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This section contains orders making material demands on villages. Where such demands
require a significant amount of labour by the villagers, particularly cutting and hauling
wood and bamboo or making thatch, they have been included above in the section ‘Forced Labour
Supplying Materials’; many orders in other sections of the report also
contain material demands. SPDC Army units force villagers to provide them with everything
- money, food, condiments, alcohol, cheroots, betelnut, firewood, clothing, building
materials, and many other things, as well as logs and commercial goods which they can sell
for profit. The villagers are threatened to provide these things or face punishment. They
are almost never paid for them, and even when they are it is just a fraction of the price,
paid with money previously stolen from other villages or from themselves. As the Army
expands, new camps are established in all areas and every new camp means a duplication of
all the demands already faced by the villagers. Some Army units send their demands to the
village tract or township authorities, who then pass them on to the villages, while other
demands go directly to the villages. All demands for cash and materials end up with the
village head, who must then distribute the burden by assigning villagers to gather the
materials on a rotation basis and dividing the amount of cash to be paid by the number of
families in the village. Most families end up having to contribute several thousand Kyat
per month toward the cash demands, as well as material contributions. This is in addition
to the food and belongings looted by passing patrols and the forced labour they must do.
Given all the demands placed on them, it is often difficult or impossible for a village to
comply.
In 1998, the SPDC in Rangoon informed its field units that rations would be cut back in quantity and quality and that they should begin producing much of their own food or obtaining it from the villagers. The result has been increased confiscation of farmland by Army units, demands that villagers do forced labour farming this land (see for example Orders #297, 305, and 317 under ‘Set to a Village II’ above), and an increase in demands for food without payment. Army units now regularly demand livestock for breeding purposes (see Order #386) or order villagers to breed livestock for them (see Order #30 under ‘General Forced Labour’), and they also demand plant and tree seedlings (see Order #364 demanding coconut tree seedlings, Order #365 demanding coconut and betelnut tree seedlings, and Order #395 demanding unspecified ‘seed’, probably rice). They also demand tools for both farming and logging (see Orders #344, 352, and 367) for use by villagers or rank-and-file soldiers doing forced labour farming. Despite these attempts to farm, it is still easier for the officers to simply demand food from the villages in their area. Many of the orders below are demands for food including rice, chickens, pigs, and fruit, and as can be seen in orders throughout this entire report, SPDC Army units often add demands for ‘one chicken’, ‘two bowls of rice’, or other food items to the end of orders for forced labour and other things. Some officers admit that they have a ‘problem’ feeding themselves without proper rations; for example, in Order #345 a Corporal writes, "Then bring along sticky-rice and coconuts. If [you] have vegetables that can be eaten and meat and fish, bring it. We have a problem with food so we are asking for help." In January 2001 a Deputy Battalion Commander wrote Order #393 admitting that, "Our troops are not going anywhere, so it is very difficult for our eating and drinking. We are friendly with Big Mother. We feel embarrassed about this, but for our group to eat, send quickly tonight at once 20 viss [32 kg/70 lb] of pork and 1 sack of rice to yyyy village, you are requested." Normally when his troops "go somewhere" they can loot villages, but while based at the Camp they demand food from those who live nearby. In Order #383, a Captain admits that his troops have resorted to looting: "Sending 2 sacks of rice for Mother. Ours here is gone, [we] had to take it from others and then sent it. Sell it for 6,000 Kyat." Not only has he stolen rice from another village, he is ordering this village headwoman to sell some of it for him and give him the proceeds so that he can buy some other food. Order #394 bears a similar demand. The Camp Commander who wrote Order #395 is somewhat more reasonable, demanding that the village head send 3 bowls [4.8 kg/10.5 lb] of rice the next day with the scheduled forced labourer, but promising to repay it (with rice) "when we get the rations". Villagers often complain that Army officers take their good rice in this way and replace it with terrible quality Army ration rice - the grains are low grade and broken, and it is full of rocks, insects and impurities.
Villages are also ordered to provide food for their own people who are doing unpaid forced labour for the Army. The SPDC expects all villagers coming for forced labour to bring their own food, but then they often detain the villagers for much longer than was originally specified, and they run out of food. Rather than providing them with additional food, it is demanded from their home villages. There are several examples of this included in orders of the ‘General Forced Labour’ section above, such as Order #97 which states "Bring along again the rice fees for the excess used by the servants, and rice"; see also Order #356 below, which demands "4 bowls of rice for the present servants" and goes on to threaten, "You didn’t inform me why you didn’t come to send it when we asked for it … You think that you can do as you please. This time must be the last time. Send it quickly…" Order #379 demands the "monthly servants’ rice", meaning that this village is expected to send a supply of rice to the Army Camp each month for use in feeding their forced labourers when necessary. Whenever senior SPDC officers or mobile military columns visit the local Army camp, the villagers are expected to provide extra food and money for this; see for example Orders #353, which states, "Some guest officers have arrived at our Strategic Command. We have a problem feeding them, so the Elder’s village must help with a chicken or duck…", and Order #384.
Whenever Army officers wish to make an offering at a Buddhist temple, the villagers are usually ordered to provide the money, food, incense and other requirements. Order #362 even demands that the village provide two fully-charged 12-volt batteries for electricity because the Strategic Commander wants to make an offering, while Orders #354, 355 and 357 demand food for the Army to use in making offerings. Orders #375, 376, 377, and 378 demand cash for a festival. Orders #372, 373, and 374 demand 600 Kyat from each village in the area by order of the Township Peace and Development Council, allegedly to pay for ‘paving stones’ to build a yin pyin (circular walkway around a pagoda), though it is uncertain how much of this money is actually required for the stones and how much is simple extortion. Order #380 dictates demands for cash, rice, chicken or fish curry, fish paste, and vegetables to 44 villages in order to hold a Buddhist festival at a large monastery in central Pa’an District. It then goes on to assign specific villages to send large quantities of firewood and other materials and assigns labour duties for the festival. The 44 villages are ordered to provide 157,500 Kyat in cash and 45 baskets of rice in comparison with the 30,000 Kyat in cash and 20 baskets of rice requested from the 5 SPDC Battalions and 1 DKBA Battalion combined. In addition, the villages are ordered to provide over 70 kilograms of meat curry, 352 kilograms of vegetables, 24 cartloads of firewood, and all of the labour to build structures, prepare the festival and cook, while the Army is assigned no duties for these. Though this order was issued in the name of the monastery, it was clearly drafted by the military because even the ‘duties’ of the local Army battalions are specified, which no monastery would dare to do; it is also worthy of note that the only duty assigned to the Army is operating the video, which is a profit-making venture (and which will cost them nothing, because they are to obtain the required equipment from the villages). People who have attended such festivals report that after the villagers provide almost all of the food, money, and labour, the Army takes centre stage, feasts on the best of the food and claims all the credit.
Demands are made for trivial things as well, such as tree bark used for washing hair (Order #385) and elephant hair for making rings (Order #368). Some officers even send their ‘shopping lists’ (see Order #370) to the local village heads, sometimes with a small amount of money and sometimes not, with orders to buy the things on the list and deliver them to the camp. Village heads sometimes keep notes of all the demands placed on them by the Army. One such list is included as Order #391, wherein a village head lists demands ranging from whole pigs and baskets of rice to cash and 2 cases of beer.
Every Army unit also demands cash in several forms from all of the villages in their area of control. Some of this money is demanded as routine monthly extortion, usually referred to as "servants’ fees" or "Battalion donation money", while other money is demanded in lieu of forced labour. Villagers often hire people to go in their place for forced labour or have the village tract leaders do so for them (see the sections ‘Set to a Village I’ and ‘Set to a Village II’ above), but when the Army demands "money to hire servants" they simply pocket the money and demand the labour elsewhere - meaning other villages which are simultaneously paying to avoid some other demand for forced labour. As a result, villages have to pay fees to ‘hire’ (i.e. avoid) forced labour while also doing forced labour. The fees become so routine that in the end they are simply referred to as ‘servant fees’ but there is no longer any expectation that they are given in lieu of forced labour. Then the villagers try to pay to get out of the additional forced labour they actually have to do, and eventually that becomes a routine ‘fee’ as well, while the Army continues to make new demands for actual forced labour - and so on, until villages are paying all kinds of ‘servant fees’, ‘porter fees’, and ‘messenger fees’ but still going for forced labour as servants, porters and messengers on a regular basis. All of the money simply goes into the pockets of the Army officers and local officials. This is the basis of the many mentions of ‘servant money’ in orders throughout this report, including Orders #396 and 397 below.
The sender of Order #371 stoops lower to get his money, asking a ‘loan’ of 950 Kyat from a village head but then warning that "If not, you can only use me once. A human being has many possible futures." Coming from the military, this is a very clear threat.
|
Stamp: To: Subject: To hire things Regarding the above subject, from the Elder’s village, Chairperson yourself come to bring 3 big saws [2-person hand saws] and 3 axes to yyyy camp on 2-12-99 to arrive at 6 o’clock. If [you] fail it will be the responsibility of the chairperson. Place: yyyy camp
[Sd.] [On the back of this document the officer has added "Send 2 notebooks and 1 pen."] ______________________________________________________________________________ To:
Date 18/1/2000 I am writing a letter. You need milk to make an offering. We have a little milk and we will help. Also, help us with no less than 5 viss [ 8 kg/17.5 lb] of dried, big betel nuts. Bring it when you come. Then bring along sticky-rice and coconuts. If [you] have vegetables that can be eaten and meat and fish, bring it. We have a problem with food so we are asking for help. There is nothing else. Are you healthy? Our group is also well. That is all.
[Sd.]
18-1-2000 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #346 (Papun) To: Chairperson
(Mother)
Date: 19-1-2000 Chairperson, I’m sending milk, sugar, and chickpeas as a present for Chairperson Mother. Buy incense sticks (Loh Dta Ya [brand]) from the shop in Chairperson Mother’s village and send them. If there are no Loh Dta Ya, buy and send Gkan Pwin [brand] incense sticks. Buy about 9 packs. I am also sending money, I’m sending 200 Kyat.
Friendly
and respectfully, Major aaaa ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #347 (Papun) To:
22-1-2000 When you receive this letter, come to yyyy village and bring any food [you have] for our Column, asking for help. Come with the set tha [messenger]. [Sd.] [The ‘set tha’ is the villager doing forced labour as a messenger who has delivered this order.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #348 (Papun) Stamp:
8-2-2000 Bring (one) pig weighing over 10 [viss; i.e. over 16 kg/35 lb] to arrive on the 12th. Will give the selling price. You said that there is a pig in xxxx village. Also a small pig in yyyy village. Arrange it smoothly.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #349 (Papun) To:
9-2-2000 I remember you, so [I] am writing a letter. If you are free, come. Bring food (sticky-rice) and (nee toh oo [a kind of taro root]), a little of each.
With
Remembrance, ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #350 (Papun) To: U aaaa Date: 10-2-2000 Writing to inform you. As soon as [you] receive this letter, find one 10-weight or 8 viss pig. Will clear the cost in money when [you] bring the pig.
With
thanks, [‘10-weight or 8 viss’ means 12.8 to 16 kilograms / 28 to 35 pounds.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #351 (Papun)
Stamp:
Date: 19-2-2000 Subject: The matter of giving back the loan money Regarding the above subject, the #xx Battalion Commander is asking to be given back the proportion of money that was given to the village head, so come quickly to give the money on 22-2-2000. Note:
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ xxxx [village] Head 9-3-2000 Now, as soon as you receive this letter, the Head yourself must come to give 3 mattocks and 3 machetes. Note: Must arrive at 1200 hours.
[Unsigned] [Mattocks are large hoes used for digging and general farming.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp: Chairperson:
Respectfully, ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
Date: 1-4-2000 Subject: Note: Ya kain bananas, 11 hands. [On the back this order is marked "Urgent". In most cases like this, the Commander will then make an offering in his own name using the bananas he has extorted.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
To:
Date:
5-4-2000 Subject: Inviting the Elder To discuss with the Elder, come without fail to yyyy camp with 6 hands of bananas to make an offering on the 6th at 0830 hours.
[Sd.] [The offering will probably be made in the name of the Battalion Commander.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: [blank] 6-4-2000 From the Elder’s village [we] need [you] to send quickly 4 bowls [6.4.kg/14 lb] of rice for the present servants, and the remaining money, 1,500 Kyat, with the messenger who comes now. You didn’t inform me why you didn’t come to send it when we asked for it via someone who was on their way there. You think that you can do as you please. This time must be the last time. Send it quickly with the messenger who comes now.
Company
#3 [Not only does the village have to send forced labourers, but food for them as well. In this case the ‘present servants’ are the people from the village currently doing forced labour. Either they didn’t bring enough food for themselves or the Army is keeping them longer than was initially specified, so the village has to send more food for them.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Mother Head Daw aaaa
19-4-2000 Mother, in our Camp it is time for the Bo Bo Gyi festival. On the 21st there will be the placing of the bweh [food offerings placed in front of shrines], and we want Mother to come to meet with the Battalion Commander. I ask you to send bananas and coconuts tomorrow to yyyy.
Respectfully, Telling Mother to bring 5 packets of jaggery [boiled crystallised sugar cane juice in slabs] from Mother’s shop. I also eat jaggery. ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #358 (Papun) [To:] U aaaa
5-5-2000 * Send the things which [I] left in xxxx
and 1 bottle of honey tomorrow to arrive at 9 o’clock in the morning.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #359 (Papun) [To:] U aaaa
8-5-2000 Keep [hold for me] the rice packs that have been sent from yyyy.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #360 (Papun) To:
9-5-2000 [We] have to discuss work matters, so as soon as you receive this letter now, the Chairperson yourself must come to yyyy. Bring one chicken that [I] have already given the money for.
With
friendliness, ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #361 (Papun)
Stamp:
Date: 11-5-2000 Subject: Note: [Send also] 10
coconuts
[Sd.] [This entire order is written in red ink, which usually implies urgency and a threat to the villagers who receive it. ‘Army price’ means much less than actual price. On the back this order is addressed "To Head, xxxx [village]. Urgent."] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
15-5-2000 At yyyy Army Camp, the Strategic Commander will celebrate an offering on 16-5-2000, so [we] need two 12-volt batteries to run the loudspeaker. [We] Know that the Elder’s village has this kind of battery, so you are requested to help for one day. (Note) There are none of this kind [of battery] in yyyy. Send as soon as you receive this letter. They must be fully charged. Will use them for one day. Send them to the VPDC office.
[Sd.] 15-5-2000 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #363 (Papun) To: Chairperson
18-5-2000 If you will get the radio, come tomorrow. It costs 2,000 Kyat.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Chairperson
Stamp:
23-5-2000 Come to send without fail 5 coconut seedlings from xxxx village, 5 coconut seedlings from yyyy village, total 10 plants, today to arrive to the zzzz Camp Commander, Saya Gyi [used for Sergeant] bbbb.
[Sd.] [Army camps have been ordered since 1998 to produce more of their own food in place of rations, so they demand seedlings from villagers to set up their plantations; see also Order #365 below and other such orders in this set.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To:
Stamp: From the village head’s village, [send] 5 betelnut seedlings 3 feet high and 5 coconut seedlings 3 feet high on May 26th 2000 at 1000 hours, send them to the Column (urgently), you are informed.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #366 (Papun) To: Head
Stamp:
27-5-2000 - From xxxx village, find and give 500 Kyat worth of durian, you are informed by the Frontline LIB xxx Battalion Commander. Send it together with the person who has brought this letter now. Asking for your help.
[Sd.] [Durian are highly valued large seasonal fruit.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Chairperson
31/5/2000 [We] Will borrow temporarily 4 mattocks [to be sent] with the messenger who comes now. [We] Will send them back in the evening.
[Sd.] [Mattocks are large hoes used for digging and general farming.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Stamp:
To:
18/6/2000 On 19-6-2000, Monday, come to meet with our Column Commander with Ko aaaa [yourself] and call Ko bbbb. Bring along 10 elephant tails, you are informed with friendliness. Thank you for helping with the durians.
[Sd.
‘cccc’] Lt. [By ‘elephant tails’ he most likely means elephant hair, which is used to make rings. ‘Helping with the durians’ means the village head sent the durian fruit demanded in a previous order.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #369 (Papun) To: Pu aaaa
24-7-2000 Full of respect, letting you know as stated below. Tomorrow morning, as the Strategic Command has ordered 20 durians from you, if you can send only 15 it is okay. You can also send 150 mangosteens. If you cannot come, I will ask people to go and fetch them for me. You can arrange them and keep them in your house. (Arrange it for sure).
Thanks
very much, [This order is written in Sgaw Karen. Durians are seasonal and highly valued fruit which weigh 1 to 5 kilograms (2 to 10 pounds) each, while mangosteens are small, sweet and expensive seasonal fruit.] ______________________________________________________________________________ 16/8/2000 To: Mother village head from xxxx village, please buy the things listed, thank you very much. (1) Dried
chillies 20 kyat tha [320
grams/0.7 lb] 7 items
only.
[Sd.] [‘Artificial meat’ means soy protein often used by vegetarians. Village heads regularly receive such ‘shopping lists’ from the local Army camp, which they must then buy and deliver; sometimes part of the cost is reimbursed, sometimes not.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: U aaaa Date: 8-19-2000 [sic: 19-8-2000] I write this letter with respect. The reason I write this letter is nothing. Just that I need money now. Please send some money to me. The amount is not much, the total is 950 [Kyat]. I hope that U aaaa will give it. If not, you can only use me [my help] once. A human being has many possible futures. That’s all. Bone bbbb. [Note: U aaaa, the addressee, is a village elder of xxxx village. Strangely, the writer signs using the rare honorific ‘Bone’, used by someone who decrees laws and is very powerful. The remarks about using his help and ‘many possible futures’ can very easily be seen as a threat.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To:
Date: 21-8-2000 Informing and letting you know, in accordance with the decision of the Township TPDC meeting, to donate paving stones for laying the pagoda yin pyin [surfaced pathway encircling a pagoda], the Elder’s village must donate 2 pieces of paving stone. [You] Must pay the cost money for the paving stones on 24-8-2000. As soon as this letter is received collect it and come to pay, you are informed. (1) Paving stones, 1 piece is 300 Kyat
[Sd.] [Although this is a demand for money to build a pathway around a pagoda, it originates from the Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC), not the monastery, so it is most likely tied to corruption. Much of the 600 Kyat demanded from each village in the area may end up in the pockets of the local PDC and military officers. On the back this order is addressed to "Pa aaaa, xxxx village". The village did not immediately pay the money demanded, so a week later they received Order #373. See also Order #374, which was sent to a different village.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Pa aaaa 28-8-2000 Informing [you] that in accordance with the decision of the Papun TPDC meeting, [we] have already sent a letter for the Elder’s village to send 2 pieces of paving stone. As soon as you receive this letter, collect the money quickly and come to bring it. (1) For 2 pieces of paving stone, 600 Kyat.
[Sd.] [This order is a follow-up to Order #372 which demanded money from this same village for paving stones to surface the circular pathway around a pagoda; see also Order #374 which was sent to another village. It is not actually the stones which they want the village to send, it is the money (600 Kyat). TPDC is the Township Peace and Development Council. This order is entirely written in red ink, which is usually seen as a threat that it must be complied with. On the back this is addressed to xxxx village. The villagers told KHRG that they obeyed and sent the money after 3 days.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Pa aaaa 28-8-2000 [We] Have already sent a letter telling the Elder’s village to donate paving stones. As soon as this letter is received, collect quickly donation money of 600 Kyat for paving stones and then send it to arrive [here]. Come and send it without fail.
[Sd.] [This order relates to the matter raised in Order #372. On 21-8-2000, money was demanded from every village for paving stones to surface the circular pathway around a pagoda. This order is entirely written in red ink, which is usually seen as a threat that it must be complied with. On the back this is addressed to xxxx village. The villagers told KHRG that they obeyed and sent the money within one day after this order. See also Order #373 which was sent to another village.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
Date: 1-9-2000 Informing to let you know, in yyyy village tract we will make offerings and feed [the people] for the Daw Tha Lin full moon. Have already informed the Elder’s village in advance. (1) Collect from each family 1 bowl [1.6 kg/3.5 lb] of rice and 100 Kyat exactly in cash. Collect it and send it on 8-9-2000 to arrive on the 10th waxing day of Daw Tha Lin month, you are informed. (2) The Elder yourself must collect it exactly. (3) If they cannot pay 1 bowl of rice, collect cash of 200 Kyat exactly. (4) The total number of families is 7 families.
[Sd.] [Though the ‘donations’ of rice and money are supposed to be to make offerings to monks and provide food for a festival, in cases such as this the local PDC and military officials usually demand much more than is actually required and take a large cut for themselves. The amounts of rice and money demanded in this case do seem excessive. The village head who received this copy only partly complied with the demands, so he later received Order #376 and then Order #378.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Pa aaaa 7-9-2000 Informing you to collect quickly the Daw Tha Lin month donation money, then come to bring it. (1) Donation
money 1,400
K [kyat] [This order followed Order #375 to the same village, but suddenly the amount of the donation demanded has doubled from 100 Kyat to 200 Kyat per family. Though the donation money is supposed to be to make offerings to monks and provide food for a festival, in cases such as this the local PDC and military officials usually demand much more than is actually required and take a large cut for themselves. The village head did not comply with this order, so it was followed later by Order #378.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
To:
7/9/2000 Informing [you] to collect quickly the Daw Tha Lin month donation money and come to bring it. (1) Donation money of 1,000 Kyat.
[Sd.] [On the back this is addressed to xxxx village. The village head says that he obeyed this order and delivered the money the same day out of fear that he would not be able to stay in his village otherwise.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
17-9-2000 [We] Have already informed [you] asking you to collect the donation money for Daw Tha Lin month. Why have [you] not collected and sent it by now? [We] Need the money now, have to pay him. Right now when this letter is received, collect quickly the donation money of 1,000 Kyat and come to bring it. (1) Donation
money Collect 1,000 Kyat
exactly and come to bring it.
[Sd.] [This order followed Orders #375 and 376 to the same village. Though the donation money is supposed to be to make offerings to monks and provide food for a festival, in cases such as this the local PDC and military officials usually demand much more than is actually required and take a large cut for themselves. In this case, the original demand in Order #375 was for 700 Kyat, which then doubled to 1,400 Kyat in Order #376. A week later, the local PDC has lowered this to 1,000 Kyat, making it clear that it is an arbitrary amount. The village head told KHRG that the day following this order he went and delivered the money.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Chairperson, xxxx village Date: 8-9-2000 Subject: The IO [Intelligence Officer] from [Division] xx Column would like to discuss important matters with the Elder, so you are informed to come immediately to yyyy monastery as soon as you receive this letter. Bring the monthly servants’ rice together with you.
[Sd.] [‘Monthly servants’ rice’ is a quantity of rice which the village is forced to supply to the Army camp every month to cover any shortfall in the food brought along by the forced labourers which the village sends. This commonly happens when the Army keeps people for labour for periods several times as long as they initially specified.] ______________________________________________________________________________ [This document was sent to all villages in the region of Nabu, in central Pa’an District, and dictates demands on each village for the Ka Htein ceremony of offering robes to monks, held on October 26th 2000 at the Aung Thein Dee monastery in Nabu.] Attachment (a)
|
No. |
Name of village |
Donation |
Rice |
Curry |
Fish |
Vegetables |
Remarks |
1. |
Nyaung Gone | 4000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
2. |
Kaw Nyaing | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
3. |
Myat Padaing | 5000 (kyats) |
1½ baskets |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
4. |
Noh Tee Leh | 4000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
5. |
Tee Swah | 4000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
6. |
Ka Neing Paw | 5000 (kyats) |
1½ baskets |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
7. |
Taung Nah village | 2000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
8. |
In Sheh village | 5000 (kyats) |
1½ baskets |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
9. |
Naung Hein village | 4000 (kyats) |
1½ baskets |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
10. |
Payah Gone | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
11. |
Weh Kayin | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
12. |
Kaw Yay Kah | 4000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
13. |
Kaw Pa Lan | 5000 (kyats) |
1½ baskets |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
14. |
Gkaw Doh | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
15. |
Naung Hta Bpan | 5000 (kyats) |
1½ baskets |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
16. |
Kaw Suh | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
17. |
Taweh Lah | 2500 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
18. |
Taw Kaw Ko | 5000 (kyats) |
1½ baskets |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
19. |
Naung Ta Bweh | 5000 (kyats) |
1½ baskets |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
20. |
Tee Wah Suh | 4000 (kyats) |
1½ baskets |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
21. |
Naung Kine | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
22. |
Meh Pa Leh | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
23. |
Payah Ngoh Toe | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
24. |
Thayet Dtaw | 6000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
25. |
Nan Kaw Htay | 4000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
26. |
Tee Sah Kaw | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
27. |
Thaya Gone | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
28. |
Noh Wah Klay (Tat Ka Ta) |
3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
29. |
Noh Bpaw Heh | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
30. |
Mon Zu | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
31. |
Kaw Kalaung | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
32. |
Nat Sah Leit | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
33. |
Thaut Pein | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
34. |
Law Yee | 3000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
35. |
Kaw Kyeik | 4000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
36. |
Tee Po San | 5000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
37. |
Kaw Pan Yah | 3000 (kyats) |
8 Pyi |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
38. |
Kaw Tha Suh | 3000 (kyats) |
8 Pyi |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
39. |
Taweh Dan | 3000 (kyats) |
8 Pyi |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
40. |
Tee Kalay | 3000 (kyats) |
8 Pyi |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
41. |
Nabu Tagun Taing | 4000 (kyats) |
1 Basket |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
[page 2 of original begins here]
No. |
Name of village |
Donation |
Rice |
Curry |
Fish |
Vegetables |
Remarks |
42. |
Naung Taman | 2000 (kyats) |
8 Pyi |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
43. |
Tha Gya Chaung | 3000 (kyats) |
8 Pyi |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
44. |
Wah Lay | 3000 (kyats) |
8 Pyi |
1 Viss |
1 Viss |
5 Viss |
|
45. |
LIB (547) | 5000 (kyats) |
3- sacks |
5 cans of condensed milk/ fuel 5 gallons |
|||
46. |
LIB (548) | 5000 (kyats) |
3- sacks |
5 cans of condensed milk/ fuel 5 gallons |
|||
47. |
LIB (549) | 5000 (kyats) |
3- sacks |
5 cans of condensed milk/ fuel 5 gallons |
|||
48. |
DKBA (999) | 5000 (kyats) |
1- sack |
||||
49. |
[Army] Transport (935) | 5000 (kyats) |
2- sacks |
10 cans of condensed milk, sugar 3 viss, cooking oil 3 viss, fuel 5 gallons |
|||
50. |
[Army] Construction (943) |
5000 (kyats) |
1- sacks |
||||
51. |
Health [dept.] | ||||||
52. |
Education [dept.] | ||||||
To alert that in the general collection of donation money from the villages, a rice mill should give 600 kyat, a small boat should give 500 kyat, a big boat should give 2,000 kyat, a sawmill should give 500 kyat, and a video [VCR] owner should give 600 kyat respectively, as the average amount collected. General activities for the Ka Htein ceremony
[This is a 2-sided document; in the original, the page break occurs between lines 41 and 42 of the table. Nabu is a large village in central Pa’an District with a very heavy SPDC Army presence of 3 Battalions: #547, 548 and 549 Light Infantry Battalions, as well as DKBA #999 Brigade. ‘Ka Htein’ is a ceremony to offer robes to monks which occurs between the 1st (no moon) day of Dta Zau Mon month (26/10/00) and the full moon of Dta Zau Mon month (10/11/00); in this case it appears the festival is to begin on the no-moon day of October 26th 2000. This is a 2 page letter issued on behalf of the monastery, but clearly drafted or approved by the military. The total demands are quite excessive, particularly the large sums of money; considering that the villages are already giving all the food and labour required for the festival, there is no reason why such large sums of money should be needed. Many of the villages listed are quite far away and will probably not be able to attend, but will still be forced to contribute. In festivals such as this, the best of the feast will be reserved for the Army soldiers and their families, who will eat inside the monastery compound while the local villagers are kept outside. The 44 villages are ordered to provide 157,500 Kyat in cash and 45 baskets of rice in comparison with the 30,000 Kyat in cash and 20 baskets of rice requested from the 5 SPDC Battalions and 1 DKBA Battalion combined. In addition, the villages are ordered to provide over 70 kilograms of meat curry, 352 kilograms of vegetables, 24 cartloads of firewood, and all of the labour to build structures, prepare the festival and cook, while the Army is assigned no duties for these. The battalions choose to organise the videos because they will demand admission money from the villagers. As noted in the order, they will demand the videos, generators and fuel from the villages under their respective control, so the admission money gathered will be pure military profit. One viss is 1.6 kilograms / 3.5 pounds. 1 pyi of rice is about 2 kilograms / 4.4 pounds. 1 basket of rice is about 17 kilograms / 37.5 pounds. 1 sack of rice is 50 kilograms / 110 pounds.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #381 (Papun)
Stamp:
Date: 29-9-2000 The [IB] xxx Column informs the Elder’s village to send one tin of rice. (Do as required.)
[Sd.] [One tin of rice is about 17 kilograms / 37.5 pounds.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #382 (Pa’an) To:
Stamp: Date:
30-9-2000 Subject: To come and meet The village head is informed to come and meet at yyyy camp quickly on the morning of 1-10-2000. Note: When you come, you are requested to bring meat/vegetables.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Mother Daw aaaa I am writing a letter. Sending 2 sacks of rice for Mother. Ours here is gone, [we] had to take it from others and then sent it. Sell it for 6,000 Kyat.
Respectfully, [The Captain is out of supplies, so he has stolen or borrowed some rice somewhere and is telling the village headwoman to sell it for him and send him the money. This is a common practice among SPDC officers. See also Order #394.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Mother Head 19-10-2000 I am writing a letter. Help [us] with 2 chickens from Mother Head’s village. [We] have to boil them and feed aaaa. Give 2 big chickens. IB [Infantry Battalion] xx ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Mother Daw aaaa The Tactical Commander hasn’t seen Mother for a long time, so he said that he wants to see you today. If Mother is free, [we] want you to come to meet today. If you come, [we] want you to bring khin bone thee [soap acacia, a type of fruit used for washing hair], enough for one hair-washing. [Sd.] 2-11-2000 ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp: Subject: Invitation for a meeting The Elder is required to attend a meeting without fail at Light Infantry Battalion #xxx on the 1st waxing day of Na Daw month, year 1362 (26-11-2000), Sunday, at 10 o’clock in the morning. If you fail to attend, you are informed that it will be the Elder’s responsibility. Note: Bring a chick weighing 60 kyat tha for breeding at the Battalion. Place: xxxx
[Sd.] [This is a carbon-copied form letter sent to several villages. The ‘note’ about bringing a chick is part of the form letter, so one is being requested from each of the villages. Army camps have been ordered since 1998 to produce more of their own food in place of rations, so they demand livestock for breeding and seedlings from villagers to set up their plantations; see also Orders #364, #365 and other such orders in this set.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #387 (Papun)
Stamp: By the time you receive this letter, Mother’s village will have obtained 30-weight [30 viss] of pork and 3 sacks of rice for the Column. Bring to yyyy camp 30 viss of pork, whether this is one or two pigs, to arrive today. Bring the pigs alive. If it is already dark, carry a firebrand, you are informed. If [you] fail, it will be Mother Head’s responsibility, you are informed.
[Unsigned] [The first sentence implies that an order was already given for the village to obtain the pork and rice to send to the Column, and this letter is just a follow-up.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #388 (Papun) To: xxxx Chairperson 16-12-2000 I am writing a letter. Tomorrow [I] want 1 viss [1.6 kg/3.5 lb] of chicken. The Battalion orders it. When [I] ask help from the Chairperson’s village, [I] will clear the cost. The Chairperson must come and send it without fail. If the Chairperson fails, it will be the Chairperson’s responsibility.
[Sd.] [The writer of this letter is semi-illiterate. To ‘clear the cost’ means to pay, though Army camp commanders almost never pay the full value of anything.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #389 (Dooplaya) To: Chairperson (xxxx village) 17-12-2000 Subject: Come to yyyy village xxxx village, the 2 chairpersons from the Upper and Lower 2 villages, or if the chairpersons are not there then the 2 secretaries, must come quickly to yyyy village to the Column Commander as soon as [you] receive this letter, you are informed. When the Elders come, bring along 3 viss [4.8 kg/10.5 lb] of chicken for food.
[Sd. ‘aaaa’] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #390 (Thaton)
Stamp:
27-12-2000 If you have fruit, vegetables and food, send them. If you have unusual information, send it. Nothing more.
[Sd.] [‘Unusual information’ means to report intelligence on any comings and goings around the village.] ______________________________________________________________________________ [This is a list written by a village elder of some of the demands of local SPDC officers between August and December 2000 and their corresponding cash values.] Unit [Battalion] #xxx
2,000
[Kyat] [Lines showing items like "one pig 14,200" mean a pig worth 14,200 Kyat. Lines simply showing amounts mean cash which was demanded by the Army. Some are combinations; for example, the last item means they had to give 5,000 Kyat cash and 2 cases of beer to the Major.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #392 (Papun) To:
12-1-2001 I am writing a letter. There is no particular matter, just asking [you] to send 1 rooster and 1 bowl [1.6 kg / 3.5 lb] of sticky-rice for us with the khin th’ma [forced labour sentry] who comes now. Asking for help.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Chairperson (xxxx [village] Mother) 14-1-2001 Mother - I am writing a letter respectfully. Our troops are not going anywhere, so it is very difficult for our eating and drinking. We are friendly with Big Mother. We feel embarrassed about this, but for our group to eat, send quickly tonight at once 20 viss [32 kg/70 lb] of pork and 1 sack of rice to yyyy village, you are requested.
[Sd.] Note: If Big Mother doesn’t have time to do it, send a whole pig. [The reason ‘not going anywhere’ creates a problem is that when mobile, the troops can steal food from villages along their way but when stationary, they must repeatedly demand food from the local villages. These officers even express shame at having to demand food from the villagers. The note means that if she doesn’t have time to have a pig killed and butchered, she can just send a whole pig, live or dead, weighing 20 viss or more. On the back this order is addressed to "Chairperson, xxxx [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: xxxx [village]
(Chairperson) Mother, I am sending 2 sacks of rice. Receive/not receive. [i.e. Tell me if you’ve received it or not.] Sell it for a price of <5,800 Kyat>.
[Sd.] [This relates to a common practice of SPDC officers, selling the ration rice intended for their soldiers (who are then told to take rice from the villagers) or selling rice which they have confiscated from villagers. Rather than sell it themselves, they send it to a local village head and order her to sell it and send them the cash. Even if she can’t sell it for the amount specified, she must send the 5,800 Kyat.] ______________________________________________________________________________ xxxx [village] - Chairperson I am Camp Commander aaaa writing this letter. Send 3 bowls [4.8 kg/10.5 lb] of rice with the set tha [forced labour messenger] who will come tomorrow. Will pay when we get the rations.
That’s all.
Stamp: [The camp has run out of rice so the Commander is demanding a loan of rice from the village; ‘Will pay’ means they will pay it back in rice when they receive their next rations. Villagers often complain that the Army takes their good rice and pays them back with terrible quality Army ration rice - the grains are low grade and broken, and it is full of rocks, insects and impurities. On the back of this order the Commander has written "xxxx Chairperson, send as many seeds as you have." Though the stamp says yyyy (in southern Pa’an District), this unit was in Papun District for an 8-month operation from late 1999 through May 2000 when this and some other orders in this set were issued.] ______________________________________________________________________________ xxxx [village] Chairperson, writing to inform U aaaa. The subject is that now U bbbb has come to get the remaining money and 3 bowls of rice. Come to meet for awhile. I also cannot tell [why]. Come to meet. bbbb [This is a letter from one village head to another.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To inform the xxxx village Chairperson. Writing a letter to inform you, the subject is to send the remaining servants’ money tomorrow with yyyy [village head] U aaaa. The people [SPDC] are asking again [for forced labour or money]. Tomorrow, U aaaa and bbbb have to go. Send it. cccc [This is a letter from one village head to another.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #398 (Papun) To: Chairperson, xxxx village Have already left the sticky-rice packs at U aaaa’s father’s house. This and 2 bowls [3.2 kg/7 lb] of sticky-rice from xxxx, [you] must send now to yyyy [village]. [Unsigned] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #399 (Papun) To: Mother (Chairperson) Send one 20-weight pig for us, along with the owner, with the person who comes now [bringing this letter]. We will clear the money at the same time [when they arrive]. Send them to arrive today, [we] will clear the cost after the pig is killed at yyyy village. Please help.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #400 (Dooplaya) Chairperson When [you] receive this letter, the Chairperson or one member [of the VPDC] must come. Also, asking for help of 4 bowls [6.4 kg/14 lb] of rice and 1 chicken.
[Sd.]
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Farmers of every type of crop in Burma have to hand over a portion of their crop to the
SPDC authorities, called ‘ta won kyay’ (‘obligation’). The
quotas are set as a certain number of baskets of paddy or units of another crop per acre.
Meetings are held to notify the villages in each area how much acreage they are supposed
to grow (whether they can in fact plant that many acres or not) and the quotas they must
pay per acre. After the harvest, ‘paddy-buying’ officials go around the villages
to collect the quota. These quotas are usually set at 12-15 baskets of paddy per acre, and
farmers are forced to sell their quota to the authorities at less than half of market
price or face arrest. In practice, when the farmers hand in their quotas the corrupt local
officials steal much of this money by deducting many kinds of bogus ‘fees’ and
claiming that the rice contains straw or impurities, and the farmers end up receiving only
20% or less of market price; meanwhile, the SPDC takes the crop quota, and the officials
pocket most of the money. For examples of this process, see "Death Squads and Displacement"
(KHRG #99-04, May 1999). Additional orders with further details on crop quotas are
included in "SPDC & DKBA Orders to
Villages: Set 2000-B" (KHRG #2000-04, 12/10/00).
Rice growing season in Karen State runs from June to November, depending on the rains. For hill fields, advance field preparation starts as early as January or February, but for flat irrigated fields ploughing begins with the first rains in June. In mid-year the SPDC authorities dictate the overall paddy quotas for the townships, and these are then broken down by village tract, then village, and eventually to each acre owned by each farmer. Order #403 below dictates a quota of several hundred baskets to a small village. These quotas are based on the targets set at higher levels and on the acreage which the authorities say is available for planting, not the acreage which the farmers are actually able to plant. Droughts and floods over the past several years have severely cut the seed supply, and the combination of forced labour and SPDC extortion make it difficult for many farmers to plant or tend their entire fields or obtain a full crop, but no exceptions are granted and the quotas increase year by year. Farmers who do not have the seed or resources to plant can apply for cash ‘advances’ from the authorities to buy seed, hire buffaloes for ploughing, or other needs. These advances are later deducted from the already paltry amount they are paid for their quota rice. Orders #401 and 402 below deal with such advances.
As can be seen in Order #404, with the harvest growing near in November the Township Peace and Development Council appoints a "Township Paddy Buying Supervisory Group" and "Village Tract Paddy Buying Groups" for each village tract. The Township group is responsible to go around to the different village tracts in January/February to collect the assigned quotas, pay out the required money, and arrange for delivery of the quotas to the "paddy buying centres" in town. These Township Paddy Buying Groups are notoriously corrupt; the village officials are expected to treat them like royalty when they arrive, feast them and fête them, and they demand extra rice from all the villages for themselves as well as pocketing most of the quota money which is supposed to go to the farmers. The Village Tract Paddy Buying Groups are responsible to make sure that all villages in their tract provide their specified quotas on time; some of these groups are corrupt as well, while some are not. Note in the order that each village tract group has at least one person from the town paddy buying centre, most likely to make sure that no skimming occurs at the village level.
Due to all of the problems already mentioned, many farmers are unable to produce their full quota, and villages are late in paying, resulting in orders like Order #406, which is essentially a first warning. If the quota is still not forthcoming, the letters will get more threatening. According to the official paddy buying agreement which the elders of each village are forced to sign [an example can be seen as Order #159 in "SPDC & DKBA Orders to Villages: Set 2000-B" (KHRG #2000-04, 12/10/00)], if a farmer fails to meet the quota, even if it was caused by a natural disaster, the outstanding balance must be paid in paddy out of the next crop, plus interest (payable in paddy) calculated at an extortionate interest rate of 17% per annum. Under this system, as soon as a farmer has one bad crop he or she can never catch up with the interest on the quota. The spiralling debt can end with the State taking the land or arresting the farmer, though many villagers flee their village before this can happen. To avoid falling into this situation farmers try to provide the full quota however they can; in bad years, this means borrowing rice from others or buying rice on the open market (at double or triple the price they get for the quota) to pay the quota while their families go hungry. The SPDC then uses the quota rice to support its ever-expanding Army, and even exports some rice as an attempt to convince the outside world that the economy is in good condition.
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Stamp: Regarding the above matter, for 2 acres of fields and 70 baskets of paddy, advance money of 7,000 Kyat, seven thousand kyat, has been transferred to xxxx village as noted below.
Stamp: Chairperson
Name: U aaaa Name: U
bbbb [On the back is written "Recommendation [letter] for selling the paddy". This order means that the local PDC authorities have given the village 7,000 Kyat in advance for a paddy quota of 70 baskets from 2 acres which they will have to pay at harvest. This would only be for one or two farmers, not the whole village. Many farmers need the money to plant, but the price of 7,000 Kyat is less than 1/3 of market price for 70 baskets. If they fail to pay the quota their land is confiscated and/or they face arrest. Even if they do not request the advance money, the quota will be demanded of them for the same price. NIC is National Identity Card, which everyone is supposed to have but many non-Burman farmers do not.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Myanmar Farm Products Sale and Export Register of Advance on Paddy Buying Money to Each Farmer (Sa Ka 1) Village Tract xxxx Name of Produce Buying Centre Township NameVillage Name yyyy Number of Produce Buying Centre State/Division |
# |
Agree- |
Farmer’s |
Identity |
Paddy to |
Advance money paid (Kyat) |
# of times |
Paddy Sold |
Cost (Kyat) |
Advance money deducted (Kyat) |
Balance |
|||
Purchase Receipt |
Paddy Sold |
||||||||||||
# |
Date |
Type |
Baskets |
||||||||||
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
1 |
- |
Daw aaaa |
- |
500 |
- |
||||||||
______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
Economic and Commercial Ministry
Department "Assigning Duties for Selling Paddy" To: Chairperson The farmers who are planting paddy in the Elder’s village must sell ( xxx ) baskets of the rainy season paddy crop to the Kya In Seik Gyi midtown paddy buying centre for the year 2000-2001, by February 2001 at the latest. Assigning [you] this duty.
[Sd.]
[Sd.]
[Sd.] [This is a form sent out to all villages, with only the signatures and items shown in italics written in afterwards; several copies to different villages were obtained by KHRG, each specifying a different quota of baskets of paddy. The price paid for the crop which the farmers are forced to hand over is well under half of market price.] ______________________________________________________________________________ [To:] U aaaa (xxxx village)
Stamp:
Township Peace and
Development Council Subject: Assigning duties for paddy buying supervisory groups for the year 2000-2001 Reference: District Peace and Development Council, Kawkareik Town letter number 1250 / 2-22 / Ka Ya Ka [District PDC] (Ka Ka Ya [Kawkareik]) dated 3-11-2000 1) In accordance with the reference letter, in the season for buying paddy, to buy the full quota of paddy, [we are] assigning duties to the Township and Section / Village Tract paddy buying supervisory groups as below. Township Paddy Buying Supervisory Group
Section/Village Tract Paddy Buying Supervisory Groups
(b) Kya In Shwe Doh village tract paddy buying group 1) Naw Lay
L’Yah Member, Kya
In
Gyi Group
Leader (c) Kya Ka Saun village tract paddy buying group 1) U Ban
Nyunt Chairperson
/ Kya Ka
Saun Group
Leader (d) Nat Kyaun Gka Nah village tract paddy buying group 1) U Hla
Thein
Chairperson / Kyaun Sah village Group Leader [page 2 of original begins here]
(f) Than Pu Ya village tract paddy buying group 1) U Soe
Lwin
Chairperson / Than Pu Ya village Group Leader (g) G’Maw village tract paddy buying group 1) U
Lone
Chairperson / Gone
village
Group Leader (h) Gko K’Thaun village tract paddy buying group 1) U Htun
Kyi
Chairperson / Gko
K’Thaun Group
Leader (i) Ah G’Law village tract paddy buying group 1) U Ohn
Lain
Chairperson / Ah G’Law village Group
Leader (j) Dah Li village tract paddy buying group 1) U Maung Sa
Nay Village head / Dah Li
village Group
Leader (k) Shwe Taun Bo village tract paddy buying group 1) U Shwe Ya
Chairperson
/ Ku Doh Say village Group Leader (l) Seit G’Lay village tract paddy buying group 1) U Aung
Shein Village
head / Seit
G’Lay Group
Leader [page 3 of original begins here]
(n) Kalay village tract paddy buying group 1) U Mahn Kyin
Shwe Chairperson / Kalay
village Group
Leader (o) Dta Gone Dtine village tract paddy buying group 1) U Thaung
Htun Chairperson / Dta Gone
Dtine village Group Leader
Copies: [This is a mass-produced cyclostyled 3-page document, with this copy sent to the village head whose name and village appear handwritten at the very top of page 1. It assigns groups to be responsible for obtaining the rice quota from the farmers and village heads; a Township group and one group per village tract (group of 5-25 villages centred on a main central village). The Township groups are notoriously corrupt and usually focus on making sure the Township PDC officials keep most of the money which is supposed to be paid to the farmers. Some of those assigned at the village tract level are local village heads while others are corrupt local officials who will probably be assigned to watch over the village officials for the Township; note that at least one person on each village tract buying group is from the Township paddy buying centre. According to farmers, whenever they pay their crop quota the ‘buying team’ forces them to hand over more than the real quota, then claims the crop is impure and holds back almost all of the money which is supposed to be paid out. See also the notes at the beginning of this section for further explanation.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
Township Peace and Development
Council To: Village
Head
Subject: Invitation to a meeting [We] Want to coordinate and discuss with the Elder regarding paddy buying matters. Come without fail (without fail) to the coordination meeting according to the agenda below, you are informed. A G E N D A
Date: 8-12-2000
(Friday)
[Sd.] [This is a copied form letter with the details shown in italics written in afterwards by hand along with the stamp and signature. Several villages were summoned to this paddy buying meeting using this form. It is the same form used for Order #497.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
Township Peace and Development Council To: Chairperson / Village Head Subject: The matter of coming and selling the specified paddy quickly 1) Regarding the above subject, the paddy specified to be bought from xxxx village tract is ( xxx ) baskets. It is known that ( - ) baskets have already been given to the paddy buying centre. 2) This year the specified paddy has to be bought by January 15th at the latest. Therefore the villages from your village tract which still have to give the ( xxx ) baskets of paddy must come to comply and sell it by 30-12-2000 at the latest, you are informed.
[Sd.] [This is a copied document with the village name and number of baskets paid and still due written in by hand. When the authorities talk about ‘buying’ paddy, they mean the grain which farmers are forced to hand over as quota, for which they receive only a small fraction of market price. KHRG has obtained copies of this order which were sent out to several villages, each specifying a different number of baskets of paddy, usually several hundred baskets.]
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Villagers are not allowed to go anywhere, even between villages, without a travel pass
issued by the local military or a local Peace and Development Council which has been
authorised by the military. Any villager caught in the fields or forest without such a
pass is automatically suspected of being a subversive, and in conflict areas this
frequently results in detention, beatings, torture and even summary execution. Orders such
as #408 below and Order #554
in the section ‘DKBA Letters’
are frequently issued to remind villagers and village heads that these passes are
required. Examples of such passes, and orders threatening to take action against villagers
without them, can be seen in "SPDC &
DKBA Orders to Villages: Set 2000-B" (KHRG #2000-04, 12/10/00) and "SPDC & DKBA Orders to Villages: Set
2000-A" (KHRG #2000-01, 29/2/00). In addition, there is a law enforced
throughout all of Burma that all houseguests must be immediately registered with the local
authorities. Even in cities, and more so in rural areas, if the authorities learn of
someone hosting an unregistered guest they will swoop on the house and detain both the
guest and the hosts, sometimes sending them off to the frontline for an indefinite period
as porters. Order #410 below is an example of a "Permit
for a guest to sleep" of the type required to have a guest in your house;
even though the guest in this case is a known village head from a nearby village, he needs
a permit to sleep in his friend’s house.
The movement of food and goods is also strictly controlled, using both military checkpoints and movement passes. In areas where resistance forces are active, SPDC forces treat all food, medicine and other goods as though they were intended for use by the resistance, and in areas such as eastern Nyaunglebin District villagers have been executed for possession of medicine or batteries. This is the reason for Order #407, which tells villagers in part of Papun District that they must harvest and transport all of their rice to their village by December 15th 2000, after which "if [we] see any paddy in the hillfields [we] will use it as Army rations"; actually this means they will take what they can use and destroy the remainder. The village head from one village in the area told KHRG that he was told of this order after SPDC troops had found villagers’ paddy storage barns hidden in the forest, and that his villagers were ordered to carry back all paddy from their storage barns to the village. Then when the villagers complied, those who carried paddy back to the village were each fined 8 kilograms of pork for having "hidden their rice". Order #409 is a permit for a villager to transport 3 sacks of rice she has been ordered to provide for a Buddhist festival; without this permit, if she encountered SPDC troops while going along the path they would accuse her of carrying rice to rebel forces, which is punishable by summary execution.
Order #413 is supposed to be used similarly to a travel pass, though it is labelled as a ‘Peace Pass’; according to the text, it is supposed to be carried by people who are acting as informers for the military: "People who hold this Pass provide information to the hands of the Army, or to the responsible government authorities. … They must be taken care of well. They must be sent quickly to the hands of the responsible authorities. Do not torture, take the belongings of, or abuse the one who holds this Pass." In reality, these folding cards are widely distributed as propaganda in an effort to convince Karen soldiers to surrender and villagers to become informers; as the Pass says, "Do not think, take this Pass and come to the nearest Army camp" to volunteer to help the SPDC. Similar (but not identical) documents have been obtained by KHRG before, one of which has been reproduced as Order #14 in "SPDC & DKBA Orders to Villages: Set 2000-B" (KHRG #2000-04, 12/10/00).
Order #411 reads like a simple effort by #xx Infantry Battalion to prevent illegal logging in the forests of the area, but it is more likely intended to establish a monopoly on logging rights for the Battalion officers. In other areas, SPDC officers have issued similar orders while also ordering villagers to do forced labour cutting and hauling logs for the Battalion to sell in the market; Order #174 in "SPDC & DKBA Orders to Villages: Set 2000-B" (KHRG #2000-04, 12/10/00) is a similar example from Pa’an District. In this case, the Battalion Commander is so determined to make sure there is no competition that he threatens the "shooting and arresting" of anyone who tries to cut trees in his area of control without his permission. Order #412 is the only one of the orders below which appears to be for the benefit of civilians, warning villagers to stay clear of a patch of forest where the local Battalion will be blasting tree trunks out of the way to clear the route for a road. Unfortunately, this is a road route where villagers have consistently been used as forced labour.
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Stamp: Subject: To carry the hill paddy to the village The villagers who have planted paddy in the hillfields must carry it to your villages by the deadline of 15-12-2000 to your villages [‘to your villages’ is stated twice]. After that date, if [we] see any paddy in the hillfields [we] will use it as Army rations, you are informed.
[Sd.]
2/12/2000 [This order has been corroborated by KHRG interviews with villagers in the region, who say they were told by the Army that any paddy found in their fields after that date would be taken by the Army or burned. The village head from one village in the area also told KHRG that he was told of this order after SPDC troops had found villagers’ paddy storage barns hidden in the forest, and that his villagers were ordered to carry back all paddy from their storage barns to the village. Then when the villagers complied, those who carried paddy back to the village were each fined 5 viss (8 kg / 17.5 lb) of pork.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
To:
Date:
4-9-2000 Subject: To hold a travel pass Travellers from the Elder’s village who would like to go in Ka Ma Maung direction are not allowed to travel without a travel pass. Be informed to get a travel pass from the village tract chairperson.
[Sd.] [See also Order #554, which is a similar but more detailed decree issued in the same area by the DKBA.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp: yyyy village tract, xxxx village, Daw aaaa, age 39 years old, will celebrate Thadin Kyut. You are recommended to allow her to carry 3 sacks of rice to zzzz village.
[Sd.] [This is a typical permit which villagers must always get from the authorities, usually at a price, to go anywhere themselves or transport any goods. Thadin Kyut month has a major full moon festival which occurred on October 12th 2000, and the 3 sacks of rice are probably a forced contribution for the festival.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Permit for a guest to sleep Date: xx-9-2000 Name: Pa
aaaa
[Sd.] [In Burma no one is allowed to have a visitor without first clearing it with the authorities, or the host family and the guest can be summarily arrested and detained or sent away as porters. In this case, even though the guest is a known village head he needs a pass to stay in a friend’s house when visiting another village.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp: To: Chairperson Subject: Prohibiting the illegal cutting and selling of wood (without license) 1) Do not do unlicensed (illegal) cutting, selling, buying, sawing, transporting by boat or rafting of valuable wood from the national forests in the area under Frontline #xx Infantry Battalion Military Operations Region. 2) In accordance with the above, if [we] see [anyone] doing anything illegal (without license) with wood, [we] will take action such as shooting and arresting in accordance with the rules, you are informed.
[Sd.] [This is a typed form letter with only the village name written in by hand. To be ‘shot and arrested’ is a punishment commonly threatened by SPDC forces. It may appear that this order is intended to protect the forests, but it is more likely that IB xx wants a monopoly on logging in the area for itself; SPDC units commonly ban villagers from cutting trees for themselves, then order them to cut logs for the Army. See also Order #556, issued by the DKBA in the same district with a similar subject. Immediately below this order on the same sheet another order appears, typed with the same typewriter and signed by the same officer; however, it concerns a completely unrelated subject, so we have separated it here and included it as Order #205.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To:
Stamp:
Subject: Notification for the safety of civilian villagers 1) On the Nabu / Mi Pa Leh / Aut Bo Deh road construction, in the forest between yyyy and zzzz big trees will be blasted because machinery is unable to clear them. 2) Therefore, it is informed in advance that chairpersons of the respective villages should tell civilian villagers not to collect in peh leaves [a type of leaf used for roofing] or to cut trees for their safety. Place: yyyy
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ [This is a small card which folds out into 8 panels. It is distributed as propaganda to convince opposition forces and villagers to work for the SPDC military. Panels 1-3 are written in Sgaw Karen. Panels 5-8 are a rough translation of Panels 1-3 into Burmese.] Panel 1: Peace Pass This pass is a Peace Pass. People who hold this Pass provide information to the hands of the Army, or to the responsible government authorities. As a representative of peace, people will accept you. The Army will accept and welcome you peacefully, this is a promise. Army Panel 2: Directive The one who holds this Pass is designated as a representative of Peace. They must be taken care of well. They must be sent quickly to the hands of the responsible authorities. Do not torture, take the belongings of, or abuse the one who holds this Pass. If these prohibitions are disobeyed, serious action will be taken. Army Panel 3: The Peace Road Kay Eh Nyu [KNU] leaders and soldiers, the areas where your siblings are staying have peace and are experiencing development and improvement. Your siblings and relatives want peace. Your siblings are always waiting for the day when you will come back. For the Karen State to develop and improve it is necessary for the whole Karen nationality to live peacefully. It is time to exchange arms for peace. For the benefit of the Karen nationality, look ahead to the goal of the taste of peace, come back to join and work with the civilians and Army, brothers and sisters. Do not think, take this Pass and come to the nearest Army camp. Panel 4: [Panel 4 is a photo of a suspension bridge, presumably to show the wonders of development.] Panel 5: The Peace Road KNU leaders and soldiers - The areas where your siblings are staying already have peace and are experiencing development and improvement. Your siblings, parents and relatives want peace, and are waiting day by day for the day when their siblings will come back. If their siblings want the Karen State to develop and improve it is necessary for the whole Karen nationality to live peacefully. It is time to exchange arms for peace. Panel 6: The Peace Road For the benefit of the Karen people, look ahead to the goal of the taste of peace, come back to join with the civilians and Army. Brothers and sisters…
Stamp: Panel 7: Directive The person holding this Pass is designated as a representative of Peace. They must be taken care of well. They must be sent quickly to the responsible authorities. Do not torture, take the belongings of, or abuse the one who holds this Pass. If these prohibitions are not obeyed, serious action will be taken. Army Panel 8: Peace Pass This pass is a Peace Pass. If you carry this Pass and bring information to the Army or government authorities, you will be designated as a representative of Peace. The Army will not make trouble for you and will welcome you warmly, this is a promise. [Graphic of a handshake
Army [This is similar to cards and documents which the SPDC has been distributing in Papun and Nyaunglebin Districts of northern Karen State for approximately 2 years now; see for example Order #14 in "SPDC & DKBA Orders to Villages: Set 2000-B" (KHRG #2000-04, 12/10/00), which is quite similar to this. Most such documents claim that the SPDC is bringing development, and that those who ‘exchange arms for peace’ and become SPDC informers will be welcomed, and as stated in this document, they will be exempt from torture, robbery and other SPDC physical abuse.]
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Virtually the entire population of Karen areas fears and despises the SPDC military and authorities, but this does not prevent the Army from trying to force the civilians to provide direct help to their military operations. This takes various forms, including forced labour at Army camps and as sentries and messengers (see above under ‘General Forced Labour’), and orders that village elders report on the activities of everyone in their villages and on any movements of opposition forces. Whenever the Army orders elders to ‘report information’ or to attend meetings to discuss ‘security matters’ or ‘control matters’, this is what they mean. This puts elders in a very difficult situation: if they report nothing they are accused of withholding information and will be severely punished if the opposition later attacks the SPDC forces in the area, but if they report anything the Army often accuses them of having contact with rebels. In most Karen areas, village elders are told that they are responsible for keeping the Army fully informed of all opposition activities, and are seriously punished if the Army is subsequently attacked or hears of opposition troops moving around their village. These punishments often include the arrest and torture of village elders, burning of houses, or forced relocation of the village. For example, Order #187 (in the ‘General Forced Labour’ section above) warns a village head, "In future, if battles or landmines occur concerned with your village, the village will be destroyed. … The troops from above the Head’s village have suffered from landmines, so [we] are not happy at all. If the camp/activities such as a battle occurs, we will shoot with big weapons."
The military also makes regular demands for village heads to provide various kinds of ‘registers’ showing information about the village. For example, Orders #414, 416, 417, and 420 below demand various combinations of information including village population broken down by gender, the list of families in the village, details on the acreage of each crop and who grows it, numbers and names of students and teachers at local schools, and similar information for monks and abbots at Buddhist monasteries, and Christian churches and pastors. This information has various applications for the SPDC. The information on village population is useful in allocating forced labour and demands for ‘fees’; the crop acreage is used in allocating crop quotas and Army ‘taxes’ based on field acreage, and also to decide extortion amounts. The demands for every detail of schools, monasteries and churches are partly intended so that the Army can monitor their activities, but these demands in themselves are also probably intended as a form of intimidation; villagers and townspeople throughout Burma are often terrified to do anything simply because they think the Army already knows everything about them. Other such orders (included in previous KHRG order sets) often demand information such as the number of rice mills, sawmills, bullock carts, elephants and boats in the village, both to allocate ‘fees’ on these things and also to demand their use by the Army.
Order #421 was sent by a village head on the orders of the local Major, asking another village head for information on the number of displaced people who have arrived in her village. This order is disturbing because displaced people are usually considered as ‘rebels’ by the SPDC, and this demand for information on them may be a prelude to ordering their forced relocation to an Army-controlled site, or adding them to the demands for forced labour and extortion placed on the village where they are staying.
The orders in this section specifically call on village elders to provide intelligence to the local military, though demands for intelligence are also included in the orders of several other sections in the report.
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Stamp:
Date: 26-1-2000 Subject: Note: Send it quickly, and the
Head
[Sd.] [On the back this order is addressed "To Head, xxxx [village]. Urgent." Information such as that demanded here is used to assess crop quotas which farmers are forced to hand over to the Army and SPDC authorities, as well as demands for money and forced labour.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #415 (Papun) Stamp: Send information to yyyy village on 16-2-2000, to arrive at 12 o’clock, you are informed. [Unsigned] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
To:
Date: 6-4-2000 Subject: Informing you to come to the camp From the Head’s village, put together the list below, then the Head yourself must come to yyyy [Army camp] to arrive on 8-4-2000, you are informed. (1) Number
of houses
[Sd.] [Copies of this order were sent to all villages in the area, with the village name written in at the top.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
7-4-2000 Regarding the orders of #x Strategic Command and the Sa Ka Ka [Military Operations Command] Commander, compose a data registration table for the Head’s village as shown below, and send it to the VPDC office to arrive on 10-4-2000. Data 1) Family register: male/female, type and
quantity of livestock. Compose a register showing the data on whether you have / do not have [the above things]. Send it quickly.
[Sd.] 7-4-2000 [On the back this order is addressed "To Head, xxxx village. Send it to arrive today. Urgent."] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #418 (Papun) To: Chairperson
Stamp: Date:
16-5-2000 Subject: Informing [you] to find information and report information quickly to the Column Regarding the above subject, xxxx village and surrounding area must send information to arrive today at the Column, and if [you] fail it will be the responsibility of the village, you are informed.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #419 (Thaton) To: Mother Daw aaaa Date: 27-6-2000 Mother, are you healthy? Son is writing this letter. We have received information of [KNLA] movements in Mother’s village. Mother said that there is nothing unusual happening. Is that true? Mother,
With
remembrance, [Army officers often refer to older village headwomen as ‘Mother’ and themselves as ‘Son’.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
Frontline Light Infantry Battalion #xxx Subject: Informing [you] to come to yyyy camp 1) Regarding the above subject, Chairpersons
of the concerned villages must come and meet at yyyy camp, Frontline Light Infantry
Battalion #xxx Column Headquarters, on the 8th of October 2000 at 2) Be informed to bring along the following list when you come:
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Daw aaaa Mother - put together a registration of the population from yyyy village who have arrived in xxxx village. Then come to zzzz village tonight. If it is already dark, the Major said that you will have to sleep in zzzz.
[Sd.] [The Army Major has ordered the head of the village beside his camp to send this letter, obtaining information on the influx of displaced villagers to another village. This will be used either to force the displaced villagers to an Army-controlled site, or to begin giving them forced labour assignments and extortion demands.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #422 (Dooplaya) To:
13-10-2000 [We] Need to meet to coordinate. Chairperson or Secretary, as soon as you receive this letter now, come to send information to the Column.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #423 (Thaton) To: Chairperson (Village mother, village
father) Subject: Come to send information to the Army camp Right now as soon as you receive this letter, the village head yourself must come to send information to yyyy camp, and bring along the sawmill owners, you are informed. Place: yyyy
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #424 (Thaton) To: Daw aaaa Subject: To send information to the camp Right now when you receive this letter, the village head yourself must come to send information to yyyy camp, you are informed. Place: yyyy
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #425 (Thaton) To: Daw aaaa (Chairperson) Subject: Come to send information to the camp Mother Daw aaaa, [we] sent a messenger with a letter on 27-11-2000 [saying] that [you] must come again on 28-11-2000 to the camp, [you] were already informed. The letter said that Daw aaaa, Daw bbbb and 3 village mothers or village fathers must come without fail, [you] were already informed. Today you didn’t arrive, [you] just sent a messenger. Right now when you receive this letter, come today to the camp, you are informed. Stamp:
______________________________________________________________________________ Order #426 (Papun)
Stamp: To:
30-11-2000 Subject: Invitation to a meeting A meeting will be held at yyyy camp on 30-11-2000 at 12:00 o’clock, so the village head yourself must come without fail and report information, you are informed.
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #427 (Papun)
Stamp:
Date: 1-12-2000 Today, zzzz village [and] xxxx village, go and find out information and come back to send it to the yyyy Column today at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. (Whether there is anything unusual or not, report the information.)
[Sd.
‘U aaaa’] [This means that the village heads are supposed to find out whatever is happening with KNLA forces in the area and report it to the Army camp.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #428 (Papun)
Stamp:
To: The intelligence officer Bo aaaa from Frontline LIB #xxx, Column x, is writing this letter. Now, as soon as you receive this letter, Mother Head yourself must come to meet with the Column Commander, you are informed. [We] need to ask about the situation in the area. If [you] fail, it will be Mother’s responsibility. If it is okay, bring along vegetables and chicken.
Respectfully,
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The following 3 subsections contain orders related to education, health and religious
matters. As with all other aspects of life in Burma, the SPDC military and civil
authorities try to exert control over all aspects of education, health and religion, and
the orders in this section give some examples of this. The section ‘Demands
for Intelligence’ contains additional orders telling villagers to send
lists of all details on schools, health clinics, Buddhist monasteries and Christian
churches (see Orders #414, 416, 417, and 420), with the apparent purpose of
controlling their operation and intimidating the villagers. Other orders on these topics
can be seen in "SPDC & DKBA Orders to
Villages: Set 2000-B" (KHRG #2000-04, 12/10/00) and other previous order
sets published by KHRG.
The orders below show that forced labour and military control intrude even into education at the village level. Orders #432 and 434 were issued by the SPDC Army demanding materials for school construction, while Orders #429 and 430 demand that villagers provide forced labour to build schools. Whenever a school is to be built, the villagers are forced to provide all of the building materials and labour as well as money for the ‘cost’, most of which goes into the officers’ pockets. They then must provide all school materials and salaries for the teachers, while also paying ‘fees’ to send their children to the school. The State then claims all credit for the project. Moreover, Army officers use the construction of schools as an excuse to demand more building materials than are actually needed, and sell the surplus for their own profit. In some cases villagers have complained to KHRG that after giving the materials demanded for building schools, no school is built and they never see the materials again.
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Stamp:
Date: 4-3-2000 Subject: The matter of calling for loh ah pay Regarding the above subject, to build the yyyy school, one person per house from the Head’s village must come to carry sand / stones on 5-3-2000 to arrive at 6 o’clock in the morning, you are informed. Note:
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
Date: 7-4-2000 Subject: Note: Must be people who can plane
wood.
[Sd.] [On the back this order is marked "Urgent letter".] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #431 (Papun)
Stamp: Subject: Invitation to attend a meeting Regarding the above subject, [we] have to hold a meeting at yyyy village about school and teaching matters, so xxxx Chairperson and Secretary, 2 people, must come to yyyy village to arrive on July 28th at 1600 hours, you are invited. Date: 28-7-2000
[Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ To:
Stamp: Subject: Informing [you] to come to yyyy Army camp Regarding the above subject, [I] want to know the situation of whether the wood required for the teaching school is ready yet. Come to meet at yyyy Army Camp on 16-9-2000 at 1200 hours, you are informed.
[Sd.]
16-9-2000 ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #433 (Papun) Invitation to a Meeting Subject: A teaching school matter The village head must come to attend the meeting at yyyy village middle school on 29-11-2000 at 11 o’clock in the midday. The headmaster invites [you] to the meeting on 29-11-2000, Wednesday, at 11 o’clock in the midday exactly. Come without fail.
[Sd.] [On the back this order is addressed "To Chairperson, xxxx [village]".] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
To:
14-12-2000 Subject: To send wood for the school As I have already told Daw bbbb, for the school [send] 10 pieces of teak 6"x1" by 10 feet long from each sawmill, and 15 pieces 3"x2" by 10 feet long from each sawmill. The total for the 4 sawmills is 40 pieces 6"x1" by 10 feet long, and 60 pieces 3"x2" by 10 feet long. Send it tomorrow, 15-12-2000, in order to build the new school quickly.
[Sd.]
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The orders in this section call village heads and villagers to attend meetings about HIV
(Orders #435 and 436), bring their infants
for vaccination (Order #437), and attend the opening of a village
health clinic (Order #438). The SPDC itself has long been
criticised for putting almost no resources whatsoever into health care and in 2000 the
World Health Organisation rated Burma’s health care system 190th out of
191 countries (Sierra Leone ranked last). The SPDC’s publicly stated goal of
restructuring the Myanmar Red Cross into an "effective defence force to crush
destructive elements", already in evidence in some of the propaganda campaigns
carried out by the organisation, leaves little room for optimism that the regime is
interested in improving the health care system. At the same time, however, foreign
non-governmental organisations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
UNICEF and even the UN Development Programme have been trying to force aid for health care
on the regime, and have over the past few years become somewhat more efficient in seeing
that this aid reaches the target; hence the clinic openings, vaccinations and HIV
meetings. All of this is financed and arranged by foreign organisations, though when these
things are implemented the SPDC is quick to try to take credit for them.
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Stamp:
Date: 26-2-2000 Subject: The matter of attending the HIV training to be held in yyyy village Regarding the above subject, an HIV training and discussion will be held in yyyy village. It will be held in the yyyy teaching school, so send all male/female youths from 13 years old to 35 years old from the Head’s village on 29-2-2000 at 7 o’clock in the morning, you are informed.
[Sd.] [On the back this order is addressed "To Head, xxxx [village]. URGENT. Red Cross." "URGENT" is written in large letters with a red felt tip marker.] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
Date: 28-2-2000 Subject: The matter of attending the inter-youth discussion and training concerning HIV/AIDS Regarding the above subject, the Red Cross Society youth from zzzz will hold a health discussion, so those from the Head’s village between age 13 and age 45, at least 30 people, must come tomorrow, 29-2-2000 at 7 o’clock in the morning, to yyyy middle school. (Note) Attend without fail. If [you] fail, it will be the responsibility of the Head.
[Sd.] 28-2-2000 [On the back this order is addressed "To Head, xxxx [village]. Important. Urgent."] ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp:
Date:
26-4-2000 Subject: The matter of vaccinations for children under one year [old] Regarding the above subject, [as ordered by] yyyy Health Department, for vaccinations for children under one year, come on 26-4-2000 to arrive at 9 o’clock in the morning, you are informed.
[Sd.] [On the back this order is addressed "To Head, xxxx [village]."] ______________________________________________________________________________ To: Chairperson
Stamp: Subject: [You] Must come to the meeting When [you] receive this letter, from the Chairperson’s village, the Secretary and one representative of the villagers must attend the opening of the village clinic. Come to zzzz today, you are informed.
[Sd.]
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Most of the orders below are calls to selected village heads, and in some cases a few of
their selected villagers, to go on pilgrimage trips to worship at Shwedagon pagoda in
Rangoon or at pagodas in Pagan, near Mandalay, "at government expense";
see Orders #439, 440, 441,
and 442. The real purpose of these trips is unclear, though such
junkets are sometimes used to show the SPDC’s generosity, support of religion, and
public support in the state-run media, while also subjecting the pilgrims to propaganda
speeches and re-education while on the trip.
Order #444 calls village heads to a ‘coordination meeting’ for a Buddhist festival (‘Ka Htein’, held starting on October 26th 2000) at a major temple in Nabu, central Pa’an District. At these meetings, each village is assigned duties to provide money, food and labour to prepare the festival, many of which are dictated by the military. The demands which were placed on the area villages for this festival can be seen in Order #380 in the section ‘Extortion of Money, Food and Materials’.
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To: Chairperson 1) From xxxx village, in the past Daw aaaa was the one who always took duty as [village] head. Come to arrive in the evening to attend the meeting on 9-5-2000. 2) After the meeting, [we] will go to worship at Rangoon Shwedagon Pagoda, so bring along the things and clothing that you need. 3) Daw aaaa alone can go.
Major bbbb ______________________________________________________________________________
Stamp: To: Subject: Come to worship at the pagoda If the Elder is going to worship at the pagoda, bring along the materials and come today to arrive at yyyy. [You] Can go / not go. Reply. The nation will pay your expenses, you are informed. Place: yyyy
village
[Sd.] [This order was carbon copied and sent to several villages. It appears to refer to the same SPDC-sponsored trips taking some villagers to Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon or to Pagan as are mentioned in the other orders in this section.] ______________________________________________________________________________ [To:]
Chairpersons
20-5-2000 The villagers who will go to worship at the pagodas at Bagan [Pagan, near Mandalay] will be sent at government expense. Bring the register, separated by male/female, of the villagers who want to go. The Chairperson and 5 villagers must come quickly as soon as you receive this letter now to explain this matter, informing you for the last time. [Sd.] [See also Order #442 below.] ______________________________________________________________________________ [To:]
Chairperson
29-5-2000 The villagers who will go to worship at the pagodas at Bagan [Pagan, near Mandalay] will be sent at government expense (free). Bring the register, separated by male/female, of the villagers who want to go. The Chairperson and 5 villagers must come quickly as soon as you receive this letter, informing you for the last time. Tell the xxxx [village] sayadaw [abbot] and then the Chairperson and 5 villagers must come as soon as you receive this letter. Will explain this matter. Will explain the date to go and the date to come back. [Sd.] [See also Order #441.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Order #443 (Papun) To: Chairperson Subject: Invitation to listen to a religious sermon Regarding the above subject, on the 8th waning day of Wah Kaun month, year 1362 (22-8-2000), to listen to the monk give a religious sermon to release us from problems at yyyy village, the Elder’s village is invited to listen to the religious sermon. P.S. Mother, to give alms-food, come and bring 2 chickens. [We] will send money for the cost. Come today. [Sd.] ______________________________________________________________________________ Stamp:
Aung Thein Dee Monastery, Nabu To: Subject: Invitation to attend the
coordination meeting for the annual celebration of Regarding the above subject, to draw a big crowd for the annual Nabu Aung Thein Dee monastery Bone Ka Htein festival, the Elders concerned and the monastery lay helpers must all attend without fail the coordination meeting on 15-10-2000, 3rd waning day of Thadin Kyut month, year 1362, at Nabu Aung Thein Dee monastery hall. With faith in neit ban [nirvana], you are respectfully invited.
[Sd.] [This is a typed and reproduced letter with the village name, date, stamp and signature added later by hand (indicated by italics). ‘Ka Htein’ is a ceremony to offer robes to monks which occurs between the 1st (no moon) day of Dta Zau Mon month (26/10/00) and the full moon of Dta Zau Mon month (10/11/00); in this case the festival began on the no-moon day of October 26th 2000. See also Order #380 under ‘Extortion of Money, Food and Materials’, which dictated demands to the villages for this ceremony.]
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