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6/6) FIDH REPORT ON THAI/BURMESE GA



Subject: 6/6) FIDH REPORT ON THAI/BURMESE GAS PIPELINE

FIDH REPORT ON THAI/BURMESE GAS PIPELINE (6/6)
RECEIVED date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 18:36:28 +0100 (GMT)
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        4. The porters of the Burmese army

The army practice of forcibly recruiting porters is also found in the
pipeline region. During 1995, several offensives were undertaken in order
to "pacify" the eastern region of the route, particularly around Nat Ein
Taung, close to the Thai border. Each of these instances saw hundreds of
porters recruited . The massive arrival of new infantry batallions in the
Tenasserim region certainly did not put an end to this practice. The
patrols in charge of security around the pipeline route recruit the porters
for the transportation of their food supplies, as is shown in the testimony
of a man whose village was relocated in 1992 :

 "One of the soldiers told me 'Don't worry. We are here taking security for
English. You carry our things and English men will give you 200 Kyats a
day'. We had to carry rice or food and patrol in the jungle between
Kaleinaung and Kanbauk for two weeks (...). Sometimes, we were on road that
people say is the gas pipeline road. I=EDve never seen that road before. I
just heard about it. In that time, the soldiers would get the load from us,
and they would carry it themselves. One of the soldiers would lead us and
would lead us to walk around the road in the jungle. Then five minutes
later, we would have to carry it again (...). The soldiers were quite young
and as they said, they are patrolling around for the security of the
pipeline,. The soldiers seemed not so happy about being soldiers. They
complained about being soldiers all the time. But we had to carry about 20
viss [around 75lbs], and they only had their small backpacks. I never got
any money, not even a coin, so after two weeks, I escaped."

The porters are forcibly hired for periods ranging from a few days to a
month, sometimes more, and do not know in advance how long they will be
kept by the army. According to corroborating sources, it appears that even
children are submitted to forced porterage. According to interviews with
victims of this practice, compiled by Amnesty International, whoever proves
to be incapable of carrying his load of goods and ammunition is submitted
to torture and maltreatment . The dangers to which the porters are exposed
include malnutrition, various forms of illness, landmines and crossfire.
The villagers may be excused from the chores of carrying supplies by the
payment of a "tax" to the Tatmadaw. This practice has become systematic:
even when they do not recruit porters, the soldiers continue to collect the
"porter fee" in the villages. Although the cease-fire accord signed in 1995
with the Mons provided that an end would be put to the practice of forced
porterage, more than a year has passed and, according to testimony coming
from various villages, the army still maintains the porter fee.

In conclusion, it becomes somewhat difficult to give in to the request of
Mr. Tchuruk  who, in May 1995 "beg[ged] [us] to believe that TOTAL would
refuse to get involved in a project with a bad conscience in the field of
the exploitation of individuals" .

To the extent that forced labour is used by those who are in charge of
ensuring the protection of the construction site, and who therefore work in
the interest of the French oil company, the denials by TOTAL regarding
forced labour are incomplete, unsatisfactory and not credible.

In these conditions, FIDH believes that an independent mission of enquiry
is proving to be indispensable and it would be in the interest of TOTAL not
only to authorise such a mission, but also to convince the Burmese
government to authorise it, if it wishes to prove the validity of its
statements claiming the absence of forced labour around the worksite.

D. Other violations

        1. Summary Executions

The violations of the right to life and of the integrity of the person are
found in the form of summary executions by the army (whether by the local
commanders or by soldiers - all executive levels are implicated), as in the
case of the reprisals after the attack on the headquarters of TOTAL in
February 1996, during which the SLORC troops executed several Karens in the
village of Ein Da Ya Za located on the route of the pipeline. No one was
charged or tried, people were denied the right to defence, before being
executed.

It is routine business for the SLORC to torture and kill the villagers
suspected of taking part in rebel movements such as the KNLA or the MNLA.
One Karen man, 66 years of age, an inhabitant of Migyaunglaung which lies
in the vicinity of the pipeline, explained how the SLORC soldiers had
beaten two men from the village in November 1992, after having accused them
of supporting the KNLA: "It=EDs so scary, I know these two men very well. I
know there was nothing to that [the accusations]. They did not do anything,
they are just farmers. The SLORC arrested and killed them on their farms" .
The SLORC also executes numerous forced labourers and porters in the
pipeline region if they are unable to carry their loads or if they attempt
to escape. These executions are most often preceded by torture, rape and
other forms of violence. Numerous deaths of forced labourers and porters
are caused by disastrous working conditions, and the lack of food and
medicine.

One young woman from the Ye Byu region reported the following in connection
with the Ye-Tavoy railway construction:

"They [the SLORC soldiers] just walked around and beat the people who
rested (...). They never let anyone rest when they were working. Especially
prisoners, they are treated the worst. They beat them to death. They said
one prisoner died of diarrhea. But it was obviously a beating. I saw two
dead bodies with bloodall over their bodies. When I saw the two dead
bodies, one of them hadn=EDt died. We saw the blood from his head and the
vomit. The batallion commander named Aung Min, beat a prisoner to death.
Some prisoners (...) were beaten to death. The total is around 30 because
they did not bury them so deeply, and so when the tide came, the water
washed the bodies ashore. We saw so many skulls and some children were
playing with the skulls and bones" .

        2. Torture and other cruel, inhumane and degrading practices

The SLORC's practice of beating civilians, especially during forced labour,
is widespread. Torture and brutality make up an integral part of the
SLORC's modus operandi. The porters and other labourers are beaten, lashed
and hit should they fall to the ground due to fatigue or, simply try to
rest. The villagers are treated in the same manner if they are suspected of
links with the rebel groups. Whenever the villages are unable to supply the
required number of porters or the amount to be paid as porter fee, soldiers
often punish the village head. One villager explained: "Sometimes the
village head cannot provide them with labour. In those times the village
head got beaten. And one of my friends got beaten because he went to work
late and he was badly beaten by the SLORC, on his back, eight times" .
Similarly, prisoners who are forced to work are routinely victims of the
violence and brutality of their SLORC guards:

"If the village perpetrated any crime or if villagers met with any armed
group, they [the SLORC] arrest these people, and they become prisoners and
work on railway construction. The other prisoners come from other places,
like Tavoy or Moulmein. They treat the prisoners so badly. The SLORC just
tortured them. Because the prisoners had to work with the chain on their
feet so they are not allowed to eat the edible leaves in the jungle. They
had to hide and eat the cheroot [Burmese cigar]. They just try and pick up
other people=EDs leftovers. And they can't smoke, they just eat tobacco. As
one of the prisoners told me, they never get enough food. I saw two or four
times the SLORC kick the prisoners. I felt sorry for the prisoners because
they looked so thin. I think during the whole time I was there more than 15
prisoners died. I saw the dead bodies" .

        3. Rape and other violence against women

Rape is a common form of torture perpetuated by the SLORC against women.
Women of all ages belonging to ethnic groups are particular targets of
SLORC troops. They are often beaten after being raped and forced into
silence by intimidation. Besides the physical and psychological trauma,
rapes make marriage virtually impossible for these mostly traditional
women. In addition, the risk of being affected by the HIV virus is not
negligible, as the rate of HIV-infection among SLORC soldiers is around 3%.

One 54-year-old woman told how she was raped with her granddaughter by the
officers of the LIB 407 . After having fled the village of Laut Theit (Ye
Byu province) in 1992, her family had decided to return in 1993. On
Decemeber 3, 1993, she, her granddaughter and her nephew were arrested by
30 soldiers of the LIB 407 :

 "Thein Soe said 'Old woman (...), go and tell your granddaughter to come
here'. I took my granddaughter to him. As soon as he saw me, he yelled at
me: 'Why did you come with her? I=EDll kill you (...)'. Then I left my
granddaughter with them (...). After around ten minutes, I heard my
granddaughter screaming 'Grandma, grandma!'. But I dared not go. I was so
scared. After fifteen minutes they free my granddaughter. My granddaughter
said he told her to sleep with him. She refused. Finally, he raped her. It
was about 11 pm. The next morning one of the soldiers came and told me that
the officer called for me (...). I had to go. Then, as the lieutenant asked
me some questions, he started to rape me. (...) Then they released us. But
before they released us; they told us not to tell anyone about what
happened. And the commander said "old woman, if you tell anyone about that
[the rapes], I=EDll kill you and your relatives" .

        4. Violations of economic, social and cultural rights

Besides the physical violence endured by the civil population, and the
resort to forced labour, the SLORC troops have the habit of confiscating
the property, money and food of numerous villagers. The practice of
extortion of funds by the SLORC troops is common, in the form of illegal
imposition of multiple taxes: porter fee, railway tax, pagoda tax... The
bribes are commonplace in Burma, but a new form of extortion surfaced with
the Yadana project, which is particular to the region, and which the
villagers call "the pipeline tax". Amounting to 1000 to 1500 Kyats/month
for each family, it is collected completely illegally since it is
prescribed by no existing law. The vast majority of villagers in the
pipeline region is submitted to it. The newly arrived batallions in the
region generally impose taxes on surrounding villages in order to provide
for their needs, averaging 20,000 to 30,000 Kyats/month for a village of
100 houses . This tax, combined with the fact that forced labour leaves
them little time to care for their fields, makes life impossible for the
villagers of the region, and has destroyed the local economy by massive
impoverishment. The interviewed peasants confirm the tax increases since
the beginning of TOTAL's operations: from 100 Kyats/month per family prior
to TOTAL's arrival to an average of 400 to 500 Kyats/month since .

Following the attack of March 8, 1995, the SLORC troops had exacted 100,000
Kyats from the 6 villages in the Ye Byu district, in order to compensate
for the losses suffered by LIB 408 in the attack . According to the Human
Rights Foundation of Monland, the Tatmadaw regularly extorts funds and
requisitions food, particularly chicken, eggs, rice and fishpaste. It has
become common for the security forces to intimidate and threaten the
villagers into handing over their livestock, harvest and personal goods.

Interviews with numerous refugees in Thailand indicate that most of them
have fled to escape forced labour, property confiscation and extortion of
money. One villager from Nat Gyi Sin (Ye Byu province) explains:

"From time to time, we had to pay 500, 1000, 1500 or 2000 Kyats, depending
on what goods we were supposed to carry. From time to time, they would come
to collect the money two or three times per month. As soon as they need
people, they come and exact the money from the village chief. Regarding the
pipeline construction, we know nothing specific, except that they demand
that we pay for its construction. The soldiers have come to the village and
demanded the money. In our house, we had to pay 500 Kyats.
The villages become increasingly poor. There are some people who sell their
own goods, like their livestock, in order to pay the porter fee, the forced
labour tax, and other forced taxes (...). The villagers save everything
they own in order to pay the SLORC. So they have become poor. There really
are villagers who have gotten ill (...), and many who suffer (...). I
should stop here. If I had to talk about all the atrocities committed by
the SLORC, two days wouldn't be enough" .

 TOTAL's presence has directly contributed to the violations of economic,
social, and cultural rights, forcing the villagers to abandon their
traditional activities or flee to Thailand. For example, fishermen and
sailors in the pipeline region have had to cease their work due to the
SLORC's security decrees. Since the beginning of the Yadana project, the
SLORC has prohibited the use of certain sea and river waters, so that the
exploration, transport and construction are not hindered by the local
fishing industry.

=85 Heinze Island is a strategic point for the SLORC in order to ensure the
military control of the sea around the off-shore section of the pipeline.
The SLORC built a military camp, a helipad, new barracks, as well as
installation for new batallions, all with the goal of ensuring the security
of the project. Beforehand, Heinze Island was uninhabited, and the
surrounding waters were used by the local fishing community. According to
the villagers forcibly employed on the island, the SLORC has declared that
all persons sailing in the vicinity of the island would be killed.

=85 Similarly, the troops use the harbour installations at Pyin Gyi and Ka
Daik for the transportation of equipment; the ports which were previously
used by fishing and passenger boats. In accordance with the SLORC orders,
local boats are prohibited to travel while the company ships traverse the
Heinze basin, which means that the local boats are forbidden to leave port,
sometimes for days at a time.

Finally, and on a more general scale, the practice of forced relocation,
the extortions in the villages, the forced neglect of traditional
activities, the flight of the villagers towards the refugee camps, all
combine to slowly destroy the cultural and social tissues of the
communities inhabiting the region.

        5. Environmental rights

        There is sufficient cause for concern regarding the environmental
risks presented by the pipeline, for several reasons:

        - The type of construction required by the pipeline and its
platforms is traditionally recognised as producing grave risks for the
environment (toxic substances and fumes, etc.). Similarly, the on-shore
section of the pipeline threatens the forests and rivers crossed by the
pipeline, as well as biological diversity. Not a single EIA (Environmental
Impact Assessment) was undertaken by an independent body. UNOCAL claims to
have conducted its own investigation on the environmental impact, but has
not made the results of its inquiry public as of today.

        - Foreign investors are not operating under constraints of any
specific environmental legislation, and are therefore free to operate
without any external control on the ecological impact produced by the
exploration of the gas fields and the construction of off-shore platforms.

        - The project partners - TOTAL, UNOCAL, and the SLORC - all have an
alarming performance in the field of respect for the environment, an
ominous sign as to their behaviour in Burma.

=85 The SLORC has shown, on several occasions, its indifference towards the
environment, demonstrated by its attitude in the dam construction project
on the Salween River, and in its well-known practices of "strategic
deforestation" against rebel groups.

=85 UNOCAL is responsible for the worst environmental catastrophy in
California, having spilled over 10,5 million gallons (40 million liters) of
gasoline into the sea over a period of 15 years . A study conducted by the
University of Chulalangkorn in Thailand has shown an unusual level of
mercury in the waters surrounding the UNOCAL platforms in Thailand .

=85 Finally, TOTAL has acknowledged having disposed of 75 lbs.(35 kg) of
mercury into the Gulf of Thailand since the beginning of the production of
natural gas in the region . The person in charge of TOTAL's
Exploration-Production for Thailand, Mr. Azalbert, has admitted that the
Yadana project in Burma potentially presents the same environmental
problems.

 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

It appears that the pipeline project in Burma is harmful and particularly
unwelcome in many regards, particularly morally and politically, and
furthermore gives occasion to large-scale, repeated and documented
violations of human rights against the population, including the most
vulnerable groups who lack any sort of legal or financial means to oppose
such treatment. That the majority of these violations is committed by
TOTAL's Burmese partner, the SLORC, is in no way be an acceptable and
sufficient response by the French corporation, and should in no way excuse
it from all responsibility in the violations which have occurred. The facts
show that without the pipeline, all, or at least some, of these violations
would not have occurred. The denial of responsibility by TOTAL and UNOCAL
is therefore unsatisfactory.

The support provided to the junta is not only of the moral and political
kind; the Yadana construction site also constitutes a powerful source of
financial and economic support for the SLORC, and therefore has an effect
of perpetuating an illegal, illegitimate and internationally condemned
regime. Finally, TOTAL's attempts to avoid responsibility are further
weakened by its support for the SLORC in the military realm, which directly
contradicts the statements of its executives: "TOTAL is not a political
actor" .

In conclusion, FIDH :

1. Vigorously condemns the repressive practices of the Burmese military
regime and the flagrant and systematic violations it is guilty of;
particularly denounces the Burmese authorities' institution of forced
labour in conditions which allow such practice to be considered as a crime
against humanity.

2. Calls upon TOTAL and its partners to suspend their investments in Burma
until the formation of a civil government, since: massive human rights
violations have taken place in conjunction with the existence of the
project; the Yadana project constitutes a manifest and multiform support
for an illegal and illegitimate regime; and, neither the democratically
elected representatives, nor the representatives of the indigenous
population affected by the project have been consulted about the project's
legitimacy.

3. Asks that all concerned governments, especially that of Thailand,
condition their economic relations with Burma to serious improvements in
the human rights situation in the country.

4. Reminds TOTAL of the positive oral response regarding an independent
observatory mission on site and calls upon TOTAL to use all of its powers
to satisfy this request with the least possible delay, particularly in
convincing the SLORC to give its approval.

5. Requests that all documents that would allow a full evaluation of the
complete situation at the worksite be made public, particularly the
satellite images of the area currently in the possession of TOTAL and its
partners.

Paris, November 15, 1996

/* Endreport */