A new report from the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), one of the Church NCA main partners in Burma, shows that the inhumane conditions in large parts of eastern Burma has gone from bad to worse during last years.
Last year, 120 villages have been destroyed, and at least 75,000 people became refugees and more than half a million were internally displaced in eastern Burma in the past year, following increased militarisation, which strongly indicates crime against humanity comparable to the situation in Darfur.
According to the report, since 1996, over 3,500 villages, including 120 communities between August 2008 and July 2009, in Eastern Burma have been destroyed and forcibly relocated.
Food insecurity, landmines, forced labour and very limited access to life-supporting health and sanitation facilities characterize the conditions for the civilian population.
– The number of human rights violations as well as the increasing number of the displaced people is a scary prospect. The only way to realize our hope to resolve the catastrofic refugee situation in Bruma means is to introduce fundamental polotical, economic and social changes. The international community must strengthen its pressure on the military junta and its supporters," says Secretary General of Norwegian Church Aid, Atle Sommerfeldt.
