Karen Human Rights Group

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Villagers from Boh Nah Der village in the upper Yunzalin River area in northern Papun district prepare for bed, living on the ground in the forest on November 28th 2006 to evade SPDC forces.

Nights in the hills can be very cold in November, but as the photos show people's spirits remained high considering the circumstances.

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Much of the cooking is done after dark (photo B-260 below) because SPDC soldiers fire mortar shells at any sign of cooking smoke in daylight hours. See also further related photos below. [Photos: KHRG]

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After the night shown in the preceding photos, November 29th dawned cold and clear with children to be fed (photos B-261 and B-262).

Some of the villagers returned to this rice storage barn hidden in the forest (right and below) to fetch some of their paddy and pound it into edible rice.

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Some of their fields could not be harvested because the probability of being seen and shot at by SPDC forces was too high, but villagers returned by night to harvest more paddy when possible (photos B-265 and B-266).

On November 30th, the villagers found a pile of spent medium-calibre machine gun cartridges (photo B-267) where an SPDC soldier had taken position and opened fire on a group of them who had been harvesting in an open field. Photo B-268 (below) shows the front edge of a firing position dug by SPDC soldiers among the trees at the top of a villager's hillside rice field for the express purpose of firing down the hill at villagers who came to harvest.

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On December 2nd, a group of students from Boh Nah Der village tried to continue their studies in a makeshift school (right). Their real village school (below) now sits abandoned because it is too close to an SPDC camp.

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On December 3rd villager Saw B--- returned to his hidden rice barn to find that it had been looted and destroyed by an SPDC patrol (photo B-271, below left); the soldiers deliberately destroy the villagers' food supplies in an attempt to force them to move to SPDC-controlled relocation sites.

Villagers later came upon the site in photo B-272 below, where SPDC soldiers had pounded some of the paddy they looted from the rice barn. [Photos: KHRG]

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This teacher and her students were displaced from their villages by SPDC activity in the Kay Pu area of northern Papun district, and when this photo was taken on November 30th 2006 they were conducting classes on the ground under the farm field hut visible to the right. [Photo: KHRG]

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At the end of November 2006, SPDC soldiers based at K'Ler Ker camp came to Khoh Thweh Kee village in the Kay Pu area of northern Papun district and finding the village already deserted, proceeded to break into the houses and ransack them.

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Meanwhile, the villagers were already in the forest, as shown in these photos taken on December 2nd (photos B-276, B-277, and B-278).

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They were harvesting their paddy by night and gathering chillies, bamboo and other materials to their hiding places in the forest (photo B-279), where they pounded their paddy in improvised levered mortars like the one shown below in photo B-280. All this work is rewarded by sharing a meal with the family, as in photo B-281. [Photos: KHRG]

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Villagers in Mone township of Nyaunglebin district on the move on November 30th and December 1st 2006.

These people from L--- and S--- villages move into the forest whenever SPDC troops come to their villages, then watch for the troops to leave so they can return. When these photos were taken, SPDC Infantry Battalion #56 had been coming and going around their villages.

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In the forest the villagers crowd into rudimentary shelters, where they live for days or weeks depending on how long it takes before they can return to the village, eating food they have brought from the village along with forest foods.

In photo B-287 below, teenager Saw W--- has returned to his village to fetch some paddy and is pounding it into edible rice before returning into the forest; he told KHRG he had to hurry because he was afraid SPDC Infantry Battalion #56 might return to the village at any time. [Photos: KHRG]

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Shelters built by villagers from Mone township of northern Nyaunglebin district who fled when the SPDC ordered their villages to relocate to SPDC-controlled relocation sites.

They came here to Kay Pu village tract in northern Papun district, where they were staying when these photos were taken in December 2006. Some had already continued on toward the border with Thailand. [Photos: KHRG]

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The 14 households and 113 people of Paw Thih Muh Kee, a small village in the Shoh Bper Koh area of northern Papun district, have been moving from place to place to evade SPDC forces since May 2006 while still managing to stay close to their paddy fields.

These photos show the hidden site where they were living in early December 2006, carrying on their lives and their farming despite the presence of hundreds of SPDC troops not far away. [Photos: KHRG]

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This is the temporary home of a group of families displaced from Htee See Kee village in the Kay Pu area of northern Papun district, shown here in December 2006. People usually have to shift between sites like this at least once every few months to avoid detection by SPDC units while still farming their land.

Villager Saw L---, 53 (right) is wearing an SPDC Army uniform shirt and hat he got from an SPDC deserter, because he sometimes acts as a lookout watching for SPDC patrols coming their way; if seen dressed like this, the soldiers might hold their fire long enough so that he can escape and get back to the other villagers to warn them.

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Naw W--- (left) nurses her third child; her previous two children both died due to forced displacement, and the day after this third baby was born her family had to flee the village into the forest with Naw W---'s husband carrying the newborn through the rain in a basket. When this photo was taken in December 2006, the baby was five months old.

Eighty year old Saw Law Plah Muh (right) is blind and can no longer walk, but was carried to this site by his family members. [Photos: KHRG]

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Families from Sho Bper Koh and Paw Thee Muh Kee villages in northern Papun district take refuge in makeshift shelters in December 2006 after being displaced from site to site throughout the year. Their home villages lie just north of a major SPDC base at Ler Mu Bplaw in northern Papun district. [Photos: KHRG; ignore the incorrect dates burned on the photos]

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Beginning on December 12th 2006, SPDC Light Infantry Battalions #361 and #362 went through the villages of Saw Mu Bplaw village tract in northern Papun district destroying everything they found, particularly targeting village food supplies. They burned houses in the villages, as in photo B-305. They burned down the paddy storage barns of Saw Loh Baw and Saw Aeroplane at Noh Dta Lee Htah, destroying a total of 204 baskets of paddy; photo B-306 shows the men trying to salvage something from the still-smouldering pile of paddy in one of the barns two days later; only a small amount of paddy could be saved, visible in photo B-308.

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At Noh Dta Lee Bplaw they burned down the farming hut of 50 year old Saw T--- and also destroyed his pineapple and banana plantations. They burned down the farming huts in every rice field they came to, including those shown in photos B-309 (note the destroyed papaya tree and the surviving pineapples behind the ruins), B-310, and B-311. They also burned rice threshing grounds (photo B-312) and storage areas to destroy any remnants of the harvest remaining there.

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They killed and ate villagers' chickens, leaving nothing but piles of feathers, and even burned piles of paddy straw left from the harvest, as shown in photo B-313. After burning everything around Saw Mu Bplaw they moved on to Bplah Koh, where they burned more farming huts, destroyed villagers' bamboo paddy-drying mats, and even killed and cooked a villager's domestic cat. Throughout this time, the villagers of Htee Moo Kee, Saw Mu Bplaw, Dta Baw Gkoh Der, and Htee Baw Kee evaded the column by remaining on the move; photo B-314 shows some of them on the move by night. All of these photos were taken on December 13th and 14th 2006.[Photos: KHRG; ignore the incorrect dates burned on the photos]

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Villagers from Saw Mu Bplaw village tract in northern Papun district spent some time evading SPDC forces at these shelters further east, but when SPDC columns attacked that area as well they abandoned these shelters and moved on. These photos were taken in December 2006. [Photos: KHRG]

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In December 2006 SPDC troops came to Dtaw Kuh Muh Der village in northern Papun district, found it already abandoned and began slaughtering the villagers' livestock (photo B-320 below shows some of the blood) and burning the houses. This was the second time the village had been attacked in 2006 (see photos B-62 through B-65 earlier in the gallery). They were unable to burn most of the houses this time, however, because they were suddenly ambushed by a KNLA unit and had to withdraw from the village. [Photos: KHRG]

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Villagers displaced from Dtaw Kuh Muh Der village (see preceding photos) are shown here at two different displacement sites in December 2006. The family in photo B-321 wanted to move on to another site but could not because their children were sick. In October 2006, thirty-five year old Naw B--- and her family (photo B-322) were staying at their farming hut near the same site when her husband, 55 year old Saw Khoh Ywa Muh, fell ill and died. The family then moved to another site. [Photos: KHRG]

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Despite the difficult and dangerous circumstances and the displacement of most villagers in the area, the local nursery school in Kay Pu village tract (above and above right) continued to operate in December 2006 and maintained its swing-set for the children (photo B-324).

Local villagers were also maintaining a primary school (right); the sign reads 'B--- [village] education primary school, opened 17-4-05'.

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The school in photo B-326 (left) moved to this location because their old school was too close to a new SPDC post.

At another displacement site, villagers had built the primary school shown in photo B-327 (below left). With Christmas approaching, the Christian students and others went carolling (photo B-328). [Photos: KHRG]

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Earlier photos showed the villagers of Boh Nah Der in northern Papun district displaced in late November 2006 (see photos B-69 to B-70 and B-254 through B-272). These photos show them still displaced in the same area in mid-December.

They had not yet built solid shelters because they were unsure whether they might have to flee again at any moment. The baby in photo B-333 (below) was born when the villagers were already in the forest. [Photos: KHRG]

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These three assault rifle bullets were dug out of the ground by villagers after SPDC troops had fired them at a Papun district village school from their hilltop camp at Sweh Kyo in December 2006. [Photo: KHRG]

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Despite the attacks against villages, the intensive SPDC militarisation of the region, and the widespread displacement, Karen New Year celebrations were held in Papun district on December 19th 2006. [Photos: KHRG]

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Displaced families from Nyaunglebin and Toungoo districts on their way to Ee Thu Htah camp at the border with Thailand in late December 2006.

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In photos B-343 and B-344 above, people bunch up to prepare to cross the nearby Pwa Ghaw - Saw Htah vehicle road which is patrolled by SPDC troops.

Below, a grandmother who can only walk slowly is carried by her son in order to get her across the road as quickly as possible; once across, she continued the march with everyone else in her own style - barefoot (photo B-346). [Photos: KHRG]

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These three convict porters escaped the SPDC units they were serving with in December 2006.

K---, 43 (photo B-349) escaped from Infantry Battalion #242 after seeing the soldiers murder three other convict porters who were his friends.

M---, 23 (photo B-350), says he was arrested without charge and was never tried or sent to prison, but was sent directly with a group of convict porters to Infantry Battalion #60, then was later handed over to a joint column of Light Infantry Battalions #361 and 368, who tortured him.

M---, 27 (photo B-351) was taken from Insein Prison as a porter for Infantry Battalion #60, and was so weak after his escape that he needed medical treatment. [Photos: KHRG]

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K--- (left) is only 15 years old, but was sentenced to a year in Insein Prison for fighting with a friend who hadn't paid back some money he had borrowed. From there K--- was sent to be a convict porter with SPDC Light Infantry Battalion #535. He saw porters die, and saw the soldiers refuse medicine to porters who were ill, so he escaped in mid-December 2006.

A--- (right) is 17 years old, still a minor, but he was sentenced to 8 years in Insein Prison for theft. He was also sent to Light Infantry Battalion #535 as a porter, and they beat him and didn't give him enough food while he carried their loads.

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Thirty year old T--- (left) is from Rakhine State, where he was imprisoned for carrying a machete and then sent to Infantry Battalion #60 and Light Infantry Battalion #535. While carrying loads he was beaten and saw other porters die of illness because they were refused medicine, until he escaped in December 2006.

H--- (right) is 20 years old, and was sentenced to three years in Sittwe prison for possessing Indian currency (rupees). He was brought to Karen State by Infantry Battalion #60 and then handed over to Light Infantry Battalion #535, until he escaped after being beaten and brutally treated. [Photos: KHRG]

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On December 27th 2006 SPDC Light Infantry Battalions #276 and #387, operating under Military Operations Command #21 (Brigadier General Soe Nwe commanding), arrived at the hilltop of Twee Pa Wih Kyo, just west of the Bilin River in western Papun district, and set up a camp there. The camp overlooks the village and fields of Thay Koh Muh Der village, so all the villagers there immediately headed to hiding sites in the forest, where they are shown here on January 1st and 2nd 2007.

Some of them are from Wah Kay Der village and had already been displaced to Thay Koh Muh Der, then had to follow the Thay Koh Muh Der villagers into hiding. People from nearby Ber Khaw village were also among those displaced in the forest.

The children in photo B-358 (right) told KHRG they were concerned because their studies had been cut off.

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In photo B-360 above, a grandfather from Thay Koh Muh Der cares for his seven month old twin grandchildren after their mother died. This happened after the SPDC attacked and destroyed Thay Koh Muh Der village in June 2006 and the villagers had to flee into the forest (see New SPDC military moves force more villagers to flee, KHRG #2006-B9, July 4th 2006, and photos 1-245 through 1-272 in Section 1 of this gallery).

At that time the twins were newborns. The villagers had to hide in the forest for two weeks before the SPDC withdrew, and the twins' mother fell sick in the jungle. There was no medicine to treat her, and two or three days after the villagers returned to their village she passed away. Now only seven months old, the twins have seen their village destroyed twice and been displaced into the forest a second time.

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These villagers are experienced at survival during displacement. Photos B-361 and B-362 above show two foot-powered mortars of wood and bamboo quickly set up in the forest to pound paddy into edible rice, which people then share in communal extended family meals (photo B-363, below left). Even weaving of clothing continues, as shown in photo B-364.

The SPDC column then continued on to attack Baw Kwaw village (see below). [Photos: KHRG]

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The column of SPDC Light Infantry Battalion #276 and #387 continued down the Bilin River from Thay Koh Muh Der to occupy and destroy Baw Kwaw village on January 8th 2007. These photos show some of the people of Baw Kwaw and Lay Poh Kaw Htee villages two days later.

This attack occurred only seven months after the last SPDC attack on their villages in June 2006 (see New SPDC military moves force more villagers to flee, KHRG #2006-B9, July 4th 2006, and photos 1-245 through 1-272 in Section 1 of this gallery), so displacement was not a new experience for most of them.

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Villages and extended families remained together to assemble shelters and organise food. As shown by photos B-370 and B-371, children were often left to feed themselves while adults were away foraging for building materials or food, or retrieving rice and other supplies from hidden sites near the village.

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Much of the time, children could be seen continuing their studies (photos B-372 and B-373 below), still hoping to complete their exams in March despite having already been displaced twice within this school year. [Photos: KHRG]

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Since the beginning of 2006 the SPDC has brought thousands of convicts from prisons all over Burma to northern Karen State to be used as porters by its forces establishing camps and destroying villages (see Less Than Human, KHRG #2006-03, August 2006). Convicts serving short sentences or near the end of their terms are usually selected to lessen the chance that they will attempt escape, and they are brought from distant parts of the country so they will be unfamiliar with the local area and language and will be too afraid to escape.

These porters are used for all the physical work of hauling supplies and ammunition, building temporary shelters and army camps, fetching water and firewood, and any other physical jobs which the soldiers should do for themselves. They are fed no more than a couple of handfuls of rice a day, beaten whenever they cannot keep up, and killed when they are no longer useful. The treatment is so brutal that many porters attempt escape; some die in the process, but others end up in the hands of the villagers and the KNLA, who must care for them because no outside agency provides any support.

At present at least 100 convict porters escape every month, and the KNLA can do little for them except to give them some civilian clothes and money and point them in the direction home; many are recaptured on their way and sent back to military units as porters once again.

These photos show just a few of the many who escaped into the hands of the KNLA in November 2006. They range in age from 20 to 43. More than half are Rakhine ethnicity, while others are Burman and Mon, living in Rakhine State, Rangoon and Tenasserim Divisions, and they were serving sentences in Sittwe, Insein and other prisons for crimes such as selling black market lottery tickets, possession of marijuana, smuggling, weapons possession, reckless driving, fraud, loitering, and trespassing.

K---, age 28 (photo B-378 below) was in Insein Prison on a six-month sentence simply for failing to register a house guest with the authorities.

These men were assigned to SPDC battalions including Light Infantry Battalions #242, 352, 362, 365, 368, 369, 522, 535, 564, 565, 590, and Infantry Battalion #60, yet in every case they told KHRG the soldiers tortured and abused the porters, killing many of them. Some of these men had scars on their arms, legs, feet and backs from torture or from carrying heavy loads, while one had lost some teeth when beaten.

In photo B-379 (below right), a convict porter shows some of the burst blisters and puncture wounds common to porters after carrying 30 to 40 kilogram loads over mountains either barefoot or in rubber flipflops.

While UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon congratulates the SPDC on its 'progress' on forced labour ('UN leader lauds ILO pact with Burma', Democratic Voice of Burma radio, 28/2/07), hundreds more men like these are being sent to Karen State to die each month. [Photos: KHRG]

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Photos B-380 and B-381 above show a group of villagers displaced from Mone township in northern Nyaunglebin district arriving in Ee Thu Htah camp at the Salween River on January 15th 2007 after a dangerous journey of several weeks. Villagers escaping SPDC forces continue to arrive in the camp every week; it is less than a year since it was formed, but the population is already close to 3,000, while others have continued across the border into Thailand.

Here they can receive food and medical aid brought across the border from Thailand by independent organisations. Ee Thu Htah is on the Karen side of the Karen State/Thai border and is protected by landmines and Karen forces, but is still very vulnerable to attack by the SPDC troops posted nearby.

Existing villages not far from the camp still suffer exploitation and violent abuses by SPDC forces. For example, Naw H--- (left) lives in P--- village very close to Ee Thu Htah; over a year ago her husband was shot on sight and killed by an SPDC patrol, leaving her to give birth to the baby in the photo after his death. [Photos: KHRG]

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A few of the convict porters who escaped from SPDC forces in northern Karen State in mid-January 2007.

M---, 22 (left), is a Rakhine who was sent to Sittwe prison with a 7 year sentence after he beat up an SPDC Army non-commissioned officer (NCO) who had been abusing people in M---'s village. He was sent from prison to porter for SPDC Light Infantry Battalions (LIB) #361 and #362. He saw the troops torture porters and kill his friend Maung Win Hlaing, 27, who had been sent as a porter while in prison serving a sentence for desertion from the SPDC Army.

A---, 33 (right), is Rakhine and was in Sittwe prison for 14 years for murder when he was sent as a convict porter for SPDC LIB #363. While with the troops he says he witnessed them rape two village women near Mu Theh army camp (in Nyaunglebin district along the Kyauk Kyi - Saw Htah road), and then further east along the same road near Plah Ko army camp the same troops caught a girl who was heading from her village to her hillside rice field, raped her and killed her. He then escaped in early January 2007.

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H---, 52 (left), is a Kachin who was serving 7 years in Myitkyina prison for unlicensed logging when he was sent to be a porter for SPDC LIB #352 in Toungoo district; after seeing the soldiers kill several other porters he ran away himself.

K---, 38 (right) is a Rakhine who was sentenced to 7 years in Sittwe prison for smuggling rice. He fled the LIB #362 unit he was portering for after they also killed several porters. [Photos: KHRG]

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