For Immediate Release: December 6th, 2004
Contact: Jeremy Woodrum at (202) 246-7924 or
Aung Din at (301) 602 0077

NEW ATTACKS AS US STATE DEPARTMENT SUGGESTS
BOYCOTT OF REGIONAL SUMMIT

(Washington,
DC) The US Campaign for Burma today strongly
criticized Burma’s military regime for “terrorizing”
ethnic people after the regime’s troops drove
over 7,500 people into the jungle while burning
down villages and destroying critically needed
rice supplies.

“These shameful scorched earth attacks
and terrorizing of innocent civilians must stop,”
said Stephen Dun, a board member of US Campaign
for Burma, a leading US-based activist organization.
“Under this brutal military regime, Burma
is in danger of becoming the ‘Darfur of the
east’”.

Over the past decade, Burma’s military regime
has pressed hundreds of thousands of civilians
from their homes into the jungle where they
are hunted down and killed like animals or eke
out a basic subsistence from foraging. It is
estimated that 526,000 of these villagers are
currently
struggling for survival in the jungle away from
their homes and outside of the reach of international
aid agencies. Approximately 157,000 are newly
displaced–since late 2002.

The attacks are aimed at bringing eastern Burma,
which has historically been under the control
of Burma’s ethnic nationalities including the
Karen and Karenni, under total authoritarian
control by the ruling military regime. In addition
to political control, the regime seeks the vast
quantities of
natural resources, including timber and gems,
available in the area.

The recent attacks took place in two separate
locations. First, approximately 4,781 villagers
have fled the regime’s troops in the Naunglybin
district since November 14th, which is located
in western Karen State in eastern Burma. Five
Burma Army battalions are involved in the operation,
which is ongoing as of this writing. At the
same time, over 3,000 Karen villagers from Toungoo
District in Northern Karen State are fleeing
attack by the regime’s troops.

The situation for internally displaced people
in eastern Burma is a serious public health
emergency. According to recent surveys by well-respected
nongovernmental organizations operating in neighboring
countries, child mortality and malnutrition
rates in the area are comparable to those recorded
amongst internally displaced populations in
the Horn of Africa.

Recently, leading members of the US Congress
have taken an increased interest in the situation.
Eight Congressional staff members have traveled
to the region during the past year and have
begun to raise the issue publicly.

The latest attacks follow a pattern of slash
and burn tactics utilized by the regime. Nearly
20,000 baskets of rice were burned and landmines
were laid in the empty villages so that it is
nearly impossible for the villagers to return
home.

The attacks come just weeks after both chambers
of the US Congress, Australian Senate, and Denmark
Parliament passed resolutions and motions calling
for the United Nations Security Council to address
the growing crisis in Burma. Last week United
States President George W. Bush, along with
leaders in Italy, Germany, New Zealand, and
elsewhere also publicly
criticized a decision by Burma’s military regime
to pro-long the detention of the worlds only
imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient and the
country’s leading pro-democracy activist, Aung
San Suu Kyi. The US State Department has suggested
the United States may boycott a major 2006 summit
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
if Burma maintains its present
course.