An Independent Report by the
Karen Human Rights Group
July 18, 1996 (KHRG #96-25)
[Note: Some details have been omitted or replaced by ‘xxxx’ for Internet distribution.]
This report provides a summary of some of the daily events in villages of Taungoo,
Thaton, and Pa'an districts between February and May 1996. It is an update to "Field Reports: Taungoo and Other Districts"
(KHRG #96-10, 29/2/96). The information was obtained by KHRG in the form of field
reports from human rights monitors and relief workers in Karen districts and from radio
messages transmitted by Karen military units in frontline areas. It is far from complete,
and should be considered only a representative sampling of the kind of SLORC activities
occurring in these areas. Other KHRG reports should also be consulted in order to get a
more detailed picture of events.
Taungoo District in particular is the victim of a SLORC 'Four Cuts' operation, a program
of destroying villages and food supplies systematically so that villagers will be too
destitute to have any chance of supporting opposition groups. The events listed below also
include the torture and execution of villagers for no apparent reason. Usually, this is
just because during military operations SLORC troops see all villagers encountered outside
their villages and all villagers who run away as rebels. After killing them, they report
to their superiors that they have killed rebel soldiers. A large proportion of those
executed are age 60 and above, because they cannot run as fast as younger people.
The SLORC Army has Regional Commands, such as Southern Command, Western Command, etc.
which consist of many Battalions and are generally responsible for security duties in
various parts of the country, and Light Infantry Divisions, which have 10 Battalions each
and are often responsible for offensive actions. Sometimes the two are combined, such as
in the Taungoo District operation. Each Battalion generally operates with a fighting
strength of 400-500. The two types are LIB (Light Infantry Battalion, usually for attack)
and IB (Infantry Battalion, usually holding fixed positions). Strategic Commands, usually
consisting of 3 Battalions, are often formed to conduct operations. In Taungoo District,
about 10 Battalions comprising Strategic Commands #1, 2, and 3 have been brought from
Western Command in Arakan State in order to assist Southern Command in the 'Four Cuts'
operation.
All dates in this report are listed in dd/mm/yy format.
Abbreviations
SLORC = State Law & Order Restoration Council
KNU = Karen National Union, the main Karen opposition group
KNLA = Karen National Liberation Army, army of the KNU
DKBA = Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army, a Karen group allied to SLORC
LIB = Light Infantry Battalion (SLORC)
IB = Infantry Battalion (SLORC).
TOPIC SUMMARY
Forced relocation (p.2,3), burning of villages (p.2,3), destruction of
food supplies (p.2,3,5), military attacks on villages (p.3,5,6), shootings/executions
(p.2-6), rape (p.3), torture (p.3-5), forced labour on roads (p.4), as porters (p.2,4,7),
as human minesweepers (p.2), child porters/minesweepers (p.2), looting (p.2-5,7),
extortion (p.2), commandeering vehicles (p.2), Armed Forces Day (p.2).
Taungoo District
[Note: The following incidents were reported by radio from
frontline Karen military units and Karen relief workers in SLORC areas. In Taungoo
District, the large village called Kler Lah in Karen is called Bawgali in Burmese.]
On 13/3/96 SLORC troops gathered together all women, children and elderly people in Kaw
Thay Der village and ordered them to carry rations for the Army and clear landmines along
the way between Kaw Thay Der and Naw Soe.
On 23/3/96, the Battalion commander of IB 234, under #3 Strategic Command, entered Shin Pa
Taw village and burned 28 teak houses, Byamaso monastery, and 2 rice barns.
By 25/3/96, the entire #344 Light Infantry Battalion was based around Than Daung and along
the roads. All of LIB 539 was based around Leik Tho. All of IB 234 was based in Plaw Mu
Der and the fields of Shar Si Po. The entire LIB 439 was based around Kaw Thay Der, Naw
Soe, and Si Kheh Der. Five companies of IB 59 and one company of IB 911 were based in Plaw
Mu Der, Tha Kwee Soe, and Bu Sah Kee. These SLORC troops have all been engaged in burning
rice crops and stocks wherever they find them and destroying other property, burning
vegetable plots, commandeering carts and vehicles and conscripting porters every day. They
are also renovating the roads into the area, partly with machines.
On 25/3/96, LIB 439 Battalion Commander Lin Naing stayed in Naw Soe. He ordered Kaw Thay
Der village to buy and carry food worth 10,000 Kyat to Naw Soe village so the soldiers
could celebrate Armed Forces Day [March 27]. The Kaw Thay Der village head was
ordered to come himself together with the supplies.
On 25/3/96 Strategic Commander Col. Aung Naing Htun of #3 Strategic Command stayed in Kler
Lah. He ordered Ber Kaw Der village to send 'pork fees' of 4,000 Kyat. Kler Lah and other
villages in the area were also ordered to pay 'pork fees'.
On 25/3/96 in Swa Lo area, Captain Nyin Nyin of IB 234 killed villager Maung Kah Doh
(male, aged 55 years) from Saw Mu Day village.
On 25/3/96 Strategic Commander Col. Aung Naing Htun again ordered that all motor vehicles
in Kaw Thay Der and Kler Lah go to Kler Lah and Naw Soe military camps and remain on
standby for military use.
In March 1996, four villages 7 miles east of Taungoo were ordered to move by SLORC in
order to build a new Army training centre [Army training centres occupy huge areas of
land]. The villages forced to move were Lon Bu, Tha Htay Gone, Kya Sakan, and Saw Lo. The
villagers protested that the area is covered with betelnut and coffee plantations and is
therefore not suitable for a training centre, but despite their objections they were moved
without compensation. Their houses, including brick churches, were demolished.
On 7/4/96, IB 234 troops under Western Command's Strategic Command #3, commanded by Col.
Aung Naing Htun, killed villager Saw Tha Keh (male, age 40) from Mi Ee Lay village.
On 18/4/96, IB 234 troops shot villager Mya Oo (male, age 20, father's name U Chit Hlaing)
from Bahar village.
On 18/4/96, LIB 549 Company 4 Commander Myint Soe went to Naw Law Paw Leh village in Leik
Tho township and took a pig, four chickens and a buffalo without paying anything to the
villagers. He then arrested and tortured the village headman and the two village
secretaries.
On 18/4/96, IB 234 Company Commander Man San raped Ma Lah Htay (female, age 36) in Tha
Pyay Nyunt village.
On 26/4/96, Column 2 of LIB 439, led by Maj. Than Win, confiscated 3 flintlock guns [only
usable for hunting small animals] from villagers in Wah Tho Ko village and set fire to
part of the village. They opened fire and Ler Ko village elder Pu Shwe Aye (male, age 70)
was injured. The soldiers killed a buffalo worth about 20,000 Kyats for their meal. On
27/4/96, the same column burned down 2 houses and destroyed 3 other houses in Naw Thay Der
village. On 28/4/96 the column went to Kaw Mu Der village and took 2 air-guns, a bicycle,
a sewing machine, and other valuables. They destroyed people's belongings that they could
not take with them.
On 28/4/96, Strategic Commander Col. Aung Naing Htun threatened people from Bawgali
village tract that he would destroy all their villages within 10 days because they had
connections with a revolution group. He arrested Saw Wee Dee, village head of Beh Kaw Der,
and dug a hole in the ground to bury him. Bawgali village elders Saw Maung Kay, Maung Ka
Sein, Saw Tah Day Po, and Pastor Tha Say, Anglican pastor of Kaw So Ko village, were also
arrested and tortured by Col. Aung Naing Htun.
On 2/5/96, Strategic Commander Col. Aung Naing Htun and LIB 344 officer Tin Tun Zaw (both
from Western Command) called Day Lo village and other villages west of Thauk Ye Kat stream
to attend a meeting. At the meeting they ordered all the villages to move to a
"combined relocation village" at Su Zee near Than Daung by 9 May 1996.
On 3/5/96, IB 59 troops based at Bu Sah Kee village burned down Bu Sah Kee village headman
Saw Lah Wah Mu's rice barn. 100 baskets of unhusked rice were destroyed.
On 5/5/96, a combined column of LIB 344 and LIB 439 led by Maung Maung Soe went to Ta Yeh
Blo village and captured 3 villagers, Saw Ah Lo Kee (male, age 20), Naw Win Kyi (female,
age 23), and Naw Ra Sheh Lo (female, age 20). Saw Ah Lo Kee was executed and the two women
were severely tortured, including being beaten and having boiling water poured on their
bodies. The reason is not known. The troops then stole rice from the village.
On 19/5/96, one column of IB 234 troops entered Ko Tha Kyaung village in Tee Loh area and
arrested villagers Aung Thay (male, age unknown) and K'Lah (male, age unknown). They
tortured the two men and then took them along with the column.
On 20/5/96, the same column of IB 234 invaded Tee Loh and K'Ser Doh villages, arrested
villagers there and forced them to Baya Na Thi relocation site.
On 21/5/96, the same column of IB 234 arrested a Pa'O woman who was working in her orchard
near Sait Lah Kyaut Pya, between Shan Shi Boh and Meh Taw Der. They burned her farm hut
and looted all her belongings. The troops also burned down Saw Maung Myint's orchard and
hut, looted and destroyed all of his belongings.
On 21/5/96 Strategic Commander Col. Aung Naing Htun called a meeting at his base in Kler
Lah. At the meeting he gave orders that every village along the motor road must do labour
building and repairing the road, and that villagers from Kler Lah are to work on the
stretch of road from Kler Lah for a distance of 13 miles.
On 21/5/96 a column of 100 troops from IB 234 led by Maj. Nyi Nyi took 20 porters and food
supplies for 7 days from Tha Pyay Nyunt village and set out towards K'Mu Loh village. On
22/5 they arrived in Naw La Aw village.
On 25/5/96 another column from IB 234 entered Hu Mu Der village, captured villager Saw Po
Keh and beat and tortured him.
On 25/5/96 Maj. Nyi Nyi's column from IB 234 arrived near Ta Ker Kee village, between Si
Daw Ko and K'Mu Loh, and opened fire at some villagers. Villager Saw Waw Taw (male, age
22) from Si Daw Ko village was shot and wounded, and Maw Ni Paw (male, age unknown) from
Kheh Po Daw village was shot dead.
Thaton District
On 22/1/96, Company #9 commander Than Oo Min Bay Soe Yin of LIB 38 shot and killed
villager Saw Toe Yin (male, age 30, father's name Saw Tha Oo) from Taw Po Hta village.
On 17/2/96, IB 24 company commander Than Shwe severely beat villager Saw Han Yin (male,
age 35) from Theh Ko village.
On 25/2/96, IB 24 Battalion commander Thein Tin said that local villagers did not report
casualties from KNLA landmines, so as punishment he fined Noh Ber Baw village 30,000 Kyat
and T'Ru Wah village 20,000 Kyat.
On 27/2/96, Company #2 commander Po Oo was leading a column from IB 51. They entered Kaw
Tee Kee village and forced the villagers to hand over rice. 24 villagers [names
omitted here for brevity] were forced to hand over a total of 68 measures (dta law)
and 3 baskets, 2 chickens and 2 viss of dried fish.
On 27/2/96, IB 51 Battalion commander Soe shot and killed villagers Naw Beh (female, age
20, father's name Tee Shein Aye) of Kaw Tee Hta village and Ma Than Yin (female, age 28).
He also shot villager Pa Thein Oo (male, age unspecified) in the thigh while interrogating
him.
On 1/3/96, soldiers from Column 2 of LIB 20 (part of 77 Light Infantry Division) led by
Maj. Han Tin shot and killed two villagers: Aung Khin Maung (male, age 23, father's name
Tee Khin Kyu) from K'Law Hta village, and Saw Kyaw Myint (male, age 20, father's name Kywe
K'Lay) from Lay Pya village.
On 6/3/96, Company #2 commander Moe Kyaw Shein of IB 96 shot and killed villager Pa Nyunt
(male, age 25, father's name Pa P'Deh) of Naw Ghaw Hta village.
On 8/3/96, two villagers from Kyaw Sah village were doing forced labour delivering a
message to SLORC troops in Yaw Oo Bu from another SLORC unit. Along the way, SLORC troops
shot and killed one of them, Shein K'Lah (male, age 27, father's name U Po Kya). His
father U Po Kya was also shot at, but the soldiers missed and he ran away.
Starting on 9/3/96, a combined force of LIB 20 Column 1 and DKBA troops went to Kweh Kaw,
Baw Paw Lay, Toe Toe Kee, K'Paw Hta and Ko Hta villages and destroyed 240 baskets of
unhusked rice as well as 7 ricefields.
On 11/4/96 officer Kyi Sein, commanding Company 1, Column 2, IB 51, slapped Ma Khin Lay
(female, age 43) from Ee Su Kee village and threatened her with his pistol. Ma Htoo
(female, age 30) and her child were tied hanging upside down and had their faces burned
with fire. Ma Thet (female, age 24, father's name U Maung Aye) and her child were also
tied upside down and were severely tortured, including burning their faces with fire. No
reason was given.
Pa'an District
Between 1/3/96 and 7/3/96 SLORC troops of #355 Battalion (commander Maj. Aung Hla),
#521 Battalion (commander Maj. Nay Win), #257 Battalion (commander Pan Ket, 2nd in command
Aung Thein), all of which are operating as part of #1 Strategic Command under Col. Tin
Thein, combined with DKBA troops and travelled through villages in Tee Wa Klay village
tract looting each village. This was part of their week-long looting raid when they were
sent to search for KNU troops who attacked at Ker Ghaw on 28 February, though they never
actually looked for any KNU troops. Villagers supplied a list of at least 71 families who
were robbed of a total of 179 chickens, 18 pigs, 17 goats, 6 dogs, 2 cats, 47 baskets of
rice and sticky rice, 76 baskets of paddy, 38 viss [61 kg.] of salt, 11 viss [18 kg.] of
chillies, 3 viss [5 kg.] of fishpaste, 1 large tin of biscuits, 1 viss of betelnut, 4 tins
and 6 viss of tobacco, 61 pots, 47 plates, 26 spoons, 12 machetes, 4 axes, 3 saws, 4 hoes,
1 torchlight, 330 Kyat in cash, and miscellaneous other kitchen and household utensils,
clothing, fishing nets, ropes, water containers, etc. Of the list, 3 chickens and one dog
were stolen from Tee Wah Klay monastery.
On 11/4/96, Capt. Soe Myint Aye of IB 97 from Kyaw Ko camp went to Wa Plaw Wah village and
opened fire into the village. No one was injured, but the troops confiscated 120 baskets
of rice by claiming that it was rice intended for KNU troops. They forced the villagers to
carry this rice to Kyaw Ko army camp. The next day the same column burned down 4 houses in
Tee Law Thi village.
Pa'an District Field Reports
[The following incident reports were gathered by an independent
Karen human rights monitor working with KHRG who visited the areas affected and
interviewed the villagers.]
On the morning of 15/4/96, SLORC troops of Battalion 356/357 under #44 Light Infantry
Division and DKBA troops of #999 Brigade, all based at Tee Sah Ra, left their camp and
arrived in Pah Klu village in the afternoon. Usually when they come into the village they
take porters and arrest people and men they don't like are tortured, so when the villagers
heard the troops were coming all the men tried to run to safety. The troops came from east
of the village and surrounded it, especially on the southeast side because there are
fields there which most villagers run through to escape. When they saw some village men
running they opened fire on them. They knew the people running were civilians because they
could see their civilian clothes, but they just shot at them like rabbits. All the people
managed to escape except Saw Lah Kay, because he was drunk and unable to run. When he
reached the middle of the field near the plum tree on his bullock cart, some SLORC
soldiers ran towards him with their guns firing. A bullet hit the left side of his head on
the lower part of his ear, and exited through the lower half of his right ear, and he fell
and died.
The soldiers went up to him and shouted, "People who run like this are revolution
people and we ought to shoot them". They left the body there and went into the
village. They said to the people still in the village [women, children and elderly],
"Next time we come, the women and men better not run away. If you run we will shoot
everyone in your village." They left the village in the evening. The next day on
16/4/96, the villagers took Saw Lah Kay's body to K'Ma Theit forest and buried him there. [Saw
Lah Kay was Karen Christian with a wife and children, a farmer in Pah Klu village. The
troops who killed him were commanded by Maj. Maung Win of LIB 356 from Thingan Nyi Naung
and 2nd Lieutenant Hkein Than Kyi, a company commander in DKBA's 999 Brigade.]
[The following account was given in an interview with "Saw Htoo Wah" (not
his real name), Karen, age 27, married with one child:]
When the SLORC and DKBA soldiers came to xxxx village it was 16 March at 8:30 in the
morning. My 2 friends and I were out searching for our bulls. When I was east of our
village at the Meh Pleh Wah Kee riverbank on the sand, I suddenly heard shooting on the
other side of the river. Right away I knew a bullet had hit my shoulder, and the 3 of us
tried to run away. The soldiers fired after us and we heard a lot of shooting, including 3
big shells they fired at us. I ran a little bit but then I couldn't run any further. My
friends carried me on their backs. On the way we met a village girl and she also helped
carry me. When we arrived in our village, another villager gave me an injection. I looked
at my wound and I saw that the bullet had hit my right shoulder and gone out my back and
through my shirt. The bag I was carrying was also hit by a bullet - I could see the hole,
right through my bag. We were all wearing civilian clothes, all we had was one machete
each. When they shot us they were just across the river, very close.
I healed my wound for 3 days in the village. On 19 March, a group of SLORC IB XXX from
XXXX in Kawkareik township came into the village. After one or two days they saw me and
asked, "Why were you shot?" Later they heard that I was shot by their friends,
and they told me, "You are a KNU soldier." I told them the village headman can
testify that I am a Karen civilian. Then the SLORC medic gave me 2 injections and he asked
me for 2 chickens, but I could only give one chicken. My father had only one pig and they
also stole that. Now I am okay, but my arm is not strong enough to carry anything.
[A villager from Tee Wah Klay village reported the following:]
After the SLORC and DKBA troops went to Loh Baw and Pah Klu villages they arrived in Tee
Wah Klay village and stayed for 10 days - some went on to other villages, but 20 SLORC
soldiers stayed. As we usually do, when we heard that SLORC soldiers were coming all the
men ran away. People who didn't run in time were caught and forced to carry very heavy
loads. The Burmese troops staying in the village ordered the headman to collect rice for
them, one basket from each house, and 1 big tin [1/2 basket] from the very poor
people. They also ordered the headman to buy 3 pigs for them. It cost 3,000 Kyat but the
SLORC Captain paid him only 1,000 Kyat for one pig and 500 for the two others. The
villagers had to pay the rest of the money, but even now some villagers haven't been able
to pay their share so some people have debts because SLORC ate our pigs.
The headman also has to collect 80 Kyat from each house to give to the DKBA who stay in
Ker Ghaw village. This has been happening since September 1995. Just like they stole the
animals in Loh Baw village, they also stole animals in Tee Wah Klay village, and they
steal rice. They also steal our paddy and pound it themselves to eat, they steal our
clothes and belongings, they even steal women's underwear! One or two families were afraid
and ran away, and then the soldiers stole everything from their houses. They only thing
left was salt, and because they couldn't use all of it they just threw it in the water.
They ate all the animals at those houses, even the dogs and cats. Some villagers see the
soldiers stealing their things and go to tell the Major, but the Captain, Sergeants and
soldiers stop the women from going to the Major by beating them on the head with guns,
threatening them and pointing guns at them to scare them. They don't want the women to
tell the Major.
In Tee Wah Klay the SLORC troops ate 11 pigs, 20 goats, 35 dogs and all the cats and
chickens in the village they could catch. The rest of the chickens and cats escaped and
went wild. One man said to me, "The SLORC soldiers ate all my pigs, chickens, goats
and dogs. I don't care about most of it, but I wish they'd left me my dog who helps me
hunt wild animals in the forest. I couldn't eat anything with my rice for a whole
week." Tee Wah Klay village has 28 houses, and now there are no pigs, chickens,
goats, dogs or cats left in the village.
[In Thay Wah, Nya Mu, Wah Klu, Loh Baw, Tee Wah Klay, P'Wee, Pah Klu, and Meh Pleh Wah
Kee villages, SLORC has ordered the headman to collect one basket of rice from every
household, or one tin from each of the poorest families. Rice is also routinely looted,
and animals and belongings are stolen. For example, for April 1996 villagers in Loh Baw
village listed livestock losses of 6 pigs, 26 goats, and 7 cattle, Pah Klu village lost 3
goats, 6 pigs, 28,000 Kyat and many other unlisted animals and belongings, and other
villages reported similar losses.]