Section: Causes and Background

Sub-section: Karen State

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Karen state: demands for forced labour has increased in several districts (June 2005)

• In the Nyaunglebin district, villagers are forced to build, rebuild, and upgrade roads for the military and to support other mechanisms of military control
• Demands for forced labour has reportedly decreased in the Papun district, but unarmed sentry duty at the Army camps, maintaining the camps, clearing scrub along the roadsides and various other tasks. are still being requested on a regular basis
• Ongoing forced labour and extortion demands by SPDC and DKBA are leading to food shortages and lack of money for health in the Pa’an district
• In the Toungoo district, northern Karen State, the military subject villagers to forced labour to secure control of roads and to supply troops in the hills
• In the Thaton district Karen villagers are used to build bridges and perform road construction by SPDC and DKBA; the use of convicts as porters and labourers around Army camps has become widespread in the district
• Forced labour is also continuing in the Dooplaya district of southern Karen state due to the heavy militarisation of the district
  
  

In the Nyaunglebin district, villagers are forced to build, rebuild, and upgrade roads for the military:

KHRG, 4 May 2005:
"Roads are a key component of SPDC control in the [Nyaunglebin] district, so villagers under their control are forced to build, rebuild, and upgrade roads for the military. Most of the roads are unpaved and must be rebuilt and repaired after each rainy season, so every year villagers are forced to rebuild and repair the roads from Kyauk Kyi to Mu Theh, Mu Theh to Pwa Ghaw and Kyauk Kyi to Shwegyin.
[…]
All of these improved roads mean better communications and transportation for the SPDC military, but more hardship for civilians – who face more forced labour on road maintenance, more Army checkpoints restricting their movements, and more forced labour at new Army posts and checkpoints which are set up along every road. The SPDC claims to have banned all forced labour since 2000 [...], and points to the recent convictions of a handful of civilian officials for demanding forced labour in other parts of the country as evidence of its sincerity; but not a single case has yet been brought against any Army officer, and these are the people most responsible for forced labour. As a result, its prevalence in Nyaunglebin district is increasing. Forced labour is demanded not only on roads, but also to support other mechanisms of military control."

Demands for forced labour has reportedly decreased in the Papun district, but is still being requested on a regular basis:

KHRG, 20 May 2005:
"Papun district is a region mainly made up of forested hills and small villages in northeastern Karen State [...], and includes Lu Thaw township in the north, Bu Tho township in the east and Dweh Loh township in the southwest [...]. Areas which are close to SPDC Army camps are under SPDC control, while in remoter areas SPDC columns have destroyed many of the villages and much of the population lives in hiding beyond their control; in these latter areas the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) has a strong presence. Villagers living near some of the Army camps in all three townships have recently been reporting that they are being summoned for less forced labour, particularly as porters and road workers, because convict labour is now being used and SPDC soldiers themselves are doing much of the local road improvement and repair work. However, villagers are still forced to do unarmed sentry duty at the Army camps, maintain the camps, clear scrub along the roadsides to protect SPDC troops from ambush, and do various other tasks. In the process of doing their road work the soldiers have been destroying villagers’ irrigated ricefields and the dikes and canals needed to properly irrigate the crops. Though some SPDC units are not demanding as much money from villagers as before, they still demand so much bamboo and roofing thatch for their camps that villagers complain they have little time for other work. They also continue to loot the villagers’ livestock and belongings. Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) units make similar demands and also force the villagers to work in their logging operations."

Forced labour in the Pa’an district:

KHRG, 30 March 2005:
"Villagers in eastern Pa’an District, part of central Karen State which borders on Thailand […], are facing serious problems with food and livelihood security, leading to food shortages and lack of money for health and other expenses. The causes are ongoing forced labour and extortion demands by State Peace & Development Council (SPDC) and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) authorities, SPDC orders for farmers to produce crops in dry season, and encroachment on villagers’ land and villages to establish camps and farmfields for SPDC Army units.
[…]
Overall, civilians in the plains areas say that forced labour has reduced somewhat, mainly because SPDC troops are bringing convict porters into the region instead of using local villagers as porters. Villagers in the mountainous areas of T’Nay Hsah and Dta Greh townships, however, report that they still have to do forced labour all the time, most often under the orders of the DKBA. In the plains and the mountains, but particularly in the mountains, villagers are reporting that they are now facing food shortages and have no money to buy medicines for the sick, because the combination of forced labour, extortion, and encroachment on their land is depriving them of the material resources and time needed to work their farms and pursue their other livelihoods."

In Toungoo district, northern Karen State, the military subject villagers to forced labour to secure control of roads and to supply troops in the hills:

KHRG, 22 March 2005:
"Ongoing dry season military operations to consolidate the Army’s penetration into remote areas since December 2004 have led to further forced relocation and displacement, and SPDC troops are increasing their use of villagers as forced labour to secure control of roads and to supply troops in the hills. As the military’s freedom of movement increases, it uses its increased control of travel routes to reduce the freedom of movement of villagers and internally displaced people (IDPs), blocking their access to vital food supplies or making it conditional on their compliance with forced labour orders.
[…]
This has already led to frequent armed clashes between SPDC and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) forces despite the ceasefire.
[…]
The forms of repression discussed above have been forcing people to flee their villages into the forests, particularly since the SPDC stepped up operations in December 2004. This level of military activity will probably continue until the rains in June.
[...]
Internally displaced villagers are scattered at hidden sites throughout the district, but at present there is no hiding place that SPDC troops cannot reach. At present, there are at least six of these hiding sites which KNLA forces are in a position to defend, but if a full SPDC column approaches they can do little more than fight a delaying action while the villagers escape. The main form of protection they give the IDPs is information, by passing on intelligence about SPDC movements. Some IDP leaders have told KHRG researchers that one of their key needs is for walkie-talkies to improve communications so they can stay one step ahead of SPDC columns."

Forced labour in the Thaton district:

KHRG, 21 February 2005:
"Between June and November 2004, the SPDC and DKBA continued committing human rights violations by demanding forced labour from the villagers in the area such as carrying rations and constructing roads, restricting the movements of the villagers, extorting money, and demanding building materials and food from the villagers.
The SPDC still forces villagers to accompany them as porters, but their methods have changed. The SPDC now usually takes villagers from one village to the next, where the porters are changed for new villagers. More commonly, the soldiers demand only two people from a village to go with a column as lan pya [guides]. The lan pya have to guide the soldiers as well as carry things for them. When the Army needs to use many porters to carry their things they usually use convicts brought in from prisons in other parts of Burma. The use of convicts as porters and labourers around Army camps has become widespread in the district.
[…]
The SPDC is using Karen villagers in Thaton township for its own benefit to build bridges and perform road construction.
[…]
The DKBA has also been very active in Thaton District. KHRG researchers from the area assert that the demands for forced labour and the extortion which the villagers have to face from the DKBA are worse than from the SPDC. "

Forced labour is also continuing in the Dooplaya district of southern Karen state:

KHRG, 2 June 2005:
" Regarding forced labour, villagers in Dooplaya have told KHRG researchers that the only difference under the ceasefire is that they don’t have to go as longer-term porters on military operations. Other common forms of forced labour such as sentry duty, set tha (messenger duty), repair and maintenance of military camps, rebuilding roads, clearing scrub along roadsides, cutting and hauling logs and bamboo for the Army, and providing roofing thatch to military camps are still practised. These forms of forced labour are only likely to stop if there are no more military camps in the area.
Since the beginning of 2005 only a minority of villagers in Dooplaya district have enough rice and paddy, and even this minority will continue to shrink if the present circumstances persist. Most villagers have no access to ‘modern’ medicines and are reliant on traditional herbal and spiritual treatments, which often prove insufficient. Most villages are too poor to build a good school or hire qualified teachers, so many children miss out entirely on formal education and the majority never have a chance to study beyond primary school. For many children who want to proceed beyond primary school, the only option is to leave their family and try to get to a refugee camp in Thailand, where they can attend middle school while staying in a boarding house for unattended children.
The informal SPDC-KNU ceasefire has brought little change for villagers in Dooplaya District. Not only does fighting continue, with the attendant effects and reprisals on civilians, but people must still face forced labour, restrictions on their activities, and the possibility of being abused or killed at any time with complete impunity. The civilians are not considered parties to the ceasefire, and the increased freedom of movement it has created for SPDC forces has made civilians more vulnerable than ever to abuse. There is no sign that the ceasefire will impede or decrease the militarisation of the district; but as long as Dooplaya remains heavily populated by soldiers the lives and livelihoods of the civilian villagers will be in danger."

Read also The Burma Issues Special report, "From Prison to Front line" which includes an overview of the plight of IDP's during the 7th Brigade offensive in Eastern Karen State.
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