BURMA ARMY ATROCITIES
PAVE THE WAY FOR SALWEEN DAMS
IN KAREN STATE...
"As Thailand proceeds with plans to join Burma’s military regime in building
a series of dams on the Salween River to gain “cheap” electricity, this report
reveals the atrocities being inflicted on the people of Northern Karen State to
pave the way for two of the planned dams.
The Upper Salween (Wei Gyi) Dam and Lower Salween (Dar Gwin) Dam
are planned to be built on the river where it forms the border between

Conclusion:
"...This memorandum describes a Myanmar military counterinsurgency offensive that
involved the widespread targeting of civilians in northern Kayin State and eastern Bago
Division. Myanmar Army soldiers fired mortars at villages, opened fire on fleeing
villagers, destroyed homes, laid landmines in civilian locations, forced villagers to work
and porter, and captured and executed civilians. The impact on the population was
massive. Tens of thousands of individuals were displaced during the campaign and many

This report aims to provide a picture of the current situation in central Shan State, where the military junta ruling Burma has forcibly uprooted and destroyed over 1,400 villages and displaced over 300,000 people since 1996. This campaign against civilians is still continuing, and the number of villages destroyed is increasing each month. In this report, some of the villagers who have fled in 1997 and 1998 describe their experiences.

Abstract:
"Decades of neglect and abuses by the Burmese government have decimated the health of the
peoples of Burma, particularly along her eastern frontiers, overwhelmingly populated by
ethnic minorities such as the Shan. Vast areas of traditional Shan homelands have been
systematically depopulated by the Burmese military regime as part of its counter-insurgency
policy, which also employs widespread abuses of civilians by Burmese soldiers, including
rape, torture, and extrajudicial executions. These abuses, coupled with Burmese government

...Sources say the industrial zones are creating another headache: forced relocations of villagers. The source says that farmers have been forced to give up their prized land in Mingaladon north of Rangoon to make way for Mitsui's industrial park. "There is no negotiation between the farmers and the government. The govenrment simply puts up a sign saying, 'Everybody must move by this date.' Everybody must obey it or else. Villages are silently angry but they don't dare protest." Adds another local resident, explaining the public mentality about reallocations, "We have to obey the king.

A report on forced relocation and extrajudicial killings in Shan State, Burma. Since the publication of "Uprooting the Shan," the report by the SHRF detailing the forced relocation program carried out by the SLORC in Shan State during 1996, the SLORC military regime (recently renamed the State Peace and Development Council or SPDC) has been continuing to uproot more villages throughout 1997 and early 1998. Many of the relocation sites that were the results of 1996 relocations have been forced to move again.

“We have to work with the voice of the people,” Nai Aue Mon tells me in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand, as we discuss the recent rise of land confiscation and land disputes in the Mon State. Aue Mon has been with the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) since 1999, when he started witnessing the abuse and violations of the rights of civilians in the Mon State. He first began working as a journalist for the Mon publication Guiding Star, before beginning his work as documenting and defending human rights.

Continued Forced Relocations and Displacement in Shan State. "This report aims to provide a picture of the current situation in central Shan State, where the military junta ruling Burma has forcibly uprooted and destroyed over 1,400 villages and displaced well over 300,000 people since 1996. This campaign against civilians is still continuing after 4 brutal years, leaving much of the Shan population homeless. In this report, some of the villagers who both lived in relocation sites and hid in the jungle to avoid relocation describe their experiences.

Ending the Waiting Game: Strategies for Responding to Internally Displaced People in Burma" argues that the crisis in Burma has reached a point where displaced people and other vulnerable populations simply cannot wait any longer for outside assistance, including health services, education, food production and building the capacity of civil society organizations in the country. U.S. sanctions against Burma's military regime currently prevent the provision of significant humanitarian aid."...Table of Contents
Executive Summary i
Introduction 1

Abstract: "Migration
is

the
act
or
process
of
moving
from
one
place
to
another
with
the
intent
of
staying
at
the

destination
permanently
or
for

a

relatively
long
period
of
time
(1992,
Longman).
It
can
also
be

assumed
that
people

This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted in December 2010 in Te Naw Th’Ri Township, Tenasserim Division by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Saw T---, a 59-year-old village head who, at the time of interview, was in hiding from Tatmadaw troops in an area of Tenasserim Division beyond government control.

KHRG Information Update #2003-U1
June 16, 2003