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Print:Most of the photos in this section document the SPDC Army's attacks on undefended villages with the objective of bringing the population under control. The main conflict in Burma is not between the SPDC and opposition political parties or armed resistance groups, but between a state attempting to impose total control over people's lives, and a civilian population resisting that control. In the cities this resistance takes the form of active political dissidence and noncompliance. In rural areas, it manifests as the flight of villagers to escape SPDC control, evasion of forced labour and forced relocation orders, cooperation with resistance forces and human rights organisations, and in some cases armed resistance. Most of the SPDC's military operations are therefore directed not against resistance armies or political parties, but against the ordinary civilians who are the regime's greatest enemy.
The main conflict in Burma is not between the SPDC and opposition political parties or armed resistance groups, but between a state attempting to impose total control over people's lives, and a civilian population resisting that control. In the cities this resistance takes the form of active political dissidence and noncompliance. In rural areas, it manifests as the flight of villagers to escape SPDC control, evasion of forced labour and forced relocation orders, cooperation with resistance forces and human rights organisations, and in some cases armed resistance. Most of the SPDC's military operations are therefore directed not against resistance armies or political parties, but against the ordinary civilians who are the regime's greatest enemy. In regions where the Army cannot bring civilians under direct control, it tries to force them to move to places it does control – first through forced relocation orders, and then through attacking and destroying villages, food supplies, and the other necessities of survival. Meanwhile, people living under SPDC control face a constant stream of demands for their labour, their money, and their belongings, and an increasingly rigid and repressive system of restrictions on every activity, all of which asserts the SPDC's power and control over them and places them in a subservient relationship to the Army. Villages which resist this hierarchy in any way find themselves under military attack.
Most of the photos in this section document the SPDC Army's attacks on undefended villages with the objective of bringing the population under control (for example, photos 1-1 to 1-3 and 1-23 to 1-26 ). In some cases, these are preceded by the issuance of forced relocation orders warning villagers to move to SPDC-controlled sites within one to two weeks or be killed ( photos 2-37 to 2-40 and 2-41 and 2-42 ; see also Section 3 [ Forced Relocation and Restrictions ] ). Often, though, a heavily armed SPDC column of 300-400 troops moves into the area to be 'cleared' and attacks villages one by one without warning, firing on the village while the villagers flee and then looting and burning the houses. In such cases, villagers found still in the village are often shot (see photos 5-6 to 5-8 , 5-52 to 5-57 , and 5-64 to 5-66 ). The column particularly targets food supplies needed by villagers to survive ( photos 1-1 to 1-3 and 2-31 to 2-36 ), their farmfields and farming huts ( photo 2-12 ), and the schools, churches and temples which are centres of community solidarity ( photos 2-11 and 2-37 to 2-40 ). The soldiers loot the village while destroying it ( photo 7-79 ), and often lay landmines before leaving to prevent villagers from returning to rebuild ( photos 1-27 and 2-15 to 2-17 ). Local SPDC-allied armed groups like the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and Karenni Solidarity Organisation (KnSO) sometimes assist SPDC forces in these attacks (see photos 2-4 , 2-21 , 2-28 and 2-29 , and 2-30 , and 10-5 and 10-6 ).
The result has been the flight of tens of thousands of villagers in order to retain control over their own lives. Many of them set up temporary villages in hiding in the forests, but SPDC columns try to find these and attack them as well ( photos 10-5 and 10-6 and 2-31 to 2-36 ), forcing the villagers to remain on the move. If the troops withdraw they can return and rebuild their villages, but these are often attacked again as soon as the SPDC learns of their presence ( photos 2-13 , 2-26 , and 10-115 ).
People living under SPDC control are not exempt from being attacked by the SPDC Army. The stream of demands for forced labour, money and materials they face is often impossible to meet, and when they fail their village leaders are arrested (see Section 4 [ Detention and Torture ]) or soldiers come and shoot up their village ( photos 2-1 to 2-3 ). Soldiers also attack villages to retaliate for Karen resistance activity in the area ( photo 2-20 ), or simply in order to loot the village ( photo 2-14 ). In some villages this is so common that villagers build bunkers underneath their houses ( photo 2-20 ).
Photos directly related to this subject can also be found in Sections 3 ( Forced Relocation and Restrictions ), 5 ( Shootings and Killings ), 7 ( Food and Livelihoods ), and 10 ( Flight and Displacement ).
Photos #2-1, 2-2, 2-3: In January 2005, local SPDC officers ordered the people of K--- village in Dweh Loh township, Papun district to cut teak logs and float them downriver to the SPDC Army camp so the officers could sell them. The villagers failed to comply, so on January 25 th 2005 SPDC soldiers came to their village and started firing off their guns. The villagers ran in all directions; these photos show a group of them hiding in some bushes outside the village, checking to see if any soldiers are following them. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photos #1-1, 1-2, 1-3: On November 18 th 2004, a column from SPDC LIB #589 burned houses and rice supplies in Klaw Lu village, near Yah Aw (Yan Aung), Nyaunglebin district, in the hills east of Shwegyin town. These photos were taken the following day. The square of ash in photo 1-1 used to be the house of the villager in the photo; he had returned to see if anything could be salvaged. Photo 1-2 shows all that remains of another house. Photo 1-3 shows part of a villager's stored supply of paddy for the year, dumped on the ground and burned. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photos #1-23, 1-24, 1-25, 1-26: Khaw Hta village in Nyaunglebin District, burned and destroyed house by house at the end of November 2004 by a combined column from SPDC LIB #589 (Battalion commander Saw Aung commanding) and LIB #350 (Battalion commander Than Naing commanding). As the SPDC column advanced under cover of night all the villagers had to flee in the darkness; many of their belongings were left behind and destroyed by the troops, like the clay pots and household tools shown in photo 1-26 . These photos were taken less than a week later. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photo #1-27: On returning to the ruins of their houses in Khaw Hta in early December 2004 (see photos 1-23 through 1-26 ), the villagers found these three landmines and two ammunition clips for MA1 assault rifles (standard Burma Army equipment), apparently left behind accidentally by SPDC soldiers. SPDC columns often landmine villages after burning them, to prevent villagers being able to return. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photos # 10-5, 10-6: In late 2004 a group of Karenni villagers fled southwestern Kayah State because their houses were burned and looted by SPDC LIB #428 and the KnSO [Karenni Solidarity Organisation, a former battalion of the Karenni resistance which broke away and now works with the SPDC (for more information see Enduring Hunger and Repression [KHRG #2004-01, September 2004]) , and are now displaced in northern Karen State. These photos show Naw K---, her 3 children, and her hut in the forest of northern Papun district in October 2004. Her husband was shot dead by a combined column of SPDC LIB #428 and KnSO soldiers in Kayah State. They crossed into Karen State and sought refuge in Kaw Lu Der village tract of Papun district, but SPDC troops looted their belongings again there, so this is their second hiding place. Even here they are not safe, as Karen villagers in this area are shot on sight by SPDC columns. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-4: A villager from T--- village, Lu Pleh township, Pa'an District stands in the ruins of his house, burned by a DKBA soldier on April 22 nd 2004. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photos #2-5, 2-6, 2-7, 2-8: Villagers stand among the ruins of M--- village in Than Daung township, Toungoo District, burned on December 19 th 2003 by troops from SPDC Light Infantry Division 55, LIB #509 commanded by Battalion Commander Nyunt Win. These villagers live in the hills not near any SPDC Army camp. On hearing that the villagers had returned to their village, the column was sent out to burn it. Photo 2-8 shows some of their destroyed containers with a pile (foreground) of destroyed betelnut, a cash crop grown by local farmers. These photos were taken in December 2003 and January 2004. See also the photos immediately below . [Photos: KHRG researchers]
Photos # 5-6, 5-7, 5-8: When they arrived to burn M--- village in Than Daung township on December 19 th 2003 (see photos above ), Nyunt Win's LIB #509 troops saw 20-year-old male villager Saw Ko Lah in the village. They shot him dead on sight, then buried his body by the smouldering remains of one of the buildings that they had torched; photo 5-6 shows his head in his partly exhumed grave. Photos 5-7 and 5-8 show his 17 year old sister Naw P--- beside his grave. These photos were taken in January 2004. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-9: The ruins of a house in Htee Hsah Bper village, Than Daung township, Toungoo district. The entire village was burned to ashes by SPDC troops in late 2003. This photo was taken in January 2004. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photos # 10-30, 10-31: Karen villagers in Than Daung township, Toungoo district, fleeing on January 24 th 2004 after SPDC Light Infantry Division #55 troops had burned their village at Htee Hsa Per. They had to grab whatever they could and run as the troops entered the village. See also photos 10-32 through 10-34 in Section 10 ( Flight and Displacement ) . [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photo #7-79: On November 2 nd 2003, all of the villagers from B--- village in Bu Tho township, Papun District fled their village in advance of an approaching SPDC Army column. The column, composed of soldiers from LIB #341 and IB #35, arrived at the village two days later on November 4 th 2003. Finding the village empty, the soldiers slaughtered and ate a number of the villagers' pigs and chickens. Numerous piles of bones and feathers were found in the village after the soldiers had left, including this large pile of chicken feathers (foreground); in the background are ashes from fires used to cook the chickens and pigs. This photo was taken after the soldiers had withdrawn. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-11: This church in Kwih Doh Kaw village, Mone township, Nyaunglebin District was gutted after SPDC soldiers set fire to it. This photo was taken in October 2003. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-12: A villager stands amongst the ashes of his farmfield hut near Klaw Day village in Bu Tho township, Papun District. This hut and another like it were burned by soldiers from Column #2 of SPDC IB #35 in early October 2003. SPDC patrols routinely burn farmfield huts and destroy fields to hamper villagers' access to food. This photo was taken soon afterward. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-13: Broken pots lying amongst the remains of a burned home in Thaw Ngeh Der village in Ler Doh township of Nyaunglebin District. A column of soldiers from SPDC LIB #119 and LIB #109 opened fire on the village before burning it to the ground on May 17 th 2003. SPDC troops had already burned this village less than a year earlier, in October 2002 (see photo 2-26 below ). This photo was taken in May 2003. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photo #9-10: These children are playing in the burned remains of their homes in Thaw Ngeh Der village, Ler Doh township, Nyaunglebin District after it was burned by soldiers from SPDC LIB #119 and LIB #109 on May 17 th 2003. After villages are burned and the troops withdraw, villagers usually return to see what can be salvaged. Knowing this, SPDC troops sometimes leave landmines among the burned ruins. To the children it can all seem like an adventure at first, but this form of play is dangerous. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-14: SPDC soldiers from IB #5 under battalion commander Ko Ko Naing built a temporary Army camp adjacent to the irrigated paddy fields of Htee Baw Law village in Dweh Loh township of Papun District. On May 15 th 2003, the soldiers entered the village and stole the thatch from the roofs of the villagers' homes for use in the construction of the camp. This photo was taken in July 2003. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photos #2-15, 2-16, 2-17: The smouldering remains of Ho Kay village in Bu Tho township of Papun District. On March 4 th 2003, SPDC Army soldiers from IB #14 and LIB #6 led by battalion commander Thein Htun burned the entire village to the ground. Photo 2-16 is of some of the still-smouldering unhusked rice that was destroyed, while Photo 2-17 shows some KNLA soldiers checking for any landmines that may have been planted there by the departing attackers. SPDC forces often mine villages they have burned to discourage villagers from returning and thus induce them to move to SPDC-controlled relocation sites. These photos were taken in March and mid-April 2003. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photos # 2-18, 2-19: Destroyed homes in Wa Tho Klah village in Bilin township, Thaton District after the village was forcibly relocated. Photo 2-18 depicts the charred remains of Saw M---'s house, while the house shown in photo 2-19 belonged to Maung T---. These photos were taken in April 2003. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-20: At 11 p.m. on March 27 th 2003, a bomb exploded in the vehicle garage at the camp of SPDC LIB #434 in Bu Tho township, Papun district, destroying the garage and two vehicles. The Battalion responded by shelling the nearby villages without warning. Most of the women, children and elderly villagers ran into the bunkers they have dug beneath their houses for use in situations like these. Adolescent and adult men, however, were afraid to be caught in the village by SPDC troops and accused of planting the bomb, so most of them fled into the forest, including this group from S--- village. This photo was taken on April 2 nd 2003, when the men were still afraid to return to their village. The women must therefore care for the children and elderly in the village and possibly also send food to the men in hiding. If troops come to the village, they must face them even though they may be accused as 'wives of rebels' because their men are missing. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-21: Naw K---, 35, and her husband from T--- village in Dta Greh township, Pa'an District. On January 18 th 2003, soldiers from DKBA #999 Brigade came and burned their home. This photo, taken in mid-February 2003, shows them beside the ashes that were once their home with what remains of their possessions. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photos #2-22, 2-23, 2-24, 2-25: From late September through early October 2002, SPDC Army soldiers from LIB #366, LIB #367, and LIB #368 moved through Ler Doh township of Nyaunglebin District burning villages and food supplies. Photo 2-22 shows a villager surveying the remains of his farmfield hut near T'Ghaw Der village. Photo 2-23 is of a villager from May Lay Kee village examining what remains of his home, while photos 2-24 and 2-25 depict the aftermath in Htee Mu Hta village. All photos were taken in October 2002. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-26: On October 5 th 2002, soldiers from SPDC IB #175 burned Thaw Ngeh Der village in Ler Doh township, Nyaunglebin District in their ongoing campaign to depopulate the hills. This photo was taken as this villager returned to inspect the damage later in October 2002. This village was burned yet again in May 2003 (see Photo 2-13 ). [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photo # 10-115: Internally displaced villagers from Thaw Ngeh Der village in Ler Doh (Kyauk Kyi) township of Nyaunglebin District. As a part of the SPDC's ongoing campaign to depopulate the hills of Nyaunglebin District, on October 5 th 2002 soldiers from LIB #175 entered their village and burned it to the ground, while all the villagers fled into the forest. This is not the first time that this had happened; three and a half years earlier in May 1999, a column of soldiers from IB #48 and IB #26 had done the exact same thing, burning the village and all food supplies to the ground. Theirs was only one of a dozen such villages that were destroyed. Over the past twenty years many villagers in Karen regions have gone through repeated cycles of village destruction by SPDC forces, life displaced in the forests, and gradual re-establishment of their villages only to have them burned again. This photo was taken three days after the attack on their village, when the people were returning to the village to rebuild their homes. See also photos 10-116 and 10-117 . [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photos #10-116, 10-117: Children in Kyauk Kyi (Ler Doh) township, Nyaunglebin district, move through the forest with their families in October 2002 after SPDC units burned their farmfield huts and came to their villages. These children from Dta Kaw Der village were fleeing through the forest on October 9 th 2002 after SPDC troops had destroyed their village. See also photo 10-115 . [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-27: On September 19 th 2002, SPDC troops killed the owner of this home in Bilin township of Thaton District and then ripped apart the house. This photo was taken in November 2002. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photos # 5-52, 5-53, 5-54, 5-55, 5-56, 5-57: On August 28 th 2002 a mobile column of soldiers from SPDC LIB #366, LIB #367, and LIB #368 led by officers Soe Lwin, Myo Aung, and Maung Maung Oo came to M--- village in Ler Doh township of Nyaunglebin District and opened fire indiscriminately at the villagers. No KNLA troops were in the village, and all the villagers tried to flee. Photos 5-52 and 5-53 show Saw W---, 29, who was wounded in the foot. Photos 5-54 and 5-55 show 18-year-old Saw K---, who was wounded in his chest, his back, and his thigh. Photo 5-56 shows the grave of Naw Meh Leh, 29, a widow who was shot dead. Her brother returned to the village to bury her two days later, only to find her naked and that the soldiers had cut off her ears and one of her hands. Photo 5-57 shows her six month old son, Saw N---. His grandmother must now look after him. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photos #2-28, 2-29: Villagers from Maw Pu village in Mone township, Nyaunglebin District sift through what remains of their homes. On August 12 th 2002 a column of soldiers comprised of troops from SPDC Infantry Battalions #60 and #264 and DKBA #777 Brigade shelled the village without provocation before burning it to the ground. These photos were taken in August 2002. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-30: On August 12 th 2002 a combined column of soldiers from SPDC IB #60, IB #264, and DKBA #777 Brigade shelled and later burned Maw Pu village in Mone township of Nyaunglebin District. Most of the villagers fled as soon as the shelling began, leaving behind all of their belongings. This woman had very recently given birth and was unable to flee along with the rest of the villagers, so she was detained by the soldiers when they entered the village. This photo was taken in late August 2002. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Photos #2-31, 2-32, 2-33, 2-34, 2-35, 2-36: A hiding site of internally displaced villagers in Dweh Loh township, Papun District that was destroyed by SPDC soldiers. On July 16 th 2002, soldiers from LIB #368 (battalion commander Kyaw Win commanding) found this site and burned the houses and paddy barns. Most of the houses were burned to the ground and all stores of paddy that were found were cast onto the ground and set alight. Photos 2-34 , 2-35 , and 2-36 show how those grains which survived the fire have germinated. These photos were taken in late July 2002 when the villagers returned to their village to see if any of their food or possessions survived the fires. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photos #5-64, 5-65, 5-66: Eastern Lu Thaw township of Papun District is a hill region which the SPDC has been trying to depopulate since 1997 by relocating and destroying villages and shooting villagers on sight. On May 8 th 2002, a combined column of SPDC LIB #366 and LIB #369 entered T--- village without warning and opened fire on the villagers. Photo 5-64 shows Saw M---, 67, who says he was lucky to escape with his life. His son Saw Pleh, however, was shot dead. Naw Y---, age 22 ( photo 5-65), lost her mother and her younger sister Yeh Pu Day during the shootings. The next day the column went to D--- village and opened fire on the villagers there. Forty year old villager Saw T--- ( photo 5-66 ) sustained bullet wounds to his arm and abdomen. One of his friends was also killed in the incident. These photos were taken in August 2002. [Photos: KHRG researchers]
Photos #2-37, 2-38, 2-39, 2-40: At a meeting on April 19 th 2002, battalion commander Major Min Din of SPDC LIB #301 began ordering villages in Kya In township of Dooplaya district to move to Kyone Sein and Meh T'Kreh relocation sites. Kaw Kheh village was not called to that meeting, but suddenly on April 28 th 2002 Major Min Din and his troops arrived in the village, accused the villagers of harbouring Karen resistance forces, and by 6 p.m. they had burned most of the houses, the church, and the community religious hall to the ground. Before leaving, they told the villagers they had 2 weeks to move to Meh T'Kreh or face "harsh action". Photo 2-38 depicts one of the villagers and his daughter standing in front of the remains of what was their home, while photos 2-39 and 2-40 show the remains of Naw T---'s house and paddy barn. See also photos 2-41 and 2-42 below showing the burning of Htee P'Nweh village, and photos 3-18 through 3-20 and 3-21 through 3-26 in Sect ion 3, Forced Relocation and Restrictions , which show the relocation of Htee Ghaw and Htee P'Nweh villages. These photos were taken in May 2002. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photos #2-41, 2-42: Like Kaw Kheh (see above), Htee P'Nweh village was not called to Major Min Din's April 19 th 2002 meeting to receive a relocation order. Instead, Min Din and his troops arrived in the village without warning on May 8 th and opened fire on villagers who tried to flee (see photo 5-63 in Section 5 [ Shootings and Killings ]). He then accused the villagers of harbouring Karen resistance forces and ordered everyone to move to Meh T'Kreh relocation site within 2 weeks. His soldiers immediately burned down 10 houses and threatened to burn the rest if anyone remained the next time they returned. The photos show the remains of the 10 burned houses. After being ordered to move to Meh T'Kreh, the villagers dismantled their houses and transported their belongings to the relocation site (see photos 3-21 through 3-26 in Section 3 [ Forced Relocation and Restrictions ]). These photos were taken in May 2002. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photos #10-129, 10-130: Internally displaced villagers in Dooplaya District in mid-2002. The people in photo 10-129 fled after LIB #317 burned their village in Kya In township on April 17 th 2002. Those in photo 10-130 fled after LIB #83 had come to their village in February 2002 and ordered their village to move, taken some villagers as forced labour and killed others. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
Photo #2-43: The remains of a house in Bway Ko Lu village, Mone township, Nyaunglebin District that was burned by SPDC soldiers on April 1 st 2002. This photo was taken in July 2002. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
