“They Came and Destroyed Our Village Again"
The Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Karen State

Glossary

Map 1: Internal Displacement in Karen State, 2004
Map 2: Nyaunglebin (Kler Lweh Htoo) District
Map 3: Papun District

I. Summary

II. Background

Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD, and the SPDC’s failed national dialogue

Fifty years of ethnic conflict

The Karen

Ceasefires

The Monk’s Story

III. Human Rights Abuses of the Karen

Human rights and humanitarian law violations in Karen state

Forced labor

IV. Internal Displacement

Why they are displaced

How displacement happens

Patterns of forced relocation

Consequences of displacement

V. Lessons from Ceasefires in Kachin and Mon States

Kachin state

Mon state

Lessons learned

VI.Humanitarian Responses

Humanitarian agencies in Burma

Policy options

VII. Recommendations

To the Burmese government, the “State Development and Peace Council:”

To the KNU and KNLA

To the SPDC and KNU

To the United Nations, international aid agencies, and other donors

To the Government of the Royal Kingdom of Thailand

Acknowledgements

June 2005   Vol. 17, No 4(C)