Below are a set of links to all reports published by KHRG matching your search criteria and compiled from information received from KHRG's field researchers. If you wish to search for a particular report, please use our main search page.
Our News Bulletins are available via email, subscribe to the KHRG newsletter list by entering your email address on the KHRG homepage. Topics covered in News Bulletins will generally be documented in more detail in future KHRG reports.
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Ongoing SLORC Looting in Karen Villages [Regional or Thematic report]
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Dec 28th, 1993 |
| The following accounts were given by Karen villagers in a village which has just been looted by SLORC troops in Thaton District. The name of the village is omitted to protect it against being burned down by SLORC troops. The villagers' descriptions show the extent of the systematic looting being conducted by SLORC throughout the country, and the soldiers' utter disregard for human life. Many of the things taken, such as children's clothes, cucumber seeds and a baby's cradle, would be useless to the soldiers and are obviously being taken just to be destroyed or sold for money. |
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SLORC Murders in Mergui/Tavoy District [Regional or Thematic report]
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Dec 17th, 1993 |
| The following testimony was given by a Karen Christian man from Thay Nyaw Chee village in Tavoy District, in southern Burma’s Tenasserim Division, where the population is mainly Karen, Tavoyan, and Mon. His name and personal details are omitted to protect his family. Please feel free to use this information in any way which may help stop such actions by the SLORC in the future. |
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Murder, Rape & Extortion in Kyauk Kyi [Regional or Thematic report]
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Dec 8th, 1993 |
| The following information was provided by villagers from Kyauk Kyi Township, Pegu Division, and was gathered by the National League for Democracy - Liberated Area (NLD-LA). It is simply a list of known cases of murder, rape and extortion in Kyauk Kyi Township in the period September to October, 1993. Even though it only covers one township in one short time period, it is still probably not complete, but only consists of the cases which were reported by villagers. It shows that even while the SLORC makes propaganda about "peace", it continues to murder and abuse Karen and Burmese civilians even in areas like Kyauk Kyi, where there is no fighting going on. |
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Letters from the Irrawaddy Delta [Regional or Thematic report]
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Dec 6th, 1993 |
| Southwest of Rangoon lies the Irrawaddy Delta, perhaps Burma's most fertile and productive rice-producing region. It is large, flat and well-irrigated, and its population is about 50% Karen and 50% Burman. Karen resistance forces operated there in the early days of the Revolution, but there have been no Karen forces there since the 1960's. In 1991, small numbers of Karen soldiers once again infiltrated the Delta, and were preparing to lead the Karen population there in a mass uprising against the brutal SLORC military dictatorship. |
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Current Conditions in Insein Prison [Regional or Thematic report]
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Dec 5th, 1993 |
| The following testimony was given by a Karen farmer who spent 3 years as a political prisoner in the SLORC's notorious Insein Prison near Rangoon. He was released in October 1993, and describes the current conditions for political and other prisoners in Insein Prison. Note especially his comments on the SLORC's much-publicized release of political prisoners, and on what happens when a foreigner is allowed to visit the prison to see the conditions. Such visits are becoming more common; the SLORC recently allowed UN Special Rapporteur on Burma Professor Yozo Yokota to go to the prison, and is also including Insein Prison visits in the all-expense-paid holidays it is now offering to U.S. Congressmen and Senators to come and see how wonderful life is in Burma under the SLORC. |
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SLORC Activities at Harvest Time [Regional or Thematic report]
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Nov 16th, 1993 |
| The following account was given by a Karen schoolteacher from Mudraw (Papun) District in northern Karen State. His name has been changed. In the area where he lives, the Karen National Union controls most of the forest and valleys, while the SLORC army is positioned on several strategic hilltops, resulting in a situation where SLORC troops often look down on villages, fields and forests which they do not control. Their troop strength in the area is currently not enough for a major attack, so they focus on trying to destroy life for the villagers, as in other parts of the country. Karen troop strength in the area is also spread thinly; none of the villages which are being attacked are military positions. |
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Incidents Reported from Karen Villages [Regional or Thematic report]
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Nov 15th, 1993 |
| The following incidents and descriptions of the general situation were related by several Karen women and one Karen man, from villages scattered throughout Karen areas from Kyauk Kyi Township in the far northern lowlands to the area of Three Pagodas Pass in the south. Their stories include both the current situation and reports of incidents which have happened in their villages over the last one to four years; in their view, nothing has improved over that time, and many things have become worse. The SLORC's pattern of repression and brutality in Karen areas is only becoming more systematic and entrenched, and as these women point out, their villages have suffered so much abuse that they cannot even relate it all anymore. It is now almost impossible to find a family in their areas which has not directly suffered at the hands of SLORC. |
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Porters: SLORC's Bu Sah Kee Operation [Regional or Thematic report]
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Nov 14th, 1993 |
| On August 18, 1993, SLORC launched an operation in Toungoo District which was intended to capture Bu Sah Kee, a Karen trading gateway and headquarters of the Karen National Defence Organization's 4th Brigade. The SLORC troops involved were #34, 232, and 233 Light Infantry Battalions (LIB), commanded by Lt. Col. Htin Kyaw Thu. These troops are originally from Western Command (Arakan State), but are now based at Kaw Thay Der, in Toungoo District. For the operation, they were divided into 6 columns of 180 to 200 men each. |
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Porters: Kyauk Kyi Township, November 1992 [Regional or Thematic report]
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Nov 10th, 1993 |
| The following four men were taken as slave porters by the SLORC and escaped in Kyauk Kyi Township on 18 November 1992. They reported their story to villagers in the area, one of whom wrote it all down. |
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Recently Received SLORC Orders to Karen Villages [Orders report]
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Jul 14th, 1993 |
| Following are the direct English translations of several SLORC orders which have been sent to Karen Villages over the past few months. Photocopies of the orders themselves are available upon request. When reading the orders, keep in mind that several defenceless villages have already been shelled with mortar fire for failing to comply with orders such as these. |
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Photo Set 93-E: Kyauk Kyi Township [Photoset]
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Jul 14th, 1993 |
| These descriptions relate to photos from Kyauk Kyi Township. For more information, see the Karen Human Rights Group reports, "Forced Relocation in Kyauk Kyi Township" (10/6/1993). |
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The SLORC's 1993 Offensive Against Karen Civilians [Regional or Thematic report]
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Jul 10th, 1993 |
| When Burma’s SLORC junta mounted its biggest ever offensive against the headquarters of Karen and democratic forces in Manerplaw in 1992, it was universally condemned for the swath of destruction and terror its Army cut through the country. This year, the SLORC claims to have ceased all such offensives, and is busily trying to repair its international image. However, it continues to mount smaller offensives, and in SLORC-controlled areas of Karen State, it has unleashed a major military offensive against Karen civilians, a campaign of terror and forced relocation which is now taking place out of sight of the world community. |
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Photo Set 93-D: Kyauk Kyi Township Relocations [Photoset]
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Jun 15th, 1993 |
| The enclosed photos relate to forced relocation of Karen villagers by SLORC in Kyauk Kyi Township, Nyaunglebin District, Pegu Division. Unless otherwise noted, all these relocations took place in 1993. The photos were taken in April 1993. Further details of some of these relocations can be found in the Karen Human Rights Group report, "Forced Relocation in Kyauk Kyi Township" (10/6/93). |
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Forced Relocation in Kyauk Kyi Township [Regional or Thematic report]
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Jun 10th, 1993 |
| The following report was given by a Karen refugee from the area south of Kyauk Kyi Town in Kyauk Kyi Township, Nyaunglebin District, Pegu Division. |
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Living Conditions Around Pa'an Town [Regional or Thematic report]
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May 5th, 1993 |
| The following statement regarding current conditions around Pa'an Town was given by a recently arrived refugee who lived there. Pa'an is the capital of Karen State, and there is no fighting in the immediate area. This man's name has been changed to protect him, although he and his family have no plans to return to Pa'an. |
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Photo Set 93-C: Evidence of SLORC Murder in Thaton District [Photoset]
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May 1st, 1993 |
| Photo #C1: This photo was taken in Thaton District, Karen State, at the beginning of March 1993. It shows the remains of Pa Boe, a Karen farmer about 30 years old from Mya Lay village. About the end of January 1993 SLORC troops approached Mya Lay village and the villagers all fled. However, Pa Boe was caught and taken as a porter. When the villagers returned and Pa Boe remained missing, the village headman went and found the soldiers to plead for Pa Boe’s freedom, but the soldiers refused, saying only, "No way". |
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Photo Set 93-C: Dead Porters in the Salween River [Photoset]
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May 1st, 1993 |
| On October 6, 1992, the SLORC launched its Saw Hta offensive, sending 4 Battalions of troops down from Karenni (Kayah) State in the north to attack Saw Hta, a Karen village and trading gateway in northern Karen State on the Salween River. In this area, the Salween forms the border with Thailand. Saw Hta was quickly overrun, but fighting continued for months as the SLORC tried to take the entire area and push further down the Salween, in order to cut off Karen trading routes, open a new front against Manerplaw and possibly to try to capture sites where they have signed agreements to build dams in cooperation with the Thais. |
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Statements by Internally Displaced People: Karen civilians displaced by SLORC activities in Thaton District [Regional or Thematic report]
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Apr 28th, 1993 |
| The following statements have been transcribed from recorded interviews with internally displaced Karen civilians. The interviews were conducted in the Karen language in March 1993, in villages inside Burma which are temporarily safe from Burmese troops. The villagers are from areas under SLORC control in Thaton District, but recently had to flee due to the unilateral and unprovoked wave of atrocities against civilians which SLORC troops are currently committing in the area. |
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Photo Set 93-C: The Shelling of Kyaun Sein Village [Photoset]
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Mar 31st, 1993 |
| In mid-February 1993, a mine exploded on a road not far from Kyaun Sein village, in Pa’an Township, Thaton District. Two SLORC military trucks were damaged. SLORC troops immediately went to Kyaun Sein village and demanded 70,000 Kyats compensation, but the villagers couldn’t pay. Two days later later another SLORC convoy came. Without warning, they fired 3 morter shells into Kyaun Sein village, killing one man ( Maung Hla Shwe, age 35) and wounding a 75-year-old woman (Pi Thu Meh) and her 10-year-old granddaughter (Naw Kaw Soe). No Karen soldiers were anywhere near the village at the time. |
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Photo Set 93-B [Photoset]
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Mar 31st, 1993 |
| This list describes photos sent out to supplement the following reports by the Karen Human Rights Group:
1. SLORC Rape in Thatone District (1/2/93)
2. SLORC's Use of Women Porters (16/2/93)
3. Torture of Karen Women by SLORC (16/3/93)
4. Male Porter Testimonies (17/2/93) |
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Report from Thaton District [Regional or Thematic report]
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Mar 10th, 1993 |
| The following accounts were given by new refugees from Thaton District, in western central Karen State, where the SLORC has recently escalated its attacks on villagers. The villagers' names have been changed and some details. omitted to protect them. However, all names of villagers, soldiers and places given in their stories are real. |
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Male Porter Testimonies [Regional or Thematic report]
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Feb 17th, 1993 |
| The following accounts were given by two men who escaped to Karen territory after 3 months as porters for the SLORC Army ending in January 1993. Their stories prove that the SLORC is still rounding up porters from city streets as well as remote villages, and that Army treatment of civilians has not improved whatsoever since the Manerplaw offensive of early 1992. |
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SLORC's Use of Woman Porters [Regional or Thematic report]
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Feb 16th, 1993 |
| The following testimonies were given by women who have recently been forced to carry ammunition and supplies for SLORC troops. These women were enslaved for over a month, and their ages range from 15 to 60. Their stories are typical of those told by the thousands of women regularly used as porters by SLORC troops. |
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Torture of Karen Women by SLORC [Regional or Thematic report]
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Feb 16th, 1993 |
| The following three women gave accounts of how they were tortured by SLORC troops who entered their village in the latter half of 1992. They bear scars all over their bodies to prove their story. In particular, the flesh on the back of Naw May Paw's legs has been burned completely off in large patches. |
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Brief Interviews Regarding Opium: Testimonies of two escaped porters from Shan State [Regional or Thematic report]
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Feb 1st, 1993 |
| The following information was given in independent and informal interviews. The two men are Shan from central Shan State, the region of Burma which produces over half the world's opium and its refined product, heroin. They are villagers who were rounded up by SLORC troops in late 1992 and brought several days by truck under brutal conditions all the way south to southern Karenni (Kayah) State, where they were then used by the SLORC as porters in their Saw Hta offensive in northern Karen State. |
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SLORC Rape in Thaton District [Regional or Thematic report]
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Feb 1st, 1993 |
| The following account was given by a Karen refugee who arrived in the Karen Revolutionary Area in late December 1992 with, her husband and children, having left their home village in Thaton District due to increased SLORC activity there. Her name has been changed and the name of her village deliberately omitted in order to protect her relatives. |
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Photo Set 93-A [Photoset]
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Jan 11th, 1993 |
| This list describes photos sent out to supplement the following reports by the Karen Human Rights Group: 1. Karenni State:
Forced Relocation, Concentrations Camps and Slavery (10/8/92)
2. Supplementary Report on Karenni State (15/11/92)
3. Report by an Escaped SLORC Munitions Porter (13/11/92)
4. The Current Situation in Mudraw (Papun) District (13/11/92)
5. Forced Relocation in Thaton District (9/1/93)
6. Porter Testimonies: The SLORC's Saw Hta Offensive (10/1/93)
7. Porter Testimonies: Kawmoora Region (31/12/92) |
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Porter Testimonies: The SLORC's Saw Hta Offensive [Regional or Thematic report]
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Jan 10th, 1993 |
| On October 5, 1992, SLORC Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw told the United Nations General Assembly that the SLORC was no longer attacking the ethnic peoples of Burma. On October 6, 1992, the SLORC launched an unprovoked offensive on the northern Karen village and trading post of Saw Hta, on the Salween River near the southern border of Karenni (Kayah) State. As usual in their offensives, the SLORC press-ganged thousands of civilians to carry all their ammunition and supp1ies to the front lines. |
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Forced Relocation in Thaton District [Regional or Thematic report]
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Jan 9th, 1993 |
| In an official statement published by The Nation newspaper (Bangkok) on January 4, 1993, the SLORC announced the following about its "Border Areas Development" program:
"Primarily, Myanmar's aim is to establish key villages where the infrastructure - roads, power and water supply, housing, etc., will be developed. In so doing, local people from the surrounding less-developed areas will voluntarily move to such key villages where living conditions would be appreciably better. In the initial period, certain basic needs of these villages such as food, clothing and shelter will be provided by the Government. In addition, land development and cultivation of cash crops will be introduced." |
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The SLORC's New Forced Relocation Campaign: Translations of some SLORC orders received so far [Orders report]
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Jan 8th, 1993 |
| As the SLORC's "National Convention" begins in Rangoon, their Army is actively forcing tens of thousands of Karen civilians into guarded camps throughout Karen State in an effort to exert complete control over the civilian population. In these armed camps, or "key villages" as the SLORC has called them, no food or medicine is provided, yet guards patrol the perimeter. Villagers face the regular threat of beatings, starvation and death by disease. |
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