English
ကညီကျိာ်
မြန်မာBelow are the direct translations of 453 order documents and letters received by village leaders in Karen State and Pegu Division of Burma. All but a few of them are demands for forced labour issued by State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military units and local authorities, while the remaining few are letters and notes written by village heads about the forced labour they have been ordered to provide
FORCED LABOUR ORDERS SINCE THE BAN
A Compendium of SPDC Order Documents Demanding Forced Labour Since November 2000
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
February 8, 2002 / KHRG #2002-01
Table of Contents / General Forced Labour / Forced Labour Supplying Materials
Appendix A / Appendix B
Below are the direct translations of 453 order documents and letters received by village leaders in Karen State and Pegu Division of Burma. All but a few of them are demands for forced labour issued by State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military units and local authorities, while the remaining few are letters and notes written by village heads about the forced labour they have been ordered to provide. All of these orders and letters were written and issued after November 1st 2000, which is the date when SPDC Secretary-1 Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt signed an order prohibiting the further use of forced labour by military and civilian authorities (see Appendix B). The orders translated here carry dates up to November 2001, more than a year after Khin Nyunt’s order was supposedly implemented, and a perusal of all of them shows that there has been no reduction in forced labour in any of the regions covered by this report. Villagers and village heads throughout these regions also consistently testify to KHRG that there has been no reduction in forced labour in their areas, and their testimonies are presented in other KHRG reports. Meanwhile, though the most recent documents translated herein are dated November 2001, similar orders are still being issued and gathered by KHRG.
The orders translated herein are only a small representative sampling; for every order produced here hundreds more are issued every week. From over 1,500 order documents examined for this report, we have selected only those which specifically involve some form of forced labour since November 2000. The translations below are from original order documents in Burmese obtained by KHRG field researchers in Toungoo, Nyaunglebin, Papun, Thaton, Pa’an and Dooplaya districts of Karen State and Pegu Division. They were issued by dozens of different military units and SPDC authorities over an area spanning more than 500 kilometres. Their consistency of theme and similarity of wording indicates that they are representative of state policy; yet, as the SPDC admits, as of February 2002 not a single case of the illegal use of forced labour has been brought forward for prosecution under the terms of Khin Nyunt’s November 2000 order banning forced labour. Appendix A contains excerpts from the Village Act and the Towns Act, colonial-era laws which allow the conscription of forced labour and are still on the SPDC’s law books, despite pressure for over 30 years from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to remove or revise them. Appendix B contains the texts of three SPDC orders which claim to ban forced labour: Order 1/99, the Order Supplementing Order 1/99 (October 2000), and Khin Nyunt’s order of November 1, 2000.
We have divided the orders demanding forced labour into two sections: "General Forced Labour", which contains orders directly demanding people for forced labour or bribe money to avoid forced labour, and "Forced Labour Supplying Materials", consisting of orders which implicitly require forced labour by demanding materials which require intensive labour to produce, such as logs, planks, bamboo posts and ties, and thatch roofing shingles.
Within each section we have sorted the orders chronologically from the oldest (starting at November 1 2000) to the most recent (November 2001). A few of the orders are undated, and we have inserted these in the sequence based on when they were most likely issued, judging by the other documents with them and interviews with the village leaders who received them. We have translated the orders as directly as possible and have tried to retain the visual formatting of the documents as well. The heading of each order translation indicates its sequential number and the region where it was issued. Printed copies of this report, and copies of the full set of Burmese orders translated in this report, are available (with appropriate details blacked out) on approved request from KHRG.
To see additional orders on a broader range of topics, see "SPDC & DKBA Orders to Villages: Set 2001-A" (KHRG #2001-02, 18/5/2001) and other preceding Order Sets published by KHRG.
Table of Contents
The online version of this report has been divided into three HTML files. You may scroll down sequentially through the report, or click on a heading to go directly to that section (to see the maps you must click on 'Map 1' or 'Map 2' below).
Preface
Table of Contents
Notes on the Text of the Orders
Terms and Abbreviations
Map 1: Burma, showing military commands
Map 2: Karen Districts
General Forced Labour (Orders #1-344)
Forced Labour Supplying Materials (Orders #345-453)
Appendix A: The Village Act and the Towns Act
Appendix B: SPDC Orders ‘Banning’ Forced Labour
Notes on the Text of the Orders
Most of these orders were handwritten, some typed, and carbon-copied or copied on a cyclostyling machine if sent to more than one village. Many of them have been produced as form letters for distribution to many villages, with the village name and any other specific details written in afterwards by hand. The orders were written in Burmese.
We have attempted to accurately reproduce the visual page layout of each order, and underlining, etc. are as they appear in the order. ‘Stamp:’ gives the translation of the rubber-stamped unit identifier affixed to many of the orders, while ‘[Sd.]’ denotes the usually illegible signature of the issuing official. The language of many of the orders sounds awkward because Burmese grammar is very different from English; for example, the ordering of phrases within a sentence is almost opposite, sentences are often very long and convoluted, and personal subject and object pronouns are often omitted in Burmese. We have translated the words and expressions as directly as possible, though we have sometimes had to make minor changes in the sequence of the words for the wording to make sense and to have the exact same meaning in English. Moreover, many SPDC Army officers and Non-Commissioned Officers are semi-illiterate so they write with terrible grammar and frequent mistakes, and misspell place names and people’s names. Where necessary, we have added notes in italics in square brackets for clarification, but all other text is as it appears in the orders. All text not in square brackets is in the text of the order document itself.
Names in the orders are usually prefixed with an honorific; in Burmese ‘Daw’ is used for married women and ‘Ma’ for young unmarried women, while ‘U’ is for older or respected men, ‘Ko’ and ‘Maung’ for men close to the writer’s age, younger men or to indicate a lower level of respect. In Sgaw Karen, ‘Saw’ or ‘Pa’ are prefixes for men and boys and ‘Naw’ for women and girls, regardless of marital status.
In Burmese, numerals are usually written in parentheses; in the translations these have been omitted in most cases where they would not be used in English. As in the originals, all numeric dates are shown in dd/mm/yy or dd/mm format. Some orders use Burmese dates: the year 1362 is the period from April 2000-April 2001, the months begin at each new moon and are divided into the moon’s ‘waxing’ and ‘waning’ phases. We have noted the equivalent Gregorian calendar date where it is not already specified.
Most of the orders were issued by local SPDC Army commanders and Peace & Development Councils (PDCs), which are local-level SPDC administration at the Township, Village Tract and Village levels. A village tract is a group of 5-20 villages, usually 10-20 kilometres in diameter and administered from the largest village of the group. A township is a larger area consisting of several village tracts centred on a significant market town, and a district is several townships covering a significant geographic region. While the Township and often Village Tract PDCs consist of SPDC officials under direct military control, the Village PDC chairperson and members are appointed, often against their will, by the local military. Most orders are addressed to the ‘Chairperson’, who is the SPDC-appointed Chairperson of the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC), and/or the ‘Secretary’ of the same VPDC. This council, consisting of a Chairperson, Secretary, and Members, is supposed to administer the village for the SPDC, which mainly consists of arranging whatever the Army and the higher-level PDCs demand. Other orders are addressed to the ‘Village Head’, who is head of the village elders, and is often the same as the VPDC Chairperson. If a village fails to comply with an order, the Chairperson or Village Head is usually the first to be punished by being arrested and beaten or detained for ransom; this is what is meant by threatening phrases such as "if you fail it will be your responsibility".
Village heads have to spend so much time supervising the forced labour of their villagers and running back and forth to the Army camp whenever summoned by the officers that it is difficult for them to find time to farm their own fields. Moreover, whenever the Army demands money, livestock or goods, it is difficult for the village heads to get it from the villagers so they often end up paying for it themselves. Finally, the village head is at constant risk of arrest, interrogation and torture if he/she fails to comply with a single order or if there is any resistance activity near the village. Therefore, most villagers, especially in or near conflict areas, are too afraid to be a village head. Some villages now rotate their village heads every month if they cannot find anyone willing to take the responsibility. Another solution which is now used by many villages is to choose women as village heads, because the villagers feel that women, particularly elderly women, will be detained and tortured less often than a male headman would be. This is somewhat true, because Burmese culture requires that the young show great respect to parents and elders, and many Burmese officers feel intimidated when dealing with elderly women who remind them of their mothers; however, many of them will still not hesitate to detain or torture an elderly village headwoman. Some of the orders address the village headwoman colloquially as ‘Mother’, and the sender sometimes refers to himself as ‘Son’. Other terms such as ‘Uncle’ and ‘Auntie’ are usually terms of respect for elders or commanders, not actual blood relations.
At the village level, the ‘Chairperson’ is usually victimised by the local military; however, at the village tract and township levels the ‘Chairperson’ is often a corrupt SPDC appointee who works closely with the local military. The local Army often dictates demands to the Township or Village Tract PDC leaders, who then divide the demands among the villages and issue the written orders; this is why many of the orders to village heads are sent by village tract heads, but merely repeat the direct demands of the Army. The orders often contain phrases such as ‘in the Elder’s village’ or ‘the Elder yourself must come’; ‘Elder’ here is our translation of the gender-neutral term Lu Gyi Min, a reference to the village elder who receives the letter, and though it may sound awkward it is the closest term we have been able to find in English.
Many orders call for ‘loh ah pay’, a Burmese term referring to a traditional practice of contributing one’s labour for small village or temple projects in order to earn Buddhist merit; however, the labour demanded in these orders is forced under threat and is not actually ‘loh ah pay’ at all. Rather than translate this misuse of the term, we have left it intact where it occurs in the orders. The term ‘wontan’ also appears frequently; we have translated this literally as ‘servant’, and it is used by the SPDC to refer to porters and other forced labourers. ‘Operation servants’ are forced labour porters for frontline operations. Some of the orders demand that the village head ‘bring information’ or ‘report information’ to the Army camp; this is a summons for the village head to report intelligence on opposition movements near the village, any visitors to the village, and all activities of the villagers. Reference is made to ‘servants’ fees’, also known as ‘porter fees’; these are the routine extortion fees which villagers must pay to all Army battalions in their area. If they fail to pay the fees, they are taken for forced labour. Many orders contain phrases like "if you fail it is your responsibility" or "we will not take any responsibility for your village"; these are threats that village elders will be arrested and detained under torture or houses will be looted and/or burned for failure to comply with the order. Some Battalions in the orders call themselves ‘Frontline’ battalions, indicating that they operate in conflict areas.
‘Set tha’ is forced labour as messengers and errand runners for the Army. Villages are normally forced to provide one or two villagers every day or two to each Army camp in their area for a 24-hour shift of set tha. Almost all of the order documents translated in this set were carried from the Army or local authorities to the recipient villages by villagers doing set tha forced labour. Many of the orders contain phrases such as "send 4 people with this set tha", "reply by letter with this set tha", "come along with the set tha who has brought this letter", or "give the money to this set tha"; meaning that the villager who delivered the order is to return to the camp with a reply, or money, or additional forced labourers.
Terms and Abbreviations
SPDC State Peace & Development Council, military junta ruling Burma
PDC Peace & Development Council, SPDC local-level administration
VPDC Village Peace & Development Council (abbreviated ‘Ya Ya Ka’ in Burmese)
TPDC Township Peace & Development Council (abbreviated ‘Ma Ya Ka’ in Burmese)
IB Infantry Battalion (SLORC/SPDC), usually about 500 soldiers fighting strength
LIB Light Infantry Battalion (SLORC/SPDC), usually about 500 soldiers fighting strength
LID Light Infantry Division (SLORC/SPDC), made up of 10 Light Infantry Battalions
Company Military unit of about 100 soldiers, though often understrength in SPDC Army
Column Combination of Companies, assembled for operations; usually 100-300 soldiers
Camp Army base or outpost; from remote hill posts of 10 soldiers to Battalion HQ camps
of several hundred soldiers
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 the SPDC
KPA Karen Peace Army, a small group under SPDC control in Dooplaya District
Nga Pway ‘Ringworm’, derogatory SPDC slang for KNU/KNLA
loh ah pay Voluntary labour to make merit, but used by SPDC for most forms of forced labour
set tha ‘Messengers’; forced labour as errand-runners, messengers, and for some odd jobs
wontan ‘Servant(s)’, used by SPDC officers to mean forced labourers, usually porters
Kyat Burmese currency; US$1=6 Kyat at official rate, 300+ Kyat at current market rate
Viss Unit of weight measure; one viss is 1.6 kilograms or 3.5 pounds
Kyat Tha 16 grams; 100 kyat tha equals 1 viss
Pyi Volume of uncooked rice equal to 8 small condensed milk tins; about 2 kg / 4.4 lb
Bowl Volume of uncooked rice same as a pyi
Tin Also ‘big tin’, volume of rice or paddy of 8 pyi; about 17 kg / 37 lb of husked rice
Basket Volume of rice or paddy equal to 2 Big Tins
Taun(g) Burmese unit of measurement equalling 1.5 feet or ½ metre (elbow to fingertip)
Twa Burmese unit of measurement equalling 8-9 inches or 20-22 cm (one handspan)
U Burmese honorific prefix for older or respected men
Ko, Maung Burmese honorific prefix for younger or less respected men
Saw, Pa Sgaw Karen prefix for men and boys
Daw Burmese honorific prefix for married women
Ma Burmese honorific prefix for younger unmarried women
Naw Sgaw Karen prefix for women and girls
General Forced Labour
This section includes direct orders for forced labour at Army Camps, on roads, portering, and other forms of forced labour, and related documents. Demands for bullock carts, tractors and boats are also included here, because these demands implicitly require the forced labour of the owner/driver of the cart, tractor or boat. Villages receive these types of orders from every Army camp in their area as well as from the local village tract and township authorities. Much of it is referred to as ‘loh ah pay’, a Burmese term for a traditional practice of contributing one’s labour on small village or temple projects to earn Buddhist merit; but in these orders and in the lexicon of the SPDC and the villagers, loh ah pay has come to mean most forms of forced labour with the exception of military portering and major infrastructure projects. With the apparent aim of diffusing international criticism, many SPDC officers have recently told villagers that portering is also to be called ‘loh ah pay’ from now on, which angers the villagers because they view portering as much worse and more dangerous than other forms of labour. Most villagers would go for loh ah pay but would do anything they could to avoid portering, but now the orders give them little idea of how they will be used until they arrive at the Army camp. ‘Wontan’, literally ‘servant’, can mean either porters or other forced labourers. In the order documents porters are commonly referred to as ‘operations servants’. ‘Set tha’ is forced labour as messengers and errand runners; Army camps keep several ‘set tha’ on call at all times, so most villages have to send one or more people each day for this labour. Villagers are also called for forced labour as unarmed sentries guarding Army camps and military supply roads; see for example Orders #55, 56, and 62, which demand that villagers build sentry huts and provide sentries on rotating 24-hour shifts, and Order #301, which demands additional bridge sentries and intelligence runners from every village in the village tract.
Many forms of forced labour, particularly set tha and some forms of portering, are done on a rotation basis; people must be sent for a shift of one or more days (taking along their own food), and are supposed to be replaced when the shift ends. The villagers draw up a roster and take turns for rotation labour. Sometimes people are sick, busy or unwilling to go when their turn comes, and in these cases the Army usually detains the current shift of workers until the next shift comes (Orders #178 and 272 give specific examples of this). This often results in angry letters from the Army to the village head, complaining that the workers have been with them for too long and are already exhausted or out of food (see Order #86). Such letters are not written out of any concern for the workers, but because the Army does not want to have to feed them and wants people who can work hard continuously.
In response to increasing international pressure, the SPDC has taken several steps in an attempt to make it appear that the Army has been demanding less forced labour. One of these already mentioned above is the new insistence that portering be called ‘loh ah pay’. In addition some officers have resorted to doublespeak; for example, the officer writing Order #104 states that the Army "Are not using or calling 2 loh ah pay people from the Elder’s village, so do it as we have ordered by this messenger now. If [you] fail we will call and use 4 loh ah pay people." Yet another tactic is for the Army to dictate its demands to the village tract authorities, then have the village tract issue the order documents; Orders #185 and 442 give clear examples of this. The reality, however, can be seen in the fact that of the over 1,500 order documents examined for this report, not one makes any reference to the SPDC’s Order 1/99 or its orders of October and November 2000 banning forced labour, even though those orders actually make the demands in most of these documents illegal (transcripts of these orders can be seen in Appendix B). The only reference occurs in Order #328 and comes not from the SPDC officer who wrote the order but from the village head who received it; the village head wrote the list of SPDC demands on the order and then noted "This is not covered by loh ah pay 1/99".
None of the labour mentioned in the orders below is paid. Nor is it undertaken voluntarily, but always under the direct or implied threat that the village elders or villagers will face serious punishments for any failure to comply. This threat is often left unstated, simply indicated by the use of red ink, or alluded to through statements such as "if you fail the responsibility will be yours". Order #97 demands money for forced labour which the villagers did not go to do, and warns, "If the delay becomes any longer, the money will not be good enough. It could lead to suspicion". In some cases it is made more explicit, such as "If [you] fail to come, [we] will take harsh action" (from Order #135), "If [you] fail, the Elder will be tied up with rope" (from Order #80) or "If [you] fail, [we] will send a bullet" (from Order #99). In addition to threats, villagers are also fined for failing to show up for work or for fleeing during forced labour; sometimes this is stated as a fine in cash or meat (see Orders #58, 84, and 194), while sometimes it is claimed that people had to be hired in their place and they must reimburse the cost. Sometimes the fines are combined with demands for additional labour as punishment (see Orders #44, 68, 79, 80, 119, and 144) and threats such as this one in Order #69: "If villagers with our Mobile Column escape or don’t come [for forced labour] and our Column arrives at their village, the Column will not be at fault [for whatever punishments it imposes], you are informed."
Men, women and children are generally accepted for forced labour as long as they are physically able to do the work. Very few order documents make any distinction; Order #31 says, "The loh ah pay volunteer must not be female. Not to be too young or too old.", Order #312 states that "Female servants will also be accepted", and Orders #163, 240, 258, and 307 similarly state that women can or should be sent. When villagers are wounded or killed doing forced labour it is generally the villages in the area who are called upon to provide compensation, while none is provided by the SPDC (contrary to paragraph 2h of the ‘Order Supplementing Order 1/99’, shown in Appendix B). Orders #186 and 294 give examples of this; Order #294 states that after the villages hired people to go in their place as porters, one man was killed and one stepped on a landmine, but it is the same villages who hired them who are expected to compensate the men’s families.
It is difficult for villagers to go for all of this forced labour, so they often try to pay bribes to the Army to get out of it, which the orders refer to as ‘paying to hire servants’. For some types of routine forced labour, money is accepted by the local Army officers. However, the Army officers then just pocket the money and demand the labour elsewhere. Eventually, they begin demanding the labour from the same village - so the village has to send the labour while also paying to ‘avoid’ it. Later the villagers may begin paying more in order to avoid the ‘actual’ forced labour as well, first on an ad hoc basis and then on a routine basis, until this too becomes a normal extortion ‘fee’, and the Army takes the money and begins demanding yet more ‘actual’ forced labour on top of it - and so on. In many villages this system has become so formalised that they now pay several types of weekly and monthly ‘servant fees’, ‘porter fees’, and ‘messenger fees’ to various Army camps, while simultaneously doing all forms of forced labour at those camps. Many Army units demand more forced labour than they really need, then insist that only half of the workers actually be sent and that they be paid money for the remainder.
Some villages also hire people to go in their place. When the Army channels its forced labour demands to small villages through a village tract head or the head of a garrison village, some village tract heads automatically hire people to go for the labour and then send demands for money out to the smaller villages to cover their share. This is most clearly exemplified by Orders #100, 131, 155, 187, 227, 251, 273, and 306, all of which were issued by a village tract in Toungoo District. In this village tract the Army demands porters from the village tract head, who then contacts labour agents in Toungoo town to hire the required number of people; at the end of every month, he then bills all of the villages in the tract for their portion (based on village size) of the total, at a rate of 4,000 Kyat plus 250 Kyat transport fee for each porter. The bill each month for this alone can add up to 1,000 Kyat or more per family, and as can be seen in these orders many villages are behind in their payments. If the villagers can no longer pay the money, all of these ‘fees’ which have piled up one by one suddenly start being converted back into real forced labour (see for example Order #117) - leaving the villagers with so much forced labour that they are left with little option but to flee the village.
For additional explanations and examples of the nature of these types of orders see "SPDC & DKBA Orders to Villages: Set 2001-A" (KHRG #2001-02, 18/5/01). The orders below are presented in chronological order, from November 2000 to November 2001.
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______________________________________________________________________________ Order #1 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Frontline #xxx Infantry Battalion To: Subject: To quickly repair the car road Regarding the above matter, the Elders from each Village Tract have to take responsibility to eliminate potholes along part of the vehicle road. [You] Must carry stones from the (left/right) sides of the road and fill them, and there must be no water [puddles] left on the road. [You] Must carry this out and finish tomorrow evening, you are informed. [Sd.] [This is a typed and carbon-copied order sent to several villages with the village name written in by hand.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Order #2 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Date: 3-11-2000 Subject: The matter of coming and paying the money which is owed Regarding the subject matter, come to pay the money that the Elder’s village must pay by 4-11-2000 at the latest, you are informed. The Department Head has also ordered it. [You] Also didn’t complete your duty in the matter of Township servants, so it has been noted andapportioned among the [villages of the] Tract. Therefore, come to pay on the specified date. Movement fee 5,000 This is the money that must be paid for the 10th month [October]. There is a lot of money which remains to be paid. [Sd.]aaaa [All of the above fees are various forms of extortion, several of them related to forced labour. ‘Movement fee’ is supposedly money for Army patrols, ‘Bicycle porter’ is a fee in lieu of supplying a bicycle (and possibly a rider) to the Army at all times, ‘Township porter’ means money in lieu of supplying forced labour porters to the township authorities, and ‘Bone K’Htein’ is a Buddhist ceremony when new robes are offered to monks (the money is for the Army to buy robes to make their own offerings).] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #3 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: xxxx Village Chairperson Ko aaaa, from the Elder’s village ten loh ah pay people led by one village head, each with a machete and bringing along a morning rice pack, [must come] without fail and report to yyyy Camp on 7-11-2000 at 7 o’clock. Note: [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #4 (Toungoo) To: Date: 6/11/2000 Tomorrow (7/11/2000), gather 10 loh ah pay people to carry the rations up and down, you are informed. 7/11/2000 Daytime 10 people (Male) The above loh ah pay [people] should be kept at xxxx village, you are informed. [Sd.]Captain [On the back this order is addressed to "xxxx Village, Chairperson". The last sentence means that the 10 people are to come for forced labour during the day but sleep in their home village each night.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #5 (Papun) Stamp: 7-11-2000 To: [Village] Head When [you] receive this letter, the Head yourself must summon one set tha [messenger] and come to contact yyyy [Army] Camp, you are informed. [Sd.] 7.11.2000 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #6 (Papun) To: Subject: Informing [you] to send 7 loh ah pay people As soon as this letter is received, send 7 loh ah pay people to yyyy Camp on 8-11-2000 to arrive at 7 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. When [they] come, each must bring along a mattock [large hoe], you are informed. Each should bring along a rice pack [precooked rice for the afternoon meal], you are informed. [Sd.] [The original of this order has very faint impressions of 2 overlapping SPDC Army stamps and one DKBA stamp at the top of the page; however, none of these were actually affixed on the order, the ink simply leached onto it when it was stacked with some other orders and the paper became wet.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #7 (Papun) Stamp: 9-11-2000 To: [Village] Head When [you] receive this letter, today on 9-11-2000 the Head yourself must come and hand over 3 wontan [servant] people to the camp commander (or) into the hands of the responsible people at yyyy [Army] Camp, you are informed. [Sd.] 9.11.2000 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #8 (Toungoo) Stamp: Subject: Calling loh ah pay Date:10-11-00 There is work at our IB #xxx [camp], so a strength of 10 people from xxxx village must come to the xxxx [village] square on the night of 11-11-00 to gather and prepare. Chairperson U aaaa must come without fail to meet with the Column Commander on 10-11-00 in the evening, asking for help, you are informed. [Sd.] [Underlined in red ink:] If the Chairperson is not there, any ten-houses leader or one [VPDC] member [On the back of the above order the village head has written a list of 7 names with numbered spaces for 3 more, presumably the villagers who are going to have to go for the forced labour. The ‘member’ referred to in the note at the bottom means a member of the village council under the village Chairperson; villages are also divided into units of ten houses, each led by a ‘ten-house leader’.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #9 (Toungoo) Stamp: Date:10-11-00 There is work at our IB #xxx [camp], so a strength of 10 people from xxxx village must come to the xxxx [village] square on the night of 11-11-00 to gather and prepare. Chairperson U aaaa must come without fail to meet with the Column Commander on 10-11-00 in the evening, asking for help, you are informed. [Sd.] [Underlined in red ink:] If the Chairperson is not there, any ten-houses leader or one [VPDC] member [This is identical to Order #8 but was sent to a different village.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #10 (Dooplaya) To: Date: 10-11-2000 Subject: Demanding loh ah pay power Regarding the above subject, [you] must help with 30 loh ah pay people from xxxx village. These loh ah pay groups must come to yyyy village to arrive on Nov[ember] 11th at 0700 hours, you are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #11 (Toungoo) Stamp: 13/11/2000 Subject: Asking the help of loh ah pay servants For Frontline #xxx Infantry Battalion’s Column x Base Camp at yyyy, [you are to] contact the authority in charge at Frontline #yyy Infantry Battalion’s zzzz rations storehouse camp at vvvv village, and organise the Village Heads from wwww Village and xxxx Village. Then use the required servant power to send 5 sacks of rice (five sacks) (without fail) without fail to yyyy Camp, to arrive on November 16th in the year 2000 (16-11-2000), Thursday, you are directed. [Sd.] 13/11/2000 To send: Rice 5 sacks The Village Chairpersons will coordinate and arrange the 15 loh ah pay people. [Sd.] [The above order is from an IB xxx Army camp, telling the village head to gather 15 villagers from 2 villages for forced labour, then go to the rations storehouse camp of another Battalion, get 5 sacks of rice (50 kg/110 lb each) and carry them to the IB xxx camp. The officer has repeated phrases such as ‘without fail’ several times as shown above. Both signatures are the same. On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Village". The people of the same village were forced to do this labour again just one week later (see Order #19).] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #12 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Date: Year 2000, November 15th To: Chairperson Subject: To attend the special meeting
Notes: [This is] The directive of the IB xxx Column Commander, so do not fail regardless.
[Sd.] 15-11-2000 [On the back the above order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Tract. Come without fail to the Ya Ya Ka [VPDC] Office on 16-11-2000".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #13 (Papun) Stamp: Date: 16-11-2000 The Elder yourself must come without fail to deliver 2 loh ah pay people from the Elder’s village, each person with 5 bowls [11 kg/24 lb] of rice, to yyyy village on 16-11-2000 to arrive at (1600) hours. If [you] fail it will be the Elder’s responsibility, you are informed. [Sd.] [The village head told KHRG that they obeyed and sent 2 people as ordered on November 17th. The 2 people were forced to porter for 15 days and then released. The village head said they only obeyed because if they had not, the soldiers would have come to the village to capture people instead, including women. The 5 bowls of rice is a significant quantity, and shows that the SPDC made them take their own food for the entire 2-week shift of labour.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #14 (Toungoo) Name: U aaaa and 5 [sic: 4] companions This [group] totalling 5 people have been doing duty as Servants with our Army starting from 13-11-2000 through to 16-11-2000. [They] Have fully completed their duty, so have been released to go back, and [they] are recommended. [Sd.] [Group] Members (5) people [This is a pass given to a group of 5 villagers to allow them to return to their village after they have completed 4 days of forced labour. Without such a pass, they would have a good chance of being arrested and detained along the way for being outside their village, or grabbed for forced labour along the way by another Army unit.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #15 (Papun) To: [You] Have to coordinate and carry out the matter of clearing the scrub on the left and right sides of the road and filling the [potholes on the] road with earth, so come and arrive at yyyy village monastery on 19-11-2000 at (0900) hours in the morning, you are informed. [Sd.] [On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Village". The village head told KHRG that on the morning of 19-11-2000, 15 villagers from xxxx village went to the monastery as ordered and did the labour. He said that they have no option but to comply because the SPDC camp is very near their village.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #16 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Date: 20-11-2000 Subject: Operations servant porters Reference: In accordance with the order of the Ma Ya Ka [Township PDC], send without fail operations servant porters (1 person and one fraction) as below, you are informed. Date: 27-11-2000 Pay quickly the rest of the money [Sd.]cccc [Operations servants are porters for long term forced labour on frontline operations. Everyone is terrified of this kind of forced labour, and villagers cannot be coerced into doing it except at gunpoint, so whenever possible they pay to get out of it. In this case the village is being ordered to pay for ‘1 person and a fraction’, meaning the standard bribe for one person plus some fraction of a person; for example, if the village tract has been ordered to provide 6 people and there are 4 villages in the tract, each village has to pay enough for 1½ people. On the back this order is addressed to "U aaaa, U bbbb, Village Heads, xxxx [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #17 (Toungoo) Stamp: 20-11-2000 To: Subject: To clear the servant hiring fees to hire [forced labour] for the #xxx [Infantry Battalion] Column Regarding the above subject, from the Chairperson’s village the balance of servant fees to hire [forced labour] for the #xxx Column is 20,200 Kyat, send it to arrive this evening on 20-11-200[0], writing this letter to inform you. [Sd.]20-11-2000 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #18 (Toungoo) To: Frontline #xxx Light Infantry Battalion Subject: Calling loh ah pay
[Sd.] Copies to- ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #19 (Toungoo) To: Stamp: Subject: Asking help for loh ah pay To send rations to the yyyy Base Camp of Frontline #xxx Infantry Battalion, gather a [group] strength of 10 people from xxxx village at the zzzz rations storehouse on the morning of 27/11/2000 (Monday), you are informed. * To send [On the back of this order the Commander has written "xxxx [village], 10 people for 4 sacks of rice". Each sack weighs 50 kg/110 lb, so it takes 2-3 people to carry it to an SPDC camp in the hills as this order tells them to do. The villagers of the same village had just been forced to do the same labour one week earlier (see Order #11).] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #20 (Papun) To: 29-11-2000 For a one-day return trip carrying rations for #xxx [Operations Command], send 1 loh ah pay person from the Elder’s village to deliver the rations, to arrive at yyyy tomorrow on 30-11-2000 at 6 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. If [you will] hire, send [the money] for one person today or tomorrow on time. [Sd.] [This order gives the village head the option of sending a person to carry supplies to an outlying camp or sending money so that the village tract can hire someone to go in their place.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #21 (Papun) To: 30-11-2000 [We] Have to continue delivering rations tomorrow on 1-12-2000, so not only one person from your Elder’s village is to deliver rations. Give 2 more people, you are informed. Note: Arrive without fail at yyyy on 1-12-2000 at 6 o’clock in the morning. Today, received the money (500K [kyat]). [Sd.] [This concerns forced labour carrying rations to outlying Army posts. It is a follow-up to Order #20, which demanded only 1 person.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #22 (Papun) Stamp: [You] Must give one person each day to yyyy [Army] Camp as regular set tha [messengers]. The Chairperson yourself must come to the Camp to clear the set tha fees that have been used to hire [messengers], you are informed. [Sd.] 30-11-2000 [This means that the village has not been sending daily forced labour messengers as ordered, so the Army is demanding money and ordering that from now on these messengers must be sent or paid for.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #23 (Toungoo) Stamp: To deliver rations from the IB #xxx Column at yyyy village to zzzz, the Chairperson and Secretary must come without fail with 20 villagers to meet with the Column Commander on 4-12-2000 (Monday), you are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #24 (Papun) To: 4-12-2000 Come quickly to pay the fees for 2 people for the one-day return trip to zzzz carrying rations [which occurred] on 1-12-2000, you are informed again. [Sd.] [This means that the village was supposed to send 2 people to carry SPDC rations on December 1st but did not, so they are being ordered to pay money instead. There is an Army camp at zzzz.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #25 (Papun) To: 7-12-2000 To harvest the paddy for xxx [Battalion], send 3 loh ah pay people from the Elder’s village to harvest paddy to yyyy tomorrow on 8-12-2000, to arrive at 7 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. [Sd.] [This order was followed by Order #27 two days later; see also the explanatory notes after Order #27.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #26 (Toungoo) Stamp: To: Subject: Calling for a meeting and calling for loh ah pay Regarding the above subject matter, to hold the Village Chairpersons meeting [we] have already called [you] by letter or messenger many times, but [you] did not come to meet the Column Commander at all. Moreover, [you] also do not come and help with loh ah pay. Therefore, when this letter is received, the Chairperson / Secretary and Village Mothers and Village Fathers must come (without fail) and meet with the Frontline #xxx Column Commander, and send without fail 20 loh ah pay villagers to yyyy village on Sunday. This is the last warning, you are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #27 (Papun) To: 9-12-2000 Xxx [Battalion] wants to meet and discuss with the Elder, so come and wait at the yyyy Chairperson’s house tomorrow on 10-12-2000 at 10 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. Why didn’t you come to harvest the paddy yesterday? Have [you] finished clearing the scrub along the roadside? [Sd.] [This order followed Order #25. Many SPDC Battalions have confiscated farmland from the villages, then force the villagers to plant, tend and harvest the crops for them. The village head is being summoned for a lecture from the local Light Infantry Battalion because his village failed to send forced labourers to harvest rice for #xxx Battalion as ordered (as can be seen in Order #35, the whole village was ordered once again to go and harvest on December 18th). The village tract head is also concerned to find out if the village has completed their other forced labour assignment to clear the scrub from the roadsides.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #28 (Papun) To: 9-12-2000 The Operations Command will send supplies to zzzz [Army camp], so send 1 loh ah pay person from the Elder’s village to yyyy to arrive at 6 o’clock tomorrow morning on 10-12-2000. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #29 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: To: Subject: The matter of arranging and sending Reference: LIB xxx 1. Regarding the matter in the above reference letter, it is directed to arrange and send servants , so do not fail to send and hand over 2 people for servants ( Two people ) from the Elder’s Section / Village Tract as specified below, you are informed. Date: 10-12-2000 Note: If [you] fail, are late or the quantity is low [lower than specified], it will be the responsibility of the concerned Ya Ya Ka [VPDC] group. [Sd.] Copies to - [blank] [The following note is added at the bottom in a different handwriting:] On 11-12-2000, received the Ah Ya Pa [PDC] fees. [Sd.] [This is a stock form with blanks as shown. This copy has had the stamp affixed as shown at the top, the blanks have been filled in using a blue felt tip marker with the details shown here in bold italics, the signature and the stamp below the signature have been affixed. The date written at the top is clearly December 30th, but both dates at the bottom show that it should be December 10th. The note at the bottom was added by someone else and the meaning is unclear.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #30 (Papun) To: 12-12-2000 Children under 5 years old and pregnant women to be vaccinated must come without fail to yyyy [village] tomorrow on 13-12-2000 at 8 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. The servant will be kept only for 2 days. Take care of this as well. [Sd.] [‘The servant’ is a villager who has been sent for forced labour.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #31 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Date: 15-12-2000 Subject: The matter of repairing xxxx bridge The xxxx Column Commander has ordered the repair of the xxxx Bridge which has been destroyed, so the responsible person must come and bring 1 loh ah pay person with food for 1 day to the zzzz Camp Commander, you are informed. The loh ah pay volunteer must not be female. Arrive and gather at zzzz village at 6 o’clock, then send [them]. [Sd.]bbbb [The order to ‘arrive and gather’ means that other villages are also being ordered to send people, so they are to assemble at zzzz village and then proceed to the Army camp together. On the back this order is addressed to "U aaaa, VPDC, xxxx [Village]". Orders #31, 32, 46, 50 and 52 are all concerned with forcing all of the villages in the tract to repair this particular bridge.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #32 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Date: 16-12-2000 Subject: To repair the xxxx bridge Starting from 16-12-2000, send 1 loh ah pay person every day. [Also] Report information to the zzzz Camp Commander. If [you] fail, it will be your responsibility. [Sd.] [Orders #31, 32, 46, 50 and 52 are all concerned with forcing all of the villages in the tract to repair this particular bridge.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #33 (Toungoo) Stamp: Date: 16-12-2000 To: Chairperson, Secretary, Section Leaders, Upper/Lower xxxx Village Subject: Informing the concerned loh ah pay groups
Cut the cane [to lengths of] 4 cubits, then split the cane to use for tying. Note: When [you] come on Monday, the Chairperson and Secretary also must come. [Sd.] [4 cubits is 6 feet / 2 metres. The reference to using the split lengths of cane is not clear, though it may mean for use in tying the bamboo poles into bundles.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #34 (Toungoo) Stamp: 16-12-2000 Subject: Calling Servants
[Sd.] Must send the servants, you are informed again. [Sd.] [This order was initially written in blue ink, then the place where the ‘servants’ are to be sent was changed so the officer used correction fluid and wrote ‘to yyyy’ in red ink overtop. He also added the note at the bottom and the second signature (of the same person) in red ink.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #35 (Papun) To: 18-12-2000 To harvest the paddy for xxx [Battalion], come to send the whole village, one person per house from the Elder’s village, to yyyy tomorrow on 19-12-2000 at 7 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. Note: Bring along rice packs [precooked rice for the afternoon meal]. [Sd.] [Many SPDC Battalions have confiscated farmland from the villages, then force the villagers to plant, tend and harvest the crops for them. Later the same day this order was superseded by Order #36 below sent to the same village.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #36 (Papun) To: 18-12-2000 For 2 days’ continuous loh ah pay on the 20th-21st sending rations [a distance of] one day’s return trip, the Elder’s village must send 3 sacks of rice each day, 6 sacks for the 2 days, and must go to sleep at Papun tomorrow evening on 19-12-2000, so the Elder yourself must come to deliver the loh ah pay [people] to yyyy on 19-12-2000, Tuesday evening at half past 4 o’clock, you are informed. Note: Carry this out without fail. Tomorrow, [you] do not need to harvest the paddy for xxx [Battalion]. [Sd.] [This order superseded Order #35 above, telling the villagers that they are to do forced labour carrying rations instead of harvesting rice as originally ordered. This means that the village must carry sacks of Army ration rice from Papun to an outlying SPDC camp. They are to make 2 trips, each taking one full day; this village must send enough people to carry three 50-kilogram (110 lb) sacks on each trip, but other villages will have to send people as well. Carrying a 50-kilogram sack through the hills all day will require at least 2 or 3 people per sack, so the village must send 6-9 people. The forced labourers are to come to Papun the day before the labour to sleep there and get an early start on the 20th.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #37 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Village Tract Peace and Development Council Subject: Operations servant porters Reference: Directive from Sa Ka Ka [Military Operations Command] Operations servant porter - 1 person, one person, from the Elder’s village - send without fail as below, you are informed. Date: 27-12-2000 Copies to: Village VPDC [Sd.] bbbb [Operations servants are porters for long term forced labour on frontline operations, the most feared form of forced labour in Burma. On the back this order is addressed "To U aaaa, VPDC, xxxx Village".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #38 (Toungoo) Stamp: To: Subject: Summoning loh ah pay Regarding the above subject, to do loh ah pay constructing a road, come and send 2 loh ah pay people to yyyy Army Camp to arrive on 30-12-2000 at 8 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. [Sd.] 29/12 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #39 (Papun) To: One man from each house in your village must come to report at yyyy camp at 8 o’clock in the morning. Bring along bamboo and morning rice [breakfast]. [Sd.] [The order to bring along bamboo implies that the work will be forced labour fencing or doing other construction work at the camp.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #40 (Papun) To: xxxx village head, writing this letter to you. Letting you know that your villagers all came and went back. One person from each house must come tomorrow. The fire burned all the hill fields. You must come tomorrow. Letting you know like this. Bo aaaa orders it. [This means that the villagers were used as forced labour to burn off the Army’s hillside rice field, and they must now come back to continue the clearing work.] ______________________________________________________________________________ |
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Order #41 (Dooplaya) To: (xxxx [village] Chairperson) One of your wontan [servants] can’t [work anymore], so come to replace [him/her] quickly. [Unsigned] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #42 (Toungoo) To: Subject: Come to send porters (fees) in their entirety. [I am] Writing these few words to tell the Pastor, Elder and all the villagers, because if you don’t come to send the porters (fees) on time or you don’t send the complete amount, we can’t do anything. You should understand and comply for sure and send [them] next week on time on Monday. I am pleading with you in writing for you to understand. Send for sure. Signed, [Sd. ‘aaaa’] [This letter from a village tract head to a local village head is a warning that if they continue to fail to pay the forced labour fees, ‘we can’t do anything’ to stop the Army from taking action against the village, which would normally involve storming the village and rounding up villagers for forced labour.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #43 (Toungoo) Stamp: Subject: The matter of sending letter chaw [‘letter porters’, i.e. messengers] every day Regarding the above subject, in accordance with the directive of the Battalion Commander, Frontline #xxx Infantry Battalion, send 1 villager every day from the Elder’s village every day [sic: ‘every day’ is written twice], you are informed. Therefore, if [you] do not obey, it will be your own responsibility, you are informed. [Sd.]
[In the above order ‘Letter chaw’ means villagers to do forced labour as messengers between Army units and delivering order documents such as this one. Villages are routinely ordered to send 1 or 2 people each day for a 24-hour shift of this forced labour at each of the local Army camps.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #44 (Papun) To: 5 wontan [servant] people from the Elder’s village who were accompanying [the Army] to carry things have fled and gone back, so the Chairperson yourself must come without fail carrying a firebrand to deliver and hand over 10 people to take their place. [Sd.]Captain [This order was clearly issued late in the day, and specifies that the village head should ‘carry a firebrand’ to light his way (flashlights are presumed to be tools of resistance forces, so villagers are told that anyone seen carrying a flashlight will be shot), meaning he is to come immediately in the dark with the 10 forced labour porters. The number of forced labourers has been doubled as a punishment. On the back of this order the village head has made a list of 10 names, presumably the villagers who will have to go.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #45 (Papun) To: Chairperson Subject: Informing you to send the loh ah pay Regarding this matter, the Elder yourself must come to send the two loh ah pay people from the Elder’s village to yyyy today, Monday, 1-1-2001, to arrive at 1200 hours, you are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #46 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Village Peace and Development Council To: U aaaa + U bbbb (VPDC) Subject: The matter of sending the loh ah pay for building the bridge Regarding the above subject, to build the yyyy bridge the Elder yourself must come from the Elder’s village to hand over 2 loh ah pay people with food for 2 days, machetes, and hatchets to zzzz Camp on 3-1-2001 at 7 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. Do not fail. [Sd.] [See also Order #52 below. Orders #31, 32, 46, 50 and 52 are all concerned with forcing all of the villages in the tract to repair this particular bridge.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #47 (Papun) To: [I] Am writing a letter. Send without fail 3 people who can saw to yyyy [Army] Camp, to arrive tomorrow at 8 o’clock, you are informed. Send them for sure. [Sd.] [On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Village".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #48 (Papun) Peace and Development Council 3-1-2001 Informing [you] as soon as you receive this letter immediately send 2 carriers [porters] from the Elder’s village as soon as you receive this letter, now, with this messenger. (1) Carrier [Sd.] [‘Send quickly’ has been written on the back of this order.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #49 (Papun) Peace and Development Council 3-1-2001 As soon as you receive this letter send immediately 1 carrier [porter] as soon as you receive this letter. (1) Carrier [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #50 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: #xxx Light Infantry Battalion, Column #x To: Subject: The matter of loh ah pay for yyyy Bridge To repair the yyyy bridge which has been destroyed, the Elders’ villages were already informed to send 2 people by rotation from each group of say d’nah shin loh ah pay [loh ah pay workers who are actually volunteers, in the true meaning of ‘loh ah pay’]. But this has failed, so starting on 5-1-2001 every day the person responsible must come yourself to hand over [2 forced labourers] to the zzzz Camp Commander along with 1 week’s food, you are informed again. [Sd.] [This is a handwritten carbon-copied order sent to several villages with the village name written in afterward on each copy. In this order the Column Commander claims that he tried to implement something closer to the real meaning of ‘loh ah pay’ by asking for each village to send 2 people at a time who actually volunteered for the work on the bridge. No one came, so now he demands the forced labour in the usual fashion, ordering that 2 forced labourers be sent with enough food to last them for 1 week of labour. Orders #31, 32, 46, 50 and 52 are all concerned with forcing all of the villages in the tract to repair this particular bridge.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #51 (Papun) To: 3/1/2001 The Elder yourself must come and hand over 3 people from the Elder’s village for carrying supplies, [hand them over] to the Chairperson tonight, 3/1/2001, at 4 o’clock in the evening, you are informed. [Sd.] [‘Carrying supplies’ means that the Army has demanded forced labourers to carry Army supplies to outlying posts, and the village tract is calling a few people from each village to come and do it. On the back this order is addressed "To U aaaa, xxxx [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #52 (Nyaunglebin) To: Date: 4-1-2001 Subject: The matter of sending loh ah pay for building yyyy bridge Regarding the above subject, to build yyyy bridge [we] had already informed the Elder’s village to send 2 loh ah pay people, but the Column Commander is informing [you] again that [they] haven’t been sent yet up until today. Therefore, send 2 loh ah pay people for duty with 2 days’ food / machetes to zzzz Camp on 5-1-2001, you are informed. Do not fail. [Sd.] [This order is a follow up to Order #46 above. Orders #31, 32, 46, 50 and 52 are all concerned with forcing all of the villages in the tract to repair this particular bridge.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #53 (Papun) #xxx Light Infantry Battalion Subject: Calling a meeting 1. Regarding the above subject, as soon as you receive this informing letter come quickly to yyyy village to the LIB #xxx column and [we] will discuss the matter of building the road. 2. If you do not come [our] Army will come ourselves, and it will be the responsibility of the Chairperson, you are informed. 3. Bring 5 carriers [porters]. [Sd.] [Item 2 is a clear threat that the troops will plunder the village and arrest the village head.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #54 (Papun) To: 5/1/2001 As soon as you receive this letter come immediately with 5 carriers [porters] and the 2 village heads. [Sd.] [This order is addressed to 2 village elders and was written in red ink, which indicates urgency and an implicit threat of punishment for failure to comply.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #55 (Papun) Stamp: To: Subject: Calling 6 adults with 3 days’ rations to come to the 2 sentry huts from xxxx village. Regarding the above subject, build the 2 sentry huts for xxxx village on the left and right sides of the road. [You] Have to station 3 people in each sentry hut, so send 6 adult people to arrive on the 6th, you are informed. [Sd.] [Villagers are routinely forced to rotate 24 or 48 hour shifts as unarmed sentries along roads used by the military; their villages are then held responsible for any opposition activity which happens along their stretch of road. The village head told KHRG that these two sentry huts were built by his villagers three days later. See also Orders #56 and 62.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #56 (Papun) Stamp: 5-1-2001 To: Subject: Calling for 3 sentry huts and 6 adult people from yyyy village Regarding the above subject matter, build 3 sentry huts on the left and right sides of the vehicle road. Then 2 people for each sentry hut, 6 people [altogether], must bring along rice and cookpots and stand sentry. The 6 people for the 3 sentry huts are to bring along clothing, blankets, and mosquito nets and come to arrive tomorrow on the 6th at (0900) hours, you are informed.
[In Karen areas, villagers living near vehicle roads are always forced to built sentry huts and take turns doing 24-hour shifts as unarmed sentries in order to protect military convoys from attack. If ambushes or landmines occur on the road, their village is severely punished, sometimes by being burned and relocated. This order is addressed to ‘xxxx’ village, its Karen name, and in brackets ‘yyyy’ village, its Burmese name. See also Orders #55 and 62.]
______________________________________________________________________________ Order #57 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Peace and Development Council Subject: To pay the Tha Ka Sa Pa support money The Elder’s village must pay 6,200 Kyat in cash for the 12th month [December] right now with the letter porter [the villager doing forced labour who has brought this letter], you are informed. [It is] Emergency money, so carry this out. [Sd.] [On the back this order is addressed to "U aaaa, zzzz [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #58 (Nyaunglebin) To: 6-1-2001
[Sd.]6-1-2001 [The SPDC is now ordering most villages in Karen areas to ‘fence themselves in’ by building fences around the entire village perimeter with only one or two gates, and forbidding villagers to go outside the fence without a pass. This makes it very difficult to tend crops and also requires a great deal of forced labour gathering and preparing the fencing materials (usually split bamboo) and building the fence itself, which can be up to several kilometres long. On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Village".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #59 (Papun) To: 6-1-2001 The carrying of supplies started on the 3rd, so it has been 4 days already including today. If the days become many [and you still haven’t sent people or paid], it isn’t good. Therefore, when this letter is received come without fail to yyyy, you are informed. From the 3rd to the 6th, for 4 days, 3 people cost 6,000 K [kyat]. If 1,000 K are paid, the remainder will be 5,000. Afterwards, give only 2 people, but people must come. [Sd.] [This means that the Army has already been using villagers as forced labour to carry supplies for the past 4 days, but as this village hasn’t sent anyone the village tract has hired 3 people to send in their place. However, they haven’t sent money to pay for this either, so the last sentence tells the village head that from now on he must send people and not money.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #60 (Papun) To: Head, Sell 3 viss [4.8 kgs. / 10.8] of chicken to the set tha [messenger] who comes now. [I] Will pay the money at the current price. Head, bring along three wood cutters. When the [Village] Head arrives [we] will pay the price of the chickens. The three wood cutters and the [Village] Head must come to yyyy camp at 0800 hours. Please pick and bring four papaya. [Sd.] [The village head told KHRG that the soldiers gave the villagers only 400 Kyat and that villagers in the area normally buy and sell chickens for 1,000 Kyat per viss.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #61 (Papun) Stamp: To: Date: 8-1-2001 Subject: Summoning [you] to report information 1. Regarding the above subject, wood is needed for the teaching school at yyyy Village, and the Chairperson yourself must supervise the sawyers [wood cutters], so come and report information to yyyy Camp to arrive on 9-1-2001 at 10 o’clock in the morning. 2. When [they] come, must bring along beds [sleeping mats] and other needs, you are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #62 (Papun) Stamp: To: Chairperson, I am respectfully writing a letter. The matter is that [we] called two loh ah pay people from yyyy village. That village must take responsibility for three sentry huts for road security. That village has asked to reduce the loh ah pay. Therefore, [we] are calling only one [person] from that village. Send the remaining two people from xxxx village, or we want xxxx village to take responsibility for one of yyyy village’s sentry huts. In that village there are only six people, so if they have to take responsibility for three sentry huts they will have a problem. Therefore, the Chairperson’s village must take responsibility for one sentry hut from yyyy, and for our column [also] send one loh ah pay person. Arrange [it], you are informed. Respectfully, [Villages are usually ordered to provide two villagers to stand as unarmed sentries in each of the village’s assigned sentry huts along vehicle roads, in order to protect SPDC military convoys (see for example Orders #55 and 56). There are only six people available from yyyy village, so xxxx village must send two villagers to make up the quota. This is in addition to the villagers which xxxx must send to stand guard at its own sentry huts as well as other forced labour, such as the one person demanded for the column in this order.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #63 (Papun) Stamp: To: Subject: Informing [you] to fence the left/right sides of the car road. Regarding the above subject, in accordance with the area assigned to your village, carry out the fencing of the left/right sides of the road by 15-1-2001. You are informed. [Sd.] [Each village is assigned a length of the road which they must clear of brush. This order was hand copied and sent out by IB #xxx to the villages along the road. See also Orders #64, 65, and 66, which were sent to other villages in the area.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #64 (Papun) Stamp: To: Subject: Informing [you] to fence the left/right sides of the car road Regarding the above subject, in accordance with the area assigned to your village, carry out the fencing of the left/right sides of the road by 15-1-2001. You are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #65 (Papun) Stamp: To: Subject: Informing [you] to fence the left/right sides of the car road Regarding the above subject, in accordance with the area assigned to your village, carry out the fencing of the left/right sides of the road by 15-1-2001. You are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #66 (Papun) Stamp: To: Subject: Informing [you] to fence the left/right sides of the car road Regarding the above subject, in accordance with the area assigned to your village, carry out the fencing of the left/right sides of the road by 15-1-2001. You are informed. aaaa [officer’s name] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #67 (Papun) Stamp: To: Subject: Informing [you] to build a fence on the left / right sides of the vehicle road Regarding the above subject, [you] must carry out fencing along the left / right sides of the road in your village area and finish on 15/1/2001, you are informed. [Sd.] [Villages are routinely forced to clear wide ‘killing grounds’ and build fences along the entire length of roads in the area of their village which are used by SPDC military vehicles, as a security measure. They are then forced to stand sentry along the roads (see Orders #55, 56 and 62).] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #68 (Papun) To: 10-1-2001 Today early in the morning, U bbbb from xxxx [village] went back. As soon as this letter is received, send a replacement for bbbb. Tomorrow early in the morning replace one worker for the Papun – Kaw Boke road, send one person tomorrow in the early morning. Also take care of the rest of the money [owed] from before (2,000 K[kyat]), [send it] now with the person who is replacing bbbb. [Sd.] [This means that one of the villagers doing forced labour on the road (U bbbb) either fled or returned home because he was ill, and an immediate replacement is being demanded.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #69 (Papun) Stamp: Date: 10-1-2001 2 loh ah pay people from the Chairperson’s village have fled. Come to send replacements for these 2 loh ah pay people to yyyy to arrive on 11-1-2001. If villagers with our Mobile Column escape or don’t come [for forced labour] and our Column arrives at their village, the Column will not be at fault [for whatever punishments it imposes], you are informed. [Sd.] [The village head told KHRG that the people who fled had been ordered to go for 3 days of forced labour but were then held by the Army for 10 days before they fled, so the village did not send the replacements as demanded herein. "The Column will not be at fault" is a serious threat, meaning the Column will be given full impunity to pillage or destroy the village and capture as many villagers as it pleases.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #70 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Frontline #xxx Light Infantry Battalion, Column #x To: Subject: To send loh ah pay 1. To repair yyyy [Army] Camp, send 3 loh ah pay people with food for 3 days without fail (without fail) from the Elder’s village to zzzz Army Camp to arrive on 12-1-2001 at (1500) hours in the evening. 2. The loh ah pay [people] are not to be too young or too old, and the Elder yourself is to supervise, arrange and carry this out, you are informed. Note: Reply by letter when [you] receive this letter. Bring machetes / mattocks [large hoes]. [Sd.] [The following note was added to the bottom in different handwriting:] Date: 12-1-2001- [The note added to the bottom by the VPDC chairman makes it clear that the village tract sent the 3 labourers the following day as ordered.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #71 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Date: 11-1-2001 Subject: The matter of sending Kyauk Taung loh ah pay [Regarding] The above subject, from the Elder’s village, the Elder yourself must come (without fail) and hand over 1 loh ah pay person for duty, bringing along food for 3 days and machete, to U bbbb’s house in zzzz [village] on 12-1-2001 at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, you are informed.
[Sd.] [The ‘training cost money’ is for training the villagers who have been forcibly conscripted into the Pyitthu Sit militia. ‘Kyauk Taung loh ah pay’ means forced labour carrying supplies to an SPDC Army camp at Kyauk Taung; villagers in this area are regularly forced to do this. On the back this order is addressed to "U aaaa, VPDC, xxxx [village]", and the village head has written as below representing money extorted from the names of other village heads:] cccc 11th month /1,000/ 12th month / 800 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #72 (Dooplaya) Stamp: Frontline #xxx Light Infantry Battalion To: Subject: Informing [you] of the matter of xxxx loh ah pay
[Sd.] [This order was copied to all villages in Kyaikdon village tract, with the village name, headperson’s name, and date written in on each copy. Kyaikdon is a main village in central Dooplaya which was a peaceful trading village until 1997, when SPDC troops overran it. All Muslims were driven out of the village and their mosque was bulldozed, and the troops heavily garrisoned the village, converting the former schools into their Army camps.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #73 (Papun) To: 13-1-2001 For the Papun – Kaw Boke road, send one person back. [Your villagers] Went last week for 4 days, so [you] have to go for 2 days of this week. Therefore, for the Papun – Kaw Boke road send one person from the Elder’s village to the yyyy [village] Chairperson tomorrow on 14-1-2001, Sunday, at 7 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. Carry this out without fail. Also send the rest of the money (2,000 K[kyat]) for carrying supplies. [Sd.] [There is a major SPDC garrison at Papun, and in 1995-97 a road was built with forced labour to a new Army camp at Kaw Boke. The villagers are regularly forced to carry supplies along this road, which is only passable to vehicles for part of the year. Every year the road must be entirely rebuilt after rainy season; the people demanded by this order are to be used for road rebuilding work. The 2,000 Kyat "for carrying supplies" is money in lieu of forced labour which the villagers didn’t do. This order was followed by Order #74 below.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #74 (Papun) To: 14-1-2001 Why weren’t the people sent today for the Papun – Kaw Boke vehicle road? [We] Heard the news that "Pu bbbb" [a Karen person’s name, written in Karen] would come, but didn’t see [him] come. [We] Started [work on the road] on Sunday 14-1-2001, today (this morning at 7 o’clock). To substitute a person, [we] got one person from yyyy section of Papun. Regarding that matter, U aaaa yourself (or) another person instead must come to meet with me at the zzzz Chairperson’s house tomorrow, Monday, at 12 o’clock, you are informed. (Note) Do not fail- [Sd.] [This order followed Order #73 above. This means that forced labour on the road began on the day this letter was sent, but as the recipient’s village didn’t send anyone, the village tract chairperson found someone to take their place from Papun town. The recipient village will probably be forced to pay the cost of hiring this person and to send people on the following days.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #75 (Papun) Stamp: To: U aaaa, [in the] morning of 17-1-2001 U aaaa yourself must come to yyyy camp with 2 bullock carts to arrive at 0600 hours, you are informed. [Sd.] [Demands for bullock carts also include the bullock team and cart owner for forced labour.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #76 (Papun) To: 19-1-2001 Chairperson – come early to yyyy village with 1 loh ah pay person on 20-1-2001. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #77 (Papun) To: Chairperson Date: 20-1-2001 The 2 loh ah pay people are overdue, so come to change [them] today, 20-1-2001 near yyyy sawmill. [Sd.] [The village must send forced labourers on a regular rotation; in this case, the officer is complaining that the fresh labourers have not arrived on schedule to replace the present shift, so they must come immediately. Village heads have trouble finding people to go for forced labour so they are often late in sending the new shift; when this happens, the old shift is detained for labour until their replacements arrive.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #78 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: #xxx Light Infantry Battalion, Column #x To: Subject: To send loh ah pay 1. To repair yyyy [Army] Camp, come to send 3 loh ah pay people with food for 5 days from the Elder’s village to zzzz Army Camp to arrive on 21-1-2001 at (1400) hours in the afternoon. 2. The loh ah pay [people] must bring along their machetes / spades, and to ensure the full number of people, the Chairpersons / Secretaries yourselves must come to deliver them without fail (without fail), you are informed. [Sd.] [This is a handwritten carbon-copied order sent to several villages with the village name written in afterward on each copy. On the back this order the commander wrote "Emergency/Urgent" in red ink, and "Give to Chairperson, xxxx tract". The village head wrote as below:] xxxx [village] finished reading. Note: 1. xxxx [village] 1 person ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #79 (Papun) To: Date: 20-1-2001 The loh ah pay [people] who were going along with the Mobile Column have fled, so the Elder yourself must come quickly today to send more [replacement porters] to the sawmill near yyyy. If [you] fail, it will be the Elder’s responsibility. [They] Fled, so bring 50 kyat tha [800 g / 1.75 lb] of a chicken. [Bring also] 1 Bowl of sticky-rice. [Sd.] [A direct translation of the start of the above order would be "The loh ah pay’s", i.e. it is clearly in the plural. When a village sends forced labourers and they flee, the village is normally forced to send replacements as well as a fine, like the chicken and sticky-rice mentioned in this order. In addition, the officers often demand that those who fled be handed over for additional ‘punishment’ forced labour.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #80 (Papun) To: Date: 20-1-2001 The loh ah pay [people] from the Elder’s village flee very often, so as soon as this letter is received the Elder yourself must come to send 2 loh ah pay people to the sawmill near yyyy, to arrive on 20-1-2001. If [you] fail, the Elder will be tied up with rope. For the loh ah pay who fled, [bring a fine of] 2 packets of jaggery and and 2 bowls [4 kg/8.8 lb] of sticky-rice. [Sd.] [This order was sent by the same officer but to a different village on the same day as Order #79; clearly several of the forced labour porters fled the column so all the villages who sent the labour are to be punished. When a village sends forced labourers and they flee, the village is normally forced to send replacements as well as a fine, like the jaggery [slabs of hardened crystallised sugar cane juice] and sticky-rice mentioned in this order. In addition, the officers often demand that those who fled be handed over for additional ‘punishment’ forced labour.] ______________________________________________________________________________ |
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Order #81 (Dooplaya) Stamp: Date: Year 2001, January 20th To: Subject: More wood is needed for the rice storehouse Regarding the above subject, [we] need your 4 villages to take duty to provide 16 pieces of 5x2 [inch], 10 taung [cubits in length] wood, so each village must [provide] 4 pieces of 5x2, 10 taung wood. The quota allotted for the rice storehouse, whether [you’re] finished sending it or not, send it. To build the rice storehouse, bring also 500 Kyat for the cost of nails, 2 saws, 2 axes, 2 grubbing hoes and the allotted [quota of] thatch. To build the rice storehouse, call one person from each house for loh ah pay with rice packs, and come quickly without fail to build the rice storehouse on 23-1-2001, you are informed. [Sd.]20/1/2001 [The village where the storehouse is to be built has been heavily militarised and garrisoned by the SPDC. The troops force the people of surrounding villages to hand over their rice and receive it back as daily rations, and the rice storehouse is most likely to be built to store this rice and other rice confiscated for consumption of the troops. See also Order #98 on the same subject.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #82 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: To: Subject: The matter of arranging and sending Reference: According to the directive of Sa Ba Ha 2 [Strategic Operations Command 2] 1. Regarding the matter in the above reference letter, it is directed to arrange and send operation servants , so do not fail to send and hand over 2 operations people (Two people) from the Elder’s Section / Village Tract as specified below, you are informed. Date: 25-1-2001 Note: If [you] fail, are late or the quantity is low [lower than specified], it will be the responsibility of the concerned Ya Ya Ka [VPDC] group. [Sd.] Copies to - [This is a stock form with blanks as shown. This copy has had the stamp affixed as shown at the top, the blanks have been filled in using a blue felt tip marker with the details shown here in bold italics, the signature and the note ‘Come to hand over on time’ have been added in pen, and the stamp below the signature has been affixed. The form was printed with the year 2000 at the top but the sender has changed it to 2001. ‘Operation servants’ are porters for long term forced labour on frontline operations with Army columns on patrol or on the offensive, which is the most dreaded form of forced labour in Burma.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #83 (Papun) To: Stamp: Come to change the loh ah pay people. Come and send [them] to near yyyy sawmill to arrive at 12 o’clock. If you fail it is the Elder’s responsibility. Column Commander ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #84 (Papun) To: Stamp: The loh ah pay people are running away. As soon as you receive this letter, come immediately to send it [10 viss of pork – see note below] to near the yyyy sawmill and arrive at 12 o’clock. If you do not come it is the responsibility of the Elder. [Sd.] [The village head told KHRG that two porters had fled so the soldiers fined the village 10 viss (16 kg / 36 lb) of pork, which was given to the soldiers on 25-1-2001.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #85 (Papun) To: 21-1-2001 xxxx [village] had to restart on 18-1-2001 with workers to repair the Papun – Kaw Boke road. 20-1-2001 was already the 3rd day. Take care of the cost money for this at your convenience today or tomorrow, you are informed. [There was] No time to inform [you] in advance, so [we] hired [workers to take your place]. [I] Want this to be understood. [Sd.] [There is a major SPDC garrison at Papun, and in 1995-97 a road was built with forced labour to a new Army camp at Kaw Boke. The villagers are regularly forced to carry supplies along this road, which is only passable to vehicles for part of the year. Every year the road must be entirely rebuilt after rainy season. This order means that the Army demanded that villagers be sent for forced labour repairing the road starting on January 18th, but the village tract chairperson had no time to get people from the villages so he hired people to go in their place, and only now after the fact is he notifying the villages that they must send money in lieu of the forced labourers they didn’t send. See also Orders #68, 73, 74, and 97.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #86 (Papun) To: Stamp: The loh ah pay is already past due, so as soon as you receive this letter the Elder yourself must come to change [them], to arrive near yyyy sawmill on 22-1-2001 in the evening. Do not fail, carry this out seriously. [Sd.] [The village must send forced labourers on a regular rotation; in this case, the officer is complaining that the fresh labourers have not arrived on schedule to replace the present shift, so they must come immediately. Village heads have trouble finding people to go for forced labour so they are often late in sending the new shift; when this happens, the old shift is detained for labour until their replacements arrive.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #87 (Papun) To: Stamp: Date: 22-1-2001 1 loh ah pay person has fled and only one is left, and the days [of this shift of forced labour] are over, so as soon as this letter is received, come and replace [them] at the sawmill near yyyy. If [you] fail, it will be the Elder’s responsibility. Summon and bring 2 people. Must arrive on 22-1-2001 in the evening. [Sd.] [This village is forced to provide 2 people at all times to the Army Column on a rotating basis; this time one has fled before his shift is finished, while the second has finished his shift, so the village head is being ordered to replace both of them.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #88 (Papun) [To:] Mother Daw aaaa, 22/1/2001 In the matter of relocating the houses, the Tactical Operations Commander already notified [you] but nothing has changed yet. Ask [the villagers] to finish relocating tomorrow. If finished, reply by set tha [messenger] tomorrow. [Sd.]22/1 [On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Village. >From yyyy [Army Camp]". The village must send a villager as a ‘set tha’ messenger with the reply.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #89 (Papun) [To:] Mother Daw aaaa, [We] Want to know the situation of the relocation of the houses. Reply with the set tha [messenger] who has come now. [Sd.]22/1 [This order was issued on 22/1/2001. A ‘set tha’ is a villager doing forced labour as a messenger.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #90 (Papun) To: Stamp: Date: 24-1-2001 [We] have already ordered [you] to come and send 2 loh ah pay people many times, so as soon as you receive this letter come and send them, informing you again. When you come, bring a half sack [25 kg / 105 lb] of rice from U aaaa’s house. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #91 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Without fail attend the meeting on the date shown below, you are invited. Date - 25-1-2001 Bring along the money for Township servants fees and the money that is owed. [Sd.]bbbb [‘Township servants fees’ is routine extortion money collected in lieu of forced labour and handed over to the township authorities. Villages paying this money still have to do forced labour.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #92 (Papun) To: 24-1-2001 Mother, regarding the bottle of alcohol that Ah Ba Lay [‘little uncle’] asked for, fill [a bottle] with alcohol and give it via this set tha [messenger] now. With friendliness, Major aaaa [On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Village".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #93 (Papun) Stamp: To: The Tactical Operations Commander said that Mother yourself must come to deliver 30 loh ah pay people to yyyy Army Camp tomorrow. Must come without fail. [Sd.]25/1 [On the back this order is addressed "To Mother Daw aaaa, Chairperson, xxxx [village]. From yyyy [Army Camp]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #94 (Papun) [To:] Mother Daw aaaa, This was stated by the Tactical Operations Commander. [Sd.]25/1 [This order was issued on 25/1/2001. On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Village".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #95 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Peace and Development Council Subject: Demanding Township servants Regarding the above matter and the Township directive, Operations Servants are being demanded, so the Elder’s village has the duty of 1¼ servant people. The cost in money is 10,200 K[kyat]), send it (without fail) to the Chairperson on 29-1-2001, you are informed. [Sd.] [Operations servants are porters for long term forced labour on frontline operations. Everyone is terrified of this kind of forced labour, and villagers cannot be coerced into doing it except at gunpoint. In this case the village tract chairperson knows that no one will be sent, so he has divided the number of people demanded between the villages of the tract (this village gets the odd allocation of 1¼ people; for example, if the village tract has been ordered to provide 6 people and there are 4 villages in the tract, each village has to pay enough for 1½ people) and asked for the money required to pay off the military instead.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #96 (Papun) Stamp: To: U aaaa [We] Have a problem with rations for feeding the loh ah pay [people] at the Column, so send 1 sack [50 kg / 110 lb] of rice for them, you are informed. Send [it] with the loh ah pay people who come now. [Sd.] [When villagers are called for forced labour, they must also take along their own food. However, the troops often keep them much longer than the originally specified time period, and when their food runs out the Army demands that their village send more food for them. In this case, the village head told KHRG that the sack of rice was given but no money was paid for it.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #97 (Papun) To: 25-1-2001 For the Papun – Kaw Boke road, xxxx village’s turn for [sending] workers is from the 18th to the 20th, 3 days. Therefore send the cost money of 1,500 K[kyat] with this messenger now. >From the 21st to the 23rd, yyyy [village]. From the 24th to the 26th, xxxx’s turn again. Arrange this [the upcoming 2 shifts of labour] as well. Go for 3 days, rest for 3 days, consistently. If possible, [I] want U aaaa yourself to come and meet with the Chairperson. Schedule of workers for the Kaw Boke road: [Sd.] [There is a major SPDC garrison at Papun, and in 1995-97 a road was built with forced labour to a new Army camp at Kaw Boke. The villagers are regularly forced to carry supplies along this road, which is only passable to vehicles for part of the year. Every year the road must be entirely rebuilt after rainy season (see also Orders #68, 73, 74, and 85). This orders the villages to alternate turns of 3 days work, 3 days rest on the Papun – Kaw Boke vehicle road. However, it appears that the villages often send money instead of going, so this village is being ordered to pay 1,500 Kyat right now because they didn’t send people for their January 18-20 shift. Another order was written on the back of the same sheet, demanding this money again as well as the money for the 24th-26th shift, and is shown below (as can be seen below, the village is actually supposed to send 3 people for each shift of 3 days, and the cost for not sending them is 500 Kyat per person per shift):] From the 18th to 20th 3 days, 1,500 [kyat] Without fail send it now with this set tha [the forced labour messenger who has delivered this order]. If the delay becomes any longer, the money will not be good enough. It could lead to suspicion. [Sd.] [This note is very threatening, implying that if the money is not sent immediately the village head and possibly the entire village will be accused of opposing the SPDC and punished.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #98 (Dooplaya) Stamp: Date: 25-1-2001 Subject: To send loh ah pay for building the rice storehouse Regarding the above subject, for the rice storehouse come and gather with thatch, 10 loh ah pay people, 1 axe, a machete each, and rice packs all complete, at the village tract secretary’s house tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock exactly, you are informed. Note- Do not fail. [Sd.] 25/1/2001 [See also Order #81 on the same subject.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #99 (Pa’an) Stamp: To: 26-1-2001 Subject: Requesting the help of wontan [servants] It is [your] turn to strip the bark from the logs, so the Elder yourself must summon village wontan [servants] from the Elder’s village and come without fail to arrive on 27-1-2001 at 7:00 o’clock. If [you] fail, [we] will send a bullet. (for) Column Commander ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #100 (Toungoo) To:
Regarding the above subject, the villages of xxxx village tract hired 40 people in total as military servants for the month of 12/2000. Collect and send [money] as allocated to each village below, and also come without fail to send the balance of money which is owed for previous months to arrive at the same time on ( 31-1-2001 ), you are informed. 1. aaaa [village] - 21 people (21 x 4,250 ) = 89,250 Kyat 2. bbbb [village] - 8 people ( 8 x 4,250 ) = 34,000 Kyat 3. cccc [village] - 3 people ( 3 x 4,250 ) = 12,750 Kyat 4. dddd [village] - 3 people ( 3 x 4,250 ) = 12,750 Kyat 5. eeee [village] - 4 people ( 4 x 4,250 ) = 17,000 Kyat 6. ffff [village] - 1 person ( 1 x 4,250 ) = 4,250 Kyat [Sd.] [This order relates to the standard "servants’ fees" (often called ‘porter fees’) which villages must all pay every month in addition to the forced labourers they must send. In this Village Tract, the PDC is working closely with the local SPDC Battalions; they receive orders from the Battalions, then pass them on to the elders of all villages under their administration, sometimes with extra demands tacked on to enrich themselves. In the process, a complex system of ‘servants’ and ‘servants’ fees’ has developed within this village tract. Initially the local Battalions issue orders to the Village Tract PDC demanding numbers of forced labourers for a specific purpose. Knowing that the villages do not want to do the labour and will be slow to comply, the Village Tract PDC often hires day labourers through agents in Toungoo, pays for their ‘car fees’ (i.e. transport costs) to the village tract, and supplies them to the SPDC military. The Village Tract PDC then issues orders to the villages under their administration to pay their share of the cost based on the relative size (number of households) of their village; for example, a village may be ordered to pay for 10 of the 80 people hired by the Village Tract PDC. In this order, the amount billed to the villages is 4,000 Kyat for each short-term porter plus 250 Kyat for his ‘car fee’ where necessary. The first part of the order indicates that in December 2000 the village tract was forced to send 40 porters to the local Battalions, and the rest of the order divides up the costs between the villages of the village tract. The payment generally averages out to 1,000 or more Kyat per family per month. The Army also demands many other fees from them, as well as food and, of course, their forced labour as ‘servants’; many families cannot pay, and as can be seen by the ‘balances’ still remaining from previous months, several villages are behind in their payments. Each village in the tract receives a document like this every month, as can be seen by the copies from later months included later in this set.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #101 (Papun) To: 28-1-2001 For the xxxx road, U aaaa said that [you] would come to bbbb’s house in yyyy [village] on 26-1-2001, so [we] sent people to go and see. Why didn’t [you] come? Carry it out without fail today or tomorrow. If possible, U aaaa yourself must come to the Chairperson. [We] Have things to discuss. For the [SPDC] public relations tour, help with 500 K[kyat]. [Sd.] [Village head U aaaa was ordered to bring forced labourers for the xxxx vehicle road on 26-1-2001 and promised the village tract head that he would, but then failed to show up.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #102 (Papun) To: Stamp: From the Elder’s village give 5 loh ah pay people. Come and send them to near the yyyy sawmill on February 1st at 1200 hours. If they don’t arrive it is the responsibility of the Elder, you are informed. Elder yourself. [‘Elder yourself’ means the village head must come to deliver the forced labourers. The village head told KHRG that the villagers didn’t go.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #103 (Papun) To: Stamp: From the Elder’s village give two loh ah pay people. Come to send them to near the yyyy sawmill on February 1st at 1200 hours. Do not fail. If they don’t arrive it is the responsibility of the Elder, you are informed. Elder yourself. [‘Elder yourself’ means the village head must come to send the people. On the back of the note the village head has noted the names of the two villagers who had to go for this forced labour on three different days; 1-2-2001, 3-2-2001, and 5-2-2001.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #104 (Papun) To: Stamp: [We] Are not using or calling 2 loh ah pay people from the Elder’s village, so do it as we have ordered by this messenger now. If [you] fail we will call and use 4 loh ah pay people. [Sd.] [In this classic example of doublespeak, the Commander calls for 2 forced labourers by saying that he is not doing so; that they’d better come without him having to call for them or else he will demand 4 people instead.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #105 (Papun) To: 30-1-2001 From the Elder’s village send 2 bullock carts to LIB #xxx at yyyy to arrive today, you are informed. [Sd.] [Demands for bullock carts require the forced labour of the cart owner and the bullock team as well. The village head told KHRG that the villagers gave one bullock cart for two days.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #106 (Papun) Stamp: Subject: The matter of calling for loh ah pay Regarding the above subject, for the use of the DKBA from yyyy send without fail (without fail) five male loh ah pay servants to the DKBA office on 4-2-2001 to arrive at 6 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. Note: If you fail it is the responsibility of the village head. [Sd.] [The village head told KHRG that the villagers went and had to carry the rice daily from the SPDC Army camp until the rice had all been delivered.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #107 (Papun) To: 6-2-2001 U aaaa, U aaaa, U aaaa, read [this letter] closely. Do not mistake the date. [You] Must help with 10 loh ah pay people from the Chairperson’s village to arrive tomorrow evening on 7-2-2001. If possible, the [village] head must also come. [You] Must carry this out and ensure a full complement of people. [Sd.] 6/2/2001 [The Captain starts this letter by repeating the village head’s name 3 times, indicating that he is angry and impatient with him; the village may have been slow in sending people for forced labour recently. The Captain scratched out his Army serial number from the stamp under his signature.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #108 (Papun) To: Stamp: 7-2-2001 Subject: Sending loh ah pay For the use of yyyy [Army Camp], the Chairperson yourself must come to report information to yyyy Camp with 25 male loh ah pay people from xxxx village, to arrive on 8-2-2001 at 5 o’clock in the evening, you are informed. [Sd.] 7-2 [On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Village. >From yyyy [Army Camp]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #109 (Papun) To 8-2-2001 To clear a lay yin gwin [literally ‘aircraft ground’, this can mean an airstrip but almost certainly means a helipad in this case], one person per house from the Elder’s village must come for loh ah pay, each with their own machete, and gather at yyyy tomorrow at 7 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. Note: Bring along rice packs [precooked rice for the afternoon meal]. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #110 (Toungoo) Stamp: Date: 14-2-2001 Subject: The matter of sending loh ah pay Regarding the above subject, the Elder yourself must come without fail to hand over 1 loh ah pay person from the Elder’s village to #xxx Infantry Battalion at yyyy [Army] Camp on 15-2-2001 to arrive at 5 o’clock in the evening, you are informed. Date: : 15-2-2001, Thursday [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #111 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Peace and Development Council [To:] Subject: To pay the money for movement fees 2nd month [February] money for movement fees 3,500 K [kyat] Must pay this money at the latest on the 15th of the 2nd [month]. [Sd.] bbbb [‘Movement fees’, supposedly fees to support SPDC mobile patrols, are yet another name for extortion. ‘Bicycle porter’ means that the villagers have to supply a bicycle for use by the military on a regular basis, possibly with a rider - as they cannot spare one, they are forced to pay a regular 1,000 Kyat per month instead, which has simply developed into another form of extortion. On the back this order is addressed to "U aaaa VPDC, xxxx [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #112 (Papun) To: Stamp: Subject: To send the things Send 10 people from the Elder’s village to yyyy camp on 18-2-2001 and arrive at 8 o’clock in the morning. Do not fail, you are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #113 (Papun) To: Stamp: Subject: The Strategic Operations Command Commander demands people to cut the bushes on the left/right sides of the road. Chairperson lead 50 people, each with their machetes, and come to report information to the 29 Miles / 6 Furlongs place [on the road] at 12 o’clock and 30 minutes in the afternoon [12:30 p.m.]. You are informed. [Sd.] bbbb [The village head told KHRG that 40 people went and it took them two days to finish clearing the scrub along the roadsides. ‘Send information’ is an order to provide the soldiers with any information the movements of villagers or KNU/KNLA near the village.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #114 (Papun) Stamp: Frontline #xxx Light Infantry Battalion Subject: Invitation to a meeting 1. To coordinate the matter of military operations and security in the Frontline #xxx Light Infantry Battalion area of military operations, the Chairperson and 2 set tha [‘messengers’] must come without fail on 17-2-2001 to arrive at 1100 hours, you are informed. 2. If you fail to come it is the responsibility of the concerned village, you are informed. [Sd.] [‘Set tha’ are villagers for forced labour as messengers and general errand-runners; most villages are forced to supply people for this duty on a daily basis.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #115 (Papun) To: Stamp: Subject: Come to meet
[Sd.] [In the context, the 20 people are clearly for forced labour.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #116 (Pa’an) Stamp: To: As soon as you receive this letter now, send without fail 1 loh ah pay person for the brick kiln from the Elder’s village, you are informed. [The remainder of this order document has been torn off and lost. Brick kilns are run by many officers at Army camps for their own personal profit, using the forced labour of local villagers and their own soldiers.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #117 (Toungoo) Stamp: Date: 19-2-2001 Come to report information to the yyyy Village Chairperson’s house on 19-2-2001. [Sd.] [This order states clearly what is left out but implicitly understood in most orders demanding ‘servant fees’: that if the fees are not paid, the villagers must go for forced labour. ‘Come to report information’ means to report intelligence on everything happening in and around the village. On the back this order is addressed "To xxxx [village] Chairperson. Report information to the camp."] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #118 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Peace and Development Council [To:] U aaaa Subject: The matter of sending loh ah pay Regarding the above subject, in accordance with the directive of the Frontline #xxx Sa Ka Ka Mu [Military Operations Commander] that the Elder’s village is to repair zzzz Camp, the Elder yourself must go without fail and hand over 1 person, one person, for loh ah pay to wwww Army Camp on Feb 22nd 2001, to arrive at (05:00) o’clock, you are informed. With food for 5 days. ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #119 (Papun) To: Chairperson, the servants from xxxx [village] have fled, so the Elder yourself must come quickly to send 2 servant people from xxxx to arrive today. [Sd.] [The village head told KHRG that he went to send 2 porters to the Army the following day as ordered.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #120 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Date: 22-2-2001 Informing [you] again. This afternoon at 3 o’clock exactly, Already sent a letter in advance yesterday on 21-2-2001. Asked the xxxx [village head] to forward the letter. Do not know whether [the letter] arrived or not. Right now, informing [you] again. Carry [this] out quickly. [Sd.] bbbb [This was a follow up to Order #118. On the back this order is addressed to "U aaaa, VPDC, vvvv [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ |
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Order #121 (Nyaunglebin) Date: 22-2-2001 Subject: The matter of sending loh ah pay Regarding the above subject, in accordance with the directive of the Frontline #xxx Sa Ka Ka Mu [Military Operations Commander], to repair yyyy [Army] Camp, the Elder’s village is to deliver and hand over one loh ah pay person to zzzz Army Camp today at 2 o’clock. Do not fail. If [you] fail, it will be the Elder’s responsibility. With food for 5 days. [On the back this order is addressed to "U aaaa, VPDC, xxxx [village], Urgent".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #122 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Peace and Development Council [To:] U aaaa Subject: To send Township servants The directive from the Township Ma Ya Ka [TPDC] on the 21st says that the Elder’s village is to send and hand over 1 person, one person, as a Township servant to yyyy Village Tract Peace and Development Chairperson on 27-2-2001 at the latest, you are informed. [Sd.] bbbb [‘Township servants’ are forced labourers demanded by the Township authorities, usually to fulfil demands passed to them by the Army but sometimes for Township projects. On the back this order is addressed to "U aaaa, VPDC, xxxx [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #123 (Papun) To: 24-2-2001 To clear the forest for the Operations Command, one person per house from the Elder’s village, each with a machete, must come to report to the yyyy Chairperson tomorrow on 25-2-2001 at 8 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. Note: Do not fail. ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #124 (Dooplaya) To: Date: 24-2-2001 Send 1 bowl [2 kg/4.4 lb] of rice and vegetables with the letter carrier set tha [forced labour messenger] who will come tomorrow, you are informed. LIB xxx ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #125 (Papun) To: 27-2-2001 [You have] Already sent 600 nipa palm thatch [shingles] for repairing of the Camp but 1,000 more are needed, so send [them] to arrive on 4-3-2001. Already informed [you] to send 1 set tha [messenger] but [s/he] has not arrived yet, so as soon as this letter is received, must send. If [you] fail harsh action will be taken, you are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #126 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Date: 4-3-2001 [To:] Village Elder Groups and VPDC Groups, Now, the matter of loh ah pay involves not only one [village] tract, it also includes other [village] tracts. Your village must comply with the assigned number of people fully. If [the number sent is] not complete, it will be your responsibility. The present VPDC groups and the former VPDC are to coordinate and carry this out. In the meeting it was decided that only the people who still owe monthly money from yyyy village must go [for forced labour]. [They] Also must pay the monthly money [which they owe]. [They] Also have to go for loh ah pay duty now. [We] are using a system of rewards and punishments. [Sd.] [The villagers are forced to pay regular monthly extortion money to the local military and SPDC authorities under names such as ‘porter fees’, with the understanding that if they do not pay they must do forced labour; though at the same time they still must do other forced labour, including portering. The second paragraph of this order means that more forced labourers are now being demanded from the village tract by the Army, so the first people they will send are those who are behind in their payments of ‘porter fees’. On the back this order is addressed to "Village Elders, VPDC, xxxx [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #127 (Papun) To: Stamp: 4-3-2001 [We are] Taking Maung aaaa as a guide from the Elder’s village temporarily, you are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #128 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Peace and Development Council Subject: To send Kyauk Taung loh ah pay Regarding the above matter, [we] have to send Kyauk Taung loh ah pay, so the Elder yourself must come from the Elder’s village to xxxx Army Camp to hand over 20 people for duty on the date of 5-3-2001 at 12 o’clock noon, you are informed. (If [you] fail and are late, it will be the Elder’s responsibility.) [Sd.] [On the back of this order the village head has written the following:] yyyy [village] 20 people For 5/3/2001, sent on 6/3/2001. Asking yyyy Tract to gather at xxxx [village]. [Kyauk Taung is an SPDC Army camp in the hills, so the labour is either carrying supplies there or working at the camp. The demand that the forced labourers each bring 5 days of rations makes it clear that the labour is to be for at least that long, though SPDC units often keep villagers much longer than they originally specified. On the back this order is addressed to "Village Head, wwww [village]". The village head wrote his own notes as shown above, indicating that a total of 85 people were demanded from 5 villages in the area, and that all of them went on March 6th. His village sent 10 of its own people and hired an additional 10, at a cost of 2,500 kyat each, to fill their quota.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #129 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Peace and Development Council Subject: Sending for Kyauk Taung loh ah pay Regarding the above matter, [we] must send Kyauk Taung loh ah pay, so the Elder yourself must come to hand over 20 people for duty from the Elder’s Village to zzzz Army Camp on the date 5-3-2001 at noon, 12 o’clock, you are informed. (If [you] fail and are late, it will be the Elder’s responsibility) [Sd.] [This is a carbon-copied order with the date written in by hand. On the back this order is addressed "To Ko aaaa, Give 3 torchlights to Ko bbbb; [Sd.] 7-3-2001, Village Head, xxxx".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #130 (Pa’an) Stamp: To: Subject: Calling [you] to a meeting #xxx Light Infantry Battalion wants to coordinate and hold a meeting with the village heads from villages in the Battalion’s organising area [area of control]. Therefore, the village chairpersons / heads yourselves must come without fail to #xxx Light Infantry Battalion on the 14th waxing day of Dta Baun month (6-3-2001), at 0900 hours, you are informed. Place: yyyy [Sd.] [This is a form letter with the village name written in by hand. On the back the village head has written in by hand the following:] xxxx [village] [Shaved bamboo ties are used to hold things together in bamboo construction. One ‘viss’ is 1.6 kg / 3.5 lb.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #131 (Toungoo) Stamp: To: Date: 5-3-2001 Subject: The matter of collecting and sending the monthly servant fees for the month of 1/2001 and the money for the balance of the servant fees which remain to be paid from previous months Regarding the above subject, the villages of yyyy village tract hired 46 people in total as military servants for the month of 1/2001. Collect and send [money] as allocated to each village below, and also come without fail to send the balance of money which is owed for previous months to arrive at the same time on ( 6-3-01 ), you are informed. 1. aaaa [village] - 22 people (22 x 4,250 ) = 93,500 Kyat 2. bbbb [village] - 9 people ( 9 x 4,250 ) = 38,250 Kyat 3. cccc [village] - 4 people ( 4 x 4,250 ) = 17,000 Kyat 4. dddd [village] - 4 people ( 4 x 4,250 ) = 17,000 Kyat 5. eeee [village] - 5 people ( 5 x 4,250 ) = 21,250 Kyat 6. ffff [village] - 2 people ( 2 x 4,250 ) = 8,500 Kyat [Sd.] [These orders are issued monthly to the villages in this village tract; see the notes under Order #100.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #132 (Toungoo) Stamp: To: 6-3-2001 Subject: Calling [you] to coordinate the matter of servants Frontline #xxx Infantry Battalion will coordinate and carry out the matter of servants with the Elder’s village, so come (without fail) to yyyy Camp on 7-3-2001 to arrive at (0800) hours, you are informed. [Sd.] [On the back this order bears the stamp of "Frontline #xxx Infantry Battalion, #x Company", and is addressed "To Chairperson, Secretary, xxxx [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #133 (Toungoo) Stamp: To: 6-3-2001 Subject: Calling [you] to coordinate the matter of servants Frontline #xxx Infantry Battalion will coordinate and carry out the matter of servants with the Elder’s village, so come (without fail) to yyyy Camp on 7-3-2001 to arrive at (0800) hours, you are informed. [Sd.] [This order is identical to Order #132 above, but was sent to another village; both were written out by hand.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #134 (Dooplaya) Stamp: Date: 7-3-2001 [We] want to discuss and coordinate urgently the matter of the stone pits for the Ye – Kyaun Ywa vehicle road, so attend (without fail) a meeting in accordance with the agenda below, you are invited. Date: 10-3-2001 Stamp: Chairperson [Identically worded copies of this order were sent out to every village in the village tract.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #135 (Toungoo) To: Chairperson 8-3-2001 (Upper) [upper and lower parts of the village] I am writing a letter. Every week on Sunday [you] fail to send set tha [forced labour messengers]. Also right now, [I] already asked for the register of households and population on 5-3-01 but [you] have not come and brought it yet, so the Chairpersons of the 2 villages, the upper village and the lower village, must come without fail to send these registers to yyyy Army Camp, you are informed. * Come and arrive this evening. [Sd.] [Most villages are forced to send one or two people as forced labour messengers (‘set tha’) every morning. This village was complying with this but did not do so on Sunday because it is a day of rest, particularly for Christians. However, even this is unsatisfactory to the Army camp. On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson/ Secretary, xxxx (Upper), xxxx (Lower). Urgent - Do not sleep at night. zzzz [village] Chairperson, send this letter tonight to arrive at yyyy.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #136 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Frontline #xxx Light Infantry Battalion, Column #x To: Chairperson Subject: Come to report whether the loh ah pay people are complete/incomplete Regarding the above subject, the Elder yourself must come without fail to yyyy Army Camp to report whether the zzzz [Army Camp] loh ah pay people have fully / not fully arrived back, on 9-3-2001 at (1600) hours in the evening, you are informed. [Sd.] 9/3/2001 [In this instance LIB xxx has ordered that a group of the Elder’s villagers be sent to zzzz Army camp for forced labour, and wants to know whether they have all returned yet or not.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #137 (Papun) Subject: Invitation to a meeting Date: 11-3-2001 1. [We] Want to hold a meeting for peace in the villages, so the Elder yourself and 1 set tha [messenger] must come to yyyy village to arrive at 12 o’clock noon today, you are informed. 2. If [you] fail to come, it will be the Elder’s responsibility. Stamp: [Sd.] 11/3 [On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Village".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #138 (Dooplaya) Stamp: Date: 12-3-2001 Subject: Informing [you] about sending the group of carpenters [Regarding] The above, the Divisional officers’ building is not finished yet, so send fully and without fail the group of carpenters and the carpentry supplies on 13-3-2001 in the morning, you are informed. Village senior Chairperson, come to meet with the Village Tract Chairperson tomorrow. [Sd.] 12-3-2001 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #139 (Papun) To: Stamp: Subject: Invitation to attend a meeting As soon as [you] receive this letter, the Chairperson and 1 set tha [messenger] must come quickly, you are informed for the last time. Date: 12-3-2001 [Sd.] 12/3 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #140 (Toungoo) To: Subject: The matter of sending set tha [forced labour messengers] regularly every Sunday Regarding the above subject, the Elder’s village fails to send set tha regularly every Sunday. Therefore pay 1 viss [1.6 kg/3.5 lb] of chicken for failing, and in the future [you] must send the set tha regularly, you are informed. [Sd.] [Most villages are forced to send one or two people as forced labour messengers (‘set tha’) every morning. This village was complying this but did not do so on Sunday because it is a day of rest, particularly for Christians. However, even this is unsatisfactory to the Army camp.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #141 (Dooplaya) To: Date: 14-3-2001 yyyy …. Army Camp…. [LIB] (xxx) [The writer of this order can barely write.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #142 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: 16-3-2001 Subject: Invitation to a meeting A meeting will be held in accordance with the agenda below, so the Elder yourself must attend (without fail), you are invited. According to the directive of the zzzz Column Commander, Date to be held --------- 17-3-2001 [Sd.] [‘The matter of dividing the work’ means that the Army has demanded a quota of forced labour from the village tract, and the village tract authorities will allocate a certain amount of labour to each village.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #143 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Subject: Calling for Kyauk Taung loh ah pay Regarding the above matter, [we are] calling for Kyauk Taung loh ah pay, so come to hand over 2 people for duty from the Elder’s Village, along with rations for 5 days and machetes, to zzzz Village on the date 19-3-2001 at 12 o’clock, you are informed. If [you] fail or are late, it will be the Elder’s responsibility. [Sd.] [Kyauk Taung is an SPDC Army camp; the 2 villagers are clearly to be detained for at least 5 days. Identically worded copies of this order were sent to several villages.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #144 (Nyaunglebin Stamp: Subject: Calling for Kyauk Taung loh ah pay Regarding the above matter, [we are] calling for Kyauk Taung loh ah pay, so come to hand over 2 people for duty from the Elder’s Village, along with rations for 5 days and machetes, to zzzz Village on the date 19-3-2001 at 12 o’clock, you are informed. If [you] fail or are late, it will be the Elder’s responsibility. Last week left/fled: 1 person [Sd.] [Kyauk Taung is an SPDC Army camp; the 2 villagers are clearly to be detained for at least 5 days. This is a carbon copy of Order #143, with a different village name written in. The note at the bottom was also written by hand, and means that the village must send the 2 people demanded, plus an extra one because one of their villagers fled forced labour last week, plus 3-4 others who are behind on their ‘porter fees’ payments so they must pay money and do forced labour as well (see Order #126) - bringing the total number of forced labourers demanded to 6.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #145 (Toungoo) To: 18-3-2001 Send 7 loh ah pay people with [their] own mattocks [large hoes] and tu yin pya [long iron crowbar- like tools for digging in hard ground] to yyyy [Army] Camp to arrive tomorrow the 19th at (0700) hours. [Sd.] [On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx Village".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #146 (Toungoo) To: 19-3-2001 [We] Called for 7 loh ah pay people but only 3 people arrived, so send the remaining 4 people to arrive tonight. Bring along mattocks [large hoes], shovels, and food for 5 days. The Chairperson and Secretary are also to come. If [you] do not come, it will be the Chairperson’s responsibility. [Sd.] [On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #147 (Toungoo) To: 20-3-2001 Chairperson and Secretary, come together with 4 loh ah pay people. [Sd.] [On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #148 (Papun) Stamp: Subject: Informing [you] to send loh ah pay 1. Regarding the above subject, to repair yyyy Camp, the Chairperson yourself must come to deliver 3 loh ah pay people with food for 3 days from the Elder’s village to yyyy Camp to arrive on 23-3-2001, you are informed. 2. If [you] fail to come, it will be the Elder’s responsibility. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #149 (Dooplaya) No. xxx MYANMAR REGIMENT To: For the intelligence group of the Column, send cheroots and 2 chickens (or) dried fish with the set tha [forced labour messenger] who comes now. [Sd.] [Page 2:] No. xxx MYANMAR REGIMENT Cheroots 150 [This 2-page order is written on notepad stationery with ‘No. xxx Myanmar Regiment’ in large letters across the top, as well as a space for the date.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #150 (Toungoo) Stamp: 22-3-2001 Send 10 loh ah pay people to the camp for building the bridge on 23-3-2001, to arrive at 7 o’clock in the morning. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #151 (Papun) Stamp: 24-3-2001 To: Subject: Calling for Wontan [‘servant’] fees Regarding the above subject, for xxxx village the third month’s [March’s] salary for hiring [porters] for 20 days has not yet arrived as of today. Therefore, without fail come and send it to arrive on 25-3-2001. Letting you know and you are informed. [Sd.] 24-3-2001 [The ‘wontan (servant) fees’ is money paid to avoid going for forced labour as porters. Some camps have established a system with the surrounding villagers wherein the villages pay on a schedule to avoid having to go for forced labour portering. Though they call this money to ‘hire’ porters, they actually just keep the money and force people from other villages to be porters; meanwhile, they also take money from those villages and grab porters from this village, so every village has to pay money to avoid going as porters but also has to go as porters. The villages are usually in arrears because they cannot afford the fees, although they also cannot afford to take any more time away from their crops for forced labour. Once the villagers have defaulted for too long an Army column will come to take them for extra shifts as porters and punish the village head.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #152 (Papun) To: U aaaa 24-3-2001 Without fail attend the emergency meeting at #xxx Light Infantry Battalion on 25-3-2001 at 8 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. To dig the Operations Command well, summon and bring (male, 2) people at the same time. [Sd.] [The ‘Operations Command well’ means to dig a well at the Operations Command camp.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #153 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: To: Subject: The matter of arranging and sending township servants Reference: 3rd month Regarding the matter in the letter referenced above, [you are] directed to arrange and send Township Servants , so from the Elder’s Section / Village do not fail / send and hand over 1 person ( [blank] ) as below, you are informed. Date: : 28-3-2001 Note: : If [you] fail, are late or the quantity [brought] is insufficient, it will be the responsibility of the concerned Ya Ya Ka [VPDC] group. [Sd.] cccc Copies to: [This is a typed form letter duplicated on a cyclostyling machine, with the details shown in italics written in afterward by hand, as well as the signature and the VPDC and signatory stamps. While this form letter is clearly designed for demanding goods or materials, here it has been used to demand a person for forced labour. There is no reference letter, so the issuer has only written in ‘3rd month’, meaning March 2001. On the back this order is addressed "To U aaaa, U bbbb, Village Heads, xxxx [village]. Stamp: Village head, xxxx village (2), yyyy Village Tract, yyyy Township".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #154 (Dooplaya) Date: 26-3-2001 LIB #xxx [The ‘letter set tha’ is the villager which this village must send for forced labour as an order document messenger the following day. On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #155 (Toungoo) Stamp: To: Date: 27-3-2001 Subject: The matter of collecting and sending the monthly military servant fees for the month of 2/2001 and the money for the balance of the army servant fees which remain to be paid from previous months Regarding the above subject, the villages of yyyy village tract hired 46 people in total as military servants for the month of 2/2001. Collect and send [money] as allocated to each village below, and also come without fail to send the balance of money which is owed to pay for previous months to arrive at the same time on ( 31-3-2001 ), you are informed. 1. aaaa [village] - 22 people (22 x 4,250 ) = 93,500 Kyat 2. bbbb [village] - 9 people ( 9 x 4,250 ) = 38,250 Kyat 3. cccc [village] - 4 people ( 4 x 4,250 ) = 17,000 Kyat 4. dddd [village] - 4 people ( 4 x 4,250 ) = 17,000 Kyat 5. eeee [village] - 5 people ( 5 x 4,250 ) = 21,250 Kyat 6. ffff [village] - 2 people ( 2 x 4,250 ) = 8,500 Kyat [Sd.] [These orders are issued monthly to the villages in this village tract; see the notes under Order #100.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #156 (Toungoo) Stamp: Subject: Summoning loh ah pay For building the bridge, 10 people from xxxx Village and the Chairperson / Secretary yourselves must come to yyyy Camp to arrive tomorrow at 7 o’clock in the morning. If [you] fail, serious action will be taken. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #157 (Papun) Stamp: To: Date: 29-3-2001 Subject: Invitation to a meeting 1. Regarding the above subject, a security coordination meeting will be held at yyyy Camp, so the Chairperson yourself must come with 1 set tha [messenger] to arrive on 1-4-2001, you are invited. 2. If [you] fail to come, [we] will come ourselves to call [you], you are informed. Note: Bring 20 coconuts. [Sd.] [This is a carbon copy of an order with the details shown in italics written in by hand.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #158 (Dooplaya) To: - Regarding the building that Uncle built, [we] need to do it again. Call 15 loh ah pay people with 50 pieces of bamboo, your help is requested on 31-3-2001 at 8 o’clock in the morning. * Just for 1 day. [Sd.] aaaa [In this order he uses the term ‘Pa Ti’ (Sgaw Karen for ‘Uncle’) as a term of respect, not to indicate any blood relation.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #159 (Papun) Stamp: 30-3-2001 Informing [you] that now [I] have already met with Major bbbb about the matter of servants. [You] Must give, so I am dividing the duty among the villages. [I] Will allocate duty quotas to Elder Sister’s xxxx village, uuuu [village], vvvv [village] and wwww [village], totalling 4 villages for one month of 30 days. (1) xxxx [village] 6 days From 2-4-2001 to 8-4-2001 year For these days, you can hire people if you want / if the people want to go, go. When your dates are finished, contact uuuu [village] and arrange to rotate. [Sd.] cccc [The four villages mentioned are being forced to take turns doing an unspecified form of forced labour for a month. "You can hire people if you want / if the people want to go, go" means that the villagers have the option of going for the forced labour themselves or hiring people to go in their place, as long as the expected number of people shows up at the designated time. The order is addressed to "Naw ‘aaaa’", headwoman of village xxxx.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #160 (Nyaunglebin) Stamp: Date: 31-3-2001 Informing [you] - Come quickly to pay (10,200 K[yat]) of Township Servant fees today. Any Elder, come to meet with the Chairperson. It is an important matter. [Sd.] cccc
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