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This section includes orders indirectly calling for forced labour by demanding materials
from villagers which require intensive labour to produce and deliver. For example, demands
for hundreds of thatch roofing shingles, tons of logs, or quantities of firewood or bamboo
force villagers to do hard labour cutting, gathering, preparing and then delivering these
materials to Army camps. In contrast, demands for rice, pigs, money and other goods are
not included in this section because they are not as labour-intensive.
Most of the orders below demand building materials such as timber, which must be cut in the forest, sawn into posts or planks, and then hauled to the Army camp by the villagers, specific types and diameters of bamboo which must be sought out and cut in the forest, or thatch roofing shingles, which require the villagers to gather leaves and cut bamboo, then split the bamboo into sticks, make it into metre-long frames, and tie the leaves onto the frames using bamboo ties. A demand for 500 thatch shingles or 300 wooden fenceposts can take a whole village several days of labour to produce, after which they must haul it to the Army camp on bullock carts, boats, or on their backs. Orders demanding wooden planks (such as #237, 243, and 245) force villagers to incur a cash expense, because they have to pay sawmill owners to mill the wood; by contrast, when the SPDC forces the sawmill owners to do it for them directly, no money is paid them. The worst case of heavy labour inflicted on a village included below is Order #245, in which one village is ordered to produce and send 9 tons of sawn planks. Additional demands for logs can also be seen in the section "Set to a Village III: Demands for Logs in Thaton District" below.
Materials demanded also include shaved bamboo ties which are used for tying things together when building, rattan-like cane (Orders #222, 229, 250, and 251) for use in making furniture, and even cotton-like kapok (Order #263) to stuff the Tactical Commander’s pillow. All of these require the villagers to seek them out in the forest, process them and deliver them to the Army.
Some orders which demand such materials and also include direct demands for forced labour have been included in the ‘General Forced Labour’ section above; see for example Order #216, which orders villagers to carry planks to an Army camp from a sawmill which has been forced to cut them, probably without compensation. Orders #221 and 222 below only specify the materials to build a godown at the Army camp, but KHRG has confirmed that the villagers were also forced to build it. Similarly, many of the demands below that villagers bring bamboo for fencing carry the implicit assumption that when the villagers deliver the bamboo, they will be kept at the camp to build the fence.
While most of these materials are demanded for Army camp construction, some are also demanded simply so that Army officers can sell them for profit; for example, the 9 tons of sawn planks demanded in Order #245 by a Camp Commander are probably not all for use at his camp. Even when demanding building materials for the camp, the officers often demand two or three times what they require and then sell the surplus. Soldiers who desert the Army often tell of such money-making schemes, which are used by officers throughout Burma to make money. One common scheme is for officers to demand large quantities of firewood from villagers, then force their own soldiers to use it to bake bricks entirely for the officers’ personal profit.
Villagers are never paid for any of the materials they provide except in rare cases; some orders promise to pay for some of it, but this often proves to be an empty promise when the materials are actually delivered. Order #232 promises to pay some money for the chicken which is being demanded, but no mention is made of paying anything for the 100 shingles of thatch which are demanded at the same time. Villagers interviewed by KHRG regularly state that they are never paid for such materials. Despite this, and even though the deadlines given are often next to impossible to meet, any village which fails to deliver the materials on time and according to specification faces threatening letters and the possibility of severe punishments.
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To: Chairperson
Date: 28-11-99 1) To build the new godown for yyyy camp, [we] need wood / bamboo / nipa palm thatch. Send it according to the quota on 1-12-99. 2) The 2 quota servants from xxxx are not being used at yyyy camp. [You] Need to know that it is for Tactical Command #3. Regarding these failed servants [who didn’t come], the Chairperson yourself must come to clear the matter, you are informed.
[Sd.] [The thatch shingles are for roofing, and require a great deal of labour to produce. Each village is assigned a ‘quota’ to produce and hand over in such cases. The ‘quota servants’ are forced labourers who must be provided on a similar basis. This order informs the village head that the servants who were demanded were not for the local Army group but the Tactical Command, which is more serious, and therefore the village head must comply to ‘clear the matter’ urgently.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Chairperson
Date: 8-12-99 1) When you receive this letter, to build the godown at yyyy camp send quickly on 9-12-99 the urgently needed materials as listed below. (a) red cane [similar
to rattan] 30 pieces 2) For the servants who failed [to come] from 15-11-99 through 31-11-99, send quickly the servants’ hiring fees, 4,000 Kyat in cash. Informing you for the last time. That money is not for our Army. The money has to be paid to the yyyy villagers [who were hired in place of the forced labourers].
[Sd.] [On the back is written "Important. Send quickly. Pass on [to other villages]." The ‘nipa palm quota’ means the regular quota of thatch roofing shingles. All of the materials in paragraph 1 require considerable labour to produce and transport. Paragraph 2 relates to a common Army practice; knowing that the villagers from most villages will try to avoid forced labour, they conscript or hire people in the garrison villages and then demand money from the other villages for their ‘costs’ in doing so.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #223 (Papun)
Stamp:
To: As soon as you receive this letter now, send without fail 100 nipa palm [thatch shingles] to roof the huts at yyyy camp. Carry this out with special attention, you are informed.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #224 (Papun) Stamp:
21-2-2000 To build the yyyy Army Camp: (a) Nipa palm
(125 [shingles]) Send it to the Army Camp to arrive on 25-2-2000, you are informed.
[Sd.] [‘Myaw’ are bamboo roof support poles, which hold up the thatch roofing shingles.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #225 (Papun)
Stamp:
Date:
24-2-2000 Informing the village head that for the use of yyyy Army Camp, the Head yourself must bring wooden posts 2 twa [2 handspans in diameter] and 15 feet long, 20 of them, to yyyy Army Camp on 1-3-2000, you are informed. Note: Do not fail. ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #226 (Papun)
Stamp:
28-2-2000
[To:]
Heads Specifications of house posts / struts:
[Sd.] [On the back this order is marked ‘Urgent’.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #227 (Pa’an)
Stamp:
Frontline
#xxx Light Infantry Battalion To: Village head Subject: To send firewood to zzzz monastery 1) zzzz monastery needs firewood for
the rainy season, and there is scrap wood at aaaa’s sawmill which is available
to send to the monastery.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #228 (Papun)
Stamp:
12-3-2000 Subject: Invitation to a meeting Regarding the above subject, the yyyy Strategic Command #x Base has a matter to meet and discuss with the village heads. Come to the VPDC office on 14-3-2000 to arrive at 10 o’clock in the morning, and bring along thatch and bamboo, you are informed. (Note) If [you] fail, the Strategic Command
will take harsh action.
[Sd.] 12-3-2000 ______________________________________________________________________________ Stamp:
Date:
18-3-2000 For yyyy Army Camp, come to send 300 pieces of kyet shi cane [rattan-like cane] each 10 taun [15 ft/5 m] long to zzzz to arrive on 19-3-2000. Do not fail. When this letter arrives now, the Chairperson must come to zzzz, informing you in advance.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #230 (Papun) Stamp: Mother Head, as soon as [you] receive this letter, send 1 viss [1.6 kg/3.5 lb] of chicken and 100 thatch [shingles] to the yyyy Chairperson’s house. [We] Will give money for the price of the chicken. You must find it to buy, you are requested. Send the chicken and thatch on 21/3/2000 to Column x at zzzz.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #231 (Papun)
Stamp:
Date:
20-3-2000 The matter of asking for bamboo ties Regarding the above subject, for the use of yyyy Army Camp, send without fail from the Elder’s village 5 viss [8 kg/17.5 lb] of short bamboo ties / long bamboo ties on 23-3-2000 to arrive at 8 o’clock in the morning, you are informed.
[Sd.] [Bamboo ties are shaved bamboo strips used to tie things together when building.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp: To: Subject: To send nipa palm Regarding the above subject, share out the responsibilities to produce 100 nipa palm thatch [shingles] and send them quickly from the Elder’s village when you receive this letter, you are informed. Bring 1 viss [1.6 kg/3.5 lb] of chicken at the same time and [we] will pay its cost in money.
[Sd.] [‘Share out the responsibilities’ means that the village head is to assign a quota of shingles to each family in the village to get the entire 100 shingles. Gathering the materials and producing these shingles is quite labour intensive.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #233 (Papun)
Stamp:
To: Subject: To send nipa palm thatch To roof the buildings at yyyy camp, send 500 shingles of nipa palm from xxxx village to arrive on 30-3-2000, you are informed.
[Sd.]
26-3 [On the back of this document the village head has written a long list of names many with checkmarks beside them, possibly a list of those who were assigned to make their portion of the thatch shingle quota.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #234 (Papun)
Stamp:
To: Subject: To send nipa palm thatch To roof the buildings at yyyy camp, send 500 shingles of nipa palm from xxxx village to arrive on 30-3-2000, you are informed.
[Sd.]
26-3 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #235 (Papun)
Stamp:
To:
Date:
4-4-2000 Subject: To send nipa palm thatch Regarding the above subject, the Elder’s village must still send the remaining 110 shingles of nipa palm thatch. Come to bring it (without fail) to yyyy Army Camp on 6-4-2000, you are informed.
[Sd.] [On the back this order is marked "Urgent. Send 1 rotation messenger to arrive today.", meaning to send a villager for forced labour as a messenger.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #236 (Papun) 8/4/2000 Head, I’m writing a letter. The rain will come, so to prepare the huts send 5 viss (five) viss of long bamboo ties on 8/4/2000, to arrive at 5 o’clock in the evening today, you are informed.
[Sd.] [Bamboo ties are shaved bamboo strips used to tie things together in building, in this case probably to put new roofs on the huts (thatch roofing must be replaced every 2-3 years, and bamboo ties are used to tie the thatch shingles onto the roof supports). The amount demanded is by weight, 8 kilograms/17.5 pounds.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Stamp:
17-4-2000 Ironwood planks are needed by yyyy camp, and xxxx [village] must take the responsibility. Therefore, from xxxx 300 feet of 6" x ½" [planks], [you] must take responsibility to carry this out. The village must arrange the logs needed for the sawmill.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #238 (Pa’an) To: Chairperson
Stamp:
Subject: Requesting donation of thatch for a zayat [waiting shelter] Regarding the above subject, xxxx village tract is requested to assist by sending 100 thatch [shingles] to yyyy on April 20th 2000.
[Sd.] [Producing 100 thatch shingles within one day would be extremely difficult unless the village already has them on hand for their own houses.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #239 (Papun)
Stamp:
15-5-2000 For the use of yyyy Army Camp hill in rainy season, send 2 cartloads of firewood to arrive on 17-5-2000.
[Sd.] 15-5-2000 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #240 (Papun) To:
Stamp:
Date:
26-5-2000 Subject: Informing [you] to meet the Column Regarding the above subject, the Elder’s village must send 20 wooden posts / wah boh bamboo, 5 coconut tree seedlings, and 5 ywa lah flower plants to the Column on the 27th at 0800 hours without fail. If [you] fail, it will be the responsibility of the respective persons.
[Sd.] [‘Wah boh’ is a particularly large variety of bamboo used mainly for building posts.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #241 (Papun) To: Head (Ko aaaa)
8-6-2000 Now, as soon as you receive this letter, to build the camp within 4 days send the quota of (nipa palm) thatch, you are informed.
[Sd.] [The back bears the unit stamp: "Frontline #xx Infantry Battalion / Column x" and the officer has written "300 thatch".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #242 (Papun) To: Head
8-6-2000 As soon as you receive this letter now, for building the camp send the (thatch) quota within 4 days to yyyy camp, you are informed.
[Sd.] [The back of this order is stamped "Frontline #xx Infantry Battalion / Column x" and bears the address and the number ‘200’, probably the number of thatch shingles which the village is being ordered to send.] ______________________________________________________________________________ xxxx [village]: 23-7-2000 4"x2" - 23 feet (16 taun) 80
planks [Sd.] [This is a brief order demanding 80 2-inch by 4-inch planks each 23 feet long, and 250 5-inch by ¾-inch planks each 18 feet long. 1 taun is 1½ feet or ½ metre.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #244 (Papun) Mother Daw aaaa: 3-8-2000 What is the unusual news? If [you] want to contact [us], write a letter and give it to the yyyy village head. Write on the envelope (Strategic Commander, yyyy camp) and seal the envelope properly. What is the situation of the teaching school? Is there still teaching? Where are they teaching? Reply by letter. Do as you’ve been asked by cutting the wood for zzzz [Army Camp]. That is all.
[Unsigned] ______________________________________________________________________________ 16/8/2000 To: U aaaa Pagoda
Trustee Subject: To send cut wood The Elders’ village must send one ton of 5x2 wood, one ton of 6x2, and one ton of 4x2 to yyyy camp on 20/8/2000. U aaaa and U bbbb do not need to attend the meeting which I informed you of through U cccc from zzzz. Nine tons should be sent, but send 3 tons on 20/8/2000. Start arranging it on 16/8/2000, then send it to the camp on 20/8/2000. The Elders’ xxxx area is exempted from clearing the ground, and is to take responsibility for wood instead. Camp Commander [Sd.] [Pagoda trustees are villagers on a committee which takes the responsibility of caring for the local pagoda and monastery. 5x2, 6x2 and 4x2 are plank measurements in inches; the lengths are not specified here. This village is being forced to provide 9 tons of wood instead of doing forced labour ‘clearing the ground’, which means either clearing land for an Army camp or clearing scrub along the sides of a military road.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #246 (Pa’an) To: Chairperson Subject: Come to a meeting Regarding the above subject, the head yourself must come without fail to Battalion Headquarters on the 4th waning day of Wah Kaun month, 18-8-2000, Friday, to arrive at 1000, ten o’clock, you are informed. Bring along the timber. Stamp:
[Sd.] [On the back this is addressed to the village head and marked "Acting Battalion Commander aaaa". It is a carbon copy with only the village name, stamp and signature added afterwards on the front.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #247 (Papun) To: Head
Date:
24-8-00 With respect, writing to inform you as below.
[Sd.]
24-8-00 [This letter is written in a mixture of Sgaw Karen and Burmese, written by an SPDC officer who is Karen.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #248 (Pa’an) To: Pagoda trustee and monthly village head 30-8-2000 Come to yyyy camp as soon as you receive this letter. Calling for the wood which is overdue to arrive. Bring the wood. Bring also chicken or fish. Camp Commander, yyyy [Sd.] xxxx [village] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #249 (Thaton) To:
9-9-2000 How much of the wood which was requested by the Column have you gathered? Show it. Inform [us] quickly of which day you will be able to send it to yyyy village, you are informed.
[Sd.] 9-9-2000 [On the back of this order many calculations have been written which appear to relate to log and plank sizes and numbers.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Stamp: [Village] Head, come to send 25 red cane [rattan-like, used to make furniture etc.] to arrive on 15-9-2000 at 10:00 in the morning at yyyy camp, you are informed.
[Sd.] [On the back this is marked "To Head, xxxx village".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Stamp:
Date:
13-9-2000 [Village] Head, come to send 25 red cane [rattan-like, used to make furniture etc.] to arrive on 15-9-2000 at 10:00 in the morning at yyyy camp, you are informed.
[Sd.] [This order makes the same request as Order #250 above, but was sent to the head of a different village.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #252 (Papun)
Stamp: Subject: To send hill toddy [palm leaf] roofing For the use of yyyy camp, send 500 shingles of hill toddy roofing on 15-9-2000 to yyyy camp, you are informed. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #253 (Papun) To: Chairperson
Date: 17-9-2000 Subject: As soon as you receive this letter, you are informed to send 150 pieces of bamboo to the camp for repairing the camp for security by the deadline of the 20th. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #254 (Pa’an) To: Chairperson / Village head Subject: Requesting wood and bamboo Regarding the above subject, to build a Strategic Command camp, the Elder’s village must send 100 bamboo and 30 wooden posts to Deputy Warrant Officer aaaa, chief of the Battalion Cooperative [shop] of #xxx Light Infantry Battalion in yyyy. You are informed to send them by the deadline of 27-9-2000.
Stamp:
[Unsigned] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #255 (Papun) To:
Stamp: |