Internal Displacement in Eastern Burma

Since 2002 TBBC has collaborated with community based organisations to document internal displacement in eastern Burma. TBBC’s 2009 survey updates information about the scale and distribution of displacement in 38 townships and reviews trends through analysis of over 3,100 household interviews conducted during the past 5 years. The report also includes a conflict assessment based on community consultations in areas of ongoing armed conflict as well as ceasefire areas. The maps and charts here highlight some of the key findings.

Download TBBC's latest IDP report, Protracted Displacement and Militarisation in Eastern Burma, in English (Zipped PDF: 5.6Mb), Burmese (Zipped PDF: 7.5Mb) and Thai (Zipped PDF: 5.7Mb). Go here to download previous reports. A limited number of hard copies are available. Contact us if you would like one.

The main threats to human security in eastern Burma are related to militarisation. Under the guise of state building, the Burmese army’s strength grew from 180,000 soldiers in 1988 to over 400,000 soldiers currently. The number of battalions deployed across eastern Burma has approxi-mately doubled since 1995. In areas of ongoing conflict, Burmese Army patrols target civilians as a means of under-mining the opposition. Land confiscation and extortion are more widespread impacts of the Burmese Army’s so-called ‘self-reliance’ policy. Increasing pressure on ceasefire groups to transform into Border Guard Forces has already resulted in the resumption of hostilities in the Kokang region of north-eastern Burma, and raised fears about Burmese Army deployments into other border areas.

The junta’s Border Areas Development programme pro-motes commercial agriculture and infrastructure construc-tion, but has done little to alleviate poverty in conflict affected areas. Instead, state-sponsored development initiatives have generally undermined livelihoods and primarily served to consolidate military control over the rural population. Communities perceived as opposing the State generally bear a disproportionate share of the costs, including forced eviction, and are denied a fair share of the benefits. The SPDC’s most infamous large scale development project is the Yadana natural gas project which has generated billions of dollars for the junta that are seemingly missing from the national accounts. Hydro-electric projects planned by the Burmese, Chinese and Thai governments in areas of ongoing conflict along the Salween River continue to cause displacement and obstruct return and resettlement. Rather than alleviate poverty, coercive state-sponsored development projects induce the collapse of livelihoods and leave households no choice but to leave their homes.

Local humanitarian and human rights groups have documented the destruction and forced relocation of over 3,500 villages and hiding sites in eastern Burma since 1996, including 120 commu-nities between August 2008 and July 2009. These field reports have been corroborated by high resolution commercial satellite imagery of villages before and after the displacement occurred. This scale of villages forcibly displaced is comparable to the situation in Darfur and has been recognised as the strongest single indicator of crimes against humanity in eastern Burma.

At least 470,000 people are currently estimated to be internally displaced in the rural areas of eastern Burma alone. This as-sessment includes 231,000 people in the temporary settlements of ceasefire areas administered by ethnic nationalities. A further 111,000 civilians are estimated to be hiding from the SPDC in remote areas that are most affected by military skirmishes. Approximately 128,000 other villagers have followed SPDC eviction orders and moved into designated relocation sites. Only the rural areas of 38 townships most commonly affected by displacement were surveyed, so these estimates are conserva-tive and the overall internally displaced population in eastern Burma is likely well over half a million people.

At least 75,000 people were forced to leave their homes in eastern Burma between August 2008 and July 2009. The highest rates of recent displacement were reported in northern Karen areas and southern Shan State.

Trend analysis of vulnerabilities is based on household surveys conducted in 2005, 2007 and again in 2009, and corroborated by field reports from community based organisations. Over 1,000 households were interviewed in 2009 alone, which contributed to an overall sample size of over 3,100 households in eastern Burma. A multi-stage cluster sampling method was utilized to conduct each of these household surveys to ensure a representative sample across six states and divisions, as well as between villagers living under the authority of different actors.

Trend analysis of the indicators for both threats to safety and livelihoods suggests that the prevalence of abuse has increased since 2005. Military patrols and landmines are the most significant, and fastest growing, threat to civilian safety and security, while forced labour and restrictions on movement have consistently been the most pervasive threats to livelihoods. The findings reflect how widespread and systematic violence and abuse continues to be committed by the Burmese Army in eastern Burma.

[Rev: Feb10]