Mass Displacement by the Burmese Army's forced relocation program in Tenasserim division first rose to awareness when multi-national companies started to build the Yadana gas pipeline. What followed was a Burmese Army offensive in 1997 to KNU controlled areas to secure more of the area for their business interests. After the arrival of foreign companies and the Yadana gas pipeline the Kamoethway area became a refuge for those fleeing from the gas pipeline area. Later Kamoethway area itself became another target for Burmese troops trying to gain better access to the gas pipeline.

The most controversial aspect of the census recently held in Burma has been the denial of the large Muslim population in Arakan to identify themselves as Rohingya, the term of their choice. The government ban means as many as one million people remain uncounted in Arakan. That is scarcely surprising, as the Burmese government, Rakhine ultra-nationalists and seemingly a majority of the Burmese population have denied for years the existence of the Rohingya identity.

Highly recommended. Well-organised site. In "list of sources used" are most of the main reports from 1995 bearing on IDPs (though the reports from 1995 to 1997 are missing - temporarily, one hopes) and more Burma pages updated June 2001. Go to the home page for links on IDPs, including the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.

Innerhalb Burmas, dem heutigen Myanmar, leben 2 Millionen Menschen auf der Flucht, Internally Displaced People (IDP) genannt. Auch viele Karen leben in den unzugänglichen Dschungelgebieten nahe der Grenze zu Thailand.

Finding Food in Fear/Living in Fear
Introduction for ‘one family’....

In February 2010, Burma Issues conducted a field trip inside Karen State to raise internally displaced persons’ (IDPs) awareness of the upcoming elections. While they were watching a video, the township where the IDPs were staying was attacked by the Burmese army. They had to flee into the jungle and our cameraman decided to follow.

Beginning 1999 up to March this year (2002), hundreds of thousands of Wa people, who had
impressed British travelers as 'exceedingly well-behaved, industrious, and estimable race', were
forcibly moved to border areas adjacent Thailand. The report is about them, why and how they were
uprooted, what happened to the native people where the Wa were forced to resettle and what the
reader can do to help both categories of victims..."
Important, timely and well-produced
document, complete with maps and photos.

Karen Internally Displaced Persons wonder when they will be able to go home...

"Sitting in his new bamboo hut in Ler Per Her camp for Internally Displaced Persons, located on the bank of Thailand’s Moei River near the border with Burma, Phar The Tai—a skinny, tough-looking man of 60 who used to hide in the jungles and mountains of Burma’s eastern Karen State—waits for the time when he can return home.

Despite a number of peace talks having been conducted between the central government and Kachin Independence Army (KIA), there is no sign of the war ceasing in Kachin state. The ongoing armed conflict has been driving thousands of civilians out of their villages. Many IDPs are now living in church supported camps along with relief from international humanitarian agencies. IDPs living in crowded camps with limited support face various obstacles as they cannot practice their livelihood anymore.

Executive Summary: "Instability that started in June 2011 across Kachin
and northern Shan states has resulted in displace‐
ment, damage of infrastructure and loss of lives and
livelihoods. Despite ongoing peace negotiations be‐
tween parties to the conflict, incidents continue to
be reported.   
The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
has been steadily increasing since the beginning of
the conflict to an estimated 65,000 IDPs in July
2012. These people sought refuge in camps, in pub‐

SLORC has seriously stepped up its campaign to clear the entire rural population out of Papun District and make the entire area a free-fire zone. Since December 1995, orders have been issued to every rural village under SLORC control from Kyauk Nyat in the north to Ka Dtaing Dtee in the south, from the Salween River (the Thai border) in the east to at least 10 km. west of Papun - an area 50-60 km. north to south and 30 km. east to west. This area is rugged hills dotted with small villages, averaging 10-50 households (population 50-300) per village.

...The report pin points the dismal conditions for the Karen people throughout
the district, but the desperate situation of specific group in worst hit areas. It
was always the intention to build on the BERG report, Forgotten Victims of a
Hidden War: Internally Displaced Karen in Burma, published in 1998, which
provided the background and general description of the displacement of the
Karen in Kawthoolei. The Mu Traw report has been the first attempt by the
CIDKP to provide more detailed information focussing on a single district. It is

Burma/Myanmar has suffered
from two decades of mine
warfare by both the State Peace
and Development Council and
ethnic-based insurgents. There
are no humanitarian demining
programmes within the country.
It is no surprise that those states
in Burma/Myanmar with the most
mine pollution are the highest
IDP- and refugee-producing
states. Antipersonnel mines
planted by both government
forces and ethnic armed groups
injure and kill not only enemy
combatants but also their own