The following Incident Report was written by a community member in Hpa-an District who has been trained by KHRG to monitor local human rights conditions. It is presented below translated exactly as originally written, save for minor edits for clarity and security.[1]
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Type of Incident |
Land Confiscation |
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Date of Incident(s) |
March 2nd 2018 |
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Incident Location (Village, Township and District) |
B--- village, Htoh Kaw Koe village tract, T’Nay Hsah [Nabu] Township, Hpa-an District |
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Victim Information |
|
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Name |
Saw A--- |
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Age |
21 |
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Sex |
Male |
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Ethnicity |
Karen |
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Family |
Single |
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Occupation |
Farmer |
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Religion |
Buddhism |
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Village |
B--- |
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Perpetrator Information |
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Name(s) |
Rank |
Unit |
Base |
Commander’s Name |
|
Saw Pah Yu |
Officer |
KNU/KNLA Peace Council Operations (3)[2] |
Waw Kreh |
Operations (3) Commander Bo Kyaw Kyaw |
|
Saw A Bee |
Battalion Commander |
KNU/KNLA Peace Council Battalion (773) Commander |
Waw Kreh |
Operations (3) Commander Bo Kyaw Kyaw |
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1. Explain in detail how you collected this information. |
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A KHRG researcher received this information from the farmer whose lands were confiscated by the KNU/KNLA Peace Council. In order to acquire more information, the KHRG researcher also met with a local leader and a healthcare worker. |
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2. Explain how the sources verified this information. |
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The KHRG researcher interviewed three people about this incident, who corroborated the victim’s account. The local leader provided good insight into the situation on the ground. |
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Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. |
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On March 2nd 2018, Saw Pah Yu, an officer from the Peace Council Operations (3), confiscated the land of local villagers from Htoh Kaw Koe village tract and Waw Lay village tract.[3] Saw Pah Yu said that he confiscated the land for plantation and husbandry activities. So far, the lands have not been used, and are left fallow. In total, Saw Pah Yu confiscated 150 acres of land. He did not get consent from the local farmers, or provide any information to them about the status of their land. When the affected people found out that their lands had been confiscated, they called upon a village tract administrator and a local monk for help. They asked them to meet Saw Pah Yu to resolve this issue. However, Saw Pah Yu failed to show up to the meeting. Later, he sold some of the confiscated land to Saw A Bee, the Commander of the KNU/KNLA Peace Council Battalion 773. When the affected villagers asked him to return their lands, Saw A Bee told them: “I did not get these lands for free. I bought it with money”. To date, the affected villagers have been unable to reclaim their land. This has impacted their livelihoods. |
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Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided. |
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The family members of the victims gave us permission to use this information for publication. |