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DKBA burns two homes belonging to suspected KNU supporters

HURFOM, Kawkreik: The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKB) burned the homes of two families suspected of supporting Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) soldiers, say local sources in Khawkreik District. Read more

Battalions in Kyauk Kyi Township tax fishpond owners, order huts destroyed

HURFOM:Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 599 is harassing owners of fishponds in Hta Htoo village, Nyaunn Lay Pin District, Kyauk Kyi Township, Karen State. On consecutive days, different columns from the battalion ordered owners to pay extra fees and to destroy their waterside huts.

On November 9th, a LIB No. 599 column led by 1st Lieutenant Zaw Lin Htun and second major Aung Zaw entered Hta Htoo village amd demanded money from villagers. Every person who owns a fishpond had to pay 20,000 kyat, plus an additional 2,500 kyat for every guard hut, reported a HURFOM field researcher who learned of the taxation by monitoring Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) radio activity. Read more

DKBA using forced labor in Karen State

HURFOM: Democratic Karen Buddhist Army Battalion No. 907 forced ten villagers into forced labor during the second week of November in Kawkreik District, Myawaddy Township, Karen State.

The troops, led by Major Ka La Nar, forced residents of Ya Thayt Kyaunn to build barracks in Pa low hta pho village from November 13 to 17th. The villagers were not allowed to return home during the five-day work period, and were forced to stay with the army. Read more

Celebration for International Stop Violent against Woman Day held in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand

WCRP: A celebration for the international Stop Violence against Women day was held on November 25th in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand, twenty kilometers from the Burma border. The event featured speeches by Mon and Karen community leaders, and was attended by over 100 people and 17 non-governmental organizations. Read more

Nine villagers beaten during interrogations in northern Tenasserim; two conscripted as porters and remain missing

HURFOM, Tenasserim Township

Nine villagers were recently arrested, interrogated and beaten as suspected rebel supporters in Tenasserim Township, Tenasserim Division. Two of the men were then forced to work as porters carrying supplies for the army. They remain missing.

On October 31st at 11am, forty-five troops from Column #2 of Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 15, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ko Ko Lwin, entered Pawa-Kwin-Shay village and arrested nine men. According to an eyewitness, the men were accused of hiding an AK-47 rifle belonging to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). KNLA Brigade No. 4 remains active along the Thai-Burma border in Tenasserim Division. According to the same eyewitness, all the men denied possessing the weapon. Read more

Will ASEAN or the UN Human Rights Council do anything in response harsh sentencing by the SPDC?

That the Burmese regime recently sentenced a group of pro-democracy activists to prison terms of as long as 65 years may shock the international community. But for people living in Burma, the harsh sentences are just a regular part of decades of SPDC oppression. The people know that whenever they oppose the regime, they will be punished severely. Read more

“I have no more left in my hands:” Human rights conditions in southern Ye Township and northern Tavoy District

I. Introduction

Burma’s southern peninsula, made up of Mon State and Tenasserim Division, is home to some of the country’s most lush jungle and difficult terrain. It has, consequently, become the natural staging area for the operations of a variety of armed rebel groups. Though the area, like much of Burma, saw a decline of armed resistance through the 1990s, it has not been brought under complete control. In the 1990s, the SPDC found extra motivation for its counter-insurgency efforts in the area: the Yadana gas fields, which produce significant volumes of natural gas, lie just offshore in the Andaman Sea. Two overland pipelines transport gas across the peninsula, with one running due east into Thailand and the other running north, through Mon State and into Karen State. Human rights violations surrounding the development of the Yadana gas project in the 1990s have been well documented, and violations continue as the SPDC works to maintain and expand control of the area.
Download report as PDF [ 610 kb] Read more

Army in Pegu forces young men to join army, villagers to work as unpaid laborers

HURFOM, Kyauk Kyi Township, Nyaunglebin District, Pegu Division: SPDC troops are forcibly conscripting young ethnic Karen villagers as the army launches an offensive against the Karen National Union (KNU) in Kyauk Kyi Township, Nayung-Le-Bin District, Pegu Division. According to local sources, villages that cannot provide the required recruits face must pay cash fines or work as forced laborers. Read more

Mudon Township authorities order local farmers to cultivate summer rice, again

HURFOM, Mudon Township: Burma’s military government is forcing farmers near the Win-Pha-Non Dam in Mudon Township, Mon State, to cultivate rice during the upcoming dry season. Most farmers, however, say they are reluctant to plant rice during the hot season because yields are typically too low to pay for the investment, leaving farmers mired in cycles of debt. Read more

Villagers in Mudon and Thanbyuzayat Townships forced to guard pipeline

HURFOM, Thanbyuzayat, Mudon Township: Burmese army battalions in Thanbyuzayat and Mudon Townships have resumed forcing villagers to guard the Kanbauk to Myaingkalay pipeline, say local sources. Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 62 and Artillery Battalion (AB) No. 318 are also forcing residents to pay a “pipeline security” fee and guard the Tavoy to Moulmein railway. Read more

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