Situation to end 1998

The SPDC is continuing its attacks on Karen hill villages throughout northern Karen State, trying to entirely depopulate the northern hills. SPDC columns have regrouped and resupplied and are now launching attacks into hill regions not previously reached by the offensive.

Perhaps one million people living in the States and Divisions of Burma adjacent to the Thailand border have been displaced since 1996. At least 150,000 have fled as refugees or joined the huge “illegal” migrant population in Thailand.[2] Countless others have moved away to other villages and towns in Burma.

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.

Busarin Lertchavalitsakul charts Shan migrants’ experiences of ID card procurement and their mixed fortunes travelling between Thailand and Burma." ...Substantial article; contains information about the process of obtaining Burmese identity documents.

The feature section on Burma includes 29 articles exploring the extent of the displacement crisis, factors affecting displaced people and the search for solutions. The issue also includes 19 articles on other aspects of forced migration.....
Forced displacement of Burmese people,
Inge Brees...
Burma: in urgent need of change,
Douglas Alexander...
The international community's Responsibility to Protect,
Kavita Shukla... .
Landmines: reason for flight, obstacle to return,
Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan....

The current SLORC Offensive and Displaced People
"From July 92. Karen men, women, children: Air-raids on civilian villages (20 civilians killed); precarious economic life of people hiding in jungle; children die of malnutrition; Saw Hta offensive; list of villages and numbers of the people displaced; economic oppression..."
Area: Tee Moo Khee Area, Kaw Lu Der Area, Saw Hta

Compendium of 30 or so reports...

Introduction:

Over six decades of ethnic conflict in Myanmar have generated displacement crises just as long. At the time of writing there are an estimated 640,747 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Myanmar, and 415,373 refugees originating from the country.However, these figures are not fully indicative of levels of forced migration, as obtaining reliable data for IDPs remains difficult, while millions of regular and irregular migrants have also left the country, often fleeing similar conditions to those faced by documented refugees and IDPs.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
"Twenty years after the Burmese junta gunned down pro-democracy protesters, violations of human rights and humanitarian law in eastern Burma are more widespread and systematic than ever. Ten years after the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement were submitted, the international response in eastern Burma remains largely ineffective in dealing with a predatory governing regime.

Until a government of Burma is able to accept the role of non-state armed groups as providers for civilian populations and affords them legitimacy within a legal framework, sustained conflict and mass displacement remain inevitable.