This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in June 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Papun District, during June 2012. Specifically discussed are Nay Pyi Daw military operations along Papun-Ka' Ma Moo vehicle road. It includes details on the location and names of the different NPD military camps that are based along the Papun-K'Ma Moh vehicle road.
Situation Update | Bu Tho Township, Papun District (June 2012)
The following situation update was written by a community member in Papun District who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. It is presented below translated exactly as originally written, save for minor edits for clarity and security.[1] This report was received along with other information from Papun District, including five incident reports, one interview and one other situation update. [2]
The camps of Nay Pyi Daw (NPD) soldiers, NPD Border Guard soldiers and NPD military police along the Papun - K'Ma Moh vehicle road, from Papun town to the middle of K'Ma Moh town
NPD [Tatmadaw] soldiers, their Border Guard soldiers and the military police built their camps from Papun town to K'Ma Moh town, and along the Papun - K'Ma Moh vehicle road, which villagers call the Aung Thay Htee vehicle road.
After the NPD soldiers and the NPD military police built their camps in Papun town, Zone #4, they lived there permanently. The one who leads them is the head of the military police, Saw Khin Maung Ngwe. The name of the Papun Township leader is Saw Mya Htun Win.
In the southern part of Papun, at a place called Saw Suh, which is two miles away from Papun town, LIB [Light Infantry Battalion] #19 camp of the NPD military is [based] there. If we travel along the river mouth direction [downstream along the Yunzalin River] from the LIB #19 [camp], there is Meh Th'Raw village. If we continue to the southern part of the village, LIB #340 is based there.
If we look out from the LIB #340 base, along the river mouth side, it is near [enough] for us to be able to see LIB #341, which is based beside the vehicle road. Between LIB #340 and LIB #341, Operation Command Battalion #1 is based there permanently.
If we walk down from LIB #341 along the river mouth side, we can see that LIB #434 is based there. From the southern part of LIB #434, nine miles from Saw Suh and Papun town, we can see the camps of the NPD military and the NPD police. There is a Tatmadaw camp named Ku See, other NPD camps and NPD military police camps. 16 miles away from Saw Suh and Papun town, there is a NPD military camp called Yan Aung Myint camp. After that, if we go down to the river mouth side, we can see Htwee Thee Oo village and Htwee Thee Oo (Chaung Thar Yar) [Tatmadaw] camp. 25 miles away from Saw Suh and Papun town, we can see Taung Thon Lon [Tatmadaw] military camp and if we go to the river mouth side, we will see Htee Saw Meh (Sin Sweh) [Tatmadaw] military camp.
On the Htee Saw Meh river mouth side, the soldiers stay at K'Ter Tee [Tatmadaw] camp. There are different kinds of NPD militaries in K'Ter Tee village. The first one is an NPD military camp, the second one is an NPD military police [camp] and the third one is the NPD Border Guard military [camp]. [If we travel] from the river mouth side of the K'Ter Tee village, we arrive at the Ka Nyin Don [Tatmadaw] military camp. Then, if we go south from there along the river mouth side, we will arrive at Maw Law stream Yay Poo [Tatmadaw] military camp. Not very far from the Maw Law stream military camp, there is the NPD Border Guard camp.
[If we go] from Maw Law stream to the river mouth side, we will arrive at Wa Thoh Hkoh military camp. From Wa Thoh Hkoh to the river mouth side, there is K'Ma Moh town. In K'Ma Moh town, there are different kinds of NPD military. There are NPD Tatmadaw soldiers, military police, and the Border Guard.
The things that I have presented are about the NPD military and their camps that are based along the Papun - K'Ma Moh vehicle road.
Footnotes:
[1] KHRG trains community members in eastern Burma to document individual human rights abuses using a standardised reporting format; conduct interviews with other villagers; and write general updates on the situation in areas with which they are familiar. When writing situation updates, community members are encouraged to summarise recent events, raise issues that they consider to be important, and present their opinions or perspective on abuse and other local dynamics in their area.
[2] In order to increase the transparency of KHRG methodology and more directly communicate the experiences and perspectives of villagers in eastern Burma, KHRG aims to make all field information received available on the KHRG website once it has been processed and translated, subject only to security considerations. As companion to this, a redesigned website will be released in 2012. In the meantime, KHRG's most recently-published field information from Papun District can be found in the report "Villager shot and killed in Papun District", KHRG, September 2012.