Kokang Crisis Disrupts Border Trade

By KYI WAI
The Irrawaddy News

Rangoon — The conflict in the Kokang area near the Sino-Burmese has disrupted border trade and caused shortages of Chinese goods in markets as far away as Rangoon and Mandalay.

The shortages will lead to price rises, according to local traders.

A shopkeeper who sells popular brands of Chinese-made snacks at Rangoon’s Yuzana Plaza in Rangoon said: “If we don't get fresh supplies by the end of this month, prices will jump.”

Other major Rangoon markets such as Mingala, Nyaung-bin Lay and Thein-gyi also report shortages of Chinese goods. One trader said supplies of food, medicine and electronic equipment had dropped in the past 10 days by one-third.

A Chinese trader in Nyaung-bin Lay market said supplies of Chinese-made formula milk powder, biscuits and dry noodles had run out. Suppliers were reluctant to travel to the Kokang area, he said.

"No one dares to go to the border, because we are still receiving information that the situation in that area is still not good,” said a Mingala market trader. “So, there are no new imports. We are buying supplies from other local traders from Muse and Mandalay. I am sure prices will rise.”

In Mandalay, a trader said 70 percent of the consumer goods in local markets came from China.

"We still have some consumer goods in storage to last the next two or three months,” he said. “But we don't know when we can get fresh supplies. So, we have to sell things very carefully."

The trader also thought prices were bound to rise.

Some traders with long experience of market conditions fear that the Kokang conflict could have long-term effects on the Burmese economy.

One Mandalay trader said the Kokang crisis was being followed with concern by Burmese-born Chinese.

"If the Wa group gets involved in this conflict, it will get much worse,” he said. “My relatives in Lashio live in fear, because Burmese government troops are collecting people at night and forcing them to be army porters. Half the population in Lashio are Kokang and Wa.”

The trader said government forces in Northern Shan State are selectively conscripting only Chinese, Kokang and Wa people as porters to be used in the front line.

Meanwhile, the state-run newspaper Myanma Alin reported on Thursday that the Kokang area is now peaceful and stable. The refugees who fled into neighboring China are returning and 14,253 had so far crossed back into Burma, the newspaper said.

Myanma Alin also reported that the authorities are selling chicken and fish cheaply to residents of Laogai, the Kokang capital. Local stores, shops and market are open for business as usual.

The newspaper said government troops were digging new drains and working on other municipal projects for Laogai.

Burma Newscasts - Kokang Crisis Disrupts Border Trade
Friday, September 11, 2009

READ MORE---> Kokang Crisis Disrupts Border Trade...

30 More Karens Flee Hlinebwe

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

Some 30 Karen people from Hlinebwe District in Pa-an Township have fled to the Thai-Burmese border recently to escape forced recruitment and other abuses by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), according to the refugee camp leader in Nu Po on the Thai side of the border.

Camp leader Saw Ta Su Mya told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the 30 new arrivals makes a total of 517 Karens that have fled from that area in the last two months and are now sheltering at Mae Salit, a village near Nu Po.

“Sometimes two or three people arrive a day. Other times, the women and children flee first and are followed by their male relatives later,” he said. “They are careful to keep out of sight of the DKBA on the way,” he added.

The DKBA has reportedly been forcing Karen villagers to work as porters and on other duties since a joint force of its troops and the Burmese army attacked and subsequently took over the rebel Karen National Liberation Army headquarters (Brigade 7) in June.

The pro-junta Karen army ordered headmen in local villages to conscript workers and threatened them if they didn’t comply, according to a source close to the DKBA.

The source said that the group extorts money—often more than 50,000 kyat (US $50)—from anyone who refuses to comply.

According to the sources, the Thai border authorities have been reluctant to allow the displaced Karens to stay in Mae Salit and are encouraging them to return home.

In the meantime, several relief teams from Mae Sot are providing emergency aid to the new arrivals, Saw Ta Su Mya said. “But they [the 517 Karens] may be pressured to return to Karen State soon,” he added.

Since the attacks by the Burmese army and the DKBA on the KNLA in June, some 4,000 villagers from northern Karen state have fled to the Thai-Burmese border.

Many people are worried that the joint force will resume its offensive in northern Karen State in September after the rainy season.

The Karen sources said they believed that if another offensive breaks out, thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in northern Karen State and the more than 4,000 Karen refugees in Ei Tu Hta, a temporary camp on the Salween River, will be forced to flee to Thai soil.

Meanwhile, Karen monks in Thaton Township in Mon State have sent an open letter to the monk who formed the DKBA, U Thuzana, calling on him to instruct the Buddhist Karen army to cease fighting their Karen brothers, the KNLA, as the refugee crisis is escalating.

READ MORE---> 30 More Karens Flee Hlinebwe...

Junta Conscripts Ethnic Youths

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

About 70 Chin teenagers in Matupi Township in Chin State in western Burma have been forced into military training, according to Chin sources.chi

Local sources said soldiers from Infantry Battalion No.304, which is based in Matupi Township, ordered nine villages to select at least eight youths over 18-years-old per village for military training.

“People have to work in the fields to grow paddy at this time of year [the rainy season]. We are short of food and no one wants to go for military training,” said a Chin resident in Matupi.

Matupi is one of seven townships in Chin State facing food shortages due to plagues of rats destroying crops.

The World Food Program (WFP) in Rangoon has reported that about 85 percent of the population in Chin State is in debt after borrowing money to buy food.

Similar conscription took place in the northern part of Ye Township in Mon State in southern Burma in July, when Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 343 ordered 200 youths to go for military training, according to Lawi Oung, a resident in Ye Township.

“The participants were taught how to beat people, how to handle riots and how to hold guns,” he said. “The training took one month, but the participants were only given fake bamboo guns during training.”

The families of those who refused to join had to pay 6,000 kyat [US $5.50] for exemption, according to Lawi Oung.

The villages where conscription took place are in a “black area,” which is close to a Mon rebel-controlled area, according to Thailand-based the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM).

Analysts said that the junta is training militias to prevent any uprising in the planned 2010 election, but they may also be preparing them for use as frontline troops when they attack Mon rebels.

Junta troops have conducted similar military training in several townships in Shan Sate in Northern Burma in recent months, according to the Chiang Mai-based Shan Herald Agency for News.

About 100 youths in Muse Township near the Chinese border in northern Shan State were forced to undergo military training.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Saengjuen, an editor for the Shan Herald Agency for News, said: “an estimated 1000 people have been forced into training. Many are former members of forces loyal to the drug lord Khun Sa [who died in Rangoon in 2007].

“More people have been conscripted this year for basic military training, and to be taught how to collect news, organize campaigns and prepare military operations,” he said.

Saengjuen believes such militia troops will be used to attack armed ethnic ceasefire groups in Shan State, such as those in the Wa, Kokang, and Mong La areas, if tension keeps mounting.

Meanwhile, about 500 private mercenaries from Tang Yan Township in eastern Shan State were forced to join junta troops in preparation for a possible attack on the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

Tension between junta troops and ethnic ceasefire groups has been mounting after the latter refused to transform their troops into border guard forces in Shan State in July.

READ MORE---> Junta Conscripts Ethnic Youths...

Rise in child labour feared over Thai policy

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - The Thai Government’s policy of not registering families of migrant workers is likely to escalate the problems of child labour, a social worker said.

Executive Director of the Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation, Sompong Srakaew, who works in close tandem with migrants in Samut Sakorn Province, told Mizzima that the recent government policy to register and verify the nationality of migrant workers from neighbouring countries, particularly Burma, but excluding their family members, may create more child labour issues.

“Many of them have to tell lies that they are older, than their actual age, so that the Thai authorities let them live and work in Thailand, with their parents. Some of them were unable to go to school, because they had to take care of their younger sisters or brothers and help their parents to work,” he said.

In 2004, the Thai government had set up registration for family members of migrants, but later it cancelled this policy. During that time there were about 3,000 migrant children in Samut Sakorn Province, one of the biggest towns in Thailand, which has a thriving fisheries industry.

However, the total number of migrant children is expected to increase to 10, 000, only in Samut Sakorn.

Activists are of the opinion that the registration of these children would show the number of children, who should be in school and then medical and other necessary public facilities could be provided for them.

A 10-year-old girl in Mahachai district of Samut Sakorn told Mizzima that she was attending a local school, but after her sister was born her mother needed her to help at home.

“In addition, the school I went to was quite far from home, so it was difficult to continue,” she said.

The girl also said that in the morning she works at a small frozen prawn factory, while her mother also works there and in the evening she helps her mother take care of her sister.

Many children have to live alone, while their parents are working. Normally these are small rooms in apartments, where hundreds of workers live as a community.

The Thai authorities allow young people above 15, to work in some businesses, but a large number of children aged under 15 told the employers that they were 15 years old. Some employers also reported the child worker’s ages to the authorities and let them work, generally in bad conditions, both in below standard payment and environment.

Local authorities estimated that current statistics of workers in the province is up to 300, 000. Mainly they work in fishery industries, such as prawn shell peeling and cleaning seafood for frozen business. The biggest groups of workers are ethnic Mon, Burmese and some are Kachin and Karen people.

READ MORE---> Rise in child labour feared over Thai policy...

Military training continues in another guise

By Hseng Khio Fah

(Shanland) -Burma Army’s recruiting campaign and military training are still going on in northern Shan State’s Muse Township on the Sino-Burma border, according to local source.

In early this month, local police officials have forcibly recruited over a hundred of youths from the town and rural areas saying they would be employed in the fire brigade. However, those recruited people actually being given a month long military training.

Each town quarter was ordered to provide at least 10 to 30 people and each village surrounding Muse at least 3 people.

“No excuse for the service. Parents are also afraid to refuse for fear of punishment,” a resident said.

The recruits are being trained at Muse’s football field since 11 August, he added.

Each trainee is provided Kyat 500 ($0.45) each day.

Since early 2009, the Burma Army has been forcing villagers in several townships in Shan State to join militia units and have been conducting many military trainings.

In May, hundreds of villagers in Shan State East’ Tachilek township, opposite Maesai and people in Namkham, northern Shan State were similarly ordered to sever either in the fire brigade or in the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), but all were forced to undergo militia training, according to report by SHAN in May.

READ MORE---> Military training continues in another guise...

Forced labour persists at Karen refugee camp

(DVB)–Instances of forced labour, forced army recruitment and extortion are still being reported at the refugee camp in Burma’s eastern Karen state that was overrun by a pro-junta militia last month.

The Ler Per Har camp was a focal point of fighting last month between government troops, supported by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), and opposition Karen National Union (KNU).

Around 4000 Karen civilians have fled across the border into Thailand, many of whom reported cases of being forced to act as porters for the army, and to walk in front of army patrols as minesweepers.

The Bangkok-based Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) last week said that while fighting had eased, reports of the forced labour, portering and exortion of money, food and livestock from villagers by the DKBA continued.

“These abuses continue to result in more people fleeing their villages and crossing to Thailand,” the TBBC statement said, adding that a further 200 people had crossed the border into Thailand in the 24 hours prior to the statement’s release.

The populous Ler Per Har camp accommodates internally displaced refugees inside Burma, although the Burmese government have said that KNU troops also reside there.

A source from the TBBC said that the DKBA were making the lives of villagers around the conflict zones “unbearable”.

“The DKBA come to villages and tell families that they want their sons in the army,” the source said.

“They come and ask for money; when the villagers cannot pay this, they ask for livestock.”

Pressuring the DKBA and Burmese troops to end forced labour and extortion is very difficult, said the TBBC.

There has been talk however of a long-term plan by the Thai government to negotiate with the DKBA and the Burmese junta for the safe return of the refugees currently holed up in various sites on the Thai side of the border.

According to the TBBC statement, around 2000 people have moved from temporary sites in and around Nu Poh village near to the Thai-Burma border to a new camp nearby.

The fighting between Burmese troops and the armed wing of the KNU, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), began on 2 June.

Since then, Burmese troops have taken two strategically important KNLA bases. It is unclear how many people have died in the fighting.

Fighting between the Burmese army and the KNU began in 1949, and is thought to be the world’s longest running internal conflict.

Reporting by Francis Wade

READ MORE---> Forced labour persists at Karen refugee camp...

Intensive recruiting for Army in Shan State

By Hseng Khio Fah

(Shanland) -Local sources have reported that hundreds of youths from rural areas in Lashio Township, northern Shan State, are being recruited by junta-backed local militia forces for the Army since last month.

The recruiting drive was led by Bo Mon, leader of Wanpang militia, in areas between Lashio and Tangyan townships under its control.

“One from every household in each village and village tract must enlist for military service,” said a local resident in Mong Yaw village tract who declines to be named.

To date, over 200 youths from Nam Pawng, Man Pang, Mong Yaw, Mong Tawm and Mong Ha villages have already left for Pyinmana, near the new capital of Naypyitaw, a source said.

To escape from the recruiting, many have fled to towns and others gone to stay in monasteries as monks. However, some were unable to escape as they were followed and forcibly disrobed by the group. Families and relatives are also being threatened, said another source.

People who could afford must pay at least Kyat 300,000 ($ 273) per person in order to evade the draft. “Naturally, there are only a few who can pay,” he said.

The Burma Army has reportedly planned to send the local militia forces to the frontline to fight against the anti-Naypyitaw Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ and other groups, said a businessman who is close to an officer from the regional command in Lashio.

“The Tamataw will force the militias to fight against rebels, the same way it is using the DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Army) to fight against KNU (Karen National Union) in the south,” he said.

In June, the joint forces of the Burma Army and the DKBA had overrun the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)’s 7th Brigade base after a joint military offensive against the KNLA, the armed wing of Karen National Union (KNU).

READ MORE---> Intensive recruiting for Army in Shan State...

Residents scared, rumors abound in wake of impending conflict

IMNA, Rai Maraoh

As news has spread of the advancing Burmese army, fear and rumors run rife amongst area civilians and traders, as a major clash with the largest Karen resistance group looms.

The most recent round of fighting between the Burmese State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) forces and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) took place around 8 p.m. on July 8th on a temporary camp near Tae Tone Lone. The camp is 12 kilometers outside Three Pagoda Pass, between Makate and Three Pagoda Pass (TPP).

After the recent fall of the Karen National Union’s (KNU) KNLA base, brigade 7, according to KNU sources, the SPDC and DKBA forces are advancing towards brigade 6 stronghold. Many residents and traders have reacted with fear to the increasing tension and militarization in the region, which has caused the spread of rumors among area residents, such as a rumor that close to 1,000 SPDC troops are advancing into the area. Concerns about safety in the face of the increasing military presence has in particular paralyzed trade along the Zami river, as traders are hesitant to approach the numerous checkpoints that along the river held by assorted armed groups, and the repercussions of being caught in the midst of the ongoing conflict.

“After the DKBA and the KNU were fighting in Tae Tone Lone camp, the boat owners couldn’t bring themselves to run their boats, so we also can’t trade,” said a trader from Three Pagoda Pass. “We’re afraid of the conflict between the DKBA and KNU, that’s why we’ve now stopped trading.”

On July 8th the SPDC combined forces with the DKBA to fight the KNLA at a brigade 6 administered checkpoint in the area near Tae Tone Lone camp, while on July 11th there were reports of DKBA forces opening fire on KNLA troops.

“Now we hear about the Burmese troops marching to (TPP) area, but they haven’t arrive yet,” said a source close to the Burmese authorites. “They will arrest residents to use as forced porters.”

On July 11th a rumor spread that SPDC forces had arrested 15-30 residents of Toung Wine area, outside of TPP, and needed about 800 more porters to successfully carry out their coming assault of the brigade no 6 base.

After the dual bomb blast in Three Pagoda Pass and the ongoing conflict between DKBA and KNU, SPDC troops from IB No. 32 based in TPP, now enforce a 10 pm curfew on the crossing into Makate forest. After 10 pm soldiers from IB No. 32 will not allow people to go outside town, according to a resident from Three Pagoda Pass.

“During in this day [Monday the 13th] about 7 soldiers from IB No. 32 deserted to join the KNLA, including one captain,” said a source in TPP. “Some people said that this is an unusual situation, and that it’s a Burmese army strategy to trick and blind side the KNU.”

READ MORE---> Residents scared, rumors abound in wake of impending conflict...

Burma rebels vow to stop using child soldiers

By Mark Tran

Shan insurgents get foreign aid in return for halting use of children in country with highest number of underage conscripts

The Guardian UK -One of Burma's main rebel groups has pledged to stop using child soldiers in return for outside aid in an effort to enhance its international credibility.

Leaders of the Shan State army (SSA), one of several ethnic insurgent groups battling the country's military junta, have signed a memorandum of understanding with Abolish Slavery and International Operations Centre for Children (IOCC), two western non-governmental organisations, to prevent minors serving in its forces.

Burma has the highest number of child soldiers in the world – about 70,000. A Human Rights Watch report in 2002 found widespread forced recruitment of boys as young as 11. Subsequent reports say the number of child soldiers in Burma is largely unchanged despite international condemnation.

International law prohibits the recruitment of children under 15 and the use of child soldiers has been recognised as a war crime under the statute for the international criminal court.

In Burma, the national army is the biggest culprit. Flouting the country's own laws that prohibit any recruitment of under 18s, the army apprehends boys at public places such as markets and bus stations, using threats and violence to force them to join. Once trained, children as young as 12 have been sent to fight against ethnic insurgent groups.

Rebel groups also forcibly conscript children. The United Wa State army, the biggest rebel force, has the largest number. The Kachin Independence army is the only armed group to recruit girls. The SSA and the Karen National Liberation army have policies against recruiting children under 18, but do not turn away children who actively seek to join.

Christian Elliott, of the IOCC, who signed the agreement with Lieutenant Colonel Kon Jern, a SSA commander, said the reason behind the insurgents' anti-child soldiers pledge was international credibility.

"They are looking for brownie points any way they can and in return we will provide them with educational material for teachers and children, including books writing materials, computers and distant education opportunities," Elliott said.

The Shan area once used to be a major producer of heroin but the rebel groups have made an effort to stamp out production as part of the drive for international respectability.

Elliott, who made the arduous trek into Burma to sign the agreement, said the SSA has between 2,000 and 3,000 soldiers aged 16-18.

The rebel group has also agreed to provide evidence of human rights abuses by the Burmese army in the form of video and photographs. The material is to be displayed on the Abolish Slavery website in support of the SSA's to help the people of the Shan state, in the east of the country.

Home to several ethnic armed groups, Shan remains largely outside central government control.

READ MORE---> Burma rebels vow to stop using child soldiers...

IDPs, land confiscation and forced recruitment in Papun District

Karen Human Reports

Download File here

In the northernmost township of Papun District, 13 of 46 Burma Army battalions deployed as part of an ongoing offensive in northern Karen State were withdrawn between the end of 2008 and the start of 2009. Although this has opened some space for villagers, they report continued patrols, restricted access to farmland and severe food shortages. Elsewhere in the district where SPDC control is more comprehensive, villagers report forced labour and land confiscation for road construction as well as conscription as 'human minesweepers' and into the local government militia. This report presents information on ongoing abuses committed by SPDC forces in Papun District from February to May 2009.

IDPs, land confiscation and forced recruitment in Papun District

READ MORE---> IDPs, land confiscation and forced recruitment in Papun District...

Burmese Army Still Recruiting Under-age Soldiers

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

The Burmese army is still recruiting under-age soldiers in contravention of a United Nations call to stop the practice, according to child labor activists in Burma.

In the latest incident, a 16-year-old youth was taken late at night by an army truck from Light Infantry Division 77, based in Pegu.

Aye Myint, a leading labor activist in Pegu Division, said the youth was taken from a local restaurant where he worked. His parents were told by an officer at the Pegu army base that the youth had been sent to a recruitment center in Rangoon’s Mingalardon Township.

Aye Myint said the youth’s family has lodged a letter of complaint with the International Labour Organization (ILO) office in Rangoon on June 17. The Irrawaddy tried
unsuccessfully to contact the office on Wednesday.

Kyin Toe, chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Twante Township, said another family had complained to his office that their under-age son had been recruited by the army.

Burma’s state-run media maintains that the government is screening recruits and releasing any found to be under age. It reported that 68 children were detected recently in various military training schools and were released to their parents or guardians.

The ILO says it has been instrumental, together with the International Committee of the Red Cross, in the release of 12 under-age recruits. A further 14 cases are still being processed.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has said that 70,000 under-age soldiers are serving in the Burmese armed forces.

The UN also says in its latest report on the situation that the Burmese military junta is still recruiting child soldiers. The report on “Children and Armed Conflict” was released this month.

Human rights groups say children are recruited at train stations, bus depots, tea shops, outside video halls and movie cinemas or even while walking home at night.

The groups say the young recruits are threatened and beaten if they refuse to agree to undergo military training. After their training, many are sent to areas where the army is in conflict with ethnic groups.

READ MORE---> Burmese Army Still Recruiting Under-age Soldiers...

Army enlists youths as porters in Mandalay

by May Kyaw

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - At least 50 youths hailing from central Burma’s Mandalay division were forcibly enlisted on June 1 by the Burmese Army to work as porters to carry military material such as rations and equipment, local villagers said.

Youths, from at least seven villages in Mandalay division’s Thabeikkyin region, known for its gold mines, were forcibly enlisted to work as porters to carry army paraphernalia on the evening of June 1.

“The youths were whisked away in five army trucks. The young men here use to relax at night in teashops. The troops arrived suddenly and took them away,” a local told Mizzima over telephone.

Another local resident revealed, “We have never seen anything like this here in Thabeikkyin town. This is the first time such a thing has happened. But people said those taken away came back by shelling out 100,000 kyat (USD 100) each. About five have reportedly come back.”

While it is still not clear which battalion of the army had taken them away to wok as porters, locals believe that it could the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 148, based near Kyuak Hlebe village in Thabeikkyin Township.

Thabiekkyin Township is well known for gold mining activity and it attracts businessmen as well as people from other townships including Wutlet, Ayardaw and Thantse. Many come and work in the mines.

READ MORE---> Army enlists youths as porters in Mandalay...

Junta continues to recruit children into army: Rights defender

New Delhi (mizzima news) - Despite the Burmese junta’s claim of eliminating the use of children in the military, a human rights advocate said children in Burma are still recruited into the army and that he is currently advocating for the return of three children from the armed forces.

Aye Myint, a lawyer in Pegu town, who has helped in the return of several children from the army, said he is handling three cases of children being recruited in the army in recent weeks. He is now working for their return at the behest of their parents.

“I have just submitted a letter of complaint to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for the return of three children from the army,” Aye Myint told Mizzima on Wednesday.

But since publicising the details of the cases could come in the way of the ILO and his efforts to negotiate with the Burmese authorities in helping the children return, he refused to provide details of the cases of the three children.

In a summary of the cases, Aye Myint said, it includes a boy of age 16 from Myingyan town of Mandalay division. The boy was reportedly working at a restaurant in Pegu town and was persuaded by an Army officer from Brigade 77 to join the army and was later taken away by the officer.

“No matter how the child is recruited, whether by persuasion, coercion, or threat, if a child under the age of 18 is recruited into the army, it is a violation. The army has the responsibility to return the kid because the kid is supposed to be in the classroom not carrying out military duties,” Aye Myint said.

Aye Myint, who by profession is a lawyer, has started fighting against the use of children in the military since 2006. And since March 2006, he said, with the help of the ILO, he was able to help 25 children return from the army.

On June 3, the junta claimed that it is taking steps in preventing and eliminating the use of children in the army by sending back eight minors to their parents from the military.

But Aye Myint as well as other human rights activists said the return was just a sham while the army continues recruiting children into the army.

Burma is a signatory to the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Child (CRC). While the convention prohibits children of age 15 and below from recruiting into the army, the Burmese military law specifies that children below 18 cannot be recruited into the army.

But against these laws, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s 2007 report states that children in Burma are still being used as soldiers not only the Burmese Army but also by non-state armed forces, referring to ethnic armed rebel groups.

The report, which was submitted to the UN Security Council, listed nine armed groups from Burma including the Burmese Army among the 54 armed groups around the world that continues to use children in their armies.

READ MORE---> Junta continues to recruit children into army: Rights defender...

Joint Forces Concentrate on Mortar Attacks against KNU

By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News

Burmese and Democratic Karen Buddhist troops (DKBA) have fired more than 200 mortar rounds in clashes with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 7 in Pa-an District in southern Karen State since early June, according to Karen sources.

The Burmese army fired six mortar rounds on Thursday morning, at least 19 rounds on Wednesday and about 30 rounds on Tuesday, sources said.

In this photo released by Free Burma Rangers, a Karen mother and her baby flee in the rain from the clashes between Burma army and Karen guerrillas. (Photo: AP/Free Burma Ranger)

About 100 soldiers from joint Burmese and DKBA forces have been killed or injured in the fighting while two soldiers from the KNLA were injured, according to a Karen relief group. The KNLA is the military wing of the Karen National Union (KNU).

David Takapaw, the vice chairman of the KNU, said that about 20 soldiers from the joint force have been killed and about 40 injured. “The more they [DKBA soldiers] come, the more they die. The Burmese army is just firing mortar rounds,” he said.

Sources said the joint force has not launched ground attacks because of extensive KNL landmines around their positions.

Poe Shen, a field director for Karen Human Rights Group, said dead and injured soldiers from the joint force were mostly DKBA soldiers forced to fight in the frontline positions while the Burmese army stays behind and fires mortars.

About 10 Burmese battalions—numbering about 2,000 soldiers—under Military Operation Command 4 based in Rangoon Division’s Phugyi recently arrived in southern Karen Sate as reinforcements, according to Burmese military sources.

One Karen source close to the DKBA said that more troops from the Burmese army are coming. He said DKBA soldiers have arrested civilians traveling along the Moei River near the combat zone and forced them to serve as porters and soldiers.

The mortar attack is designed to weaken KNLA forces and will likely be followed by a ground attack, said a source close to the DKBA.

The joint force plans to attack KNLA Brigade 7 until it has removed it from the area it controls. One source said the joint force is prepared to lose 500 soldiers in the operation before it seizes the KNLA area.

Due to the clashes, an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 Karen villagers have been displaced, with many arriving in Thailand as refugees. Many villagers are also hiding in the jungle in Karen State, according to Karen relief groups.

Sally Thompson, the deputy executive director for the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium that assists refugees, said, “The people want to able to return to their villages as soon as possible. But, we don’t know if the situation would allow it or not. There is no ground attack at the moment. But, there is still shelling in the areas.”

The most recent attacks were being launched by Burmese battalions under Light Infantry Division 22 and DKBA battalions 999, 555 and 333. The force is reportedly about 9,000 soldiers strong, according to Karen sources.

Meanwhile, Kyaw Ye Min wrote in an article in a state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, on Thursday that the regime has managed to make peace with other ethnic armed groups for national reconciliation, but KNU troops have showed no sign of wanting peace with the government.

The writer said, “There remains only a handful of KNU remnants, and they are taking shelter at the refugee camps in Thailand. Then, they frequently leave their camps, secretly enter Myanmar, and wage guerrilla attacks.”

“However, the government has still opened the peace door to the remaining groups. This has been said again and again,” the writer said.

The newspaper rebuked the Thai government for its recent criticism of the trial of the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It said the Thai government is not a good friend and is interfering in Burma’s internal affairs.

“If you cooperate with us with genuine goodwill and consider yourself as a good friend, there will be no burden or threats at your border due to [the] internal affairs of Myanmar [Burma],” the article said.

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Youth sold to Burmese army for $US20

(DVB)–Teenagers are being kidnapped and sold to the Burmese army for as little as $US20, while those caught trying to escape are often shot or poisoned, say young army deserters recently interviewed.

Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council has come under fire recently as documented cases of forced recruitment of child soldiers continue to emerge, with various international jurists, British MPs and exiled Burmese lawyers labeling the practice a war crime.

Last week, Human Rights Watch criticised as “window dressing” a ceremony in which child soldiers were handed back to their families, and said the problem continues.

A report released by the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) last week featured interviews with three teenagers, one 16-years-old, who recently escaped from the army.

“When I returned from my grandmother's shop [in Rangoon], I went to Sule Pagoda and a soldier who was there from Taw Boke army camp grabbed me,” said an 18-year-old deserter.

“He told me that he would give me pocket money. Then that soldier sold me for 20,000 kyat [approx US$18.80] to a military officer who was sitting in a tea shop.”

He added that out of a monthly salary of approximately US$20, army seniors stole $US18, leaving them with about US$2 for a whole month.

Another former soldier forcibly recruited into the army said that children as young as 13 were taking part in military training, while treatment of those caught fleeing was often brutal.

“They killed them. For example, they injected them with poison or shot them with a gun,” he said.

“It [execution] was especially for the soldiers who escaped with a gun.”

Last week the International Labour Organisation (ILO) voiced concern about a clause in the Burmese constitution that makes use of forced labour legal when the government deems it necessary.

As well as recruitment of minors into the army, cases of forced labour documented by the ILO include recruitment of civilians to walk in front of army patrols as ‘minesweepers’.

Reporting by Francis Wade

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Teenager recruited by Burmese army - Kyaw Myo Paing

(DVB)–A teenager who went missing after being arrested last year in Burma’s central Bago division has been recruited by the army, his family said.

Tin Myo Naing, a resident in Latpan Thonegwa, and his wife San San have been looking for their 16-year-old son Kyaw Myo Paing since he disappeared on 16 December last year after being arrested for selling pork without a license.

The couple received a letter said to be from Kyaw Myo Paing on Tuesday which he had dropped from a train heading south from the capital, Naypyidaw, as it passed their village.

The letter was found by a villager and brought to them.

“The letter has my son’s hand writing; he said he is now in the army and being transferred to Light Infantry Battalion 118 in Thahton, Mon state,” said Tin Myo Naing.

“He now has a new name, Kyaw Ko, and his serial number is 406290. He told me not to come find him [in Thahton] as the area is a harsh place to travel.”

“I don’t care how difficult it is to travel there. I’m still going there to find my son - I’ve been looking for over five months. I will find him and ask him what he wants to do.”

Yesterday the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported on a ceremony held in Rangoon, attended by UNICEF and Save the Children, in which the army returned eight child soldiers to their parents.

Use of child soldiers contravenes even Burmese domestic law, although Human Rights Watch in 2002 named Burma as the world’s leading recruiter of child soldiers.

“If they’re releasing eight children, then great for those eight children, but that’s not all of them and a lot more needs to be done before the problem goes away,” said David Mathieson, Burma analyst at Human Rights Watch.

The issue has been cited by former senior legal adviser to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Morten Bergsmo, as a reason for bringing Burma’s ruling general, Than Shwe, to trial at the ICC.

Similarly, a report released last month by the Harvard Law School said that the situation for Burma’s child soldiers warranted significant attention from the UN Security Council.

The problem however is not confined to the government, with several of the armed opposition groups, including the Karen National Union, believed to also recruit child soldiers.

Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet and Francis Wade

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DKBA Starts Border Guard Recruitment

By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a ceasefire group, has begun forcibly recruiting people to serve as border guards in compliance with orders from Burma’s ruling junta, according to Karen sources.

A Karen source close to the DKBA said that the ceasefire group recently started a three-month recruitment drive in villages in its territory. New recruits will then receive training from the Burmese army, said the source.

DKBA troops march in a parade. (Photo: Shah Paung/ The Irrawaddy)

Saw Steve, a head of the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People, a Karen relief group, said the DKBA started rounding up villagers to serve as border guards in areas under its control, including Thaton and Pa-an districts, last month.

Some villagers were threatened with arrest by DKBA soldiers if they refused to join the new border security force, he said.

In January, the DKBA was told by the Burmese regime in Naypyidaw to provide border guards under the terms of Burma’s new constitution.

According to Karen sources in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, opposite Myawaddy in Burma’s Karen State, some people in villages under DKBA control have begun fleeing to Thailand to escape forced recruitment.

“Some villagers don’t want to serve as soldiers, so they are running to Thailand,” said the source close to the DKBA.

The DKBA, which signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military regime after splitting from the Karen National Union in 1995, is one of many groups that are facing increasing pressure from the Burmese army to transform themselves into border security forces.

Under the new scheme, the border guards would be commanded by officers of the Burmese army. The move is seen as a way to effectively disarm the ceasefire groups.

So far, however, few of the key ceasefire groups have shown any interest in falling in line with the junta’s plan.

Last month, two major ceasefire groups—the New Mon State Party and the United Wa State Army—rejected instructions from the junta to transform their soldiers into border guards under the joint-command of the Burmese army.

Another strong ethnic ceasefire group, the Kachin Independence Organization, has not yet made a decision regarding the Burmese regime’s plan. The organization said that it would carefully consider the junta’s proposal.

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Forced recruitment of tribal youths into Burmese Army

Dhaka (Narinjara): Officers have forcibly recruited Khami tribal youths, especially from Pelatwa and Buthidaung Township on the western Burma border to serve in the Burmese Army, said Aung Soe a Khami youth in the area.

“Army officers from LIB 55 and 289 have recruited our youths in the border area with the help of some Khami leaders who are supporters of the Burmese Army. Some Khami youths have joined the army while some have fled from the areas to avoid recruitment,” Aung said.

Khami is an ethnic nationality of Burma and most Khami people live in Arakan state and southern Chin State.

“Most of our youths are unable to speak Burmese language fluently but yet the army officials recruited them. The Burmese Army needs more youths to serve in the armed forces, so they have recruited young men no matter who they are,” Aung said.

Army officials have to provide some assistance like rice and money to the family after recruiting youths from the families.

Aung Said, “Two bags of rice and 10,000 Kyats have been given by army officials to the families whose youth joined the Burmese Army.”

The Burmese Army has recently registered a decrease in the number of youths joining in two western provinces after many youths in Arakan and Chin went looking for jobs in Thailand and Malaysia illegally.

“Most of our youths were engaged in mountain cultivation with the family before but they are now leaving for neighbouring countries like Thailand, Malaysia and India as well as Bangladesh looking for jobs. There are good jobs for our young people,” Aung said.

The Burmese junta has disallowed mountain cultivation in the western parts of Burma to prevent deforestation. Because of this many Khami young people became jobless and later left for neighbouring countries. The remaining youths in the area have been forced to join the army.

The recruitment of Khami youths started this year and local army officials are carrying out the plan in accordance with the instructions of senior Burmese Army officials from the western command based in Ann.

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Villagers flee from DKBA troops out to recruit

by Ko Wild

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Villagers of Kawkereik district, Karen State are fleeing from troops of the ‘Democratic Karen Buddhist Army’ (DKBA) who come to their villages to forcibly recruit soldiers for its army.

DKBA’s 999th Brigade mainly recruits villagers under the age of 30 in Kyonebai, Chaungphyaar, Kawkabaung, Ohntabin villages in Kyonedoe Township in this district through the village chairmen. They are forcibly recruiting even villagers in the 40 to 50 age group if their preferred age group is not available. The villagers in these villages have to flee from the clutches of DKBA to avoid going to the frontline.

“They recruited 25 people from Kyonebai and 10 men from Chaungphyar, Ohntabin and Kawkathaung. No one dares to go with them. All have had to flee from their homes. But they have to give soldiers to them anyhow. The youth might think of going with the DKBA if they are not meant to do combat duty. But now they have to go to the frontline in Karenni and Kachin State for combat duty,” a local villager told Mizzima on condition of anonymity.

The DKBA issued orders which said those who do not wish to serve in their army must pay hundreds of thousands of Kyats for hiring a person instead of them. All these substitutes must have passed at least the 8th grade. The parents of these youths are in trouble and miserable.

“Many people are in trouble as they cannot find both soldiers and cash. Some mothers and grandmothers are crying their heart out. Some youths went to monasteries to be ordained as monks to avoid conscription. But they cannot escape from the DKBA’s clutches. So now the children are fleeing between Kyonedoe, Pa-an and Myawadi towns,” he added.

Another local resident told Mizzima that the conscription of soldiers by DKBA is now rampant in all the villages in Kawkereik district and the deadline for sending soldiers to them is just three days away. Now they have to give soldiers besides giving cash in the past.

“The DKBA is demanding fees frequently from the villagers in the range of Kyat 40,000 to 50,000. So the villagers are scared of them. We have not yet found any solution to this serious problem. Many armed groups are here, the Peace Council, DKBA and KNU. All come in turns. And then they recruit soldiers forcibly from us. We fear all of them,” he said.

Similar forcible recruitment has been reported in Paikyone Township in Pa-an District and it is learnt that there are about 200 new forcibly recruited soldiers from Kwanbi and Maethane villages in Hlaing Bwe Township, he said.

DKBA is the breakaway faction of the KNU which split from the mother unit in 1994 and signed a ceasefire agreement with the SPDC (junta).

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Locals Used as Army Porters on Western Border

Dhaka (Narinjara): The Burma army has been forcing people living in northern Buthidaung Township to work as porters transporting weapons and rations along the border since March, when the army started construction on a border fence.

According to a report issued by the Free Burma Arakan Ranger Team recently, the Burmese army has used many Arakanese nationals, such as Khami, Dynet, Mro, and Chakmar people as porters in the area to transport army goods and equipment along the border.

The report also stated that the army authority recently forced many people from the border villages to clear brush located in the tract of land along the border. Although the army provided some food to people who were working, it was only about half the amount of food they actually needed.

One army column led by Major Htin Nwe from Light Infantry Battalion 550 used 45 villagers from seven villages as porters when the column moved from border pillar 57 to pillar 67 to inspect the fence.

The villagers had to work for at lest ten days as army porters without any wages for their work, the report said.

After receiving the report, Narinjara contacted many local people in the area for confirmation.

One leader from the Dynet community told Narinjara on the condition of anonymity that the Burmese army used people as porters in the area regularly to transport their equipment and rations from one village to another without any payment.

The army authority ordered all villages in the areas to place two villagers everyday in standby to carry out army work. When the army needs people as porters, two villagers from each village have to go to the army outpost to work without pay.

However, the Burmese army does not allow use of the term "porter", and instead army officials refer to the workers as "correspondents".

Many tribal villages, including Wa Net Ron, Sin Pru Byin, Yaw gai, Kha Maung, Tha Phan, Poak Chaung, Tha Pru Gri, Tha Pru Chay, Athet Nahan, Aout Nahan, Maung Na Ma, Long Chaung, Pha Ra Zai, Nga Pe Yon, Atai Kyat, in northern Buthidaung Township have been facing the problem of forced labor, with people in the area being used regularly by the army.

One villager from the area said that army authorities use villagers not only as porters but also other work like construction of army barracks, clearing brush in the army compound, and constructing fences around the army camps.

Furthermore, many villages in the area will have to send bamboo, wood, and wood pillars to reconstruct the army barracks before the rainy season begins, he added.

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