Free Burma Rangers :: Reports: Forced Child Labor and Indiscriminate Shooting -- Burma Army Oppression in Central Karen

State 15.10.09 13:21

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FBR REPORT: Forced Child Labor and Indiscriminate Shooting -- Burma Army
Oppression in Central Karen State
Karen State, Burma
August 2009

KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Pa'an District:
Villager Shot by Burma Army Proxy Force, Women Included in Forced Conscription
Dooplaya District:
Forced Child Labor, Torture, and Destroyed Homes: The Burma Army Continues Buildup in Central
Karen State

Pa'an District:
Villager Shot by Burma Army Proxy Force, Women Included in Forced Conscription

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Free Burma Rangers :: Reports: Forced Child Labor and Indiscriminate Shooting -- Burma Army Oppression in Central Karen State 15.10.09 13:21

Map of report area (click on map for higher resolution image)

At 9:00 pm on the 30th of August, soldiers from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (the DKBA, a proxy force of
the Burma Army), Brigade 999, shot Maung Loo Aung, a 45-year-old man from Kler Ko village, as he fled to his
hut. Soldiers from the brigade then stole from him 11 logs of teak, valued at 8,580 Thai baht (about U.S. $250)
and his personal savings of 400 Thai baht (about U.S. $12). Clothing and food were also taken from the rest of
the village.

On 21 August, Saw Maw Kya, 25, fled his home in Ta Ray Poe Kwee village, Lu Pler Township to Noh Boe
Refugee camp on the Thai border after the DKBA 555 brigade’s pressure in recruiting troops from his village. The
DKBA’s demand for soldiers has forced male villagers to flee their homes in order avoid the DKBA’s requirement
of one male from each family. If the family cannot send anyone to the battalion, they must pay 500,000 kyat
(about U.S. $500) in exchange. The battalion has also has begun to ask for women because of the lack of men in
villages, and requires 100,000 kyat (about U.S. $100) in place of them.

Saw Maw Kya is just one example of ongoing forced recruitment which DKBA troops have been carrying out on
the Thai-Burma border in an attempt to reach a total of 40,000 troops to support their activities within the Pa’an
District. The influx of DKBA activity has forced villagers into hiding and, without access to their farms, villagers
now face a shortage of food.

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Children from Pa'an District in temporary shelters after fleeing attacks from the DKBA and Burma
Army. (click on picture for higher resolution image)

Dooplaya District:
Forced Child Labor, Torture, and Destroyed Homes: The Burma Army Continues Buildup in Central
Karen State

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Free Burma Rangers :: Reports: Forced Child Labor and Indiscriminate Shooting -- Burma Army Oppression in Central Karen State 15.10.09 13:21

Map of report area (click on map for higher resolution image)

On 24 August, 2009, Burma Army soldiers from Infantry Battalion 32 forced one seven-year-old girl and two
eight-year-old girls to porter for them. The girls are from Kwee Khaw village. Two other villagers from Kwee Khaw
were forced to porter at the same time, as well as an elderly woman and two young men from Kwee Ta Pet Mu
village. The day before, August 23rd, the same soldiers had captured 14 villagers from Aplone village to use as
porters and arrested 3 children who were tending oxen. Later, on August 29th, these same soldiers forced eight
more people from Lay Poe village to porter for them. These villages are in Win Ye Township. Burma Army IB 32
is led by Commander Khine Zaw.

On August 11, Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA, a Burma Army proxy force) Battalion 904, led by
commander Kyaw Kyaw, and Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion 546 came to Mae Ka Thaw Kee village,
Kawkareik Township, and arrested one villager. They found a knife and 10,000 Thai baht (about $300 US) in his
bag and accused him of working for the Karen National Union; they then tortured him badly. The next day they
burned down four huts and several houses in the village.

These are just examples of abuses regularly perpetrated by the Burma Army and its proxies on civilians in areas
where they are attempting to consolidate their power.

Burma Army and DKBA have recently had several clashes with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in
Dooplaya District. FBR received reports that in August and September, ten Burma Army soldiers and two DKBA
soldiers were killed in the fighting.

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Free Burma Rangers :: Reports: Forced Child Labor and Indiscriminate Shooting -- Burma Army Oppression in Central Karen State 15.10.09 13:21

FBR has also received reports that five DKBA soldiers defected to the Karen National Liberation Army at the end
of July.

According to reliable sources, the DKBA is continuing to be supplied by the Burma Army as it continues fighting
the KNLA. A build-up of Burma Army and DKBA forces around Win Ye Township and near the Three Pagodas
Pass area, opposite Sangkhlaburi in Thailand, has been reported in recent weeks.

Villagers in this district continue to face extortion and forced conscription.

The Free Burma Ranger’s (FBR) mission is to provide hope, help and love to internally displaced people inside
Burma, regardless of ethnicity or religion. Using a network of indigenous field teams, FBR reports on human rights
abuses, casualties and the humanitarian needs of people who are under the oppression of the Burma Army. FBR
provides medical, spiritual and educational resources for IDP communities as they struggle to survive Burmese
military attacks.

For more information, please visit www.freeburmarangers.org

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