This article is an extract from the new report published by Burma Issues
“From Prison to Frontline: Portering for SDPC Troops during the Offensive in Eastern Karen State, Burma, September-October 2003’.
The report tells the story of former inmates from five different prisons in Burma, who were forced to work as porters and human minesweepers in a SPDC offensive against the Karen army, in eastern Karen State which took place in September 2003.
This extract highlights the corruption these people faced at every level of the Burmese “justice” system, from the time they were arrested to the moment of being selected as porter and sent to the frontline.
In the first week of January, the Burmese military joined forces with a cease-fire armed group, the Karenni National People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF) to launch a heavy artillery attack on the last remaining Karenni stronghold, known as called Nyar Moe. Nyar Moe is only 5 km away from the Karenni refugee camps near the Thai city of Mae Hong Son. Camp residents are concerned that, if the Karenni army loses control of the base, they will be vulnerable to attack. Thai citizens and Thai authorities are also concerned…
The Salween River and the people that live along it are under threat. Thai government is planning to build two large hydro-electric and a number of smaller dams along the river on the Thai-Burma border. The lives of the peaceful, minority people who live on the banks of the Salween will definitely change. They will not be able to continue enjoying their traditional way of life: fishing, farming and using the natural resources along the river when the dam will flood their villages.
