Type of Incident

BGF forced labour (forced navigator)  

Date of Incident(s)

October - November 2017

Incident Location
(Village, Township and District)

Y--- village, T’Kwee Kla village tract, Lu Pleh [Hlaingbwe] Township, Hpa-an District

Victim Information

Name

Saw Z---

Age

[censored for security

Sex

Male

Ethnicity

Karen

Family   

Married

Occupation

Farmer

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Village

Y--- village

Perpetrator Information

Name(s)              

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Saw Maung Na

Non-commissioned Officer (NCO)

Border Guard Force Battalion #1012

K’Hser Thay Bay Area

Major Soe Naing[3]

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

I [KHRG researcher] met with the victim, Saw Z---, and interviewed him on November 22nd 2017 in Y--- village, T’Kwee Kla village tract, Lu Pleh Township, Hpa-an District. He talked about his experiences journeying to the front line as a navigator for the Border Guard Force (BGF).

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The victim provided the information himself, therefore it is accurate. 

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

Saw Z--- is [censored for security] years old and lives in Y--- village, T’Kwee Kla village tract, Lu Pleh [Hlaingbwe] Township, Hpa-an District. Since the first week of October until November 2017, he has been forced to be a navigator for the Border Guard Force [BGF] on the front line.[4]

Saw Z--- is a native villager in the fighting area, so the BGF forced him to be their navigator so the BGF could attack the DKBA splinter group[5] in T--- area. The distance between Y--- [village] and T--- area is one day by foot. Saw Z---had to walk ahead of the BGF, which was dangerous due to the presence of landmines in the area and the risk of the DKBA splinter group attacking.

Since he was forced to be a guide for the BGF for almost two months [from October and November 2017], he did not have time to secure his family’s livelihood, so his family faced food shortages and fell into debt while he was away. His family now faces major challenges in their daily life.

Furthermore, when I [KHRG researcher] interviewed Saw Z--- on November 22nd 2017, he reported that the BGF ordered him to go to the frontline as a navigator again the day after the interview [November 23rd 2017]. He added,

“Villagers are afraid of all armed groups [BGF, DKBA splinter and Tatmadaw] because all of them abuse their power against villagers. Villagers have to follow their orders, whatever and whenever their orders are, and villagers must fulfil orders according to the time they [armed groups] desire.”

For example, the armed group [BGF] ordered Saw Z--- to meet with them, and he could not make it to them on time by travelling on foot. He became concerned they might become angry with him, so he borrowed money from his neighbor for a motorcycle taxi to reach the armed groups in time. Similar situations occur where villagers have to borrow money when the armed groups order food, such as pig [pork], chicken and more in order to bring what the armed groups orders on time. Saw Z--- also heard a rumour that commander Bo[6] Bee of the DKBA splinter group ordered his soldiers to shoot the [BGF] navigator first, so Saw Z--- felt threatened and felt that his life was at risk. Thus, he asked the BGF to give him a gun in order to protect himself on the front line.[7] Saw Z--- spent only two days with his family after he returned from the front line as a guide for BGF, but he was ordered by this armed group to guide them again [on November 23rd 2018].

Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided.

The victim gives permission to KHRG to use the information in this publication.