About 200 households in Shan State South’s Namzang Township, 140 miles east of the Shan State capital Taunggyi, were ordered to relocate following the establishing of a new regional command, the Middle East.
“We were told to move to Kholam within 15 days. We were given no choice,” said a local villager in Namzang.
The instruction was passed on 2 March evening by the Burma Army’s Kholam based Infantry Battalion (IB) #66.
The villages required to move are Panghsa, ( 25 households), Pha Sawnt, (over 60 households) and Kengkham Awn (over 100 households). They are located southeast of Namzang. Their new relocation area is Kholam, 32 miles further east of Namzang.
The reason for the forced resettlement appears to be two fold, according to the locals:
To have more civilian population around the new regional command headquarters
To prevent the rebels from having civilian bases near the headquarters
A series of clashes have taken place in the area during the past few months.
“This is the third time we have been moved,” said a local villager.
The first time was during 1996-1998 period, known as “the hell years,” when 1,500 villages were forcibly relocated to deprive the rebels of their civilian bases. The details were reported by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) in the account titled, “Dispossessed.”
The second time was in 2002-03, when they were told to move back to their old villages.
Namzang is the area where the Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ is active especially in the eastern part. But the group is reportedly extending its controlled areas to the south and west this year.
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