This photo set includes 18 still photographs selected from images taken by a community member from Bilin Township, Thaton District in January 2013. These photographs depict gold mining in Baw Paw Hta village and show village lands that were bought by the Mya Poo Company and subsequently damaged because of mining.

The SHWE Gas Movement is concerned with a natural gas pipeline project presently unfolding in Western Burma...

In cooperation with Burma's military junta, a consortium of Indian and Korean corporations are currently exploring gas fields off the coast of Arakan State in Western Burma. Discovered in December 2003, these fields--labeled A-1, or "Shwe" (the Burmese word for gold)--are expected to hold one of the largest gas yields in Southeast Asia. These Shwe fields could well become the Burmese military government's largest single source of foreign income...

A Free Burma Rangers (FBR) team travelled to the town of Maw Chee [Mawchi] to get information about the Burma Army and mining activities in that area.

This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in September 2011 by a villager describing events occurring in T'Nay Hsah Township, Pa'an District during September 2011. It details an incident in which a soldier from Tatmadaw Border Guard #1017 deliberately shot at villagers in a farm hut, resulting in the death of one civilian and injury to a six-year-old child.

This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in September 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Nyaunglebin District between July and September 2012, including the imposition of taxes by Tatmadaw soldiers on villagers mining gold, use of a landmine by KNLA soldiers and the distribution of humanitarian aid by multiple international and local organizations. Specifically, the report describes Tatmadaw IB #57 imposing taxation over 40 villagers mining gold for their livelihoods.

Most foreign mining in Burma is done by Ivanhoe. Click on Copper Operations, then on Monywa or search for Myanmar or Monywa. Gold also.

This incident report was submitted to KHRG in January 2013 by a community member describing events occurring in Dwe Lo Township, Papun District in December 2012. The community member who wrote this report described an incident that occurred on December 28th 2012, when a female buffalo stepped on a landmine that was placed by Karen National Liberation Army soldiers.

Press Release

GENERAL HEALTH:
Overview of Landmine Problems in Myanmar (Michiyo Kato &Yeshua Moser-Puangswan, NIV SEA);
Basic Information about Landmines (Htun Htun Oo, TCFB);
Trauma Care Foundation Burma (Htun Htun Oo, TCFB);
Chain of Survival (Htun Htun Oo, TCFB);
Mine Injuries and Their Management (Htun Htun Oo, TCFB)...
FROM THE FIELD:
Orthopaedic Programme of the ICRC-Myanmar (Marco Emery, ICRC, Myanmar);
Data Collection on Mine Victims and the Impact of Landmines (Christophe Tiers, HI);

This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in January 2012 by a villager describing events occurring in Pa'an District between September 2011 and January 2012, and contains updated information concerning military activity in the area, specifically Border Guard Battalion #1017's use of forced labour and their planting of landmines. In September 2011, over 200 villagers from Th---, Sh---, G--- and M--- were forced to harvest beans and corn, an incident which is also described in the report "Pa'an Situation Update: September 2011", published by KHRG on November 25th 2011.

In the six months since DKBA Brigade #5 troops under the command of Brigadier-General Saw Lah Pwe ('Na Kha Mwe') agreed to a ceasefire with government forces, and in the four months since a ceasefire was agreed between KNLA and government troops, villagers in Kawkareik Township have continued to raise concerns regarding ongoing human rights abuses, including the arbitrary detention and violent abuse of civilians, and forced labour demands occurring as recently as February 24th 2012.

This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during January 2012 in Bu Thoh Township, Papun District, by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw D---, the 44-year-old L--- village head, who described forced labour, Tatmadaw and Border Guard targeting of civilians, demands for food, and denial of humanitarian services, such as a school.