82,000 members of minorities flee from human rights violations in Burma

At least 82,000 members of ethnic minorities have fled from their villages in the east of Burma in the past year as a result of human rights violations. This figure was published today by a group of human rights organisations working in the border region between Thailand and Burma. "The real number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) will probably be even higher”, warned the Asia expert of the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen. "The frightening figures from the fourth report of the group make it clear that the position of the nationalities in the multi-national state Burma is worse than it has ever been.” 232 villages of minorities in the east of Burma have been destroyed in the course of the past year or the villagers have been compulsorily settled somewhere else.

The human rights organisations have documented more than 3,000 attacks against the nationalities living in the region. The ethnic group of the Karen are suffering worst, where at least 27,000 persons have had to flee from their settlements as a result of the military offensive of the army. There are at least 500,000 IDPs in Burma. "From a humanitarian point of view their situation is catastrophic, as the restrictions of the Burmese authorities and the tense security position prevent the aid agencies from supplying provisions”, reported Delius. About 60 percent of the IDPs are suffering from dysentery and at least twelve percent are suffering from malaria. As a result of the complete lack of hygiene every twelfth woman dies in child-birth.