FORCED RELOCATION IN KARENNI

An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
July 15, 1996  (KHRG #96-24)

[Note: Some details have been omitted or replaced by ‘xxxx’ for Internet distribution.]

Throughout June and July 1996, the State Law & Order Restoration Council (SLORC) military junta ruling Burma has conducted a mass forced relocation campaign covering more than half of the geographic area of Karenni and affecting at least 183 villages so far with an estimated total population of 25-30,000. The first orders to move came as early as April in Baw La Keh (sometimes spelled Bawlake) area on the Pon River. However, the biggest wave of relocations began on 1 June, when an order was issued to all 98 villages between the Pon and Salween Rivers to move to relocation sites beside SLORC Army camps at Shadaw and Ywathit. The order clearly stated that after 7 June, anyone seen in or around any of these villages would be "considered as enemy", i.e. shot on sight with no questions asked. Shortly afterward the relocations spread. To the south, villages in Pah Saung township were ordered to move to a relocation site near Pah Saung by 20 June. Villages surrounding Mawchi and to the north and west all through the Too River watershed were ordered to move to Mawchi, Bu Ko and Kwa Chi by 20 June - a total of at least 52 known villages. At least 26 villages east of Pruso and Deemawso were ordered to move by 25 June, and 7 to 10 villages in the Daw Tama area east of the Salween River were forced to move to Daw Tama by the same deadline. Even just to the northeast of Loikaw, the capital, at least 29 villages have been forced to sign papers stating that they will be forced to move if any shots are fired in their area.

The main purpose of the relocations is in keeping with SLORC's current policy of "draining the ocean so no fish can swim"; anywhere there is opposition, the entire civilian population of the region is forced at gunpoint into relocation camps and told that they can never go home until the opposition group capitulates. Similar operations have already been conducted this year in central Shan State and Papun District of Karen State (see related KHRG reports) and this represents a significant shift in SLORC military policy, away from the pretext of negotiated ceasefires and aiming for a forced surrender in every case. The geographic extent of the current scorched earth campaigns and the number of people being affected are greater than anything previously attempted by SLORC. In the Karenni case, the forced relocations cover almost every area where the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) has ever operated. The KNPP has been fighting Burmese occupation for over 45 years. (Note: Karenni was granted independence by the British colonial regime in 1875; the KNPP fights for that independence and considers the SLORC an army of occupation. They call their homeland Karenni, while SLORC calls it Kayah State. This report does not concern politics; it uses the name Karenni because the KNPP lives there while SLORC does not.) In March 1995 the KNPP made a ceasefire with SLORC, but SLORC broke the ceasefire on 29 June 1995 with fresh attacks. By the end of March 1996, SLORC had taken all of the main KNPP bases near the Thai border. The KNPP reorganised and guerrilla columns were sent further inside Karenni to disrupt SLORC forces. Rather than hunt the guerrilla columns, SLORC is removing the entire civilian population so the columns will have no means of support, and also to try to get civilians to pressure the KNPP to surrender. Currently, almost the only areas of southern and central Karenni not to be affected by the relocations are areas where the Karenni Nationalities People's Liberation Front (KNPLF) operates; the KNPLF made a ceasefire with SLORC in 1994 which is still holding.

So far 183 villages are known to have been moved throughout the Shadaw, Ywathit, Daw Tama, Baw La Keh, Pruso, Deemawso, Pah Saung and Maw Chi areas, and 29 villages northwest of Loikaw have been forced to sign papers that they will be forced to move if any shots are fired in the area (see the map and list at the end of this report). Even in areas east of the Salween River which have not been ordered to move, most people are living in hiding in the forest due to fears of fighting in the area, SLORC troops taking porters, and their fear of forced relocations at gunpoint coming to their area. Most of the villagers affected by the relocations are ethnically Kayah, and there are also many Shans. These Shans have no connection to the opposition groups or relocations now occurring in Shan State. Even many of the Kayah villages affected have had little or no contact with KNPP forces in recent times. The relocations are largely arbitrary and based on large geographic areas, crossing all ethnic and religious lines.

Most of the people ordered to move have been fleeing to the relocation sites, towards Thailand or to other areas. A few are attempting to hide in the forests, though most feel this is too dangerous. SLORC has promised food and places to stay at the relocation sites, but on arrival people find neither. At some sites hundreds of people are living in monasteries, abandoned huts, shelters, or under other people's houses. At Shadaw some barracks are being built beside the military camp to house some of the people. At most sites, SLORC troops simply allocate an area of scrubland and tell the villagers to clear it. At Wan Mai, near Baw La Keh, the troops have confiscated farmland, marked it out with stakes and are forcing the relocated villagers to buy plots from the Battalion to build their houses. No one has any land to farm, nor are they allowed to go back to farm their home fields. Most people had no chance to bring much food with them and SLORC provides none, so at most sites SLORC has relented and allowed people to go back to their villages to get supplies. This is only for a limited time: for example, at Shadaw people were told that they must all be back by 27 June, and after that anyone outside the camp would be shot on sight. Near Baw La Keh, villagers were told that by July all roads would be blockaded and even cross-river ferries would stop operating in the area. It is important to note that these relocations are all happening at planting and growing time for the year's only rice crop, so this year at least half of Karenni will have no rice harvest. SLORC soldiers have made clear to the villagers that this is fine with them - as one villager told us, "They told us that it is not necessary for us to grow anything, because we won't eat it ourselves, we will only use it to feed the rebels."

Water is inadequate at some of the sites, and at every site disease is rampant. Those wishing medical help must buy their own medicines, and at Shadaw people must even pay for a 'clinic ticket' before they can go to the nurse. At Ywathit, the relocated villagers are already being used by the troops to do forced labour on a road; at the other sites, soldiers tell the villagers there will be no labour "for now", but all the villagers are sure they will be used as military porters and other labour in the near future. Some of them believe this is the whole reason for the relocations - very few of them have much idea of what is happening between SLORC and KNPP.

At least 3,000 people fleeing the relocations have arrived at Karenni refugee camps in Thailand, despite the difficulty and danger of the 4 to 7 day walk in the monsoon rain and mud through the forest and over mountains, with little or nothing to eat and the possibility of encountering SLORC troops at any point along the way. As of 3 July, 2,091 new people had registered in Karenni Camp 2, the main arrival point, and up to 100 more were arriving each day. In many cases entire villages are arriving together. A very high proportion of them are arriving suffering malaria, respiratory infections, fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, dysentery, skin diseases, malnutrition and exhaustion. Many children have died on arrival at the camp - in the first week of July one observer estimated that one child per day was dying. Overseas organisations helping the refugees are saving as many people as possible with the resources at their disposal. SLORC officers across the border have already demanded that the Thai Army hand all the refugees back.

The remainder of this report consists of the following parts: Interviews, translation of a relocation order, photocopy of the relocation order in Burmese, relocation map, and list of villages affected. The interviews in this report were conducted by KHRG in a Karenni refugee camp just inside Thailand at the beginning of July 1996. The names of those interviewed have been changed to protect them, and some other details omitted. Note that Preh Tho Leh Township is a Karenni name; SLORC considers it to be part of Shadaw Township.

Table of Contents

Topic Summary

Relocation orders: Contents of orders (Interview #1,2,4,5,8-10), relocation at gunpoint (#3,7), hardships of the move (#2,3,6), burning houses (#1,2), reasons for relocation (#3,5,6,7,9), arrest of those who stay behind (#3,8).

Conditions at relocation sites: Shadaw site (#2,5,6,10,11), Ywathit site (#3,7), Wan Mai (Baw La Keh area) site (#1,8), allocation of housing area (#1-3,5-8,10,11), confiscation of local farmers' land for relocation site (#1,7), selling plots to relocated villagers (#1), local villagers forced to clear relocation site (#10), food (#1-3,5-8,10,11), sickness/clinics (#1-3,5-
8,10,11), deaths (#1,2,5,6,8), forced labour (#1,3), looting (#5), impounding relocated villagers' rice and rationing it back to them (#1,3,8), phony 'food distribution' photo session (#11), movement restrictions (#1-3,
5,7,8,10,11).

General: Lost possessions (#1-11), hardships during flight (#1-4,6,9-11), giving birth during flight (#4), deserted villages (#2,3,5,9,10), situation in villages before these relocations (#1-3,6,7,9,11).

NAME: "Loong Hom"          SEX: M          AGE: 54 Shan Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 3 children age 3-20
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Baw La Keh Township      INTERVIEWED: 3/7/96

I came here [the refugee camp] with my whole family. I have 3 children with me. The youngest is 3 years old and the eldest is 20 years old. They told us to move on the 16th of April. The order came from the military, from the Artillery contingent, but I don't know the name of the Major. It is Battalion #429, Division #55. They just sent a letter. It said, "When you see this order you must move immediately. If you don't you will be driven away and beaten like dogs and pigs, maybe even shot dead. If you refuse to leave your house, you will be burnt together with your house."

At first I thought of going to the east, of coming this way, but it was very dangerous with the Burmese soldiers all along the way - we would have to risk our lives to get through. So we decided to go to the Burmese side, and that if the situation became worse we would try to find a way to get out. We took about 2 baskets of rice that we could carry with us, and went to the place where they ordered us to stay at Wan Mai [in Shan, 'Wan Mai' could be the village name or could just mean 'new place']. We asked for permission to prepare our food and 5 days to carry our food with us. When we got there they forced us to work every day. Sometimes as guides to go on operations with Army columns. When we had to go with the Army columns they forced us to go first, and if we step on a mine we lose our lives. If they happen to step on a mine, they accuse us of not showing the proper way and beat us. The Burmese soldiers also forced us to work every day in their camp, and they didn't give us anything to eat. Some had to eat rotten rice, watery rice [cooks into mush instead of grains because it hasn't been properly dried yet] and rotten rice. I often shed tears with my family while we were eating. Many people want to come this way to get out of that place, but they just can't.

They have forced 270 households from 9 villages to move there. All our neighbouring villages had to move too. The two neighbouring villages are called Taw Saw and Leh Ko Dee. They ordered them to move, and when they refused to move they used troops to drive them out. They even burned down their houses. At Wan Mai we had to stay wherever we could, with relatives or somewhere. Only after about 9 or 10 days they showed us the place where we must stay - a place a little west of Wan Mai, near the house of U Lay Kong and onward as far as the pagoda. On the hill near the military camp. There is a camp on the top of the hill overlooking the place, about 2 furlongs [440 yards] distance. They just put sticks in the ground and told us, "This is where you will have to build your houses." As for us, we were told to stay in a paddy field which the owner had just prepared for the coming planting. He had just put fertilizer on it. The Army gave the owner 10,000 Kyat as compensation and divided the paddy field into many little plots for us. They just put sticks in the ground and said "This is for you, this is for you", and so on. They didn't measure it properly. They made 12 foot by 9 foot plots of land for each house. You need 2 plots of land to build a house, and you have to buy each plot, they don't just give it. [The Army sets the price to make much more than the 10,000 Kyat compensation they pay for the land.] Every village had to clear the place for itself. After that people can't stay with their relatives anymore, everyone is forced to live at the relocation place.

Q: After they relocated you did you have to do any work for them?

A: Yes, they came and called us to work every day! We have to clean the Army place, do sanitation for them and clear the drainage, cut wood/bamboo to build a fence around the military camp, make thatch roofing for them, and so on. They usually force us to make fences around their camp and make thatch roofing, and we have to clear the area in front of their camp. That's where they have put some of their landmines. We have to clear that place. We can't help it, we just have to do it even though we are so afraid of it. If we don't do it we are beaten. If there are 10 households then 5 men have to go in turns, today 5 men and tomorrow 5 other men, and so on. That means half of the families each day. Also, when they go out on operations 2 men from each village have to go with them as guides. They go north of Loi Hu Ta and if they go south it is Wan Pla. That is every week. We are forced to do it, if we don't do it they threaten that they will burn us with our houses or drive us away. There is no limit to the work, their work is never finished so they call you anytime, whenever they need. Even when we work for them we have to eat our own food.

While working for them we also had to build our own houses. We had to go and get the materials [bamboo and/or wood] we need to build houses for ourselves. If we couldn't build our house we'd have no place to stay. The Army helps with nothing. We had no time [due to the forced labour] so we had to buy materials. One ton of wood costs 1,500 Kyat. If you don't have the money to buy it, you'd have no place to stay.

When we left our village there were many cattle and livestock left behind, and rice. As for the chicken and pigs, the Burmese soldiers have already taken and eaten them all. There are still many cattle and other things, like things in the monastery, and we haven't been able to do anything to save them. I don't know what's happened to it all, but the Burmese troops have already gone and ransacked the village. We dare not go back to have a look because if we are caught we'll be beaten or even shot dead.

At Wan Mai a new group of soldiers has just come to replace the old group. They come and guard our [relocation] place at night, starting from 5 o'clock in the evening. We were there for over a month but we got nothing from the Burmese soldiers. We were there for one month and 7 days. The rice we brought with us we kept ourselves, but we had to hide it. We had to divide our rice into small amounts and keep it at different places, including the monasteries, because they often search for rice. It was easy to get water because there is an irrigation ditch running through the place. [Note: a paddy irrigation ditch is hardly a sanitary source of water for 270 families.] There were many, many sick people when we arrived there, but the military medic came down from the hill once a week and looked after them. Mostly people had malaria and influenza. There are even parents who lost their minds. There were 2 deaths, children about 2 or 3 years of age. They were children of Kayah or Kayan families from Pak Kee village. One was So Leh, and the other was a girl, her name was Nyeh Meh.

Q: Is there any clinic?

A: They said that there would be a dispensary but nothing has been done as yet. The place allocated for the dispensary has only a marking stick stuck in the ground.

Q: Are you allowed to go outside the relocation camp?

A: Yes, but we are allowed to go only 3 miles in any direction. Even for that we have to take their written pass with us. That is to go within 3 miles. Beyond 3 miles, no written permission will be effective. Anyone found beyond 3 miles away will be shot on sight. We are allowed to go for only 2 reasons: one is to go and get our food which we left at our village, or to gather our cattle. These are the only 2 reasons for which we are allowed to go. Only one person in the family can go, and only one day's permission. No one is allowed to stay overnight. When we go we usually leave at 6 o'clock in the morning, and we must be back at 5 p.m. Anyone who comes back later than 5 o'clock is punished. We are not even allowed to go and work in our fields and farms or do any cultivation. They told us that it is not necessary for us to grow anything, because we won't eat it ourselves, we will only use it to feed the rebels.

Q: When you came here how did you escape?

A: It was when they told us, "Before long the road is going to be blocked, and the boat [probably Pon river ferry] will stop working. So before that happens, if you want to go back to your village and get some of your property you may go." So we asked for 10 days to dismantle our houses, pound our rice and gather all our remaining cattle. We said we would take back our big boat and bring it all down. We said "We will work day and night until we can bring all our property down here." When we got permission, we just headed this way. Our whole village, we pretended to work only 2 days, and then we came this way. We left Wan Mai on the 12th day of the waxing moon [28 May]. It took us 5 nights to come here. The road is too rugged, up and down the high mountains. We were so tired travelling along that way. The road was too hard to travel, I almost cried with my family. We had nothing to eat. We didn't pass through any villages but I thought we would run into Burmese soldiers somewhere because they are all over the place. I was very anxious.

Q: Did you bring any of your belongings with you?

A: No, as for me I didn't even get to our old village. We didn't bring anything with us from the relocation place, we threw it all away. We brought only one blanket each.

Q: Do you think other people will come this way?

A: Yes, I think so. If they can get out of that place, they will come. All 10 houses [from his village] have come here already, there is only one family left. There is nobody left in the village, because if you refuse to move you'll be arrested and put in jail for 7 years. The Burmese troops said that there is no way for us to return home. They said, "There will never be any way for you to go home, ever." That's why they said if we wanted to dismantle our houses and bring them that we could, because we would never be allowed to return home.

Q: Do you know why the Burmese troops are doing this?

A: No, I don't know anything about it.

Q: Have they abused you before?

A: Yes, I myself suffered on two occasions. Once I was locked up, the second time I was beaten so badly that I was near death. I've seen a villager killed by them. His name was Za Wa Na. He was 24, married and had 2 children. They killed him at Wan Mai. And there are many who have gone with them as porters and been beaten so badly that some have lost all their teeth, some have had their legs and arms broken.

When they arrested me they punched my face, my teeth, my chest, and beat the back of my neck with a rifle butt. They also wrung my neck. They kicked, they tied me up like this [hands behind his back] and kicked my legs and thighs until I fainted. That happened to me 3 times. I was also put in jail for 7 months. They accused me of being rebel village militia and a smuggler. That was when I went to help at the New Year's ceremony at Nah Mon Palet. They tried to find guns, a rifle and a handgun as evidence, but I had none. So they tortured me. That was at Wan Mai, by the troops from #3 Company, #72 [Battalion], commanded by Major Sein Hlaing. Because of that, still now I often cough and I get very tired when I walk.

NAME: "Koo Klaw Reh"          SEX: M          AGE: 40 Kayah Animist (Kaytobo) farmer
FAMILY: Married, 8 children aged 6-15
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Preh Tho Leh Township      INTERVIEWED: 4/7/96

Our village has 105 houses. 81 families have come and arrived here. I left together with 81 families on June 5th, and the second group left on June 17th. Three groups left altogether, but I don't know how many families were in the other groups. We left because the Burmese forced us to move to Shadaw. They said, "If you don't move to Shadaw we'll burn down your village. Kayah people are no good so we'll move you to Shadaw, and we'll burn down all your houses and villages. If there are cattle or buffalos left in the village we'll shoot them all. We'll burn your paddy and if we see you anywhere in the village, in the forests, the fields or the farmfield huts, we'll kill you without asking any questions. The 7th of June is the last day for you to move to Shadaw village." The letter they sent said "The 7th of June is the last day. If you don't arrive by the 7th we'll come and if we see anyone we'll shoot and kill them. You must bring all your belongings." They sent us that letter on June 2nd. It was #337 Battalion. Even though the headman went to talk to them and asked if we could stay in the village, they refused him. When the headman told us about that, everyone got ready to leave. We were very afraid.

I don't know how many villages were forced to move, but the headman told me that there were 44 villages forced to move to Shadaw. It took us one day to get there. I took only one mat with me. Everything, like pigs, chickens, buffalos, cattle, pots, plates, cups, everything in the house was left behind. We couldn't take any of it because we had to carry our children as well as the old men and women, and we had to wait for those who were sick. We could only carry our children and mats, nothing else.

There were 1,650 people who arrived at that military camp at that time, including 60 families from my village. When we arrived there the SLORC called a meeting. At first they said we can only go outside if we can prove we are going to get our rice and animals. They ask everything, like "How far is it to your village?" before they'll let you go, and you have to tell them the whole list of what you are going to get - if you say you're going to get a cow, then you must come back with a cow. For our village, they only allowed one day to go and one to come back, so you could only get a pass for 2 days and you had to pay 5 Kyat or 10 Kyat. Only one person per house could go at a time, and they said they would take serious action against anyone who leaves without permission. Again the headman tried to get permission from them [to go back and stay in their village], and then they gave from the 12th of June until the 27th for people to go get all their belongings from their villages. [By the 12th it was obvious that no one had enough food, so the military temporarily slackened the rules.] The Burmese said, "You can go to your village and get all your cattle, buffalos, possessions and rice. We cannot give you food here. You must bring your own rice and food. Even if we give you food you'll have to pay for it." We couldn't suffer that because we knew we'd run out of food, so we asked permission to leave Shadaw to go get our things. As soon as we got permission we left and came directly here. All our possessions and property were left in our village, along the way, or hidden in the forest. I don't know what will happen to our belongings. If one day we can go back to our village, I don't know if I'll see them again. Maybe dogs or rats have destroyed them.

While we were at Shadaw some villagers stayed in the monastery, some in the school. As soon as we finish cooking the Burmese order us to put out our fires [apparently due to the fire risk caused by overcrowding]. As for the old people, they're not even allowed to wander around - the Burmese order them to just stay together with their children. They ordered us to build houses in front of the military camp, #337 Battalion's camp. It is very close to the police station. All the people from south of Shadaw were ordered to build their houses near the police station, and all the others near the military camp. People from the centre area are forced to build their houses near the east side of the hospital. There's a hill, and 200 people were ordered to stay north of the hill, 200 people east of the hill and 200 people south of the hill.

Q: Didn't they give you any food?

A: No, SLORC never gives food! When we went to ask rice they refused us. First they promised they would give us some but they were lying, they were lying. There were a lot of sick people. When we asked for medicine they said, "The medicine will arrive soon", but we never saw any. People had malaria, oh, many many kinds of sicknesses. One child fell into the well and died.

We decided to come here east of the Salween River, that even if people kill us or we starve we'll just die, we'll be satisfied. It took us 6 days to walk here. We were very, very disappointed and unhappy. People were crying, we could not sleep and we could not eat. We saw deserted villages so we were very afraid and worried about that. I was upset because I saw there was no one there to look after the cattle, buffalos and chickens. I didn't want to sleep in those deserted villages. All the women and some of the men were crying. We were in a hurry so all our things were left behind. When we slept we dreamed about our houses and our things and we were very sad. I still burst into tears when I think about all I've left behind. All the people in our village arrived in this camp but we have left everything behind on the way. We have only one pot and one mat. I'm very bitter because SLORC does these bad things to us. So I feel that the best is to stay with our forefathers, our parents and our soldiers on this side of the river [the portion of Karenni east of the Salween].

I think SLORC will block the way. They knew that we left the camp, so I knew they would contact their troops near the border by walkie-talkie. So we divided into groups. We rested 2 whole nights in xxxx village and we were very worried. While we were there SLORC troops met Karenni troops in xxxx village and there was fighting, and all the women started crying again. All the people in Shadaw would like to get out. People who stayed behind said to us, "If you can stay there please send a message and we'll follow you". The Burmese said we must stay 3 complete years in that camp. They said, "Don't think about your animals, we will kill them. For now you can bring them to our camp, but any we see later we will kill. Don't hold any hope for them." They also said, "We have to kill any people who are hiding in the forest."

They aren't killing people right now in Shadaw, but before they burned our houses and villages, killed villagers, and when they came to our village they arrested the headmen and tortured them. Our neighbouring villages suffered more than our village. They said that people who live in XXXX area are rebels. "So", they said, "We can kill you anytime we want. All people in Kayah [State] are rebels." In our village they said, "In this village, you yourselves are all rebels." They collect monthly porter fees, sometimes 25 Kyat and sometimes 50 Kyat. People who can't pay are taken away for labour. They have killed not less than 20 people in XXXX area that I know of. Some people were killed for no reason, some were killed when SLORC troops saw them in the jungle or along the path, and some when the Karenni soldiers do operations so SLORC accuses villagers of being soldiers. They also kill many animals in our area. They killed all the animals around Nam Mo. They burned Daw Leh Ku village and all of their paddy one time, and now they've burned it again.

NAME: "Koo Baw Reh"          SEX: M          AGE: 40 Kayah Animist (Kaytobo) farmer
FAMILY: Married, 2 children aged 9 and 16
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Baw La Keh Township      INTERVIEWED: 4/7/96

We've been here about 2 weeks. They ordered us to move on the 1st of June. First they sent a letter to all the villagers who live near Shadaw, but I thought there would be no problem for us because they didn't say anything to us. Then suddenly the soldiers invaded our village and said we have to follow them. They said, "By this time you should have arrived at the relocation place in Ywathit. We will burn all the possessions left behind in your village. Go!" and they pushed us and told us to go quickly. There were 75 soldiers from #430 Battalion. Our village only has 25 families. They said, "We're forcing all the villages in this area to go to Ywathit, not only you. You can't stay in your village, you must go." They are forcing all the people in Baw La Keh, Shadaw and Deemawso areas to move to relocation places. They said, "You must not refuse. Don't you see our guns? If we see you in your village we'll come, 10 Battalions will come to your village and we'll kill anyone who's left here. For the old men and women I will allow them 3 days to stay here, but the rest of you must come back and get them later". We only had half an hour to get ready, and then they took us from the village with their guns pointed at us. There were two groups of us - one group had to go in front of a group of soldiers, then a second group behind followed by another group of soldiers. When we got to the XXXX - XXXX crossroad they ordered us to go toward XXXX village and most of the soldiers went the other way, to XXXX village. When we got halfway along the Beh Du path we gathered together and took a rest. The soldiers guarded us. We decided that we weren't going to go to the relocation place, that survive or die we'd go back to our village. It was nighttime. People started moving into the forest and going back to our village by the jungle way. Only people from five families arrived in Ywathit, including me.

Daw Ku Li, Ma Nay Ku, Bu Ku Dah, Wan Lweh, Nah Peh Ku - all 5 of these villages around us had to move. They ordered us all to go stay in the same place. They have forced all the villages in Ywathit area to move to Ywathit. I don't know what their plan is. I thought maybe it was because Karenni soldiers had passed through villages in Ywathit area and got food, but our village is 7 hours' walk from Ywathit, the Karenni soldiers didn't come there, but we were ordered to move anyway. Maybe they want to kill us or torture us, maybe one day they will take us as porters, maybe when they go on operations at the frontline they will make us go in front of them to clear the mines. That is what I think, so I fled from them.

In Ywathit the soldiers said we will all have to stay near the military camp. The Burmese just told everyone, "You have to stay here, you here", etc. I stayed at someone's house when I arrived there. First SLORC told people they'd arrange places for them, but when people got there they were just told to stay around the military camp, in the scrub. About 2,000 people were staying there - 20, 30, or 40 families from each different village. All of our things were left behind in our village, but they gave no food. The Burmese said, "We have no food for you, but if you want we'll sell some to you", and some people were starving. I heard that the Burmese took the rice from the Shan people who had to move there and keep it for them [the villagers must go to receive a ration of their own rice day by day]. There is plenty of water. They also have a clinic. I think many people were sick, but we could not go to the clinic for free - we had to buy medicine from the shop and take it to the clinic, and then they would inject it. I didn't hear about any deaths while I was there. The soldiers beat, punch and slap the villagers, though they didn't rape the women. They made us work on the road near Ywathit village. They chose people by village - they said "This time these villages have to work, next time these villages", and so on. We had to work for 1 or 2 days at a time. When they ordered us to work they gave us some food, but only just enough.

They don't allow people to go out of Ywathit. If we go they follow along with us. To get permission we have to ask step by step, starting with a Private until we get to the Commander, and only then can we receive permission. We got permission to go and get the other families from our village. Then when we got back to our village we didn't stay in the village, we hid in the forest. Then we came directly to the refugee camp. It was 5 days' walk. My whole family was with me, and we didn't have enough food so we had many problems. We had no plastic [to shelter us from the rain] and no mats to lie down on. I could carry only one or two blankets and one pot along with me. I thought the Burmese might block the way and I was very afraid. My children were sick and I had to carry them. We had to climb XXXX mountain, it was very high and we were very tired. There were no people in the villages we passed, because people only have 2 choices - to go to Ywathit or to come to the refugee camp.

In our village there were 200 or 300 baskets of rice left behind, and about 50 or 60 chickens and pigs. The Burmese will probably just destroy the rice and kill the animals. There are only 2 people left hiding in the forest there. They are a man and a woman. The woman is blind. They are just left behind like that. If the situation gets better we will try to go and get them. SLORC said, "If we see anybody in the village, women or men, we'll take action and kill them, even right in the village. Anywhere, along the path or in the forest, we'll kill you without question." It's not easy to avoid them, and I know they would do it.

Q: Why do you think SLORC is doing this?

A: They said they won't keep any Kayah natives anymore. They said Kayah people who don't go to Ywathit will be destroyed, and that those who go to Ywathit will be given Identity Cards later and will be able to get permission to go outside Ywathit. They said they will destroy all the villages in the area, that those villages will not exist anymore and that people cannot go there anymore. They said they will destroy and kill anyone who still says, "I am a Kayah".

The Burmese have given us trouble for so many years now. They force our villages to move, and they take us as porters so they can use us to attack our own Karenni people. If there are mines along the way they make us go in front of them and use us as cover. We are under their thumb, and they can kill us anytime they like. They burned down our village twice already, and they robbed it one time. They took all of our powder guns, twenty powder [flintlock] guns that we used for hunting, our silver containers, and a whole basket of coins [silver colonial-era Indian rupees, still used as currency in the area]. They arrested us all and tied us up. They are very strange to treat us like that. I cannot tell all the ways the Burmese give us trouble, but I hope it will end some day. I think it is impossible to go back to our village and make our living there. I don't know how many days, months and years we will have to stay in other places like Thailand before there is any hope of seeing our village again.

NAME: "Maw Say Mya"          SEX: F          AGE: about 40 Kayah Christian (RC) farmer
FAMILY: Married, 3 children aged 1 week to 6 years
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Shadaw Township     INTERVIEWED: 4/7/96

["Maw Say Mya" gave birth during her flight to the refugee camp.]

I think it was 4 or 5 days ago that we were supposed to arrive in Shadaw by their order. When we heard that all the other villages were being moved to Shadaw we sent a man to check the situation in the other villages. When he came back he said we had to move too. I heard that they sent a letter to order us to move but I don't know for sure. We were very afraid to go to Shadaw, so that night we killed a pig and made pork curry and ate, and then we left the village. We left our village at midnight and arrived at Daw Kaya in the morning.

Every village in our area was ordered to move, Daw Kraw Aw, Daw Ay Ya, Nga M'Lo Soe, all the villagers had to move. They ordered us to move one time before but that time we didn't have to go in the end. But this year they ordered us to move and we really have to move. This time the Burmese are doing it for real. They told us, "Do you want the knife or the gun?" and they said they would come and cut our throats. I think they would do this for sure if we didn't go, so we were very, very afraid and we set out to come here. We could only carry some pots, plates and rice. I inherited only one buffalo from my family but now it is left behind in the village. I don't know what's happened to our belongings left there, maybe the rats have destroyed them. Some villagers have gone back again to try to get some of their animals, but they haven't returned yet.

When we were on the way here we didn't know if we would die or not. I was with my whole family. We were very afraid and full of worry. My baby was born in XXXX village along the way, in the afternoon. That evening I took a bath with hot water. In the morning I had another bath, and then we resumed the journey. We arrived in the next village and I took another bath, and then that day we had to walk in the water the whole day [along a streambed]. We had to walk in the water the whole day and I got sick. Even though I had high fever I had to walk and hurry to arrive here. That night we had to sleep beside the path, and it was raining. The next day we arrived at xxxx village and ate, then we continued. We arrived here at night, about midnight. When I arrived here I had fever, and my whole body was in pain. Now I feel very cold and I have headaches. My baby has a runny nose and can't breathe, he has to breathe through his mouth. When he coughs we can hear "Krek! Krek!" When I arrived here I don't know what happened in my heart, I don't know what has happened to me.

Q: Do you know why the Burmese are doing this?

A: I don't know anything about it. We always have to suffer from what they say and what they do. When other villagers saw the Burmese they ran too, along the way we saw these others so we followed them.

NAME: "Koo Maw Reh"          SEX: M          AGE: 42 Kayah Christian (RC) farmer
FAMILY: Married, 8 children aged 18 months to 25
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Preh Tho Leh Township      INTERVIEWED: 3/7/96

["Koo Maw Reh" is a village elder.]

There are 25 families in our village. We arrived here on Sunday. It took 6 days to come here. The Burmese ordered us to go to live in Shadaw, but they didn't give any food or water when we got there and we didn't have any place to sleep there. We felt much suffering. Even if we asked they wouldn't give us any kind of food. One man asked one time and they didn't give, then he asked a second time and they still didn't give. They beat him for asking. He got swelling on his shoulders from the beating. If you want to eat, you have to buy food.

They ordered us to move on the 1st of June. The soldiers sent a letter, from #337 Battalion. I can't read, so I gave it to the teacher to read. It said in the letter that the 7th of June was the last day for us to move. It said, "All of you have to move". If we stayed in the village they would accuse us of being robbers or rebels, and if they see us they'll shoot to kill. We couldn't stay in the village, and I also felt that we couldn't go and stay in the new place. The teachers said they would follow us wherever we decided to go, even to Loikaw. I met with the villagers and we discussed what to do - should we move down or move up? We just waited there and asked permission to stay from the Burmese. But then on the 15th [of June] we moved to Shadaw village.

They ordered us to live near the Burmese camp. They're making 2 big longhouses for everyone to stay in, like barracks, with walls of woven bamboo. Once they were finished we were going to have to stay there. The Burmese said that for 4 years we would have to obey this order. They said that for the next 4 years if they see anyone around our village they'll shoot and kill them. We couldn't take all our things with us. Some villagers have a lot of things and they had to leave a lot behind. We hid some of our things in a cave, and some things just remained in the village. We all had to move to Shadaw. If we didn't move the Army would come and kill us. They told us to take all our cattle with us. Some villagers took their cattle but some had to leave them. Other villages had to move too: Dee Leh, Daw Tu, Daw Duh, Daw Ka Soh, Daw Kaloh Ko, Daw Mi Ku, Loi Lat, Daw Tha Mer, Si Ko Leh, Teh Ti, Daw Chu Duh... For now, everyone was going to the forest around Shadaw to cut bamboo to make huts, and to make roofing. We had to hurry to build huts for ourselves, so some people got injured working. The villagers all felt very unhappy, so some of them fled back home.

In three of the areas people haven't finished huts yet, but in the other parts people have now built huts. The soldiers stay there and guard the villagers - before it was #54 Battalion, but now I'm not sure. They don't allow anyone to go out at night, and they don't allow anyone to go back to our home villages. We carried our rice from the village ourselves. The soldiers don't give any food. Sometimes they stole people's chickens. There is just a little water. When we go to fetch water we have to wait turns one by one, because it only comes out slowly. There are only 2 or 3 places to fetch water, and at one place a child fell in and died when he was getting water - a 6 year old boy, not from my village.

People there are sick, some with malaria, some with stomach aches, and some have injuries. I heard 4 or 5 people died while I was there. There's a clinic but the nurses don't look after people very well. To go to the clinic we have to pay money to buy a ticket, 5 Kyat, and then we have to take the ticket and money to buy medicine along to the clinic.

I saw a family whose children were very hungry, so their father went to the Army and asked for food, but they refused. He went home, but then he saw his children all so hungry and crying, so he went back and asked the Army again. They beat him, then they pushed him away and shouted "Go away!" That man said later, "I have to get away from here, if I stay here a long time I will die by starvation or by SLORC". After that he called his family and tried to go out and get free of the place, and his village headman saw his saliva running out because he was so hungry.

Q: Is there forced labour at Shadaw?

A: The Army said, "Now you're refugees, we don't need you to work for us for the present." But in future I'm sure they'll order us to do labour. They allowed us to go out until June 25th, but they said after that they won't allow anyone to go out - on the 25th, everyone had to be back at the camp. If we wanted to go and get things from our village they'd write us a pass and we could go, but we were only allowed to go straight to the village to get our things, nowhere else. At first they easily gave permission, but then they would only allow one person per family to go because they were afraid people would flee here [to the refugee camp].

Before the 25th they allowed us to go to our village to pound rice. We never stopped, we just came here. We walked 6 days to arrive here. All we had was a mat and a blanket for each of us. Along the way we slept in deserted villages, and lots of mosquitos bit us. Because of the mosquitos my children got swelling on their stomachs. I felt very angry and upset, so even when we found and killed a chicken or a pig I didn't want to eat. I couldn't sleep either. We were very afraid. We saw no soldiers, no one at all.

Q: Do you think more people want to come?

A: Sure, but the Army guards them. There were 2 or 3 families who asked their permission to come here, but the township officer refused and they went away crying. The Army didn't say when we can go home. I think it will be a long time before I can go back to my own village. I don't know why they are doing this. I think it is because in the future they want to use all of us as porters, so we escaped and came here. All the people from my village have come here now.

NAME: "Maw Lu Mya"          SEX: F          AGE: 30 Kayah Christian (RC) farmer
FAMILY: Married, 8 children aged 6 months to 13 years
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Shadaw Township     INTERVIEWED: 4/7/96

I'm a farmer. I grow paddy, harvest the paddy, pound it into rice, ... I don't remember the date when the Burmese ordered us to move [it was 2 June in her village, with a 7 June deadline], but all the people ran away. My children and I were ill, so we didn't run. We went and slept in Shadaw for 5, 6, or 7 nights, but then we came here to the other side [of the border].

I don't know why they ordered this. I don't even know whether they sent a letter or not. People just said "Go!", and I followed them to Shadaw. I was working in the fields when I heard and I didn't know what to do, we only had a short time and I had to prepare food and things to go to the relocation place. We were afraid of the Burmese, so we had to do as they ordered us. I heard they arrested 2 people who were hiding in the jungle and put them in prison. Our family is too big to hide in the jungle. Everyone fled in different groups. Some people hid their possessions somewhere, like in the jungle. Other possessions were left behind in the houses. I could hardly carry anything with me. I had so much trouble, my children couldn't walk and they cried. I could carry only my children, and I had to pay someone to carry other things for me, even though I had only a little money. They asked a lot, but I had to pay it. We were very, very afraid! When I looked at my children I wanted to cry. We could only carry a few blankets. We used them for carrying the baby, and at night I had no blanket for myself. I didn't even have a pot to make curry. So many possessions were left behind! I think it must have been worth 10,000 or 100,000 Kyat. Many, many cattle and buffalos were left! And our paddy was left behind in our houses and farmfield huts - almost all of it. I don't know what would happen if we tried to stay. They'd probably come into our village and burn us. They already said, "We'll burn all your food that you feed to the rebels!" We were very afraid of that. Now I feel like there's nothing left in my body anymore, because I left everything.

At Shadaw we had to sleep under the monastery there. Then we had to stay in an empty house with no roof. We put some plastic on the roof but we didn't have enough to cover the whole roof, so the children were crying, and I myself wanted to cry too. I don't know how many houses moved to Shadaw, but I myself knew about 40 of the families who went there. I guess about 50 or 60 of the households from our village went there, all the people who couldn't make it to this refugee camp. All of our neighbour villages, Daw Kraw Aw, Daw Kaya, Daw Seh, Daw Bu Loh, Daw Tama, they forced all the villagers to move to the relocation place! A few families stayed with relatives there, but the rest of us all had to stay in abandoned huts and find our own places. The men can't make up their minds where to make a house. We had so much trouble. There were about 300 or 400 new families there. First we heard that the Burmese had cleared a place for us, but when we arrived there was nothing. We had to bring our own food and go back to our village if we needed more. We ate the food we brought with us, and we used the well that was dug by the Shan people who live in Shadaw [Shadaw's population is roughly 1/2 Shan and 1/2 Kayah]. Many people got sick! A lot of children got sick, and there was stomach ache, backache, headaches, fever, some people were always laying in their bed. There were so many sick people from our village and other villages, and we went to the hospital there but we didn't receive any medicine. They sell one clinic ticket for 5 Kyat, and then when we got there they only gave some medicine one or two times out of many. Some people must have died while I was there. I heard that one child from Daw Ee Sah village died - he was about the same age as my son. I heard that now many people there are dying of sickness.

They gave us 10 days to go to our village and get things. When we arrived in our village there was no way we were going to go back to Shadaw. We made our decision to come to the east. All of our things were left in Shadaw or in our own village. I couldn't bring them so I destroyed some of them by rolling a car tyre over them, like my weaving loom, baskets and mats [so SLORC soldiers would not get them]. We left in the morning, starting very early, and everyone had left by sunrise. We slept 3 nights on the way from our village to the refugee camp, only my children with me and all our things left behind. On the way my children as well as the other adults and old people felt pain on their feet, everyone was very tired but we could only rest for a short time. Whenever we would rest other people said, "Let's go! We have to keep moving". My children were crying and I was pulling them along by the hand. We crossed the Salween River by canoe [very dangerous in rainy season - the Salween is wide, fast, and full of floating branches and small whirlpools which drown many people each year] and continued here.


Q: Do you know why SLORC is doing this?

A: I think it's because they can't attack the rebels so they just make trouble for the villagers instead, and when I see that I want to cry. Before I thought I was rich but now I've become poor, and I can see that people who have always been poor now seem to be happier than me. When I arrived in Shadaw I had no idea how to live. Even before, when they came to our village they took our vegetables, chicken, pigs, and cattle. If we object they swear at us, "Nga lo ma tha!" [literally, "You were born by my fucking", similar to being called "Motherfucker" in English]. So we are very afraid and we have to stay quiet. They looted all our belongings, like pots, plates, and spoons. Even if we hide our things behind the house or in the house, they search for them and take them. If we stay in the house they steal everything outside, and if we stay outside they go in and steal everything inside the house. Before we quite often saw them in our village. One time when they were staying in our village there was fighting. When we heard the shooting we all ran out of the village, then when we returned everything was gone, like spades, machetes, gold, money, even my traditional drum - I lost everything. [Note: SLORC troops often stage "fighting" by firing off some shots on the edge of villages specifically for this purpose.] When we got back to our village we saw that the Burmese had killed a pig there, but they didn't finish all the meat, so they just threw it all beside a housepost. They threw around all our Karenni beer and our food and killed all our animals. After that, every time they came to our village we all tried to flee. When they came they always called all the villagers to come out and gather in the centre of the village, then they ordered all the men to go with them as guides and to carry as porters. All the men always tried to escape but the Burmese arrested them. I always worried very much for the men when they all had to go like that.

NAME: "Koo Kay Reh"          SEX: M          AGE: ? Kayah farmer
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Baw La Keh Township      INTERVIEWED: 21/6/96

There were 25 families in my village. Now they've all come here. The SLORC soldiers forced us to go [to Ywathit] with them. In our village SLORC didn't send any order to move, they sent the troops to make us move. They used Battalion #430. About 80 soldiers came to our village to make us go. They gave us only half an hour. Other villages like Tha Ku Dah and Wan Loi got orders from SLORC to move, so they had 2 or 3 days. Our village is the furthest away so they didn't send an order and people thought we wouldn't have to move, but then when they came they only gave us half an hour. They came at 10 o'clock in the morning, and at half past ten the villagers already had to move. First we had to go in between all the soldiers. Then when we got to the junction the soldiers turned one way and most of the villagers turned the other way and got back to the village, so the SLORC didn't get most of the villagers to Ywathit. First altogether 5 of us were taken to the relocation place. After we got there our families were left behind, so SLORC kept us there and told us, "Unless your families come to the relocation place we won't let you go." While we were there in the relocation place, the others who had already been there 2 weeks told us that they didn't have enough food, that there are many difficulties there and that even when they run out of supplies they are allowed only 2 days to go to get some rice and food from their villages. Then they have to come back again to Ywathit.

When we arrived there there were 7 villages already there. We heard that altogether there will be 15 villages moved to that site. The SLORC gives nothing. They don't provide any roof, so everyone has to stay in other people's old and abandoned huts. They only allocate land around their Battalion base for us. They took the ricefields of some Ywathit villagers and ordered us to stay there, and those Ywathit villagers lost their fields. It is a big area. For water there is a stream, and everyone uses that. There is a clinic, not an Army clinic but the Township hospital and clinic. If you want to go when you're sick, you have to buy your own medicine and everything and then go to the hospital to get treated by the nurses there. It's a long, building, about 150 feet long.

Once you get to the relocation camp it's very difficult for you to come out again, so I don't think many of them will be able to come here. Even when they go out, only the man of the family can get a permit paper and if he doesn't come back the family will be treated badly by the soldiers. We asked the SLORC commander if we could talk to the Township authorities and get permission to go and get our families and bring them, but then when we got to our village instead of going back we set out to come here. It took us 4 days to get here. Other villages south of Ywathit are much closer to SLORC, so I think they will have very little chance to make it out here. Our village is further out. There are some people who hide in the jungle. From our village, there are only 2 people like that, an old woman and an old man. The woman is blind, so they have to help each other in the ricefields.

We arrived here on the 15th of this month [June], 6 days ago. Since we only had half an hour to leave our village, we couldn't carry anything with us. We came with only our family members so we have nothing, not even a machete to build a house. We feel much safer here than in our village. Our village has been robbed one time by SLORC and burned down twice. We had nothing but trouble all the time from them. If we stay in our village we have to worry all the time about many dangers, but here we only have to worry about how to survive. If it is ever possible for us to go back and see our village, we'd like to go back and see what is happening there.

Q: Why do you think SLORC is forcing people to move?

A: They do it so that whenever fighting breaks out it will be easy for them to take porters from the relocation place. It is also to cut off contact between the villagers and the Karenni forces.

NAME: "Sai Kyong"          SEX: M          AGE: 36 Shan Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 3 children aged 2, 7, and 12
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Baw La Keh Township      INTERVIEWED: 3/7/96

Our village had thirteen households. We got here yesterday, last night, on the 2nd of July. It took us 6 days to get here. We left Wan Mai [relocation site] at 4 o'clock in the morning. We left because the Burmese troops are so oppressive. I don't remember exactly when they ordered us to move there, but it was in the 4th month [April]. The letter said that we must move, if we don't we'll be burnt or driven away like animals. If that happened we wouldn't be able to take any food or any belongings along with us. The soldiers didn't come, they just sent the letter. It was #99 [Battalion or Division]. The letter came directly from the Army unit. We knew if we didn't go, they would put all of us in jail.

We wanted to come this way [to the Thai border] but there are soldiers all over the place so it would be very difficult to come this way, so we decided to go where they had ordered us and later we could try to find a way out. Everyone wants to get out. They said there is no limit of time, that we will have to stay there indefinitely. Other villages around us were also forced to move: Wan Pra, Oo Cha Pah, Nam Byin, Oo Ghu Ta, Loi Wing, Pay Lu, Wan Pak Kee, Wan Loi, Boh Kay Ta, nine villages.

At the new place nothing was prepared for us, we had to go and stay with our relatives. Only after a while they showed us the place where we must live. We had to clear the place ourselves, on the west side of the paddy fields where there is thick scrub. We were forced to clear it. There is an Army camp just near the place, soldiers from #99. They guard all entrances to our place, we have to ask permission everytime we go outside or come back in. They just put a stick at a spot and said "Here is where you build your houses". They only marked the place with a stick. 270 families have been forced to move there from 9 villages. I don't know exactly how many because I didn't see the list. The Army said they would give us food but in reality they didn't give anything. They told us they would keep our rice for us but we kept it ourselves. When they came to search for it we hid it. There is just enough water there for our use. Many people got sick when we first arrived there. Many got 'ma kao lem' disease [Shan name for a disease involving red and black lumps or sores on your body]. Sometimes we received some medicine but sometimes we were shouted at and scolded just for asking for it. No one from our village died, but two Wan Pak Kee villagers died.

When we moved there I could take only one third of my belongings. There was paddy, rice, and cattle, and other belongings left behind. We don't know what happened to them. The cattle may just go wild, and the other things probably got ruined. Now all [from our village] have come here with me. The only one left behind was arrested by the Burmese troops. His name is Ai Hem. They caught him because he got up late, after we left early in the morning. They even followed us, but we had already crossed the river. When they followed us, a villager from another village came and told us that we were being followed, so we just crossed the river and headed this way.

Since we left we don't know anything about what has happened to our village. There's nobody left hiding there in the forest. The soldiers searched all over the place and they never found anyone. If they did they would force him to leave, maybe they would even shoot him dead. We haven't got any chance to go back to our village. They would hear news about us and put us in jail.

NAME: "Koo Ni Reh"     SEX: M         AGE: 21 Kayah Animist (Yo Yah) farmer
FAMILY: Married, 2 children aged 18 months and 5 years
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Shadaw Township     INTERVIEWED: 4/7/96

I left on June 5th and arrived here on the 9th. The Burmese forced us to move, so I collected all my things and fled to Thailand. They sent a letter that said, "If you don't agree to move we'll kill all of you." It said we have to move to Shadaw. It came from #337 Battalion. They said, "If you don't go we'll come ourselves and get you, and then you won't be able to carry anything along with you to our camp." We asked permission to stay in our village, but SLORC refused. They said if they see anyone in the village they'll kill them. They didn't burn our village yet but they killed our animals, like chickens, pigs, cattle and buffalos. They said all the villages in Preh Tho Leh area have to move - Daw Seh, Daw Kraw Aw, Daw Leh Dah, Daw Ka Shi, Daw Yeh So, Daw Leh Ku, Daw Duh, Daw Ta Ma, Daw Taw Ku, Daw Kloh Ku, Daw Ee Sah, Daw Ay Syah, Daw Bo Ee, Daw Kleh Tay, Daw Klaw Lay, Daw Ay Kaya, all of these villages have to move.

Our village has 26 families, and 15 families arrived in Shadaw. The rest of us all came to Thailand. I don't want to stay with SLORC. We left on the 5th of June, and it took us 5 days. We were afraid so we hurried to come. We couldn't carry much with us. I could carry only 7 or 8 milktins [about 2 kg.] of rice for my family, and only one mat. It was a long journey to come here, and we had no boat. We had to carry the old men and women. The old people were very afraid, that's why some of them went to stay in Shadaw. Along the way there are no villagers in the deserted villages, no one to look after the buffalos, cattle, chicken and pigs. We didn't dare sleep in those villages because we were afraid the Battalion would catch and arrest us. All my belongings were left behind, buffalos, cattle, chicken, pigs, money ... I couldn't carry anything with me. I don't know what will happen to them, but I'm sure they'll all disappear.

Just now they don't torture people, but in 1995 they took all the women as porters, then when the women were afraid and cried, the soldiers beat them. This year also, they arrested one woman, and they beat our villagers with a machine gun and rolled 60 mm. shells up and down their shins. They always give trouble to the villagers in our village. There was also fighting near our village, and the bullets even hit my house.

Q: Why do you think SLORC is forcing everyone to move?

A: Because SLORC told us, "All the groups have made ceasefires with us except the Karenni. Karenni are very headstrong." They said, "If there is water, there will be fish." When they said that, we hurried to run away.

NAME: "Koo Nga Reh"          SEX: M          AGE: 45 Kayah Animist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 5 children aged 2-13
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Shadaw Township     INTERVIEWED: 4/7/96

Our village has 105 houses. I've been here 12 days already. I left at 6 a.m. on the 13th of June. The Burmese sent a letter and threatened us that if we didn't go to Shadaw they would come and burn down our houses and torture the villagers, so we were afraid and we told them we'd come soon. The 17th was the last day when we had to go to Shadaw. Then they said if we didn't go by the 17th, the 27th would be the last day. It was ordered by #337 Battalion. We were very unhappy when we got the letter. If we were to hide in the forest they could find us easily, so we had no choice but to go there. Now no families are left in the village or in the forest. We went but we couldn't carry our things because we had to carry our children. When we got there they didn't give us any food or houses, and we had to sleep on the ground. Everyone has to find their own place to stay. Some people stay in the monastery, some have to stay underneath other people's houses. After we cooked the Burmese ordered us to put out our fires. Even while we were cooking they sometimes came and put the fire out.

All the other villages received the same order - Daw Tha Dah, Daw Saw Cha, Daw Kraw Aw, Daw Mu Seh, Daw Kraw Lo, Daw Klaw Leh, Nga M'Lo Soh, Bu Law Ku, Daw Ta Ma, Daw Kloh Ku, Daw Kuh Sa, and Daw Kuh Li, all in Preh Tho Leh township. I can't count how many families were in Shadaw, there were so many. The Burmese told us we're not allowed to leave Shadaw village. They said our place would be beside the cemetery, for 100 or 200 houses. They ordered the villagers who live in Shadaw to clear the place, and the Shadaw villagers said, "We can't do that, it's too big", so they said when the other villagers flee Shadaw they will follow.

I stayed there only one day. Then the Burmese said, "You have to go and get your belongings and rice from your village." They said, "As long as you're here we won't give you food. If you don't bring your food from your village you can starve and die, we don't care." That's why we left. At Shadaw a lot of people were sick, but when we asked for medicine there was no medicine for us. There is a hospital in Shadaw but they asked for money, and we had no money so we received no medicine. Many people had fever. I could see that if we stayed there for long the situation would get much worse. For now they don't make people do labour for them, but once people have finished building their houses they probably will.

They gave us a permission pass for 15 days to go and collect all our belongings. We had to pay 5 Kyat for the pass. Our whole family went, and then during those 15 days we left for Thailand. We slept in our village for 2 or 3 nights and then we left. I think that was about the 16th [of June]. Now I heard that they won't let anyone out of Shadaw any more - now if you ask for permission, they will only give you their fist. So people don't dare ask permission anymore.

We had to walk 3 days to get here. It was a really hard journey and we had to rush. We had to carry our things and our children, so we got pain in our shoulders and some people got sick. About 70 families came. If we had stayed in our village the Burmese would kill us. We're afraid of them, so we all came to the refugee camp. Each family could only carry about 10 milktins [3 kg.] of rice, and when it was not enough we asked for some from some Karenni soldiers. All of our knives, pots, cups and other possessions we hid in a cave. There is no one to look after our animals. I think altogether about one million Kyat worth of things were left behind [for the whole village]. I don't know what will happen to them. If the Burmese destroy it we will just have to accept that.

When we got east of the Salween River we arrived at xxxx and xxxx villages but we didn't see any people there. Then in xxxx village there were only a few people. When we saw people in xxxx village we felt a bit happier, but they told us, "We are very sad to see you like this. Soon we will follow you." We were always worried that the Burmese would block us on the way, but our decision was to come all the way no matter what. We were lucky. If they keep forcing people to move I think most people will come here to be refugees. I don't know when they'll let people go back to their villages, 3 months or 3 years, but it will be a long time. I've never seen a situation this bad. Before we just had to run to neighbouring villages to avoid them. But now it's everywhere, and they said they'll burn our villages and kill our animals. I've never faced problems this bad in my life. I cannot tell all the things that SLORC does to us. It's not like before. Now we even have to receive our food from other people, it's not like our own food. I can't talk about it anymore.

NAME: "Koo Soe Reh"          SEX: M          AGE: 25 Kayah Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 2 children aged 1 and 2
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Preh Tho Leh Township      INTERVIEWED: 3/7/96

Our village has 14 households. I've been here one week, I left on a Monday. I came because the Burmese gave us trouble. They sent a letter, I don't know which Battalion. I don't know exactly what it said because I can't read, but other people told me it said we cannot stay in our village, that we must go. The Burmese said they'd burn our village if we didn't go. We tried to talk to them to be allowed to stay in our village, but they refused us. So we had a meeting to discuss whether we should go to the relocation village or stay in our own village. People said if we come to the refugee camp it's very far, and we'd also heard that the refugee camps were already full with people. So we went to the relocation place.Because of their order, we were afraid so we had to go. Some people walked in one day, some took 2 days. Me, I arrived in Shadaw on a Saturday.

We could only take food with us, pigs and rice. When we arrived there some people stayed in the monastery and some people stayed in other people's houses. The whole village there was full of people. We were very afraid, we didn't know what would happen to us. Our whole village went to Shadaw, no one was left in our village. Our pigs and chickens were left there, glasses, pots, plates, and paddy, and some belongings were left behind in our farmfield huts also. I don't know what happened to all those things.

All the villages had to move - Dee Leh, Daw Prih, Daw Duh, Ta Tee Leh, Daw Nyay Ku, Daw Ee Dah, Tee Ku Leh, Daw Ta Ma, Daw Kloh Ku, Daw Mi So. We stayed in every place we could see. The monks also tried to arrange places for us. The Burmese built 3 barracks for us and then we weren't allowed to stay in other people's houses anymore, we had to stay in those barracks. They built them in front of the military camp. There are 300 people in 3 barracks. The soldiers there were the same ones who ordered us to move. They didn't give us food, they told us we have to find our own food. When we first arrived at the military camp the Major said, "We will give rice to the people", and they gave out packets of rice and took pictures. Then after taking the pictures they took back the rice. They took a picture of the Major and the headman.

Lots of people got sick. When we first arrived we could get some medicine from the clinic, but not after that. For the present we didn't have to do labour for them, but I don't know about the future. I didn't see anyone beaten or tortured at Shadaw, although before they used to come to our village and beat us quite often.

They didn't allow us to go outside the camp without a reason, but at first they gave us 15 days to go get our belongings from our village. Some people also went out without permission, but the soldiers didn't catch them. We stayed in Shadaw for one week, then when they allowed us to go get our food we left and just kept coming, directly to Thailand. It took us about 6 or 8 days to get here, me and my family. I had so many problems because I couldn't walk. My leg was in pain and I couldn't keep carrying my things. ["Koo Soe Reh" walked barefoot all the way because he has no sandals.] All we had with us were some glasses, mats, pots and plates. I think the Burmese did this just because they like to see us having problems, so they make trouble for us. They told us that only after 3 or 4 years can we go back to our village.

Translation of Forced Relocation Order

Following is the direct translation of the form letter sent to most or all of the 98 villages between the Pon and Salween Rivers on June 1st. It is a 2-page typed order with the addressee, village and village tract names written in by hand (replaced by xxxx here). A photocopy of the Burmese original is included on the following page. LORC = Law & Order Restoration Council, LIB = Light Infantry Battalion (abbreviations are used here where they are used in the Burmese original).

Stamp: Township Law & Order Restoration Council
Township LORC Shadaw Town
Shadaw Town Ref. No. 101 / 1-1 / Ya Ta - 1 (Tha Wa)
Date: 1996 May 31

To: Village Head xxxx village
xxxx village tract

Subject: Gathering all the villages in Shadaw Township at Shadaw Town

Reference: Frontline No. 337 LIB's letter dated 30-5-96, reference no. 337 / 01 / U-1

1) According to the above order, to establish peacefulness and restore law and order within Shadaw Township, all the area between the Pon River and Salween River, all villages south of Shadaw and north of Shadaw, must gather at Shadaw. 7 JUNE 1996 IS THE LAST DAY for all the villages to gather, we send this letter to inform you all. If you do not gather by the deadline the troops will enter the village and if we see anyone we will consider them as enemy.

2) Therefore your village must move to Shadaw, and 7 JUNE 1996 IS THE LAST DAY, we hereby inform you.

3) For the villages to come here, the Township Law & Order Restoration Council will arrange a place [for them all to stay].

[Sd.]
Chairman

[Page 2]

Copies to: - Chairman, State Law & Order Restoration Council, Kayah State, Loikaw Town
- Chairman, District Law & Order Restoration Council, Kayah State, Loikaw Town
- Frontline camp, #337 Light Infantry Battalion, Shadaw Town
- Chairmen, Market quarter / Southern quarter / | Notice: When the villagers
Central quarter / Aung Chan Tha quarter, | move here, [I] inform you
Quarter LORCs, Shadaw Town | to help them.

List of Villages Affected

The following villages are known to have been forcibly relocated. This list has been provided courtesy of the Karenni Information Ministry. It is not complete. Numbers in the lists correspond to the numbered dots on the map showing village locations. Some village names are common and repeat themselves, such as Daw Kraw Aw, Daw Tama and Daw Mu Say.

Between Pon River and Salween River

The following 98 villages were all sent a written order (see example copy in this report) on 1 June ordering them to move to Shadaw or Ywathit relocation site by 7 June. Most of them were forced to move to Shadaw. The area measures about 120 km. from north to south by 15 km. from east to west.

Pah Saung and Maw Chi area

The following 52 villages, possibly more, are known to have been ordered to relocation sites with a deadline of 20 June. Villages in Pah Saung township have been forced to move to a site near Pah Saung, villages north and south of Maw Chi to relocation sites near Maw Chi, and a few villages about 30 km. northwest of Maw Chi near the source of the Too River have been forced to move to Bu Ko and Kwa Chi villages. The entire area covers an 80-km long swath going northwest from the Karen State border in the south up to the southern tip of Shan State.

Dee Maw So, Pruso and Baw La Keh area

The following 26 villages east of the Baw La Keh-Pruso-Dee Maw So road were forced to move to relocation sites at Tee Po Klo, Kay Lia, Daw Tama Gyi, and Baw La Keh by the deadline of 25 June. The region measures 40 km. north-south and 15 km. east-west.

Daw Tama area

The following 7 villages in Daw Tama area, east of the Salween River near the Thai border, were forced to move to a relocation site near Daw Tama by the deadline of 25 June.

Loikaw area

Elders of the following 29 villages northeast of Loikaw have been forced to sign papers guaranteeing that they will be forced to relocate if any shots are fired in the region. The area is between the Loikaw-Taunggyi road and the Pon River, from Loikaw northward to the Shan border - a 25 km. square area.