Bu rma Issues July 2 0 0 2

INFORMATION FOR ACTION CAMPAIGNS FOR PEACE GRASSROOTS EDUCATION AND ORGANIZING

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DEVELOPMENT WITH JUSTICE the road to tavoy

Unlike the Burmese troops so called ' four cuts ' operation against the Karen resis tance groups, the involvement of mult i-

national and foreign companies' investment in the ethnic Karen lands is a strategy of 'ki l l ing t w o birds w i t h one stone' for the Burmese troops: they destroy the Karen people and they get money at the same t ime to futher their mil i tary campaigns. In Tenasserim Division, the people have become the vict ims of foreign com-panies' investment, beginning w i th the build-ing of the Yadana gas pipeline. Some compa-nies are t ry ing to turn this area into an eco-nomic zone regardless of the people's desire, and forcibly clearing and suppressing the in-habitants. Some Thai companies have planned, and construct ion preparation already begun, to b u i l d a h i g h w a y f rom Kanchanaburi to the Burmese port city of Tavoy, which w i l l pass t h r o u g h the Karen vi l lages that were destroyed by Burmese t roop 's offensives in 1 997. Because of this for-e ign i n v e s t m e n t , peop le l os t t h e i r lives, livelihood, pos-sess ions, cu l tu re , and it caused mass displacement of the vil lagers. The inva-s i o n of B u r m e s e t roops in par tner-ship w i t h f o re i gn companies onto ethnic lands is an injustice. People want development to complement their own living style, provide equal opportunit ies, and al low them to live in freedom wi thout fear.

The Tenasserim division is the most southern part of Burma. The division is covered w i th semi- evergreen rain forests and contains one of the richest groups of mammals in Asia. It has rich marit ime organisms and other miner-als. Unfortunately, due to its close proximity to

s x Burma Issues is a publication of the Peace Way Foundation and is distributed on a free-subscription basis to individuals and groups concerned with the state of affairs in Burma.

P.O. B o x 1 0 7 6 S i l o m P o s t O f f i c e B a n g k o k 1 0 5 0 4 , T h a i l a n d d u r h a m @ m o z a r t . i n c t . c o . th

the coast, this eco-region is also at tract ive to farmers, loggers, and poachers. Natural gas was discovered in its west sea, wh ich became the Burmese mil i tary government 's largest source of foreign income since 1 995 . The Tenasserim division became an economic pinpoint for the Burmese mil i tary government and foreign com-panies after the SPDC's (State Peace and De-velopment Council) change to an open market economy. Since then Tenasserim division has seen an increase in human rights violat ions, displacement, and the mass exodus of villag-ers. The ethnic Karen who have inhabited this area along w i th the Mon, Tavoyan and Burman peoples for many years, have become the f irst economic vict ims from their own inherited natu-ral resources.

In 1 997 , the Bur-mese troops made a major offensive to t h e eas t of Tenasserim Division, w h i c h w a s c o n -trolled by the Karen N a t i o n a l U n i o n (KNU). Most analy-sis found that the mot ivat ion of these of fens ives was to secure the Yadana gas p ipe l i ne and other business in-terests. The Karen i n h a b i t a n t s w e r e forcibly swept out f r o m t h i s area w h e r e e c o n o m i c

projects had been planned.

The fact that the people are suffer ing f rom the implementat ion of the Yadana gas pipe line is not enough. Right now foreign companies, especially f rom Thailand, plan to invest in this area. This wi l l give the people more long term suffer ing as the Burmese troops continue to use the people as development machines and explo i t their lands and r ights by using the money f rom foreign companies to suppress the people.

In 1 9 9 6 , the Federat ion of Thai Indust ry (Kanchanaburi) proposed a contract w i t h the SLORC (now SPDC) to build Dawei (Tavoy) Ex-port Centre. Dawai Export Centre would be the wor ld 's 5th largest shipping centre. This project would connect the area around Tavoy to Thai-

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Forced Labour on the Tavoy-Kanchanaburi highway CIDKP Mergui-Tavoy District

land, creating an industrial zone and building a highway between Tavoy and Kanchanaburi province. 1

There is as yet, no off ic ial agree-ment on the government level between Tha i l and and the SPDC fo r t h i s p r o j e c t . Loca l b u s i n e s s m e n in Kanchanabur i have expressed re-newed hope that the Thaksin govern-men t w i l l ga in a p p r o v a l fo r the project.2

Elephant loggers constructing a bridge near Mittya village CIDKP Mergui-Tavoy District (1999)

that at one t ime had been constructed by the Thai logging compan ies . This road passes through Meithameehkee on the border to Htee Hta and to Myi t ta that wi l l become the Tavoy-Kanchanaburi highway. The Burmese troops are presently using this road as their major mil i tary transport route for troops in the frontline. KNU's Mergui-Tavoy Distr ict Informat ion Department had reported that the Burmese troops are con-t inuously forcing the vil lagers to construct this road, especially after every rainy season has f inished. Vil lagers and prisoner porters are the only transporting means for the Burmese troops to feed thousands of their t roops who are sta-t ioned along the border of Thailand and other parts of Tenasserim. Local vil lagers also have to give money, chainsaws, and are forced to clear, embankments along the road. Prisoners were taken for forced labor as well6. Vi l lagers' elephants and boats were forced to do labor for the Burmese troops.7 Even though the road is not yet completed, there is evidence that the vil lagers are suffer ing. Many vil lages around this road were destroyed by Burmese troops and the vil lagers became internally displaced peoples, either fleeing to Thailand or being forc-ibly relocated to Burmese contro l led areas. There is no Karen vil lage in this area that has not been ef fected by the Burmese t roop 's relo-cation program or scorch-earth operations.

More recent reports show that the Kanchanabur i prov inc ia l industr ia l council had to scale down the origi-nal project to now entail a road link-ing Kanchanaburi to Tavoy only, be-cause of the lack of money. O n J u n e 2 0 , 2 0 0 1 , M y a n m a r Kanchanaburi-Dawai Development Co Ltd made a contract w i th Myanmar 's Public Works, Min-istry of Construct ion, to construot an 81 mile international h ighway f rom Maungmeshaung near Tavoy Township to Mae Thamee Pass (the former KNU Mergui-Tavoy Distr ict HQ) on the Kanchanaburi border of Thailand and Burma. The company wi l l col lect tol l fees for the use of the road and bridge, relating to this section of the highway. Mi l i tary, police and local au-thori t ies of the SPDC are to be exempted f rom the charge. The company also plans to develop this area for ecotour ism. 3

Representatives of Myanmar Kanchanaburi-Dawai Development Co., Ltd, then approached KNU leaders on February 1, 2002 to discuss the proposal for this project. However, the KNU leaders declined to approve this proposal due to the ef fects the project would have on the Karen people in the area.4 The companies have already faced security problems for this project because both the Burmese troops and KNU sol-diers occupy this area. On February 1 9, 1 998 , four members of Burma's Kyaw Lin Naing Com-pany were captured by KNU soldiers when they were surveying the road. They were released after a few days. Since then the company has shown extreme caution when carrying out their plans for the project.5 The failure to gain KNU approval has only exacerbated the security is-sues.

Af ter the of fensive of 1997, seen by many as an at tempt to clear the area in preparation for these mass ive economic c o n s t r u c t i o n projects, Burmese troops occupied the area of the proposed highway using an old rough road

Since 1 997 hundreds of the vi l lagers' durian, beetle nut and coconut plantat ions have been cut down w i th the intention to build the bridges and mil i tary bunkers in this area. Hundreds of acres of vi l lagers' lands were occupied or con-

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Fleeing the repercussions of the highway construction CIDKP Mergui-Tavoy District

mil i tary outposts. Most of the people became homeless and lost their land due to this ac-t ion.8

Myi t ta and other vil lages in the Kamoethwe and Pawklo areas, wh ich are located around this planned road, are facing cont inuing Bur-mese t roop abuses such as extor t ion, paying various fees demanded by the Burmese troops, tor ture, forced labor and arbitrary execution.

Karen in the southern refugee camps also have an unhappy future. Af ter the h ighway is f in-ished it is planned that the Karen refugees in Tham Hin and Ban Don Ya camp wi l l be forc-ibly repatriated. Some t ime in March 1999 the Coastal Mi l i tary Command made an agreement w i t h a group of Thai representatives that they would apply pressure to the Karen villagers who had f led to Thai refugee camps to return to Burma. They wi l l not be repatriated back to their original vil lages or their o w n lands as be-fore, instead they wi l l be kept in repatriated forced relocation camps. The SPDC troops have planned to keep the repatriated refugees in four places: Kasawwah, Ahmoe, Htee Hta and Maw Hta.9 There are no plans for the reconstruc-t ion of their communi t ies and improvement in their l iving standards. The refugees wi l l not be allowed to own their own business such as cross border trading, catt le trading and forest prod-ucts and they can only be hired for agriculture and development activities.10

I hope that in the future the grassroots com-munit ies and those work ing w i t h grassroots people wi l l be more proactive then reactive. For the vil lagers af fected by the Yadana gas pipe-line, it is hard for them to heal, to come to terms w i t h their destroyed l ivelihood and the

exploitat ion of their culture.

Some countries, especially Thailand have of ten said they don ' t wan t to intervene in other countries domestic problems. On the other hand, they have through investment in Burma involved themselves in the de-struct ion of the people, forming an eco-nomic alliance w i t h the ruling mil i tary. The money gained f rom this project wi l l not be used for the wel l being of the communi ty . Instead the SPDC wi l l expand their t roops and modernize their army in their at tempts to suppress the people.

"I wan t to tell the foreign companies and international communi ty that we don ' t want the h ighway right now. We want de-velopment, but we want development w i th

just ice. Development that means peace for the community and benefits for everyone." said KNU Mergui-Tavoy Distr ict, Ler Doh Soe t o w n s h i p off icer P'doh Keh Bluh.

Pa Pawklo

Endnotes 1 KNU's Mergui-Tavoy District source 2 Bangkok Post. 11.2.2001. Kanchanaburi pins hope on the Tavoy road. 3 KNU's Mergui-Tavoy District source. 4 Interview: (Interview with P'Doh Keh Bluh. KNU's Lerdohsoe township officer, the area where the highway will pass) 5 Saw True Love 6 Information Release: KNU Mergui-Tavoy District Information Department June 3, 2000, 18 December 2000. 7 Interview: (Interview with P'Doh Keh Bluh. KNU's Lerdohsoe township officer, the area where the highway will pass) 8 ibid 9 ibid 10 Confidential source.

C O R R E C T I O N

On page 2 of the May edition of Burma Issues we featured a photo that was mis-takenly attributed as a Burma Issues file photo. This photo was actually taken by the Karen Human Rights Group and is an important photo that is strongly iden-tified with their work. We hope this clears up any confusion over its origin and that in future it be recognised as the work of the Karen Human Rights Group.

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INSIDE N O R T H E R N KARENNI STATE PART 2

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he following information continues on from last weeks observations by a friend

ofK3urma Issues on return from a trip inside Burma. Most of this information comes from IDP's living in Northern Karenni State, and Southern Shan State. The area comes under the cease-fire zone of the Shan National People Liberation Organisation (SNPLO).

THE S P D C TROOPS ACTIVITIES In Loikaw area, the SPDC troops wen t out

f rom their mil i tary base camp at least once a month. This year, the SPDC troops are t ry ing to construct a road between the Burma-Thai border w i th bulldozers. The aim of the road construction is to allow good transportation and to strengthen their mil i tary bases. A t the end of every month throughout the summer t ime, the SPDC troops carry their rations w i t h t rucks to the SPDC base camp in Shandaw area and then they carry through some of their rations to the Burma-Thai border base camps. When-ever they transport their rations w i th the trucks, SPDC troops provide securi ty. During the sum-mer t ime, they col lect as many rations as pos-sible f rom the Shandaw base camp w i th the trucks and then in the rainy season they use mil i tary prisoners as porters or horses to carry rations and weapons to the Thai-Burma border mil i tary base camps. The road f rom Shandaw to the Thai-Burma border mil i tary base camps is very rough in the rainy season, so they can-not use trucks anymore.

It is possible that they have col lected the ra-t ions in the summer t ime, they wi l l t ry to attack the Karenni National Progres-sive Party (KNPP) force base camps on the Thai-Burma borderline sometime in the rainy season. In 1999 , the SPDC's Minist ry of Home Af fa i rs released a statement No. 1 /99, wh ich said that it is illegal to use forced labor through-out the whole of Burma. But it is stil l happening. For example, they ask the vi l lagers to send bamboo, pole and roofing for repairing their huts in the military base camp, use porters to guide the way for them, ask for reports on " rebel " ac t iv i ty in the area and use messengers to send messages to the mil i tary base camps.

THE S P D C TROOPS' SITUATION AND DESIRE

In Loikaw area, the SPDC troops go out w i t h some of the Karenni Nationalit ies People Lib-eration Front (KNPLF) soldiers, a group that has signed a ceasefire w i t h the SPDC, when-ever they hear about the KNPP forces in the area. But most of the SPDC troop soldiers don ' t really wan t to fo l low and invest igate the KNPP forces, because the SPDC t roops ' soldiers are afraid of them. They have to go because of orders f rom their commander.

The SPDC soldiers run away f rom their mother t r o o p s o f t e n and some of t h e m c o m e to surrenderto the ethnic forces wh ich are near their mil i tary base camp. Some SPDC soldiers who had run away f rom their mother t roops were arrested by the SPDC because they couldn ' t f ind the ethnic forces bases, missing their way . Those who have deserted brought their guns along w i t h them. They can never return to the SPDC again. If they are re-ar-rested by the SPDC troops, they wi l l be killed or wi l l be put in prison for life. If the vil lagers help the deserters by showing them the way to the Karenni force base, the SPDC troops wi l l arrest the vil lagers.

According to three soldiers f rom the SPDC troops BRG-No(261) who surrendered to the Karenni A rmy on the 23rd of Apri l 2 0 0 2 there are many soldiers who wan t to run away f rom the SPDC troops. The reason for their dissatis-fact ion is that the leaders are corrupt , they discriminate between ethnic people and Bur-

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"Love and Peace Bridge welcome to the cease-fire zone BI (2002)

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BURMA'S TIMELINE 2 0 0 0 - 2 0 0 1 It is easy to become caught up in the excitement of the moment, however, it is the history that puts everything into context. In this third and last part of the series we will cover the years 2000-2001. This time-line is drawn from Burma in Revolt: Opium and Insurgency since 1948 by Bertil Lintner (Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 1999).

January 6 - 7 Gen Maung Aye visits India and discusses military and trade cooperation wi th Gen V.P. Malik marking a shift in Burma-India relations.

Mid- January SPDC troops launch an of-fensive against KNU splinter group God's Army in Tenasserim Division, which was hosting the "Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors" who had orchestrated the Bangkok embassy seige. Thai infantry units allegedly assist the Burma mili-tary troops by firing on God's Army positions.

Janaury 2 4 - 2 5 A joint force of "Vigor-ous Burmese Student Warr iors" and God's Army soldiers take a hospital in Ratchaburi Prov-ince, Thailand hostage. The siege ends wi th all 10 hostage-takers being killed.

January 27 Padoe Ba Thin, a civilian, re-places Gen Bo Mya as president of the KNU during the groups congress. Gen Bo Mya, who became KNU president in 1975, remains vice-president and military head.

March 5 -6 Diplomats f rom 30 countr ies meet in South Korea to "brainstorm" about re-form in Burma. The SPDC strongly denounced the meeting.

June 9 An ILO committee forms a perma-nent tribunal to report on the issue of forced labor in Burma, but puts off concrete actions until the November ILO general assembly.

End of June Universities open for 4 th year students in all courses of study, 2nd and 3rd

year students return to school July 24.

August 24 -September 2 After two years of government crackdown on the NLD, in which thousands of party members are forced to re-sign, Aung San Suu Kyi and a dozen NLD mem-bers are stopped from traveling outside Rangoon in Suu Kyi's f irst attempt since 1 998. After 9 days the group was forcibly returned to Rangoon and placed under de facto house arrest, and the NLD headquarters was raided.

September 15 Mandalay's new US $3.5 billion airport sporting the longest run-way in Asia is opened. Airport is likely used for mass troop transport as for tourists.

January 9 UN special envoy Razall Ismail announces that Aung San Suu Kyi and mem-bers of the SPDC had met, and would continue to have discussions on a regular basis.

January A military build-up occurs along the Burma-Bangladesh border over efforts by Burma to build a dam on the Naf river which divides the two countries in violation of a 1 966 bilateral treaty.

Early February Muslim/Buddhist confl ict in Si t twe, Arakhan State leads a reported 450 people killed and more than 1,500 injured.

February 9 - 1 2 Fighting breaks out be-tween Thai and Burma military troops as the latter enters Thai territory to attack the Shan State Army -South insurgent group in the most serious border dispute in recent history. Bilat-eral relations sink to an all-time low.

February 12 SPDC Sec-1 Tin Oo dies in a helicopter crash in Karen State.

February 2 0 Fol io w i n g the Kach in Indpendence Organization's (KIO) annual meet-ing, Gen Zau Mai is replaced by Gen Tu Jai as leader of the KIO. While reports attr ibute the change to corruption and dissatisfaction wi th Zau Mai, KIO sources say the leader's poor health caused the change.

March 21 Ne Win appears publicly for the first time since 1 988, inviting 99 senior monks for a merit making ceremony.

April 3 UN special-rapporteur for human rights, Paulo Sergio Pinhiero, arrives in Burma for an exploratory visit, the first t ime a repre-sentative from his off ice has been able to visit the country in 5 years.

May 1 -3 Gen Pervez Musharra f v is i ts Rangoon, becoming the first head of state out-side of China and the ASEAN countries to do so. He promotes the positive trade relation-ship between the two countries.

Beginning of May Burmese and Ind ian armies cooperate in an offensive against the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (K) - the largest action of its kind ever.

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May 16 Further Buddhist-Mus-lim riots begin in Toungoo (suppos-edly inst igated by Musl im youths taunting Buddhist nuns) and lead to the death of 4 Islamic leaders and the burning of hundreds of Muslim houses. Further rioting breaks out around the country at the end of the month.

May 1 7 - 1 9 A 4-person ILO tech-nical team travels to Rangoon to work out an accord towards the elimi-nation of forced labor in Burma, de-spite earlier statements on the part of the Junta that it would no longer cooperate w i th the labor organiza-tion.

Late August Burma finalises a US $1 50 mill ion deal to buy 10 MIG 29 f ighter jets and armaments f rom Russia.

November 9 Seven top generals (including SPDC Sec-3 Win Myint) are dismissed and 10 of the 12 re-gional commanders are promoted in the biggest structural adjustment in the junta since 1 997.

December 1 2 - 1 5 Jiang Zemin becomes the f irst Chinese premier to visit Burma since 1 984 in an at-tempt to bolster China influence even further.

mese people and there is injustice among the soldiers. In the SPDC troops base camps near Loikaw not every soldier is al lowed to hold a gun. Only those guarding outside near the gate can hold a gun at nightt ime. When their watch is completed, they have to return the gun to the ammunit ion store.

CEASE-FIRE GROUPS' SITUATION The SPDC have tried to break up the revolution groups

such as the KNPP, KNU, SSA (SPDC called these groups rebel groups) w i th many tact ics. They have tried to do this using economic, social and religious grounds. The SPDC lets the cease-fire groups log the forests and grow and trade in drugs. The SPDC looks after the leaders of cease-fire groups well . I think the SPDC control the cease-fire groups economically. I saw many opium fields in cease-fire groups' areas. Some opium fields belong to cease-fire groups' leaders. Some people are addicted to using opium. Addicts have to hold a card issued by the cease fire groups which gives them permission to use opium for personal use.

Once I v is i ted the SNPLO headquarters based in Nawtaung t own and one of my friends brought me to a leader of the SNPLO's house. When I got into the house, it seemed I was in another wor ld. His house was it a large compound. It was very big and it was made from concrete. It had many luxury goods inside. Outside, everyone else lived in small bamboo houses.

During my visit to Nawtaung town, I met some SNPLO soldiers. One of the soldiers said that his leaders d idn' t want to stay under the raincoats anymore because their lives are very luxurious now but as for himself, he was ready to f ight back against the SPDC.

bum S P ? Burma Issues is currently undertaking the task of putting the newsletter into e-mail format. We envisage this process being established within the next few editions of the newsletter. We would like to gauge the interest of our audience in recieving the newsletter in e-mail format instead of as a hard copy posted out to them. In the interests of making our newsletter and information more accessible to our audience we see this move as a positive step. We would also appreciate getting ideas and responses from you, our readers, regarding this move. Could you please respond to Burma Issues on the e-mail and/or postal address you will find on the second page of this newsetter. We look forward to hearing from you.

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news bri efs refugee returns a violation. The government might be violating international humanitarian practice by sending some 600 Shan refugees back to the Burmese side of the border during a time of uncertainty, the vice chairman of the House's Foreign Affairs Committee said. Kobsak Chutikul expressed strong concern over a report that the government planned to repatriate the ethnic Shan refugees who fled Burma following heavy fighting between government troops and rebel soldiers. "We should not be too hasty," Kobsak said. "This is a humanitarian matter and [there are] internationally accepted norms for civilians fleeing armed conflict." The move to return the refugees could also be seen as Thailand giving in to pressure from Burma's military government following accusations from Rangoon that the Thai troops were providing assistance to the Shan rebels.

"Sending refugees back 'a violation '", The Nation, July 4, 2002

refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border during July, saying the region was "under martial law." "From now on, foreign journalists will be banned from visiting camps or controlled areas as they are likely to report only on negative aspects of official work or on inaccurate and unconfirmed reports," NSC chief Khachadpai Buruspatana told reporters after a special council session in Bangkok. He also said journalists would be barred from interviewing members of resistance groups in the camps whose views Thai authorities believe reflect poorly on Thailand's neighbours, mainly Burma. The work of non-governmental organisations providing relief and other services would also be scrutinised, with only humanitarian assistance allowed to the m o r e than 100,000 mainly ethnic minority refugees from Burma who live in the camps.

"Thailand bans foreign journalists from Myanmar refugee camps ", AFP, July 15.

journalists banned from refugee camps, pro shan lyrics likely to annoy junta. Thailand's National Security Council (NSC) Music stores along the border with Burma barred foreign journalists from visiting are stockpiling copies of popular singer Ad

Carabao's latest album, in anticipation of protests from Rangoon that could see it withdrawn from sale.The lyrics and accompanying video clips are fiercely critical of Burma's suppression of the Shan people. Sales of the album "Mai Tong Rong Hai (Don't Cry)" are brisk, with soldiers on border assignment and Shan people the biggest buyers.Ad Carabao, whose real name is Yuenyong Ophakul, wrote all 10 songs. He says he fully supports the Shan State Army's fight against Rangoon, calling it a "just war", and despises the Burmese military leadership for its brutal rule. The songs depict the SSA's bitter struggle for self-determination.The album was released last week and was an immediate favourite in areas like Chiang Rai's border district of Mae Sai, with its large concentration of Shan residents. Many of the scenes in the videos show the corpses of junta soldiers, and SSA troops overrunning Burmese outposts. One video shows SSA troops trampling on a portrait of Senior Gen Than Shwe, chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development Council.

"Ad Carabao album an instant hit", Bangkok Post, July 22

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