Karen Human Rights Group

In June 2006, SPDC Military Operations Command #15 sent over 1,000 troops of seven battalions from Baw Hser Koh (Pwa Ghaw) down the Bilin River valley to destroy all the villages as far south as Baw Kwaw (see photos 1-245 through 1-272 above, and the KHRG report Offensive columns shell and burn villages, round up villagers in northern Papun and Toungoo districts of June 2006). Villagers fled into the hills to the east, and for several weeks the troops destroyed villages, huts and food supplies before withdrawing back to the north. [All photos below: KHRG]

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These photos taken later in June show some of the temporary camps they built and then abandoned in the forests and rice fields along the Bilin River. The troops forced the convict porters with them to gather bamboo (left), build these shelters and cover them with leaves, but then forced the porters to sleep out in the rain while only soldiers had shelter.

Photos 1-390 and 1-391 below show some of the baskets which convict porters are forced to carry full of ammunition and supplies weighing up to 40 kg (90 lb); the bamboo rubs their shoulders and backs until they are bleeding.

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One load they are forced to carry is mortar shells, transported in cases like those in photo 1-392 (left). These 60-millimetre and 81-millimetre shell cases were left behind empty after the shells were fired at local villages.

Convict porters are also forced to do most of the work digging trenches and covered bunkers like those shown in the photos below.

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The temporary post shown on the right was set up the middle of a villager's hilltop rice field, destroying a large part of the crop. As the position was probably surrounded with landmines for defence, it would be very dangerous for the owner to return to weed or harvest.

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In their temporary camps along the Bilin River the SPDC troops also left behind the unburied corpses of dozens of their convict porters. Two weeks after the departure of the SPDC troops, KHRG researchers came upon the remains of over a dozen porters left unburied or half-buried in several of the temporary posts they had used. The photos above, right and below show only some of the remains, but many more are certain to lie undiscovered in the forests. Bodies deteriorate quickly or are devoured in the jungle, particularly in the rains, but some of the bones remaining are still clothed in blue Burmese prison uniforms.

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Some of the remains were scattered in and around the shelters, while at some sites there appeared to be dumping grounds for bodies.

For example, photo 1-402 (below left) shows the remains of two men, while photo 1-403 (below right) shows the remains of another two or possibly three men.

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The man shown in photo 1-405 (below left) was one of the lucky few to escape these posts along the Bilin River. A Shan convict brought all the way from Shan State, he does not speak the local languages and had little idea even of where he was. Still showing signs of shock, he was also suffering from an untreated abscess on his foot (photo 1-406 below). [All photos above: KHRG; disregard the incorrect dates burned on the photos]

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N--- from Rangoon is 54 years old and was brought from prison to Papun district as a convict porter for SPDC Infantry Battalion #76.

During his time as a porter he was wounded in the leg (right) by an SPDC punji-stake booby trap. He eventually managed to escape alone shortly before these photos were taken in December 2005. [Photos: KHRG]

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Several groups of SPDC convict porters who escaped from forced labour in Papun district in February 2006. They were taken from prisons scattered across Burma including Toungoo (Pegu division), Insein (Rangoon division), and Sittwe (Rakhine State) for use by the SPDC Army as porters in Karen State. The SPDC appears to favour sending prisoners from faraway states, like Rakhine and Kachin states, so that the convicts will be afraid to escape. Aged 20 to 49, with most in their twenties, the men in these photos were imprisoned for crimes ranging from being caught without identification or selling rice without a permit, to murder.

All of them described brutal treatment by the soldiers. Twenty-five year old W--- (photo 1-409, last on right) and 35 year old S--- (photo 1-411, last on right) described being brutally beaten, and 21 year old H--- (photo 1-409, third from left) said he was beaten so much he almost died and his friends had to carry him.

Many showed wounds on their feet and legs from carrying heavy loads over mountain paths with nothing but broken flipflops on their feet. When they escape they end up in the care of the KNU, who can do little but feed them, heal their wounds, and send them on the first leg of their long journey home equipped with civilian clothes, some money and food. Photo 1-412 (below right) shows one group setting out on the long journey home to Rakhine State. Once in SPDC territory, chances are that many of them will be recaptured before making it home, returned to prison and then to convict portering.

Many more convict porters continue to be brought to the front lines, and to escape, as the SPDC offensive continues throughout northern Karen districts. See also Less than Human: Convict Porters in the 2005-2006 northern Karen State offensive (KHRG #2006-03, August 2006). [Photos: KHRG]

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L--- from Rangoon (left) is 24 years old. Serving a 5 year sentence for manslaughter, he was taken with a group of 40 other convicts to be a porter in Karen State. He escaped on March 3rd 2006 when the SPDC troops he was with were camped near the Thai border, and swam across the Moei River into Thailand. Local villagers handed him over to the Thai Army, and this photo shows him being interrogated by a Thai Army soldier on March 5th . It is unknown what happened to him after that. Thai procedure in such cases would normally be to hand him over to SPDC authorities, in which case he would most likely be returned to convict porter labour, then possibly be summarily executed by the troops for having escaped. [Photo: KHRG]

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Five convict porters who escaped the SPDC columns attacking villages in Nah Yoh Htah area of northern Papun district in late June 2006. [Photo: KHRG]

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A few of the thousands of convict porters brought to northern Karen State by the SPDC for use in its offensive against Karen villages. Most of these men were convicted for petty black market trading and incarcerated in prisons throughout Burma, then taken as military operations porters because they could not pay bribes demanded by prison officials to be exempted from this work. Treated brutally by the troops, many of these porters have died. These are among the lucky few to escape.

In photo 1-417 (left), one of them shows some of the scrapes, scars and wounds he suffered as a porter.

Photo 1-418 (right) shows a group of escapees, provided with civilian clothing and money by the Karen National Union, setting out to try and return to their homes in far-flung parts of Burma. It is a difficult and dangerous journey, and many of them will probably be recaptured and sent back to prison or Army units. [Photos: KHRG]

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These men are among over 40 convict porters who escaped SPDC forces into the care of the KNU in Papun district throughout June 2006; many more died trying to escape or fled to other regions, while others have escaped in Nyaunglebin and Toungoo districts. The ages of this group range from 19 to 53 and they come from Shan, Kachin, and Rakhine states, Rangoon, Irrawaddy, Pegu, Magwe, and Mandalay divisions. They were in prison for offences including black market trading, drug possession, unruly behaviour and assault. [All photos: KHRG]

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Whether innocent or guilty, they say they were only convicted because they could not pay off the police and the judges, and then were sent to be convict porters because they could not pay off the prison wardens.

Twenty-six year old N--- (left) from Irrawaddy division says he was never even charged or sent to prison, but was arbitrarily detained by SPDC soldiers in his hometown and then sent to join a column of convict porters, suggesting that when there are not enough convicts for portering the SPDC authorities are willing to round up anyone and label them 'convicts'.

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In the other photos some of the men show the scars they suffered on their shoulders and backs from carrying bamboo baskets loaded with 30-50 kg (70-110 lb) of supplies over mountains.

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Forty-three year old A--- from Shan State (photos left and right) was forced to carry jerry cans he was told contained 'engine fuel'; he says the 'fuel' regularly spilled onto his back, burning it and leaving the scar shown in the photos.

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Seventeen convict porters who escaped from SPDC columns in northern Karen State. Seen here in late July 2006, these men had already been given civilian clothing and some pocket money by the KNU. They now face the difficult choice of whether to risk recapture by trying to head home to the distant regions in Burma where their families still live, or sneaking across the border to look for work in Thailand.

No outside aid agencies provide any aid or protection for these men, leaving the KNU to heal their wounds and take care of them. [Photo: KHRG]

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Maung A--- (30, left) and K--- (29, right) were taken from prison to work as convict porters for the troops of SPDC Light Infantry Division #66 attacking villages in Toungoo district. They were portering with Infantry Battalion #80 on October 7th 2006, when they say they witnessed the battalion troops murder 95 convict porters in a single day because they were deemed too sick or weak to be any more use as porters. After seeing this they were so afraid that they would be killed that they fled the battalion with one other porter and managed to escape.

In mid-2006 KHRG estimated that the SPDC had brought 3,000 to 5,000 convict porters to northern Karen State to support its operations; each month more are transported, and estimates of the number already killed range between 300 and 800. Most of these men were in prison for minor offenses like participation in illegal lotteries, while some are innocent but were jailed because they could not bribe the court judge. [Photos: KHRG]

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K--- is from Irrawaddy Division. He is only 21 years old, but was already sent to prison and then to northern Karen State as an SPDC convict porter with Light Infantry Battalion #552.

He escaped in October 2006 but suffered mortar shrapnel wounds to his right side which are visible in the photo. [Photo: KHRG; ignore the incorrect date burned on the photo]

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Three convict porters who escaped from SPDC forces in Papun district in November 2006, shown still wearing their ragged porter uniforms. These three are from Rangoon and Rakhine State. They join the hundreds of convict porters who have already escaped.

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No outside aid is provided for these men, so the KNU gives them civilian clothing and a bit of money and tries to help them head home. [Photos: KHRG; ignore the incorrect dates burned on the photos]

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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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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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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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