Living under fire
By Daniel Pedersen and Nelson Rand
The Nation (16.08.01)
For three days they were there, hanging like shadows and watching from ridges gilded by the mists and low clouds that mark the tropical wet season in lands that are neither Thailand's nor Burma's.The troops would suddenly appear, startling villagers who were searching for food around their makeshift camp. And then the soldiers were gone, as quickly as they came. But the Karen villagers knew what they had seen - and it terrified them.
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) attacked the camp. They came from two directions in bursts of automatic machine-gunfire and rounds of rocket propelled grenades that scorched the earth. More than 2,000 people fled for their lives to seek refuge in Thailand.The hour-long assault launched against Mae La Po Hta Thaw, an internally displaced persons' camp, sparked an exodus unprecedented in recent years.
That was on July 17, just days before members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and their dialogue partners met in Hanoi to discuss regional security issues.The junta's attack on Mae La Po Hta Thaw, populated by Karens, the country's largest ethnic minority, was never discussed. In fact praise of Burma's ruling military junta was dispensed in a joint statement after talks were completed.
Vietnamese foreign minister Nguyen Dy Nien told the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) that: "We appreciate the developments there [in Burma]".Vietnam, which currently has the revolving presidency of Asean, has long discouraged "meddling" in Burma's internal affairs.However the European Union's representative at the talks, Belgian foreign minister Louis Michel, viewed Burma's internal situation somewhat differently from his Vietnamese counterpart.
"There must be respect to minorities," he said, describing the ARF statement as "rather weak". The ARF members, in a prepared statement, expressed "appreciation" of the developments that had occurred in Burma during the past 12 months since they had last met.
During the past 10 months there have allegedly been ongoing talks between the junta and main opposition leader, Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.What has been discussed in these talks, which have been hailed by foreign governments and the media alike as "watershed" remains a mystery. In fact when the talks occurred, or with what frequency, has not been revealed.And they have not involved Burma's myriad ethnic minorities, which make up almost 40 per cent of the country's population.
During a clandestine meeting on the Thai-Burma border Mahn Sha, a leader of the Karen National Union, the political arm of the Karens' resistance group, dismissed the much-lauded talks as "insignificant"."They mean nothing to us," he said.He suggested they were merely the latest ploy by the junta in its quest for international legitimacy.He said things were worse than ever for the Karen. Fierce Burmese government offensives had occurred throughout this year's wet season - in the past decisive military thrusts have been left for the dry season.
But, with the rice crops that nourish Burma's rebels now ready for harvest, the Burmese military is attacking Karen areas and forcing them off their lands. The SPDC wants to stop the harvest.
"They [Burmese troops] have been ordered to destroy everything, even the plants, so there is nothing left to sustain human life," said Mahn Sha.
Karens displaced inside Burma work against the odds to feed themselves. Following Burmese offensives that force Karen villagers from their homes and into the jungle, the necessities of life take over. A secluded area deemed safe must be found where a makeshift camp can be set up and nearby land cleared to grow rice.
Mae La Po Hta Waw was one such camp.From a population that had swelled to almost 4,000 before the attack, 840 Karens have now returned to their rudimentary dwellings, after seeking temporary refuge in Thailand or in the nearby jungle. Their church has been burned down, and the 52-year-old pastor Hwe Htoo stands outside it, cursing the Burmese soldiers who razed it to the ground. The camp's predominantly Christian population used to gather here each Sunday. They have not yet begun to rebuild it, for now there will only be open-air gatherings - weather permitting, as the rainy season is at its peak.
At the camp's school, 28-year-old principal Hsa Hklo Htoo presides over his classes. The usual chatter of schoolchildren emanates, but there is far less noise than there used to be. Only half of the kids have returned, and their attendance depends on the "situation".The school has been attacked repeatedly by SPDC soldiers since it was established in May of last year, and once completely destroyed.Despite the danger, the kids here continue to turn out for morning roll call. They are taught four languages - Karen, Thai, Burmese and English - as well as mathematics, but perhaps the most important skill they learn is the sixth sense required to survive in a war zone.
Pe Kayt is 11 years old and has lived in this camp for one-and-a half years. She came to the camp after her home village was burned to the ground by Burmese troops. She was among the first of 1,479 arrivals that founded this settlement."I hope I can keep coming to school, but each day I must check the situation," she says.
Principal Htoo explains: "The Karen people just want to stay on their own land, in the future we would like [the opportunity to be asked] a quiet question, to quietly decide our own fate, we don't want enemies." He says the people in the camp just want the fighting to stop.
The factional split of the Karen leadership in 1995 resulted in two armies of the same people fighting each other - the pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and the Christian-dominated Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Karen National Union.This split has had dire consequences for the people. No longer is there simply a united Karen resistance force - communities have been split as their men take to the mountains with either side.
"We are not KNU or DKBA," says the school principal, "but there are families of both in this camp, we don't want to be controlled by either side."The principal's comments suggest that, at age 11, one must forsake childlike pursuits in Karen State, but then what does she like doing? "I like to sing very much," she says.
And so while Pe Kayt sings traditional Karen songs about her homeland, war continues to engulf it. As Asean praises Burma for its commitment to a transition to democracy, the struggle of the ethnic minorities continues with no end in sight. The plight of the minorities, like the Karen, highlights the fact that all is not well in Burma.
But there are those in the international community who condemn Asean's diplomacy and do not accept the junta's pledges that it is working towards peace.International Confederation of Free Trade Unions secretary-general Bill Jordan, at an international conference in Bangkok on July 24, described Burma as the world's "biggest labour camp".
"Any serious investigation would show that the pronounced initiatives are cosmetic measures for international consumption and have not touched the people of Burma," he said.
The KNU's Mahn Sha also dismissed any pretence of progress in Burma."We do not see any significant development ... they [the junta's talks with Suu Kyi] are for publicity's sake, to convince foreign countries that things are going okay."
EU external affairs commissioner Chris Patten said the use of forced labour should worry all countries."What is important to us is that there be a dialogue with National League for Democracy (Suu Kyi's party) and ethnic minorities," he said.
Mahn Sha said the talks have not touched any of the ethnic minorities; the Karen haven't officially talked to Burmese government representatives since November 1996.The Burmese junta has made clear it will not talk with the Karen unless they enter the "legal fold".But Mahn Sha interprets the "legal fold" very differently from the junta, which he considers an illegal force anyway.
"If the SPDC respects the law, they would have accepted the 1990 election results," he said. Aung San Su Kyi's National League for Democracy Party won the elections by a landslide, but the military never allowed parliament to convene.
"The constitution has been demolished, they are ruling by martial law - how can you submit to a military dictatorship? We feel responsible for our people", said Mahn Sha.
Forced labour remains a widespread practice in Burma and is used by the Burmese army to help fight its war against the ethnic minorities. Mahn Sha said that on July 12, fifteen porters carrying ammunition and supplies for SPDC troops in Northern Karen State escaped to KNLA controlled territory. Among them was a monk, who told of beatings and summary executions of porters by SPDC troops if they were too exhausted to walk on. He saw one man bayoneted to death.
Such use of forced labour in Burma has been described as "pervasive" by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).Both the ILO and the European Union have placed sanctions on Burma and urged all countries to do the same.
The KNU's Mahn Sha stresses that these sanctions work, and that any foreign investment into Burma puts money directly in the hands of the military. And with that money the military buys weapons to wage war against the minorities."We ask that countries at least be neutral", he said.Mahn Sha criticised Asean and Australia's policy of "constructive engagement", saying that any engagement with the SPDC does nothing to help the people of Burma.
Australia annually sponsors human rights workshops in Burma aimed at middle-ranking bureaucrats. At the recent Asean regional forum in Hanoi, Australia maintained that any engagement with the SPDC was better than none at all - a stance not supported by EU external affairs commissioner Chris Patten. "I don't think we have always seen entirely eye to eye (win Australia) on Burma in general", he said.
As the international community continues to bicker about the best way to handle Burma, the people of the country go about their everyday lives. Several hundred thousand of them, according to the IDFTU, are subjected to forced labour every day. Mahn Sha estimates that 300,000 Karens are currently internally displaced. At Mae La Po Hta Thaw, children continue their schooling despite the ever-present threat of government attacks.And 11-year-old adults sing traditional Karen songs about their homeland.