[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1146-E1147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

BURMA

______

HON. JOSEPH R. PITTS

of pennsylvania

in the house of representatives

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, I would like to submit the attached report
describing the attacks by the brutal military dictatorship against the
ethnic peoples of Burma. The situation facing the internally displaced
is dire. The international community needs to step up its assistance to
refugees and displaced persons. In addition, the international
community must act immediately to stop the ethnic cleansing and other
horrific acts by the dictatorship against the people of Burma.

Refugees International--Burma: Military Offensive Displacing Thousands
of Civilians

The worst Burmese military offensive in 10 years has
displaced at least 27,000 people in eastern Burma's Karen
State since November 2005. The displaced are civilians who
have been targeted by the army and are living in
exceptionally vulnerable conditions. An estimated three
million people have been forced to migrate in Burma as a
result of conflict, persecution, human rights abuses, and
repressive government measures that prevent people from
earning a livelihood. Instead of fulfilling its
responsibility to protect its citizens, the Government of
Burma, known as the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), is the biggest perpetrator of violations in the
country.
Ethnic groups, comprising one-third of Burma's 52 million
people, have borne the brunt of the government's repressive
policies. The pattern of the Burmese military or the Tatmadaw
has been to eliminate all opposition and take full control of
ethnic areas. As part of its strategy to curb the support of
ethnic insurgent armies, it targets civilians it perceives as
backers of the insurgent groups.
In the course of Tatmadaw operations at least 3,000
villages have been destroyed along the eastern Burma border
since 1996. Villagers have been forced to flee to hiding
sites in jungles, move to government-controlled relocation
sites, or travel to relatively more secure ceasefire
locations. Today Burma is estimated to have the worst
internal displacement crisis in Asia. More than 500,000
civilians are displaced in eastern Burma, with those in
hiding being the most vulnerable. People unable to care for
themselves

[[Page E1147]]

and their families have fled to Burma's neighboring countries
of Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia and Thailand in search
of asylum. Burma's refugee crisis has a regional impact and
the number of refugees from the country is believed to be
more than one million.
As the military takes control of new territory in ethnic
areas, it initiates development projects and exploits natural
resources, which displace more civilians. The forced
migration of civilians is ongoing even in ethnic states, such
as Mon and Kachin, where political leaders have signed
ceasefire agreements with the central authorities. According
to a Burmese asylum seeker interviewed by Refugees
International in Thailand, ``The outside world thinks that
just because a cease fire has been signed between the Mon and
the SPDC, it is safe for us to live in Burma. But we continue
to face abuses on a daily basis. The military confiscated all
my orchards and my family could barely survive. We still
tried to stay but had to leave when the military tried to
recruit my teenage son.''
The Karen National Union, the indigenous political
leadership in Karen State, has not entered into a ceasefire
agreement with the SPDC and conflict and displacement are not
new phenomena there. However, the intensity and spread of the
Tatmadaw offensive in recent months are estimated to be the
worst in more than a decade. The attack is linked to the
military's attempt to consolidate its control over parts of
Karen State and the districts of Toungoo, Papun and
Nyaunglebin have been particularly hard-hit by the offensive.
According to a community-based organization assisting the
internally displaced, the recent attacks differ from previous
ones in that the military did not withdraw during the 2006
rainy season but continued to attack the same areas
repeatedly.
In order to protect themselves, Karen communities have been
trying to establish early warning systems. Villagers are
constantly on watch to be able to anticipate Tatmadaw attacks
and whenever possible, the Karen ethnic army has been warning
villagers ahead of an attack so they can go into hiding. At
present there remains a lack of an adequate number of
communication tools for advance warning.
The military has planted a large number of landmines in and
around villages so people are unable to go beyond a certain
area, and at the time of harvesting many do not have access
to their crops. In some parts of Karen State the army has set
rice fields on fire. According to the estimates of a
community-based organization assisting the internally
displaced, 25,000 people have lost their harvest for the
entire year, and in Lerdoh Township alone, 2,800 civilians
are believed to have been taken away from their villages and
fields by the Tatmadaw to relocation sites where they are
being forced to dig trenches and build fencing. Since 2006,
the military has also placed a prohibition on trading in some
areas of Karen State and prevented villagers from selling or
buying certain products around harvest time. After harvest
time, villagers are allowed to sell their products, but at
half the normal price and only to the military, contributing
to food insecurity.
Besides food, the displaced are in urgent need of shelter
and medicines. The displaced in Karen State are being
assisted largely through cross-border assistance, coming from
agencies based in Thailand, and a few community-based
organizations inside Burma. This aid is helping people cope
with their situation and preventing large numbers from
fleeing to Thailand as refugees. Although in recent years
donors have allocated more funds for aid to internally
displaced people, both for cross-border operations and those
inside Burma, the number of vulnerable people has gone up
significantly with the latest offensive in Karen State and it
is critical that donors respond accordingly.
In terms of medical assistance, Karen internally displaced
people are relying largely on traditional curative techniques
or on mobile teams, back pack health workers, and Karen
medical units who may be able to access them only after
navigating their way through heavily militarized territory.
Organizations based in Thailand and Burma that are
assisting the internally displaced from across the border and
inside the country have improved communications in recent
months, but there remains a need to strengthen information
sharing on the activities being undertaken by both sides.
Many of those displaced in the recent attacks in Karen
State who have been able to reach the Thai-Burma border are
living in settlements on the Burma side. One of these, the Ei
Tu Hta camp, set up in April 2006, is home to 3,000 persons
mostly from Toungoo district. Approximately 5,000 recently
displaced Karen have also crossed the border into Thailand.
Some of them have entered refugee camps, are recognized as
asylum seekers, and are awaiting approval from the Provincial
Admission Boards, the Thai Government's entities for
processing new arrivals. This has largely been the case in
Mae Hong Son Province. In Tak Province's Mae La camp,
however, none of the new arrivals are recognized and they are
living unofficially in the camp.
The Thai Government is concerned that recent efforts to
resettle Burmese refugees in third countries is drawing
recent arrivals to camps. The Governor of Tak Province has
announced that no food or accommodation would be made
available to new arrivals in the camps in that province.
Further, the Provincial Admission Boards are not fully
functional in each of the provinces, and there remains a void
for processing new arrivals in certain areas.
The Burmese internal displacement and refugee crises are
linked to the regime's policy of targeting civilians. All
regional and local initiatives to urge the SPDC to stop
attacking civilians and protect its people have failed. The
non-binding Security Council resolution introduced by the
U.S. in January 2007, which included a call to the SPDC to
cease attacks on the country's ethnic minorities, was vetoed
by China and Russia. Until such time that all members of the
UN Security Council acknowledge that the SPDC must be held
accountable, and develop a united approach to address the
government's failure to protect its people, the worst
internal displacement crisis in Asia will persist.
Refugees International, therefore, recommends that:
The Burmese military immediately halt all attacks on
civilians.
The UN Security Council members reach consensus on a
strategy to pressure the SPDC to stop its abuse of civilians
and hold it accountable for its failure to protect Burma's
people.
Donors support initiatives to assist internally displaced
people by agencies doing cross-border work and agencies
operating inside Burma, with funding directed to the most
vulnerable.
Donors support initiatives to enhance IDP protection
through early warning systems.
Agencies based inside Burma and organizations operating out
of Thailand continue to improve coordination and
collaboration through regular meetings and information
sharing forums.
The Government of Thailand allow new asylum seekers from
Burma official access to all camps and ensure that the
Provincial Admission Boards are functioning consistently so
the new arrivals can be processed.

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