Karen in Burma

Top: A small Karen village destroyed by ?????

Bottom: Here in Thailand they call the lady "Long Neck Karen" but in Burma she is call "Padaung"

I really do not understand that here just got hit by "Natural Nagis" but the " Ugly Human Nagis" is still there! Please read the aritcle from Irrawady news!!




1,000 Karen Villagers Flee Attacks
By SAW YAN NAING
Monday, June 9, 2008, -->

More than 1,000 people from Papun District in eastern Burma have fled their villages and taken refuge in the jungle after a series of attacks and acts of physical violence by the Burmese army, according to relief groups in Karen state.

According to the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a relief team that works with Internally Displaced People in eastern Burma, troops from Infantry Battalion 240 attacked Te Mu Der village on the morning of June 4, burning rice barns, destroying homes and farms, and damaging a local church.

The villagers were forced to flee Te Mu Der and are now staying in makeshift shacks in the surrounding jungle in fear of returning to their homes, said the FBR report.

Other villages in Papun District in northern Karen state were also attacked—including Tha Kaw To Baw and Tha Da Der, where an unknown number of villagers were forced into hiding.

FBR reported that the military operations were launched by Burmese Infantry Battalion 240, Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 429 and LIB 531.
According to the report—which could not be immediately verified by The Irrawaddy due to a lack of communications in northern Karen State—LIB 429 and LIB 531 entered Bwa Doh village in Papun District and beat up and shot at villagers. One man’s head was split open, although it was unclear whether he survived. The Burmese soldiers fired mortars into Bwa Doh, than burned down three barns containing rice, said FBR.

On May 27, more than 500 villagers from Mon Township in Karen State fled into the jungle following attacks by the Burmese army, according to FBR. The villagers are reportedly still hiding in the jungle. FBR also reported that Burmese troops demanded a total of 2,150,000 kyat (US $1,900) from five villages in Mon Township—Lay Tain Daw, Tee Dto Lo, Aung Chan Tha, Paw Bpi Der and Myaung Oo. The army apparently forced the villagers to pay money, saying it was a contribution to the cyclone victims in Irrawaddy and Rangoon divisions.

FBR noted that since the monsoon rains started, conditions for living rough in the jungle are even more miserable than usual.

Meanwhile, Saw Steve, a relief team leader for the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People, said, “The Burmese army has increased its military operations in Papun District. They are burning down farms and huts belonging to villagers.” ..........