EFFECTS OF THE GAS PIPELINE PROJECT

An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
May 23, 1996  (KHRG #96-21)

In southern Burma's Tenasserim Division, the Yadana Project is continuing. The multi-billion dollar project aims to tap offshore natural gas deposits known as the Yadana Field in the Gulf of Martaban and send the gas by overland pipeline to power plants in Thailand. The partners in the project are SLORC's oil company MOGE (Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise), French oil giant TOTAL, American company Unocal, and Thailand's PTTEP. TOTAL is the company actively supervising construction of the 60-km. overland segment of the pipeline from the sea coast to the Thai border. The pipeline is scheduled to go online in 1998.

The pipeline raises serious human rights and environmental concerns (the environmental issues are not covered in this report). It is to pass through rural coastal areas as well as hills and forests dotted with villages. Karen, Mon and other opposition groups are active in the area, though the Mon made a ceasefire with SLORC in June 1995. SLORC has sent in thousands of troops to secure the pipeline route and the foreigners themselves, and these troops are making life much harder for villagers in the area through forced labour and extortion. Furthermore, villagers are now being used as forced labour to clear the pipeline route itself and build supply roads for pipeline supplies. Though the oil companies are hiring labour, SLORC is using forced labour wherever possible with or without the knowledge of the companies, who simply have too few employees in the area to see what is going on. The villagers see it very well, and we have interviewed several of them who describe it.

This report consists of 3 parts: a summary of the current situation of the pipeline project, interviews with villagers who have recently fled the area, and an Annex consisting of a TOTAL letter about the project (translated from French) and a map of the area. The names of those interviewed have been changed and some details omitted to protect them. False names are enclosed in quotes. In their testimonies they all refer to direct effects of the pipeline project. Several of them also discussed other hardships they face, and these remain in the text because in order to understand the effect of the pipeline it is necessary to understand the hardships these people are already living under. For background and a broader picture of the situation in the area, the reader should also see "Conditions in the Gas Pipeline Area" (KHRG #95-27, 1/8/95), "Forced Labour in Mon Areas" (KHRG #96-20, 22/5/96), "Ye-Tavoy Area Update" (KHRG #96-01, 5/1/96), and other reports on the area.

Abbreviations

SLORC = State Law & Order Restoration Council, Burma's ruling military junta
NMSP = New Mon State Party, Mon opposition organization which made a ceasefire with SLORC in June 1995
MNLA = Mon National Liberation Army, military wing of the NMSP
KNU = Karen National Union, main Karen opposition organization
IB = (SLORC) Infantry Battalion
LIB = (SLORC) Light Infantry Battalion
USDA = Union Solidarity & Development Association, SLORC's artificial 'mass support' political organisation.

TOPIC SUMMARY

[S=Summary section; numbers refer to Interview number at the top of each interview.]

Increased military (S,1,3-6,10-12), pipeline offensives (S,2,4), Karen attacks against pipeline (S, 1,3), SLORC retaliation for attacks (S,1,3), destruction/confiscation of land (S,1,2), pipeline fees (S,1,4,8-10,12), rape (S,1,2,7), attempted rescue of rape victim by foreigners (7), restrictions on boat travel in Heinze Basin (S,1,8), driving back refugees (S,5,7), foreigners on site (S,1-4,7), hired pipeline labour (S,1-3), crop confiscation (3-5,7,12), fee extortion (S,1-5,7,9,12), looting (S,4,7).

Forced labour: Pipeline route road (S,1-3,5), helipads (S,2,4), building pipeline army camps (S,2,3,5,6,9), serving soldiers at camps (S,1,2,12), Ka Daik jetty facilities (S,1,2), Ka Daik-On Bin Kwin supply road (S,1,2), Mi Kyaun Laun-Ain Da Ya Za pipeline road (S,4), Nat Gyi Zin-Pya Thon Zu-Ain Da Ya Za car road (12), Ye-Tavoy railway (S,1,2,4,5,7,8,10,12), Ye-Tavoy car road (S,1,2,4), portering in pipeline area (S,2,4,5,7,12).

Summary of Developments on the Project

Work Progress

The construction of the onshore pipeline can be divided into a few main phases: surveying, then clearing the route and building a pipeline service road, then digging the pipeline trench along the road (probably at least 6 feet deep), and finally laying the pipe and setting up the compressor stations along the route. The oil companies consistently shrug off reports of human rights abuses by stating that "the pipeline itself is not under construction yet". It is true that no pipe has been laid yet, but this will only be the final stage of construction. Survey work is as much a part of pipeline construction as is laying pipe, and in that sense the pipeline has been under construction since the beginning of the 1994/95 dry season. Currently, the survey work of most of the route is complete, and work is ongoing clearing and building the western half of the pipeline service road, from Hpaungdaw to Mi Kyaun Ain, Kanbauk and onward toward Mi Kyaun Laun.

The oil companies do not deny that mass forced labour is being used to build the Ye-Tavoy railway line which crosses the pipeline route; instead, they have simply stated that it has nothing to do with their project and have vowed not to use it. Instead, they have worked with SLORC to build and extend jetty facilities at Ka Daik and Pyin Gyi on the Heinze Basin in order to bring in pipeline supplies by sea. Ka Daik, which has deep water, is to be the main supply point, with Pyin Gyi as secondary and backup. This southern arm of the Heinze Basin has always been used by ships taking the lead from the mines in the area, but to accomodate the pipeline the facilities have been considerably extended. A helipad has been built at Ka Daik, a bridge and road are being built from Ka Daik 5-10 km. south to On Bin Kwin (where TOTAL has its base camp), and SLORC Army camps and buildings have been built at both Ka Daik and Pyin Gyi. Villagers from the area report that support roads are also being built or improved from Pyin Gyi to Kanbauk, Pyin Gyi to Ain Da Ya Za, Ain Da Ya Za to Mi Kyaun Ain and Ain Da Ya Za to Mi Kyaun Laun. Helipad facilities have also been built or extended southeast of On Bin Kwin (at the TOTAL camp), west of On Bin Kwin, and at Mi Kyaun Laun, which is near the centre of the pipeline route.

Texaco has a separate contract to pipe gas from the Yetagun offshore field to Thailand, and they are now becoming active in the area. Initially there were reportedly disputes between Texaco and TOTAL because Texaco began hiring labour at a higher wage (300 Kyat/day as compared to TOTAL's 200/day), however MOGE reportedly intervened and Texaco now pays only 200 Kyats. As yet we have little information on Texaco's plans, but there are reports that they plan to lay a separate pipeline along the same route.

Hired Labour and Forced Labour

At the beginning of 1995 TOTAL began hiring labourers to work at their base camp near On Bin Kwin and on survey and route clearing work. Engineers were seconded from Myanmar Airways and other SLORC companies, several hundred hired labourers were brought from other areas and about 200 people from the area were hired as labour. Hiring was done by a local SLORC committee; applicants had to buy application forms, bribe the committee and the medical examiner, and preference was given to USDA members and relatives of Township LORC members. Pay is 200 Kyats per day, which is only US$1.63 [at the time of printing] but is still at least double the local rate for paid day labour. These hiring practices continue. 'Myint Association' (literally, 'Sea Association'), a subsidiary of Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE), has now been assigned responsibility by both TOTAL and Texaco to do much of the work recruiting labour, supervising survey work and acting as liaison with local authorities.

However, as the amount of labour needed increases, SLORC is increasingly bringing in forced labour from the villages, sometimes to work alongside the paid labourers and sometimes separately. Since early 1995 there have been reports of SLORC using villagers as forced labour clearing for the pipeline survey work, but now the use of forced labour has become much more extensive and systematic. Villagers are now being used as forced labour on the Hpaungdaw-Kanbauk "pipeline route road" as well as the supply and support roads from Ka Daik to On Bin Kwin, Pyin Gyi to Kanbauk, Pyin Gyi to Ain Da Ya Za, Ain Da Ya Za to Mi Kyaun Ain and Ain Da Ya Za to Mi Kyaun Laun - in short, every road being built as part of the pipeline infrastructure is using at least some forced labour of villagers. Through late 1995, villagers were also used as forced labour building the helipad and Army camp facilities at Ka Daik for the pipeline, and they continue to be used as forced labour on helipad facilities near Mi Kyaun Laun. They are also being used as forced labour building and maintaining all the new Army camps at Ka Daik, Pyin Gyi, Kanbauk, and On Bin Kwin, and building many Army outposts and checkpoints along the pipeline route road. Details have been provided by the villagers interviewed in this report.

Typically, the village elders are ordered to send a quota of labourers for 4-day shifts on these projects, rotating from family to family. They must take all their own food. In some locations, such as the Mi Kyaun Laun helipad, they are told that they will be paid 200 Kyat per day but they never receive it. This may be done in case foreigners ask them whether or not they are being paid. In many cases villagers report having seen foreigners at the work site, sometimes even several times per day. On the Hpaungdaw-Kanbauk route, villagers say the foreigners even stop to watch the work and take pictures. On the Ka Daik and Mi Kyaun Laun helipads, villagers say that when the foreigners fly in the villagers are shuffled away into hiding until the foreigners leave.

The villagers being called for forced labour on the pipeline infrastructure are largely from areas well north of the pipeline route; for example, villagers from Mayan Chaung are being forced to do labour between Mi Kyaun Laun and Ain Da Ya Za, 20 km. south of their homes, and villagers from Yah Pu are being summoned for forced labour at Ka Daik and On Bin Kwin, 30 km. southwest of home. There are certainly enough people in Kanbauk and Mi Kyaun Ain (combined population 16,222 according to TOTAL figures) to do this labour. SLORC may be calling people these distances in order to keep full knowledge of this forced labour from the oil companies, or to keep people living alongside the pipeline from being too strongly against the project. The oil companies regularly claim that the villagers in the area love the pipeline, and it would not look good if everyone began fleeing the area due to forced labour on the project.

It is clearly not in the interest of TOTAL or Unocal to use forced labour, particularly when they can hire people for less than US$2 per day. All reports from the area seem to indicate that TOTAL is trying very hard to ensure that all labour is voluntary and paid. Either they are simply not aware that the villagers they see are doing forced labour, or they refuse to believe it. Unocal has claimed that every labourer on the project receives his or her pay directly from the hand of a foreign TOTAL employee, which is false. Initially TOTAL distributed pay through MOGE, but much of it was being commandeered so now TOTAL employees do it, but only to those on the hired payroll. The forced labourers called by SLORC are simply not on the list. In a letter of 6 September 1995, TOTAL spokesperson Caroline Mille stated, "The installation of this gas pipeline will be done under the operational control of TOTAL and, as usual in these cases, the Group will call on specialised competent companies, internationally recognised. Those which will be chosen will use as much as possible local labour force, exclusively voluntary and remunerated, bringing in resources to the population of the concerned areas. They will obviously operate under the conditions of respect for human and labour rights equivalent to those applied by this company everywhere in the world." In this case the 'competent company' chosen is Myint Association, a subsidiary of SLORC's oil company MOGE. TOTAL is not even handling labour recruitment themselves, and there is no way that the handful of TOTAL foreigners in the pipeline area can guarantee from day to day that each of the several thousand people doing manual labour on at least 6 worksites up to 30 km. apart is on their hired payroll. They may be able to hand the pay packet to each paid worker, but they cannot stop the 5,000 to 7,000 SLORC troops who have been sent into the region from calling villagers for forced labour as they please. Unocal may say otherwise, but Unocal has no one based in the pipeline area.

Effects on Villagers

The pipeline project is having other direct effects on the lives of villagers in the region beyond simply forced labour on the pipeline infrastructure. Most of these effects are related to the pipeline security troops - over 10 Battalions of the SLORC Army, 5,000 to 7,000 soldiers, sent into the region because of the pipeline project. Farmland is being confiscated for several new Army camps on or near the pipeline route, and villagers are being required to do forced labour building and maintaining these camps, then going on rotating shifts as servants for the soldiers. At least 8 Battalions have troops stationed in the western half of the pipeline route alone. Every new Battalion also means an increase in extortion fees imposed on all villagers within that Battalion's reach. Families in Kanbauk area who used to have to pay 200-300 Kyat per month in 'porter fees', 'development fees', 'railway fees', and other bogus 'fees' to the local Battalion now have to pay those same fees to 3 or 5 Battalions at once, forcing many to sell their belongings or leave the area. Kywe Thone Nyi Ma, Taung Kon and other villages just north of the pipeline route now have to pay 'pipeline fees' of 150 Kyat/family/month to Light Infantry Battalion #404 in Kanbauk, and are threatened with forced labour on the pipeline if they don't pay.

The oil companies repeatedly claim that the Ye-Tavoy railway has nothing to do with them, but it will certainly be used to support all the troops in the area to protect their pipeline. Right now SLORC is focussing most forced labour on the Kyaun Sone - Kalein Aung portion of the railway, just south of the pipeline route. The reason may be in order to finish the portion where the railway crosses the pipeline before the pipeline work begins in that area; to date, Unocal representatives have clearly been nervous about the issues raised by the pipeline-railway crossing near Kalein Aung. Regardless of the reason, villagers from as far as 80 km. north in Ye are being forced to travel all the way to Kyaun Sone to finish this section as quickly as possible. The combination of constant forced labour on the railway and the additional labour and extortion imposed by the pipeline security troops has proven too much for many families and has driven them into fleeing the area. However, SLORC is now actively blocking people who live close to the pipeline from fleeing toward the Thai border. In the clearest example, on 12 March over 100 people from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma (15 km. north of the pipeline) were blocked in Kin Chaung and turned back by SLORC troops. Traders report that there are more and more checkpoints and travel is becoming more difficult, and some villagers claim that SLORC troops are spreading serious threats against any attempt to flee, particularly in villages near the pipeline.

The oil companies claim that they are paying compensation for farmland confiscated or destroyed along the pipeline route. They never mention whether the landowner has any choice in the matter. Since 15 December 1995, several farmers from Ta Min Seik, Hpaungdaw, Kaw Thu and Thingan Nyi Naung villages have been ordered to cut down all or part of their orchards because they will be in the way of the construction, reportedly with no compensation paid. Other farmers have also had land destroyed along the various "pipeline roads". According to the oil companies, the compensation offered is supposed to equal 5 years' projected income from the land - for subsistence farmers who only have a few acres, whose land has been passed down through generations, this is criminal. It amounts to robbing their families of both their past and future. However, the farmers cannot dare object in the face of SLORC soldiers, and TOTAL people are always accompanied by SLORC soldiers. Some villagers claim that even the compensation money offered is often given through the local authorities, who do not pass it on to the farmer.

Kanbauk and On Bin Kwin are also suffering higher inflation than the rest of Burma due to TOTAL's importation of most of its 'high-paid' (200 Kyat/day) workforce. The inflation is also fuelled by TOTAL's heavy demand on basic commodities, such as diesel fuel and food (to feed all the staff in their camp), and the parallel demands of all the new SLORC Battalions in the area. Many commodities are already in limited supply and Burma is currently in a rice crisis, even without the added burden of these demands. The job situation and the inflation show all the signs of a 'boom/bust' economy - once the pipeline is built, there will be no more work and the economy of the area will most likely collapse.

Security

SLORC has sent over 10 Infantry Battalions, 5,000 to 7,000 troops, into the region because of the pipeline project. Throughout 1995, offensives were mounted in the eastern part of the pipeline route near Nat Ein Taung (at the Thai border) to secure the remainder of the route. Hundreds of civilians were taken as forced porters for these offensives, some of whom died. Now there is so much SLORC military in the entire pipeline route region that in the words of one villager, "Now nobody can go in that area, nobody can go near the pipeline route except on the big road". Travel in the area is getting much more difficult for villagers. In the Heinze Basin, fishermen and boatmen have been told that they cannot go into the Basin's Southern Arm towards Kanbauk when the ships come in to Ka Daik or Pyin Gyi; these ships carry pipeline supplies.

TOTAL's base camp near On Bin Kwin has wire around it, bunkers, trenches, SLORC Army guards and a large SLORC Army security contingent. No one except employees is allowed inside. When foreigners leave the camp, they are always escorted by two armed trucks of soldiers in front and one truckload behind, with a minimum of 30-50 soldiers. TOTAL's people do most of their travelling along the pipeline route by SLORC military helicopter. There are many reports that some of the TOTAL employees are French mercenaries who act as SLORC military security advisers, working in the area armed with walkie-talkies. Local sources say that in December 1995 Village LORC heads were called to a meeting by SLORC where they were told that in the 10 village tracts of Kanbauk area, if a shot is heard then that village will be forced to move to a site designated by SLORC.

Attacks

In January 1995 Unocal President John Imle promised, "For every threat to the pipeline there will be a reaction", and SLORC has kept his promise. After a Karen militia group attacked a SLORC Army column moving with a pipeline survey team in March 1995, Lt. Col. Han Tint, commander of LIB #408, ordered Ain Da Ya Za, Maw Kyi, Mintha, Ah Leh Gyi, Sein Goo, Sin Zwe, and other villages to pay 100,000 Kyat each as compensation.

On 2 February 1996 at 8:15 a.m. another attack occurred, apparently again by a Karen village militia group but this time not connected to the KNU, this time close to TOTAL's base camp at On Bin Kwin. Three 107 mm. rockets were fired at On Bin Kwin, only one exploded and no one was wounded. After the attack, SLORC replaced the commander of LIB 403, Maj. Chit Swe, and reinforced LIB 401 and LIB 407 with 80 new troops. Ain Da Ya Za village was then accused of helping the attackers, and the following happened in the village: SLORC troops executed Saw Ka Plah (male, age 43, 4 children) after accusing him of allowing his daughter Naw Ser Ser to fall in love with a Karen soldier. They imprisoned Naw Ser Ser (female, age 24, single). They executed Saw Taw Ner Dee (male, age 28, 2 children) after accusing him of possessing weapons. They arrested Saw Ser Ser (male, age 25, 1 child) and began torturing him. A village elder went to plead for him and told them that on 2 February Saw Ser Ser was carrying ammunition as a porter for LIB 403, but the elder could not speak Burmese well and the officer thought he'd said Saw Ser Ser was carrying ammunition for the KNLA, so he gave the order and Saw Ser Ser was executed. The troops also executed Saw August (male, age 33) after accusing him of taking the Karen soldiers to Kanbauk, and executed Saw Ler Say (male, age 20), no reason given.

In Shwe Plah village, the troops executed village elder Saw Kyi Lwin (male, age 30) because they said he had allowed the attackers to pass through his village. Saw Paw Poe (male, age 32, 5 children) had been an elder of Ain Da Ya Za 5 years ago, and he knew SLORC wanted to arrest him so he fled towards the Thai border, but SLORC troops caught him in Tee Po Kee village and executed him.

In Ain Da Ya Za village, Saw Nu Nu (male, age 29) and Saw Lu (male, age 30, 2 children) were arrested and tortured. The commander of LIB 403 also wanted to kill Ain Da Ya Za village elder Saw Ni Taw (male, age 29, 2 children), but the LIB 407 commander knew he had nothing to do with the attack so he hid Saw Ni Taw in his military camp. Along with Naw Ser Ser (see above), LIB 403 also arrested and detained Mugha Theh Ner (female, age around 40) and Saw Go Dee (male, age 32) after charging that the Karen soldiers had used their large firepit to cook.

Altogether, 7 villagers were executed, at least 3 were tortured, and 3 were arrested and detained. The soldiers buried the bodies at night and told the villagers that if TOTAL learned of the executions they would come to the village again (to conduct more executions). SLORC Operations Commander Maj. Zaw Htun, who was involved in the killings, gave orders to forcibly relocate Ain Da Ya Za to Klone Hta but this was not done, most likely because of pressure from TOTAL. TOTAL sources have previously indicated that Maj. Zaw Htun is their main liaison with the SLORC military in the pipeline area. [Details of retaliation arrests/executions obtained through EarthRights International.]

Since then, martial law has been declared in the surrounding villages and restrictive measures on civilians have been intensified.

Public Relations

Reliable sources report that in Rangoon, TOTAL is now subjecting its foreign and Burmese staff to regular lectures on the benefits of the gas pipeline project to local communities, apparently concerned about the attitude of its own employees. These same employees have been ordered by TOTAL not to go to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's house on weekends, when the public gathers to hear her speak. In the pipeline area, TOTAL is worried about the attitude of the local population. At Water Festival in April 1995 in Kanbauk, a beauty contest was held and a French TOTAL employee known locally as 'Mr. Max' awarded the prize to the winner, Ma Oh Kan, age 18. In doing so he kissed her on both cheeks in the French style, and there was an outcry throughout Kanbauk until 'Mr. Max' apologised and silenced the girl's parents with 2,000 Kyat. As an apparent result of such incidents, TOTAL is starting some cultural awareness training for its employees. Even so, there is concern in the area for young single women whom TOTAL has hired to work in their base camp. The women are paid 6,000 Kyat per month to do cooking, cleaning, and laundry, but they must stay in the camp, and many local people are concerned for them because the camp is a fortress of SLORC soldiers, male foreigners and male Burmese labourers. There are unconfirmed reports that some of these women have been raped in the camp - two in mid-1995 and one in December 1995 - after which TOTAL paid the families concerned to keep them quiet. There are also unconfirmed reports that some Burman women in the Kanbauk area have entered the sex trade to serve the employees at the base camp, and that they are the only locals who can pass through the tight base camp security without difficulty.

'Community development'

Unocal and Total claim to be improving the lives of people in the area by giving aid money for community development. For example, on 6 September 1995, TOTAL spokesperson Caroline Mille wrote, "the first actions carried out, according to the needs of each village, consist of distribution of books, means for schools, bicycles for nurses, organising medical checkups, and installing anti-fly latrines for cholera prevention. The feasibility of other actions are under study: anti-malarial programme with the Pasteur Institute, improvement of water supply services, improvement of hospitals, supply of seeds, seedlings, fishing nets,..." In his February 1996 letters to Karen refugees who had written asking Unocal to get out and to the U.S. magazine In These Times, Unocal spokesperson David Garcia wrote, "TOTAL, in consultation with Unocal, is proceeding with a wide variety of socio-economic development programs ... we have developed several village joint ventures involving shrimp, pig and cattle/dairy farming, a veterinary care program and technical crop assistance. ... To date, several other local villages have asked to participate in our regional socioeconomic development program." In the same letter, Garcia refers to SLORC as Unocal's "project co-venturers" and commends the regime for its infrastructure development projects, including "construction of inter-village access roads".

The companies have sought international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) willing to accept money to implement programs for them, possibly on condition that they not criticise SLORC or the project (a similar condition exists in the companies' contracts with SLORC). They have reached agreements with the Pasteur Institute for malaria research and with World Vision, and have also approached French medical NGO Medecins du Monde. There may also be others. The Pasteur Institute is well-known for research work in France; Unocal says it has "sponsored a Pasteur Institute malaria research program to develop more effective anti-malaria drugs" (David Garcia, letter to Karen refugees, 19/2/96). It is unclear whether the program's primary aim is to help people in the area with malaria treatment or to experiment on them with new drugs. World Vision is an evangelical Christian aid organisation which uses relief aid to get access to people for evangelism. When World Vision was refused permission to send Bibles along with rice to Cambodian refugees, a former World Vision president withdrew the rice aid and publicly stated, "You can't expect us to feed them and then let them go to Hell". World Vision has already been in Rangoon for some time, and is known for its willingness to deliver funds under SLORC's terms, with few or no conditions, in return for a presence in the country.

Unocal claims 13 local villages are already involved in its development program. In mid-1995, local SLORC authorities under Battalion command issued orders to 13 villages telling them to set up 'pipeline welcoming committees' and draw up lists of 'needs' for SLORC approval before submission to TOTAL. Both the companies and the NGOs are working through the Ya Wa Ta (village-level SLORC authorities, under Battalion control) and the USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association). SLORC presents USDA as an NGO, but it is a political organisation created by SLORC in 1993 as a replacement for the pre-1988 BSPP (Burma Socialist Programme Party). The USDA gets members through SLORC-organized forced-attendance mass rallies, through threatening people who do not join with loss of privileges and offering perks to those who join. To date, the USDA's main role has been to hold mass rallies expressing "unanimous public support" for SLORC's National Convention drafting a military-run Constitution. There is even speculation that SLORC may turn USDA into a political party once their Constitution is finished.

It is almost certain that any joint venture farming projects set up by the companies will be taken over by local SLORC authorities or Battalions once the companies are no longer in the villages. All over Burma, including in the pipeline region, SLORC Battalions are already confiscating farmland to grow cash crops for military profit, so they can hardly be expected to leave these projects alone. Livestock such as the few pairs of piglets and chickens which TOTAL is giving out in some villages is quite likely to be looted by the pipeline security troops by the time it grows to maturity. Villagers who have fled the area say that any benefits derived from TOTAL's projects are more than cancelled out by the 1,000 to 3,000 Kyats more in extortion fees families have to pay every month to the SLORC Battalions sent to secure the pipeline. Many families are voting with their feet and leaving the area. SLORC is responding by trying to block their escape.

All of the interviews below were conducted in areas of Burma near the Thai border where these people had fled, family by family, to become internally displaced people. Now that all Mon refugees have been forcibly repatriated to Burma by Thai authorities, these people are living in very difficult circumstances with little or no protection from SLORC troops.

NAME: "Nai Tin Shein"          SEX: M          AGE: 48 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 5 daughters
ADDRESS: San Ngan Taw village, Ye Pyu Township      INTERVIEWED: 20/3/96

["Nai Tin Shein"'s village is near Kanbauk, which is right on the pipeline route. He had to sell his field so his daughters wouldn't have to go work on the pipeline supply road from Ka Daik, and says his girls are no longer safe in Kanbauk because of all the pipeline security troops.]

I arrived here about 10 days ago. I have a farm and a boat but my 5 children are all girls, no boys. When they ask for porters and workers for the railway, I am too old to go, so my daughters have to go instead of me and SLORC insulted them. I heard that and I worried for them because they could be raped. Also, before we can go out in our boat we have to give money, and when we come back we have to give money to SLORC again. We had to stop travelling with the boat. Our family decided together that we had to leave to another place. Now we feel safer here.

In our village, people have to work on the railway and on the car road. In February, my daughter had to go to work on the railway, from San Ngan Taw to Kalein Aung. Two of my daughters had to go - one each time. For 15 days each. They had to dig the ground to make a new embankment. Also, in our village SLORC called everyday for 3 people to stay at their camp to carry water, clean the compound, bring firewood for them. For my family, it is very difficult because I have no man at home. When they call us, I have to send one of my daughters to stay with them. That is not good. I worry for them.

The "pipeline road" has two parts. One is from Hpaungdaw to Kanbauk, that is the pipeline road. At another part, near the sea [at Ka Daik], other labourers have to go from other villages but we have to pay money for that part too. The road goes from Ka Daik to Hpaungdaw [actually the road goes from Ka Daik to On Bin Kwin, where it joins the road going west to Hpaungdaw and southeast to Kanbauk], from Hpaungdaw to Kanbauk and from Kanbauk to Nat Ein Taung. It was too far to send my daughters to the Ka Daik road [for forced labour as ordered], so I had to hire another man to go. To get the money, I had to sell my field.

It is a big road. The pipeline will go from the sea to Kanbauk and from Kanbauk to Nat Ein Taung. I didn't see but that is how they planned it. The road is near the pipeline, from Hpaungdaw to Ain Da Ya Za and it crosses Mi Kyaun Ain. They have not laid any pipes yet. People say that. The Germans at first gave compensation to the landowners like 100,000 Kyats, but SLORC said that the value of the land was not that much. "In Burma, no need to pay compensation", they said. That was from Hpaungdaw to Mi Kyaun Ain. From Hpaungdaw on, they started giving compensation then they stopped. The first group of people got high compensation because they had a lot of cashew nut trees. The Germans knew that cashew nut trees can be used for the fruit, the leaves, the nuts and to make oil. But later, SLORC talked to them and nobody got compensation. Before, some did. Not now.

Q: Who gave the compensation?

A: The German company.

Q: Which company?

A: I don't know. We just call them "the Germans". [This is almost certainly TOTAL, but someone in the area may have encountered a German - hence the name.]

Q: Who called the people to work on the road?

A: The SLORC. At first, when the Germans called people for work, they wanted to pay money. But SLORC said no. The Germans started the road construction, but at that time SLORC took over for security reasons. The Germans brought their own trucks and bulldozers. I think the Germans gave money for that but SLORC took it. SLORC doesn't want to pay. The SLORC said it is voluntary work.

Q: Do foreigners travel on that road?

A: Yes, they are travelling a lot. Each truck with foreigners is accompanied by three trucks of SLORC soldiers. Now in Kanbauk there are 8 battalions to give security to the Germans. Battalions 104, 408, 409, 410,... KNU attacked them once.

Q: Have they build new army camps along the pipeline recently?

A: In Ka Daik, one camp. In Ka Daik harbour, ships come and big bulldozers to make the road come often. More bulldozers to make the road, more [forced labour] work for the villagers. They never get to stop working.

Q: Are there any benefits to your village because of the pipeline?

A: No benefit. Some people work for the company and earn 200 Kyats per day. Only the people who work for the company can go into their area. The others can't go.

Q: Do people from your village get jobs at TOTAL headquarters?

A: No, they just want people they like. They only choose a few people who can read and write English.

Q: What changes has the pipeline brought to Kanbauk area?

A: The place has changed a lot compared to before. Now, there are a lot of soldiers in Kanbauk. Now, it is not safe for the girls. They can't go everywhere as before.

Q: Did you hear about a Karen attack on the pipeline in February?

A: Yes. The shelling was in On Bin Kwin - between Kanbauk and On Bin Kwin, but closer to On Bin Kwin. Now they [SLORC] have declared martial law in every village after the Karen attack. If there is fighting in a village, this village will be destroyed and burnt down. Some village elders moved here [near the Thai border] because they were afraid. After the attack, two elders from Nat Kyin Pyan village were killed [east of Mi Kyaun Ain]. I only know about these two elders. SLORC said to them, "Why did KNU come and you didn't inform us?" and they killed them. They said the two headmen fed the KNU troops before they shelled the pipeline.

Often, beside the railway line, near the forest, I heard mines exploding. KNU or SLORC mines, I don't know. Part of the railway line built by the villagers was bombed by them [KNU]. Some people died, villagers who were working to build the railway line. Two villagers died. No SLORC soldiers were wounded. These two villagers were looking for food in the forest. The mines exploded and killed them. That was two months ago, on the railway line southeast of Kanbauk, between Ye Pyu and Kalein Aung. So now the SLORC doesn't allow people to sleep just anywhere, they have to sleep and stay together with the soldiers. And if KNU comes to attack them, they use the forced labourers as porters.

Now nobody can go in that area, nobody can go near the pipeline route except on the big road.

NAME: "Nai Sein Hla"          SEX: M          AGE: 42 Mon Buddhist farmer/sawyer
FAMILY: Married, 6 children
ADDRESS: Yah Pu village, Ye Pyu Township     INTERVIEWED: 17/3/96

["Nai Sein Hla" has done forced labour on the pipeline supply road from the new jetty facilities at Ka Daik, a helipad for foreigners at Ka Daik, Army security buildings at Ka Daik and On Bin Kwin, and as a porter in SLORC's offensive to secure the eastern end of the pipeline route.]

I left Yah Pu one month ago because I was really afraid to work on the railway construction. I am a slash-and-burn farmer and I have been working in a sawmill for 8 years. Since the beginning of Taw Tha Lin month [Aug. 25/95], I've worked on the railway near Kyaun Sone over a 3-month period. I worked for 15 days each month, altogether for 45 days. Prisoners, police and villagers were there but they were staying separately. The prisoners all had shackles. I saw them working. The soldiers used to come and check twice a day where we were working. There were 2 policemen and one soldier, and also a group of 5 prisoners and 3 soldiers. I saw their beatings and killings. When someone tried to escape, they shot him with a gun. They didn't give enough food to the prisoners, so how can they work? They didn't beat the villagers. If someone was sick, they never gave treatment but they allowed them to go home.

I also worked on the Ye-Tavoy car road. First I had to crush stones, then load and unload them from trucks. Then I had to carry and put the stones on the road, and the steamroller passed over them. Afterwards, I had to melt the tar and pour it on the road. My duty was finished by then. They only use manpower to crush and load stones and the steamroller is the only machine they use on the road. Now, SLORC is still working on that road. I had to work there since a long time ago, since my son was a child. He has a baby now. Now a bus is running. I also worked there after SLORC took power. The last time was 4 years ago. Now this road is damaged and they called people again but I didn't go. They are widening the road to 50 feet wide.

I also worked on the pipeline for one year. Last year, at the beginning of the rainy season. First we had to work in Ka Daik, and afterwards between Ka Daik and On Bin Kwin. We had to build a bridge, some buildings and a helipad. I had to work on the pipeline near On Bin Kwin and Mi Kyaun Ain. The labourers didn't get paid. Only the permanent workers get money from SLORC, 3,500 Kyats per month. But some people who had plantations near On Bin Kwin received some compensation from SLORC. I worked there more than 10 times. All the villages, not only Yah Pu, have to stay there for 2 or 3 days. I went on foot because the travelling charges are 200 Kyats and it is too expensive. So I always walked, every time. It took me one day. There, they gave a work assignment. We must work as much as our strength allows until we complete our assignment. Then we could go back home. I worked 5 days to build the bridge. Nobody got paid. I saw many foreigners there, more than 50 [probably not all at once]. They were measuring on the road.

Q: So did the foreigners see the people working?

A: Yes. They were walking along the bridge. The foreigners were with 2 soldiers.

I also worked on a helipad near On Bin Kwin, near the sea at Ka Daik. We had to build a bridge for the cars and we had to cut trees on the top of the hill to build the helipad. It was in the month of Taw Tha Lin [Aug. 25 - Sept. 23/95]. We didn't get paid. All the villagers from every village had to go there. One village for one day. They rotated. From Yah Pu, there were 30 villagers.

Q: Did you see foreigners on the helipad?

A: Yes, I saw them but I don't know exactly what they were doing. There were measuring on the ground right out in the hot sun. There were helicopters, but I'm not sure whose. Maybe theirs [the foreigners']. They were painted in camouflage colours. All the foreigners came by helicopter. The helicopter was very big. It could carry many drums of water which were hanging under it. Inside the helicopter, there was also one boat [possibly an inflatable]. When the foreigners arrived, we had to stop working. We didn't work at the same time as them. I don't know why. I worked there 3 or 4 times, 5 days each time. After 5 days, Yah Pu villagers finished and another village worked there, then later Yah Pu villagers had to go and work again.

I had to work on the pipeline road and also on the pipeline. The distance between the road and the trenches was 12 feet. The width of the road was about 18 feet, the width of a truck. The depth of the trenches was 1 daw [about 18 inches] and the width was 3 daw [about 4 1/2 feet], so maybe they are for laying the pipe. [The pipe trench will likely be much deeper than this, so it is more likely that these roadside trenches are for drainage or some other form of piping.] I didn't see any pipes. We were doing both jobs at the same time, the road and the trenches.

I also worked building army buildings near the pipeline at On Bin Kwin and also in Ka Daik harbour. In On Bin Kwin, it is a new building for the army. I don't know for which battalion. I worked there in Taw Tha Lin month [Aug. 25 - Sept. 23/95]. I worked twice in Ka Daik and once in On Bin Kwin in Thadin Kyut month [Sept. 24 - Oct. 22/95]. Twice two days in Ka Daik and three times 5 days in On Bin Kwin. I had to cut trees and clear bushes for the road.

I had no time to work for myself. That's why I left my village. I had to do so much 'loke ar pay' work [forced labour] for SLORC. Sometimes I had also to go as a porter and I had to weave bamboo and build walls for the soldiers' buildings. Just before I came here, I had to follow the soldiers as a porter for 5 days. I carried bullets from Yah Pu to Kin Chaung, and to Kywetalin. Also to Mayan Chaung.

Now, NMSP and SLORC have made a ceasefire for almost one year. I can't count how many times I have been a porter since then. When I was a porter in Nat Ein Taung and Kyauk Tha Yan, near Ma Yen, they took all the belongings of the villagers and raped the girls. At the time, I was with them [this is on the offensives to secure the eastern end of the pipeline route]. There was a battle between SLORC and revolution groups, probably MNLA, for 6 hours. This happened about one year ago, before the ceasefire. The woman was from Ma Yen and after raping her, they released her.

Q: In Yah Pu, did SLORC ask for taxes?

A: Yes. Why Not? They always take money from the villagers. They didn't take the money directly themselves, they always ordered the money from the headman. 30 or 40 Kyats per family for their eating and their drinking.

It is better to stay here. I lost 3 bulls this year. When I couldn't go to work on the railway construction, I had to hire someone and pay 2,500 Kyats. Also I had to pay 3,000 Kyats for porter fees. I had to sell my bulls to pay this money.

NAME: "Nai Kror"          SEX: M          AGE: 43 Mon Buddhist farmer, village elder
FAMILY: Married, 8 children aged 2-22
ADDRESS: Kywe Gone village, Ye Pyu Township      INTERVIEWED: 15/3/96

[As village secretary, "Nai Kror" had to respond to SLORC orders demanding labour clearing the "pipeline road" near On Bin Kwin and building an army headquarters building in On Bin Kwin near the TOTAL camp. He also comments on SLORC's retaliation for the February attack against the pipeline.]

I was the Secretary of the village Council for four years. I was chosen by SLORC. In Kywe Gone, there are 40 houses. My family left alone 5 days ago and we arrived yesterday with the families from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma. If I stay in my village, I have to pay money for porter fees. Sometimes, I have no money to feed my family. Even though I am a village leader, I have to go and do "voluntary labour". I have no time to work for my family. That is why I left.

When SLORC calls for people from our village, we have to send 10 people. They send a written order, on average about 5 times a month - sometimes once a week, sometimes twice a week. Sometimes once in two weeks. These orders call for voluntary labourers, porters. Also for money for sports competitions and railway construction. Sometimes we have to send food like chicken or fish for the army officers. The orders are sent from Kanbauk to Thet Chaung and from there to our village. They come from Ya Wa Ta [Village LORC, local-level SLORC administration] and also from the Army, but Ya Wa Ta and the Army are the same. Actually, all these letters come from the battalion. The messenger brings the letters to Ya Wa Ta. A soldier is sent to Ya Wa Ta to write the orders for them. They are from #273 battalion in Kanbauk and from #408 battalion in Kanbauk. #408 is there for road security.

For the pipeline they don't demand money, they demand people. One village has the responsibility for one building. Now we have just finished and it is the turn of another village. All the villagers from Kanbauk village group, like Thet Chaung, Tha Put Chaung, Tha Ngan Thote, Kin Tha, Talai Kyon, Mone Tha, and other villages, all had to go and work on that building. It is a building for the army in On Bin Kwin [where TOTAL's base camp is located]. These buildings are new ones. SLORC is building new army places in On Bin Kwin, Thet Chaung, Hpaungdaw, Min Saing, Maung Ngan, Lay Myaw, and so on. They started in the month of Thadin Kyut [Sept. 24 -Oct. 22/95]. We had to send 4 people three or four times a month for one week.

We have to do things according to their orders, between On Bin Kwin and Mi Kyaun Ain. It is along an existing road. The other pipeline road is between Pyin Gyi, Mi Kyaun Ain and Sat Kone.

They haven't started the pipeline [i.e. actually laying the pipe] yet, but the army officers ordered us to do "voluntary labour" on the pipeline project in On Bin Kwin. Some other villagers also told me about that, that they had to work on the pipeline. All the villagers in my village have been there. I had to send two people for one week, or sometimes 7 people. We had to clear the bushes between On Bin Kwin and Mi Kyaun Ain. When the work is completed, the villagers can go home. They have to stay one week or more on the pipeline road. There is no pay. SLORC only gave money to some people, those who are permanent workers. We saw some foreigners. They were just walking around that place, and they took pictures in order to get the news. When we were working, they took pictures of us. They always came with guards.

Q: Did you hear about an attack on the pipeline?

A: I don't know exactly but some people told me about that. It was near Ka Daik, on the 14th day of Da Bo Dweh month [2 February 1996].

Q: What happened there? Were some people wounded or not?

A: No.

Q: What was the reaction of SLORC?

A: They didn't respond. Karen shelled 4 times but only one shell exploded. Nobody was hurt. Afterwards, SLORC captured Karen villagers from Ain Da Ya Za. They killed 7 villagers and they increased their troops near On Bin Kwin.

Q: Did the shell explode near TOTAL?

A: Yes, near there.

Most of our villagers in Kywe Gone are farmers. SLORC demanded 10 tins [of paddy] per acre this year, in 1996. In 1995, the farmers who had their own paddy field had to give 10 tins for the year and those who had a government paddy field had to give 8 tins to SLORC. This year, it is the reverse. This year, there was a problem with the irrigation system. The paddy fields were flooded and the harvest was not good. SLORC didn't increase the quota.

I had no chance to do my own work as long as I stayed there. When SLORC called the villagers to work I had to go with them, because I was more responsible than the villagers. I was in charge. If I didn't want to go and work there, I also had to give money. I have so many children. I could not go every time. If I stayed in my house, they could come and call me to do something. As long as I stay in my village, I would have to stay with them [SLORC]. I was really upset about that situation, so I left.

NAME: "Nai Tin Aung"          SEX: M          AGE: 27 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 2 children aged 3 and 7
ADDRESS: Mayan Chaung village, Ye Pyu Township      INTERVIEWED: 14/3/96

NAME: "Mi Sein"          SEX: F          AGE: 36 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 4 children and pregnant with a fifth
ADDRESS: Mayan Chaung village, Ye Pyu Township      INTERVIEWED: 14/3/96

[Before fleeing in February 1996, they did forced labour on a pipeline helipad, the Mi Kyaun Laun - Ain Da Ya Za "pipeline road", Ye-Tavoy railway and road, and portering in SLORC offensives to secure the eastern end of the pipeline route at Nat Ein Taung.]

"Nai Tin Aung": I arrived here [near the Thai border] one month ago. I came with all my family and it took us 3 days. We had to work on the railway and on the road. Every month, we have to pay so much money to SLORC. We are a poor family. We could not provide for ourselves any more. We had to come here. That is why we came here.

I was growing rice. With one basket of seed paddy, you can grow 100 baskets. Out of 100 baskets, you have to give 8 or 10 to SLORC and they pay nothing for these. The rest was not enough, because we had to sell some to get money to pay the taxes to SLORC. For porter fees, we had to pay 2,500 Kyats for two months to hire other people. Because there are a lot of people in our village, our turn comes up less often [each family's turn to work or pay is once per 2 months instead of once per month as in most villages]. Every time SLORC come unexpectedly to our village, they even catch people. Whenever they come they ask for things like chickens, pigs, meat. If the people don't give or if anyone says something, they are beaten up. They come all the time. When a group arrives, they stay for three days. When one group leaves, another one arrives. The troops are from LIB #404, #410, #415. LIB #410 ask for the porter fees. I had to sell my rice to pay these. After all my rice was sold, I had no more provision for my family and we came here. I know I can get rice here. If you don't pay, they will beat you, arrest you and put you in jail. Sometimes they tell you that they will take you to the battalion [camp] or the worksite. If you can't pay anymore, you have to flee.

Sometimes they don't care who pays or doesn't pay porter fees, they just come and catch porters. SLORC came when they wanted and caught people. But if it is by turn, the headman will go and collect people for SLORC. I had to go for 7 days. I had to go to Nat Ein Taung [the remote area at the Thai border where the pipeline is to cross - SLORC has been mounting offensives there to secure the pipeline route]. At the time, I was working around my house, making bamboo ropes. Three people were arrested with me. I couldn't give money. They didn't take money. There was some fighting in the area between SLORC and KNU. I was a porter 4 or 5 times. Sometimes I was a porter for 15 days. I had to carry bullets. The last time I was a porter, I ran away and came here. Then I went back to my village to call the whole family, and we came here. When I left, the army was around the village and I had to call my family to get out of the village.

Sometimes they don't care who pays or doesn't pay porter fees, they just come and catch porters. SLORC came when they wanted and caught people. But if it is by turn, the headman will go and collect people for SLORC. I had to go for 7 days. I had to go to Nat Ein Taung [the remote area at the Thai border where the pipeline is to cross - SLORC has been mounting offensives there to secure the pipeline route]. At the time, I was working around my house, making bamboo ropes. Three people were arrested with me. I couldn't give money. They didn't take money. There was some fighting in the area between SLORC and KNU. I was a porter 4 or 5 times. Sometimes I was a porter for 15 days. I had to carry bullets. The last time I was a porter, I ran away and came here. Then I went back to my village to call the whole family, and we came here. When I left, the army was around the village and I had to call my family to get out of the village.

I was beaten once, with a rifle butt in my waist because I couldn't carry the bullets. It was too heavy when I climbed the mountain. It was 2 or 3 years ago, during the rainy season, when I was a porter. I couldn't carry well and they beat me in my back with their gun.

I had to work on the Ye-Tavoy car road, between Mayan Chaung and Yah Pu. They are widening the old road. During the first week of February this year, I worked there for 4 days. After I finished the work on the car road, I had to be a porter and then I escaped. There are about 60 families in Mayan Chaung. One person from every family had to go for 4 days. Each village had a work assignment. When I finish, I can go home. If not finished, I can't go back home. People had to dig and place a volume of rocks of one kyin [10' x10' x 1']. Each two men had to do 5 arm lengths [15 feet] wide and one falong [220 yards] long [of embankment].

"Mi Sein": We worked together on the railway in September. When he came back from the railway, he was a porter then he worked on the car road, then porter again.

"Nai Tin Aung": From my family, only I myself went to the railway. It was near Kyaun Sone. We travelled one day in a passenger car and then we worked there for 15 days. The car costs 50 Kyats. We didn't receive any food or any pay. I worked on the railway three times. September was the first time. Then the second time was in October, and the last time in November, everybody from the village went for 15 days. After the railway, they called people for the car road and for the helipad. The helipad is for SLORC at "52-Mile", near Mi Kyaun Laun. [He went on to explain that 52-Mile is near the car road, between Mayan Chaung and Mi Kyaun Laun.]

Sometimes the helicopters came four times in one day. Early in the morning, they brought cement and drums. They brought foreign people with SLORC soldiers.

"Mi Sein": When the foreigners came they took photographs, and afterwards they went back. They came four times every day.

"Nai Tin Aung": When the helicopters landed, SLORC ordered the people who were working there to stop working and to go and hide in the jungle. The people [workers] had to go over near the road.

"Mi Sein": Near the military checkpoint.

"Nai Tin Aung": So, the foreigners took photographs of the construction. I saw four foreign women taking pictures there. They were collecting leaves. They came everyday. Sometimes they took pictures, sometimes ground, sometimes tree leaves. She ["Mi Sein"] saw them taking tree leaves. For work, the people had to dig out the bamboo roots and fill the holes with soil, and also burn to clear. They made the helipad larger. I had to work there four days. Then other people had to go. SLORC notified the headman, and he told the people that they will pay the workers to do this job. One day, 200 Kyats. But they didn't give anything.

"Mi Sein": I worked there for 4 days. I was already pregnant. My husband was working in another place, to feed our family. Every day the helicopters brought a big machine to dig the mountain and then took it back somewhere else. The helicopters went to Kanbauk to bring food to the foremen.

"Nai Tin Aung": After the railway, we worked on the pipeline road. After we came back, we went again for the railway then for the car road, then for the helipad. We had to work non-stop. They promised money for the helipad work. But not for the car road, not for the pipeline road. It goes from Mi Kyaun Laun to Ain Da Ya Za. Everybody called this road "the pipeline road". It is near the helipad. The people opened the road and cleared it. People had to cut the trees, then the bulldozers passed and cleared it. The army ordered it. We never got money. Sometimes they said they will pay 200 Kyats per day but they didn't. The headman told the villagers that SLORC will pay this money.

We didn't have to pay pipeline fees because we worked there, but the people who didn't go had to pay. Each time the army came to the village, we had to give whatever they wanted.

"Mi Sein": The place where the French people live has an iron-sheet roof and the soldiers only have a leaf roof. The French have a very nice place.

I came here with my family, before "Nai Tin Aung". We left for the same reasons.

"Nai Tin Aung": Here I feel safe. It is too late to grow rice this year, but I will next year.

NAME: "Nai Kyaw"          SEX: M          AGE: 50 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 6 children aged 6-25
ADDRESS: Kywe Thone Nyi Ma village, Ye Pyu Township      INTERVIEWED: 15/3/96

["Nai Kyaw" and his family have done forced labour clearing for the "pipeline road" and building army outposts for SLORC pipeline security troops. He also confirms reports that SLORC troops are now stopping villagers who try to flee the area.]

I arrived here yesterday together with five families from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma. SLORC asked for porter fees and money for the road. We couldn't give anymore. It took us 5 days to get here. Our group had no trouble coming but we heard from some traders that other people after us ran into troubles. SLORC stopped them on the way. They were travelling from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma to Yah Pu and then to Kin Chaung to come here. Three days ago, when they arrived at Kin Chaung, the SLORC stopped them. There were about 100 people. The SLORC don't want people to come to Pa Yaw, and sent them back. I also passed near Kin Chaung but I made my way around. In Kywe Thone Nyi Ma, there were about 500 families. I don't know how many left, but about 30 families already arrived here.

In our village, SLORC ask for porters but people are afraid to go so they have to give money. We have to pay 1,000 Kyats regularly every month. Sometimes, we have to pay special porter fees in addition to that. It depends on the number of porters that they want. We have to give this money directly to the army. In Kywe Thone Nyi Ma there is an army camp for battalion #273. Some people have to go as porters if they don't have money, for one month, sometimes more. My family and I didn't go because I gave money.

I had a field of 3 acres. Sometimes we got 100 tins of paddy, sometimes 70 or 80. For the last harvest, I got 60. We had to sell 24 tins to SLORC for 90 Kyats/tin when the market price is 370 Kyats. I only grew rice. To get money to pay the fees to SLORC, I worked for other people cutting bamboo and trees. They paid me about 100 Kyats per day. We had some gold and we sold it all. Now, we have no more gold and we can't pay any longer. We also sold our pots, our jars and all our belongings. I had to borrow money from other villagers. So when I left, I sold my field to pay them back. Now, we have nothing left.

People from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma have to go to the railway too. I couldn't go, so my 25 year old daughter went last December. She worked for one month near Kyaun Sone digging the ground and carrying stones. She went by boat to Kanbauk, and from Kanbauk she walked. She had to pay 45 Kyats for the boat. When the labourers arrived in Kyaun Sone, they were given an area to finish. If they didn't finish after one month they had to stay on until it was completed, but if they finished early they were given more work to make them stay for the whole month.

We had to do railway labour, labour to clear the pipeline route, clearing ground for pipeline buildings and portering. I know of the pipeline. They call for people to clear the road, cut the bamboo and trees and build things near the pipeline road. This construction work is to protect the pipeline. They are building buildings for the army, buildings for the soldiers to do the protection on the pipeline. For #408 battalion. Sometimes, my child went. But when they were sick and couldn't go, I had to pay 2,000 or 3,000 Kyats. It depends on the number of people they need. The people usually worked there for one month. I had to clear the place to build a building.

[The following is excerpted from an interview with "Nai Tint Win", male, age 44, Mon Buddhist day labourer from Talaing Myaw village, Ye Pyu Township:]

They didn't call people for car road labour but we had to go and build the army camp between On Bin Kwin and Kanbauk. I heard about the pipeline but I have never been there.

NAME: "Mi Aye"          SEX: F          AGE: 34 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 7 children aged 2-16
ADDRESS: Maw Kyi village, Ye Pyu Township     INTERVIEWED: 14/3/96

["Mi Aye"'s village is near Kywe Thone Nyi Ma, just north of the western half of the pipeline route. While doing forced labour on the railway near Kyaun Sone, she witnessed a car of "French people" stop to take a 15 year old girl who had been gang-raped by soldiers to hospital, but the girl died.]

Before we had a field, but one month ago we had to sell it to pay all the taxes to SLORC. Now, we have no field anymore. So I arrived here one week ago with my family. It took us 3 days to come here. We feel safer here. They were asking for porter fees twice a month. Each time 2,400 Kyats, to get another person to go instead of us. If we don't go, we must give this money to the headman. The army orders the headman and he asks the villagers. If he doesn't give, they will beat him.

I didn't go and I paid. SLORC don't need people to go as porters, they only want the money. When we had no more money, my husband was not well but he told the SLORC that we could not pay so he would go as a porter. "We have no money to pay. I am sick but I will go even if I have to die", he told them. And they beat him up. They slapped him hard. They called him to the army camp. He was there for 3 days. They slapped him twice on his ear and now he can't hear from his right ear anymore. His face was swollen too. They also hit his ribs and his feet once, and he became unconscious. They wanted to kick him down into the river which is near the army camp but the headman went and requested the soldiers not to push him. "He is really a poor man. He has no money to pay", he said. The village headman had to vouch for him. He brought money to the camp and my husband was released. Another man was also beaten with a gun butt.

They also called villagers to do forced labour on the railway between Kalein Aung and Kyaun Sone. Even if the villagers go, they have to pay 400 Kyats. If they don't go, they have to pay 2,400 Kyats. Go or not go, we have to pay. The 400 Kyats are for the army. I had to pay this at home while my husband was working on the railway. We have been working there many times. Twice in a month. I have been there three times but my husband countless times!

When my husband came back after 15 days, I had to go. It was by turn. If some families have more people, they all have to go. My village has the worst conditions in Ye Township area. In my family, 4 of us went separately, each time for 15 days: my husband, myself and my two sons aged 16 and 15. When I have to go, my old parents are looking after the children. I worked there last month, in February. After we came back from the railway, they called my husband to be a porter. He was sick and they slapped him. Then we came here.

There were many soldiers on the railway. They were not working, but if you are not able to work they will beat you. It was hard work to dig very deep and carry the ground. I had to do that. They didn't give us any food. We slept under a shelter that we built ourselves. Sometimes when it was raining, we couldn't even eat rice. More than one hundred people were there. For the people who left [fled] the village, SLORC said that they will try to get them back. About 60 people from four villages wanted to come to Pa Yaw [refugee camp]. SLORC said: "If we meet you on the car road, we will rape the women and kill them." So when we villagers crossed the road without problem, we were very happy.

[At the railway worksite] They point their guns at women and rape them. The next day, they let them go. I saw many women that the soldiers took away. When they see a beautiful girl, they call her and rape her. They raped many women but one of the girls died. She was 15 years old. She was raped so many times and she died. Her name was Mi Thein, she was from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma. It was in February when I was on the railway. I didn't see the soldiers taking her but the next day, I saw that she was taken to hospital with a French car. The French people from the car felt great pity for the young girl. She was unconscious. They tried to take her to Tavoy hospital but she died on the way. Many girls were raped but didn't die. Only this one died.

We also had to carry for the army, and when they come to our village they take our chickens, pigs, cows and they do as they want. We usually harvest 160 tins of paddy and we have to give 28 tins. They don't pay anything for this paddy, and we had to carry it ourselves to the army in Kywe Thone Nyi Ma.

NAME: "Nai Kyaw Mon"          SEX: M          AGE: 42 Mon Buddhist fisherman
FAMILY: Married, 6 children aged 11 months to 16 years
ADDRESS: Kywe Thone Nyi Ma village, Ye Pyu township      INTERVIEWED: Dec 2/95

[This testimony is excerpted from "Ye-Tavoy Area Update" (KHRG #96-01, 5/1/96).]

Q: Have you heard of the gas pipeline? [The pipeline route is 10-15 km. south of the village.]

A: I've never been to the pipeline worksite, I've only paid the money for the pipeline. 150 Kyat, every month. The village leader collects the money and goes to give the money to the SLORC camp at Kanbauk. The village leader told us we have to give money for the pipeline, and he collects it and goes to give it at Kanbauk. He said if we can't pay we have to go to the worksite and work for 3 days and 3 nights, working for the pipeline. Some people had to go from our village. From my section of the village, Tavoy Su, nobody went, but from other sections of the village like Kaw Daw Pine, some did. They went and worked at the Kanbauk - Mi Kyaun Ain worksite. [This is exactly where the Total base camp is located.] I didn't hear anything about what kind of work they had to do. I never went there, I just paid. Whether we can pay or not, we have to pay somehow. If we have no money, we have to sell something of our own so we can pay.

Q: Are people from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma still allowed to go to Kanbauk by water? [Total and Unocal have had SLORC build jetty facilities at Ka Daik in order to bring in pipeline supplies by sea. Ka Daik is on the southern arm of the Heinze Basin, between Kywe Thone Nyi Ma and Kanbauk.]

A: We are not allowed to go there. The SLORC soldiers gave us an order. The soldiers at the camp near our village gave us that order. They told us that when the ships come in we are not allowed to go to Kanbauk by water or fish there. There are ships that carry lead, they load the lead at Kanbauk and go to the sea [there are mines in the Kanbauk area], but I don't know. We are not allowed to draw near to the ships. We can still go to Kanbauk by water except when the ships come.

We left because of paying fees and forced labour. I am not happy with this railway project. If we are sick at their work camp we have to buy our own medicine, and we have to eat our own food. We get nothing from them, only work. Kywe Thone Nyi Ma had about 1,000 houses [other villagers estimate closer to 500]. Many families have left, and single people as well. This year when the harvest period is over many will come here. If I go back to my village now, they will arrest me and send me to the forced labour camp.

NAME: "Nai Ong Mon"          SEX: M          AGE: 47 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 6 children aged 9-19
ADDRESS: Taung Kon village, Ye Pyu township      INTERVIEWED: Dec 2/95

[This testimony is excerpted from "Ye-Tavoy Area Update" (KHRG #96-01, 5/1/96).]

Q: Have you heard about the gas pipeline project? [His village is about 15 km. north of the pipeline route.]

A: Yes, we have heard about that. We have to pay money for that pipeline, 150 Kyat per month [per family]. The SLORC soldiers make us pay. They come to our village once a month to collect the money. These soldiers are from Kanbauk and Hpaungdaw area [Hpaungdaw is where the pipeline is to come ashore, and Kanbauk is on the route right beside the Total Oil base camp]. They are from #404 Battalion. These soldiers are always patrolling in our area, but they collect the money from our village only once per month. They collect it from the village leader. They say that this money is for "pipeline volunteer workers". [The expression he uses for "volunteer workers" is "loke-ar-pay", the Burmese expression used by SLORC to refer to all forced labour.] They said if we don't pay we have to go and work for 3 days at the Hpaungdaw worksite. I have no idea what they are doing there, because I always paid so I never had to go. In our village nobody went, because we all paid. The only time when I was there [passing through the pipeline route area] I didn't see any pipe, I only saw them cutting down trees, pulling logs, and putting up buildings to make a camp. I saw only soldiers.

In our village we also have to pay 300 Kyat every month for porter fees along with the pipeline money. As soon as we came back from the railway work camp the last time, I told my family to start getting our things together, and then we came here. Now I have no plan to move from here.

Q: The companies building the gas pipeline say it is making the villagers happy. How do you feel about it?

A: They get everything and we get nothing. The past is over, never mind about the past. But now what can we do? Now we cannot pay anymore. So we came here.

NAME: "Nai Aung Sar"          SEX: M          AGE: 25 Mon Buddhist fisherman
FAMILY: Married, 1 child aged 6
ADDRESS: Kywe Thone Nyi Ma village, Ye Pyu township      INTERVIEWED: Dec 3/95

[This testimony is excerpted from "Ye-Tavoy Area Update" (KHRG #96-01, 5/1/96).]

I arrived here [the refugee camp] almost 4 months ago. About 20 days ago I went back to Kywe Thone Nyi Ma. I was just trying to find out if people in my village still have to work at the railway construction. Just 15 days ago the Ma Wa Ta [Township LORC] ordered the villagers to go for forced labour. One person in each family has to go, rich and poor alike. They have to go for 15 days each time. If one cannot go he has to pay 3,000 Kyat. I talked to my friends there who were together with me last season at the forced labour camp and they told me that this year will not be easy. ... There are so many poor families in our village. They do not have much time left to work to get some money, so they have nothing to eat. Eventually those poor families will have to come to the border. About 30 families have already left this year, and 50 families left last year [before rainy season in June/95]. ... My friends advised me I should not stay there anymore. Many of them are also planning to flee. So I came back here 15 days ago. ...

The villagers also have to pay 150 Kyat [per family per month] for the gas pipeline. Last year we had to pay it, this year also we have to pay it, for 2 years already now. The village head collects the money and goes himself to give it, I think to the soldiers.

Q: SLORC says these projects are good for the people. Do you agree?

A: I don't believe what they say. The way we have to work for the railway and the way they treat us, I think there will be no benefit for our people. I only saw that they torture the people.

I got back here 15 days ago. I don't want to go back to Burma anymore, I want to stay here. I will find a job here and make a living. I will move to any place that the authorities prepare for us, but I will never go back to Burma until Burma gets democracy.

NAME: "Nai Maung Hla"          SEX: M          AGE: 25 Mon Buddhist trader/labourer
FAMILY: Married, no children
ADDRESS: Ye Town, Ye Township     INTERVIEWED: 19/3/96

["Nai Maung Hla" comments on the worsening situation and the curfew in Ye, which he blames in part on the pipeline. The pipeline probably has nothing to do with the curfew, but his comments reflect the villagers' distrust of the project.]

I arrived here four days ago, but I am used to coming here and going back to Ye. I have relatives here but I am a trader. I came here with goods from Burma to sell here.

The situation in Ye is hard. People have to pay a lot of taxes and also the cost of living, like the rice price, is very expensive. So most of the people, mainly the teenagers, would like to try to go to Thailand to seek jobs. Also the SLORC have made a curfew in Ye, so after 10 p.m. nobody can leave their houses and go on the streets. If someone is caught on the streets after 10 p.m., he will be arrested and put in jail for one day. This curfew is because many SLORC leaders come often to the area to deal and discuss about the gas pipeline project. They always have meetings and get-togethers in Ye and SLORC is afraid that they can be a target and these leaders are in danger, or that the people could start demonstrations like in 1988. So to prevent this from happening, they impose a curfew for 10 days or 15 days at a time. When they have leaders in Ye, they impose curfew. When the leaders leave and they see everything is okay, then they lift the curfew. The curfews started a long time ago. Before 1988, we also had curfews but with the SLORC it is much stricter.

NAME: "U Thein Myint"          SEX: M          AGE: 41 Tavoyan Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 7 children
ADDRESS: Nat Gyi Zin village, Ye Pyu Township      INTERVIEWED: 14/3/96

["U Thein Myint"'s village is 40 km. north of the pipeline route, yet he has heard of it and has heard that his village will be called for labour there. They already have to pay extortion money to build army camps in the pipeline area and a road southward to Kanbauk.]

I arrived here [near the Thai border] 3 days ago, and it took 3 days to get from there to here. Sometimes I had to go as a porter. I couldn't go to the railway, so I had to pay taxes to SLORC: one time 1,000 Kyats, and the second time 300 Kyats. We had to pay this money for the Nat Gyi Zin railway [the Ye-Tavoy railway, which passes through Nat Gyi Zin]. If we don't go to work there, we have to pay even more money. We have to go there anyhow. But when I have no more money to feed my family, what can I do? Now, I have so many children, seven, and I have no more money. That is why! How could I stay there?

In Nat Gyi Zin there are about 300 houses, or maybe 400. In the month of Da Baun [Feb. 18 - Mar. 18/96], at least 30 villagers from Nat Gyi Zin had to work in Nwe Lay, near Kyaun Sone [about 60 km. to the southeast on the Ye-Tavoy railway]. For nearly one month - each person until the end of the work assignment. If they don't go they must pay 1,500 Kyats. If the husband cannot go and if he cannot pay, then his wife has to go. We are very poor. We cannot find this money easily. We don't have to work on the car road, but every month we have to pay money for it: 300 Kyats per family. Now it is 500 Kyats. This is the Nat Gyi Zin to Pya Thon Zu car road [from Nat Gyi Zin through Pya Thon Zu to Ain Da Ya Za and Kanbauk in the pipeline area about 40 km. to the south, skirting the eastern side of the Heinze Basin]. It is a new road. They are starting to build it now.

We have to pay money for the Pyin Gyi project [army camps in the pipeline area]. For their army buildings. I don't know exactly which battalion. Maybe #406. In Nat Gyi Zin, #410 battalion is there. So all the villagers have to work in the army camp. They have to carry firewood everyday. They also have to carry water to cook their meals. They have to find food for them everyday. The villagers have to rotate for this work. I can't count how many times I went there.

Me, I only grow rice. SLORC takes two tins [per acre]. It depends on the number of acres. This is for slash-and-burn fields. Farmers who have paddy fields have to give more. Sometimes, when they want, we have to give chickens.

Nat Gyi Zin villagers don't have to work on the pipeline yet, but they will start soon. Now people have to go as porters occasionally. If we cannot go, we have to pay money three times per month. In other villages, it is the same. But now, they will call porters very soon. That's why we left the village. I have never been here before. I want to stay here. I will build my house here. If SLORC come, I will have to run away again and I will have to follow the other people. When I fled from my village, some of my children were crying. I was really upset because of that.

Annex

Letter from TOTAL
[translated from the original in French]

Department of Human Resources and Communication
The Director

M. Marc Deluzet
FUC-CFDT
Paris

Paris-La Defense, 6 September 1995

Mr. Federal Secretary,

In response to your letter of July related to the TOTAL project in Burma and its start-up conditions, I am able to provide the following details or confirmations:

a) "Support to the Burmese regime" through our investments:

Taking into account that on the one hand no tax will be paid to the Burmese government, and on the other hand that investment costs and taxes that will be supported by the national company MOGE - which will be by the end of this year one of the four partners in this project, with TOTAL, UNOCAL and PTT-EP - the cumulative income that the country will get from this project will only be positive in 1999. Part of the taxes being paid in the form of gas, the cumulative cash flow will not be positive before the year 2002.

On the other hand, the completion of the gas pipeline will bring fast and positive socioeconomic effects in the villages near the future gas pipeline. TOTAL carried out a socioeconomic analysis of the characteristics of these villages: standard of living, employment and professional qualifications, medical and educational needs, transport and public services (see attached).

Based on this, the first actions carried out, according to the needs of each village, consist of distribution of books, means for schools, bicycles for nurses, organising medical checkups, and installing anti-fly latrines for cholera prevention. The feasibility of other actions are under study: anti-malarial programme with the Pasteur Institute, improvement of water supply services, improvement of hospitals, supply of seeds, seedlings, fishing nets,...

b) "Use of forced labour"

Contrary to what has sometimes been written, the gas pipeline construction which will carry the gas from the Andaman Sea in Myanmar to the Thai border has not started yet. Only the preparatory surveying work has been carried out during the spring of this year. The construction will start during the fall of 1995.

The installation of this gas pipeline will be done under the operational control of TOTAL and, as usual in these cases, the Group will call on specialised competent companies, internationally recognised. Those which will be chosen will use as much as possible the local labour force, exclusively voluntary and remunerated, bringing in resources to the population of the concerned areas. They will obviously operate under the conditions of respect for human and labour rights equivalent to those applied by this company everywhere in the world.

A "conduct code" has been defined by TOTAL for our sub-contractors. A copy is attached.

c) "Various human rights abuses"

We assume that you are referring to the allegations of "forced relocations of population" along the gas pipeline route. On this issue, since the conclusion of the first agreements related to the development of the Yadana gas (1992), TOTAL has never heard of any relocations or relocation projects linked to our project. There could not be any, since the chosen gas pipeline route avoids all villages.

When the gas pipeline construction will be carried out, it could happen that - as on any large scale worksite across the world - the gas pipeline will cross over cultivated land plots. Of course, in that case TOTAL and its partners would pay compensation to the people whose interests have been affected.

e) "Destruction of forests"

On the Burmese side, the on-shore part of the future gas pipeline (which will be underground) will cross the country over a very short distance: 60 km.

In order to limit the ecological impact, TOTAL sent to the site at the end of last year multidisciplinary teams (ecosystems, hydrology, forestry, zoology, etc.) which have carefully evaluated various options for the gas pipeline route. The selected route is the one which best respects the environment (see attached map).

The area crossed does not include any primary forest, but only scarcely wooded areas. Only the last two or three kilometers of the selected route cross a mountain range and will require the cutting down of trees, but the gas pipeline will pass wherever possible along ridges and this will considerably limit the number of trees cut down. TOTAL will compensate for this cutting with at least equivalent plantations of new trees.

With respect to union rights, being very concerned to operate everywhere in the best labour conditions, TOTAL considers that it is difficult to reach uniform solutions in regions of the world and professional sectors far apart from each other.

Hoping to have answered to your expectations,

Yours faithfully,

Caroline MILLE

[Notes: item 'd)' is missing here because it is also missing in the original. We have translated 'Birmanie' as 'Burma', 'birman' as 'Burmese', and 'Myanmar' as 'Myanmar'. The pipeline does not 'avoid all villages'. It does cross through primary forest. Cutting trees along ridgetops begins a process of serious erosion down both sides of the ridge, particularly in the clay-like rainforest soil in the area, and can eventually destroy most of the forest on both sides. The attached documents consist of a breakdown of population, 'workforce', standard of living, schools etc. in just over 20 villages, a pipeline route map and a 'code of conduct' emphasizing 'ethics', 'mutual understanding', 'development' etc. They are not attached here.]