26feb10 ncgub: news on migrants & refugees- 26 feb, 2010 (english & burmese)

8/14/2019 26Feb10 NCGUB: News on Migrants & Refugees- 26 Feb, 2010 (English & Burmese)

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NCGUB: News on Migrants & Refugees- 26 February, 2010 (English & Burmese)

************************************************************* HEADLINES

************************************************************* NEWS ON MIGRANTS

Burmese workers killed by soldiers

Only 3 days remain for Burmese migrants

Thai troops kill three Burmese migrant kids

In the Hands of Human Traffickers

Burmese migrant family of 4 died on spot in a car accident when riding a

motorbike with no light

No arbitrary expulsion of Burmese labourers

S Korea blocks Burmese migrantsUN rights chief warns against Thailand's migrant workers crackdown

NEWS ON REFUGEES

Atrocities in Karen State Systematic: KWO

KWOs report on horrifying abuse of women village chiefs

Villagers cowed in fear after arbitrary killing by Burmese army

Karen boy killed by Burmese shell

MYANMAR: Renewed bid to fight forced labour

New Resources: TBBC's latest IDP report: Protracted Displacement and

Militarisation in Eastern Burma

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U U U U

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NEWS ON MIGRANTS

*************************************************************Burmese workers killed by soldiers

25/02/2010 at 04:42 PM


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Three Burmese were killed and five others wounded when soldiers opened fire at apick-up truck loaded with workers being smuggled into the country in Ranongprovince on Thursday morning, police said.

Pol Lt-Col Pichit Sunthorn, a duty officer of Pak Nam police station in Ranong's

Muang district, said soldiers of a task force company of the 25th Infantry Regiment,who were in another vehicle, tried to stop the smuggglers' vehicle, which was carryingillegal workers from Kawthaung province in Burma.

The vehicle, which was heading towards them, failed to stop and the troops openedfire. The truck was forced to a stop after three of its tyres were shot out. Seventeenbullet holes were found on the body of the truck.

Inside the vehicle they found 13 Burmese workers. Three of them, two men and awoman, were dead and five others suffered bullet wounds. The injured were takento Ranong Hospital.

Supot Mongkoltangsirikul, 35, the driver of the truck, said he had been paid 500 bahtper trip to take the workers to Ranong Thani Housing Estate in Ranong.

Pol Col Veerasin Kwanseng, chief of the Pak Nam police station, said Mr Supot wascharged with smuggling of alien workers.

The soldiers were initially charged over the three deaths. However, since they wereperforming their duty, the provincial prosecution would further investigate and decidehow to proceed with the case, he said.

http://bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/169689/burmese-workers-killed-in-shooting

************************************************************* Only 3 days remain for Burmese migrants

Thursday, 25 February 2010 16:43 Hseng Khio Fah

An internal document of the Thailands Ministry of Labor said Burmese migrants willhave one more month extension to fill in the nationality verification (NV) forms withhis/her biographical information to submit to their home governments if he/she agreesto go through the NV process by the original deadline, 28 February 2010, according to

Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF).

Migrant workers will have until 31 March 2010 to submit the NV forms after theysigned agreement to enter the NV process. If they [migrant workers] dont agree to gothrough the NV process by 28 February, their work permits will not be renewed andthey shall also be subject to arrest and deportation, according to the document.

It said, Migrants have to say as he/she has yet to submit the NV form, he/she willsubmit it prior to 31 March 2010.

And if migrant workers agreed to enter into NV before 28 February, but do not submit

their documents by 31 March 2010 as agreed, the Kor Tor 13 extension of their workpermit will be revoked. Moreover they shall be arrested and immediately deported.


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However, up till now, almost all of migrant workers are still worried about providingtheir personal information to the Burmese authorities.

According to Sein Htay, a spokesperson for Mahachai office of HRDF, there were

many workers who are not willing to go through the process, they therefore left theirjobs and returned home. But back home, they have nothing to do for a living and arefinding it more difficult to survive than they expected.

Then some migrants have to re-enter Thailand to work, he said. It was a waste oftime and money. We dont want this kind of problem.

Anyhow, most workers were believed to have finished submitting the agreement formbecause they were asked to submit the form at the same time when they re-applied forwork permits, he said.

Currently, over 30,000 out of around 2 million migrants are holding temporarypassports.

According to him, the HRDF will join hands with other organizations to do what theyneed to do to prevent migrants from abuses.

At the same time, the Labor Committee of the Lower House will be holding a seminaron the NV process from 13:35 to 16:30 tomorrow, 26 February.

The HRDF is reported to have appealed to the Thai government to consider thefollowing issues;

To extend more time to submit the process,To move passport offices into Thailand,To control brokers that cheat money from migrants,To inform more widely to reach migrantsTo create new options for migrants until they receive passports andTo open new registrations for migrants who dont have any papers or documents butwho are already working in Thailand.

http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2942:onl

y-3-days-remain-for-burmese-migrants-&catid=87:human-rights&Itemid=285

************************************************************* Thai troops kill three Burmese migrant kids

Feb 26, 2010 (DVB)

Thai soldiers have shot and killed three Burmese migrant children and wounded fivemore when they opened fire on a pick-up truck that sped through a border checkpoint.

The incident occurred yesterday in Ranong province, southwestern Thailand. Like allof Thailands border regions, Ranong is under martial law, and acts as a major

crossing-point for Burmese migrants into Thailand.


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The victims, a three-year-old girl and two boys aged six and 16, were killed instantly,according to AFP, while three more remain in hospital.

"Initial reports showed the vehicle was heading toward them and they shot at the tiresin self defense when it failed to stop," police colonel Veerasin Kwangseng told

Reuters.

He added that the driver of the pick-up would likely be charged with attemptedmurder for his failure to stop, and with smuggling illegal aliens, while the survivingmigrants may be charged with illegal entry into Thailand.

The incident mirrors an episode two years ago in which Thai troops shot and killed a10-year-old Burmese boy who was being smuggled into Thailand in a lorry alongwith 27 other migrants.

More than two million Burmese migrants live in Thailand, many of whom work

illegally in low-skilled industries. An ongoing attempt by the Thai government tohave the migrants registered in their home country has drawn the ire of rights groupswho complain that they will be intimidated or threatened by Burmese authorities ifforced to return and hand over their details.

A recent report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch said that those whorefuse to comply with the demands, and are likely to be deported, face ethnic andpolitical conflict in their home country.

It also condemned the treatment of migrants in Thailand, with "many officials andpolice [treating] migrant workers like walking ATMs".

http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=3354

************************************************************* In the Hands of Human Traffickers

By KYAW THEIN KHA Thursday, February 25, 2010

A phone call from a terrified person in the middle of the night often awakens MinThant (not his real name). He dares not ignore the call out of fear that someone maylose their life.

Because of his 13 years of experience as an overstayed guest in Malaysia, manyBurmese migrants in Kuala Lumpur and throughout the country know to call MinThant when they're in desperate straits.

He has heard many pleas from victims of human trafficking: Min Thant, pleaserescue me, Min Thant, please save the life of my friend, Min Thant, please buyme from the hands of the brokers.

If he hears that a Burmese migrant is being trafficked and is being held on theMalaysia-Thai border, he jumps into action, contacting friends to borrow money so he

can buy the victim's freedom from the hands of a broker.


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Sometimes ventures out in the middle of the night for an emergency rescue, eventhough he knows it is dangerous to go outside at night with a large sum of money.

Nevertheless, Min Thant said he doesn't worry about himself. Instead, he worriesabout the victims, who are pleading to be rescued from the human trafficking market.

The victims are Burmese migrants who come to Malaysia because of economichardship in their country. Others are political refugees seeking safety. While othersstill are war refugees whose lands were confiscated by the Burmese regime.

The illegal migrants seek greener pastures abroad in Thailand, Malaysia, India orBangladesh, where they can easily cross the borders illegally.

In Malaysia, many migrants pass their daily life as undocumented workers withoutlegal papers. When Malaysian police arrest illegal migrants, they are placed indetention centers. Then many will are trafficked by corrupt police or immigrationofficers into the hands of brokers on the Malaysia-Thai border.

According to Malaysia's Bernama News Agency, on July 20, 2009, Nine people,including five Johor Immigration Department officers, were arrested in severallocations for alleged involvement in an international human trafficking syndicate.

Before many detainees are released into the hands of traffickers, Min Thant said manyare given a cane whipping in the detention centers.

Nyunt Win, 33, shared his story:

We could say nothing as the court had already decided we would be detained in thecamp, including cane whipping as a punishment. They have big men to whip thedetainees. The men get paid 100 ringgit ($28) for whipping each person.

While I was being taken for a medical check-up before being whipped, the men werebeating the leather boards, testing the canes to see if they were good enough to beat us.The terrible noise scared me. Then, I was dragged to the place for the cane whippingas if I were about to be crucified. I thought about God and prayed to him, making upmy mind to be patient being whipped.

According to the Malaysia Civil and Political Rights Report 2009 Overview of

Suaram, a human rights group in Malaysia, the Malaysian government announced thatit had sentenced 47,914 migrants to be caned for immigration offenses sinceamendments to its Immigration Act came into force in 2002.

At least 34,923 migrants have so far been caned between 2002 and 2008, according toPrison Department records.

Tamme Lee, a refugee coordinator of Suaram, said, Of those 34,923 migrants, 3.9percent (1,362 migrants) were from Myanmar [Burma].

Nyunt Win continued: Some detainees who have been caned are withdrawn from the

camp by the corrupt police and immigration officers and trafficked into the hands ofThai brokers. Burmese minority groups, including Burmese-Muslim brokers, work


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under the control of the Thai brokers, sharing profits. Human trafficking is aprofession for all of them.

Investigations have established that corrupt officers take many Burmese migrantswho lived in Malaysia without valid travel documentsto Malaysia's northern border

with Thailand and pass them on to human traffickers in exchange for up to 600Malaysian ringgits (US $170) each. The traffickers reportedly take the migrants intoThailand and tell them to pay 2,000 ringgit ($570) each for their freedom or they willbe forced to work in the fishing industry.

A Burmese migrant who was trafficked said, One of the trafficking victims from ourgroup said that hed like to meet the head broker. The men who work for brokerHamid Naung (not his real name), reportedly one of the harshest brokers in thebusiness, told their boss, who came and beat and kicked the man who asked to meethim, saying, Are you the one who wants to meet me?

According to one Burmese migrant who was trafficked to the Malaysian-Thai border,Hamid Naung is the leader in the human trafficking market together with his partner,Hassein, a Malaysian. Corrupt Malaysian police tell Hassein how many detainees willbe deported to the Malaysia-Thai border. He then buys the deportees from the corruptofficers.

Htun Aung, 32, who was able to buy his freedom, said: Twenty-seven people whodid not have money were trafficked into Thai fishing boats for 35,000 Thai baht($1,000) per victim. They were bought by the boatmen to use as slaves.

Even while trying to help trafficking victims, Min Thant said he worries if he is doingthe right thing: I wonder if I am encouraging the brokers to abuse trafficking victimsby transferring money into their bank accounts in exchange for the victims. If I said tothe brokers that I dont have enough money to buy the victims, brokers let the victimstalk to me on the phone. While the victims are talking, the brokers men beat andpunch them. I can hear the noise of beating and punching. Then, I have to decide.

Thai and Malaysian authorities and the international community are aware of humantrafficking, but they are unable to eliminate the brokers and the corrupt officials.Brokers in human trafficking continue to reap sizable profits.

I dont want to deal with the brokers, but I have to, Min Thant said. The Burmesegovernment doesnt have sympathy for its people. The Malaysian government hasn'tweeded out corruption. There is also discrimination against poor foreigners.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17891&page=2

************************************************************* Burmese migrant family of 4 died on spot in a car accident when riding a

motorbike with no light

Thursday, 25 February 2010 10:11


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At 10pm on the 20th February 2010 a car collided with a motorbike with no lightskilling a Burmese migrant family of 4 on the spot; according to Thai Rap locallanguage newspaper.

The unfortunate incident took place on Layaphansoung highway in Kanchaburi,

western Thailand; the car collided with the motorbike that the 4 family members wereriding on.

The dead family members are U Than Phe (40), Daw Nan Moe (41), a son of age 20and another son aged about 10 or under.

Pick-up Toyata Hylux No-8279 that hit the motorbike was driven by Thai drivernamed Nai Sai Yu. The driver did not try to evade the authorities but waited for themto explain what had happened. According to the driver, the incident took placebecause the motorbike had no lights so he did not see it. He reported it to the police.

The corpses were found 5 feet away from the road and the local police said this was avery severe collision.

The corpses are now being kept at Sulattsi hospital, according to Thai Rap locallanguage newspaper.

http://www.ghre.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=317:burmese-migrant-family-of-4-died-on-spot-in-a-car-accident-when-riding-a-motorbike-with-no-light&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=70

************************************************************* No arbitrary expulsion of Burmese labourersThe Nation, February 26, 2010

Thailand needs migrant workers; it's time we protected them from exploitation here

and persecution in their own countries

Thailand is in the headlines again for all the wrong reasons. The world is nowwatching the government closely over the future of several hundred thousand migrantworkers from neighbouring countries who may well be expelled from the country.

Of course, the main focus in this issue is Burmese migrant workers, whoseverification process has now been extended until next month. The earlier, and stilllingering, fear is that when the deadline expires, those Burmese workers who have notregistered with the Thai authorities as migrant employees wild be sent back across theborder.

Prime Minister AbhisitVejjajiva has been quite adamant that all migrant workersmust respect the rule of law if they want to continue to work in Thailand. His firmstand on the recent repatriation to Laos of Hmong refugees surprised and disappointedthe international community. But his repatriation policy has to some extent beenvindicated because the Lao government has so far stood by its pledge given to the

Thai government and the international community that the Hmong returnees would


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not be prosecuted. They have now apparently been resettled in various part ofThailand's landlocked neighbour.

The country's tough implementation of immigration procedures has caused commentthroughout the world. Over the past three or four decades, Thailand has been quite

open toward refugees and itinerant labourers, who have relied on the country's tacitpolicy of welcoming migrant workers. There are no accurate statistics on the numberof migrant workers in Thailand, but it is generally thought that at least three million -mainly from Burma, Laos, Cambodia and the Indian subcontinent - are working invarious parts of the country. They have diligently contributed to the country'seconomic progress and overall development in the past few decades. They stillreceive low wages and do not benefit from any kind of social safety net.

Officially, a total of 382,541 migrant workers were registered three years ago. TheThai government has called on illegal migrant workers - another 933,391 of them - toregister their names before the end of this month to avoid any future expulsion. Lao

and Cambodian workers have fewer problems working in Thailand because theircountries' political conditions are stable. Nobody in Laos or Cambodia faces sustainedand regular persecution from their government, as do thousands upon thousands ofBurmese at the hands of the military junta there. In the case of Burmese migrantworkers, many have sought political refuge and a livelihood inside Thailand. Forwhatever reasons, including political, if they are sent back, their lives could be in

jeopardy.

The Abhisit government, which has prided itself on upholding respect for humanrights, must not diminish the hopes and dreams of these Burmese workers. Everybodyknows that the nationality verification process inside Burma - which they will besubject to upon their return - will not be fair or just. This is especially true for thosewho are vocal against the military junta.

The Abhisit government should be patient and allow more time to process Burmesemigrant workers. The one-month extension is a good move, but the government alsohas to be realistic to ensure that all migrant workers are properly registered. After all,they are vital to the Thai economy. This is the least we can do for these workers at amost difficult and worrying time for them. All concerned authorities must also followthe government's guidelines, without abusing their power. They should by now havelearned lessons from the past that despite Thailand's generous policy of accepting

refugees and migrant workers, the international community will not hesitate tocriticise when Thailand metes out harsh treatment.

The time has come for us to give the people who do our dirty work opportunity,respect and hope.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/read.php?newsid=30123454&keyword=Abhisit+Vejjajiva

************************************************************* S Korea blocks Burmese migrants

Feb 26, 2010 (DVB)


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South Korea has suspended permits for Burmese migrant workers after Korean policediscovered illegal activity being carried out by migrants, although it declined to saywhat these were.

The temporary suspension was announced by the South Korean embassy in Rangoon,

and targeted the Shwe Inwa agency which sends Burmese workers abroad, an officialfrom a similar agency in Rangoon toldDVB.

The letter said that as long as the Korean police harbour doubts about the dishonestactivities of the said company, the permit is to be suspended. Now that doubt isconfirmed, he said.

The South Korean embassy in Rangoon refused to elaborate on the exact reasons forthe suspension, although it did confirm that the announcement had been made.

The so-called Employment Permit System (EPS) with which Burmese workers are

supplied directly to South Korea started in November 2007.

Burmese workers who want to work in South Korea have to study the Koreanlanguage and culture prior to going, and only those who pass the exams are selected,the official said.

Workers who pass the language exams are announced online straight away, inassociation with Shwe Inwa and the Korean labour department, he said. Employerschoose the people they like from them and send those who are eligible.

The permit costs around $US1000, and migrants receive wages of up to $US900 permonth, making it popular in a country in which the average wage stands at less than$US200 per year, according to the US state department.

As of October 2008, more than 33,000 people took the Korean language exams acrossBurma, while only 1300 were chosen and sent to South Korea.

Over 2000 people in Rangoon are currently waiting to be sent to South Korea throughEPS, a staff of Shwe Inwa toldDVB on condition of anonymity.


************************************************************* UN rights chief warns against Thailand's migrant workers crackdown

February 26, 2010 11:40:29

Authorities in Thailand have set Sunday as the deadline for migrant workers to takepart in a nationality verification process or face deportation.The new system willaffect migrant workers from neighbouring Burma, Cambodia and Laos. The Thaigovernment decided last month to grant a two-year extension of work permits formore than one million migrants provided they submitted personal information to theirhome governments.Bangkok says the new laws will give the migrant workers access

to the same labour rights as Thais, but human rights groups have voiced alarm, sayingit puts many migrant workers at serious risk of abuse by their national governments.


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Presenter: Sen Lam

Speaker: Jorge Bustamante, UN Special Rapporteur On Human Rights of Migrants

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/connectasia/stories/201002/s2831085.htm

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NEWS ON REFUGEES

************************************************************* Atrocities in Karen State Systematic: KWO

By LAWI WENG Thursday, February 25, 2010

In the ongoing military conflict in Karen State in eastern Burma, Karen women faceongoing systematic abuse including beatings, torture and gender-based violence,according to a report released by the Karen Women's Organization (KWO) on

Thursday.

Based in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border, the KWO has released its findings in areport titled Walking Amongst Sharp Knives: the Unsung Courage of Karen WomenVillage Chiefs in Conflict Areas of Eastern Burma.

The report details 95 cases of women who served as village chiefs in Papun,Kwakareik, Thaton, Nyaunglebin and Pa-an districts in Eastern Burma.

Testimonies from the women chiefs in the report show a consistent pattern to theBurma's Army's treatment of local communities.

Not only do their troops constantly demand labor, food, building materials, 'taxes'and intelligence, but they are clearly authorized to use terror tactics to subjugatevillagers to prevent them from cooperating with the Karen resistance, the report said,adding that one third of the women interviewed were physically beaten or torturedand that neither their status a chiefs nor their gender caused the troops to exerciserestraint in their brutality.

Speaking about the report in Chiang Mai on Thursday, Blooming Night Zan, asecretary of the KWO, said, Men in five districts didn't serve as village chiefsbecause they would be tortured and killed by junta troops. Only women could serve in

this position.

Dealing with State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) troops while trying toprotect the rights of villagers was similar to walking between sharp knives, said onewomen village chief in the report.

As village chiefs, it was the duty of the women to deal with Burmese army troopswhen they entered villages. They would have to collect food for them and would haveto follow them from one village to another. On the way, they faced torture, beatingsand were threatened with sexual violence.

According to Blooming Night Zan, between 2005 and 2009 about 100 men andwomen were killed in Thaton and Pa-an districts in Mon and Karen states.


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In one incident described in the report, junta troops accused two young villagerslooking after cows of being rebel soldiers and summarily beheaded them.

If SPDC troops are attacked by rebel Karen National Liberation Army troops, theytorture villagers to extract information about the enemy. Interviewees described how

villagers were buried up to their heads and kicked or had their heads covered withplastic bags before they were repeatedly immersed in water.

Blooming Night Zan said one woman village chief observed that however many timesBurmese junta battalions were changed or rotated in Karen State, their policy of abuseremained the same.

One interviewee described how her only daughter was gang-raped by junta troops,causing indescribable pain as she watched her child become suicidal and mentally ill.Interviewees frequently spoke of sexual violence and intimidation perpetrated bythe Burmese army against villagers.

Most of the women village chiefs were raped by SPDC troops. They did not carewhether they were single or married women, said interviewee 54 in the report.

Women chiefs were also forced to provide comfort women for the SPDC troops andwould be fined if they failed to provide them, the report said, adding that there wasclear evidence of a prevailing climate of impunity for sexual violence by Burmesearmy troops.

Tin Tin Nyo, who is a member of the Chiang Mai-based Women's League of Burmasaid, The Burmese government says the situation is stable in Burma, but this reportproves this is simply not true. The UN should take action.

Women are not safe in these districts. We want the UN to put pressure on theBurmese military to stop abusing women, said Blooming Night Zan.

In 2004, the KWO published a report titled Shattering Silences, which claimed thatBurmese troops systematically raped Karen women. The report documented 125 casesof sexual violence committed between 1988 and 2004. The report said that half of therapes were committed by military officers, 40 percent were gang-rapes, and in 28percent of the cases the women were killed after being raped.

Womens organizations in other ethnic areas have reported similar incidents. In 2002,the Shan Womens Action Network (SWAN) released a report titled License to

Rape, which detailed testimonies from 173 ethnic Shan women who had been rapedor encountered sexual violence at the hands of Burmese soldiers.

The Burmese regime's troops destroyed about 500 homes in Shan State last year andthey raped Shan women, said Charm Tong, one of the founders of SWAN.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17895

************************************************************* KWOs report on horrifying abuse of women village chiefs


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Thursday, 25 February 2010 19:23 Usa Pichai

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) Horrifying abuses heaped on ethnic Karen women in Burma,who became village chiefs because male village heads were at greater risk of beingkilled, has been revealed by an ethnic womens organization in its latest report

released on Thursday.

The Karen Womens Organizations (KWO) latest report Walking Amongst SharpKnives is based on interviews of 95 Karen women from 2005 to 2009 on theirexperience of being village heads and being targeted for systematic abuse by BurmeseArmy troops across Eastern Burma.

The report states that in lowland Karen areas in Eastern Burma women areincreasingly taking up the role of village chief, as male village chiefs are more likelyto be killed by the Burmese Army. It exposes for the first time the impact of thisdramatic cultural shift.

This change, overturning deeply engrained tradition, has put women further into thefront line of human rights abuses being committed by the Burmese Army and theirallies, the report said.

The abuses experienced or witnessed by the women chiefs documented in the reportinclude: crucifixion, people burnt alive, rape, many forms of torture and slave labour.

The practice of electing women as village chiefs has spread through lowland Karenareas of Eastern Burma since the 1980s, as Burmas military regime has expandedcontrol and increased persecution of these war-torn communities. With menincreasingly reluctant to risk their lives as chiefs, women have stepped in to assumeleadership in the hope of mitigating abuses. However, testimonies of women chiefsshow that, far from being exempt from the brutality of the Burmese Army, they havefaced ongoing systematic abuse, including gender-based violence, according to thereport.

The source of information is based on interviews with current and former womenchiefs from five districts of Eastern Burma: Papun (Mutraw), Dooplaya, Thaton (DooTha Htu), Nyaunglebin (Kler Lwee Htu), and Pa-an. They are of the ages between 25to 82. About one third are still serving as chiefs of their communities.

Apart from being witness to numerous instances of abuse and murder of fellow-villagers, the chiefs themselves have suffered brutal punishment for alleged non-cooperation. One third of the women interviewed had been physically beaten ortortured. The women also testify to ongoing sexual violence. They also describe beingforced to provide comfort women for the Burmese Army troops, the report added.

Many of the abuses described in the report would appear to be in breach ofinternational law, including five articles of the Rome Statute, of the InternationalCriminal Court.

KWO is urgently calling on the United Nations Security Council to establish aCommission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed


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by the Burmese military dictatorship. It also urges the Royal Thai Government togrant continued protection to those refugees, who have fled military attacks andhuman rights abuses. In addition, the Thai Government should suspend investment inprojects such as dams and infrastructure, which is fuelling militarization and abuses,and increasing refugee flow into Thailand.

http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/3583-kwos-report-on-horrifying-abuse-of-women-village-chiefs.html

************************************************************* Villagers cowed in fear after arbitrary killing by Burmese army

Thu 25 Feb 2010, Khatter Non

After the shooting of a villager in Yebyu Township, area residents will not leave theirvillage at night for fear of reprisals from the Burmese army battalion responsible forthe shooting death.

The death of Alaesakhan resident Nai Tun Lein, who was killed by soldiers from theBurmese army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 282 after objecting to the tax hewas forced to pay, has drive Alaesakhan villagers to strictly followed a nighttimecurfew set by LIB No. 282 .

According to several residents, if a villager is away for one or two nights, soldiersfrom LIB No. 282 which is based in Ka-lein-aung sub-township and station soldiers inAlaesakhan, will come to the persons home to find them.

While soldiers only check for a villager if they notice they are missing, none of thevillages residents have yet taken that risk.

"If one man from the village went to another place or went on a trip for a long time,LIB No. 282 would come and check, a resident of Alaesakhan village said. Soeveryone including the village headman, is afraid to go outside of village."

The LIB No 282 has also been checking residents who go outside of the villageduring the day on suspicion that they have some connection with the armed groupswho active in the area.

The area around Alaesakhan is designated a black area by Burmese army forces dueto its yet unsecured. Several Mon splinter groups including the MNDA, Rehmonya,Nai Chen Deng, Nai Bin have been active in the area.

According to Alaesakhan's villager near Alaesakhan, the reason that Nai Tun Leinwas killed by LIB No. 282 soldiers was not only due to his protest of their frequenttaxation, but because they accused him of being connected with one of the Monsplinter groups operating in the area.

As part of the restriction, villagers were also banned from traveling in to the junglewhere most work on farms and plantations for sustenance and living. As a result many

villagers have experienced problems making a living or providing food for theirfamilies, according to another villager who lives in Alaesakhan village.


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Villagers who violate the orders given by LIB No. 282 by spending the night outsidethe village, or are seen leaving, will be fined between 10,000 and 15,000 kyat.Theyve already announced it three times, "You are not allowed to go to the forest" anAlaesakhan resident told IMNA.

He added, "We have had to stop cutting down trees right now and also working on ourfarms for the market. We have seen many problems because we have had no chanceto go to the farm to [work and] sleeping there. All of us are afraid them."

http://www.monnews-imna.com/newsupdate.php?ID=1680

************************************************************* Karen boy killed by Burmese shell

Feb 26, 2010 (DVB)

A village for internally displaced persons in eastern Burma has been shelled byBurmese troops, causing the death of a 15-year-old boy.

The attack in Karen states Papun district occurred on the morning of 19 February andleft two other children, including an eight-year-old girl, injured. Robert Htoo waskilled on the spot.

They [Burmese army] launched an artillery shell and it landed near the school of aninternally displaced persons [IDP] village while children were studying. One pupildied and two were wounded, said Kler Say, from the Papun wing of the Karen

National Union (KNU) party.

The village, Thay Thu Khee, is home to around 400 people who have fled conflict inother parts of the volatile Karen state, where the Burmese army has been waging a 60-year civil war against the Karen National Liberation Army.

When the 19 February attack occurred, there were 48 pupils and four teachers in theschool, said Edward, from the Karen Teacher Working Group.

Until 1996, Papun had remained on the periphery of fighting in Karen state. Now,however, the Burmese army does not distinguish between civilians and the enemy

anymore in its effort to dominate the area, said Kler Say, adding that people arecleared from Papun as part of the governments military tactics.

Due to the military operations, around 500 pupils from 11 villages home to IDPs inKyaukkyi township, in northern Karen state, are still unable to attend school, and areforced to hide in the jungle.

The Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People said that more IDPs in KhehDeh and Kwee La villages have been forced into hiding following extensive militaryoperations.


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More than 2000 people have been displaced and three IDP villages were destroyed asa result of military operations, while two villagers were shot dead in Kyaukkyitownship, according to the Free Burma Rangers medical aid group.

More than half a million people are believed to be internally displaced in eastern

Burma alone as a result of the drawn-out conflict that has littered the Karencountryside with landmines and forced thousands across the border into Thailand.

The Thai government came under fire earlier this month as it attempted to sendaround 2000 Karen refugees who fled fighting last June back into Burma, despite aidgroups warning of dire conditions there. The repatriation has however beentemporarily suspended.


************************************************************* MYANMAR: Renewed bid to fight forced labour

YANGON, 26 February 2010 (IRIN)

The government of Myanmar and the International Labour Organization (ILO) havefor the third time renewed an agreement aimed at tackling forced labour.

Neither party sought any changes and there were absolutely no issues in terms of itsrenewal, Steve Marshall, liaison officer for the ILO in Myanmar, told IRIN in aninterview.

The agreement will come into effect on 26 February for another year.

However, Marshall said much work was still required to ensure the proper applicationof the agreement.

Recently, 17 people - mostly farmers who complained about forced labour, or peoplehelping them to lodge their complaints - were imprisoned because of theirinvolvement in ILO cases, breaching the agreement.

While 13 were subsequently released, four are still in detention.

Under the agreement, first signed in February 2007, anyone who complains aboutforced labour or facilitates a complaint is protected by law.

Marshall said arrests of this kind raised serious credibility issues as far as theimplementation of the pact was concerned.

Although harassment of this nature is reported only in respect of a minority of cases,they of course impact on the confidence of people to complain, he said.

The agreement will examined by the ILO governing body in Geneva in March, whereit will be fully reviewed, he said.

Fears of retaliation


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The Myanmar government passed a law in 1999 forbidding the use of forced labourbut the phenomenon is still documented in various forms by the UN and internationalhuman rights groups.

In a farming village in Kunchangone Township in the southern Ayeyarwady Delta,men are forced to work as night guards at a nearby army post, or hand over theequivalent of US$2 to the military unit.

We dont want to do this job, but we cant refuse, one angry farmer told IRIN. Ifwe are unlucky, we can be put on the list, he said, referring to retaliation by themilitary.

Despite joint awareness-raising by the ILO and the government about the law, mostperpetrators are from the military or local authorities.

Under the agreement, the agency assesses complaints directly from victims, orthrough a nationwide network of volunteers who act as facilitators for complainants.

The ILO compiles evidence and hands over the cases to the government forinvestigation, which can result in compensation to victims and prosecution ofperpetrators.

Since 2007, the ILO has submitted more than 200 cases - about half concerningunderage recruitment to the military.

Child soldiers

Government law states that no one younger than 18 should be in the army, butmilitary units are under pressure to maintain their strength.

While some kids volunteer to join up, many of the cases we get are not voluntary,said Marshall. In either case it is against the law.

A kid is walking home from the market, or home from school or at the bus stop or atthe railway station, and he is approached by a broker and either tricked or straightout abducted into the army, he said.

The average age of child soldiers seen in cases submitted to the ILO is about 15 or 16,but there have been cases of children as young as 11.

Of all the types of forced labour, Marshall said the government was the mostresponsive in this area, locating the child, returning him to his family and prosecutingperpetrators.

Since 2007, the ILO has helped with the release of more than 80 children from themilitary, while about 30 cases are still under negotiation, he said.

Despite this, Marshall said a lot more had to be done to disseminate information aboutthe law. There is a large proportion of people out there who dont know what their


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rights are, he said.

Also, in the country you have to be quite brave to exercise your rights. So thenumber of complaints in no way can be seen to be reflecting the size of theproblems.

Blame economics

According to the ILO and rights groups, the military regularly uses forced labour forits activities, such as sentry duty, or when camps are shifted and porters are needed tocarry supplies, or in construction.

Military units are also under-funded and rely on farming to survive, and villagers areoften compelled to work for them.

The practice is also used by civilian authorities, who cannot afford the labour to build

roads, for example.

A lot of forced labour is driven by a very bad economic structure. The localauthorities have no money, theyve got no resources, said Marshall. Its not just asocial issue; its an economic policy management issue as well.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88240

************************************************************* New Resources: TBBC's latest IDP report: Protracted Displacement and

Militarisation in Eastern Burma

http://www.tbbc.org/

*************************************************************

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2010-02-25


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26feb10 ncgub: news on migrants & refugees- 26 feb, 2010 (english & burmese)

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