Chiang Mai - At least 66,000 civilians have been forcibly evicted from their homes in eastern Burma in the past year because of increasing military activity and systematic rights abuses, including the forced relocation of villagers by the Burmese army, says an aid group assisting displaced people.
The Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), an alliance of eleven non-governmental organizations that supports thousands of refugees from Burma along the border with Thailand, in a new report says an expanding military campaign launched by the Burmese army against ethnic minorities has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
"Civilians flee their homes as villages are being forcibly relocated as part of the junta's counter insurgency campaign, and civilians are subject to forced labor, extortion and several times have had their houses torched," said Duncan McCarthy, relief coordinator of the TBBC.
McCarthy said that while a few displaced people have arrived in refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border, a majority of them remain in Burma as internally displaced persons, waiting for an opportunity to return to their homes.
"Approximately 66,000 people were forced to leave their homes due to the effects of armed conflict and human rights abuses during the past year alone," according to TBBC in a press statement released on Wednesday, referring to the time period between July 2007 and June 2008.
The group contends the military junta is targeting civilians in their military operation and accuses it of committing crimes against humanity.
The Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP), a group collecting data on displaced people in Karen state, has voiced a similar assessment, saying Burmese soldiers are targeting civilians in their military campaign.
"The junta's army would come into the villages and torch down houses, and ridiculously place landmines on roads used by civilians. This proves that the soldiers are targeting civilians," Black Town, a member of the CIDKP, told Mizzima.
He added that in Karen state alone at least 20,000 civilians have been displaced in the past year, bringing the combined total of displaced persons in all of eastern Burma to more than 100,000.
TBBC, a group that provides shelter and food to over 140,000 Burmese refugees in nine camps along the Thai-Burma border, says the prospect of increasing numbers of displaced persons for the coming year is high, as hostility between armed ethnic rebels and the Burmese army has not abated.
"Every year there are more people being displaced, and if conditions such as military hostility between the junta armies and ethnic armed groups do not subside, we can predict that there will be even more displaced persons," said Black Town, supplementing the TBBC's concern.
Meanwhile, the Karen National Union (KNU), which is waging an armed struggle against the junta and operates along the Thai-Burmese border, confirmed there have been small skirmishes between them and the Burmese army throughout the past year, severely affecting civilians living in the region.
Pado David Thaw, a central committee member of the KNU further added, "Throughout the past year there have been skirmishes between us and the junta's army, who have been trying to take over areas under KNU control."
He said these conflicts adversely affect villagers and force thousands to be displaced.
TBBC Executive Director Jack Dunford argues that with the junta targeting civilians, it is the responsibility of the international community to protect civilians. And as the causes to this crisis are political, the international community should renew diplomatic efforts to broker a tripartite dialogue and promote national reconciliation.
Demanding an immediate nationwide ceasefire, Dunford cautions that justice cannot be ignored either, stating, "Yet it remains essential to hold the junta to account for atrocities committed in eastern Burma."
