Karen Human Rights field reports-IDP conditions and the rape of a young girl in Papun District-IDP responses to food shortages in Nyaunglebin District

2009 April 24
tags: Human Rights, world focus on Burma, Junta, Burma, Karen, Genocide, KNU, KNLA
by peacerunning
Since the end of December 2008, SPDCtroops active in Nyaunglebin District havepatrolled areas near Internally DisplacedPerson (IDP) hiding sites once or twice amonth. Currently, these soldiers are moreactive in areas at the bottom of themountains—areas which function as a line ofdemarcation between the homes of displacedvillagers living in the mountains and those ofvillagers currently living under SPDC controlin the flatlands. Although the Burma Armycontinues to patrol the mountains ofNyaunglebin District, the relative decrease inmilitary activity in some upland areas, where the majority of IDPs in hiding reside, marks anotable shift in military operations from recentyears.
http://www.khrg.org/khrg2009/khrg09f7.pdf
IDP conditions and the rape of a young girl in Papun District
n late 2005/early 2006, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, Burma’s ruling junta) began an intensive military offensive in much of Northern Karen State, including Toungoo, Nyaunglebin and Papun Districts. During the offensive, many villagers fled to internally displaced persons (IDP) hiding sites where they could avoid living under SPDC control. These displaced communities have been directly targeted by SPDC soldiers and face many difficulties. One example of the pervasive nature of SPDC abuses against displaced villagers can be found in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District. If Lu Thaw villagers in hiding are found by SPDC troops, they risk being be shot on sight. If their hillside farm fields and food stores are found, the SPDC often burns them down in attempt to drive the villagers into SPDC-controlled areas.
Over the course of the offensive, the SPDC has militarized large swaths of Northern Karen State and, in Lu Thaw Township alone, increased the total number of SPDC Army camps to 46. Although the SPDC Army has withdrawn from 13 of these camps since late 2008, villagers in Lu Thaw still face insecurity in a variety of ways, including a severe food shortage caused by SPDC abuses. SPDC soldiers still based in Lu Thaw Township continue to actively patrol near IDP hiding sites and thereby prevent villagers from accessing both their farm fields and the markets in which they can sell their harvested crops.[1]
http://www.khrg.org/khrg2009/khrg09f8.pdf