SPDC and DKBA-sponsored forced labour, arbitrary arrests and extortion

The SPDC and DKBA make regular forced labour demands on Thaton residents, forcing villagers (and prisoners) to work on road construction, porter SPDC/DKBA supplies and gather and deliver thatch that is used for military purposes. Additionally, SPDC/DKBA patrols often demand 2 or 3 villagers to help carry supplies and also use villagers as guides during military offensives.

For example, in September 2008, SPDC LIB #8, combined with DKBA soldiers led by Pah Gkleh, entered Htee Wah Bpoo village and forcibly conscripted two villagers to work for the force and then went on to conscript an additional villager from an ethnic-Shan village in Thaton District. Following these conscriptions, the combined SPDC/DKBA force was attacked by KNLA troops when they arrived in the area around Gkyeh Chyin Ka. Two conscripted villagers, Saw Ta Kheh and Saw Yay Lay, were killed during the fighting and another villager was hospitalized for wounds sustained during the fighting.

Another example of DKBA abuses occurred on January 28th 2009 when DKBA commander Thet Htoo entered Gru Shee village and arrested two villagers: 47-year-old Saw G--- and 46-year-old Naw T---. Commander Thet Htoo accused these villagers of having communicated with KNLA soldiers in the area and also accused them of feeding and hiding KNLA troops. Thet Htoo ordered these villagers to show him the location of the KNLA camp. The villagers denied Thet Htoo's accusations and said that they did not know the location of the KNLA. Thet Htoo ordered that the villagers' hands be bound. He then proceeded to beat both of them. Subsequently, on January 30th 2009, Thet Htoo ordered that residents of Pwo village were not allowed to leave the village boundaries and that anyone found outside the village would be punished.

KHRG field researchers report that SPDC forces operating in Thaton District have been losing trust in the DKBA because the latter has not been as active as before. In previous years, when DKBA soldiers conducted operations amongst villages in Thaton District, the SPDC supported them with rations, money and weapons. Now, as DKBA units in Thaton District have become less active, they are no longer as substantially supported by the SPDC and have consequently had to find other ways to finance their activities (such as forcing villagers to buy the photographs and calendars pictured in this report).
calendar

The photograph on the left shows a stack of calendars produced by the DKBA that villagers in Bilin Township were forced to purchase. Every household was required to buy a calendar for 2,500 kyat (US $2.46). The money collected by the village head of T--- village is shown on the right.
Myanmar kyats
The photograph on the left shows a stack of calendars produced by the DKBA that villagers in Bilin Township were forced to purchase. Every household was required to buy a calendar for 2,500 kyat (US $2.46). The money collected by the village head of T--- village is shown on the right. Both photographs were taken in October 2008.

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