Young women and elderly forced to Porter in Kawkereik Township, injuries result

March 15, 2011

Residents of Kawkareik Township have been pressed into service as porters by the Burmese army Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 32. According to residents, porters included young women and youth who were forced to carry supplies to the top of a nearby mountain to a forward unit base of IB No. 32. While porters were able to return the same day, some have suffered injuries from the extreme loads and steep uphill climb. This brief highlights the State Police and Development Council (SPDC)’s continued use of forced labor which is classified as a crime against humanity, and highlights how even the most basic forced labor is a danger to the victims involved.

Kawkareik: SPDC troops used residents living in Ah-zin village tract, Kyaik-don sub-township, Kawkareik Township, Karen State as porters on February 20, 2011. A SPDC battalion, Infantry Battalion No. 32, led by Captain Nyunt Win, arrested Kamar-kalae residents to serve as porters of the battalion’s army rations. Young women were included in the group forced to serve as porters.

Porters from Kamar-kalae were forced to carry the army supplies to the IB No. 32 base located at the top of Maekatee Hill, five miles from Maekatee village and about four miles northeast of Ah-zin village. Kamar-Kalae village has around 80 households and is seven miles from Maekatee village.

Saw Dee, 57 years old and father of Naw Paw Buu, explained that this time IB No. 32 arrested not only men but also young women, including his daughter. Once all the porters came home safely, he explained that he became less worried:

On February 20th, 2011, the Maekatee advance unit Cap. Nyunt Win came to arrest everyone he saw in the Maekatee village to porter the army’s supplies. My daughter was arrested to porter while she was going to pick some vegetables to cook. It was in the morning that she was arrested. She is only 17 years old, and I was so worried about her. The Burmese troops are not like human beings; they just do whatever they want to. My daughter came back home safely in the afternoon together with other arrested villagers used to porter. My daughter told me that there were not only men but also some women involved in the portering.

According to his younger brother, Saw Ah-kae, 30, was arrested by the Burmese troops to serve as a porter and has been suffering from lower back pain ever since. Saw Ah-Kae was forced to carry a 30 kg bag of rice on top of 12 kg of other supplies on his back. This weight has caused him back pain from that day until now, two weeks later. The back pain has kept him from being able to perform his normal work and he is currently being treated with only herbal medicine:

They, my elder brother and other villagers arrested to porter, were sent to the Burmese’ soldiers camp right after being arrested…They were given army supplies to carry and headed to the base on the mountain together with the soldiers…They had to carry the supplies up to the top of the mountain. It is 5 miles from our village to the top of the mountain. The distance they went was okay, but it was the amount of army supplies that they had to carry while climbing up the hill. Luckily, they all came back to their homes on that day. We, everyone in the family, are very worried for my brother.

Nine men and five women were forced to porter according to the list of the villagers gathered by HURFOM. Among the five women, three were under the age of 18, considered underage by the International Labor Organization’s (ILO’s) standards (ILO). One man in the group was also under the age of 18.

Though the Burmese government has renewed its agreement with the ILO on the suppression of forced labor and child labor[1]… this report confirms that the use of forced labor is ongoing and even includes boys and girls, with four out of the fourteen villagers forced to porter under the age of 18, which is child labor according to the International Labor Organization standards. Even with the signing of an agreement there have been reports in which the Burmese government threatens and punishes individuals who report abuses to the ILO.[2]

It is important to note that the groups included very young women and men as well as older males and females due to a common exodus of males from the village once villagers are notified that a Burmese battalion plans to visit their village. The Burmese army has been known to accuse villagers of allegiance to rebel groups such as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Karen National Union (KNU). Incidences of outright execution have been reported when Burmese soldiers are suspicious of villagers’ involvement with Burmese government decreed “insurgent groups”.[3]

With the recent announcement by the Nay Pyi Daw government to bring back the anti-insurgent Four-Cuts policy, it is important to take note of the potential increase in instances of forced labor and other abuses committed by Burmese soldiers amongst the area’s ethnic communities. [4][5] This policy is likely to result in a drastic increase in crimes against humanity committed deliberately and strategically by Burmese soldiers against ethnic communities that remain in the area.

[1] Corben, Ron | Bangkok January. “ILO Welcomes Burma’s Proposed New Labor Laws | Southeast Asia | English.” News | English. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/southeast/ILO-Welcomes-Burmas-Proposed-New-Labor-Laws-114145209.html>.

[2] KHAM KAEW, NANG “Army seizes 30,000 acres of farmland.” Democratic Voice of Burma 22 Feb. 2011. 11 Mar. 2011 <http://www.dvb.no/news/army-seizes-30000-acres-of-farmland/14351>.

[3] See also, “SPDC soldiers arbitrarily shoot villager and boy,” HURFOM, August 31, 2010

[4] Moe, Wai. “Naypyidaw Orders New “Four Cuts” Campaign.” The Irrawaddy. 4 Mar. 2011. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20880>.

[5] The Four-Cuts policy, first implemented in 1996 or 1997, used deliberate and sever attacks on civilian communities to undermine the functional capacity of insurgent groups. These 4 cuts a time at cutting insurgent forces access to information, food, funds, and conscription of new soldiers.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News