Thread: Burma and Landmines

FBR REPORT

Burma Army Using New Landmines Against Villagers in Northern Karen State
Karen State, Burma
19 December, 2008

While providing humanitarian assistance at an IDP hiding place, we were shown a new landmine that the Burma Army is using against villagers in this area.

We don't know who is making it and no one here has seen it before.

It was found alongside the Kyauk Kyi - Hsaw Hta road near Muthey in Ler Doh Township.

The Burma Army is placing these and other mines to block movement by the Karen people in this area.

We will try to find out who is providing the Burma Army with these mines or if they are producing it themselves as none of us have seen this type either.

God bless you,
A Relief Team Leader
Nyaunglebin District,
Western Karen State,
Burma


IDPs showing new Burma Army landmine


New Burma Army landmine- assembled


Disassembled landmine

The Free Burma Ranger’s (FBR) mission is to provide hope, help and love to internally displaced people inside Burma, regardless of ethnicity or religion. Using a network of indigenous field teams, FBR reports on human rights abuses, casualties and the humanitarian needs of people who are under the oppression of the Burma Army. FBR provides medical, spiritual and educational resources for IDP communities as they struggle to survive Burmese military attacks.
For more information, please visit Free Burma Rangers :: Home

freeburmarangers.org


looks similar to a gas regulator ?

.

Townships with Known Hazard of Antipersonnel Mines



click pic for large version

reliefweb.int

FBR REPORT:

Landmines, Victims and Flooding from Burma Army Dam Project Displaces Multiple Communities

Nyaunglebin District, Karen State, Burma
17 January, 2011

In This Report:

• Flooding from Burma Army dam project displaces multiple communities
• Burma Army burns house, plants landmines: one man loses leg
• FBR Nyaunglebin teams' mission report

Map showing area of report (click on map for larger image)

Burma Army Burns House and Plants Landmines in Mone Township: One Man Loses Leg

On Christmas day, 25 December, 2010: Burma Army soldiers placed landmines on trails and village land, as well as burning down one house near a Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)- ethnic pro-democracy resistance- outpost in Mone Township in northwestern Karen State. The KNLA sent one soldier, Saw Kweh K'Baw, to demine the area; he discovered and disarmed four mines before stepping on and detonating a fifth. He lost his left foot in the explosion and was treated by FBR medics. Over 200 villagers fled the Burma army mine laying patrols.


Kweh K'Baw, after receiving initial treatment after stepping on landmine. (see more pictures at end of report)


Pro-Democracy resistance forces remove landmines placed near a village by the Burma Army


IDPs from recent attacks in Mone Township


Building burnt by Burma Army in Mone Township

Communities Displaced Due to Flooding from Dam Project

Entire communities in northwestern Karen State have been displaced due to extensive flooding from a new dam project on the Shwe Gyin River. This project was initiated by the SPDC government in Burma and is due to be completed by the end of January, 2011. FBR relief teams on a mission in the area conducted a reconnaissance of the nearby Burma Army Mae Zaung camp. The unit there is Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 349, which is responsible for security of the Shwe Gyin Dam project. According to one villager who once lived where a lake now stands: "I lived at Mae Zaung Ywa and my family survived by planting orchards. I planted dogfruit trees and lemon trees, and every year I made a living and never worried for myself or my family. Since the SPDC started the Shwe Gyin dam construction, all my orchards were flooded and I had to leave my village. I now live in Shwe Gyin town. Many of my friends in my village fled anywhere they could, and some went to a refugee camp. I have had to restart my life to survive, and now I do not have a regular income. I just work day by day and worry about my future."


Extensive flooding resulting from a dam project on Shwe Gyin River

Nyaunglebin District teams' mission report

MISSION SUMMARY:

Five Karen relief teams went on a mission to provide humanitarian assistance and bring help, hope, and love to villagers and displaced people in northwestern Karen State. The mission ran from December 5th, 2010, through December 24th, 2010. They went to villages in the Shwe Gyin (Hsaw Hti) Township area of Nyaunglebin (Kler Lwe Htoo) District. The teams set up a program outside each village, and villagers would come there to receive medical aid and participate in Good Life Club programs for children. The teams were able to give medical aid to more than 250 villagers. The teams also conducted reconnaissance of Burma Army camps in the area, photographed them, and recorded the names of the battalions and leaders stationed at each camp.


GLC program in Doo Pa Lae village

BURMA ARMY ACTIVITY:

There are multiple Burma Army camps in and around Hsaw Hti Township. This area saw attacks and displacement in early 2010, but Burma Army activity is currently minimal. Camps in the area and corresponding units include:

1. Thay Kay Mae Soe Camp -- LIB 350
2. Kyo Daw Goe Camp -- LIB 349
3. Mae Te Ta Camp -- LIB 589
4. Lae Ya Camp -- LIB 589
5. Ler Tau Thoe Camp - LIB598
6. Ko Pet Camp -- LIB 350
7. U Pao Chaung Camp -- LIB 350
8. Thei Kay Mae Soe Camp -- LIB 350
9. Mae Zaung Wa Camp -- LIB 349 IB
10. Wa Ko Law Te Camp - LIB 349
11. Ler Kyo Kgo Camp -- LIB 349
12. Aut Mae Zaung Camp -- Infantry Battalion (IB) 57
13. Kae Kge Ko Camp - IB 57
14. Zalu Chaung Camp - LIB 598
15. Wingalone Camp - LIB 589

From Mae Zaung Wa to Ler Wah there are no Burma Army camps but troops are patrolling the area from Military Operations Command (MOC) 16. The commander's names are Lt. Col. Thet Kheing - LIB 589; Maj. Aung Zaw - LIB 350; and Maj. Tha Zin Aung - LIB 349. The Wa Ko Law Te camp is led by Thet Oo. The Strategic Operations Command (SOC)is led by Myo Win.

VILLAGER SITUATION:

Currently there are no new IDPs in this area; however the Burma Army is near every village. The situation remains unstable. There were schools in most of the villages the teams visited, however, education in the area remains intermittent due to attacks this year and continued threats. For example, from January through December 2010, the people in Hti Blah village had to flee once and had to prepare to flee another four times. In Doo Pa Lae village they did not flee during the year, but had to prepare to flee four times -- in January, February, July, and September. Villagers are getting food primarily from subsistence farming. The common medical conditions that the teams treated were: common cold, urinary tract infections (UTI), hypertension, intestinal worms, anemia, chronic joint pain, beri beri, malaria, malnutrition, skin diseases, acute respiratory infection (ARI), eye diseases, diarrhea, and dysentery. Mosquito nets were also distributed.


FBR medics treat patients on a mission in central Karen State

TEAM SUMMARY:

The teams interviewed villagers and conducted Good Life Club programs, which included teaching basic health, supplying maps and books to schools, singing songs, and playing games. They gave medical aid, encouraged the villagers, and shed light on the actions of the Burma Army.
Thank you for your support in helping these teams make a difference bringing help, hope, and love to the people in Karen State, Burma.
Thank you and may God Bless you,
FBR Nyaunglebin District Teams


Local medics treat Kweh 'K'Baw, man wounded by landmine


Saw Kweh K'Baw, wounded by a landmine placed by the Burma Army

The Free Burma Ranger’s (FBR) mission is to provide hope, help and love to internally displaced people inside Burma, regardless of ethnicity or religion. Using a network of indigenous field teams, FBR reports on human rights abuses, casualties and the humanitarian needs of people who are under the oppression of the Burma Army. FBR provides medical, spiritual and educational resources for IDP communities as they struggle to survive Burmese military attacks. For more information, please visit www.freeburmarangers.org

freeburmarangers.org

"The Burmese military continues to violate international humanitarian law through the use of anti-personnel landmines, extrajudicial killings, forced labor, torture, beatings, and pillaging of property," HRW said.


Abuses continue in Myanmar rebel conflict: HRW
Sun Jan 22 2012

Myanmar: Myanmar's army raped, tortured and killed civilians in ethnic minority conflict zones last year, Human Rights Watch said Sunday, despite the government's recent political reforms.

Bloody battles have raged since June in Kachin State in the far north, marring the progress of a new regime that has surprised observers with a series of positive reforms in the isolated nation, also known as Burma.

"The Burmese military continues to violate international humanitarian law through the use of anti-personnel landmines, extrajudicial killings, forced labor, torture, beatings, and pillaging of property," HRW said.

Its report on the country -- part of a worldwide review of human rights in 2011 -- also said sexual violence against women and girls "remains a serious problem", while the army "continues to actively recruit and use child soldiers".

Ethnic minority rebels were also accused of abuses, including using landmines near civilian areas.

HRW said over 50,000 civilians had been internally displaced by fighting in Kachin State, which shattered a 17-year ceasefire, while around 500,000 people were internally displaced due to conflict in the country's eastern border areas last year.

Myanmar's government, still largely dominated by former junta generals, has reached peace deals with Shan and Karen rebels in eastern states in recent weeks as part of efforts to end civil war that has gripped parts of Myanmar since independence in 1948.

In December, a presidential order was issued for the military to cease attacks against guerrillas from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), but it failed to stop heavy fighting in the region, according to the rebels.

On Friday, Myanmar state media reported that the government and Kachin rebels had agreed to hold further ceasefire negotiations.

Resolution of the conflicts is a demand of Western nations which impose sanctions on the regime.

The government has made progress on other key areas including holding talks with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been allowed to stand in an April by-election, and released hundreds of political prisoners.

timesofoman.com

• Download this report (PDF, 4.22 MB)

Awful.

Burma : anti-personnel landmines, extrajudicial killings, forced labor, torture, ....

"The Burmese military continues to violate international humanitarian law through the use of anti-personnel landmines, extrajudicial killings, forced labor, torture, beatings, and pillaging of property," HRW said.

Odd how this immediately brings images of US troops in countries that they're currently bringing liberty and freedom to.

besides the forced labour.

^

and a predictable tired troll from one of our resident fok wits

apples and oranges. well off point mao.

Teenage Boys Tell of Forced Labor Horror
SIMON ROUGHNEEN/ THE IRRAWADDY
Friday, February 24, 2012


Four teenage boys who say they were forced to work as porters and human shields for the Burmese army.
(Photo: Simon Roughneen)

LAIZA, Kachin State—The Burmese army is using underage boys for forced labour and is coercing porters to fight on the front line against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), according to accounts given to The Irrawaddy by four teenagers who say they served as porters for the army.

Two of the four are under 18; the others 18 and 19. All say they were forced to march in front of the infantry as the soldiers approached KIA positions. All four say they were coerced into joining the Tatmadaw (the common name for the Burmese army) after being promised jobs by army officers at different locations and at different times during 2011.

Burma's government forces have long been accused of forcing civilians to work as porters and for using child soldiers in its campaigns against ethnic militias in the country's borderlands. According to January 2012 figures, since 2007 there have been 1,160 forced labour complaints registered with the International Labour Organization, which recently agreed with the Burmese government to renew its complaints process for another year.

Fighting between the Tatmadaw and the KIA resumed on June 9, 2011, after a 17-year ceasefire. Since then around 70,000 people, mostly Kachin villagers, have fled their homes due to fighting.

Aung Nan, aged 14, is the youngest of the four. “I was forced to go with the army to Kachin State on Sept. 9,” he said. “They stopped me one night after I had been watching a movie with friends in my hometown in Mon State.”

He says that he—along with three others who were also under 18—was woken at 4 am every day and forced to carry around 15kg of rice for the soldiers, sometimes marching until midnight. Aung Nan said he was beaten several times for failing to keep up with the soldiers, but that he was not forced to fight.

“Whenever we neared a village, everyone had run away before we got there,” he said, adding that he did not see soldiers kill or injure civilians.

“I escaped and ran away on Dec. 1,” he said. “We were passing through a banana plantation at Shadanpa [15 miles south of Myitkyina], and I told the soldier guarding me that I needed to go to the toilet. I ran through the forest as soon as I had a chance.”

Sitting nearby, Soe Htaik and Min Tin, age 18 and 19 and from Pegu and Irrawaddy divisions respectively, said they became friends while portering for the Burmese army last year.

“We were taken to work for the soldiers at different times,” said Soe Htaik. “But we stuck together, and in the end, we made a plan to escape.” Min Tin nods. “I was arrested in May last year,” he said. “We escaped together on Dec. 24.”

Both said they were forced to march ahead of the soldiers on two separate occasions as the Tatmadaw approached KIA positions.

“I was scared,” said Min Tin, adding that they were given guns before advancing on the Kachin fighters. “They taught us how to use the guns.”

Both said they never saw soldiers carry out attacks on civilians.

The interviews were conducted at a KIA intelligence base outside Laiza, a predominantly Kachin town on the Burma-China border, and a stronghold of the KIA's political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO).

The interview with Aung Nan was arranged first, with the three others volunteering to be interviewed when The Irrawaddy requested additional accounts from similar victims.

The four youngsters were picked up by the KIA after they escaped and were taken to Laiza. They each said they have been well treated at the spartan KIO/KIA compound, where they are free to walk around the compound and sit in shaded chairs outside their shared sleeping quarters.

“It is better than I expected,” said Soe Htaik. “We were afraid at first of what the KIA soldiers would do to us because we were on the other side.”

The KIO/KIA told The Irrawaddy that the four teenage detainees are free to leave, however they fear arrest if they try to return to their homes.

One, Aung Nan, wants to remain in Laiza. “There are not many jobs other than farming in Mon State,” he said. “I think I can find a better paying job here, if there is peace, and the Chinese businesspeople come back.

“I don't want to go back to school,” he added.

Win Myint, aged 17, said he was forcibly recruited by the Tatmadaw on Jan. 1, 2011. He doesn't remember exactly when he escaped, but said “I left because I did not want to be a soldier.”

He said he wants to go home, but is unsure if he can. Despite being under 18, he said he is afraid he will be arrested, his fears partly based on rumors he has heard that army deserters receive 25-year jail terms if caught.

“We saw some of our friends die,” said Soe Htaik.

He and Min Tin said that they saw five soldiers killed, in total, during their time with the army, but estimate that of the 300 soldiers they were forced to march with, some 10 percent were killed in fighting against the KIA, based on accounts given by other soldiers. “They [the soldiers] weren't all bad,” said Soe Htaik. “I made friends with some of them, said Min Tin.

Names have been changed to protect the identities of the four interviewees. Other details, such as their hometowns, have been omitted for the same reason.

irrawaddy.org

Myanmar agrees to end forced labour by 2015
17 March 2012


File photo shows a main road near the Sule pagoda in downtown Yangon.
(AFP/File - Christophe Archambault)

YANGON: Myanmar has signed an agreement with the International Labour Organization to end forced labour by 2015, state media reported on Saturday.

Deputy Labour Minister Myint Thein signed the memorandum of understanding with an ILO liaison officer on Friday in the new capital Naypyidaw, The New Light of Myanmar reported.

"Myanmar has signed MoUs with ILO and has been cooperating with ILO in combating the forced labour and is committed to eradicate it from the country by 2015," the official newspaper said.

The new government has surprised observers with reforms including talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the release of hundreds of political prisoners since the end of nearly five decades of military rule last year.

In June last year, the ILO's branch in Yangon said it had received 506 complaints related to forced labour since the start of 2010 -- more than double the number seen during the previous three years.

However, it said the increase was down to "awareness-raising activities" to ensure people knew their rights.

The ILO has said it had found a pattern of forced labour caused by a lack of proper funding for projects demanded from rural authorities.

But the main problem involved adults and youngsters pressed into working for the army.

In 2007, the then ruling military junta bowed to pressure from the UN labour agency and allowed an official, based in Yangon, to deal with complaints from victims on issues related to forced labour and underage army recruitment.

channelnewsasia.com



Absolutely perfect material for the Chair of ASEAN

.

Villagers in Eastern Burma fear landmines
Saturday, 26 May 2012

The ongoing use of landmines by the Burma Army and armed groups in Eastern Burma continues to threaten civilians according to a report released this week by the Karen Human Rights Group.



The KHRG report – ‘Uncertain Ground’ – documents the period between January 2011 and May 2012, and includes evidence taken from a total of 119 testimonies from local villagers in seven districts – Hpa-an, Dooplaya, Papun, Tanintharyi (Blih D’Weh), Nyaunglebin, Toungoo and Thaton where both the Karen National Union and the Burma Army are active.

Saw Albert, field director of the Karen Human Rights Group told Karen News.
“There are still landmines in those areas. Especially, 37 villagers from the T’Nay Hsah Township, Hpa-an District who are afraid to go to their farms because of landmines.”

Saw Albert says that since the ceasefire talks between the government and the ethnic armed groups there are delays in removing landmines.

“Villagers told us that their main concerns are landmines. Villagers are seeking their own solutions to protect themselves, but also want outside support and help to remove the mines.”

KHRG urged international humanitarian organizations to cooperate with local groups and communities to help protect villagers and the environment.

bnionline.net


..................................................


Uncertain Ground: Landmines in eastern Burma

Download the Thematic report as PDF [ 2.92 mb]

Analysis of KHRG's field information gathered between January 2011 and May 2012 in seven geographic research areas indicates that, during that period, new landmines were deployed by government and non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in all seven research areas.

Ongoing mine contamination in eastern Burma continues to put civilians' lives and livelihoods at risk and undermines their efforts to protect against other forms of abuse.

There is an urgent need for humanitarian mine action that accords primacy to local protection priorities and builds on the strategies villagers themselves already employ in response to the threat of landmines.

In the cases where civilians view landmines as a potential source of protection, there is an equally urgent need for viable alternatives that expand self-protection options beyond reliance on the use of mines.

Key findings in this report were drawn based upon analysis of seven themes, including: New use of landmines; Movement restrictions resulting from landmines; Marking and removal of landmines; Forced labour entailing increased landmine risks; Human mine sweeping, forced mine clearance and human shields; Landmine-related death or injury; and Use of landmines for self-protection.

khrg.org

Burmese gov’t allows torture with impunity: report
Thursday, 31 May 2012



The Burmese government continues to commit human rights abuses including torture and inhumane treatment with impunity, according to a new report by ND-Burma, a network for human rights documentation.

From January to December 2011, ND-Burma said its member organizations documented 371 cases of human rights violation across the country of which 83 cases, or 22 per cent, constituted torture and ill treatment.

Torture and ill treatment in Burma take place in two distinct places: (1) in detention centers where political prisoners are interrogated and held, and (2) in ethnic nationality areas where the Burmese military is present, said the report “Extreme Measures,” which was issued this week.

The study found that torture of political prisoners generally takes place shortly after an individual is arrested during interrogations.

“It can, along with ill treatment, continue for years – even decades – while political prisoners serve inordinately long sentences,” it said.

In ethnic nationality areas, it said torture seldom takes place in formal detention centers but is meted out in military bases or remote rural villages.

“Shan State and Kachin states are particularly hard hit. Evidence gathered by ND-Burma shows that torture and ill-treatment in ethnic areas often takes place within the context of other human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, forced labor, forced portering, confiscation of property, restriction of movement, and sexual violence.”

The report makes a number of recommendations to the Burmese government and the international community.

It called for the adoption of legislation guaranteeing basic rights for the people of Burma, particularly the internationally recognized right to be free from torture and ill treatment, and laws that ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes face justice.

There are also calls for more education, training and public awareness about torture in order to prevent future violations as well as calls to institute safeguards and programs that guarantee that victims have available, credible, accessible remedies to deal with torture should it take place, it said.

The report also raises concerns regarding the new National Human Rights Commission, including its lack of full independence, its inability to investigate crimes committed by the military, and its failure to comply fully with best practices for national human rights commissions as described in the Paris Principles.

Torture and ill treatment have a ripple effect, said ND-Burma, with potentially long lasting negative consequences for individuals, families and society as a whole.

It said the report should serve as a reminder to Burmese government and the international community that significant hurdles remain for Burma to emerge as a functioning democracy that respects the rule of law and the rights of the people of Burma, particularly ethnic nationalities.

– For more information or a copy of the report, go to Extreme Measures: Torture and Ill Treatment in Burma since the 2010 Elections | Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma

mizzima.com

The ******** government continues to commit human rights abuses including torture and inhumane treatment with impunity,

Originally Posted by Mid

Myanmar agrees to end forced labour by 2015
17 March 2012


File photo shows a main road near the Sule pagoda in downtown Yangon.
(AFP/File - Christophe Archambault)

YANGON: Myanmar has signed an agreement with the International Labour Organization to end forced labour by 2015, state media reported on Saturday.

Deputy Labour Minister Myint Thein signed the memorandum of understanding with an ILO liaison officer on Friday in the new capital Naypyidaw, The New Light of Myanmar reported.

"Myanmar has signed MoUs with ILO and has been cooperating with ILO in combating the forced labour and is committed to eradicate it from the country by 2015," the official newspaper said.

The new government has surprised observers with reforms including talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the release of hundreds of political prisoners since the end of nearly five decades of military rule last year.

In June last year, the ILO's branch in Yangon said it had received 506 complaints related to forced labour since the start of 2010 -- more than double the number seen during the previous three years.

However, it said the increase was down to "awareness-raising activities" to ensure people knew their rights.

The ILO has said it had found a pattern of forced labour caused by a lack of proper funding for projects demanded from rural authorities.

But the main problem involved adults and youngsters pressed into working for the army.

In 2007, the then ruling military junta bowed to pressure from the UN labour agency and allowed an official, based in Yangon, to deal with complaints from victims on issues related to forced labour and underage army recruitment.

channelnewsasia.com



Absolutely perfect material for the Chair of ASEAN

.

By then many will be working for greedy US and EU corporations for the equivalent of 100 baht or so a day, I'm sure they will be much happier. The sanctimonious clowns in our home countries do not care at all about the people of Burma, it's just that Chinese labor is getting more expensive.

Burma considering international landmine treaty
Friday, 13 July 2012

Burma’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wunna Maung Lwin said his government is seriously considering all key disarmament treaties including the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or Ottawa Convention, as part of its state reforms, and he expressed optimism that Burma would positively consider the treaty.


This file photograph shows landmines collected from Burmese army personnel operating in Toungoo District in late 2007. When departing villages, the soldiers often lay landmines along village paths, in farm fields and plantations and within the village proper to dissuade villagers from returning.
Photo: KHRG

Wunna Maung Lwin said Burma's army is no longer using landmines and is seeking a peace pact with armed ethnic groups, which would include banning anti-personel land mines.

However, vast numbers of land mines have been placed throughout ethnic areas by both government and ethnic troops, and soldiers and civilians are still victims of the explosives, as well as animals including elephants.

Wunna Maung Lwin’s comments came during a high-level meeting with the Convention President Prak Sokhonn of Cambodia, during the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Phnom Penh, according to a press release by the group on Thursday.

Burma had never participated in a meeting of the convention. Minister Wunna Maung Lwin said he would ensure that Burma’s Permanent Mission in Geneva attended future meetings of the convention. The next meeting parties to the convention will take place from Dec. 3-7 at the United Nations in Geneva, where over 800 diplomats and land mine experts representing over 100 states are expected to attend.

Prak Sokhonn also expressed the hope that, in addition to Burma, all Asean states that have not yet done so would one day join the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.

“Accession to the convention by yet another Southeast Asian state would help strengthen the international movement to eradicate anti-personnel mines,” said Prak Sokhonn.

Prak Sokhonn also encouraged Burma to survey mined areas, mark hazardous areas, deliver mine-risk education to the public and assist land mine survivors.

“In keeping with the principle of international cooperation, we offer to Myanmar the assistance it may deem necessary, including sending Cambodian experts to Myanmar or providing Myanmar delegations with an opportunity to see firsthand mine action activities in Cambodia,” said Prak Sokhonn.

To date, 160 states have joined the convention and 155 no longer hold stocks of anti-personnel mines.

mizzima.com

Wa landmines causing havoc on the border
Thursday, 09 May 2013

At least 9 people including children have been killed and several more injured on the border between Shan State’s Mongton township and Chiangmai since the annual water splashing festival last month, according to sources on the border.

“The casualties include cattle and other domestic animals,” said a Thai security officer this morning.

The minefields were planted by the United Wa State army (UWSA)’s Thai-Burmese border-based 171st Military Region, he added. “They told us that it was to protect the Wa reputation concerning drugs,” he said, “because every time a drug shipment is seized in Thailand, the finger is pointed at the Wa. But we believe that increased tension between the Wa and the Burma Army may be another reason.”



The relationship between the two sides have deteriorated since fighting between the Burma army and the UWSA’s allies in the north: Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Shan State Army (SSA) and Ta-ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has intensified.

In Mongton township, the Burma Army has recently stepped up its activities:

• Return of the heavy weapons crew to Loi Khilek mountain that overlooks the UWSA’s Mong Kyawd
• Resumption of patrols in the countryside
• Reinforcements by units from neighboring townships

The UWSA has warned residents of Mongton that they use only two passages if they are coming to Thailand, according an aid worker in Fang, 160 km north of Chiangmai:

• Mongton-Pongpakhem-Nawng Ook (Arunothai) road, known as BP1
• Mongton-Nakawngmu-Ta Kwang-Khawk Woe-Hwe Pa Khi-Naw Lae –Fang

“There should be no landmines between borders,” the Thai security officer told SHAN.

Burma is not a signatory to the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. It is not alone. Three of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council: China, Russia and the US have not joined it either.

english.panglong.org

Originally Posted by Mid

Burma is not a signatory to the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. It is not alone. Three of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council: China, Russia and the US have not joined it either.

Is there a good reason not to name Israel? Hasn't joined either.

De-mining process in Karen, Karenni areas on hold
Thursday, 11 July 2013

Leaders from the Karen National Union (KNU) and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) says an insufficient knowledge of an action plan and ceasefire agreement means they are unable to fully implement de-mining works in their respective controlled areas.



KNU Secretary, Pado Mahn Mahn, says that though they are willing to participate in de-mining work, they can only execute Mine Risk Education which is the first in three stages of de-mining.

“As for me, current ceasefire has no concrete guarantee and assurance, so until today we still have not completed demining in our areas until we get such assurance and guarantee from the government,” he told Mizzima this week.

Mine risk education involves rough designation of mine risk areas, erecting warning signs, and restricting movement in such areas. While the first stage is well under way, the KNU has also adopted their policy on a continuation of a ‘Stage 2’, but have yet to begin on the final de-mining step.

The KNU GHQ has instructed all subordinate brigades, districts and regions to implement de-mining work in accordance with their own plans.

Pado Mahn Mahn added that they would start de-mining work in their controlled area starting from the workable areas and they would invite technical assistance from the international community if and when needed.

While it seems like steps are taken for the de-mining progress in the Kayin state, government responses are not entirely in sync for the Karenni.

The KNPP has been unable to launch the de-mining action plan since the government was still uncertain and unclear in the same regard.

KNPP Vice-Chairman Khu Oo Reh says his party has discussed with Union Minister Aung Min on de-mining procedures but it turns out the government is still in drafting process for Landmine Law. According to the minister, de-mining work can only be carried out based on the drafted law after getting approval from the President Thein Sein.

“I don’t know if Landmine law is actually necessary for de-mining but Aung Min told us that they were drafting this law. But we plan to start de-mining when the refugees have to be resettled in these areas,” he told Mizzima.

In Kayah State, only the mine risk education committee has been formed and technical experts are only able to partially complete the second stage. A concrete action plan is needed from the government in order to facilitate formation of a work committee and completion of de-mining work.

Khu Oo Reh said that a lot is still under negotiation at a time when they should be at the final stage of de-mining.

However, Khu Oo Reh says despite the confusion, they have reached an agreement with the government to carry out a pilot project on de-mining in Shadaw Township on the Thai-Myanmar border in cooperation between local army units from both sides.

bnionline.net

Karen women loses leg in landmine incident
Thursday, 11 July 2013

Despite the ceasefire between the government and Karen armed groups landmines are still a massive risk to people in Karen state.



A Karen woman, Naw Ma Pain, 41-, who lives in Htee Kyar Mae village in Waw Lay area, Myawaddy Township, Karen State, stepped on the landmine on early May that resulted in the amputation of her leg.

Naw Ma Pain went to the local forest with her two nephews to cut down bamboos to repair her house on May 2 and stepped on a landmine.

Naw Ma Pain explained to Karen News about landmine incident.

“I was nearly home at the time. I asked my nephews to take the remaining three bamboo poles that I had cut down, but they were busy so, I went and took them myself. When I walked to the bamboos, I stepped on the landmine.”

As soon as Naw Ma Pain got injury by landmine, she was sent back to Htee Kyar Mae village. Afterwards, she was sent to Mae Sot Hospital, Tak Province, Thailand.

The place where Naw Ma Pain stepped on the mine is a restricted area and there are warnings erected by local Karen armed groups that it is prohibited area. The area was a conflict zone before the ceasefire agreement between the Karen armed groups and the government.

Naw Ma Pain said that she did not wish to blame anyone.

“The place where I stepped on landmine is a restricted area, but roads are now being built through the area, so I thought there would be no problem. I went there and I stepped on the landmine. I don’t want to blame anyone for getting injured. It is my fate.”

Naw Ma Pain said that a few minutes after she stepped on the landmine, she heard another landmine explosion nearby and thought that it might be possible the animals such as buffaloes and cows stepped on it.

Local residents say that a villager and a soldier from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) stepped on landmines in the same area this year.

The Karen National Liberation Army, the Burma’s Army and DKBA are active in Waw Lay area and it is not known which group planted the mine that Naw Ma Pain stepped on.

bnionline.net