Fri, 22 Jun 2018
Toungoo, Hpapun, Nyaunglebin, Thaton and Dooplaya Photo Set: Ongoing militarisation, land confiscation, road construction and displacement, December 2016 to January 2018.

This Photo Set illustrates the ongoing militarisation, land confiscation, displacement and village agency documented between December 2016 and January 2018 across four districts in southeast Myanmar.

  • Despite the 2015 ceasefire between the KNU and the Burma/Myanmar government, the Tatmadaw has continued military activities throughout Southeast Myanmar. In Toungoo District, the Tatmadaw has held a Company Commander training every four months at Bu Yint Naung Army Camp. In Toungoo, Nyaunglebin, and Dooplaya Districts, the Tatmadaw frequently transported rations, ammunitions and weapons to army camps. This Photo Set also shows evidence of Tatmadaw soldiers trespassing into KNU demarcated areas.
  • Internally displaced people (IDPs) employed different agency strategies to protest their condition. On May 15th 2017, 615 IDPs protested against the presence of Tatmadaw army camps in Pla Hkoh village tract, Hpapun District. On October 14th 2017, 86 people in Ler Mu Plaw village tract, Hpapun District held a prayer service asking to return to their homes.
  • Both large- and small-scale instances of land confiscation occurred in this period. In Toungoo District, 2,108 acres of land were confiscated by Tatmadaw Bu Yint Naung Army Camp. This land was seized from local villagers for military training purposes. Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #340 confiscated land from local villagers to extract rent from community members in Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township, Hpapun District. In Dooplaya District, the Border Guard Force (BGF) Battalion #1012 confiscated 173.8 acres of land from a local villager in Kyainseikgyi Township.

Photo Set | Toungoo, Hpapun, Nyaunglebin, Thaton and Dooplaya districts (December 2016 – January 2018)

The following photos were taken by a community member in Toungoo, Hpapun, Nyaunglebin and Dooplaya districts who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. They are presented below, censored where necessary for security purposes.[1] The 27 photos below were received along with other information from Toungoo, Hpapun, Nyaunglebin and Dooplaya districts.[2]

 
Fri, 22 Jun 2018

Footnotes: 

[1] KHRG trains community members in southeast Burma/Myanmar to document individual human rights abuses using a standardised reporting format; conduct interviews with other villagers; and write general updates on the situation in areas with which they are familiar.

[2] This Photo Set was compiled by KHRG office staff and is based on information from a community member from Toungoo, Hpapun, Nyaunglebin and Dooplaya districts who has been trained by KHRG to monitor local human rights conditions. In order to increase the transparency of KHRG methodology and more directly communicate the experiences and perspectives of villagers in southeast Burma/Myanmar, KHRG aims to make all field information received available on the KHRG website once it has been processed and translated, subject only to security considerations. For additional reports categorised by Type, Issue, Location and Year, please see the Related Readings component following each report on KHRG’s website.

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