BANGKOK, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Non-governmental groups surveying the human rights situation in Myanmar said more than 100,000 people were displaced in the span of a year.
The Thailand Burma Border Consortium, an umbrella organization, estimates that at least 112,000 residents of Myanmar were displaced from August 2010-July 2011.
"The main reason for poverty is armed conflicts, which restrict humanitarian access to the affected areas," Saw Htooklei, secretary of the Karen Office of Relief and Development, was quoted by the United Nations' humanitarian news agency IRIN as saying.
Human Rights Watch, in a report with the Karen Human Rights Group, has accused the military in Myanmar of torturing, executing and using convicted prisoners as human shields.
Myanmar touted last year's general elections, the first in nearly two decades, as a path toward civilian leadership. The election was considered a sham by the international community.
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, freed from prison last year, told The Wall Street Journal that while Myanmar had made some important political reforms, there was a long road ahead.
"I know we are not there yet but we can see the way clear ahead more than we have ever been able to," she was quoted as saying.
Myanmar recently released hundreds of political prisoners, though the government was urged more to release those who remained behind bars.
