Reports By Year > 2012

Below are a set of links to all reports published by KHRG matching your search criteria and compiled from information received from KHRG's field researchers. If you wish to search for a particular report, please use our main search page.

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There were 92 reports in 2012. These are listed below.

REPORT TITLE	DATE
Landmine death and injuries, old mines continue to make travel unsafe in Pa’an District  [News Bulletin]	Dec 11th, 2012
This report is based on information submitted to KHRG in November 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Pa’an District, between August 28th 2012 and November 1st 2012, where one landmine exploded in Htee Klay village tract, one landmine exploded in Noh Kay village tract and one landmine exploded in Htee Kyah Rah village tract. These explosions injured a 21-year-old man named Saw P---, who died, a man of around 40-years-old, named Saw B---, who lost one leg, and an unknown Tatmadaw soldier from Light Infantry Battalion #275, who lost both of his legs. One explosion also destroyed the leg of Saw P---’s cow, when it stepped on the mine that killed him. Based on information from a community trained by KHRG, landmines have been planted by both the Border Guard and the Karen Nation Liberation Army, in Noh Kay village tract, T’Nay Hsah Township, Pa’an District, and in Htee Kyah Rah village tract, the community member reported that landmines have been planted by the Tatmadaw and the Karen National Liberation Army.
Nyaunglebin Situation Update: Moo Township, June to November 2012  [News Bulletin]	Dec 11th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Nyaunglebin District, during the period between June and November 2012. The community member suggests that human rights abuses have decreased in the Moo Township area by 60 percent after the signing of the preliminary ceasefire agreement by the Karen National Union and the Burma government. The community member raises difficulties faced by villagers, including the consequences on agriculture production of unseasonable rain, and goes on to describe human rights abuses that have continued to take place, including the restriction of movement and forced labour. In Moo Township, landmines planted by the Tatmadaw and the Karen National Liberation Army remain underground, causing villagers to feel unsafe to travel. The report describes how, on October 13th 2012, Officer Aung Ko Ko from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #590, Column #4, released an order to take action on villagers without written permission to travel to hill fields, farm huts and betel nut plantations: thus restricting freedom of movement and trade. On September 16th 2012, D--- villagers were ordered by LIB #599 soliders to cut bamboos and wood used for making fences. The existence of Tatmadaw camps has also been an obstacle to villagers doing their livelihoods safely.
Woman raped and killed in Pa’an District, October 2012  [News Bulletin]	Dec 11th, 2012
This report information was submitted to KHRG in November 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Pa’an District, during October 2012. On October 14th, a 21-year-old M---villager, named Naw W---, was killed after being raped by a 23-year-old man from P--- village, Saw N---. Saw N--- reportedly used amphetamines that were manufactured and distributed by Border Guard Battalion #1016. According to villagers in T’Nay Hsah Township, the drug has caused problems for local communities, which are looking for ways to control use and distribution.
Shooting in Dooplaya District  [News Bulletin]	Nov 21st, 2012
On September 12th 2012, Saw M---, from P--- village, was shot in the leg by DKBA Klo Htoo Baw Platoon Commander Neh Raw, led by Company Commander Saw Pah Dee and based in P--- village, while he was driving his tractor to Waw Lay village in Kawkareik Township, Dooplaya District. According to the community member who spoke with Saw M--- after the incident, Commander Neh Raw fired at Saw M---, striking him in the leg, after a request for food, which was inaudible to Saw M--- due to the noise of the tractor, was ignored. According to recent information received by KHRG on October 24th 2012, the community member who spoke with the nurse who has been overseeing Saw M---’s recovery reported that Company Commander Saw Pah Dee ordered Neh Raw to travel to P--- village and express his apology to Saw M---, however, the soldier in question has so far failed to go.
Steps towards peace: Local participation in the Karen ceasefire process  [KHRG Commentary]	Nov 7th, 2012
This commentary considers Karen villagers’ perspectives on impacts of the ceasefire between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Government of the Union of Myanmar. In light of their concerns, this commentary makes workable recommendations about what the most effective next steps could be for negotiating parties and for stakeholders in the ceasefire process. Building on KHRG’s previous analysis in Safeguarding human rights in a post-ceasefire in eastern Burma, published in January 2012, this commentary brings to light new evidence of villagers’ perspectives. Documentation received since the ceasefire reveals some positive changes, but also raises concerns about ongoing human rights abuses in the post-conflict environment, as a result of ingrained abusive practices and a lack of accountability, particularly in areas where there has been an increase in business, development, natural resource extraction, accompanied by a continued military presence. KHRG believes that the perpetration of abuses is exacerbated, and villagers’ options to respond effectively limited, both by the lack of opportunities for genuine local input and a dearth of information-sharing concerning new developments. Analysis for this commentary was prepared based on a collaborative workshop held between all staff members at KHRG’s administrative office, as well as field documentation and oral testimony received since January 2012 from villagers in all KHRG research areas, which incorporate all or parts of Kayin and Mon States, and Bago and Tanintharyi Regions.
Torture and killing in Thaton District  [News Bulletin]	Oct 26th, 2012
On June 25th 2012 in Pa’an Township, Thaton District, Saw R---, 52, was killed and Saw A---, 67, tortured by Border Guard Battalion #1014 soldiers, after being accused of being spies for the Karen National Union (KNU). This news bulletin includes a description of the incident written by a source close to the family of the deceased man, which was received by KHRG on September 23rd 2012.
Nyaunglebin Situation Update: Moo, Ler Doh and Hsaw Htee Townships, January to June 2012  [News Bulletin]	Oct 17th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in July 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Nyaunglebin District between January and June 2012. Specifically discussed are Tatmadaw demands, including new gold mining taxes imposed by Light Infantry Battalion #264 and their demands for sentries, and the construction of a bridge inside Na Tha Kway village, which has displaced many villagers without providing compensation. This report also includes information about 400 villagers who gathered together on March 12thto protest the construction of Kyauk N’Ga Dam on the Shwegyin River in Hsaw Htee and Ler Doh townships; the opening of a Karen Nation Union (KNU) liaison office in Ler Doh town on April 9th, during which over 10,000 villagers awaited government officials; the arrival of representatives from the Norwegian government to the internally displaced persons (IDP) area in Mu The; and a visit by a United States Senator on May 29th in Ler Doh town and subsequently in Nay Pyi Daw. The report also describes work and food security problems in Nyaunglebin, where some villagers have migrated to neighbouring Thailand and Malaysia for employment, or to work in Yangon’s growing entertainment industry. The community member spoke with villagers in the area who expressed overall satisfaction with the peace and ceasefire process, and they hope that it will continue to be stable.
Papun Situation Update: Bu Tho Township, June 2012  [News Bulletin]	Oct 12th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in June 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Papun District, during June 2012. Specifically discussed are Nay Pyi Daw military operations along Papun-Ka’ Ma Moo vehicle road. It includes details on the location and names of the different NPD military camps that are based along the Papun-K’Ma Moh vehicle road.
Civilian and Military order documents: August 2009 to August 2012  [Orders report]	Oct 3rd, 2012
This report contains a total of 58 translated copies of order documents issued by military and civilian officials of Burma’s central government, as well as ‘Border Guard’ battalions, to village heads in eastern Burma between August 2009 and August 2012, including 44 order documents issued since February 2011. To provide additional context for forced labour incidents documented by KHRG community members during 2012, original excerpts from 23 pieces of KHRG field information are also included. These documents cumulatively serve as primary evidence of ongoing exploitative local governance in rural Burma. During 2012, systemic forms of forced labour consisted of military camp maintenance or building; portering; labour for community or development projects; and agricultural labour. This report thus supports the continuing testimonies of villagers regarding regular demands for labour, money, food and other supplies to which their communities are subject to by local civilian and military authorities. The order documents collected here include demands for attendance at meetings; the provision of money and food; the production and delivery of thatch, bamboo and other materials; forced labour as messengers and porters for the military; forced labour on road construction and repair; the provision of information on individuals, households and non-state armed groups; and the imposition of movement restrictions. In almost all cases, demands were uncompensated and backed by implicit or explicit threats of violence or other punishments for non-compliance. Most demands articulated in the orders presented in this report involved some element of forced labour in their implementation.
Villager shot and killed in Papun District  [News Bulletin]	Oct 2nd, 2012
On June 13th 2012, Saw N---, a 48-year-old former resident of M--- village, Naw Yoh Hta village tract, Lu Thaw Township, Papun District was shot and killed while collecting truffles in Pa Heh village tract, Bu Tho Township, Papun District. The shooting took place close to where the Tatmadaw soldiers from Infantry Battalion #19 are based at Hpah Hkeh Kyo, leading local villagers and a security leader to believe that it was troops from the camp in question who were the perpetrators of the shooting. Also during the incident, 30,000 baht, which Saw N—had brought along to purchase truffles from others on the trip went missing. This incident is also described by villagers in two other published KHRG reports.
Dooplaya Situation Update: Kawkareik Township and Kya In Township, April to June 2012  [News Bulletin]	Sep 14th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in June 2012 by a community member who described events occurring in Dooplaya District during the period between April 2012 and June 2012, specifically in relation to landmines, education, health, taxation and demand, forced labour, land confiscation, displacement, and restrictions on freedom of movement and trade. After the 2012 ceasefire between the Burma government and the KNU, remaining landmines still present serious risks for local villagers in Kawkareik Township because they are unable to travel. Details are provided about 57-year-old B--- village head, Saw L---, 70-year-old Saw E--- and Saw T---, who each stepped on landmines. During May 2012, Tatmadaw soldiers ordered three villagers’ to supply hand tractors to transport materials for them from Aung May K’ La village to Ke---, plus Tatmadaw soldiers ordered five hand tractors to transports materials from Kyaik Doh village to Kya In Seik Gyi Town. Also described in the report are villagers’ opinions on the ongoing ceasefire and whether or not they feel it is benefiting them, as well as village responses to land confiscation by Tatmadaw forces. After a village head was informed that any empty properties found would be confiscated, villagers in the area stayed temporarily in other peoples’ houses on request of the owner.
Papun Situation Update: Dwe Lo Township, February to June 2012  [News Bulletin]	Sep 14th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in June 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Papun District, during the period of February 2012 to June 2012. Specifically discussed are details about land confiscation by several logging and mining companies, attempted land confiscation by the local authorities, difficulties with securing adequately staffed schools, and it includes details about the Tatmadaw sending rations and bullets, which creates concerns amongst the villagers who fear that fighting will resume in their region. The report shows that villagers are able to hold meetings and voice their opinions regarding the entrance of the mining companies, with specific criticisms against local authorities.
Toungoo Interview: Saw H---, April 2011  [News Bulletin]	Sep 5th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during April 2011 in Tantabin Township, Toungoo District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed a 37 year-old township secretary, Saw H---, who described abuses committed by several Tatmadaw battalions, including forced relocation, land confiscation, forced labour, restrictions on freedom of movement, denial of humanitarian access, targeting civilians, and arbitrary taxes and demands. Saw H--- provided a detailed description of three development projects that the Tatmadaw has planned in the area. Most notable is Toh Boh hydroelectric dam on the Day Loh River, which is expected to destroy 3,143 acres of surrounding farmland. Asia World Company began building the dam in Toh Boh, Day Loh village tract during 2005. The other two projects involved the confiscation of 2,400 acres, against which the villagers formed a committee to petition for compensation and were met with threats of imprisonment. Saw H--- also described how 30 people working on the dam die each year. Also mentioned is the Tatmadaw’s burning of villagers’ cardamom plantations, and the villagers’ attempts to limit the fire damage using fire lines. It is also described by Saw H--- how some villagers have chosen to remain in KNLA/KNU-controlled areas and produce commodities for sale, despite the attendant increase in the price of goods purchased from Tatmadaw-controlled villages, while others have fled to refugee camps in other countries. For photos of the Toh Boh Dam taken by a different community member in March 2012, see “Photo Set: More than 100 households displaced from Toh Boh Dam construction site in Toungoo” published by KHRG on August 23rd 2012.
Papun Interview: Saw E---, June 2012  [News Bulletin]	Sep 5th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during June 2012 in Bu Tho Township, Papun District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw E---, a 36 year old married father of six, security leader from T--- IDP camp, Bu Tho Township, Papun District who described the incident regarding a shooting of a villager by Tatmadaw soldiers from IB [Infantry Battalion] #19. This incident is also described in one as of yet unpublished KHRG report and in Papun Interview: Saw K---, June 2012, published on July 20th 2012. Saw E--- describes further information on the events after surrounding the killing, from his perspective of someone who had gone to clear the villager’s body from the scene. He mentions what the impact has been to villagers’ opinion on the prevailing ceasefire and the dire situation regarding villagers’ ability to find food to eat and sell, given the dangerous circumstances in which they live. Also mentioned is the situation for Saw N---’s wife and children, he explains how, after the death of her husband, mental health problems which she once suffered from have returned, making her and her children’s lives very difficult.
Nyaunglebin Situation Update: Kyauk Kyi Township, July 2012  [News Bulletin]	Sep 5th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in July 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Nyaunglebin District, during July 2012. It describes the Norwegian government’s plans for a development project in Kheh Der village tract, which is to support the villagers with their livelihood needs. In addition, the legislator of Kyauk Kyi Township, U Nyan Shwe, reported that he was going to undertake a stone-mining development project in the township, which led the Burmese government to order a company, U Paing, to go and test the stone in Maw Day village on July 1st, 2012. U Paing had left the area by the 8th of July due to safety concerns after a landmine explosion occurred in the near vicinity. Also described are villagers’ fears to do with such projects, particularly in regards to environmental damage that could result from mining.
Papun Situation Update: Northern Lu Thaw Township, March to June 2012  [News Bulletin]	Sep 5th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in June 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Papun District, during the period between March and June 2012. Specifically described is the location of Tatmadaw operations in the twelve village tracts inside the Northern Lu Thaw Township, and the living conditions of the villagers from those village tracts. This report details military activities, such as sending rations and repairing bridges, and it also includes concerns the villagers have related to the military’s activities and the permanence of the 2012 ceasefire. Other detailed information about the livelihood, healthcare, education, and the responsive strategies of the villagers, is also provided.
Photo Set: More than 100 households displaced from Toh Boh Dam construction site in Toungoo  [News Bulletin]	Aug 23rd, 2012
This Photo Set presents 17 still photographs taken by a localcommunity member who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The photos were all taken inMarch 2012at the TohBohDam construction site in Tantabin Township within locally-definedToungoo District. According to the community member who took these photos, more than 100 households havebeen relocatedfrom the area now occupied by the dam construction site, where construction is ongoing.For additional information on the TohBoh dam, see “Toungoo Interview: Saw H---, April 2010, published by KHRG on August 7th2012.
Papun Interview: Saw N---, January 2012  [News Bulletin]	Jul 27th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during January 2012 in Bu Tho Township, Papun District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw N---, a 39 year-old married father of four, who is both a hill field farmer and village head from K--- village in Day Wah village tract, who described the forced recruitment of soldiers into the Border Guard, and how he had arranged for the release of a local villager who had been prohibited from leaving the DKBA by making a cash payment totalling 1,000,000 kyat (US $1,135). Also described in the report, are instances of theft of villagers’ livestock, forced labour and forced portering instigated by the Border Guard. Saw N--- mentions the continuous physical assault and other abuse of local villagers, specifically by a Border Guard soldier called Thaw Kweh. Saw N--- also provides information on village life in regards to healthcare, food security, and education. Saw N--- mentions that villagers have avoided paying for a government teacher and choose to pay a local teacher, whom they pay 5,000 kyat (US $5.65) per student for a year. Concerns are also raised in regards to construction projects in the local area.
Complaint letter to Burma government about value of agricultural land destroyed by Tavoy highway  [News Bulletin]	Jul 24th, 2012
The complaint letter below, signed by 25 local community members, was written in July 2011 and raises villagers’ concerns related to the construction of the Kanchanaburi – Tavoy [Dawei] highway linking Thailand and the Tavoy deep sea port. Villagers described concerns that the highway would bisect agricultural land and destroy crops under cultivation worth 4,450,500 kyat (US $4,962). In response to these concerns, local community members formed a group called the ‘Village and Public Sustainable Development’ to represent villagers’ concerns and request compensation.
Papun Interview: Saw K---, June 2012  [News Bulletin]	Jul 20th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during June 2012 in Bu Tho Township, Papun District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw K---, a 29 year old married father of two, who described the shooting of his friend Saw N--- by Tatmadaw soldiers from Hpah Hkeh Kyo army camp while out collecting truffles with another eight villagers in Bu Tho Township, Papun District. Saw K--- described how Tatmadaw soldiers were lying in wait and shot Saw N--- multiple times, despite the ongoing ceasefire. Saw K--- mentioned that this was the third expedition he and other villagers had taken to find truffles to sell in the same area, an hour’s journey from their home at T--- internally displaced persons camp, thinking that they would be safe due to the ceasefire, however, on this occasion Tatmadaw soldiers opened fire, killing Saw N---. Saw K— also described his opinions on the current political situation in Karen State. This incident is also described in two yet unpublished KHRG reports.
Papun Interview: Saw D---, January 2012  [News Bulletin]	Jul 19th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during January 2012 in Bu Thoh Township, Papun District, by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw D---, the 44-year-old L--- village head, who described forced labour, Tatmadaw and Border Guard targeting of civilians, demands for food, and denial of humanitarian services, such as a school. He specifically described that both the Border Guard and the KNLA planted landmines around the village and, as a result, the villagers had to flee to another village because they were afraid and unable to continue with their farming. Saw D--- also mentioned that the Tatmadaw often made orders for forced portering without payment, or if they did pay, the payments were not fair for the villagers, including one villager who stepped on a landmine while portering. In addition, he described an incident in which one villager was shot at and arbitrarily tortured while returning from Myaing Gyi Ngu town to L--- village. Saw D--- also raised concerns regarding food shortages and the adequate provision of education for children.
Tatmadaw soldiers fire at four villagers carrying rice, order forced labour in Toungoo District  [News Bulletin]	Jul 19th, 2012
During June 2012, Tatmadaw LID 66 re-supplied troops situated in front-line camps in Toungoo District. On the same day that supplies were sent, and local villagers were ordered to transport them, LIB 1 soldiers based at Th’Ay Hta fired at four villagers carrying rice to their village after purchasing it in the larger town of Klay Soh Kee. In the days directly after this incident, a community member described increased military activity in the area, including a Tatmadaw helicopter patrol and skirmishing between KNLA and Tatmadaw troops.
Mergui/Tavoy Interview: Saw K---, April 2012  [News Bulletin]	Jul 18th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during April 2012 in Ler Mu Lah Township, Mergui/Tavoy District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed 40-year-old G--- village head, Saw K---, who described abusive practices perpetrated by the Tatmadaw in his village throughout the previous four year period, including forced labour, arbitrary taxation in the form of both goods and money, and obstructions to humanitarian relief, specifically medical care availability and education support. Saw K--- also discussed development projects and land confiscation that has occurred in the area, including one oil palm company that came to deforest 700 acres of land next to G--- village in order to plant oil palm trees, as well as the arrival of a Malaysian logging company, neither of which provided any compensation to villagers for the land that was confiscated. However, the Malaysian logging company did provide enough wood, iron nails and roofing material for one school in the village, and promised the villagers that it would provide additional support later. Saw K--- raised other concerns regarding the food security, health care and difficulties with providing education for children in the village. In order to address these issues, Saw K--- explained that villagers have met with the Ler Mu Lah Township leaders to solve land confiscation problems, but some G--- villagers have had to give up their land, including a full nursery of betel nut plantations, based on the company’s claim that the plantations were illegally maintained.
Papun Interview: Saw Kr---, October 2010  [News Bulletin]	Jul 18th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during October 2010 in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw Kr---, a 23-year-old hill farmer from L--- village, Pla Koh village tract, who described an incident where he was injured after stepping on a landmine while on Home Guard duty in Kaw Mu Day, which resulted in him losing his left leg. Saw Kr--- describes how the Tatmadaw deliberately laid landmines on a public pathway, knowing that villagers were likely to tread on the devices. He also mentions that local villagers are active in defending themselves against Tatmadaw troops in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District. This incident is also described in the report Uncertain Ground: Landmines in eastern Burma, published by KHRG on May 21, 2012.
Papun Interview: Saw T---, December 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jul 16th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during December 2011 in Bu Tho Township, Papun District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed a 40-year-old Buddhist monk, Saw T---, who is a former member of the Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO), Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Border Guard, who described activities pertaining to Border Guard Battalion #1013 based at K’Hsaw Wah, Papun District. Saw T--- described human rights abuses including the forced conscription of child soldiers, or the forcing to hire someone in their place, costing 1,500,000 Kyat (US $1833.74). This report also describes the use of landmines by the Border Guard, and how villagers are forced to carry them while acting as porters. Also mentioned, is the on-going theft of villagers money and livestock by the Border Guard, as well as the forced labour of villagers in order to build army camps and the transportation of materials to the camps; the stealing of villagers’ livestock after failing to provide villagers to serve as forced labour, is also mentioned. Saw T--- provides information on the day-to-day life of a soldier in the Border Guard, describing how villagers are forcibly conscripted into the ranks of the Border Guard, do not receive treatment when they are sick, are not allowed to visit their families, nor allowed to resign voluntarily. Saw T--- described how, on one occasion a deserter’s elderly father was forced to fill his position until the soldier returned. Saw T--- also mentions the hierarchical payment structure, the use of drugs within the border guard and the training, which he underwent before joining the Border Guard. Concerns are also raised by Saw T--- to the community member who wrote this report, about his own safety and his fear of returning to his home in Papun, as he feels he will be killed, having become a deserter himself as of October 2nd 2011.
Expanding Accountability Options for Grave Violations: KHRG statement to the UN Security Council, July 9th 2012  [KHRG Commentary]	Jul 9th, 2012
This paper contains the full text of a five-minute statement delivered by KHRG’s Field Director Saw Albert to the UN Security Council during an Arria formula meeting in New York City on July 9th 2012. KHRG’s presentation was framed by the Action Plan signed by the Government of Myanmar in Yangon on June 27th 2012 to end the use and recruitment of child soldiers by Tatmadaw armed forces by 2014. During this statement, KHRG stressed the need for a responsive and accessible accountability mechanism for grave violations perpetrated against children in armed conflict that prioritises local perspectives and addresses existing impunity for perpetrators. In acknowledging that international leverage can help create space for communities’ own protection strategies and ability to hold perpetrators to account, KHRG also urges support for the development of strong domestic legal frameworks and institutions that will contribute to accountability at the local level.
Pa’an Situation Update: T’Nay Hsah Township, September 2011 to April 2012  [News Bulletin]	Jul 6th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in May 2012, by a community member describing events occurring in Pa’an District during the period between September 2011 and April 2012. It describes the planting of landmines by Border Guard soldiers near Y--- and P--- villages, resulting in villagers from B---, N--- and T--- being injured, and some villagers committed suicide after sustaining injuries. It also includes demands for forced labour by Tatmadaw LIBs #358, #547 and #548, in which villagers were required to harvest paddy on government land; this information concerning forced labour is also described in a news bulletin published by KHRG on June 22nd 2012, “Forced labour and extortion in Pa’an District.” This report also includes information about the removal of 30 landmines by the Border Guard, before a landmine injury to one soldier halted the removal operations. In order to deal with problems related to insufficient landmine removal, villagers have taken precautions to limit their activities to areas unlikely to be mined. Due to limited opportunities for villagers to earn their livelihoods, some have begun to commercially produce charcoal and alcohol, or breed their livestock for consumption. Parents in these areas are also reportedly sending their children to Bangkok to assist the family income; young girls have also begun to work using their vocational skills to weave traditional bags.
Villagers return home four months after DKBA and Border Guard clash, killing one civilian, injuring two in Pa’an  [News Bulletin]	Jun 27th, 2012
On February 19th 2012, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) ambushed a truck carrying a group of soldiers from Border Guard Battalion #1015 near Myaing Gyi Ngu town in Pa’an District, after the Border Guard soldiers stole weapons from the DKBA base at M--- village. Two villagers living near the site of the ambush were injured, and one was killed. Since then, movement restrictions have been imposed on Border Guard and DKBA troops operating in the Myaing Gyi Ngu area by the Burma government, which prohibits military units in possession of weapons from travelling within three miles of Myaing Gyi Ngu town. As of June 6th 2012, villagers living near Border Guard and DKBA camps, including the two villagers who were injured on February 19th, were reported to have returned to their villages, after having previously moved away. Directly after the clash in February, community members described their safety concerns and the possible consequences for civilians should the January 12th ceasefire agreement between the Karen National Union (KNU)and the Tatmadaw be broken.
Photo Set: Villagers register concerns about proposed Hatgyi Dam  [News Bulletin]	Jun 26th, 2012
This Photo Set includes 28 photos taken in two villages in the southern area of Bu Tho Township in Papun District, and in three villages in the northern area of Lu Pleh Township in Pa’an District, all of which are located in the Salween river valley near the site where the Hatgyi dam will be constructed. These photographs depict villagers throughout these townships pursuing their livelihoods and children attending school. According to the community member who spoke with villagers in the area and took these photos, as well as local media, the villagers will be displaced by flooding near the dam site if construction at Hatgyi goes ahead as planned. This Photo Set also includes evidence of an earlier meeting in Myaing Gyi Ngu regarding intended forced relocation of villages in the proposed Hatgyi dam site prior to flooding. The photos depict a pamphlet on the dam, as well as solar panels, LED lights and batteries that were given to villagers in the areas that will be affected. In order to pre-empt forcible relocation or flooding, some villagers in the area have chosen to close schools in preparation for moving.
Forced labour and extortion in Pa’an District  [News Bulletin]	Jun 22nd, 2012
During March, April and May 2012, residents of five village tracts in Pa’an District were ordered to perform forced labour without payment and pay arbitrary fees in lieu of forced labour and for damage to crops by animals. Villagers from Htee Hpoh Kyaw, Mya P’Deh and Noh Ta Pweh village tracts in T’Nay Hsah Township were ordered to cultivate land for Tatmadaw and Border Guard troops, while T’Kaw Bee village tract residents were ordered to transport building materials from Kawkareik town and perform forced labour building a water well for the DKBA. Most recently, in May 2012, residents of Htee Wah Blaw village tract were ordered to pay a total of 600,000 kyat (US $733.50) in lieu of sending six villagers to serve as porters for Border Guard troops.
Pa’an Interview: Saw Bw---, September 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jun 13th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during September 2011 in Lu Pleh Township, Pa’an District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw Bw---, a 25-year-old logger from Eg--- village, who described events that occurred while he was carrying out logging work between the villages of A--- and S---. He provides information on military activity in the area, specifically about shifting relations between armed groups, with Border Guard and DKBA troops ceasing to cooperate, and a heightened Tatmadaw presence in the area. Saw Bw--- also explained the disruptive impact of fighting between Border Guard and armed groups in the area on A--- villagers, who are described as fleeing to avoid conflict, as well as providing information on one instance in which A--- villagers were ordered to relocate by the commander of Border Guard Battalion #1017, but instead chose strategic displacement into hiding. He mentions the difficulties that he had in logging following the Border Guard's increased presence in the area. Saw Bw--- also described the presence of landmines in the area around A--- and how his employer paid approximately US $1222.49 to DKBA troops to have them removed. This incident concerning landmines is also described in a thematic report published by KHRG on May 21st, 2012, Uncertain Ground: Landmines in eastern Burma.
Papun Situation Update: Bu Tho Township, received April 2012  [News Bulletin]	Jun 10th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in April 2012 by a community member trained by KHRG describing events occurring in Bu Tho Township, Papun District, prior to April 2012. It contains updated information concerning an increase in Tatmadaw and Border Guard military activity since the January 2012 ceasefire agreement with the KNU, including more frequent transportation of rations, building materials and weapons, and an increase in troop deployment. It describes how Tatmadaw LIB #341, #434, #340, and #642 have established permanent bases by the Papun vehicle road, and how troops reportedly remain stationed at numerous bases along the Thailand-Burma border. Land confiscation for infrastructure projects and the construction of military bases and plantations is highlighted as a significant issue, and continued natural resource extraction also serves to limit the amount of cultivatable land available. State-led development projects at the village level are also cited as contributing to land confiscation as a result of demands for land from government officials involved. Information is also provided on the construction of a new village in Meh Pree Township by a monk in command of approximately 20-30 soldiers. Villagers continue to face demands for food and goods, such as thatch shingles, and demands for forced labour. Significantly, demands for money, or for villagers to serve as soldiers and guides or to perform sentry duty, has reportedly ceased, and there has been a reduction in travel restrictions since January 2012. Some limited landmine clearance is reported to have occurred after villagers discussed the problem with a Tatmadaw officer. Other villagers have adapted to the reduction of suitable farmland by trading livestock and transporting food to sell. Villagers also refused to comply with demands for land in exchange for electricity, and confronted officials over the issue.
Pa’an Interview: Saw P---, September 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jun 6th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during September 2011 in Dta Greh Township, Pa’an District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed 31-year-old Saw P---, a hill field farmer from T--- village, who described the problems faced by T--- villagers as a result of Border Guard troops’ activities in Dta Greh Township, specifically concerning their demands for food and the theft of villagers’ livestock. He provided details of an incident that occurred in August 2011, in which a villager’s pig, worth approximately US $110, was shot and eaten without permission and furthermore no compensation was provided. Saw P--- also explained that the presence of KNLA troops in the area has led to a decrease in such incidents of theft, by serving to deter Border Guard soldiers from approaching T--- village when they are aware that KNLA troops are operating nearby.
Pa’an Situation Update: Dta Greh and Lu Pleh Townships, September 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jun 5th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2011 by a community member describing events that occurred in Pa’an District in September 2011. It contains updated information concerning military activity, specifically Border Guard and Tatmadaw troops’ demands for villagers to provide forced labour and food. Villagers from Eg--- were ordered by Border Guard troops to repair the vehicle road between Eg--- and M---, and were forced to clear vegetation from Border Guard Advisor Hpah Nwee’s rubber plantation – an incident that was previously reported by KHRG in June 2012 in “Pa’an Interview: Saw T---, September 2011”. Villagers who were sick or could not spare the time to meet the forced labour demands had to hire other villagers to work in their place, highlighting how such demands can prevent villagers from engaging fully in their livelihood activities.
Pa’an Interview: Saw Hs---, April 2012  [News Bulletin]	Jun 4th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during April 2012 by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Hs---, a 63-year-old village tract head from T’Nay Hsah Township, Pa’an District who described the planting of landmines by Border Guard soldiers near villagers’ plantations, houses and wells, and demands for villagers to serve as Border Guard soldiers. Such abuses are also described in the report, Uncertain Ground: Landmines in eastern Burma, published by KHRG on May 21st, 2012. It also describes how the failure of armed groups to systematically remove landmines, coupled with neglecting to inform villagers of the location of all existing landmines, serves to place restrictions on where villagers can hunt, look for food, and graze their livestock, which contributes to food insecurity in the area. The interviewee also described how villagers have sought to mitigate aspects of the concerns described above, such as tying up livestock to prevent them from grazing in mined areas and not complying with demands to send villagers to serve as Border Guard soldiers.
Pa’an Interview: Saw T---, September 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jun 3rd, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during September 2011 in Lu Pleh Township, Pa’an District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw T---, a 20-year-old villager from Eg--- village, who described an incident of forced labour in which over 50 villagers from the villages of Eg--- and P--- were ordered by the Border Guard to clear vegetation from rubber plantations in M--- village on September 18th. Saw T--- explained that each household was assigned an area of land to clear that was too large to finish within one day, meaning that villagers will be required to take further time away from their own work in order to fulfil the demand. Small children and the elderly were also stated to have participated in the work. Villagers were required to bring their own tools and most of their food supplies, and are not reported to have received any payment.
Thaton Interview: Saw L---, October 2010  [News Bulletin]	Jun 2nd, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during October 2010 in Bilin Township, Thaton District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed 24-year-old Saw L---, a motorboat driver from P--- village, who described being forced to transport rations and ammunition by boat to a Tatmadaw camp at Waw Mu village four or five times a year. He also described restrictions on the transportation of goods such as petrol and machinery, specifically along routes where gold-mining takes place, and taxes levied at checkpoints along the river by DKBA and Tatmadaw troops. The presence of seven DKBA and three Tatmadaw checkpoints on the stretch of river between Waw Mu and Bilin, mean that Saw L--- can incur costs of approximately US $122.25 on a single return trip. Villagers from P--- are reportedly required to perform set tha, or messenger duties, at Waw Mu and Meh Pray Kee camps; villagers have responded to this by establishing a system whereby such duties are shared, with villagers paying a fee of around 30,000 kyat to the villager serving as set tha on behalf of the village for that particular month. However, the forced labour demands reduce the time that villagers have to spend on their own work. Information is also provided on the transformation of DKBA battalions into the Tatmadaw Border Guard, with DKBA soldiers in Bilin Township described as reluctant to cooperate. Saw L--- also described events leading up to the November 2010 National Election in Burma, including a meeting in which P--- village leaders were required to sign documents provided by the Tatmadaw indicating support for the Burma government at that time on behalf of all P--- villagers over 18 years of age.
Forced labour in Bilin Township  [News Bulletin]	May 31st, 2012
During April 2012, residents of four village tracts in Bilin Township faced demands from Tatmadaw LID #44 for building materials, including 5,000 bamboo poles and more than 20,000 thatch shingles, as well as for service as set tha messengers. Villagers responded to demands for building materials by providing less than the amount ordered and, in at least one case, by confronting armed soldiers and requesting payment, which was denied. The use of villagers to perform unpaid set tha messenger service at the Tatmadaw LID #44 camp in Lay Kay was ongoing as of April 30th 2012.
Sustained Tatmadaw resupply operations in Thaton, Nyaunglebin and Papun during ceasefire  [News Bulletin]	May 31st, 2012
During the first three months after the January 2012 ceasefire between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burma government, villagers in Thaton, Nyaunglebin and Papun districts have raised concerns about Tatmadaw activity related to resupply operations, troop reinforcements and the transport of heavy artillery. LID #44 soldiers were deployed for road security purposes during military resupply operations at the end of January along the Bilin riverbank in Thaton District, while further north in Nyaunglebin District, LIB #702 transported rations, mortars and troop reinforcements, while Tatmadaw soldiers burned the vehicle road near three army camps. In Papun District, the vehicle road was repaired in early February before Tatmadaw soldiers transported supplies and troop reinforcements to camps in the area around Wa Klee Koo. The restricted scope of Tatmadaw operations since the ceasefire negotiations in January has allowed some villagers in Papun District to return to previously abandoned agricultural land. Villagers nonetheless complained of movement restrictions during military resupply operations, and expressed concerns that, because Tatmadaw troops have been reinforced and are now well-supplied, they will be in an advantageous position if the current ceasefire is broken.
Incident Report: Killings in Papun District, March 2012  [News Bulletin]	May 28th, 2012
The following incident report was written by a community member who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights abuses. It describes an incident involving four villagers at A---, including two home guard members and their relatives, as they were trying to covertly cross a Tatmadaw-controlled road near See Day army camp. Two home guard villagers, Saw M--- and Saw W---, were shot by Tatmadaw soldiers, resulting in the death of Saw M--- and injuring Saw W---. The community member also described a previous incident that took place while home guard villagers were monitoring Tatmadaw troop movements in their area, during which Tatmadaw soldiers reportedly stepped on landmines and were killed during the confrontation.
Pa’an Interview: Saw Ht---, March 2012  [News Bulletin]	May 26th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during March 2012 in T’Nay Hsah Township, Pa’an District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw Ht---, from M--- village, who described being injured by a landmine planted by Border Guard forces near villagers’ plantations. Saw Ht--- described receiving no assistance from the Border Guard, neither with transportation to hospital or money for medical costs, and explained how he was instead taken to hospital by friends, and his medical treatment fees paid by a local humanitarian organisation. This interview is also available in a thematic report published by KHRG on May 21, 2012, Uncertain Ground: Landmines in eastern Burma.
Pa’an Interview: Saw Ng---, March 2012  [News Bulletin]	May 26th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during May 2012 in T’ Nay Hsah Township, Pa’an District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw Ng---, who described his experience while he was hospitalised for a week after stepping on a landmine while out fishing. Saw Ng--- also raised concerns regarding food and livelihood security due to a blast from the landmine that resulted in the deaths of other villagers’ livestock. This incident is also described in the report Uncertain Ground: Landmines in eastern Burma, published by KHRG on May 21, 2012.
Pa’an Interview: Saw Hn---, March 2012  [News Bulletin]	May 25th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during May 2012 in T’Nay Hsah Township, Pa’an District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed 25-year-old Saw Hn---, from H--- village, who described an incident in which he was injured by a landmine when returning from a fishing excursion to his village in November 2011. Saw Hn--- describes how he was taken to hospital for medical treatment, where he had his leg repaired with a steel plate. Such abuses are also described in a thematic report published by KHRG on May 21st, 2012, Uncertain Ground: Landmines in eastern Burma.
Incident Report: Papun District, June 2011  [News Bulletin]	May 24th, 2012
The following incident report was written by a community member who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights abuses, and is based on information provided by 27-year-old Naw K---, a resident of Ny--- village in Dweh Loh Township. She described an incident that occurred on the evening of June 6th 2011, in which she was arrested by Tatmadaw IB #96 troops when returning to her home and forced to porter along with two other villagers, Saw W--- and Kyaw M--- before later escaping, an incident that was previously reported by KHRG in December 2012 in “Papun Situation Update: Dweh Loh Township, Received in November 2011”. Security precautions taken by Tatmadaw troops on resupply operations are also mentioned, with Naw K--- describing how the two other villagers were shot at by IB #96 soldiers as they approached the agricultural area surrounding D--- village prior to their arrest. Naw K--- also highlights other issues associated with forced portering, specifically how requiring villagers to travel through unfamiliar areas contaminated by landmines places villagers at increased risk of landmine injury.
Papun Situation Update: Dweh Loh Township, January to March 2012  [News Bulletin]	May 24th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in April 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Papun District, in the period between January and March 2012. It provides information on land confiscation by Border Guard Battalion #1013, which has appropriated villagers’ communal grazing land between D--- and M--- villages for the construction of barracks for housing soldiers' families. Related to this project is the planned construction of a dam on the Noh Paw Htee River south of D--- village, which is expected to result in the subsequent flooding of 150 acres of D--- villagers’ farmland, valued at US $91,687. Villagers from K’Ter Tee, Htee Th’Bluh Hta, and Th’Buh Hta village tracts have also reported facing demands for materials used for making thatch shingles, for which villagers receive either minimal or no payment. Updated information concerning other military activity is also provided, specifically on troop augmentation, with LID #22, and IB #8 and #96 reported to have joined Border Guard Battalion #1013 by establishing bases at K’Ter Tee, as well as reports of increased transportation of rations, weapons and troops to camps in the border regions. Details are also provided on new restrictions introduced since the January 2012 ceasefire agreement on the movement of Tatmadaw units; similar restrictions have been documented in Toungoo District in a report published by KHRG in May 2012, “Toungoo Situation Update: Tantabin Township, January to March 2012”. Information is also given on a recent Tatmadaw directive, which stipulates that soldiers and villagers living near to military camps must inform any KNU officials they encounter that they are welcome to meet with Tatmadaw commanders or officers
Uncertain Ground: Landmine use in eastern Burma  [Regional or Thematic report]	May 21st, 2012
Analysis of KHRG's field information gathered between January 2011 and May 2012 in seven geographic research areas indicates that, during that period, new landmines were deployed by government and non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in all seven research areas. Ongoing mine contamination in eastern Burma continues to put civilians' lives and livelihoods at risk and undermines their efforts to protect against other forms of abuse. There is an urgent need for humanitarian mine action that accords primacy to local protection priorities and builds on the strategies villagers themselves already employ in response to the threat of landmines. In the cases where civilians view landmines as a potential source of protection, there is an equally urgent need for viable alternatives that expand self-protection options beyond reliance on the use of mines. Key findings in this report were drawn based upon analysis of seven themes, including: New use of landmines; Movement restrictions resulting from landmines; Marking and removal of landmines; Forced labour entailing increased landmine risks; Human mine sweeping, forced mine clearance and human shields; Landmine-related death or injury; and Use of landmines for self-protection.
Toungoo Situation Update: Tantabin Township, January to March 2012  [News Bulletin]	May 20th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in March 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Tantabin Township, Toungoo District. It provides information on rations resupply operations by Tatmadaw MOC #9 along the vehicle road from Kler La army camp to Bu Hsa Hkee army camp from January to March 2012, in which soldiers from MOC #9 and LID #66 burnt the vehicle road and the roadside in order to clear vegetation for security purposes, resulting in the destruction of villagers’ cardamom and betelnut plantations. The community member also described attacks on villagers’ livelihoods and food supply, with the burning of 177 acres of villagers’ cardamom plantations by LID #66 alone at the end of March 2012. Recent evidence of abuse by IB #35, under the control of LID #66, in forced relocation sites, such as using villagers for forced labour to clear weeds around military camps, is also provided. In one instance, Y--- villagers responded to the burning of the vehicle road by clearing away dry leaves in order to prevent the fire from spreading to their adjacent plantations, however, MOC #9 soldiers proceeded to burn the villagers’ plantations nonetheless.
Nyaunglebin Interview: Naw P---, October 2011  [News Bulletin]	May 18th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during October 2011 in Nyaunglebin District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Naw P---, a 42-year-old flat field farmer, who described her experiences being forcibly relocated by Tatmadaw troops, most recently in 2004 from D--- to T--- relocation village. Villagers continue to face movement restrictions, specifically a curfew which prevents villagers from leaving T--- after 6:00 pm, as well as demands from people's militia and Tatmadaw troops for food on a bi-monthly basis following troop rotations, and monthly demands for a big tin (16 kg. / 35.2 lb.) of rice. Payments are also reported in lieu of sentry duties for the Tatmadaw. An incident involving the disappearance and suspected killing of a previous village head in the past was also mentioned. Relocation is reported to have severely undermined villagers’ food security; food scarcity in the relocation village has been exacerbated by the area being more highly populated, with less agricultural land available for villagers to cultivate or on which to graze cattle, and as a consequence they are forced to purchase the bulk of their food in order to survive.
Pa'an Situation Update: T'Nay Hsah Township, September 2011  [News Bulletin]	May 12th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in October 2011 by a villager describing events occurring in Pa’an District, in the period between September and October 2011. Villagers in T’Nay Hsah Township are reported to be subject to demands for forced labour by Border Guard Battalion #1017, specifically to work on Battalion Commander Saw Dih Dih’s own plantations. Information is also provided on an incident that occurred in T’Nay Hsah Township in which the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Battalion #101’s temporary camp in Kler Law Seh village was attacked with heavy weapons by Border Guard Battalions #1017 and #1019, and by Tatmadaw Light Infantry Division (LID) #22. Since the takeover of the KNLA Battalion #101 camp by Border Guard troops, villagers in T’Nay Hseh Township have experienced an increase in demands for forced labour such as portering, as well as demands for villagers to cook at the Border Guard base and to serve as soldiers in the Border Guard, with payment demanded in lieu of military service. Such abuses are also described in the report, “Pa'an Situation Update: September 2011”, published by KHRG on October 24th 2011, and “Pa'an Situation Update: September 2011 to January 2012”, published by KHRG on May 2nd 2012. Border Guard troops have also embarked on the extensive laying of landmines near Th--- village, including near villagers' fields, and one villager was reported to have been seriously injured by a landmine whilst serving as a soldier in the Border Guard. Villagers are said to be concerned about the potential impact of the landmines on the welfare of their livestock, with one villager reportedly confronting a Border Guard soldier over this issue.
Abuses since the DKBA and KNLA ceasefires: Forced labour and arbitrary detention in Dooplaya  [Field report]	May 7th, 2012
In the six months since DKBA Brigade #5 troops under the command of Brigadier-General Saw Lah Pwe (‘Na Kha Mwe’) agreed to a ceasefire with government forces, and in the four months since a ceasefire was agreed between KNLA and government troops, villagers in Kawkareik Township have continued to raise concerns regarding ongoing human rights abuses, including the arbitrary detention and violent abuse of civilians, and forced labour demands occurring as recently as February 24th 2012. One of the villagers who provided information contained in this report also raised concerns about ongoing landmine contamination in two areas of Kawkareik Township, despite the placing of warning signs in one area in January 2012 and the incomplete removal of some landmines by bulldozer from another area in March 2012. The same villager noted that the remaining landmines, some of which are in a village school compound and in agricultural areas, continue to present serious physical security risks to local villagers, as well as disrupt livelihood activities and children’s education.
Pa'an Situation Update: Nabu Township, September 2011 to January 2012  [News Bulletin]	May 2nd, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in January 2012 by a villager describing events occurring in Pa’an District between September 2011 and January 2012, and contains updated information concerning military activity in the area, specifically Border Guard Battalion #1017’s use of forced labour and their planting of landmines. In September 2011, over 200 villagers from Th--- Sh--- G--- and M--- were forced to harvest beans and corn, an incident which is also described in the report “Pa'an Situation Update: September 2011”, published by KHRG on November 25th 2011. Villagers are also described as being forced to porter rations, ammunition and landmines, and carry out various tasks at Battalion #1017’s camp. The pervasive presence of landmines has resulted in the deaths of two villagers and injuries to eight others in Sh--- and K--- village tracts, as well as the deaths of villagers’ livestock. Information is also provided on the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) ceasefire with the Tatmadaw and their subsequent transformation into the Border Guard, and how this has reduced the capacity of soldiers to engage in mining and logging enterprises. The subsequent increase in pressure on villagers by DKBA and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) troops to resist Border Guard military recruitment demands had meant that village heads often fled, rather than serve their one-year term. Villagers’ perspectives on the January 2012 ceasefire agreement between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burma government are also outlined, as are villagers’ responses to abuses, including the introduction of a village head system that rotates on a monthly basis.
Dooplaya Interview: Saw L---, June 2011  [News Bulletin]	May 1st, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during June 2011 in T--- village, Kya In Township, Dooplaya District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed 17-year-old T--- villager, Saw N---, who described an incident in which the Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #--- fired mortar rounds towards T--- village, in response to an attack by Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) #107 on their camp near H--- village. Saw N--- and two other T--- villagers were injured by two shells, with one villager, Kyaw M---, later dying as a result of his injuries. Saw N--- highlighted other issues that arose as a consequence of the attack, particularly concerning the cost of healthcare as his relatives had to borrow money to ensure that he received hospital treatment for his injuries. Demands for food from the Tatmadaw were also cited, as well as arbitrary taxation demands levied by armed groups, and taxes on houses and land. Villagers also have to pay the schoolteachers' salaries which comprise 40 baskets of rice paddy shared between the villagers and 4,000 baht (US $133.33) per household each year.
Toungoo Situation Update: Than Daung Township, Received in November 2011  [News Bulletin]	Apr 19th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2011 by a villager describing events occurring in Toungoo District prior to October 2011. It frames present village conditions within the context and consequences of the 2005 – 2008 Northern Offensive by Tatmadaw forces and details the following human rights abuses: forced relocation of villages; movement restrictions; forced labour by adult and child villagers; arbitrary taxation and demands; beating and torture of villagers, especially of village leaders; and attacks on and killing of villagers. This situation update also documents a number of villagers’ concerns related to village leadership systems, livelihood challenges, the provision of education for children and food shortages. Moreover, this report describes ways by which villagers have sought to mitigate aspects of the abuses and concerns noted above, namely villagers bribing soldiers in order to allow them to transport more supplies than permitted to their village and establishing a rotating village governance system.
Toungoo Interview Transcript: Saw B---, December 2011  [News Bulletin]	Apr 19th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during December 2011 in W--- village, Daw Hpa Hkoh Township, Toungoo District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed 50-year-old Saw B---, a church leader in W--- village, who described demands for forced labour by Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #378 in November 2011, including cutting and portering bamboo poles for the rebuilding of LIB #378 military camp near W--- village, and portering food and performing messenger duty. Saw B--- raised concerns regarding food and livelihood security due to the destruction of W--- villagers’ cardamom and coffee plantations by rats. He also explained how the Tatmadaw accused villagers of providing assistance to the Karen National Liberation Arm (KNLA) and placed explicit restrictions on the movement of villagers going to work in their cardamom and coffee plantations, which negatively impacts harvests and food security, in addition to restrictions on the transportation of batteries and medicine. Saw B--- also described the death of one villager due to the lack of medical facilities in the village. Other concerns raised include the absence of accessible education beyond grade seven, an insufficient number of teachers, and the omission of the Karen language from the W--- village school curriculum. Saw B--- noted that since the 2010 General Elections in Burma, the Tatmadaw began to increasingly frame demands for forced labour in terms of loh ah pay – a term traditionally referring to voluntary service for community projects. Saw B--- explained that villagers have responded to such concerns by deciding amongst themselves to only send those villagers who are available to go for forced labour, as well as by sharing food and lending money during times of hardship and teaching the Karen language in church on Sundays.
Toungoo Situation Update: Tantabin and Than Daung Townships, August to October 2011  [News Bulletin]	Apr 17th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2011 by a villager describing events occurring in Toungoo District between August and October 2011. It contains information concerning military activity in the district, specifically demands for forced labour by Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #375. Villagers from D--- and A--- were reportedly forced to clear vegetation surrounding their camp and some A--- villagers were also used to sweep for landmines. Villagers in the A--- area faced demands for bamboo poles and some villagers from P--- were ordered to undertake messenger and portering duties for the Tatmadaw. The situation update provides information on two incidents that occurred on September 21st 2011, in which several villagers from Y--- were shot, and four other Y--- villagers were arrested by Tatmadaw Infantry Battalion (IB) #73 and detained until the Y--- village head paid 300,000 kyat (US $366.75) to secure their release. It also provides details of the arrest of five villagers from D--- village by LIB #375 in August 2011, who remained in detention as of November 2011. It documents the killing of two villagers from E--- village by Military Operations Command (MOC) #9, and the shooting of 54-year-old A--- villager, Saw O---, by LIB #375 for violating movement restrictions. Information was also given concerning a mortar attack on W--- village by LIB #603 and IB #92, which was previously reported in the KHRG News Bulletin “Tatmadaw soldiers shell village, attack church and civilian property in Toungoo District,” November 2011, in which shells hit the village church and destroyed five villagers’ houses. Tatmadaw soldiers also shot the statue of Mother Mary in W--- village and damaged pictures on the church walls; stole villagers' belongings, including money and staple foods; and destroyed villagers’ household supplies, livestock, and food.
Papun Interview Transcript: Naw P---, November 2011  [News Bulletin]	Apr 11th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during November 2011 in B--- village, Bu Tho Township, Papun District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed 30-year-old hill field farmer Naw P---, who described how B--- villagers were forced to porter supplies for the Border Guard and Tatmadaw, and porter ammunition for the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). She also detailed an incident in which all of the B--- villagers were ordered by Border Guard Company Commander Hpu Meh Ka to repair the B--- village vehicle road and clear vegetation and discarded coconut skins from the roadside, and villagers were violently abused by Border Guard soldiers. Naw P--- also provided information pertaining to the killing of three villagers; the former B--- village head was killed by a remote controlled explosive device in approximately April 2011 whilst portering for the Tatmadaw, and a T--- villager named L--- was killed in 2010 by a Border Guard landmine when portering for the DKBA. Also in Papun District, the DKBA was reported to have killed 50-year-old N--- from W--- village. Tatmadaw, Border Guard, and DKBA soldiers were consistently implicated in the theft and looting of villager’s’ livestock, as well as demands for food. Tatmadaw soldiers were also described as issuing demands for building materials such as bamboo poles.
Toungoo Interview: Saw E---, September 2011  [News Bulletin]	Apr 6th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during September 2011 in Daw Pah Koh Township, Toungoo District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed D--- village head, Saw E---, who described being forced to serve as a guide for Tatmadaw soldiers in an area known to contain landmines. He also provided information about an incident in which two L--- villagers, Saw M--- and Saw P---, were killed by landmines on June 15th 2011 whilst being forced to guide a group of Tatmadaw soldiers. Saw E--- raised concerns regarding villagers' livelihoods, which have been undermined as a result of abnormal weather conditions. He also explained that the standard of education at D--- village school has suffered as a result of the schoolteachers’ absences. To counter forced labour demands levied by the Tatmadaw, Saw E--- described challenging the soldiers for whom he was forced to guide by demanding to know their battalion number and commander's name. He also reported that he had on an occasion only partially complied with their demands, supplying 10 villagers as opposed to the 20 ordered, and discussed how he successfully negotiated with Tatmadaw soldiers to reduce the number of times that he was forced to meet with them each week.
Toungoo Interview Transcript: Saw L---, December 2011  [News Bulletin]	Apr 4th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during December 2011 in Day Loh Muh village tract, Daw Pa Ko Township, Toungoo District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Saw L---, who described the destruction of Y--- villagers' cardamom and coffee fields in 2006 for the construction of a Tatmadaw camp. He also noted the forced portering of building materials and food rations, the forced construction of a food storage building, and demands for bamboo poles in the period between 2006 and 2007. Saw L--- described how in 2010 and 2011, villagers from Y--- and surrounding villages were forced by Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #306 to clear vegetation from the road between Lay Loh Day village and the military camp. Saw L--- also talked about the torture of A--- village heads for failing to comply with orders for food from LIB #306. He also detailed an incident in which a villager, Saw P--- from B--- village, was killed by Tatmadaw soldiers. Other concerns noted include food shortages, exacerbated by the rising price of food; the cost of medical treatment; and the prohibition on the transportation of medicine. The absence of accessible education beyond grade four, and the omission of the Karen language from the Y--- village school curriculum were also raised.
Incident Report: Arrest and torture in Dooplaya District, December 2011  [News Bulletin]	Mar 30th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in February 2012 by Saw L---, a resident of H--- village, Kya In Township, who described events that occurred in Dooplaya District in December 2011. Saw L--- told a KHRG researcher that on December 12th 2011, about 100 soldiers from IB #283, led by Battalion Commander K---, came to H--- village and arrested 25 villagers on sight for questioning, with ten suspected of being members of the KNLA [Karen National Liberation Army]. One villager escaped that night and five were released the following morning, but the four remaining villagers were subjected to further interrogation and torture. The four villagers were released on February 28th 2012 following a period of arbitrary detention lasting two-and-a-half months.
Incident Report: Dooplaya District, August 2011  [News Bulletin]	Mar 29th, 2012
The following incident report was written by a villager who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights abuses, and is based on information provided by Saw D---, a resident of B--- village, Kawkareik Township. Saw D--- described an incident that occurred on August 16th 2011, in which soldiers from LIB #--- violently abused his father, Saw Y---, and another villager when they were travelling between B--- and H--- villages on suspicion of Saw Y--- being a KNLA soldier. Saw Y--- was arrested by Tatmadaw LIB #--- and later killed.
Thaton Situation Update: Bilin and Kyaikto Townships, October 2012 to June 2011  [News Bulletin]	Mar 29th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG by a villager describing events occurring in Thaton District between October 2010 and June 2011. It contains updated information concerning the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) Border Guard transformations and Tatmadaw and Border Guard camp locations. It also provides details on the forced recruitment of villagers by former members of the DKBA, who were not accepted into the Border Guard, towards the establishment of pyi thu sit (people’s militia). While the villager who wrote this report notes a significant reduction in the frequency of human rights abuses, they also note the persistence and expansion of several kinds of abuses, namely: indirect demands for forced labour levied on villagers by the Tatmadaw through religious leaders; expropriation of villagers’ lands by extractive industry companies; monetary demands on villages in lieu of forced recruitment of villagers into local pyi thu sit units; and taxation and demands by the Border Guard, accompanied by threats for non-compliance. Furthermore, the villager expressed concerns regarding the impact of abnormal weather patterns on rice and plantation crops, which have exacerbated food scarcity and prompted many villagers to seek work abroad in Thailand and Malaysia.
Villagers used as human shields in Pa’an District, October 2011  [News Bulletin]	Mar 23rd, 2012
The following report was written by a villager trained by KHRG to document human rights abuses, and describes an incident that occurred in October 2011 in M--- village, H--- village tract, Dta Greh Township, in which soldiers from Tatmadaw LIB #230 forced villagers to carry injured soldiers and act as human shields from M--- village to T--- village, following fighting between LIB #230 and the KNLA. Male villagers were forced to porter, whilst women and children were used to protect the soldiers from KNLA gunfire. The villagers were detained overnight and released the following morning. Tatmadaw soldiers reportedly also looted villagers’ money and food upon entering M--- village.
Incident Report: Arbitrary detention and violent abuse in Dooplaya District, December 2011  [News Bulletin]	Mar 16th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in February 2012 by a villager describing events occurring in Dooplaya District in December 2011. The villager reported an incident that took place in H--- village on December 12th, during which Burmese soldiers from Battalion #--- arrested ten villagers on suspicion of their being KNLA soldiers because they had tattoos, and took them to T---. The village head petitioned the soldiers and secured the release of five of the villagers, and one other villager succeeded in escaping, however according to a villager trained by KHRG, the remaining four villagers were violently abused during a period of arbitrary detention that lasted two-and-a-half months, until their release on February 28th 2012.
Toungoo Interview Transcript: Saw M---, December 2011  [News Bulletin]	Mar 16th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during December 2011 in Daw Pa Ko Township, Toungoo District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed 41-year-old Saw M---, a religious leader in K--- village, who described an incident which occurred on July 12th 2011 during which two K--- villagers, 32-year-old Saw H--- and 45-year-old Saw A---, were forced to guide Tatmadaw LIB # [censored for security] troops on active patrol. The two villagers were subsequently killed during fighting, which broke out when the LIB # [censored for security] patrol encountered KNLA soldiers on the vehicle road between K--- village and D--- village. Saw M--- told the villager who conducted this interview that the families of the two villagers who were killed received no compensation from the Tatmadaw, but have received support from the KNLA and from members of the local community. This incident was described in the previous KHRG reports “Incident Report: Forced labour and killing in Toungoo District, July 2011” and “Toungoo Interview: Saw D---, September 2011”. Quotes from this interview with Saw M--- are also included in the recent Toungoo field report “Ongoing forced labour and movement restrictions in Toungoo District.”
Dooplaya Situation Update: Kyone Doh Township, August to October 2011  [News Bulletin]	Mar 16th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in January 2011 by a villager describing events occurring in Dooplaya District, during the period between August and October, 2011. The villager who wrote this report provides information concerning increasing military activity in Kyone Doh Township, including the confiscation of 600 acres of farmland for building a camp in Da Lee Kyo Waing town by Border Guard Battalion #1021, and the construction of new military camps, one by LIB #208 in Htee Poo Than village and another by the KPF near to Htee Poo Than village. The villager who wrote this report also noted demands from the Burmese Army that local villagers cover half of the cost of the construction of two bridges in Kyone Doh Township, as well as ongoing taxation demands from various armed groups, including the KNU, SPDC, Border Guard, DKBA, KPF, KPC and a distinct branch of the KPC known as Kaung Baung Hpyoo, and expressed serious concerns about the intended use of villagers to provide unpaid labour on infrastructure projects that will be implemented by civilian and military officials, as well as the severe degradation of forest and agricultural land due to an expansion of commercial rubber plantations.
Pa’an Interview Transcript: Naw D---, November 201  [News Bulletin]	Mar 14th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during November 2011 in Dta Greh Township, Pa’an District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed 70-year-old Naw D---, a dry paddy hill field farmer from M--- village, who described an incident that took place on October 29th 2011, during which a mortar was fired towards M--- village, and Tatmadaw soldiers from IB #230 looted a full sack of rice costing 750 baht (US $25) and 5,000 baht (US $166) in cash, as well as betelnuts and betel leaves whilst she was in her hill field and the rest of her family had fled their home and were hiding from the mortar fired in M--- village. Naw D--- discussed how this theft has considerably undermined her family’s economic and food security, and described how she threatened to inform the soldiers’ commander about the incident.
Ongoing forced labour and movement restrictions in Toungoo District  [Field report]	Mar 12th, 2012
In Toungoo District between November 2011 and February 2012 villagers in both Than Daung and Tantabin Townships have faced regular and ongoing demands for forced labour, as well movement and trade restrictions, which consistently undermine their ability to support themselves. During the last few months, the Tatmadaw has demanded villagers to support road-building activities by providing trucks and motorcycles to send food and materials, to drive in front of bulldozers in potentially-landmined areas, to clean brush, dig and flatten land during road-building, and to transport rations during MOC #9 resupply operations as recently as February 7th 2012.
Incident Report: Forced labour and killing in Toungoo District, July 2011  [News Bulletin]	Mar 9th, 2012
The following incident report was written by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights abuses, in Toungoo District. It describes an incident that occurred on July 13th 2011 between the villages of H--- and K--- in Than Daung Township, locally referred to as Daw Hpa Khoh Township, during which two villagers were killed when the soldiers for whom they were forced to guide from LIB # [censored for security] and # [censored for security] were attacked by the KNLA. The villager reported that following this event, the Tatmadaw soldiers proceeded to loot H--- villagers’ houses. The families of the villagers who were killed are facing livelihood difficulties as a result, and have not received any compensation from the Tatmadaw. However, they have received support from members of the local church and from the KNU.
Papun Interview Transcript: Saw L---, June 2011  [News Bulletin]	Mar 2nd, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted in Dweh Loh Township, Papun District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Saw L---, a 49 year old Buddhist paddy farmer, who described demands for forced labour by Tatmadaw soldiers, including portering and guide duty, as well as clearing vegetation for the Border Guard. Saw L--- stated that villagers undertaking forced labour for the Tatmadaw were denied medical treatment and provided with unsuitable rations, such as stale rice. Forced recruitment into the Border Guard was also cited, with villagers from three different villages forced to pay US $389.61 in lieu of military service. Saw L--- also described Tatmadaw soldiers’ demands for chicken and rice as putting pressure on already strained resources, and contributing to villagers’ food insecurity. Saw L--- noted that some villagers who are unable to produce enough rice engage in daily wage labour in order to meet their basic food requirements, and that villagers who live in Lay Poh Hta village tract have developed support networks at the village level and reportedly share food with others in times of crisis.
Thaton Interview Transcript: Saw S---, April 2011  [News Bulletin]	Mar 1st, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during April 2011 in Pa’an Township by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Saw S---, a 43-year-old Buddhist farmer who, at the time of the interview, described ongoing demands by Tatmadaw soldiers and police, particularly for the production and delivery of building materials such as thatch shingles and bamboo poles, for the rebuilding of a police station and for villagers to perform messenger duty. He also noted that villagers faced arbitrary taxation demands for Karen State Festival and for sporting events organised by the Burma government. Other concerns include food shortages, worsened by flooding in the district during the 2011 monsoon season, and a lack of accessible healthcare, as the nearest hospital is located in Pa’an town. To alleviate the strain associated with village head duties, Saw S--- described how villagers have implemented a system whereby the villagers serve as village head on a monthly basis, as well as negotiating with township officials to lessen the burden of taxation demands Villagers also reportedly share food to offset the impact of food shortages.
Toungoo Situation Update: Tantabin and Than Daung Townships, November 2011 to January 2012  [News Bulletin]	Mar 1st, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in February 2012, by a villager describing events occurring in Toungoo District during the period between November 2011 and January 2012. It discusses augmented troop rotations, resupply operations and the sending of bulldozers to construct a new vehicle road between the 20-mile point on the Toungoo – Kler La road and Kler La. It also contains reports of forced labour, specifically the use of villagers to porter military equipment and supplies, to serve as set tha, and the clearing of vegetation by vehicle roads. Movement restrictions were also highlighted as a major concern for villagers living both within and outside state control, as the imposition of permission documents and taxes limits the transportation of cash crops, and impacts the availability of basic commodities. The villager who wrote this report raised villagers’ concerns about rising food prices, the lack of medicine due to government restrictions on its transportation from towns to mountainous areas, and the difficulty in obtaining an education in rural villages beyond grades three and four. The villager who wrote this report flagged the ongoing use of landmines by armed groups and noted that this poses serious physical security risks, particularly where villagers are not notified of landmine-contaminated areas, but also noted that some villagers view the use of landmines by non-state armed groups in positive terms as a deterrent of Tatmadaw activity.
Papun Interview: Maung R---, August 2011  [News Bulletin]	Feb 29th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview submitted to KHRG in August 2011 by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions in Bu Tho Township, Papun District. The villager interviewed Maung R---, a 31-year-old village head, who described extensive demands for forced labour, specifically for villagers to porter military rations, produce thatch shingles and bamboo poles, and tend to plantations owned by Border Guard soldiers. He also detailed demands for money including mandatory payments in lieu of recruitment for portering duties and arbitrary taxation. Threats against villagers were used to ensure compliance with these demands. Past instances of forced recruitment into the Border Guard were mentioned, as well as cases of direct violence, including an attack against villagers with three reported deaths. Other concerns expressed include the absence of basic medical care, and the poor quality of farmland which contributes to food insecurity and can force villagers to seek daily wage work in order to meet their basic food requirements. To mitigate this insecurity villagers employ a range of tactics including the sharing of food, as described by Maung R--- below.
Toungoo Interview: Saw T---, September 2011  [News Bulletin]	Feb 28th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during September2011 in Than Daung Township by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Saw T---, a 46 year old betelnut and cardamom plantation farmer who described movement and trade restrictions during 2011, specifically the closure of a vehicle road, which disrupted the transport of staple food supplies, as previously reported by KHRG in “Toungoo Situation Update: May to July 2011.”Saw T---described past instances of the theft and looting of food supplies and the burning of cardamom plantations and noted that the sale price of villagers’ agricultural outputs has fallen, while the cost of basic commodities has risen. He also described previous incidents in which a villager portering for Tatmadaw soldiers was shot whilst attempting to escape, and one villager was killed and another seriously injured by landmines,providing insight into the way past experience with violence continues to circumscribe villagers’ options for responding to abuse. Saw T---nonetheless described how villagers hide food to prevent theft, and covertly trade in food staples and other commodities to evade movement and trade restrictions. Saw T--- also noted that villagers have introduced a monthly rota system in order to share village head duties.
Thaton Interview Transcript: Saw T---, April 2011  [News Bulletin]	Feb 24th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during April 2011 in Pa’an Township, Thaton District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Saw T---, a 60-year-old Buddhist farmer and village head, who described demands for forced labour that occurred during 2011, including for guide duty and the production of thatch shingles and bamboo poles. Saw T---noted that Karen language is not permitted to be taught in the village school, and expressed concerns over the absence of a medical clinic in the village and a lack of rain during the previous year that resulted in a marked decrease in paddy outputs. Saw T--- noted that villagers share food to deal with increasing food insecurity and described an instance in which villagers only partially complied with a forced labour demand, producing and delivering only 300 thatch shingles to Tatmadaw soldiers, instead of the 500 that had been demanded.
Thaton Interview: U Kh---, December 2011  [News Bulletin]	Feb 17th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during September 2011 by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed U Kh---, a 48-year-old farmer who described being forced to porter for Tatmadaw LIB 220 troops for four days at the beginning of September 2011 during which time he witnessed the looting of villagers’ animals, as well as the arrest and detention of two P--- villagers to serve as recruits for Border Guard troops and subsequent demands for the payment of 200,000 kyat (US $259.74) in lieu of each recruit. He described the firing of mortars and small arms in civilian areas and detailed demands for food, weapons, and a motorboat to Border Guard troops. U Kh--- mentioned that he anticipated widespread food shortages as a result of extensive flood damage to paddy crops during the 2011 monsoon season and noted that demands for unpaid forced labour further strained villagers’ ability to pursue their own livelihoods effectively. U Kh--- explained that villagers counter burdensome demands by negotiating with local commanders to reduce the number of recruits and pay a smaller sum than demanded in lieu of the provision of recruits.
Papun Interview: Saw H---, March 2011  [News Bulletin]	Feb 8th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during March 2011 in Bu Tho Township, Papun District, by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Saw H---, a 34-year-old hillfield farmer who became the head of N--- village after a 23-year-old villager stepped on and was killed by a landmine at the beginning of 2011, at the time when he, Saw H--- and three other villagers were returning to N--- after serving as unpaid porters for Border Guard soldiers based at Meh Bpa. Saw H--- also detailed demands for the collection and provision of bamboo poles for construction of soldiers’ houses at Gk’Ter Tee, as well as the payment of 400,000 kyat ((US $ 519.48) in lieu of the provision of porters to Maung Chit, Commander of Border Guard Battalion #1013, by villages in Meh Mweh village tract. These payments were described in the previous KHRG report “Papun Situation Update: Bu Tho Township, April 2011." Saw H--- also described demands for the provision of a pig to Border Guard soldiers three days before this interview took place and the beating of a villager by DKBA soldiers in 2010. He noted the ways in which movement restrictions that prevent villagers from travelling on rivers and sleeping in or bringing food to their farm huts negatively impact harvests and food security. Saw H--- explained that villagers respond to such concerns by sharing food amongst themselves, refusing to comply with forced labour demands, and cultivating relationships with non-state armed groups to learn the areas in which landmines have been planted.
Thaton Interview: Naw D---, May 2011  [News Bulletin]	Feb 8th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted in May 2011 by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Naw D---, a 48-year-old community leader in a government-controlled area of Pa’an Township, Thaton District, who described regular and ongoing demands for villagers to perform forced labour as messengers for local civilian and military officials, as well as challenges faced by villagers with regard to the cost and provision of education for children and access to healthcare. Naw D--- also expressed concerns regarding the debt burden on villagers who rent agricultural land and farm using rented animals and equipment; according to Naw D---, villagers are forced to provide landowners a disproportionate share of their harvested yields, leaving insufficient paddy for themselves and their families, leading to subsequent food shortages. She explained certain strategies villagers have adopted to address concerns, including the establishment of a community healthcare committee and a community health fund which work to assist villagers with health-related issues and to cover the costs incurred by villagers seeking care outside the village.
Papun Situation Update: Bu Tho Township, November 2011  [News Bulletin]	Feb 8th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in January 2012 by a villager describing events occurring in Papun District during November 2011. The villager who wrote this report detailed an incident in which 18 Tatmadaw LIB #218 soldiers were killed or injured by landmines and local villagers were subsequently ordered to porter the supplies and equipment that the soldiers had been carrying. The villager also provides information on the closure of the Yunzalin River to boat traffic between Papun Town and Ka Ma Maung for three days by Border Guard Battalion #1013 soldiers and the imposition of a tax on boats travelling along the river. The villager also reiterated concerns expressed by other villagers in recent KHRG reports about severe flood damage to agricultural areas at the end of the 2011 monsoon season and resulting food shortages due to the destruction of paddy crops. This report notes that villagers have responded to food insecurity by replanting damaged fields with diverse crops as quickly as possible after the floodwater subsided, sharing food amongst themselves and pursuing additional livelihoods activities, including cutting bamboo cane to sell.
Dooplaya Interview: Saw Ca---, September 2011  [News Bulletin]	Feb 3rd, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted by a KHRG researcher in September 2011. The villager interviewed Saw Ca---, a 45-year-old rubber, betelnut and durian plantation owner from Kawkareik Township, Dooplaya District, who described the survey of at least 167 acres of productive and established agricultural land belonging to 26 villagers for the expansion of a Tatmadaw camp, transport infrastructure, and the construction of houses for Tatmadaw soldiers’ families. This incident was detailed in the previously-published report, “Land confiscation threatens villagers' livelihoods in Dooplaya District;” as of the beginning of February 2012, a KHRG researcher familiar with the local situation confirmed that the land had not yet been confiscated and that surveys of that land were no longer ongoing. In this interview, Saw Ca--- described the planting of landmines in civilian areas by government and non-state armed groups, and described one incident in which a villager was injured by a landmine during the month before this interview, resulting in the subsequent amputation of part of his leg; Saw Ca--- said that KNLA soldiers had previously informed villagers they had planted landmines in the place where the villager was injured. Saw Ca--- also described an incident in which villagers were forced to wear Tatmadaw uniforms while accompanying troops on active duty, as well as the forced recruitment of villagers by non-state armed groups. Saw Ca--- noted that villagers respond to such abuses and threats to their livelihoods in a variety of ways, including deliberately avoiding attending meetings with Tatmadaw commanders at which they suspect they will be forced to sign over their land.
Incident Report: Three villages fined after fighting between Tatmadaw and NSAGs, two villagers arrested, one killed  [News Bulletin]	Feb 3rd, 2012
The following incident report was written by a villager trained by KHRG to document human rights abuses in Dooplaya District and describes several incidents that occurred in the middle of January 2011. The villager who wrote this report describes the seizure of Tatmadaw supplies by KNLA troops, after which local Te--- villagers were forced to repay the cost of the supplies seized and Sh--- villagers were ordered to pay a fine for the theft. The report describes a third fine levied on Na—village after Tatmadaw troops met and fought with DKBA 999 troops in the Na--- area, as well as the looting of two Na--- villagers’ homes after home-owners fled the fighting, the destruction of a third Na--- villager’s zinc roof by small arms fire, and the killing of a fourth Na--- villager’s pig. The villager who wrote this report also describes the arrest of two other Na--- villagers suspected of being KNLA soldiers, one of whom was subsequently killed. Despite guarantees that the other detained Na--- villager was not a KNLA soldier by the Na--- village head, a monk and one of his relatives, his release was not secured until an additional fine of 300,000 kyat (US $389.60) was paid.
Papun Situation Update: Bu Tho Township, May to June 2011  [News Bulletin]	Feb 3rd, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in August 2011 by a villager describing events occurring in Bu Tho Township, Papun District, between May and June 2011. It contains detailed information about demands by Border Guard Battalion #1013 troops for a total of 10,400,000 kyat (US $13,506.49) from 65 villages, each of which was ordered to pay a share of the total in lieu of providing villagers to serve as unpaid porters. The villager who wrote this report also details villagers’ concerns regarding excessive fees for school attendance, abnormal rains leading to damage to crops and subsequent food insecurity, as well as the collection of arbitrary fees by an organisation that purported to assist families to pay funeral and burial costs, but which subsequently disbanded. The villager who wrote this report points repeatedly to ongoing arbitrary taxation by public officials and expresses villagers’ frustrations at what they perceive to be a lack of material change at the village-level in eastern Burma since the November 2010 elections.
Thaton Interview: Daw Ny---, April 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jan 27th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during April 2011 in Pa’an Township, Thaton District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Daw Ny---, who described an incident which occurred in November 2010, during which Tatmadaw Border Guard soldiers fired small-arms at her husband without warning and without attempting to hail him, seriously injuring his leg and necessitating 3,800,000 kyat [US $4,935.06] in medical expenses, which has had a deleterious effect on her family’s financial situation. Daw Ny--- told the villager who conducted this interview that her husband was visited in hospital by government officials investigating the incident but that no compensation or redress was offered. Daw Ny--- also described arbitrary demands for food and money, and the illegal logging of teak trees from A--- village by Border Guard soldiers; she mentioned that the imbalance in local power dynamics between armed soldiers and unarmed villagers deters villagers from attempting to engage and negotiate with perpetrators. Daw Ny--- raised concerns about the lack of livelihoods opportunities, and corresponding food insecurity, for villagers who do not own farmland; she notes that, in spite of these challenges, villagers offer voluntary material support to schoolteachers and often attempt to support their livelihoods by selling firewood or cutting bamboo. Daw Ny--- notes that some villagers choose to seek employment opportunities in larger towns but strongly expresses her unwillingness to move to an urban area, believing that food insecurity would only be exacerbated by a lack of money and an absence of alternative livelihood opportunities.
Papun Interview: Saw T---, August 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jan 27th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during August 2011 by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Saw T---, a 74 year-old Buddhist village head who described the planting of what he estimated to be about 100 landmines by government and non-state armed groups in the vicinity of his village. Saw T--- related ongoing instances of forced labour, specifically villagers forced to guide troops, porter military supplies and sweep for landmines, and described an incident in which two villagers stepped on landmines whilst being forced to serve as unpaid porters for Tatmadaw troops. He described a separate incident in which another villager stepped on and was killed by a landmine whilst fleeing from Border Guard soldiers who were attempting to force him to porter for one month. In both cases, victims’ families received no compensation or opportunity for redress following their deaths. Saw T--- noted that landmines planted in agricultural areas have not been removed, rendering several hill fields unsafe to farm and resulting in the abandonment of crops. He illustrated the danger to villagers who travel to their agricultural workplaces by recounting an incident in which a villager's buffalo was injured by a landmine. He further explained that villagers’ livelihoods have been additionally undermined by frequent demands for food and by looting of villagers’ food and animals. Saw T--- highlighted the fact that demands are backed by explicit threats of violence, recounting an instance when he was threatened for failing to comply quicky by a Tatmadaw officer who held a gun to his head. Saw T--- noted that villagers have responded to negative impacts on their food production capacity by performing job for daily wages and sharing food with others and, in response to the lack of health facilities in their community, travel over two hours by foot to the nearest clinic in another village.
Toungoo Interview: Saw D---, September 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jan 27th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during September 2011 by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Saw D---, a 37-year-old village head and betelnut farmer, who described serious abuses committed by soldiers in Than Daung Township under the command of MOC #9 during 2011, including an incident in which soldiers fired at and killed a 48-year-old villager while he was making charcoal and a separate incident in which two villagers were killed while being forced to guide Tatmadaw troops, when the soldiers came under fire from a non-state armed group. Saw D--- also described repeated demands for forced labour by soldiers from Tatmadaw LIB #378, under MOC #9, including one incident in which more than 100 villagers were forced to carry military rations for a month. Saw D--- also chose to highlight instances of past abuse including: arbitrary arrest, detention and violent abuse of religious leaders; theft and looting of villagers’ livestock, food, and personal belongings; and the harrassment of female villagers. Saw D--- noted that villagers counter limited access to and cost of healthcare treatment at government facilities by using traditional cures in their own village and also respond to food insecurity by sharing food and pursuing alternative means of supporting their livelihoods with jobs for daily wages.
Safeguarding human rights in a post-ceasefire eastern Burma  [KHRG Commentary]	Jan 26th, 2012
The ongoing ceasefire negotiations between the Government of Myanmar and the Karen National Union present an important opportunity for bringing lasting peace and improved human rights conditions to local people in eastern Burma. If the ceasefire can end fighting between the two parties, it should end human rights abuses associated with armed conflict. Human rights abuses, however, do not stem only from armed conflict but also from ingrained abusive practices and lack of accountability for perpetrators. In the absence of armed conflict, abuses related to extracting labour, money and resources from villagers and consolidating state control can be expected to continue or even worsen, particularly where there is a correlative increase in industrial, business or development initiatives undertaken without opportunities for genuine local input. Given these concerns, this commentary concludes by presenting recommendations for using the ceasefire negotiations to define monitoring processes that can offer new options for communities already attempting to protect their human rights. Analysis for this commentary was developed in workshops held with staff at KHRG’s administrative office in Thailand and with villagers working with KHRG to document human rights abuses in Mon and Karen states and Bago and Tennaserim divisions.
Thaton Situation Update: Thaton Township, August 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jan 20th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in August 2011 by a villager describing ongoing abuses occurring in Thaton Township in 2011, including frequent demands for forced labour from six villages, for villagers to serve as guards at a Tatmadaw LIB #218 camp, and for payments in lieu of forced labour. It outlines some difficulties faced by civilians in pursuit of their livelihoods, including the negative impact of forced labour demands, the lack of employment options available for villagers attempting to support their families and the destruction of paddy crops caused by flooding during the 2011 monsoon. It details restrictions on access to healthcare, specifically the high cost of medical treatment at government clinics and the denial of access for healthcare groups, and also expresses villagers’ frustrations at obstacles to children’s education caused by the need for children to work to support their families and the prohibitive costs of school attendance and supplies.
Incident report: Four villagers forced to guide Tatmadaw troops in Thaton District  [News Bulletin]	Jan 19th, 2012
The following incident report was written by a villager trained by KHRG to document human rights abuses, and details an incident that occurred in May 2011 during which Tatmadaw soldiers from LIB #216 arrested four villagers in Bilin Township, including two village headwomen, and forced them to accompany troops on active patrol. The two village headwomen told the villager who wrote this report that the Tatmadaw soldiers did not provide them with water nor allow them to return to their own village at night, forcing them to sleep in a monastery with the soldiers. One of the women said that the Tatmadaw soldiers told her that they were afraid they were going to be shot at by KNLA soldiers at the time she was forced to accompany them. The following morning, the four villagers successfully negotiated with the Tatmadaw commanding officers to secure their release and received 8,000 kyat (US $ 10.39) split unevenly between the four of them as compensation.
Pa’an Interview: Naw G---, November 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jan 19th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during November 2011 in Lu Pleh Township, Pa’an District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Naw G---, a 40-year-old Buddhist hillfield farmer who described an incident in which her son-in-law, Saw A---, 36, was shot and killed by patrolling Tatmadaw soldiers from IB 230. Naw G--- explained that Saw A--- was cooking with KNLA soldiers in Naw G---’s house, when Tatmadaw soldiers entered P--- village. According to Naw G---, the soldiers fired at Saw A--- as he fled the house and the bullets hit the left side of his head, killing him instantly. A separate report of this incident written by the villager who conducted this interview, including 23 photos taken by the same villager, is available here. An interview with Naw G---’s son who was also present during the attack is available here.
Papun Situation Update: Lu Thaw Township, November 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jan 17th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2011 by a villager living in a hiding site in northern Lu Thaw Township, Papun District. The villager described an incident that occurred in October 2011 in which Tatmadaw soldiers fired six mortar shells into an area in which civilians are actively seeking to avoid attacks by Tatmadaw troops; no one was killed or injured during the attack. This situation update places the occurrence of such incidents in the context of the repeated and prolonged displacement of villagers in northern Luthaw who continue to actively seek to avoid contact with government troops due to ongoing attacks against civilian objects. The villager who wrote this report raised concerns about food shortages in hiding site areas where the presence of Tatmadaw soldiers proximate to previously cultivated land has resulted in overcrowding on available farmland and the subsequent degradation of soil quality, severely limiting villagers’ abilities to support themselves using traditional rotational cropping methods. For detailed analysis of the humanitarian situation in this area of Luthaw Township, see the previous KHRG report Acute food shortages threatening 8,885 villagers in 118 villages across northern Papun District, published in April 2011.
Nyaunglebin Situation Update: September to October 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jan 17th, 2012
This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2011 by a villager describing events occurring in Nyaunglebin District, during the period between September and October 2011. It details an incident that occurred in October 2011, in which a villager was shot and injured while working in his betelnut field; the villager who wrote this report noted that some villagers living in these areas respond to the threat of violence by fleeing approaching Tatmadaw patrols. Following the shooting, Tatmadaw troops imposed movement restrictions that prevented villagers from traveling to or staying in their agricultural workplaces in the area where the shooting occurred. This report includes additional information about the use of villagers to provide forced labour at Tatmadaw camps, specifically to perform sentry duty along roads, and also raises villagers' concerns about food security after unseasonable rain prevented villagers in some areas from burning brush on their hill fields preparatory to planting and paddy crops in other areas were destroyed by insects and by flooding during the monsoon.
Pa’an Interview: Naw K---, September 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jan 13th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted by a KHRG researcher in September 2011. The KHRG researcher interviewed Naw K---, a 45 year old woman from L--- village in Pa’an District, who described an incident in which Tatmadaw LID #22 and Tatmadaw Border Guard soldiers forced local villagers to porter military supplies and equipment while wearing Border Guard uniforms during a joint attack on a KNLA Battalion #101 camp at Kler Law Hseh. In the interview below, Naw K--- explained that, while she was attending a funeral in Th--- village, many Th--- villagers were absent from the village, some having already been arrested by Border Guard soldiers to serve as porters and others having fled the village due to fears that they would be arrested to porter. Naw K--- told KHRG that the Th--- village head informed her that he had to wear a Border Guard uniform while forced to accompany Border Guard soldiers during their attack on the KNLA camp at Kler Law Hseh and she witnessed him departing Th--- village in the company of Border Guard soldiers. This incident was previously described in the KHRG report “Pa'an Situation Update: September 2011” published on October 24th 2011. In addition, Naw K--- also mentioned additional forced labour demands placed on local villagers to work on government-owned agricultural projects. She also described how villagers attempt to mitigate the harmful effects of forced labour demands through negotiation with commanding officers, and strategic temporary displacement to avoid arrest.
Thaton Interview: Naw L---, February 2011  [News Bulletin]	Jan 10th, 2012
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted in February 2011 by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Naw L---, a female village head from Bilin Township, Thaton District. Naw L--- described being interrogated and threatened at meetings with local Tatmadaw officers, including at times when she was pregnant. She described the killing of her son-in-law by then-DKBA Brigade #333 soldiers, and the defection of a Tatmadaw soldier to the KNLA, after which Tatmadaw soldiers arbitrarily arrested and tortured villagers and ordered Naw L--- to provide a firearm to replace the one taken by the defecting soldier. She also described how Tatmadaw soldiers forced H--- villagers to banish persons suspected of being KNLA soldiers and burn down their houses. Naw L--- explained that villagers face ongoing demands for forced labour, including forced portering of military rations, messenger and guide duty, for Tatmadaw, Border Guard and KNLA troops, but that she and her villagers employ a multitude of strategies to resist or mitigate abuse, including partial-compliance with forced labour demands; cultivating relationships with different, and oppositional, armed groups; lying about non-state armed groups’ soldiers and their operations; and successfully raising complaints to commanding officers about abuses perpetrated by their inferiors.
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