Ko Reh/ February 26, 2010

In 2004, as part of their "Four Cuts" policy, the Burmese Army forced Karenni villagers from Dawtahay out of their homes. These internally displaced people (IDPs) took up residence in Hteesaka village, camping out in the existing gardens and fields.

Now the Hteesaka villagers want their former lives back, and they no longer want to support the IDPs from the surrounding area. They have resorted to bribing the Burmese Army to force the IDPs back to their original homes.

A villager from Dawtahay in Hteesaka camps said, "if we don't go back to our former village, they will seize the properties we own over there, such as our farms and fields."

In 2008-2009 the Burmese Army based in Karenni State confiscated 250 acres of local farmland. The seizure was meant for cultivation to generate sufficient paddy for the soldiers, Karenni Social and Welfare Development Committee (KSWDC) said. There has been no talk of compensation.

Over 100 families from Dawtahay village moved to the camps. They went to Hteesaka, Nwalaboe and other nearby villages. While many families returned to their homes in 2006, over 20 families from Hteesaka remain as IDPs.

Even though these remaining families have been prodded and pressured by the troops, they continue to stay in Hteesaka camp. They persevere because Hteesaka camp has schools, clinics, and churches that do not exist in Dawtahay village and would need to be built from scratch.

A villager from Dawtahay added, "we don't care that they [the army] ordered us to go back to our homes, we are staying here. We are a family and we stick together."

The soldiers also ordered villagers from Hteesaka and Teelo camps to chop wood in order to supply repairs for their military camp.

Due to the Burmese Army's "Four Cuts" policy, many camps have been set up in Karenni State since 1996. Theyare Hteesaka, Teelo, Nwalaboe, Palaw, Shandaw, Pochaw, Ywarthit, Bawlake, and Kemapyu.