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KHRG #97-07 Part 3 of 6 (Offensives
Subject: KHRG #97-07 Part 3 of 6 (Offensives)
REFUGEES FROM THE SLORC OCCUPATION
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
May 25, 1997 / KHRG #97-07
*** PART 3 OF 6 - SEE OTHER POSTINGS FOR OTHER PARTS OF THIS REPORT ***
[Some details omitted or replaced by 'XXXX' for Internet distribution.]
_____________________________________________________________________________
#D13.
NAME: "Nyi Nyi Sein" SEX: F AGE: 20+ Muslim merchant
FAMILY: Married, no children
ADDRESS: Na Kree Hta village, Dooplaya District INTERVIEWED: 27/2/97
[This interview was conducted in the "Muslim section" of Ka Hee Pa Leh
in Thailand. "Nyi Nyi Sein"'s uncle was killed by SLORC troops.]
Q: So did they kill 3 people in Pa Klaw Kee?
A: Yes. When they were looking for their cattle, the SLORC saw them
and killed them. They broke their legs and arms, and they took out their
eyes. People saw my uncle after he was dead and they told me. It
happened 4 days ago.
Q: What was your uncle's name?
A: Pa Mot. He was over 60. His wife is dead, and his children and son-
in-law are in the refugee camp. He lived in Pa Klaw Nee, and he fled to Pa
Klaw Kee, and the SLORC saw him there so they killed him.
Q: What about the other 2 men who were killed?
A: Their names were San Bo and Soe Tin [a.k.a. Hu Sein and Maw Mot
Kya; villagers are often known by more than one name]. Soe Tin was
over 30, and so was San Bo. They also had wives and children. Their
families are in the jungle. They couldn't run. The SLORC blocked the
way. Two of the men were Muslim and Soe Tin was Karen Buddhist.
Q: Do you think there are still many people hiding in the forest?
A: Yes, most of the people are still hiding there. They cannot run. They
try very hard to come here but they cannot. The SLORC blocks the way.
Q: Are there still any people in the villages?
A: Some of the Buddhists return again to their villages, but the Muslims
cannot return. If the Muslims enter the village, the SLORC beat or kill
them, and take their things. They want to stay in their villages but the
SLORC says they cannot stay there. Only for Muslims - if Buddhists and
others want to stay there they can. In Kyaikdon the SLORC didn't burn the
houses but they broke apart the mosque, and they also burned the Muslim
school.
Q: What about the other villages around Kyaikdon?
A: In other villages they didn't burn anything, but if they see any Muslim
people they catch them. Yesterday many Muslim people arrived here from
Pa Klaw Kee area, over 200 people. I have been here for 10 days. When
the SLORC came into Pa Klaw Kee area they asked "Where are all the
Muslims?" Some of the Karen people lied to them and said, "We don't
know, they all ran away".
_____________________________________________________________________________
#D14.
NAME: "Maung Thet Lwin" SEX: M AGE: 29 Muslim day labourer
FAMILY: Married, no children
ADDRESS: Meh K'Tee village (formerly from Bilin Township) INTERVIEWED:
27/2/97
Q: When did you arrive here?
A: I just arrived here yesterday. I stayed along the way for 8 days.
I didn't see the SLORC, but I saw the places where they had dug the ground
[for trenches and bunkers]. I came together with about 50 men, 30 women and
about 150 children, all from different villages. From Kyaikdon, Pa Klaw
Ni, Meh Ka Tee Hta, ...
Q: Are there still any people left in those villages?
A: There are no Muslims there because the SLORC won't allow us to stay
there. They confiscated all of the villagers' belongings, and then they
evacuated all the Muslims out of the village. They shot in the air behind
the Muslims as we ran away until we were all out of the village. They said
they would send all the Muslims back to India. As for the Burmese, Mon, and
Karen people, they gave them passes to stay in the village. But they drove
the Muslims out to Kwin Kalay. They sent about 100 people together with
their 28 bullock carts. Then when they got to Kwin Kalay, they took all the
belongings of those Muslims and left them with only the clothes on their
bodies. Some of the husbands fled and arrived here with nothing, and their
wives are still left there. Two of those people already arrived here. They
said some of the others were arrested by the SLORC and killed, that 4 of
the people were already killed by SLORC.
Q: Do you know if the SLORC is taking anyone as porters in the area?
A: The SLORC order the villagers to send 60 people for a week at a time
to build their Army camp. They must do that every week - it's the same as
going for portering. They order the people to build their camp from
Kyaikdon, Meh Naw Ah, ... They are doing that now.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Interviews with Later Refugees
#D15.
NAME: "Saw Ku Htoo" SEX: M AGE: 20-30 Karen Christian farmer
FAMILY: Married, 2 children
ADDRESS: Htee Mu Ku village, Dooplaya District INTERVIEWED: 25/3/97
Q: Were you in the village when the SLORC arrived?
A: When the Burmese came I was in K'Ma Kler village. By that time the
Burmese had gone ahead of me, so I couldn't go back to my village and I
had to flee together with the villagers of K'Ma Kler to Pa Klaw Kee village.
At Pa Klaw Kee, the Burmese arrested men, women and children, I think
over 30 villagers altogether. They ordered the men, women and children
who ran away to come back to their villages. They ordered the men to go
and look for others and carry things for them. We had to carry 81 [81 mm.
mortar] shells. I had to carry rations and it was not so heavy, but my
friend
had to carry 81 mm. shells - each of them carried 10 shells. [Each 81 mm.
shell weighs about 3 kg./7 lb. The usual load of these is 6 at a time for
men and 4 for women and children, so 10 is an extremely heavy burden.]
It was #44 Division who arrested me. We went to Pa Klaw Kee, Saw Hta,
Kwih Kler and then to Hter Gha and to Kyer Ya Wa.
Q: How many porters did they take?
A: I can't tell you exactly, because there were so many people. The
Burmese divided them up and sent some to other groups. In my group
there were many porters so I can't guess - maybe 200 porters, because there
were many Burmese soldiers. There were about 300 or 400 Burmese
soldiers in each group. They went through the jungle and whenever they
saw people hiding in the forest they arrested them, collected all their
belongings, put them in a pile and searched them, and if they saw any
watches, gold necklaces, or money they took it all. I saw them take about
200,000 Kyats from the villagers. I would like to tell you about all the
rice
that was hidden by the villagers who fled [so they could come back later],
but when the Burmese found it they said that it was Kaw Thoo Lei's rice
and then they took it, ate it and destroyed it. They said it was Kaw Thoo
Lei's rice but it wasn't, it was the villagers' rice.
Q: Where were most of the porters from?
A: The porters spoke Karen, Burmese, Pwo Karen... Some of the porters
said that they had gone to work in Thailand, but the Thais arrested them
and sent them back to Myawaddy and then they were taken as porters.
Some porters were brought from the jails. I saw some who had already
been with the troops for 3 or 4 weeks. If they couldn't carry things they
were beaten till they died. Some were also arrested in the forest. There
was one old man who was arrested at Maw, near Meh Tha Raw Hta. He
was 70 years old. His name is Thaung Kyi. There were so many young
porters, about 20 and above, and over 10 porters were teenagers about 15
years old. Two of them were women.
We couldn't go freely. At noon when we rested they ordered us to carry
water, and they also tied us up for the night. They tied the women also. I
couldn't tell for sure, but I think they called the women away in the night.
The two women were very beautiful and tall. In the daytime they didn't ask
the women to work, but they tied the women and three or four of them
walked along behind the women, and the women's faces were very sad.
They beat me, but if you run they'll capture you and beat you immediately
until you're dead. If you run, run until you get to safety, otherwise you
will
be killed. I saw two porters die. It was because they were too tired to
carry things. They died along the way in the forest. They were young men.
I also saw 2 other porters beaten with my own eyes. They beat two porters
because they couldn't carry things anymore. They beat the porters with a
rattan as thick as your toe. [Rattan is flexible and would have the effect
of
a whipping cane.] When they beat the porters like that we dared not look
at them. They didn't allow to go and look, even if the porters were going to
die. If we went and looked then they would beat us too. I just glanced
once at it.
One of the Majors that I saw had a steel stick. It was very white. I didn't
see him beat the villagers with it, but I saw him beat 2 soldiers who had
made a mistake. He beat them three times each. After the beating the
soldiers came away and looked at their wounds, and they were bleeding.
When I was with them they fought once with the KNU. They captured a
place called Si Plaw Po. There were not many Karen soldiers there, just
over 10 Karen soldiers whom they shot at but none were wounded. There
were many more Burmese soldiers than Karen, so they controlled the
porters and none of us could escape. There were two huts in the field there
and two big rice barns near the field. They burned down everything.
When there was fighting a farmer ran with a small baby. The women were
running without sarongs [their sarongs fell while they ran] and the
Burmese shot at the women and the children but no one was wounded.
They nearly hit them but it was too far. Then they hacked apart all their
pots and destroyed their bicycle. They captured one of the farmers and
nobody saw him after that, so maybe they killed him. I don't know his
name, but he was Telekoo and came from Kyat Ka Wa.
They gave me food two times a day, rice and curry. They took the
villagers' livestock and ate it - sometimes they gave some to the porters and
sometimes they didn't. They ordered the porters to pick the coconuts.
Even if you pick a hundred or two hundred it's not enough for all of them,
so you have to pick at least 500 coconuts. Only the soldiers got coconuts,
but the beef and pork they weighed out to the porters with a scale. If we
found a stream or river we could drink, but to carry water along was too
heavy. At Kwih Kler they made all the porters sleep inside the cinema hall
at night like cattle [cinema halls are cramped places with bamboo benches
and floors of packed dirt], and they tied us up. At night they tied us
together by the hands, 8 or 9 people on the same rope. If one person
moved the others couldn't sleep.
I carried for five days and then ran away. When I ran away I went back
step by step, and on the way I saw the places where the Burmese had fed
their horses with rice [some of the SLORC units had mules to carry
ammunition] and scattered in the forest all the mats and everything that
were taken from the villagers. When I arrived at Ka Yeh Theh the Burmese
had arrested all the men in that village [to be porters]. Only women and
small children were left, and they told me not to stay long because of the
Burmese. I had to make a long journey back until I reached my village.
When I arrived at my house, I saw that the Burmese had destroyed all my
paddy and the leaf [roofing] shingles that I had made and scattered all my
things. I did not see my wife and children. Then I saw the Burmese in the
other part of the village, so I had to leave my village and go to Lay Taw Ko.
As for my children, I heard that the Thais had taken them to send them to
the Burmese. All the Htee Mu Ku villagers were arrested by Thai soldiers
to be sent back to Burma after they fled [to Thailand].
The Burmese are building their place at Saw Hta. We had to go there
because we had to take a letter there for them, and five of our bullock carts
had to stand by to carry things there every day. They ordered the 5 bullock
carts to carry bamboo, wood and thatch for building their places. They
made the villagers carry everything that they had taken from the villages.
At Saw Hta, they liked the wood on some of the villagers' houses so they
ripped off the planks and sent them to the city. They came with trucks and
soldiers to take them. They made fences around their camp and then they
made the porters clear a place to make a helicopter field. It was in Saw Hta
village at the high school ground. When helicopters came, porters and even
Lance Corporals of the Army were not allowed to go near. We had to
watch it from afar.
The Major said they came to organise the people. They order everyone to
stay in their own villages. In all the rivers that have lots of fish we are
forbidden to catch fish so that the soldiers can use dynamite to catch fish.
They ordered the porters to pick out all the big fish for them [after they
dropped a grenade in the river] and left all the small fish - that was in the
Han Thayaw river at Kwih Kler village. Everything that they can eat they
eat, and anything that they can use they take for themselves. Some they
just throw away. They sell one tin of milk [stolen from the villages] for
about 10 Baht [Thai money; 1 Baht = about 7 Kyat at current market
rate]. The normal price was 18 Baht, so they sell it cheaper. I saw that
they also gathered steel wire and sent it to the city for their families. At
Saw Hta I saw them coming every day in trucks to take away things. I
didn't see the Burmese building roads with my own eyes, but people said
that down from Ta Ku Kee to Pa Wah Kloh, to Noh Taw Klah, Po
Chaung, Daw Ka Kloh and from there to Kyaikdon they are building roads.
Q: Who chooses the headmen now?
A: They are not chosen by anyone, because the man who speaks Burmese
fluently and deals with the Burmese automatically becomes the headman.
One headman told us villagers secretly that these people [SLORC] said they
came to organise the people, but now they eat up all our cattle as well as
our chickens and the fish in the ponds and rivers. There will be nothing
left at all for our next generation.
Q: What happened to your wife and children?
A: My wife and children were at Htee Mu Ku village. They followed the
others when they fled. It looked like they might be forced over to the
Burmese by the Thais. When my relatives arrived at Lay Taw Ko the Thais
said to my family, "Don't any of you leave tonight. Tomorrow we are
going to send you to Meh Tharoh Kee." [Lay Taw Ko is in Thailand,
where at least 1,500 refugees arrived; Meh Tharoh Kee is in Burma, a few
hours' walk up the border.] The Burmese were waiting at Meh Tharoh
Kee, and they were at Htee Mu Ku, Lay Taw Ko and Lay Taw Ka all the
time. But my family fled in the night [before the Thais could force them
back from Lay Taw Ko] and arrived here before me. As for me, I came
back alone step by step. I arrived here and had a chance to meet with my
family and friends here, and I felt better and relieved. I arrived here two
weeks ago. The Burmese captured me on the 15th of February, and I
escaped on the 20th.
_____________________________________________________________________________
#D16.
NAME: "Saw Muh Lah" SEX: M AGE: 45 Karen Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 10 children
ADDRESS: Tee Meh Baw village, Dooplaya District INTERVIEWED: 24/3/97
Q: Do you remember when the SLORC arrived at your village?
A: I can't remember exactly. Maybe on the 20th of February the SLORC
arrived in the village. I left my village about the 25th of February, then
I went back to the village two times. I slept one night in the village the
first time I went, but the second time I went back I couldn't reach my
village. I thought I would try to go back and get one pair of bullocks
because I had nothing when I arrived here. If I could get my cattle I would
sell them to get some money to buy vegetables and things. But I couldn't get
them because the Burmese were very close to the village.
When I went back the first time I saw some villagers but not the SLORC.
As many people had left, the SLORC had taken and eaten our coconuts,
and as for our rice they had poured it down on the ground to be trodden
upon. They had also eaten our pigs. I asked the villagers the news, and
they said the SLORC ordered them to make ready 2 bullock carts with two
people to go for 2 days and carry things like ammunition for them from
Saw Hta to Kyaw Kee. They said the soldiers also take all the villagers'
things that they need. Everything that they need us to do we have to do for
them. Regularly the villagers have to send 2 bullock carts and 2 people for
them, and if they need porters the villagers have to go. They haven't much
time to work for their own survival. If the people from Tee Meh Baw want
to travel anywhere they have to get a pass from #44 Division, but the
people from Meh K'Tee have to get their passes from #22 Division. To go
work your field you need one pass, and to search for your cattle you need
another pass. If we go to search for our cattle in #22 Division's area [very
close by] we have to go and get a pass from them as well, one from #44
and another from #22. You don't need to pay for the pass. Each village
has to prepare two bullock carts and stand by at Meh K'Tee. Tee Meh Baw
village has to stand by at Kyaw Kee. Now #44 Division has taken over
responsibility for Meh Kwih Kloh area, and they are in Kyaw Kee. The
SLORC's headquarters is in Saw Hta. Once or twice a week they order the
villagers to go and have a meeting there. When I was there I saw
helicopters come one or two times.
The soldiers take clothing from the villagers and then sell it to other
villagers. They sell for a cheap price, so some people buy it from them.
Even the paddy they've taken from the villagers, they order the villagers to
mill it. Then they sell it back to the villagers, for 500 Kyat per basket.
If they need something they go and take it. Even though the villagers tell
them it belongs to them, the Burmese just say, "No, these are the Indian
people's things" and they just take it.
Q: Are there Muslims in the village?
A: No, but some of the Indian people hide their things there.
Q: How many households are there in your village?
A: There are 37 households. Only 7 houses came to this camp. The other
30 households were hiding in the forest, but they went back to the village
because they heard that the Burmese were going to fire mortars into the
forest. The people stay in their houses and don't trouble each other, but
the Burmese beat 3 people on the head with a stick. Maung Kyaw, Maung
Than Nu, and Saw Kloh. They were wounded a little bit. One of them
went and came back and said something to his friend, then another told
something to his friend, and then the SLORC said, "Mind your own
business!" and beat them on the head. They were all beaten at the same
time. With a bamboo stick, not very big.
When I went back to the village I saw a letter with names written on it -
Pado Maung Myint, Puh Dta Er, and Tha Muh Heh. It said, "These three
have surrendered and now they cooperate and work together with us". The
letter is still with the headman. After I came here the Burmese chose a new
headman, his name is Saw Lwin. He showed me that letter. It was a typed
letter. They distributed it. It was true that one person had surrendered to
them [Tha Muh Heh], but the other two had not.
Two monks' helpers went to Meh K'Tee monastery and saw nothing there.
The Burmese had taken everything that was kept in the monastery. None
of the spoons were even left. All the [Buddha] images were taken, and all
the floor mats. Then when the monks came back and there were no
sleeping mats in the monastery, the Burmese made an offering to them of
one mat. It was one of the same mats they had stolen from the monastery.
The monks recognised it.
Q: What about Ko Per Baw [DKBA]?
A: I don't know about them.
Q: How do you feel about being here?
A: I dare not think about going back! Some people contacted me and they
tell me that the Burmese say I have 2 guns, but I have no guns. They say if
I go and take them 2 guns, they will accept me. I dare not go back because
I don't have any guns at all. If I go back, I would have to buy guns and
give
them to the Burmese. I'm happy to stay here because I don't have to be too
afraid of anything. Everything is in conflict in the village so I don't dare
go back. I'll stay here.
Q: Do you think the SLORC will make any problem for the refugee camp?
A: When I went back, the villagers said that the Burmese plan to come to
this camp. The Burmese said that they'll wait until after our houses are all
built, and then they'll come and capture all the people they want.
_____________________________________________________________________________
#D17.
[The following account was given on 25/3/97 by a Karen relief worker
who had to flee Dooplaya District because of the SLORC offensive.]
I used to live in Kwee Ta Hoh village, not far from Kyo G'Lee. When
SLORC arrived, I ran to the jungle with the other villagers. When they
arrived in Sakanthit, SLORC left Kyo G'Lee and Baw Bo Hta. On 14
February I went back to Kyo G'Lee and saw that 14 houses had been burnt
down, including 4 wooden houses [the other 10 were bamboo]. I think the
whole village has about 60 houses. Four rice barns were also burnt down,
as well as the nurses' quarters for the hospital [run by Dr. Cynthia's
clinic]. The church, the school and the clinic itself were still in good
condition but the books, the blackboards and the toys were all torn apart.
In the other houses, the rice was destroyed and thrown on the ground, as well
as the pots, plates and belongings of the villagers. When SLORC went away,
the villagers came back to carry their rice and things to the jungle [when
SLORC first came the villagers of Kyo G'Lee only had 1/2 hour's
warning, so they'd had no time to take away any of their belongings]. I
saw the body of a dead [SLORC] soldier in the village. The villagers pulled
it out and buried it outside the village because the children were afraid.
There was an empty medicine bottle near the dead body. I heard that the
KNU fought SLORC between Baw Bo Hta and Kyo G'Lee.
Some villagers told me that they saw the troops with many porters. I saw 3
porters in Kyo G'Lee village, two from Paya Gyi road in Bago [Pegu] and
one from Thakita in Rangoon. Their shoulders were bruised. They had
escaped. I could not help them but I told them to go to Wah Lay, Mae Sot
and Myawaddy. I gave them a little rice and one pot to go back with.
The same day I went back to Kwee Ta Hoh. Nothing had happened there.
Also in Maw Ger Nu Kee village, nothing had happened. All the villagers
had fled to the jungle. Actually, in Kwee Ta Hoh they took 1,000
kilograms of jaggery [boiled and crystallized brown sugar] and 6 sacks of
betel nut.
Then I went back to the jungle with the villagers. I heard that the troops
came back to Kyo G'Lee on 16 February and based themselves there: one
group went to stay at Maw La Ai mountain and the other group in Kyo
G'Lee. The troops at Maw La Ai mountain arrested 11 villagers of Kyo
G'Lee because they had come back without knowing that the SLORC
troops were there. They were all tied with a long rope and taken to Maw
La Ai mountain, including a 10 year old girl.
On 17 February three villagers came back to Kyo G'Lee village with some
troops, who then ordered the 3 villagers to go and call those in the jungle
to
come back. If they were not back by 2 p.m., the troops threatened to go
and get them. Some villagers were afraid and came back to the village.
Others moved to other places. I was among them. We fled deeper into the
jungle. Later I went to Thailand.
Now, in Noh Po camp, some villagers from Kwee Ta Hoh and Kyo G'Lee
came back to the refugee camp to call the villagers to go back. All except 6
families went back. But in the rainy season surely they will have more
problems, because there is no road there.
_____________________________________________________________________________
- [END OF PART 3 - SEE SUBSEQUENT POSTINGS FOR PARTS 4 THROUGH 6] -
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