Burma: Visit to the Thailand-Burma Border

Executive summary

When I had two legs, I could earn money for the whole family and I could give my children money for snacks. Now I cannot provide for them. It is not a normal life. My wounds still itch and hurt. I had to flee the SPDC and DKBA many times. I did portering for the SPDC many times. Run and run and run until now – this is my life.”A Karen refugee and landmine victim

The political, humanitarian and human rights crisis in Burma continues to deteriorate, and the vulnerability of refugees on Burma’s borders is increasing. There is an urgent need for increased international action to bring pressure to bear upon Burma’s ruling military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), ahead of its planned sham elections later in 2010.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) visited the Thailand-Burma border in February 2010, accompanied by BurmaInfo (Japan), and documented firsthand testimonial evidence of the continuing human rights violations in Karen State, including the widespread and systematic use of forced labour, torture and murder. CSW believes that there is strong evidence to suggest that these violations amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

CSW also visited one of the temporary camps for Karen refugees who fled to Thailand in June 2009. Ten days after the Thai military attempted to forcibly deport Karen refugees back to areas in Burma infested with landmines and controlled by the Burma Army and its proxy militia, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), CSW was able to obtain firsthand testimony from refugees who have been subjected to continuous harassment and pressure to return to Burma. These included several landmine victims.

The refugees whose stories are documented in this report all had the same message: a cry for help. In the words of one man:

We feel we are so forgotten. Our suffering continues. We have never experienced freedom. No one cares for us. We want the world to know that we are here in the camp, and that inside Burma it is getting worse and worse. We want the world to know we are still suffering.

The time has come for the European Union, the United States, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, India, Japan, Russia, Australia and Canada and all members of the United Nations to join forces in sending the military regime the strongest possible message: that its continuing crimes against humanity are not acceptable and will no longer be tolerated. Pressure must be intensified by the introduction of a universal arms embargo and the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes. Humanitarian aid delivered by cross-border mechanisms to internally displaced peoples (IDPs) must be significantly increased. Pressure on the Royal Thai Government should be maintained, to ensure that no further deportations of Karen refugees occur, that the harassment and intimidation of Karen refugees by the Thai military ceases, and that refugees from Burma continue to receive sanctuary in Thailand for as long as they need it. As the regime plans its sham elections, it is essential that the international community recognises that the Constitution upon which the elections will be held provides no basis for democracy or ethnic rights, and has been described by the General Secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU) as a “death sentence for ethnic diversity”.

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