Eastern Burma ‘Comparable’ to Darfur: TBBC

The growing instability in eastern Burma from ongoing military conflict is forcing thousands of ethnic people to become internally displaced persons (IDPs), according to a press release from the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) on Thursday. 

The statement said at least 75,000 people in eastern Burma were forced to leave their homes during the past year, meaning the number of IDPs in the area now exceeds half a million. TBBC compared the scale of displacement to that of Darfur in eastern Sudan.

“After 25 years of responding to the consequences of conflict in eastern Burma, it is tragic to see the causes remain unaddressed and the situation is likely to further deteriorate during the next 12 months.” Jack Dunford, the executive director of TBBC said in the statement. 

Bangkok-based TBBC, an umbrella group of aid agencies that supplies a high percentage of humanitarian aid to IDPs and refugees at the Thai-Burmese border, said that between August 2008 and July 2009, some 120 communities were destroyed, making a total of more than 3,500 villages and “hiding sites” in eastern Burma that have been destroyed or forcibly relocated since 1996.

The main threats to human security in eastern Burma are related to militarization, TBBC said. While military patrols and landmines are the most significant and fastest growing threats to civilian safety and security, forced labor and restrictions on movement are the most pervasive threats to livelihoods.

Duncan McArthur, a coordinator of emergency relief for the TBBC, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday: “The people don’t have any security and our survey indicates the situation is getting worse.

“We have documented the situation to highlight the ongoing problems for ethnic people in eastern Burma,” he said.

The northern Karen area and southern Shan State have the highest rates of recent displacement, according to the report. Almost 60,000 Karen villagers are in hiding in the mountains of Kyaukgyi, Thandaung and Papun townships, a third of who fled from artillery attacks or the threat of Burmese government troop patrols during the past year.

In Shan State, nearly 20,000 civilians from 30 villages were forcibly relocated by the Burmese government forces in retaliation for Shan State Army-South operations in Laikha, Mong Kung and Keh Si townships, said TBBC. 

The statement said that the scale of displaced villages has been recognized as the strongest single indicator of crimes against humanity in eastern Burma.