„Karen Human Rights Group | KHRG Photo Gallery 2009“

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23.07.09 aren Human Rights Group | KHRG Photo Gallery 2009

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Reports Photosets July 15th, 200

KHRG Photo Gallery 2009

This first instalment of KHRG's Photo Gallery 2009 presents 123

still images and 1 short video that have been received from KHRG

field researchers since the last instalment of Photo Gallery 2008 in

February 2009. Many of these photos chronologically overlap with

photos that were previously published in Photo Gallery 2008. They

therefore include photos taken from July 2008 up to July 2009. All

photos are presented here in roughly chronological order

irrespective of subject matter and labelled with alphanumeric

identification tags beginning with 'A' followed by a number. Images

in subsequent instalments of Photo Gallery 2009 will be given

labels starting with 'B', 'C' and so forth according to the order of

their instalment. Some photos included here have also been

presented in previous KHRG field reports and news bulletins. All

photos are included with no thematic divisions. As more photos are

added to the Photo Gallery in later instalments, all images will be

incorporated within relevant thematic sections with the most recentphotos also grouped together in a 'latest additions' section.

All photos included here are by KHRG except where otherwise noted.

A-1

13-year-old Saw E--- is shown here on July 25th 2008 at

his family's farm field in Bilin Township, Thaton District

while marching a buffalo around to break up the soil in

preparation for paddy planting. Although Saw E--- is only

13 years old, he cannot currently attend school because

his parents cannot afford the school fees and need him to

work in order to contribute to the household income. Saw

E--- has therefore had to work for his parents and alsoengage in wage labour tending other people's buffalo andcattle. [Photo: KHRG]
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These students at B--- village in Thaton District are

shown here studying at the local elementary school on

July 29th 2008. Education across Burma, but especially in

rural areas, is woefully underfunded and less than half of

all children complete elementary school. [Photo: KHRG]

A-2

A-3

Photo A-3 shows flood damage to the farm fields of

residents of L--- village in Bilin Township of Thaton

District, on August 15th 2008. Nearly half of the paddy

crop grown on this farm field was damaged due to the

flooding. The livelihoods of most farmers in Karen State

are highly susceptible to flooding, drought and other

natural disasters as few people have insurance, while

military extortion in the form of crop quotas, taxation andother demands are rarely amended to accommodate poor

or failed harvests. [Photo: KHRG]

This picture - taken on September 28th 2008 - shows a

framed photograph of U Thuzana, the nominal head of

the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). DKBA

Commander Gkaw Muh Lah, based at Lay Gkay armycamp in Thaton District, ordered residents of N--- village

to buy copies of the photograph at a cost of 2,500 ThaiBaht (approx. US $73.32). [Photo: KHRG]

A-4
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A-5 A-6

The photograph above left shows a stack of calendars produced by the DKBA. The calendars are written in Burmeseand Pwo Karen languages (with the latter using the traditional Karen Leit-San Weit('chicken scratch') script). DKBA

authorities ordered every household in Bilin Township to buy a calendar for 2,500 kyat (US $2.46). The money

collected by the village head of T--- village that was to be paid to the local DKBA authorities is shown in the photo

above right. Both photographs were taken in October 2008. [Photos: KHRG]

13-year-old Naw A--- and her younger sister, 11-year-

old Naw M---, are shown here on November 17th 2008

helping their family by pounding paddy to remove the

husks at their home in Thaton District. Naw A--- is the

eldest daughter in the family and currently attends grade

three. After finishing school in the evening, both girls

regularly help their parents with work around the house.[Photo: KHRG]

A-7
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A-8 A-9

These pictures were taken on November 19th 2008 and show rubber plantations owned by SPDC General Major

Maung Bo in Thaton District. The SPDC has been colluding with the Max Myanmar Group of Companies to confiscatelarge swaths of villager-owned land in Thaton District for use by the company in its business ventures. For more

details on the SPDC's land confiscation in Thaton District, see Land confiscation and the business of human rightsabuse in Thaton District, KHRG, April 2009. [Photos: KHRG]

A-10

Residents of T--- village in Thaton District winnow rice to

separate the grain from the chaff on November 26th2008 after the annual harvest of the rainy season paddy

crop. [Photo: KHRG]
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This photo - taken on December 31st 2008 - shows the

remains of a house at Htee Bper Kee village in Dta Greh

Township, Pa'an District, which DKBA forces destroyed on

October 8th 2008 after issuing forced relocation orders to

the local residents. The DKBA ordered the local residents

to move to nearby Htee Bper village adjacent to which

the DKBA was planning to construct an army camp. For

more information on this incident, see Human

minesweeping and forced relocation as SPDC and DKBA

step up joint operations in Pa'an District, KHRG, October

2008. [Photo: KHRG]

A-11

A-12

A-13

In pictures A-12 and A-13, a KNLA soldier removes a DKBA-deployed landmine in December 2008 from a road in Dta

Greh Township, Pa'an District. This road is one which local villagers frequently use. [Photos: KHRG]
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A-14

This photo was taken on December 31st 2008 and shows

an SPDC-manufactured M14 landmine which was planted

by DKBA soldiers active in Pa'an District. The SPDC has

provided much of the weaponry, like the landmine shown

here, which the DKBA now utilises.[Photo: KHRG]

This landmine - made by hand from a block of wood, gun

powder and a battery-powered detonator - was deployed

by DKBA soldiers from Special Battalion #999 in Dta

Greh Township, Pa'an District. It was subsequently

retrieved and photographed by KHRG in January 2009.[Photo: KHRG]

A-15

A-16 A-17

In photograph A-16, taken on January 23rd 2009, a 42-year-old villager named Saw P--- carries 25 thatch shingles
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to be delivered to the DKBA's Gka Hsaw Wah ('White Elephant') Battalion, based in southern Papun District. He is

shown here being followed by his son. Although Saw P--- was able to travel with a friend by boat to deliver the

shingles, other villagers have had to take the shingles by foot - a 6 to 7 hour walk. Photo A-17 was also taken on

January 23rd 2009 and shows thatch shingles which residents of M--- village stacked before delivery to DKBA camp

commander Puh Tah Thoo who is based out of Meh Mweh army camp in southern Papun District. Villagers here had

to collect 1,000 thatch shingles and deliver them to the DKBA by January 25th 2009. DKBA soldiers didn't

compensate the villagers for the thatch nor for the petrol consumed by the boats used to deliver them. [Photos:

KHRG]

A-18 A-19

Villagers from the lowland area in Nyaunglebin District are shown here on January 30th 2009 after having travelled to

the mountains to trade with, and sell goods to, displaced villagers and others living in the hills. Trading at such

'jungle markets' is a crucial means by which villagers can evade SPDC-imposed restrictions and, for those hiding in

the hills, maintain their lives outside of State control. [Photos: KHRG]

A-20

In this photo, village girls are shown caring for their

younger siblings on February 1st 2009 while their parents

are out at work on their hillside farm fields in Nyaunglebin

District. With heavy demands by miltiry forces, ongoinglivelihoods vulnerabiliy and increasing poverty, many

young children in Karen State have had to take on more

household work as well as wage labour outside the homein order to help their families cope. [Photo: KHRG]


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Photo A-21, taken on February 2nd 2009, shows the

former plantation of the 54-year-old mother of Saw T---,

of M---- village in T'Nay Hsah Township of Pa'an District.

Saw T---'s mother had to sell the plantation because her

28-year-old son, who had been recruited into the DKBA,

refused to serve as a soldier. Along with this plantation,

Saw T---'s mother also had to sell her farm field in order

to collect the 900,000 kyat (approx. US $914) needed to

hire someone else to take her son's place. [Photo: KHRG]

A-21

A-22

53-year-old Saw N---, of Gk--- village in Lu Pleh

Township of Pa'an District, is carving a wooden spoon atan IDP site in Pa'an District on February 6th 2009. He told

KHRG that, because he had to do forced labour at his

home village for the SPDC and DKBA almost every day,

he had no time to do his own work and therefore fled to

this IDP site at the start of 2009. [Photo: KHRG]

A-23

This picture, taken on February 7th 2009, shows an

SPDC-sponsored school in Htee Bper Kha village, Papun

District. After beginning construction nearly one year

prior, the building remains unfinished and villagers havebeen informed that the SPDC expects the villagers

themselves to complete its construction. [Photo: KHRG]


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The photo to the right, taken on February 9th 2009,

shows a close-up of a picture of Maung Chit Thoo,

Operation Commander of DKBA Brigade #999 and now

one of the most powerful figures within the DKBA, along

with his wife. Maung Chit Thoo had DKBA personnel

under his command forcibly sell this picture to individual

households in T'Nay Hsah Township of Pa'an District, at a

cost of 2,000 kyat (approx. US $2.03) each. [Photo:

KHRG]

A-24

A-25

34-year-old Naw T--- shown to the left, a widow from N-

-- village in T'Nay Hsah Township of Pa'an District, makes

charcoal as her sole means of livelihood in order to

support her four children and cover DKBA-imposed taxes.

In mid-December, while felling a tree with her father, the

tree landed on her legs, injuring both knees. Her legs are

shown here covered with a turmeric-based medicinal

compound meant to reduce and prevent swelling. She

had been unable to walk or work for two months sincethe accident when this photo was taken on February 16th

2009; making the payment of DKBA taxes especially

difficult. [Photo: KHRG]
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Saw P---, the 39-year-old head of B--- village in Bu Tho

Township of Papun District, is shown here on February

24th 2009. Saw P--- told KHRG that local DKBA forces

had been regularly demanding 'porter fees' from the

residents of his village. On December 16th 2008, January

16th 2009 and February 16th 2009 the villagers had to

give payments of 10,000 kyat (approx. US $9).

Furthermore, on December 25th 2009 the villagers had

to give 400 thatch shingles to the DKBA. [Photo: KHRG]

A-26

A-27

18-year-old Maung Z---, shown in photo A-27, is of

mixed South Asian and Burman ethnicity. He came from

a town in Pegu Division and spoke to KHRG on February

27th 2009. Amongst other things, Maung Z--- explained

that while he was involved in the military training, "There

were many people under 18 years old. There were also

13-year-olds and 16-year-olds attending the military

training."


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18-year-old Maung C---, shown in photo A-28, spoke to

KHRG on February 26th 2009. Maung C--- was grabbedby a Burma Army soldier at the Sule Pagoda in Rangoon

after returning from his grandmother's shop. The soldier

then sold Maung C--- to a Burma Army officer for the

equivalent of US $18.80. Maung C--- was then enlisted inthe Burma Army and began military training in June

2008. As he described it, "My parents didn't know that Iwas grabbed and sent to the military. Up until now they

still don't know where I am." For more details on the

deserters shown here, see Mistreatment and child

soldiers in the Burma Army: Interviews with SPDC

deserters, KHRG, June 2009. [Photos: KHRG]

A-28

A-29 A-30
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A-31

Northern Karen State continues to have one of the

highest documented concentrations of Internally

Dispalced Persons (IDPs) in Burma. Lu Thaw Township of

northern Papun District is amongst those areas of

northern Karen State with large IDP populations living inhiding. Photos A-29 to A-36 show the hiding site of

displaced villagers who previously fled from their homes

at Th--- village of Papun District. IDPs in hiding have toadopt a range of strategies to support themselves while

evading the Burma Army. Photo A-31 shows a patch of

onion plants now being grown by the displaced villagers

from Th--- village. [Photo: KHRG]

A-32 A-33

Photo A-35 below shows a patch of sugar cane shoots

that are also being cultivated at the hiding site in Papun

District at which the former residents of Th--- village now

reside. In photo A-36, the displaced villagers clear a hill-

side field on which to plant a new paddy crop. These

photos were all taken on February 28th 2009. [Photos:

KHRG]

A-34
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A-35 A-36

A-37 A-38

A-39

This cave in Papun District, shown in photos A-37 to A-

41 on February 28th 2009, has long served as a hiding

site for displaced villagers living nearby who have sought

to avoid Burma Army soldiers when their patrols have

arrived in the area. The writing on the cave walls traces

the history of displaced villagers who have hid out hereover many years. The year '1991' is visible in photo A-

39, written out by a previous resident. [Photos: KHRG]
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A-40 A-41

A-42 A-43

A-44

Photos A-42 and A-43 show an abandoned SPDC army

camp at Thay Wah Gkyo village in Lu Thaw Township of

Papun District. Photo A-44 shows writing on a wooden

plaque found at the army camp that reads "[For] the

meritorious deed [of] Major Myo Win Min company

communication officer for MOC #10 [and] Major Myo Min

Aung LIB #504." These photos were both taken on March1st 2009. In total, the Burma Army withdrew from 13

camps in Lu Thaw Township between the end of 2008

and the start of 2009. [Photos: KHRG]
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Karen villagers in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District

construct a platform as part of a traditional ceremony on

March 1st 2009 to evict malevolent spirits from the area

and ensure a prosperous future on the newly sanctified

land. This ceremony is often conducted in areas that have

not been cultivated or inhabited for extended periods of

time. For a discussion of related Karen religious

architecture, see Kirsten Ewers Andersen, "Two

Indigenous Karen Religious Denominations," Folk23,

1981. [Photo: KHRG]

A-45

A-46 A-47

IDP villagers in Lu Thaw Township of Papun District are shown here on March 4th 2009, having come to D--- IDPcamp in order to receive medical treatment from a mobile Karen medical team. Such aid, delivered by local Karen

staff working with small mobile medical teams which obtain supplies from accros the border in Thailand are crucial

means by which IDP communities are able to address their health needs. Many communities residing in SPDC-

controlled areas likewise rely on such 'cross-border' aid because of the lack of government health care provisions and

restrictions on access to the area imposed on international aid agencies based out of Rangoon. [Photos: KHRG]
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Many elderly villagers are included amongst the many

internally displaced persons in Karen State. This 79-year-

old man, shown in photo A-48 winnowing rice on March

4th 2009 at an IDP hiding site in Lu Thaw Township of

Papun District, previously fled from his home village

when a patrol of Burma Army soldiers arrived in the

area. [Photo: KHRG]

A-48

A-49 A-50

This domestically-made M14 landmine was removed from the ground in Lu Thaw Township on December 14th 2008.

A KHRG field researcher subsequently took these photos on March 5th 2009. According to Landmine Monitor, these

M-14 landmines are "manufactured by Myanmar Defense Products Industries at Ngyaung Chay Dauk, in Bago

division." [Photos: KHRG]
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A-51

This landmine was removed from the ground on

December 14th 2008 from a spot near to P'Lah Koh

Burma Army camp in Lu Thaw township of Papun District.

The mine had earlier been planted by soldiers from

Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion #242. The mineappears to be a domestically-manufactured MM1

landmine, which according to Landmine Monitor is"modelled on the Chinese Type 59 stake-mounted

fragmentation mine.". These photos were all taken on

March 5th 2009. [Photos: KHRG]

A-52 A-53

These photos show displaced villagers in Nyaunglebin

District as they work together to face the challenges of

life in hiding from Burma Army forces. In photo A-54,

girls are shown caring for their younger siblings while

their parents work on their hillside farm fields. The

elderly woman in photo A-55 is from S--- village and isresponsible for both looking after her grandchild and

pounding rice while her children work in their hill fields.

A-54
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A-55

Thramu M---, a school teacher shown in photo A-56 is a

single mother who continues to both raise her own

children and teach the other displaced children in hercommunity. Photo A-57 shows a 21-year-old woman

named Naw H--- from T--- village of Kyauk Kyi Township

while she makes a bamboo container with which to storeand carry water. These photographs were taken on March

7th and 8th 2009. [Photos: KHRG]

A-56 A-57

These pictures show bamboo huts located at the hiding

site of villagers from Thaw Ngeh Der village in

Nyaunglebin District. The residents of Thaw Ngeh Der

fled their homes in March 2008 and remained at this

displaced hiding site until at least March 8th 2009, when

these photos were taken. At that time, the villagers hadnot yet returned to their village due to ongoing Burma

Army patrols in the area. [Photos: KHRG]

A-58
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A-59 A-60

A-61 A-62

Students who have just finished their school year at an IDP camp in Papun District return to their home villages. The

students are shown here on March 20th 2009 hurriedly crossing an SPDC-controlled vehicle road while Karen National

Liberation Army (KNLA) soldiers take security. Because of insecurity and a lack of educational facilities at their home

villages, which remain outside of SPDC-controlled areas, these students must take this risky journey simply to access

schools. [Photos: KHRG]


20/37



A-63 A-64

Villagers in Papun District take part in a KHRG Village

Agency workshop in March 2009. In these workshops,

participants are encouraged to discuss the strategies that

they and other villagers use to resist abuse and to

develop and refine these strategies according their local

situation. For more information on KHRG's Village Agency

workshops, see Supporting IDP Resistance Strategies,

KHRG, April 2008. [Photos: KHRG]

A-65

A-66

The picture to the left shows the Burma Army camp at

Bpaw Hseh Koh in the Maw Gkyaw Koh area of PapunDistrict in March 2009. While Burma Army soldiers

withdrew from 13 camps in Papun District between the

end of 2008 and the start of 2009, many other camps,

like the one shown here, remain occupied. [Photo:

KHRG]
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Many villagers in Karen State have been displaced

repeatedly over the past decades due to human rights

abuse and armed conflict. 70-year-old Naw Hs---, who is

shown here in March 2009 with her husband, is nowstaying at Th--- village in Papun District. Naw Hs--- has

been repeatedly displaced since she first fled from

Japanese troops during World War II. Since that time she

has fled from the soldiers of successive Burmese

governments. Naw Hs--- told KHRG that she hopes peace

will come quickly to her and her husband. [Photo: KHRG]

A-67

A-68 A-69


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A-70

Photos A-68 to A-73 and video A-74 show villagers in

Nyaunglebin District as they engage in forced labour

repairing an SPDC-controlled vehicle road leading fromHtaik Htoo relocation site to Kyauk Kyi Town on April 2nd

2009 as ordered by Burma Army personnel based at SeeBpay Tha Ya army camp in Kyauk Kyi Township.

A-71 A-72

Those ordered to comply with the forced labour include villagers previously relocated from Ay Neh, Bpa Ta Lah, Thoo

Gka Bee, Noh Gkaw and Weh Lah Taw village tracts. Burma Army personnel ordered one person from each household

to contribute to the road repair. Women and children were amongst those engaged in the forced labour. [Photos and

video: KHRG]


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A-73

A-74

[To watch the video click here.]

Photo A-75, taken on April 3rd 2009, shows the road

leading from Papun Town to Gk'Ma Maw at the point

where it connects Way Hsah and Way Moo villages. Local

SPDC authorities have surveyed the farm fields on both

sides of this road, apparently planning to confiscate this

land as they have done with other land in the area. If the

SPDC does confiscate the land, many civilians who farm

fields along both sides of the road will lose their means of

livelihood. [Photo: KHRG]

A-75
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A-76

16-year-old Maung Ht---, a deserter from the Burma

Army is shown here in April 2009. Maung Ht--- told KHRGthat "In the past, when I was staying in the SPDC

Association [Burma Army] I suffered many troubles. I

was exploited with insufficient salary and rations. And

furthermore, as I didn't have a high level of education, Ihad to remain at a low-rank. They [Burma Army

authorities] ordered [the soldiers] as they wanted. I had

to meet all of their needs. Because I couldn't endure this

treatment, I fled when I got in contact with the KNU... In

the same way as me, I pray that the child soldiers who

remain with the SPDC Army will be quickly released from

oppression and torture." [Photo: KHRG]

In April 2006, SPDC Light Infantry Battalion #349 forcibly

relocated the residents of numerous villages in

Nyaunglebin District to Htaik Htoo relocation site - also

located in Nyauglebin District. Over nearly three years,

the empty homes and other buildings at the formerly

occupied villages became dilapidated. However, in

December 2008, the former residents of B--- village, one

of those that had been previously relocated, were able to

return to their homes and have since rebuilt the local

school, as shown in photo A-77, although without any

SPDC assistance.

A-77


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A-78

Amongst those forcibly relocated to Htaik Htoo relocation

site by Burma Army forces in 2006 were the residents of

multiple villages in Bpa Ta Lah village tract of Kyauk Kyi

Township. However, on December 22nd 2008, SPDC

authorities ordered the former residents of Bpa Ta Law

village tract to relocate again. This time three of the

previously relocated villagers were moved to a new site(photo A-78) with no irrigation located in an open area

between Bpa Ta Lah and Taw Koh village. For moredetails about the SPDC's forced relocation of civilians to

Htaik Htoo and other relocation sites in Nyaunglebin

District, see Cycles of Displacement: Forced relocation

and civilian responses in Nyaunglebin District, KHRG,

January 2009. [Photos: KHRG]

This picture, taken in April 2009, shows a family from

Thaton District that fled to Pa'an District and then to

Thailand. The family reported that they had to pay

money to support the villagers who were recruited as

new DKBA soldiers. They therefore decided to leave their

village to avoid paying this money. [Photo: KHRG]

A-79

A-80 A-81
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20-year-old Saw M--- deserted from the DKBA in early 2009 and subsequently spoke to KHRG on April 14th, when

these photos were taken. Prior to deserting, Saw M--- served in the 'Brigade Security Force' of DKBA Brigade #999

under commander Pah Nwee. Regarding child soldiers in the DKBA, Saw M--- told KHRG that "some soldiers are only

13 years old. There were six soldiers who were 13 years old in my security detachment [the 'Brigade Security

Force']." [Photos: KHRG]

A-82

On April 19th 2009, SPDC and DKBA soldiers combined

to attack the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)

camp at Khaw Lay Kee in north-eastern Dooplaya

District. Due to the fighting, about 200 local villagers fled

to a site in Thailand near the Moei River where they built

approximately 30 huts in which to temporarily reside, as

shown in these photos.

On April 28th 2009 the joint SPDC and DKBA forces

defeated the KNLA at Khaw Lay Kee. When these photos

were taken on April 30th 2009, some of the refugeesfrom the Khaw Lay Kee area had briefly returned to the

area of the fighting to check on their abandoned

agricultural fields. [Photos: KHRG]

A-83


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A-84 A-85

A-86

This picture, taken in April 2009, shows a poster of DKBA

Brigade #999 Brigadier Pah Nwee's drama troupe. PahNwee announced that his drama troupe would perform in

Ht--- village of Pa'an District, on March 7th to 9th 2009.

He demanded 200,000 kyat (approx. US $182) from the

residents of Ht--- village to pay for the production.

[Photo: KHRG]

A-87 A-88


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The photos above and below show IDPs in Lu Thaw Township in northern Papun District receiving emergency food

support in the form of rice supplies that are being given by local KNU officers. After prolonged periods of hiding in the

forest, these villagers have been unable to fully tend to their farms or maintain stores of harvested paddy. As a

result, they have faced severe food shortages. These photos were taken on April 25th 2009. [Photos: KHRG]

A-89 A-90

A-91

The S'Gkaw Karen Buddhist monk, shown here on April

30th 2009, reported to KHRG that he had gotten into an

argument with Pah Nwee, the commander of Democratic

Karen Buddhist Army Brigade #999, which operatesprimarily in Pa'an District. When Pah Nwee insisted that

the monk follow a strictly vegan diet, the monk replied

that he would not do so. Pah Nwee then got angry with

the monk and punched him in the chin and hit him on hisback. The monk subsequently fled to Thailand. U

Thuzana, a Karen monk and the nominal head of the

DKBA, enforces a strict vegan diet at his compound at

Myaing Gyi Ngu in Pa'an District, which also functions as

the DKBA headquarters. Following U Thuzana's

regulations, some DKBA officers maintain a vegetarian

diet, while others do not. [Photo: KHRG]


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The photo to the right shows 34-year-old Naw M---

along with her three sons, who now live in Mae La Oo

refugee camp in Thailand. Naw M--- told KHRG that she

left her village in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District,

because of problems created by frequent SPDC patrols.Naw M--- lost a leg to a landmine while she was

displaced in Lu Thaw Township, and her husband wasshot and killed by the Burma Army. A fourth son and her

father died from lack of access to medical treatment.

This photo was taken on May 9th 2009. [Photo: KHRG]

A-92

A-93

This picture, taken on June 2nd 2009, shows land in T'Nay

Hsah Townshipof Paan District owned by DKBA Brigade

#999 Operation Commander Maung Chit Thoo. Maung

Chit Thoo reportedly plans to build a resort for foreigntourists at this location. However, he has demanded

money from local villagers to pay for the construction.

[Photo: KHRG]

Beginning in the first week of June 2009, DKBA and SPDC forces conducted joint attacks on a KNLA camp located in

Dta Greh Township of Pa'an District. The KNLA camp was located adjacent to Ler Per Her camp for internally

displaced people, which prior to the attacks had a population of over 1,200. Residents from the from the surrounding

villages began leaving for Thailand at the start of June to avoid the fighting as well as expected forced labourcarrying military supplies amidst the fighting. Subsequently, on June 5th the entire civilian population of Ler Per Her

camp evacuated to Thailand to avoid the fighting. Joint SPDC/DKBA attacks on the KNLA continued until mid June,

when the KNLA withdrew its forces from the camps and dispersed as small units into the surrounding forests.[Photos: KHRG]


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A-97 A-98

Photos A-97 to A-100 show displaced villagers from Ler Per Her IDP camp who wait to leave the area by boat as they

flee to Thailand on June 5th 2009 to avoid the joint SPDC/DKBA attacks.

A-99 A-100

A-101 A-102
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A-103

In photos A-101 to A-105, displaced villagers from Ler

Per Her IDP camp flee to Thailand by boat on June 5th asinsecurity grows amidst the SPDC/DKBA troop build-up in

the area.

A-104

A-105

A-106 A-107
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Following their arrival in Thailand, local and internationalaid organisations including the Karen Refugee Committee

(KRC), the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC)

and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees

(UNHCR) came to provide assistance. In photos A-106 to

A-112 the newly displaced refugees from the Ler Per Her

area receive humanitarian aid on June 7th 2009 in Noh

Boh village in Tha Song Yang District of Tak Province,

Thailand.

A-108

A-109 A-110

A-111

A-112
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A-115

Likewise, the man in photo A-115 lost his leg near to the

same village at the end of 2008. As their village was

located near to Ler Per Her IDP camp, they both fled toThailand at the start of June 2009 (when they were

photographed by KHRG) in order to avoid the fighting

between joint SPDC/DKBA attacks against a KNLA camp

in the area. [Photos: KHRG]

A-116

In 2007, this man stepped on an SPDC-deployed

landmine near his home village in Bu Tho Township in

Papun District. Since losing his leg, he has not been able

to work to support his family, so he has moved to stay at

Ee Thoo Hta IDP camp in Papun District of northern Karen

State where he is able to get some limited food rations to

support himself. This photo was taken in June 2009.

[Photo: KHRG]

A-117 A-118


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When this photo was taken in June 2009, the young man shown above wearing a grey shirt was enrolled in 10th

standard at Ee Thoo Hta High School in Ee Thoo Hta IDP camp. When he was 11 years old he stepped on a KNLA-

deployed landmine near his village in Bu Tho Township in Papun District. The prosthetic leg he now wears has been

provided by the KNLA and he currently receives support from the Karen Youth Organisation to be able to continue to

study. [Photos: KHRG]

A-119

The photo to the left shows Ee Thoo Tha camp for

internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Papun District along

the Salween River bordering Thailand. The camp has

steadily increased in size since it was opened in April

2006 and now has a population of just over 4,000people. The residents of Ee Thoo Hta told KHRG that due

to the recent fighting between joint SPDC and DKBA

forces and the KNLA in June 2009, they are concerned

about their security and a possible attack on the camp.

[Photo: KHRG]

A-120 A-121


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Children residing at Ee Thoo Hta IDP camp play football

and walk to school during the rainy season in the first

week of July 2009. Most of these children have come

from villages in the mountains of northern Karen State

and for some the school at Ee Thoo Hta is their best

opportunity for education. The current camp registrationincludes 472 children aged 1 to 5 years. The head

teacher of Ee Thoo Hta High School, furthermore, told

KHRG that there were over 500 children aged 6 to 15

years attending the school. Including those aged 15 to17, the head teacher estimated that the total population

of Ee Thoo Hta below 18 years of age is about 2,000, or

roughly half the camp's population of over 4,000 people.[Photos: KHRG]

A-122

A-123 A-124

All images and reports Karen Human Rights Group Top
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„Karen Human Rights Group | KHRG Photo Gallery 2009“