Personnel of Burma's Army. 1994-
1995". 6/96 (103pp). Continuation of the "Swamp".
GS14 New Internationalist "Burma -- a cry for freedom".
June 96. Extracts from the NI special issue on Burma.
GS15 Network First "Inside Burma, Land of Fear" June 96.
Extracts from the booklet produced to accompany John
Pilger's TV documentary of the same name.
GS16 Article 19. Extracts from Martin Smith's "Fatal
Silence?", on free expression and health in Burma. 7/96
GS17 KHRG "SLORC and DKBA in Papun District" 3/8/96 (12pp)
GS18 KHRG "Interviews from Northern Arakan" 4/8/96
GS19 AI "Myanmar -- human rights violations against ethnic
minorities" 8/8/96 (14pp)
GS20 Project Maje, Testimony to European Commission GSP
Inquiry, 2/10/96
Forced labour (FL)
This section documents forced labour on SLORC's commercial
enterprises, its large-scale "development" projects and the
quasi-military activities of building, guarding and
maintaining military camps, roads and bridges.
FL1 BI "Human Rights Abuses" FL in Chin State. 10/94
FL2 ABSDF "Forced labour in Irrawaddy Division for
construction of Naval Base" 14/7/94
FL3 RSO newsletter article on forced labour in Buthidaung.
15/7/95
FL4 KHRG "Life as a criminal prisoner" 2/8/95
FL5 KHRG "Conditions in the Irrawaddy Delta" 4/8/95
FL6 BI "Forced labor in Kyauk Kyi Township" I. 8/95.
FL for "development"
FL7 BI "Forced labor in Kyauk Kyi Township" II. 9/95.
Military-run rice plantations
FL8 BI "Forced labor in Kyauk Kyi Township" III 10/95
FL9 FEER article on military-planned "development" 10/95
FL10 KHRG "Conditions North of Myawaddy" 10/1/96
FL11 KHRG "The Situation in Northwestern Burma" 30/1/96
(30pp). Forced labour in Chin State and Arakan.
FL12 KHRG "SLORC in Kya-In and Kawkareik Townships" 10/2/96
(19pp)
FL13 BI "Human rights abuses in the Toongoo District"
2/96 -road construction.
FL14 KHRG "Road Construction in Pa'an District" 16/3/96
FL15 Dawn forced labour in Sagain Division 3/96
FL16 KHRG "Abuses in Tee Sah Ra area" 1/4/96
FL17 KHRG "Human Rights in Karen areas of Burma" 8/4/96
FL18 KHRG "The situation in Pa'an District" 15/5/96 (23pp)
FL19 KHRG "Forced labour in the Irrawaddy Delta" 16/5/96
FL20 Dawn "Forced labor and extension of Chindwin River
embankment", "Forced Labor in Monywa" May/June 96
FL21 KHRG "Forced relocation in central Shan State" 25/6/96
(30pp)
FL22 KHRG "Interviews form the Irrawaddy Delta" 26/7/96
FL23 KHRG "Interviews about Shan State" 27/7/96
FL24 KHRG "Forced labour around Taungoo Towns" 28/7/96
FL25 HRW/Asia "Burma -- The Rohingya Muslims --Ending a
Cycle of Exodus?" (extracts) 9/96
Forced portering (FP)
Forced Portering is the best-documented and internationally
criticised form of forced labour in Burma. People are rounded
up from villages and cities, snatched from streets and fields,
loaded down with enormously heavy loads of ammunition,
foodstuffs and other items; and with very little food or
sleep, and no medicine, they are driven up and down mountains
and through sub-tropical jungles, raped, beaten, frequently to
death, and killed or abandoned when unable to continue. Since
1992, as various ethnic groups have surrendered and signed
uneasy cease-fires, there has been an overall reduction in
fighting, despite the offensives against Khun Sa and the
Karen. This has led to a corresponding reduction in portering.
FP1 Nation "Shan forced to work as porters in drug war"
15/1/94
FP2 Dawn "Forced Labour" Jan/Feb 95(?)
FP3 Dawn "Escaped porters from the Mannerplaw battle
fields" 4-5/95. 85 photos and brief stories (15pp)
FP4 HURFOM "Human rights interviews with new arrivals in
Halockani refugee camp" 22/5/95 (10pp)
FP5 KHRG "Field Reports: 6th Brigade" 31/5/95 (12pp)
FP6 AI "Myanmar: No place to hide - killings, abductions
and other abuses against ethnic Karen villagers and
refugees". (extracts) 6/95
FP7 Dawn "More porters escape" 7-8/95
FP8 CPPSM "Forced portering labour and accompanying
serious human rights abuses by the Burmese army" and
"Regular use of forced labour/porterage and regular
collection of portering taxes by local Burmese
military in rural ethnic areas" 15/8/95
FP9 AP (Nation) "SLORC press-ganged 4,000 to work as
porters, claim rebels" 27/8/95
FP10 AI "Myanmar: Human rights after seven years of
military rule" (extracts, 11pp) 10/95
FP11 NCGUB Human Rights Documentation Unit "Human Rights
Yearbook 1995: Burma" Personal Accounts" 1/96 -
interviews (99pp)
FP11a KHRG "The shelling of Wa Bah Village" 12/1/96
FP11b KHRG "Refugees from Pa'an District" 18/3/96
FP12 BI "Forced Porters" 3/96
FP13 AI Myanmar - Kayin (Karen) State: The killings
continue" (extracts) 4/96
FP14 KHRG "Field Reports: Papun & Nyaunglebin Districts"
25/5/96
FP15 AI "Myanmar - Portering and Forced Labour: Amnesty
International's concerns" 9/96
See also GS11 p17, GA1, GA2, GA3, CHR1, CHR2, CHR4,
CHR5, G3
Forced portering is also described in most other
sections of the dossier.
Forced labour and forced portering with implications
for international investment in Burma(IN)
This section contains most of the reports dealing with forced
labour and forced portering in the Tenasserim, the site of the
Total/Unocal pipeline project. The compiler of this dossier
considers that the increased military presence in this region
(with the consequent increase in demand for porters and other
forms of forced labour for the military) and the development
(with the massive use of "people's contributions") of rail,
road and other infrastructure which will facilitate this
military presence, is related to SLORC's guarantee of security
for the pipeline.
IN1 KNU (Mergui-Tavoy) "A cry left unheard: An appeal for an
independent hearing into the construction of a gas
pipeline and its ancillary works in Tenasserim
Division, Burma". 4/95 (20pp)
IN2 BI "Blood Promise: Unocal in Burma" 4/95
IN3 International Federation of Chemical, Energy and General
Workers' Union "Burma, Slavery and the Multinationals"
4/95
IN4 Dawn "Forced labour" etc. 4-5/95
IN5 HURFOM "Human Rights Interviews on Forced Relocation of
Ah Mae Village" (12pp) 27/5/95
IN6 Bangkok Post. 2 articles on FL in the Tenasserim. 7/5/95
IN7 Bangkok Post "Forced Labour on the Slorc Railway"
22/5/95
IN8 CPPSM Newsletter (24pp) 5/95
IN9 HURFOM "Report on SLORC's Destruction of Kyauktayan
Village" (13pp) 27/7/95
IN10 KHRG "Field Reports: Mergui-Tavoy District" 15pp)29/6/95
IN11 KHRG "Ye-Tavoy Railway Area: An Update" (36pp)31/7/95
IN12 KNU (Mergui-Tavoy) "The Rape of the Rural Poor"
(extracts, 32pp) 7/95
IN13 KHRG "Conditions in the Gas Pipeline Area" (10pp)1/8/95
IN14 HURFOM "Report on population displacement in Tavoy
District" (19pp) 16/8/95
IN15 AFP "Burmese dissidents claim forced labour used on
railraod" 6/9/95
IN16 BI "Ye-Tavoy railway revisited" 11/95
IN17 SAIN "The Ye-Tavoy railroad, update" 12/95
IN18 NCGUB Human Rights Documentation Unit "Human Rights Year
Book 1995 -- Burma" (extracts, 58pp) interviews. 1/96
IN19 MIS "Forced Labour on the construction of the Ye-Tavoy
railway (1995)" (16pp) 1/96
IN20 KHRG "Te-Tavoy Area Update" (13pp) 5/1/96
IN21 Dawn "More new refugees in Pa Yaw camp" plus interviews.
1-2/96
IN22 Investor Responsibility Research Center (Washington DC)
"IRRC Proxy Report" (extract) 3/96
IN23 MIS "Endless Nightmares in the Black Area - human rights
violations in Burma's south and southeastern region
during 1995" (47pp) 3/95
IN23 ABSDF "Local villagers face forced relocation for the
security of TOTAL office" 2/4/96
IN24 HURFOM "Forced Labour in Ye-Tavoy Railway Construction"
(17pp) 15/4/96
IN25 HURFOM "The exploitation of Woman and Child labour in
Ye-Tavoy Railway Construction" (17pp) 20/5/96 (moved to
CL6)
IN26 KHRG "Forced Labour in Mon Areas" (19pp) 22/5/96
IN27 KHRG "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project"(23pp) 23/5/96
IN27 MIS "French Total Co's and American Unocal Corp's
disastrous gas pipeline project in Burma's Gulf of
Martaban" (9pp) 5/96
IN28 KNU (Mergui-Tavoy) "Report the Facts - The Yadana Gas
Pipeline Construction in Tavoy District, Tenasserim
Division" (28pp) 5/96
IN29 Dawn "Forced labour in 300-mile long Mergui-Kawthaung
motor road", "More update on the TOTAL's attack", "More
casualties from forced labour on the Ye-Tavoy railway",
5-6/96
IN30 AP "Ethnic rebels challenge U.S. Diplomat on Forced
Labour in Burma" 17/6/96
IN31 SAIN and Earthrights International "Total Denial - A
Report on the Yadana Pipeline Project in Burma"
(extracts, 13pp) 10/7/96
See also GS6, GS8 p(138) 150,1,2; 153-4; GS11 p2, 15, 23-24;
FP10 p25; FP11 p570; FP12; CL6
Children and forced labour(CL)
CL1 Conde Nast Traveller "Burma Boycott?" - New tourist
drive uses forced labor" 6/95
CL2 BI "Burma: a Children's Rights Survey" extracts) 1996
CL3 Dawn "Tourism in Burma: Magnifying Despair" 1-2/96
CL4 KHRG "The Situation of Children in Burma" - summary
1/5/96 - followed by extracts from KHRG reports
CL5 IA "No Childhood At All" (extracts from the 85pp report)
5/96
CL6 HURFOM "The exploitation of Woman and Child labour in
Ye-Tavoy Railway Construction" (17pp) 20/5/96 (Moved
from IN 25)
See also GS2 p3, 4, 6; GS8 p139, 142, 145, 147-8, 152, 156,
163, 164,5, 178, 181-2, 192,3, 200,1, 203; GS9 p3, 5, 13; GS10
p13; GS11 p7, 9-10, 16, 18, 32, 54; GS13 p62, 66, 69, 80, 96,
97, 100; GS14 p10; GS19 p4, 6; GS20 p3; FL4 p4; FL11 p5, 10,
14; FL14 p2; FL18 p1, 7, 9, 11; FL21 p19, 24; FL24 p4; FP3
p12, 14, 16, 19, 22, 23, 24; FP11 p620-21, 625, 629-30, 679,
680, 682, 685, 726; FP11b p3; FP12; FP14 p1; IN8 p2, 4, 11,
12; IN12 p38; IN14 p12; IN17 p1; IN19 p1, 3, 4; IN20 p3; IN21
p22-3, 24-5; IN23b p 7, 10, 15, 23, 32 (HS); IN24 p3, 6; IN29
p39; IN30 p35; WL3 p10, 15, 19, 59-62; WL4 p103; TL9 p1;
Women and forced labour (WL)
WL1 Dawn "Pregnant women have not been spared from forced
labour" 4-5/95
WL2 BI "Women in Burma" 8/95
WL3 Burma Women's Union "The Plight of Burmese Women"
(extract from BWU's report to the Bejing Women's
Conference) including an appendix on trafficking of
Burmese women) 8/95
WL4 Article 19 "Fatal Silence?" (Extract from Martin Smith's
report on health and freedom of expression in Burma 7/96
See also GS2, 3, 4, 6. GS8 p 136, 141-2, 143, 145-6, 147, 152,
155,6, 163,4, 178, 181-2, 192, 194 (pregnant woman), 200,
202,3. GS9 p3, 5, 5, 7, 15. GS10 p13, 18; GS11 p7-8, 9-10, 19;
GS12 p13,14, 18, 21, 25, 33, 38, 51; GS13 p19, 45, 62, 63, 65,
93; FL7; FL11 p5, 10; FP3 p23, 24; FP11 p525, 628, 629-30,
675-6; FP11b p2,3,5; FP12; FP13 p12, 13, 14; FP14 p1, 2; IN4
p30; IN8 p2; IN11 p16-17, 20; IN12 p5, 6; IN14 p9-10, 12, 13;
IN17 p1; IN18 p749, 754; IN19 p1, 2, 3, 4; IN20 p3; IN21
p24-5; IN23b p10, 31, 32, 33, 34 (death); IN24 p3; IN26 p5, 6,
7, 10, 13; IN27a p17; IN29 p39; IN30 p35; CL2 p19; CL3 p2; CL4
p9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19; CL6; GA1 p3;
Tourism and forced labour (TL)
TL1 BI "The Impact of Tourism and Burma's Cultural
Heritage" - Martin Smith 10/94
TL2 Asiaweek "Tracking Burma" - Ron Gluckman 10/6/95
TL3 Financial Times "UN raps Burma on Forced Labour"
8/11/95
TL4 NCGUB Human Rights Documentation Unit "Human Rights
Year Book 1995 -- Burma" 1/96. Interviews
TL5 Burma Action Group "Burma, The Alternative Guide"
(extract) 1/96
TL6 KHRG "The Situation in Northwestern Burma" 30/1/96
Placed at FL11
TL7 KHRG "Abuses in Tee Sah Ra Area" 1/4/96
TL8 Commission on Human Rights, 1996, Statement by World
Conference on Religion and Peace "The Relation between
Tourism and Human Rights" 15/4/96
TL9 KHRG "The Situation in Pa'an District 15/5/96
TL10 KHRG "Forced Labour in the Irrawaddy Delta" 16/5/96
See also GS6, GS8 p 131-3, 157, (192). GS10 p3, 6, 7; GS11 p2,
20-22; GS14 p10; GS15 p18; FL5 p2; FL11 p1, 8, 16-17, 21-22;
FL16 p5; FL18 p3; FL19 p1, 2; FP11 p625; IN11 p2; IN17 p2;
Prisoners and forced labour (PL)
PLa AI "Conditions in prisons and labour camps" 22/9/95
PL1 KHRG "Story of a Mon political prisoner 9/1/96
PL2 Dawn "Interview with former prison laborer" and
"Prisoners and abuses by SLORC" 5-6 96
PL3 AI "Myanmar - renewed repression" (extract) 7/96
See also GS8 p126, 127, 129, 144, 151, 159, 160, 172, 188,
189, 192, 193, 195, 202, 204; GS11 p9, 14; GS12 p44; GS20 p7;
FL4 p2; FL11 p13, 14, 22, 25, 27; FP3 p22, 25; FP11 p601,
625-6, 627-8, 630, 673, 674, 675, 696; IN1 p15; IN11 p13, 14,
15, 22; IN13 p16; IN23b p22-3; IN28 p18, 25; CL4 p19; TL2 p3;
TL4 p625; G4 p88, 125;
The Burmese military and forced labour (ML) including
forced conscription (FC)
ML1 Dawn "SLORC defectors in Karenni area - due to the
abuses in the army", "Interview with a SLORC defector"
and "Forced recuitment leads to a high price for
substitution" 3/96
ML2 Dawn "Forced recuitment in Shan State" and "Slorc lance
corporal defects to ABSDF" 5-6 96
See also GS8 p175, 180, 187-8; GS11 p18; GS12 p24; FL11 p26;
FL22 p4, 6; FP11 p670; IN12 p25; IN23b p13-15, 23; CL3 p3; CL5
p21, 22, 23, 24;
International statements on forced labour in Burma
1) International Labour Movement (ILM)
ILM1 International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and
European Trade Union Confederation "Burma: SLORC's
Private Slave Camp" 1995 (executive summary of their
submission to the European Union Generalised System
of Preferences. NB Appendix G is the introduction to
- and full text? - of BPF's last year's 1400 page
dossier on forced labour in Burma.
ILM2 Americal Federation of Labor and Congress of
Industrial Organizations (AFLCIO). Testimony to the
US Senate Appropriations Committee, Sub-Committee on
Foreign Operations 24/7/95
ILM3 Conference of ICFTU and 10 International Trade
Secretariats. Resolution on Burma 9-11/10/95
2) International Labour Organisation (ILO)
ILO1 ILO Press Release summarising ILO Labour Conference
action on Burma, 20/6/96
ILO2 Committee on the Application of Standards. Special
Paragraphs on Myanmar June 1995
ILO3 Committee on the Application of Standards, Sections
on Myanmar of its Report. (Provisional Record) 6/1996
ILO4 Provisional Verbatim of the discussion on Myanmar,
June 96
ILO5 Report of the Committee of Experts, June 96
ILO6 List of ratifications of ILO Conventions by Myanmar
See also GS11 pVIII, 3, 4, 39-40
3) United Nations General Assembly (GA)
GA1 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar (extracts on
forced labour and forced portering, including the
response of the Government of Myanmar) 16/10/95
GA2 Oral Statement of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar
10/95
GA3 Resolution on Myanmar, December 1995
4)UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
CHR1 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar
(extracts on forced labour and forced portering)
17/2/93. This report contains the Special Rapporteur's
most developed treatment of these topics.
CHR2 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar (extracts on
forced labour and forced portering)5/2/96. The Annexes
to this report (encl) contain SLORC's "Secret
Directives" prohibiting unpaid labour contributions.
CHR3 Letter from HE the Permanent Representative of Myanmar
to the United Nations Office in Geneva addressed to the
Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights (extract
on traditional contribution of labour) 21/3/96
CHR4 International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs "The
Rural Human Rights Situation in Burma" (Statement to
the Commission on Human Rights) 4/96
CHR5 Resolution on the Situation of human rights in Myanmar.
4/96
5) Governments (G)
G1 Dawn "EU initiates investigations on the forced labor
in Burma" 3/96
G2 Voice of America "Burma Censured for Forced Labor"
2/7/95
G3 US State Dept Country Report on Burma (extracts on
forced labour and forced portering) 3/96
G4 American Embassy, Rangoon "Foreign Economic Trends
Report: Burma" (extracts on forced labour and forced
portering) 6/96. This important report demonstrates,
inter alia,the degree to which forced labour is an
integral part of the SLORC economy.
G5 John Shattuck reaffirms the US position on FL 8/7/96
See also GS11 pVIII
SLORC on forced labour (SL) Various positions taken
SL1 Dawn "Promise over labor" 5-6/96. This and the next
two entries report SLORC as saying that "people's
labour" will no longer be used in laying railway lines.
SL2 BP "No more forced labour" 5/6/96
SL3 TN "Promise over labour" 5/6/96
See also CHR1, 2 and 3; GS11 3-4; GA1 p4-6; CHR2 (annex I &
II); CHR3;
Burmese Law (BL)
BL1 The Village Act and Towns Act (1907)
BL2 Article 19 "Burma - Beyond the Law" 8/96
(extracts on forced labour and forced portering)
The 1993 report of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar (enclosed
in this dossier as CHR 1) contains a discussion on the legal
dimensions of forced labour in Burma.
See also GS11 p3-4
SLORC Orders for forced labour (SO)
SO2 KHRG. SLORC Orders to Villages (Ye-Tavoy Railway/Gas
pipeline area) 22/5/95
SO3 KHRG. SLORC Orders to Villages (Kya-In/Kawkareik area)
20/2/96
SO4 KHRG. SLORC Orders to Villages (Taungoo District)23/2/96
SO5 KHRG. SLORC Orders to Villages (Ye-Tavoy Railway,
Dooplaya District) 27/5/97
SO6 KHRG. SLORC Orders to Villages (Karenni State 1995)
29/7/96
SO7 KHRG. SLORC Orders to Villages (Central Karen State)
31/7/96
See also GS8 p161-2. GS11 p6; IN19 p7-13, 15; IN23b p13-15;
IN24 p12-15;
ANNEX
Contents of the previous BPF dossier on forced
labour, issued in May 1995
THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES DO NOT HAVE SEPARATE SECTIONS
IN THE DOSSIER. (THE CROSS-REFERENCES ARE INCOMPLETE)
Use of forced porters as human minesweepers (HM)
GS8 p145, 149, 204; GS10 p7, 13, 19; GS12 p14, 15, 26, 33;
GS13 p49(W), 68, 99; GS14 p8; GS16 p60; FP11 p625; IN23b p12,
31 (women), 32 (women); WL3 p16;
Use of forced porters as human shields (HS)
GS8 p145,149, 183; GS10 p7; GS12 p17, 33, 51 (W); GS13 p32, 43
(W, C), 62 (W, C), 67 (C), 77, 83, 99; FL11 p23; FL22 p3; FP11
p625; IN8 p10, 12 (incl. Child); IN9 p6; IN11 p28;
Porters in action (PIA)
FP3 p17; FP5 p9; FP8; IN23b p6;
The use of elderly people in forced labour including
forced portering (EL)
GS3, 6, GS8 p145, 199. GS9 p3, 13, 15. GS10 p15, 20; GS11 p9;
FP3 p16, 20; FP11 p592, 629-30, 682; IN14 p10; IN17 p1; IN24
p7; IN26 p5; CL4 p12, 13, 14, 18, 119; WL3 p19;
Health issues in the context of forced labour (H)
GS8 p160, 162,3, 181, 183, 187, 194 198, 201; GS10 p10, 18;
GS11 p9-10; GS16; GS17 p8; GS20 p3; FL4 p5; FL10 p2; FL11 p11,
24; FL21 p12; FL24 p2; IN8 p7, 11; IN11 p15, 17, 20, 22; IN14
p14; IN15; IN17 p1; IN20 p9, 13; IN23b p6, 11, 12, 28, 34, 35;
IN24 p3, 8; IN26 p10, 11; IN27a p20; IN28 p18; IN29 p43; IN30
p37; CL4 p17, 18; WL3 p20; WL4;
People internally displaced as a result of forced
labour (IDP)
GS10 p6, 9, 11; GS15 p18; GS17 p5; GS18 p2, 4; FL 10 p2, 3;
FL12 p3; FL17 p2, 3; FL18 p10; FP11 p573, 578; IN1 p15; IN5
p3; IN8 p4, 10, 11, 12, 15, 21, 22; IN10 p8; IN11 p3, 19, 21,
32; IN14 p2, 4, 6, 13-14, 17; IN 18 p745, 750-51; IN23b p4, 7,
39; IN24 p9; IN26 p2; IN27a p5, 8;
Forced Relocation (FR)
GS10 p6, 8; GS11 p4; GS15; GS18 p3, 6, 7; FL5, p3,
Racism (R)
GS11 p5; GS20 p4; IN14 p7-8; CL3 p4
Religious Intolerance (RI)
GS12 p46; GS13 p26; GS17 p10; FL11 p1, 11, 22; CL3 p4
Refugees (Ref)
GS11 p16
Rape
GS11 p19; GS122 p13, 14, 16, 21(C), 22, 23, 27, 35; GS13
p67(C); GS16 p5; GS19 p11; FL4 p4(C); FL11 p2; FL18 p13; FP14
p2; IN10 p3; IN11 p17, 29; IN14 p6; IN23b p11, 32; IN26 p4, 5,
7, 9, 14, 17; IN27a p12, 18, 19; CL4 p2, 10; WL3 p10, 11, 15,
20;
Forced labour as traditional practice
IN8 p22-24
Land Confiscation
IN10 p3; IN11 p6; IN13 p4, 10; IN24 p6; IN288 p15, 21; WL3
p17; PL1 p3;
BPF does not have the capacity to make copies of the dossier
(with a photocopier it takes 3-5 hours to copy each one), but
if there are enough people wanting copies, we could have them
done commercially in Bangkok. Write to Burma Peace Foundation,
85, Rue de Montbrillant, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland.