In democratic nations over the world the parliaments and governments instruct their country’s armed forces very carefully.

The main task for the forces is to defend the nation and protect the population.
Also by request from the UN, EU and NATO governments agree to send out units to other countries for peacekeeping or humanitarian operations.

But in Burma it is very different!

The SPDC’s forces, the “Tatmadaw “, seem to have the main task to slaughter the ethnic minorities! To commit all kinds of human rights violations and war crimes such as: forced relocation, forced labour, use of forced guides, use of forced porters, use of human beings as “minesweepers”, use of human-shields, looting, use of child soldiers, gang-rapes (often at the command of senior officers), destruction of whole villages.

Just a few years ago an SPDC general said “in the future, it will be only possible to look at Karen people in Burma’s museums”.  What a disgusting statement, remains one of Nazi Germany’s genocide politics!

Burmese soldiers don’t have the physical fitness to be able to carry their own backpacking and military equipment when they are out in the field. That is why the SPDC’s troops systematically use forced porters for to carry their loads. The enormous scale of widespread unpaid forced portering of civilians is one of the worst types of human rights violations. In small patrol operations by local Burma army units, local people are often forced to serve as porters.

When the army units are located in the areas of operations, they do not have the knowledge and the skills on how to read maps and to use a compass, so that the units can find out were to go in the terrain.  That is why SPDC’s troops frequently force the local people in the remote areas to be their guides.

On 19 June 2006, in Shan State a patrol from LIB 516 came to Tin Paet village, were the Burma army unit conscripted 3 men to serve as guides, also to carry loads for the patrol. After the LIB 516 unit had patrolled the area for 3 days, the SPDC troops started to interrogate the 3 men about the movements of Shan soldiers in the area.  As the 3 men denied any knowledge of any Shan soldiers the SPDC troops beat and tortured the 3 men, dripping drops of burning plastic sheets on their heads. The next day the SPDC troops continued to interrogate them, and then the army unit released the 3 men after pleading from a local Pa-O ceasefire group.

SPDC troops warned the villagers “not to talk about the forced guiding, portering and the beating and torture during the interrogations”. If the villagers should speak about it, the SPDC troops threatened the people to come back and kill them all if they say anything.  

In Shan State on 18 October 2006, Lt-Gen Kyaw Win the Chief of Bureau of Special Operations No.2. came by helicopter to Monghsat where he called for a meeting, with all officials and community leaders at the base of Light Infantry Battalion 333.

At the meeting the SPDC Lt-General said that the airfield was too short and needed to be expanded. To do that, “help” from the people in terms of labour and money (2,000,000 kyat) was needed. If anyone dared to ask questions during that meeting, the SPDC General just said: “Shut up, don’t argue!” 

With the start in late November the local people were forced to send 50 workers every day until they were finished with the airfield and also with fixing a football field.  

When SPDC’s generals in top positions travel around the country to force the oppressed people to be used as forced labour, then it is clear evidence that the dictatorship regime has the use of forced labour as its strategy.

In Karen State on 11 April 2007, Burma army Light Infantry Battalion 599 at the command of Major Tin Bo Aung forced villagers to carry food for LIB 375, of Military Operation Command 9, at Kwee De Kaw camp.

On 4 and 9 April this year LIB 599 forced 250 people each day from Ko Nee and Ta Kaw Pwa village tracts to carry food for the Kaw La Wah Lu army camp.

Compare the SPDC’s so called “soldiers” with the brave, motivated, well trained, well skilled and effective fighters in the SSA-S, KNPP, KNLA and other armed resistance groups in the ethnic minority states!