MORE than 2,000 people belonging to the
ethnic Karen community have been
massacred in Burma since February by
the Burmese army to clear their land for
the Myinmoletkat Nature Reserve. Over
30,000 have been forced to work unpaid
and unfed or to flee across the border to
Thailand. Isolated by the rest of the
world for its abysmal human rights
record, Burma's military junta is keen
on building its image as an environment-friendly nation and also on
attracting foreign tourists.
The proposed nature reserve would
be the biggest of its kind in the world. It
is home to rare flora and fauna including tigers, elephants and the Sumatran
rhinoceros. The government is being
assisted in this project by top conservation agencies like the New York-based
Wildlife Conservation Society and the
Smithsonian Institute in Washington.
The forestry ministry claimed that the
World Wide Fund for Nature was also
backing the project. Reports of forced
labour, killing and torture by the army
have also come in from Lanbi and other
islands off the southern Burmese coast,
which will be transformed into a marine
national park.
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