Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
KYN / KSDF
Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Oppression of Kuki People in Myanmar Case study on the condition of the Kuki People and Human Rights Violation against them from the conception on the Democratic Government in 2010 to date
KYN / KSDF
Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Content
Subject Page
Acknowledgments Foreword Preamble Purpose
Executive Summary Map of Tamu District Brief historical background of the Kuki Background of Meitei insurgent presence in Kabaw Valley Human rights violations and discrimination since Myanmar’s 2010 elections • Ongoing lack of recognition of Kuki cultural identity o Attempts to forbid Kuki National Forum o Threats to remove Kuki Women’s Centre signboard •
Violations by Myanmar Army and other security personnel o
Kuki youth beaten for attempting to block timber smuggling by Myanmar Army
o
Police imprison Kuki village heads, let timber smugglers go free
o
Myanmar Army troops beat Kuki youth attending Christmas celebrations
o
Rape of young girls by police
KYN / KSDF
Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Content Subject Page •
•
Land appropriation by government authorities o
Over 3,000 acres given to Sea Sun Star Company
o
5,200 acres given to Chinese timber company
o
Farms confiscated for flood victims
o
Farms confiscated for prison agricultural project
o
Threats of land confiscation to build Trilateral Highway Concerns over planned oil drilling by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
Growing Meitei rebel presence threatens local people’s security •
Ongoing incidents of violence by Meitei rebels in Tamu district
•
Elderly villager scapegoated for Meitei violence
•
Insecurity fuelled by Indian Army cross-border raid in 2015
Conclusion Demands to local authorities, the government and international community
KYN / KSDF
Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Acknowledgment We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to those that have actively participated in fact-finding and the staff of Kuki Students Democratic Front (KSDF) and Kuki Youth Network (KYN). We highly appreciate the formidable help from the ones that gave us informations that are out of touch and the unidentified local people, the very victims of these human rights violations. We are also grateful to Brother Yé Min Naing and his fellow comrades from Students and Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB) for helping us with the maps and the data, Daw Nga Ngai (Kuki Women Human Rights Organization - KWHRO) for editing the book (in original text in Burmese) from cover to cover, and to our friends each of who gave a hand in making this small book. Last but not least, our special thanks go to Sayama Pipa (BRC) who rendered financial contribution for this book to be published. Seigin Chairman Kuki Youth Network
Foreword Just as other ethnic groups, Kukis are ones that had trodden on the land of Myanmar since time immemorial. We were one of the western Tibeto-Burman groups which had settled in the country as the indigenous inhabitants and hence a native people. The Kuki Students Democratic Front has published in 2001 a book on the bitter experiences of the oppressed Kuki people who have lost all kinds of their rights as an ethnic people group under the then military regime. This second publication entitled “A Record of Human Rights Violations: Oppression of Kuki People in Myanmar” has been a concerted work of a team of Kuki students who have done an empirical research of the victimized people. This piece of work is dedicated to earn a recognition as a historical fact and a wider awareness of human rights violations and racial discriminations against Kuki people, which would expectantly launch a new era where human rights are materialized to the fullest for the Kuki people especially at this juncture of transitioning from military dictatorship to democratic government. Chief Patron Kuki Affairs Council KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Preamble The Kuki Students Democratic Front (KSDF) has issued in April 2001 a report entitled “The Kuki People: Victims of All Forms of Human Rights Violations in Myanmar” (in Burmese) highlighting human rights violations and discriminations wrought in the lives of the Kukis by military juntas. The book touched on the points of hardships and difficulties, racial discrimination, the strategic attacks, racial segregation projects for ethnic cleansing perpetuated by Na-Aa-Hpa or SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) millitary government and the impact of those miserable conditions in areas of public health, economic, education of the Kuki people. This report is a brief summary of the information given in 2016 and 2017 by the victims from the Kuki villlages and from annonymous colleagues as well. It covers accounts of human rights abuses on Kuki civillians from the birth of Myanmar’s democratic government and not a complete and detailed document. The fact is that there are other accounts that still remain unmentioned by the informants for the sake of their security as well as for further investigation.
Purpose We the Kuki Students have witnessed issues of social and political injustice, human rights violation and racial discrimination in different forms in different places among the Kuki people as we worked together with other student unions in Myanmar dealing with young people’s affairs. Surprisingly, we have also found that the people who were deprived of human rights were not aware of it themselves. Therefore, we aim that these painful experiences of the victims may come to light in a greater knowledge of the fellow people, other ethnic people groups and the governing officials as well. By that knowledge, it may bring forth mutual understanding and collaborations among ethnic people groups. We also anticipate that the state government becomes clearly aware of the chronic sufferings of the Kuki people and attend to their socio-political needs.
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Executive Summary This report exposes ongoing human rights violations and discrimination against the Kuki people in Sagaing’s Tamu District since Myanmar’s democratic elections in 2010. About one million Kuki people live in India, and about 200,000 in Myanmar, but they are not listed among Myanmar’s 135 officially recognized ethnic groups. The Kuki suffered extreme persecution under Myanmar’s military regime, particularly in 1967-68, when over 20,000 Kuki villagers were forcibly expelled to India. During the 1990s, the regime set up new army outposts, villages and prison camps along the Kabaw valley, confiscating Kuki farmlands and moving in Burmese populations from elsewhere. This pattern of persecution has continued since the 2010 elections, as the Myanmar authorities have tightened control of this strategic border trade area, and its rich forest, agricultural and mineral resources. Kuki organizations have been threatened and harassed for holding events under the Kuki name, and Kuki youth arbitrarily tortured by Myanmar troops. Young girls have been raped by border security police. Large areas of communal forest and farmlands have been appropriated for government and private projects, including 5,200 acres north of Tamu town being cleared by a Chinese company since 2014 for a commercial timber plantation. In 2016, 60 acres of farmland were seized from Myothit villagers for a prison agricultural project. Large-scale resource extraction and infrastructure projects have also proceeded without the consent of local communities. China’s Sinopec, subcontracted by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is currently surveying for oil in northern Tamu. Villagers are continuing to resist attempts to seize their lands to widen the planned Trilateral Highway from India across Myanmar to Thailand. In 2016, the Myanmar military completed a new 600-meter-long “security” trench between Tamu and Moreh in India, where they now charge a 500 kyat fee to cross the border, causing great hardship for daily laborers who used to cross back and forth for free. Meanwhile, rampant illegal logging and smuggling continue along the border, with the collusion of security forces, who have tortured and even jailed Kuki villagers for trying to block this. Apart from the Myanmar military, the main security threat for Kuki villagers comes from Meitei (Manipuri) armed forces fighting the Indian government. The number of Metei troops staying inside Tamu territory, in jungle camps as well as in towns and villages, has doubled to about 200 since 2010. Despite official denials, successive Myanmar Northwest Regional Commanders have tacitly permitted these rebels to stay since 2000, in what appears to be a divide and rule strategy to counter domestic resistance threats.
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
The presence of the Meitei rebels is a constant source of fear for Kuki villagers, who get caught in the crossfire between the Indian Army and the Meitei along the border, and between Meitei factions fighting among themselves. In the town of Tamu alone, thirteen people have been shot dead and thirty-one bomb explosions have occurred during the past eight years. The KYN urges the Myanmar government to immediately end the oppression and human rights violations against the Kuki, and to recognize our ethnic identity. We call for a new democratic federal constitution, and for all resource extraction in ethnic areas to be stopped until there is federal devolution of power. We also call urgently for the Meitei rebels to be expelled from Myanmar soil.
A photo of Kabaw vellay Kuki Area india - Myanmar border KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Brief historical background of the Kuki According to modern historical records, the name “Kuki” was first found in the report of Bangladesh administrative officer Warrenhastings in 1777 and of colonial British writer Adam Scott Reid.1 Out of the western Tibeto-Burman groups, “Chin” and “Kuki” groups are the first settlers in Myanmar. 2 Having left from the Great Wall of Khakhi (or) Kaki region in China, the Kukis passed through a place called ‘upper land’ and started to settle along the India-Myanmar boundary. Kukis carried out a rebellion against the British colonisers for three consecutive years from 1917 to 1919. Places from which Kukis launched uprisings against British rule included Thamanti, Maung Kham, Homalin, Tamu, Moreh, Wituk, and Tonzang in Myanmar, and Manipur State in India. Kuki representatives joined with other ethnic groups in negotiating terms of independence from Britain. After the signing of the Panglong Agreement, led by General Aung San, four Kuki representatives took part in the Frontier Areas Committee of Enquiry held in Maymyo in 1947. Two representatives from Layshi township (Sagaing region), Pu Ngam Kho Jang and Pu Son Kho Thong, attended under the ethnic name “Kuki/Khongsai”. Two others from Tonzang township (Chin State), Pu On Kho Mang and Pu Let So attended under the ethnic name “Thadou” (one of the clans of the Kuki). When the British granted independence to India in 1947 and Myanmar in 1948, three-quarters of the Kuki homelands ended up inside India, while the remaining quarter was in Myanmar, with continuing disputes over the exact border line. Today, there are over one million Kuki people scattered in different parts of India and about two hundred thousand dispersed in Myanmar. Similar to other ethnic groups, Kuki villagers have faced long-standing persecution by the Myanamr military. From 1967 to 1968, General Ne Win’s military regime carried out the Khadwahmi Operation against Kuki ethnic people in the Kabaw Valley (the northern section of which comprises Tamu township). Over 20,000 Kuki civilians from over 60 villages, who could not produce citizenship documents, were forced into exile. In the midst of a very cold winter. Myanmar soldiers ordered the villagers at gunpoint to immediately leave their homes, without taking any of their property. Victims were forced to abandon hundreds of tons of paddy rice (which had just been harvested) and countless livestock, including oxen, cattle, pigs and chickens. This persecution left lasting scars on the Kuki people in Myanmar, who began fearing
1 2
Kuki History Book. Ethnic Nationality Customs (CHIN) Burma Socialist Programme Party Central Organising Committee 1968 Page - 48
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
even to use the name Kuki. At that time, the names of Kuki villages were officially changed to Burmese names by the authorities; some of the new names were completely different, such as the village “Teijang” in Kuki was changed to “Kyoon-pin-tha” in Burmese, “Jangngouphai” was changed to “Yay-aye”, “Haipijang” to “Yay-nann”, and “Zalenphai” to “Naung-ket”. After crushing the nationwide pro-democracy uprisings in 1988, the regime set up several prison labour camps in the Kabaw Valley. Lands of nearby Kuki villages were seized, and villagers forced to work to build the prison camps. During the 1990s, a Kuki resistance organization operated in the Kabaw Valley, but in 1999 ended their armed insurgency in Myanmar and moved to be based in Indian terrority, signing a ceasefire agreement with the Indian government in 2005. To counter local ethnic resistance movements, Myanmar troops expanded their forces in the Kabaw area in the 1990s, and organized for Burmese from other parts of Sagaing, including former prisoners, to move in and set up new villages (see Appendix). The resettled villagers were provided with housing, land and livestock.
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Background of Meitei insurgent presence in Kabaw Valley The Kabaw Valley runs along the India-Burma border in western Sagaing, separated to the east from the Chindwin Valley by a range of low hills. Contested for centuries between Manipuri and Burmese kingdoms, the Kabaw Valley was administered under British colonial rule as part of Burma. The border line remained in dispute even after independence, but in 1952, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru formally gave the Kabaw valleyland to the Myanmar government as a pledge of Indo-Burma peace. This is a source of resentment for some Manipurian (Meitei) political leaders, who believe the Kabaw Valley should have remained part of Manipur State (Kangleipak) of India. In fact, the majority of indigenous villages in Tamu township, comprising the section of the Kabaw Valley adjoining India, are Kuki, and there are no indigenous Meitei villages. (See Appendix) The Kabaw Valley is strategically very important for the Manipurian (Meitei) insurgent forces waging armed struggle against the Indian government. It borders Chandel and Ukhrul districts in Manipur, and for the past few decades, these groups have operated from bases inside Burma, crossing into Manipur to stage attacks against Indian troops and police. The main Meitei insurgent groups currently operating in Myanmar are as follows: 1.
People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK)
2.
People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
3.
United National Liberation Front (UNLF)
4.
United People’s Party of Kangleipak (UPPK)
5.
Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL)
6.
Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP)
Most Kuki villagers do not know the names of the individual groups, but simply know that they are Meitei insurgents, and call them “Kathe” armed group members. It is an open secret that Meitei rebels are tacitly allowed to operate in Tamu by the Myanmar authorities, under an agreement first given in 2000 by the Myanmar Army Northwestern Region General Headquarters Commander U Tun Kyi, and continued by successive regional commanders. This appears to be part of an ongoing divide-and-rule strategy, to counter the influence of other armed resistance groups in this area. Local Kuki villagers even refer to the Meitei troops now as a Myanmar Army “border guard force”. Originally based only in the Tamu area, now Meitei insurgents have moved as far north as Khamti district, as well as south to Chin State, and other parts of the country. The Meitei rebels, who support themselves from taxes collected inside Manipur, have used their funds to bribe authorities to stay in Burma. They have been able to buy fake National Registration cards (issued by Myanmar’s National Registration and Citizenship Department) or use those of dead people. The Meitei bases are in the jungle, but their members also stay openly in villages and towns, where they do not wear uniforms, but their identity is known among locals. KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Human rights violations and discrimination against the Kuki since Myanmar’s 2010 elections Ongoing lack of recognition of Kuki cultural identity Despite the fact the Kuki people have been a distinct ethnic group since long before Burma’s independence, their name is not included among the 135 ethnic groups (taing-yin-tha) officially recognized today. The most recent nationwide census in 2014 did not include the name Kuki at all, using only the officially recognized 135 ethnic groups. Among the 53 groups listed as “Chin,” only three out of over 20 Kuki clans (Thadou, Khongsai and Guite) are listed, but with the prefix Chin, as “Chin-Thadou”, “Chin Khongsai”, and “Chin-Guite”. Despite having no ethnic relation to the Chin, the Meitei are also listed as one of the 53 “Chin” groups in Myanmar – designated as “Chin-Kathe”. During the past few years, under the NLD government, the authorities have continued to attempt to stifle the identity of the Kuki.
Attempts to forbid Kuki National Forum Shortly before the Myanmar government’s first 21st Century Panglong Conference at the end of August 2016, leading Kuki organisations planned a national forum in Tamu to discuss issues related to the conference. They contacted several well-known writers, including Tharawon (Pyi) and U Ko Lay (Chief Editor, Thuriya news) to come and speak at the event, planned for August 19-20, 2016. However, Tamu District administrative chief U Khaing Zaw Oo tried to block the event, citing the fact that the Kuki were not one of the recognized 135 national races. He even threatened the writers not to take part, causing Tharawon to pull out. Nevertheless, as there was no written order forbidding the event, the Kuki National Forum went ahead and was attended by Kuki members from all over the country. On August 21, U Khaing Zaw Oo and his administering committee summoned the forum organisers to the Tamu district General Administration office and threatened to file charges against them, saying they would need to defend A session of “Welcoming 21st Century Panglong Conference and Kuki National Forum” KYN / KSDF
themselves in court. Police, army,
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
immigration and court officials were present at the meeting. On August 30, the Tamu township administrative officer U Ko Ko Htwe again summoned the organizers to his office, in the presence of the Township Police officer, Township Legislative officer and Immigration officer, and ordered them to sign that they would hold no more unauthorized gatherings. One of the committee members, U Thangkhosei, was therefore compelled to sign. Meanwhile, Daw Nga Ngai, one of the conference committee members, was on a trip to Yangon, and was also summoned by U Ko Ko Htwe to sign when she returned. However, she refused to sign, and insisted that the officer should have an official letter for the prohibition of the event. In reality, there was no reason to forbid the event organized by the Kuki, especially since Shan Ni and Zomi ethnic groups were allowed to hold events in support of the 21st Century Panglong Conference. In May 2016, about 1,500 Shan Ni villagers had been allowed to march in Homalin in support of the conference. The Zomi had also been allowed to hold events in Tamu and Kalaymyo.
Threats to remove Kuki Women’s Centre signboard The Kuki Women’s Center (KWC) was opened in May 2014 in Tamu town, with the aim of eliminating violence against women, promoting peace and reconciliation, upgrading women’s skills, and working on other social issues facing Kuki women. As mentioned above, the KWC Chairperson Daw Nga Ngai was involved in organizing the Kuki National Forum on August 19 and 20, 2016, which received a lot of media coverage, including by DVB and Mizzima news on August 21, 2016. Apparently in response to Daw Nga Ngai’s role in organizing the forum, on 1st September 2016, Township Officer U Ko Ko Htwe ordered KWC personnel to remove the center’s signboard within ten days, claiming this was because KWC was not officially registered. However, the center staff argued back, saying many other social organizations were operating without legal registration, and that the KWC was a non-profit, non-governmental organization, specially intended for the welfare of women and enhancing their life skills. The center demanded to see an official letter ordering them to take down the sign. When the officer was unable to produce such a letter, the center kept up the signboard, which remains until today. U Ko Ko Htwe does not appear to have changed his discriminatory attitude towards the Kuki. On January 2, 2018, when a youngster went to deliver an invitation letter for a Kuki youth occasion, U Ko Ko Htwe told him off, and asked him: “Don’t you know that Kuki is not a daing-yin-tha? What’s the meaning of this invitation letter?” The officer’s rude, harsh manner reduced the young boy to tears. U Khaing Zaw Oo was recently transferred, and is now facing charges of corruption while he was District Officer of Tamu. KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
3 youth injured and hospitalized following the torture perpetrated by the troops
Violations by Myanmar Army and other security personnel There are seven permanent Myanmar Army camps in Tamu. The main camp is in Tamu town, and the rest are outpost camps, mostly situated mostly in or near the new Burmese villages along the length of the township. The camps are manned alternately by troops from six main battalions: 78, 79, 228, 299, 363 and 365, which are under the Northwest Regional Command (headquartered in Monywa). Although the troops and related security personnel are supposed to provide security to local civilians, various incidents illustrate ongoing abuse of power and corruption – particularly related to lucrative cross-border smuggling. Kuki youth beaten for attempting to block timber smuggling by Myanmar Army On February 16, 2016, a group of Myanmar Army troops from Battalions 229 and 87, posted in Aung Zayya front-line camp, in the north of Tamu township, beat up several youth from Mongjang (or Nan-aung-maw) village, accusing them of interfering with their duty. They also fired their guns and threatened to set fire to the whole village. In fact, the soldiers themselves were illegally smuggling teak across the border. The case was as follows. In the morning of February 16, an empty truck had driven through Mongjang from the Indian side of the border towards Aung Zayya. In the afternoon, the truck returned with a load of teakwood, heading back towards the border. Youth in Mongjang tried to block the truck, knowing that if the smuggled timber was found, they might be arrested for suspicion of involvement. The driver said the lumber belonged to Major Thura, in charge of the local Myanmar Army base in Aung Zayya. However, the young men still refused to let the truck pass. The truck driver then went back to the army base, and returned with Major Thura and a group of soldiers. Major Thura ordered the youth to stop blocking the truck, and threatened to burn down the whole village. Then six soldiers opened fire and began beating the young men. One of the youth, Satneo, was shot at three times at point-blank range but luckily, the gun did not go off. The gunfire also hit the local school’s windows, breaking them into pieces. Several youth were so badly beaten they had to be admitted to hospital. They were also pressured to go and apologize to the offending army officer. KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
It was only when the Kuki Women’s Center, together with the Upper Chindwin Youth Network (Kalay) and Kuki Youth Network, publicized the incident on social media and to news agencies that the commanding Burma Army officer of Tamu District settled the issue with an apology, followed by a conciliatory act according to the Kuki custom. This news was featured in 7-Day Daily News on February 20, 2016. Major Thura was not punished.
Police imprison Kuki village leaders, let timber smugglers go free Not only soldiers but also police are involved in timber smuggling, making it difficult for villagers to protect their woodlands. In 2016, village leaders of Munnomjang tried to take action against a Burmese ex-prisoner who was organizing illegal logging near their village, with cronies from Tamu. They had reported him to local administrators and the Forest Department, but to no avail. Finally, a group of villagers, led by the village-in-charge, went to the logging site and challenged the smuggler. He reacted violently, attacking them with a sword, and then went to file charges against them at Tamu police station. Very unjustly, the Tamu police chief took no action against the timber smuggler, and instead sentenced four village committee members to one month in jail for assault. They were discharged on 22nd December 2016. Also in 2016, locals in Tungcho tried to tip off the police that a large shipment of timber was being smuggled from their area. However, the police simply staged a token raid, seizing only two out of 100 tons of illegal timber, turning a blind eye to the rest of the shipment.
Myanmar Army troops beat up Kuki youth attending Christmas celebrations In the evening of December 26, 2016, when two Kuki youth from Teijang (Kyunpintha) village were returning home from Mintha village, where they had been singing at Christmas celebrations, they were accosted by a group of Myanmar Army soldiers. The soldiers asked them if they were Kuki rebels. One of the youth replied that there were no Kuki rebels, only the Kuki Tatmadaw (“Army�), and they were Kuki youth from Kyunpintha village. The soldiers became angry, and began beating them. Only when local village leaders came to plead with the soldiers, were they finally released. On Christmas Eve in 2017, a gang of ten Burmese men, mostly Myanmar soldiers, from Mintha village attacked two Kuki youths returning home to Teijang (Kyoon-pin-tha) village, after buying goods in Tamu town for Christmas celebrations. They were accused of riding too fast past the local army checkpoint and not showing respect. The two youth were beaten so badly that they both needed stitches in their heads.
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Rape Young Girls by Police There have been several recent incidents of rape of young girls by police officers. In early 2018, it was uncovered that a police officer providing security at a border checkpoint near Tamu had several times raped a 14-year-old mentallychallenged girl as she was crossing the border to earn a living to work as a maid in Moreh. The crime was found out by the girl’s mother after the latest incident on 12th January 2018. The perpetrator was police constable Myo Hein Zaw serving at Base# 28 near Valpabung Village (officially “Chauk-net-gyi”, Quarters 13 and 14 of Tamu Town). According to the young girl, the same man had already raped her once on Christmas Eve and again on New Year’s Eve in 2017. The girl explained, “I was afraid of telling anyone about it. He said he would kill me and not let me pass through the gate anymore.” Every day the girl went to work as a maid at a house in Moreh, India (passing through the border fence north of Tamu town) and carried some leftover food for her pigs on the way home passing the police station. The victim did not report the sexual assault at first because she was worried that it would cause a problem for her family if she were not permitted to use the road on a daily basis. The offender, backed up by the Tamu District police head, tried to push her parents to solve the problem according to local customary proceedings and not through the legal system. He warned that taking the case to court would be expensive and bring shame on their family. However, staff from the Kuki Women Center stood up for the girl and her family, and the case has been taken to court. In another incident in February 2018, a policeman from Kuntaung police station raped a 14-year-old girl from Chauk-net-gyi who was returning from the village market in the evening. However, the victim’s family was dissuaded by police officers from taking the case to court. The police advised them to solve the case according to local Kuki customs. In the end, the family succumbed to coercion and agreed to let the offender make amends by killing a pig. Police failure to take the crime of underage rape seriously is underscored by the fact there has been no resolution to a case in 2016, where a 3-year-old girl was raped by a 16-yearold boy from the same village. Even though charges were filed at Tamu police station, the police delayed taking action against the offender, enabling him to escape.
The police security post (known as the “bunker hole”) where a 14-year-old girl was raped by a police officer
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Building of border “security” trench impedes local livelihoods The recent building of a 600-meter-long trench along the border between Tamu and Moreh illustrates how so-called “security” measures are hurting local communities, and appear to be serving no purpose except to enrich Myanmar Army personnel. For generations, local Kuki people have been going to and fro on a daily basis from Tamu to Moreh to work, trade, and visit family members. Some manual laborers living in Tamu would cross over several times a day to sell firewood and vegetables, and carry back pig-food from India, earning about 150 rupees a day (about 3,000 Myanmar kyat). However, in 2016, the Chief General Administrative Officer of Tamu District ordered the digging of a trench about 20 feet wide and 8 feet deep along the border line between Tamu and Moreh, allegedly for security purposes. The trench was completed in the same year 2016. The trench has caused huge problems for local inhabitants, who formerly could cross the border easily without having to pay any fees. Now, however, there is only one official crossing over the trench, where those crossing from the Myanmar side must pay a fee of 500 kyats per time to the soldiers manning the crossing. There is no receipt given for the money.
Passers-by looking on at the digging of the border trench between Moreh and Tamu
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Housewives on the move to cross into Moreh in India to sell firewood and charcoal A woman resident of Tamu complained: “We used to go to and fro across the border all the time. But now
this huge trench is blocking us, and poor people like us are facing great difficulty. We will likely go hungry. Housewives like me from Nanphalong, Valpabung and Tamu town used to collect firewood from the jungle early in the morning and take it to sell to well-to-do people and restaurants in Moreh, so that we could buy groceries to take back home. Then again we would come back and collect firewood in the jungle in the afternoon. Some made charcoal. Then we would go to sell it in Moreh again in the late afternoon. In the past, sometimes we had to show our NRC card to the police as we passed through the border checkpoint, depending on the security situation, but it was no big deal. Now, this trench is blocking us and violating our rights.�
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
There already exists a three-mile-long fence along the border line north of Tamu, completed by the Indian government in 2011 for security reasons, to prevent Meitei insurgents from launching attacks from the Myanmar side of the border. However, due to appeals from the Kuki population in India, no fence was built on the section of the border between Tamu-Nanphalong and Moreh – showing that the Indian government was sensitive to the necessity to maintain socio-economic links between Kuki people on both sides of the border. However, the Myanmar authorities have completely disregarded the local people’s needs in building the trench. It is quite ironic that the trench has allegedly been built for security purposes, to prevent insurgents from the India side crossing into Myanmar, when in fact the Myanmar Army is sheltering these very rebels.
Indian money 500 Rupees
The border gate at the entrance of Nanphalong Market
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Land appropriation by the army and government departments Over 3,000 acres given to Sea Sun Star company In 2013, more than 3,000 acres of forested land near Myothit town and Thanan village were occupied by a private company called Sea Sun Star, which had been granted legal rights to cultivate it. Villagers who had formerly had free access to forest resources for domestic use, were restricted from entering the area.
“They felled the trees saying they would grow high value plants. But then, they also started to plan for mining. Actually, it is where our ancestors found salt and oil. So, we collected signatures from local people in adjoining villages, and demanded that the company stop its business and leave our place as soon as possible,” said a local person. Since 2017, the company appears to have pulled out the area, but there has been no official announcement confirming this. In one section of the land formerly occupied by the company, is a sign from the Forest Department saying that 100 acres are being reforested, and villagers are still forbidden from accessing the area. “We ordinary peope are totally subject to the decree ‘one tree felled, three months jailed’ while companies owned by cronies are felling trees in thousands of acres of land with apparent impunity. This law is only used for the general public, not for wealthy people,” complained a local villager. Government designation of reserved forest has been taking place in the area since the 1990s, including 50,599.99 acres of the northern Kabaw Valley. This includes not only forest and farmlands around Kuki villages but also the villages themselves, for example New Kuntaung village, just north of Tamu town.
Forest Department signboard declaring reforestation of 100 acres KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Villagers living in reserved forest areas are restricted from expanding their farms, and even from erecting new structures within their village. U Thangkhatpao, a villager of Khumnoi, in the extreme north of Chin State, described problems being faced: “Our village has been declared by the Forest Department to be situated in a reserve area. So we could be forced to move anytime.
Now every time we plan to work the soil we are concerned about the forest laws. That’s the main problem, since our livelihood is solely related to the soil. Now we are struggling with basic needs. We want to celebrate and erect a monument to commemorate the 200th anniversary of our village church. But we can’t. We might get into trouble since our village is within the reserve. We have been told that our farmland does not have official “Form 7” documentation. And the Ministry of Lands and Statistics Department said they could not issue it for us either. So we are trying to submit letters of appeal to the Assembly of Chin State. But till today we have had no response.”
Signboard of Kabaw Forest Reserve, 50,599.99 acres in size
5,200 acres given to Chinese timber company
Since 2014, a Chinese company “Triple Circle” (Thone-htat Set-wine) has been carrying out a commercial forest project on 5,200 acres of appropriated land north of Chauk-net-gyi (formerly, Valpabung) village, Tamu township, with the consent of the Sagaing regional government. The company’s area stretches across the customary boundaries of several existing villages, whose inhabitants were neither informed nor consulted beforehand. “Every village has a customary ‘village area’ around it, which is a mile wide perimeter exempted from farming and preserved as an environmental safeguard against natural and ecological disasters. This was introduced by our forefathers, but now this long-practiced custom has been crushed,” said a villager. “Since the company project began, we have been unable to forage around the village area for firewood and vegetables. They have threatened to shoot us if we approach their area,” a local woman said. According to the villagers, the company is growing Xylia dolabriformis (a kind of ironwood) on more than 3,000 acres of the cleared land. Another villager complained that the cutting down of original forest cover had negatively impacted local farms: “Our farms need a good storage of rainwater, absorbing the moisture supplied by the surrounding forest. Since all the trees have been cut down, the farms are in shortage of water. Plus, there is no green pasture for cattle.”
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Farms confiscated for flood victims After the severe flooding in 2015, farmland in Tamu District was appropriated by local authorities for victims who had lost their homes in the flood. At least 20 acres belonging to villagers of Canaan village, Khampat town, were confiscated without compensation. Names of villagers who lost their land were: Pu Thangjangam, Pu Letjapao, Pu Tun Tun Oo, Pu Onjathang, Pu Htay Min, Pu Onjapao, Pu Ngamkhothang and Pu Mangsonthang. Impacted villagers wonder why the government did not provide the flood victims with vacant land, or at least pay them compensation in lieu of the confiscated land. A local man whose land was expropriated said, “It’s not that we don’t have concern for the flood victims. But now we are facing difficulty as we lost our farms. I think it’s not fair the government just gave our farmland to flood victims. This is not reasonable.”
Farms confiscated for prison agricultural project In 2016, ten local farmers from Shwe-lay-bo (Myothit Sub-town) who had been paying taxes to the government on a regular basis for more than 90 acres of land, were verbally ordered by the Correction Department’s supervising officer to immediately stop farming on this land. Later, the land started being farmed under his orders by prisoners at the Myothit prison camp. Not only have these farmers been deprived of their livelihood, but they have to continue paying taxes for their farms as they are still receiving tax invoices with their names from the Customs Office. There has been no proper settlement till today, even though they have tried to resolve the problem at related offices. The seizure of land for the Myothit prison camp dates back to 1991, when about 100 acres belonging to 14 households from Shwe-lay-bo section of Myothit sub-township were appropriated by the authorities for the construction of the camp. “There was no land replacement or legal redress at all. These 14 farming households have now become labourers on other people’s farms. Later in this ‘democracy age’, we learned they would return confiscated lands if we have documents of ownership, so we have been to many government offices. But we failed even though we have the land-grant and complete documentation,” a farmer said. The camp was built during the time when Major-General Hla Myint Swe and Commander Kyi Lynn governed the Tamu-Kabaw Valley region.
Signboard of Corrections Department agricultural project KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Threats of further land confiscation to build Trilateral Highway The planned Trilateral Highway across Myanmar from India to Thailand starts at the Tamu border. Plans to develop the highway have been progressing slowly. In 2009-2010, under the military regime, the section of the road from Tamu to Kalay was expanded, and scores of houses along the roadside were demolished without compensation. In 2013-2014, local authorities announced that the highway corridor would be further expanded to a width of 230 feet, causing great concern among those living along the road. When Tamu MP U Khin Maung Shwe raised a question about this in the Naypyidaw parliament, the reply was given that the highway would not be expanded to this width in towns and villages, only in the countryside. After that, nothing more was heard about the road until Oct 25, 2016, when the Highway Department office in Tamu issued a written order that any houses, shops or fences obstructing the sides of highway would have to be moved by November 21, 2016. Local people again resisted the order, saying they would defend their property with their lives, and pushed for the issue to be raised in parliament. The deadline passed without enforcement, but locals fear that the road widening could be restarted anytime.
Written order from Tamu Highway Department
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Concerns over planned oil drilling by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) On August 8, 2014, a production sharing contract was signed between India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Videsh, and the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprises Ltd. (MOGE) for the exploration of oil and gas in “Block-2” in Sagaing Division, an area of 18,639.59 sq kms, which includes the northern half of Tamu township. ONGC Videsh also signed a contract for another onshore block in Bago at the same time, and is already a partner in 2 operational gas drilling blocks off the Rakhine State coast, and in the Shwe gas pipeline, which transports gas to China. On April 10, 2017, two ONGC staff came to Myothit village and informed authorities they would give compensation for farmers’ losses, and promised to provide jobs for local people. They said they would not employ workers from other areas. Two weeks later, they held a meeting in the General Administration Department hall in Tamu, attended by about 40 people, including village administrative heads and other authorities. They raised the issue of compensation for lost agricultural produce, but the village administrators said the issue of compensation could only be decided by directly affected farmers.
Map showing Oil and Gas blocks in Northen Myanmar Therefore, in August 2017, the ONGC staff held meetings at four village tracts: Kun Taung, Naung Ket, Mintha and Hleset-Tongkadin. Local villagers agreed to a rate of compensation of 10,000 kyat for each basket of paddy lost, and 30,000 kyat for each four square feet of land dug up, There was no information given about possible negative impacts of oil exploration or drilling.
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
ONGC survey marker near Naungket village ONGC has contracted the Chinese company Sinopec to carry out exploration. In March 2018, about 20 Chinese surveyors arrived in Mintha village, where they are renting a house. They have started conducting field surveys, searching for drilling sites and putting up GPS indicators in various locations. They have been seen surveying at the bottom of Mt. Jangmol (aka, Mt. Minthami) and around paddy fields. Locals are very concerned about the environmental impacts of drilling in their area. “Whether drilling for oil or natural gas from the earth, it will cause bad consequences one way or another, especially if big industrial machinery is used. They’ll have to mine deep to locate the crude oil and install pipelines. How are they going to make restitution for the damage during the drilling? And where will the mounds of dug up soil be piled up?” a local school teacher questioned.
Marks for drilling sites and putting up GPS indicators in various locations. KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Growing Meitei rebel presence threatens local people’s security Despite repeated denials by the Myanmar government that they are harbouring Meitei rebels, the number of Meitei troops in the Kabaw Valley area has increased significantly since 2011. According to our research, there are now over twice as many Meitei troops as in the past.
In 2013, when former President Thein Sein visited New Delhi, India, and was asked by the Indian government not to provide shelter for Meitei armed forces in Myanmar territory, he flatly denied their presence inside Myanmar. However, at that time, Meitei troops, ranging from privates to officers, were visible everywhere in downtown Tamu. Some officers had married Burmese women and settled in the town with their own houses and lands. The only change noticed after U Thein Sein’s statement, was that lower-ranking Meitei troops were sent back to the camps in the jungle and only the officers remained in the town. In July 2017, Pyithuhlutdaw U Maung Maung Latt, an NLD MP, raised concerns in the Naypyidaw parliament about the presence of Meitei rebels in his constituency of Tamu, accusing the Myanmar security forces of failing to protect local villagers. Several months later, in October 2017, villagers in Kuntaung and Vokso saw a special military force from Naypyidaw arriving to raid Meitei rebel camps. The troops joined with local police and village administrative officers and went to two nearby Meitei camps. However, the rebels had already been informed in advance and had vacated the camps. The security forces therefore just took pictures of the empty camps. The presence of the Meitei rebels is a constant source of fear for Kuki villagers, who get caught in the crossfire between the Indian Army and the Meitei along the border, and between Meitei factions fighting among themselves. They are also sometimes themselves victims of abuses by the Meitei forces, and are routinely scapegoated by the Myanmar authorities for incidents of violence in their area, The situation is worst for residents of villages located very close to Meitei army camps. A villager from Kuntaung said, “I learned there are no more Meitei camps in some other places. But the camp near our village is still there. We used to go to farms with no worry before. We went to collect vegetables, firewood and herbs. But after they settled down here in 2006, we couldn’t go about like before. They detained three villagers of ours for two nights. So we don’t dare go close to their camps since then. No one would risk their life going out to the woods since their camp is still there.”
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
The villager continued: “Back in 2009 through 2012, we often saw that when Meitei rebels attacked the Indian army inside India and rushed back to the Myanmar side, Myanmar troops in full uniform came to pick them up by military truck. If they wanted to help the Meiteis, why didn’t they go and stand guard at the boundary fence? Why did they have to come and wait on standby in our village, and then leave when gunshots came? That’s the situation here. Even though the government announced there is no Meitei armed force in Myanmar, we the local people know it is all lies.” Another Kuki villager from Molnoi said people in his village were so afraid of being caught in the crossfire between Meitei and Indian troops that they would store food provisions in secret hiding places in the jungle, where they would go and hide as soon as they heard signs of an attack. “Until about 2013, we had to live in two places: our home and a separate shelter. We needed to have enough provisions like rice, salt and cooking oil stored in both places. So if we heard gunfire or a bomb blast, we would just rush out into the jungle to take shelter,” said the villager. Although villagers report fewer cross-border attacks being staged by the Meitei during the past five years, there are continuing incidents of violence caused by the Meitei rebels on the Myanmar side of the border, which have harmed and killed Kuki civilians. There is also a constant fear of land mines laid along the border. In 2010, some villagers - including Pu Seipao and his daughter - were killed when they stepped on land mines laid by Meitei rebels near Canaan village, Khampat township. However, there was no action of justice for the losses from the government
Ongoing incidents of violence by Meitei rebels in Tamu towmship
A clear indicator of the level of ongoing violence is the number of killings and explosions committed brazenly by members of Meitei armed groups in Tamu town itself, (shown in the chart above). There have been thirteen people shot dead and thirty-one explosions in the past seven years, counting only incidents reported in the Burmese media.
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
There have also been repeated outbreaks of violence in the village of Kuntaung, just north of Tamu town, which lies close to a Meitei camp. In April 2011, there was a firefight right in the village, when two armed Meitei deserters were chased through the village in broad daylight by other Meitei troops. Villagers hid in fear while the troops sprayed gunfire at each other. Finally, one deserter was shot dead while the other was captured by the Meitei troops, who handed him over to the Myanmar police. He was detained in the Kuntaung police station for about a week, after which he was released back into Meitei custody. In March 2015, Meitei rebels fought with each other in Kuntaung village so fiercely that house roofs were blown apart, causing extreme fear among the villagers. A few months later, in May 2015, two Meitei armed men were ambushed by the Indian Army near Kuntaung, causing a firefight that damaged houses in the village. One Meitei was killed and one arrested by the Indians. However, local Myanmar authorities did not take any relief and security measures for the panic-stricken villagers. They also did not take any legal action against the Indian intruders. Instead, they warned the victimized householders not to leak the information saying, “You will be held accountable for the consequences if the news is made public, because it was your houses which were destroyed.� On December 25, 2016, during the Christmas Service at night, Myanmar troops from Base# 228 insisted on coming to stay overnight in New Kuntaung Village (inhabited by Kuki), citing a possible security threat. In fact, the troops could have stayed in the police station in the Burmese section of Kuntaung Village, but appeared intent on intimidating the Kuki villagers.
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Elderly villager scapegoated for Meitei-linked violence Innocent Kuki villagers have been scapegoated by Myanmar authorities for violence committed by or linked to the Meitei rebels. One such case took place in 2013. On November 13, 2013, there was a bomb blast in Aung Zayya village, at the house of Daw Win Tin, well known as a hideout for Meitei troops. On November 17, an Indian Naga called Kevin Son (with suspected Indian intelligence links), came to photograph the damaged house, and called an elderly Kuki villager named Pu Jam Ngam to translate for him. While they were taking photographs, the local police came and arrested them, and took them to Tamu police station, where they were accused of being connected to the bombing incident. When Pu Jam Ngam protested his innocence, he was freed by the police chief, together with the Naga man. However, shortly afterwards, he was re-arrested and sent to Mawlaik Prison, about 60 miles from Tamu. He was imprisoned for three years. No one else was punished for the bomb blast, and it was clear that Pu Jam Ngam had been made a scapegoat for the explosion. “It was really hard to be in prison at my old age. Now I can barely breathe, because I am suffering from bronchitis. Were I still young, I wouldn’t care about a matter of three years.” said Pu Jam Ngam, now 70 years old.
(Pu Jam Ngam 70, unjustly imprisoned for 3 years)
A Meitei rebel shot dead by Indian Army near Kun-taung (Corn-town) village in May 2015
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Innocent villagers injured in attacks by Meitei rebels in Tamu town in 2017
A Meitei leader who had lived in Tamu town for many years, was assassinated on January 6, 2016
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Insecurity fuelled by Indian Army cross-border raid in 2015
Indian commandos taking a victory pose after raiding a Meitei army camp in northern Tamu township on June 9, 2015 Five days after a rebel attack against Indian soldiers in Manipur on June 4, 2015, a special Indian commando force carried out a cross-border military operation against a Meitei army camp about 35 miles north of Tamu, close to the Tamu-Ketthar road leading to Homalin. Having flown by helicopter to the border, the commandos trekked into Myanmar, and on 9th June, at around 6 am, attacked the Meitei camp with guns and mortar shells. Villagers in Aung Zayya, Zaydi and Mantou, only a few miles from the Meitei camp, could hear the gunfire clearly. They also saw over 100 Meitei troops from other nearby camps fleeing into their villages in trucks and on foot, armed and wearing camouflage uniform. Terrified villagers hid in their homes or took shelter in the jungle. The Indian newspaper Hindustan Times reported that the Indian military operation lasted forty minutes. But in reality, it took a week before most of the Meitei troops retreated back to their jungle camps, and residents of Kuki villages felt they were no longer in immediate danger. The Myanmar Army did not offer or provide any security to local Kuki civilians during or after the attack. Rather, on the day after the attack, they started interrogating the villagers, insinuating they may have shared information leading to the raid. Kuki villagers were also subjected to more stringent checks at security posts.
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Conclusion In summary, Kuki ethnic people are one of the indigenous groups who have been experiencing gross violations of human rights and racial discrimination under the successive rulership of Myanmar juntas and beyond. Although we Kuki youth and Kuki taing-yin-thas are strongly committed to join in building a genuine federal democratic nation in Myanmar, we have been suffering the aforementioned violations in our native places. The sufferings inflicted by government authorities include: failure to take legal action against criminal cases; rape of young Kuki women with impunity; a biased judicial process with no justice; conniving in crimes like trafficking and smuggling; granting permits to cronies to farm a large number of vacant lands and farms rather than allowing local people to work for their livelihood; and administering projects for exploiting natural resources without the consent of the indigenous inhabitants. Therefore, we Kuki students, on behalf of our people, hereby urge concerned stakeholders to fulfill the following demands:
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Our demands (a)
Local authorities
• For the local authorities (Police Force, Immigration Department, General Administration Department, etc.) to stop racial discriminination against the Kuki people. • For the concerned authorities to protect the welfare and security of women in the border zone and for the courts to take effective legal action to exact justice against rape, particularly of minors.
(b)
Sagaing Regional Government
• For the regional government to administer any Naypyidaw-authorized project in line with the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) • To do a full-scale investigation and take effective legal action against confiscation of lands and farms within Tamu District and to restore the expropriated farmland to the original dhama-oo-cha farmers (“those who first used their machetes to clear the jungle”).
(c) • • • • •
Naypyidaw Government To immediately stop oppression and human rights violations against the Kuki ethnic people and recognize our ethnic identity. To eject the Meitei revolutionary armed forces from our area without further ado. To abolish the 2008 Constitution, which is the main obstacle to building a federal democratic na tion, and draw up a new federal democratic constitution which can ensure equal rights among dif ferent ethnic nationalities. To adhere to UN-backed international agreements on human rights, indigenous peoples’ rights and women’s rights as a democratic nation. During this peace-seeking time, to stop all resource extraction projects in ethnic areas as these in vestments are fuelling conflict.
(d) •
International investors
To stop all resource extraction in ethnic areas until there is a new democratic federal constitution, ensuring local ownership and management of natural resources.
Kuki Students Democratic Front & Kuki Youth Network Joint Working Group Tamu Myo KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
Appendix: List of villages in Tamu district
KYN / KSDF
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
• References and News Sources • 1. “The Kuki People: Victims of All Forms of Human Rights Violations in Myanmar” (in Burmese), 2001. • 2. Facts about the Kuki • 3. The following links: • - http://www.mizzimaburmese.com/article/21921 • - http://www.mizzimaburmese.com/article/28874 • - http://www.mizzimaburmese.com/article/8158 • - http://burmese.dvb.no/archives/170607 • - http://burmese.dvb.no/archives/225670 • - http://burmese.dvb.no/archives/206747 • - http://burmese.dvb.no/archives/182630 • - http://burmese.dvb.no/archives/151641 • - http://burmese.dvb.no/archive s/129876 • - http://burmese.dvb.no/archives/111096 • - http://news-eleven.com/news/6699
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Facts on Human Rights Violations in Kuki Area (2010-2017)
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