BurmaNet News May 25, 2005

[Editor]

May 25, 2005 Issue # 2726

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: No end of ceasefire talks in sight, says KNU official
VOA: Burma's Shan groups end cease-fire with government
Reuters via Alert.net: Myanmar says hunts for 3 suspects in bombings
DVB: More than 70 people killed in Rangoon blasts, not 19 as claimed by junta
DVB: New Mon State Party chooses new leaders in southern Burma
Mizzima: Media in-exile to launch satellite TV channel in Burma

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima: Modern banking system needed in Moreh-Tamu sector

INTERNATIONAL
AP: U.N. labor agency urges Asian countries to end forced labor
The Toronto Star: Canada toughens stand on Burma

OPINION / OTHER
Radio Free Asia: Burmese Army deserters describe transporting chemical
artillery shells

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

May 25, Irrawaddy
No end of ceasefire talks in sight, says KNU official -  Shah Paung

There is no sign of a conclusion soon to ceasefire talks between the Karen
National Union and the Burmese military government, a KNU official said on
Wednesday.

David Taw, head of the KNU foreign affairs committee, said a ceasefire
talk’s session had taken place in the Burmese border town of Myawaddy on
May 5, but requests by the KNU for resumption this month had met no
response from the junta.

The KNU delegation, which included David Taw and KNU joint general
secretary Htoo Htoo Lay, met with a Rangoon team headed by Lt-Col Myat
Htun Oo.

Two days after the meeting, three bombs exploded in Rangoon, and the KNU
was among those accused by the regime of responsibility for the attack.
The Burma Army troop strength in KNU-controlled territory was also
reinforced after the Rangoon bombings.

“The KNU is worried that the Burmese military government is now pressuring
ceasefire groups to disarm,” said David Taw.

Ceasefire talks between the KNU and the Burmese military government began
in1993, broke down in 1996 but resumed again in November 2003.  In January
2004 a “gentleman’s agreement” was reached between the junta and a KNU
team headed by Gen Bo Mya. The KNU and the Rangoon regime have been locked
in conflict for more than 55 years.

____________________________________

May 24, Voice of America
Burma's Shan groups end cease-fire with government - Ron Corben

Two of Burma's ethnic Shan rebel groups have joined forces - one breaking
a cease-fire with the military government - as they step up their struggle
for an independent state. The move raises fears of renewed violence in
Burma if other rebel cease-fire agreements break down.

The Shan State National Army, or SSNA, and the Shan State Army agreed to
join forces at a base near the border with Thailand a few days ago. The
agreement between the two rebel groups ends the SSNA's decade-old
cease-fire pact with Burma's military government.

The SSNA accepted a cease-fire in 1995 on the condition that its troops
could keep their arms. But Burma's military this year called on the Shan
to disarm. In February, to add pressure, the military government arrested
several Shan leaders and charged them with treason.

At the ceremony marking the deal between the two Shan groups, SSNA leader
Colonel Sai Yi said "peaceful diplomacy had failed," so the SSNA decided
to work with the Shan State Army. The combined force will have as many
5,000 troops under arms.

Like many other ethnic minority groups in Burma, the Shan community has
fought for an independent state since Burma gained its independence in
1948.

Burma's military government had reached cease-fire agreements with about
17 of the country's rebel groups. Many of the agreements were reached in
talks with officials led by former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt. He was
ousted last year and now is under house arrest. Many regional experts say
they fear the more hard-line government now in place may be trying to
crack down on minority groups.

Debbie Stothard is coordinator for the rights group the Alternative ASEAN
Network on Burma. She says the deal between the Shan groups may be a
reaction to the crackdown.

"It's a very strong and telling development because it tells us that the
moderate Shans - the Shans more willing to compromise with the military -
have decided any benefits from the cease-fire have now been eroded to the
point where they were willing to go to war," she said.

Ms. Stothard says if Rangoon had released the Shan leaders, moderates
would have stood by the cease-fire. She now expects rising tensions
between ethnic groups and the military government. "It is quite possible
that the ethnic groups may take the gamble and see which way the cards
will fall if they take a stand against the military regime," she said.

Dr. Naing Aung, executive director of the Network for Development and
Democracy, a rights group based in Thailand, says the military hopes to
persuade smaller groups such as the Shan to sign cease-fires to put more
pressure on larger ethnic forces - such as the Karen, which does not have
a formal cease-fire agreement with the military. He thinks that plan will
fail.

"The other big ethnic groups that make the cease-fire are aware [of] this
development and they have a serious concern," said Dr. Aung. "As far as I
have heard most of the cease-fire groups - if they are forced to lay down
their arms without reaching an agreement, they will not do it."

Burma is under pressure from many governments, including the European
Union and the United States because of its poor human rights record and
its suppression of the pro-democracy opposition.

Burma says it is trying to gradually move toward democracy and in the past
year it has twice convened a national convention to draft a new
constitution. The SSNA originally took part in the convention, but has
withdrawn because of the pressure to disarm.

____________________________________

May 25, Reuters via Alert.net
Myanmar says hunts for 3 suspects in bombings

HANGHAI, May 25 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military rulers are hunting for
three members of the minority Karen ethnic group suspected of carrying out
bombings in Yangon earlier this month, the country's ambassador to China
said on Wednesday.

"These terrorists haven't been caught but we have information about them.
We are offering a 10 million kyat award for them," Thein Lwin told Reuters
in Shanghai in comments translated into Chinese by an embassy employee.

The military was searching for two women and one man, all Karens,
suspected of killing at least 19 people and wounding 162 in three
coordinated bombings on May 7, he said without giving further details.

The military, which has ruled the former Burma since 1962, has blamed the
attacks on ethnic Karen, Shan and Karenni rebels working together with
exiled pro-democracy activists.

The groups denied the charge and some diplomat’s say the explosions might
have been a result of an internal power struggle in the government.

The kyat's black market value hit a two-year low of 1,015 to the U.S.
dollar this week, which would make a 10 million kyat reward worth about
$9,800.

The official rate is six kyat to the dollar, which would make the reward
worth $1.67 million.

____________________________________

May 24, Democratic Voice of Burma
More than 70 people killed in Rangoon blasts, not 19 as claimed by junta

At least 70 people in all have been killed due to the bomb blasts which
occurred at shopping centers in Burma capital Rangoon on 7 May.

DVB has been able to find out and confirm the names of 61 victims and they
include Daw Aye Aye Thant, an official from a company owned by U Tayza,
the “son-in-law” of Gen Than Shwe, retired army officers Maj Thein Tun and
Lt. Col Ko Ko Nyein, Rangoon Medical University lecturer Dr. Myint Lwin
and two model girls.

In order to confirm the number, DVB contacted Rangoon General and North
Okkalapa hospital staff, workers from Yea Way and Htein Pin cemeteries and
some of the relatives of the victims.

The News and Information Department of the ruling junta, State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), an unnamed official told that only 19 people
were known to be killed, according to news received ten days ago and it is
true that more wounded people have died since and that no exact number
could be given for the time being.

____________________________________

May 24, Democratic Voice of Burma
New Mon State Party chooses new leaders in southern Burma

New Mon State Party (NMSP) held a central executive committee (CEC)
members meeting from 14-23 May in southern Burma, and elected Gen Nai Htaw
Mon to replace the late Nai Htin as their new chairman.

A NMSP spokesman told DVB that the general secretary position was taken up
by Nai Hantha.

Moreover, CEC members also discussed the matter of Burma’s military junta,
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) forcing “ceasefire” groups to
surrender their weapons, and recent flight of Shan State National Army
(SSNA) into the jungles and joining forces with Shan State Army (SSA), to
fight the junta.

Like other ceasefire groups, NMSP signed ceasefire agreements with the
junta in order to solve political problems by peaceful means but they are
still unable to persuade the generals to hold serious political talks with
them. They are not also allowed to cooperate with opposition parties
within Burma.

____________________________________

May 25, Mizzima
Media in-exile to launch satellite TV channel in Burma

Burmese radio station in-exile will launch satellite television channel in
Burma on May 28, according to the group’s director.

"Our mission is to send unbiased Burma-related news to the people (of
Burma) through television broadcast. In keeping with the media's duty as a
watchdog, we want to enlighten the people about what is happening," said
Ko Aye Chan Naing, Director of the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of
Burma(DVB).

The Burmese-language TV channel, the first of its kind to be launched by
any Burmese media group, will broadcast current news and show video
footages or documentary films. Besides, it will also have entertainments
like music and cartoons for kids, said Ko Aye Chan Naing.

"Beside the regular current news and features, we will also have
programmes for entertainment, music, education, democracy awareness,
freedom of thought and human rights. Occasionally we will also broadcast
independent public opinions, social and political debates etc," He said.

He estimated that with about 1.5 to 2 million people having satellite
receiver in Burma, the TV programmes would reach more than 10 million
people. He also dismissed the possibility of a government ban on the
channel saying, "It will be a shame for the government to ban our channel
since it will also have social and economic development and awareness
programmes, which are useful to the people."

DVB began a two-hour radio broadcasting in Burma in July 1992 through
shortwave transmit. Reportedly, it has millions of listeners inside and
outside Burma. The proposed launch of the satellite TV service seems to be
an improvement of its service.

However, critics said instead of launching a TV channel at extravagant
costs, the quality of DVB's radio service should have been improved.

"We have been doing all we can to improve our radio quality. But the
clarity and easy reception depend on relay stations. The neighbouring
countries of Burma, which allow passage to BBC, VOA and RFA, do not allow
us to transmit our programmes through their relay stations because of the
present political situation. That is why our nearest relay stations are
located in Europe, which sometimes cause problems in reception and
clarity," said Ko Aye Chan Naing.

The DVB TV programmes can be received via PAS 10, 68.5 Degree East, 3940
H, Symbol rate 3000 on every weekend - Saturday 20:00 to 21:00 (Burma
Time) and the repeat on Sunday 12:00-13:00 (Burma Time).

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

May 25, Mizzima
Modern banking system needed in Moreh-Tamu sector

Guwahati: Modern banking facilities in Indo-Burma border trade points at
Moreh-Tamu will help traders get rid of high costs and delay in
reimbursement, according to a high official of the Indian government.

Speaking at a seminar, Mr. D Ingty, Commissioner (customs) of North-East
India, pointed out that while the trade was being conducted through United
Bank of India and Myanmar Bank under Letter of Credit, complaints were
rife about delay in reimbursement from Burma and high transaction costs.

The UBI and the Burmese bank were opened recently respectively at Moreh
and Tamu on either sides of the border to facilitate normal trading
through Letter of Credit system.

Mr. Ingty said the trade point at Moreh lacked international dialing
facilities causing inconvenience to both officials and traders.

"Border trade has a special significance for Northeastern India which
shares  98 per cent of its border with neighbouring countries, including
Burma, Bangladesh, Tibet (China), Bhutan and Nepal", he added arguing that
the region needs attention to banking facilities and modern trading
activities to get the benefit of the center’s (Government of India) 'Look
East Policy'.

The military rulers in Rangoon maintain trade relation largely with
Beijing to import Chinese goods worth about 500 million dollars annually.
However, following the 1994 Trade Agreement with India, Rangoon has
started trading with New Delhi from 1995. New Delhi expects the quantum of
bilateral trade to touch Rs. 1000-million (about US $ 23 Million mark in
the next two years.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

May 25, Associated Press
U.N. labor agency urges Asian countries to end forced labor – Stephanie Hoo

The U.N. labor agency on Wednesday called on China, Vietnam and other
authoritarian Asian governments to end forced labor in detention camps,
factories and brothels.

Complaints about forced labor are widespread in Asia, including China's
network of labor camps, accusations that military-ruled Myanmar uses slave
labor, and reports of forced prostitution elsewhere.

A regional official of the International Labor Office urged governments to
start putting an end to it by picking "at least one forced labor
challenge."

"You agree to tackle this with concerted effort and perhaps, where needed,
with the support and assistance of the ILO," Constance Thomas, ILO
director for China and Mongolia, told a regional meeting.

Delegates at the meeting came from the communist governments of China,
Vietnam and Laos, as well as from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and
Singapore. Myanmar wasn't represented.

The ILO says Asia has three-quarters of the 12.3 million people believed
to be in forced labor worldwide.

In addition to people in government labor camps, they include women and
children forced into prostitution, workers compelled to pay off migrant
smugglers and children.

China has been criticized for its vast network of "reform through labor"
camps. Police are allowed to send crime suspects to such camps for three
years without trial.

The ILO is working with Beijing to reform labor camps by organizing study
tours and seminars, said Roger Plant, the Geneva-based head of the ILO's
program to combat forced labor.

Both China and Vietnam "want to be seen as abiding by core labor
standards, which is important for their trading relations," Plant said.

Chinese delegates at the conference referred questions to the main
government representative, Guan Jinghe, who left the Wednesday morning
session without talking to reporters.

ILO officials called on Myanmar's military rulers to halt forced labor,
especially of ethnic minorities considered a threat to the government.

The ILO also said workers should have the right to form independent labor
unions, something that isn't allowed in China, Vietnam or Laos.

China typically bristles at criticism of its labor record, saying its
constitution respects human rights and that it is reforming its labor camp
system.

A member of Vietnam's delegation defended his country's record.

"Many researchers have found there are no manifestations of forced labor
in Vietnam," said the delegate, who wouldn't give his name.

He said there was "the potential" for forced labor in police re-education
centers and because of human trafficking, and the government was dealing
with the issue.

Vietnam has in the past called on its people to display patriotism by
voluntarily contributing labor by building roads and other public works,
the delegate said.

"We are considering the possibility of removing the national ordinance on
public works, and we are requesting ILO support," he said.

_____________________________________

May 25, The Toronto Star
Canada toughens stand on Burma – Shareef Korah

It was a vote in the House of Commons last week that passed virtually
unnoticed. Yet it could ultimately have a much greater impact on the lives
of millions of people than the confidence vote that followed it.

Motion number 10 on Burma, arising from the 2nd Report of the Standing
Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, passed by a vote of
158-123, with the full support of the NDP, the Conservatives, the Bloc and
the two independent members present.

The motion calls on Canada to condemn the repeated and systematic human
rights violations committed by the military junta in power in Burma, and
for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including Aung San
Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy.

It also calls on Canada to "impose more comprehensive economic measures on
Burma" and "impose a legal ban on further investment" in the country.

Further, it calls on Canada to provide tangible support to the legitimate
authorities in Burma, specifically the government in exile (the National
Coalition Government for the Union of Burma). It also urges Canada to use
its influence at the United Nations and in the international community to
encourage a peaceful transition to democracy in Burma through wider
international sanctions.

Burma has been in the grip of repressive military rule since a coup in
1962. Mass protests in 1987 were ended swiftly and brutally by the
military government; 3,000 protestors were killed and the junta shut down
all universities. The junta promised free elections while at the same time
suspending the constitution and changing the country's name to the Union
of Myanmar.

In May 1990, the military held elections, certain no credible opposition
existed as they had already jailed most opposition, including Aung San Suu
Kyi. But the NLD swept to victory. The reaction was swift and harsh.
Members of the new parliament were thrown in jail, and tortured. The
election was declared invalid.

In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize. Since 1989, she has
endured more than nine years of detention. Her children have grown up
without her.

In its ultimate act of cruelty, the military junta prevented her husband,
Michael Aris, from visiting her before he died of cancer in 1999.

But political repression is only part of the ugly picture. Oil and gas
pipeline projects, mega-dams, mining, logging, and decades of civil
conflict have led to gross human rights violations, environmental
devastation and massive displacement of local peoples.

More than 1 million people are displaced, with a further 500,000 in
hiding. To starve rebel forces and deprive them of recruits, the military
regime systematically burns down all villages in conflict areas. Survivors
are herded into government camps, providing cheap, sometimes forced labour
for government projects.

The full extent of the tyranny and cruelty of the Burmese military is
impossible to know, as most journalists have been exiled or imprisoned.

Stories leak out of imprisonment without trial, executions, torture, rape,
kidnappings, forced labour, and the recruitment of child soldiers.

All of this makes what the Parliament voted to do last Wednesday so
significant. If ever there was a case that fulfilled requirements for the
imposition of sanctions through the Special Economic Measures Act, it is
Burma.

Canada's international reputation as a leader in diplomacy has waned. In
contrast to the leadership Canada showed in the battle against apartheid
in South Africa, its position on Burma has been curiously non-committal.

We are hoping that the passage of this motion represents a new direction
for Canadian foreign policy toward Burma and ultimately restores our
commitment to international human rights.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

May 24, Radio Free Asia
Burmese Army deserters describe transporting chemical artillery shells

Bangkok: Two young Burmese Army deserters say they were ordered to carry
large, heavy boxes containing what their commanding officers described as
chemical weapons to the front lines of a clash with ethnic Karenni rebel
forces.

In interviews with RFA’s Burmese service, 15-year-old Private Myo Min and
16-year-old Private Soe Thu described transporting artillery shells filled
with chemicals from the Kalaw military unit in Shan State to Thit Paung
Zeik Camp in Karenni State.

The two youths defected to the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP)
April 23 and spoke to RFA from the Thai-Burma border.

Neither Myo Min nor Soe Thu reported having fired the shells or witnessed
others using them.

But the nonprofit group Christian Solidarity Worldwide alleged in April
that Burmese troops had used chemical weapons in a Feb. 15 attack on
Karenni rebels about 16 kms (10 miles) from the Thai border town of Mae
Hong Son.

The group cited an unnamed medical doctor who examined three Karenni
fighters Feb. 19 who said they had been exposed to a yellow-brown vapor
released by exploding Burmese Army shells.

The three fighters shared many symptoms, the doctor was quoted as saying,
including shortness of breath, chest pain, swelling, bloody urine,
weakness, skin lesions, and diarrhea.

The soldiers’ accounts cannot be independently confirmed, but weapons
experts said it was plausible that Burmese security forces had filled the
shells with industrial chemicals or phosphorous-containing smoke rounds to
disperse Karenni forces.

Burma’s military government denied in April that it possessed or had used
chemical weapons. Burmese Embassy officials in Washington declined to be
interviewed for this story.

“We left the chemical weapons near Thit Paung Zeik Camp” in Karenni State,
Myo Min told RFA’s Burmese service.

“The length of each shell is 23 inches and the diameter is 6 inches. I
know only that much. The boxes had skull-and-crossbones logos on them.
When we were carrying those things, the warrant officers told us not to
drop the chemical weapons and, should we drop them, we could die from the
poisons.”

Myo Min said he was forced to join the military in December 2004 and spent
4-1/2 months at an army training camp before being sent to Thit Paung Zeik
Camp.

He ran away after less than one month, he said. Asked if the warrant
officer had used the term “chemical weapons,” he replied: “Yes, he said
like that.”

“I can’t tell the number of boxes but it was more than 100. I have seen
them. I carried them myself,” Myo Min said, adding that four to five
people were needed to carry each box. He identified the officer in charge
as Captain Nay Myo Kyaw.

Soldiers who fired the chemical shells, he said, told him “when they had
to use the heavy artillery, when they had to use chemical weapons, they
had to put on masks to cover their mouths, wear gloves, and shoot. When
they used the artillery, they’d shoot four or five, and then one chemical
shell.”

Myo Min said he was working as a waiter in the town of Shwe Bo when
security forces offered him a choice of prison or the army.

He chose the army but wasn’t permitted to inform his mother, who he fears
still doesn’t know what happened to him.

Soe Thu—also from Division 55 of Light Infantry Brigade 112—gave a similar
account in a separate interview based on his six months in the military.

“I was told by the bosses there were chemical weapons in the box and not
to drop them. If they dropped, they could explode and we could die. We had
to carry those things. The porters were not allowed to carry them,” Soe
Thu said, adding that each box contained 12 chemical shells.

“We had to carry them,” he said, adding that the entire unit knew that the
boxes they were carrying contained chemical shells. “The captain of our
Section was Captain Kyaw Nu. There were five cars that arrived in our
camp. Along with the provisions,” he said.

Asked if the provisions were transported with the chemical shells, he
replied: “No, they were not mixed. They were put on top. In [each of]
those five trucks, there were about 20 porters.”

Both soldiers said the boxes were marked with foreign letters that they
couldn’t identify.

The two youths, along with two senior KNPP members interviewed separately,
said five trucks arrived at Division 55 in Kalaw, Shan State, carrying
boxes that contained chemicals for military use.

They say they rode about 160 kms (100 miles) by truck from Kalaw to the
Karenni State capital, Loikaw, then another 130 kms (80 miles) through
Bawlake and Ywathit towns, and across the Salween River.

Many areas were inaccessible by truck, and the boxes had to be carried on
foot to cleared areas where the soldiers were able to rejoin the convoy of
vehicles, they said.

The soldiers carried the boxed chemicals, they said, while
porters—conscripted prisoners from Myitkyina, Monywa, and Mandalay—carried
other supplies.

At one stage in the journey, they said, there were no roads at all, and
the soldiers had to carry all their supplies for four hours, until they
reached the front.

Each truck transported 20 porters, they said. The Light Infantry Brigade
112 has employed 400 porters altogether since January 2005, when the Army
began its assault on the KNPP-controlled Nyamu Hill.

Weapons experts contacted by RFA said it was impossible to deduce from the
soldiers' accounts what was inside the artillery shells but said they may
have contained smoke rounds or industrial chemicals.

Christian LeMiere, U.K.-based Asia Editor of Jane's Country Risk, said it
was "perfectly plausible that [Burmese security forces] would be able to
use certain rudimentary chemical weapons like chlorine or mustard gas.
They're very easy to deliver and very easy to manufacture.”

“The evidence provided by the Christian Solidarity organization
although
it can't be verified, does seem to tie in with the symptoms from something
such as chlorine or mustard gas and the delivery system, just simple
artillery shells filled with gases,” LeMiere said.

But he added that any strategic advantage that might be gained by using
chemicals was unclear.

“The chemical weapons I'm talking about, chlorine and mustard gas
dissipate quite quickly,” he said. "And in fact they don't even have a
very effective fatality rate. No one actually died from these attacks.
They just felt pretty queasy afterwards and couldn't really fight.”

Such weapons “are very useful at clearing areas,” he added. “If you just
want to move people on, it's quite an effective way.”

“In a number of conflicts, there have been accusations of chemical weapons
use, but what's really happened is that there have been industrial
chemicals tossed about," such as phosgene and chlorine, Amy Smithson, a
senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in
Washington, said.

“And eyewitnesses, victims, all they know is something is making them
choke or making their skin or eyes burn. I don't rule out the possibility
that this is an industrial chemical. If it's being used for warfare, it's
still against the law," Smithson said.

John Gilbert, senior science fellow at the Washington D.C.-based Center
for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, cast doubt on the possibility of a
chemical attack, saying smoke shells, which often contain phosphorous,
were a more likely cause.

“Smoke rounds can be fired from artillery shells. It can be used to
designate a point target for later attack by an airplane flying in to drop
bombs . . . or for a follow-up artillery barrage. It could also be done to
obscure things,” Gilbert said.

“Many smoke rounds use phosphorous, which does form a dense cloud and can
have pulmonary effects, cause burns, and lead to nausea if breathed in
significant amounts. Smoke rounds also can be colored and I have
personally seen both green and yellow smoke rounds used in
demonstrations.”

In its World Report 2005, Human Rights Watch reported that Burma leads the
world in the number of child conscripts in its armed forces.

Burmese soldiers have used extrajudicial execution, rape, torture, forced
relocation of villages, and forced labor in campaigns against rebel
groups, it said, such as the Karenni.

During long decades of war, up to 200,000 Karenni have been driven from
their homes. Tens of thousands more are housed in Thai refugee camps along
the border, according to aid organizations.

Conflict between the junta's army and the Karenni resumed in 2004 after
the former Burmese Prime Minister, Gen. Khin Nyunt, was put under house
arrest and hardliners backed out of a January 2004 ceasefire he signed
with Karenni commanders.

In 2004, the U.S. State Department reported in its annual review of human
rights around the world, the government’s “extremely poor human rights
record worsened, and the government continued to commit numerous serious
abuses.”

“Security forces continued to carry out extrajudicial killings.
Disappearances continued, and security forces raped, tortured, beat, and
otherwise abused prisoners and detainees. Citizens were subjected to
arbitrary arrest without appeal,” it said.

Ethnic armed groups including Shan and Karenni rebels also reportedly
committed human rights abuses, including killings, rapes, forced labor,
and conscription of child soldiers, the State Department said, but on a
lesser scale than the government.