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KHRG #98-05 Part 1/7 (Dooplaya)
- Subject: KHRG #98-05 Part 1/7 (Dooplaya)
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 21:34:00
STRENGTHENING THE GRIP ON DOOPLAYA
Developments in the SPDC Occupation of Dooplaya District
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
June 10, 1998 / KHRG #98-05
[Some details blanked out or omitted for Internet distribution.]
*** PART 1 OF 7 - SEE OTHER POSTINGS FOR OTHER PARTS OF THIS REPORT ***
In early 1997, the State Law & Order Restoration Council (SLORC)
military junta ruling Burma mounted a major offensive against the Karen
National Union (KNU) and succeeded in capturing and occupying most of
the remainder of Dooplaya District in central Karen State. Since that time
the SLORC has changed its name to the State Peace & Development
Council (SPDC), but its occupation troops have continued to strengthen
their control over the rural Karen villagers who live in the region. This
report provides an update on the current situation for villagers in
Dooplaya's farming communities under the SPDC occupation and for
some of those who have attempted to flee to Thailand. It looks closely at
the difficulties currently faced by the Dta La Ku, a Karen religious
minority who have been targetted for persecution by armies on all sides of
the conflict but who are almost completely ignored by the outside world,
and at the formation of a new Army in the Dooplaya region: the "Nyein
Chan Yay A'Pway", or "Peace Force", who call themselves the "Karen
Peace Army" in English and are working closely with the SPDC regime.
For further background on the 1997 offensive in Dooplaya and its
immediate aftermath, see the previously released reports "Refugees from
the SLORC Occupation" (KHRG #97-07, 25/5/97) and "Clampdown in
Southern Dooplaya" (KHRG #97-11, 18/11/97).
This report is divided into two main parts: immediately following this
introduction is a description and analysis of the current situation in
Dooplaya supported by quotes from local villagers and refugees, and
following that are the texts of several detailed interviews with those
villagers. All names of those interviewed have been changed and some
details omitted where necessary to protect people. False names are shown
in quotes, while all other names are real. Notes: Some villagers refer to
people as the 'English'; the actual word used is 'Gawlawa', which means
'white foreigner' but is also used to mean British. One of the principal
villages in central Dooplaya often referred to in this report is Saw Hta;
many people know this village better by its Burmese name, Azin. It used to
be a beautiful quiet village, but is now home to the biggest SPDC Army
base in the area. The school football ground is now a helicopter pad; the
Karen Women's Organisation office now houses the Karen Peace Army.
Abbreviations
SPDC State Peace & Development Council, military junta ruling Burma
SLORC State Law & Order Restoration Council, former name of the
SPDC until Nov. 1997
KNU Karen National Union, main Karen opposition group
KNLA Karen National Liberation Army, army of the KNU
DKBA Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, Karen group allied with SLORC/SPDC
KPA Karen Peace Army, known as "Nyein Chan Yay A'Pway",
or "Peace Force", in Burmese; set up in Dooplaya
in 1997 after the SLORC occupation
Nga pway "Ringworm"; derogatory SLORC/SPDC name for Karen soldiers
Kyat Burmese currency; US$1=6 Kyat at official rate, 300 Kyat at
current market rate
Baht Thai currency; US$1 = approximately 36 Baht at time of printing
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Table of Contents
Preface ......................................... 1
Abbreviations ................................... 1
Table of Contents ............................... 2
The Current Situation in Dooplaya ............... 3
Arrests and torture .......................... 3
Portering and other forced labour ............ 4
Improving the road network ................... 4
Convict labour on roads ...................... 5
SPDC use of villagers' vehicles .............. 6
Redesigning Kyaikdon ......................... 6
Forced relocations, persecution of Muslims ... 7
The Karen Peace Army (KPA) ................... 7
Pressure on the Dta La Ku .................... 8
SPDC and KPA near the Thai border ............ 10
Thai security and the threat to Noh Po ...... 11
Thai treatment of newly arriving refugees .... 12
Possibilities for the future ................. 13
Index of Interviews ............................. 14
Interviews and Field Reports .................... 16
Map ............................................. 41
____________________________________________________________________________
__
The Current Situation in Dooplaya
Dooplaya District of central Karen State, a large region which stretches
from the Myawaddy - Kawkareik - Kyone Doh motor road in the north to
the Three Pagodas Pass area in the south, was largely controlled by the
Karen National Union (KNU) until 1995. In that year a major SLORC
offensive completed SLORC's control of the Thai border from Myawaddy
southward to Wah Lay and captured the northern part of the 'hump', a
mountainous portion of Dooplaya which projects eastward into Thailand.
In a much larger offensive in February-March 1997, SLORC succeeded in
capturing almost all of the remainder of Dooplaya District. Over 10,000
new refugees fled to Thailand and are now interned in Noh Po refugee
camp, but most villagers remained inside the district, either trapped by
the
speed of the SLORC advance or hoping to survive under the
SLORC/SPDC occupation. Many of these villagers have subsequently
fled or tried to flee to Thailand due to forced labour and other abuses by
the occupation troops.
After occupying areas such as Dooplaya, normal SLORC/SPDC practice is
to forcibly relocate all small or remote villages to garrison villages
where
they are under direct military control, then to use the villagers as forced
labour building and servicing new military camps in the area and to build
military access roads into the area. This has been the case during the
one-
year occupation of Dooplaya, though it has been enacted in various ways
and to varying extents in different parts of the region. Under the newly-
named SPDC regime the program of occupation is continuing.
"They came last April [1997]. They have been forcing us ever since they
came. When they arrived in the village all the villagers fled, so they
called the villagers back into the village. At first they did not use the
villagers as porters, but after the villagers had all been back in the
village for a while they started. First they forced us to build buildings
for them, then when that was finished they started using us as porters."
- "Saw Htoo Wah" (M, 35), Dta La Ku villager from Kwih Lat Der
(Interview #2)
"Even when we were in our house they came to our house and
demanded chickens. We let them take what they wanted , but when their
Sergeant came with a big truck he saw our coconuts and took the
coconuts without asking permission. Then he went and took his
soldiers' gun and shot at the coconuts [in the tree] to destroy them. If
you speak, they tell people, 'You are very clever to speak, so I will kill
you'. ... They threaten people and say, 'Now you are in our hands. If we
decide to kill you, you can't do anything.'" - "Saw Lah Htoo" (M, 24), K-
-- village (Interview #5)
Upon occupying most of the villages in the region, SLORC officers began
calling villagers who had fled to come back to their villages, promising
peace and freedom from harrassment. When the villagers returned, many
village elders and community leaders were immediately arrested and
tortured while the SLORC officers demanded that they hand over
weapons. Most did not even know the location of any weapons, but they
were forced to try to obtain some anyway so that the SLORC units could
report that they had captured weapons in battle. At the same time, most
villagers found their movements severely restricted. They needed passes
to leave the village and in most areas were only allowed to do so from
sunrise to sunset, which made it very difficult for them to farm if their
fields were far from the village. The troops immediately began looting the
houses and fields of villagers who had fled without returning, and after
this had been done they began stealing livestock and possessions and
demanding money from the villagers who had returned. At first villagers
were not used for much forced labour in hopes that more of them would
come back, but as new Army camps were established the troops began
using them more and more. Currently, most villages in the region face
constant demands for porters to carry supplies and ammunition for SPDC
patrols, and also have to do rotating shifts of forced labour building and
maintaining Army camps and as servants at those camps.
"I was a teacher. At that time the school had already closed. They
arrested me and interrogated me about the places where the KNLA were
hiding, and I answered that I had not seen them. Then they punched
my jaw once on each side and asked me to wait there. ... Then they tied
me up with rope. They tied my hands tightly behind me and made me
lay on my belly, then they interrogated me again. This time only one
person was interrogating me. He asked me, 'Isn't it true that you have
guns and a radio?' I said, 'No, I've never had those kinds of things'. ...
Then they tied me up for 10 days and beat me badly until I had to sleep
with blood all over my body every night. They punched my nose twice,
and blood was running down from my nose. They beat my body as well.
They punched me in the chest, left, right, left... They punched me in my
head and on my temples. Both of my shins were beaten with a big stick.
They tied me up tightly, made me lay down and then beat me badly on
both shins until both of my shins were completely bruised. That was the
most painful thing I ever had to bear. ... Later they came back and told
us that they would kill us because we had broken their law. They told us
that if we could find just one gun for them then they would set us free at
once." - "Saw Lay Doh" (M, 33), Waw Lu village, who was arrested after
his village was occupied; after 10 days during which even his family was
not allowed to see him, he was finally released and fled (Interview #1)
"Every time the SLORC [SPDC] Army comes the men have to run away
and hide, because they try to capture the men whenever they come.
Every day 6 people must go to stay with them so that they can use them
whenever they need them. Wherever they want to go those 6 people
must go with them and carry their things, which are very heavy,
sometimes until they cannot carry anymore. Sometimes they have to do
other work, and sometimes it is dangerous. People who do not dare to
go must give 1,500 kyats for 3 days [in lieu of 3 days of work]. If people
don't go then the Burmese will never set free the previous group. People
must always stay with them and keep rotating." - "Naw Eh Ghay" (F,
53), Meh Tharaw Hta village (Interview #6)
"They forced the people to carry cement from Ber Kler to Htee Hta Baw
[over 20 km/12 miles as the crow flies, much farther on land], at night
time in the rainy season when the river was flooded. So the people were
in trouble. Some came back ill. Some coughed up blood, and some
were vomitting with blood. Some had wounds on their backs and others
had wounds on their sides. We had pity on them when we saw them." -
"Pa Bway Htoo" (M, 44), Dta La Ku village headman, talking about forced
labour for #61 Infantry Battalion (Interview #4)
Currently an entire network of roads is being constructed and/or improved,
primarily centred on the main trading village of Kyaikdon on the Hong
Thayaw river in Dooplaya's central plain. The principal roads being
constructed include a road to Kyaikdon from Kya In Seik Gyi to the west;
improvement of the bullock-cart roads northward from Kyaikdon to Kyone
Doh and Kawkareik, a new road from Wah Lay southward across the
'hump' to Kyo G'Lee, then turning west to Po Yay and Kyaikdon, another
new road from Kyo G'Lee eastward to Tee K'Pler through the mountainous
southern portion of the 'hump', and a planned road from Saw Hta (a.k.a.
Azin) southward to Htee Hta Baw, a site on the Thai border north of Three
Pagodas Pass. Work is also ongoing upgrading the existing dirt road from
Kyaikdon to Saw Hta and on to the Thai border at Lay Po Hta / Ber Kler.
In mid-February 1998 two convoys totalling 50-70 military trucks loaded
with convicts from prisons in other parts of Burma were brought to
Kyaikdon and Saw Hta to begin forced labour on several of these roads.
Each truck was packed tightly with 30-50 prisoners, so the total may be
anywhere from 1,500 to over 3,000 people. However, villagers also
continue to be used as forced labour on roads around Kyaikdon. The road
in the east, from Wah Lay south to Kyo G'Lee and then west to Po Yay
and Kyaikdon, has to cross mountainous terrain and is being built mainly
with earth-moving equipment by soldiers under the direction of a battalion
of Army Engineers currently based at Kyo G'Lee. At first this road
appeared to be the only one not being built with the forced labour of
villagers, but in May 1998 there were reports that villagers in Kyaikdon
are now being forced to break rocks, lay the roadbed and work on at least
one bridge near the Kyaikdon end of the road. The forced labour is being
ordered and supervised by Frontline Engineers #904 Battalion. Bulldozers
and forced labour are also being used to realign the streets in Kyaikdon
itself, destroying some of the large betelnut plantations that are central
to
the landscape and the livelihood of the village. No compensation is paid,
and the villagers even have to buy the fuel for the bulldozers.
"They have to build the main roads and also rebuild the streets in
Kyaikdon. They have to improve the roads and streets, the Burmese are
digging the earth with bulldozers in the betelnut plantations, they are
destroying all the betelnut trees but they never pay anything to the
villagers. The villagers even have to buy the fuel for their bulldozer!
They never buy their own fuel." - "Saw Lah Htoo" (M, 24), K--- village,
talking about forced labour in Kyaikdon (Interview #5)
"Then they brought prisoners [convicts] up into the jungle on Army
trucks. Along the way they tied the prisoners' necks and hands tightly to
the sides of the trucks and made them stand up straight. When they
arrived at the T'Ku Kee church they let them get down from the truck.
Some prisoners couldn't stand up anymore and they fell down. The
soldiers saw that and kicked them and hit them until they became
unconscious. Then they picked them up and dragged them under a
shady tree. I heard that they will use those prisoners to do road
construction. The road will go from Kyaikdon to [Kya In] Seik Gyi. I
know the prisoners are in Kyaikdon right now because I saw Aunty S---
at the bible school there and she told me, 'Now Kyaikdon is full of
Burmese military and prisoners.'" - "Naw Eh Ghay" (F, 53), Meh Tharaw
Hta village (Interview #6)
The reason for bringing in convicts to do much of the manual forced
labour on the road network is to reduce the amount of forced labour
required of villagers so that fewer people will flee. This methodology
applies particularly in villages right along the border with Thailand, and
in
the southern part of the 'hump' of Dooplaya. In some of these areas
villagers are only used for forced labour as guides, occasional portering
or
light labour, while operations porters and people for heavy forced labour
are rounded up and brought from towns and villages further inside Burma.
However, this trend appears to be lessening as reports are that villagers
throughout Dooplaya are now being used for more and more forced labour
of all kinds. This may be because the SPDC knows that the Thai Army is
now denying asylum to new refugees and forcing many of them back into
Burma, so they no longer have to worry so much about people fleeing
forced labour to Thailand.
"They love to live in their own villages. It is not easy for them to flee
to
Thailand. The problem if they come here is that the Thais will drive
them back to Burma. The Thais already drove many of them back once
when they came last time. So although they must live as slaves in
Burma and they don't like to live like that, they must live that way." -
"Saw Lah Htoo" (M, 24), K--- village (Interview #5)
In the central plain of Dooplaya, SPDC troops have a very heavy presence
at Saw Hta, Kyaikdon and all other main villages, and the amount of
forced labour imposed on villagers is increasing. All civilians with motor
vehicles in central Dooplaya are now forced to use them to carry SPDC
Army supplies, and the owner must even pay for the fuel. Army trucks are
not used because they are possible targets for KNLA attack. On March
22nd a villagers' car carrying SPDC supplies was blown up by a KNLA
landmine on the road near Kwih Kler, killing a man and his child. No
compensation was given.
"If a villager has a vehicle he must use it to carry rations for the
Burmese. If the car is destroyed by a bomb the Burmese won't do
anything for him, he must take care of himself. ... A car was just
destroyed by a bomb, just above Kwih Kler. It happened this week, on
Sunday [March 22nd]. It was a bomb buried in the ground. I don't
know exactly whose bomb it was. The car blew into two parts. A child
died and the driver was hurt in his chest. The child was about 9 years
old. His village was Taw Wah Law. ... It was a villager's car carrying
rations for the Burmese. Now the Burmese use the villagers' cars to
transport their supplies because they think the KNLA will not shoot at
the villagers' cars but they would shoot at the Army's cars. ... [T]he
people who have cars must wait around to drive for the Burmese
whenever they need them and wherever they need to go. But these car
owners must buy the petrol themselves. The Burmese never buy the
petrol for them." - "Saw Lah Htoo" (M, 24), K--- village, talking about
the situation in Kyaikdon (Interview #5)
SPDC authorities in Kyaikdon say they want to 'develop' the village, and
have been realigning and reparcelling much of the land there. As
mentioned above, the streets of the village are being realigned using
bulldozers and the forced labour of villagers, in the process destroying
some of the betelnut plantations which give the village much of its beauty
and upon which the people rely for their livelihood. The villagers receive
no compensation and even have to pay for fuel for the bulldozer. At the
same time, the SPDC has divided the village into plots and 'appraised' each
one, and every family has been forced to buy their own land from the
Army or lose it, even if their house is already on it. Each plot is
roughly
the size of a small Karen house with a garden around it and is 'appraised'
for 30,000 to 50,000 Kyat, more than the life savings of most villagers.
However, if people wished to retain their property they had no choice but
to sell enough of their belongings in February/March 1998 to pay the
specified amount to the SPDC Battalions. Furthermore, those with plots
appraised at a high value in the central part of the village were ordered
to
put zinc roofing on their houses at their own expense or lose their
property. Previously most houses in the village had leaf roofing. This
order is similar to those already issued to people living in many towns
throughout Burma, as part of the SPDC's 'development' campaign. Some
villagers cynically comment that people from other areas get the best deal,
because they can pay the same price to buy a plot in Kyaikdon as the
people who already own it. Some people from other parts of the region
have done so and moved to Kyaikdon.
"Every villager had to buy their own land. They each had to pay 30,000
to 50,000 Kyats. People had to sell their belongings to get the money to
pay for their land. And on land which is 50,000 Kyats they ordered that
the owners must put zinc roofing on their houses. As for the betelnut
plantations, if the owner stays close by they can get the fruit, but if not
then the KPA took all of it. They also demand taxes on all the crops.
The KPA took all the houses and crops of everyone who fled to
Thailand, and they sold those houses." - "Saw Lah Htoo" (M, 24), K---
village, talking about the situation in Kyaikdon (Interview #5)
In keeping with the SPDC's usual strategy, small villages throughout the
region have been forcibly relocated if they are too remote to be under
direct SPDC control. All small villages in the Kya In / Kya In Seik Gyi
area, along the Atayan River in the west of the district, have now been
given orders to relocate to big SPDC-controlled villages or to roadsides.
In eastern and southern Dooplaya, many small hillside villages have been
ordered to move to larger villages. Muslims continue to be persecuted and
banned from most areas where they previously lived, particularly the
Kyaikdon area in the central plain of the district. According to villagers
from Kyaikdon, SPDC troops there have threatened to kill any Muslims in
the area, and there is a population of Muslims who have 'converted' (at
least in public) to Buddhism because this is the only way they can still
live
there.
"...now Kalay Kee and Kyaw Kay Ko have to move because the Burmese
accused them of feeding the KNLA, so the Burmese won't allow them to
stay there anymore. The people of Kyaw Kay Ko have to move to Kya In
and the people from Kalay Kee have to move to T'Ku Kee. I heard that
relocations will also occur in many other places. Even the villagers in
Kya In [western Dooplaya] must move to the roadside. I also heard one
village headwoman say, 'If I'm going to build a house I will build it at
the roadside, because we must move there anyway.'" - "Naw Eh Ghay"
(F, 53), Meh Tharaw Hta village (Interview #6)
"...all the Muslims around Saw Hta and Kyaikdon must become
Buddhists, because if they don't the SPDC says they will kill them. ...
Many Muslims used to stay in Pa Klaw Nee village, near Kyaikdon, but
now they've had to move. They can stay near Kyaikdon, but they have to
become Buddhist. So now there are many Muslims pretending to be
Buddhist." - "Pa Lah" (M, 35) from central Dooplaya (Interview #5)
- [END OF PART 1 - SEE SUBSEQUENT POSTINGS FOR PARTS 2 THROUGH 7] -