Abuse by Burmese army battalions in southern Mon State and neighboring Tenasserim division is driving away residents, say a group of twelve displaced people who recently arrived in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand. At least one of the sources’ home villages has become seriously depopulated, with abuses in the last four years driving away 70 of 150 households in Amae village, Yebyu Township.
The displaced people, interviewed by IMNA on October 28th, said soldiers were assaulting residents, heavily restricting their movements, forcing them to purchase travel permission and conscripting them into forced labor as well as standing sentry and going on patrols.
The sources IMNA interviewed hailed from Kabya Wa and Magyi villages, Khawza Sub-township, Ye Township, Mon State and Amae village, Yebyu Township, Tennassarim Division. They identified Infantry Battalions (IB) No.273 and 282 as the perpetrators in Yebyu Township. No battalion numbers were identified in Khawza, but IB No. 31 controls the area.
In Khawza and Yebyu, the army has heavily restricted movement. Permission to relocate must be purchased. “I had to pay 50,000 kyat to the army battalion so my family would be allowed to leave the village,” Nai Tun San, who fled from Kabya Wa. Ironically, residents of other villages wishing to move to Kabya Wa have to pay 30,000 kyat, Nai Tun San added.
“I would like to stay in a peaceful place. We are afraid of their torturing, land confiscation, extortion, and abuse. That’s why I lied to the army and left and left village,” said Nai Tun San. According to Nai Tun San, he did not dare to tell the army he was fleeing to Thailand, and told soldiers instead that he would be visiting family elsewhere in Khawza.
Nai Pae, from Magyi village, said he did not have the money to purchase permission for his family to leave. Instead, he lied to the army and said he would only be going to a nearby village to fish for one month. Nai Pae arrived in Thailand with his wife and daughter. His elder daughter, 18, remains in Magyi. Repercussions for misleading the army are not consistent, but remaining relatives run the risk of being punished for the transgressions of an absent family member.
Daily movement is also restricted in the area, the sources told IMNA. In Kabya Wa, visiting a neighboring village requires notifying the army of the trip’s purpose and duration. In Magyi, visits to nearby villages, as well access to plantations and farms must be purchased from the army. Permission to leave the village for one day costs 1,000 kyat, Nai Pae, 38, told IMNA. Permission to host guests must also be purchased in Magyi at 3,000 kyat per week.
If rebels are thought to be active in the area, these restrictions are tightened and residents are prohibited from leaving the villages; those found outside will be shot, the IMNA sources said. At least three armed rebel groups are operating in the area, including the Monland Restoration Party, which split from the New Mon State Party (NMSP) in 2001.
Villagers from Amae interviewed by IMNA said their travel is not under as strict control. But they did report having to work as laborers and guards for the army. People from Amae were required to cut and haul coconut trees to the battalion headquarters, where they are used for fortifications. The area around Amae is now devoid of coconut trees, the villagers said.
Rotating groups of villagers are also required to stand sentry and patrol the area around the village. “The army forces about 20 villagers per day to work as guards, watching to see if the rebel group came. They’ll let us die first and they make us build cover them,” said Nai Chain, 38, from Amae.
Villagers face reprisals if they do not inform the army that strangers have been cited in the area. In a cruel twist, highlighting the impunity with which the soldiers abuse residents of Amae, Nai Chan told IMNA that sentries are sometimes beaten for being the bearers of bad news. “The soldiers beat village sentries when they told them the rebels came into the village. But the villagers are abused again if they do not tell about strangers coming into the village.”
Nai Pakao Ong, also from Amae, added that even ex-soldiers of the NMSP, which has been abiding by a ceasefire for over a decade, are targeted. “The army will kill veterans if they are seen in the area.” Nai Pakao Ong added that he did not know where he would be going in Thailand, but said that he just wants to live peacefully.
Residents of Magyi said they are similarly required to perform tasks for the army. According to Nai Pae, the army’s requirements are so demanding that no one will volunteer to be village headman for fear of carrying out army orders. Assuming the leadership role of village headman is typically an honor. In Magyi, it is a mandatory position filled via a weekly rotation.
Every morning, the headman must present himself at the battalion headquarters, where he receives orders for the day. He must then return to the village with the unenviable task of assigning often arduous and unpaid work to residents. “The village headman becomes the ‘porter’ for the army,” said Nai Pae, drawing an analogy between the treatment of the headmen and the way the army frequently forces civilians to carry heavy loads of ammunition and supplies. Headmen, in other words, must bear the burden of carrying out army orders in the same way civilians must sometimes carry supplies. Fear of acting as liaison between the village and the army is compounded by language differences. Most villagers in Magyi speak Mon, with only limited Burmese abilities. Soldiers of the ethnic-Burman dominated army typically speak only Burmese.
