Burma military accused of sexual violence

ONGOING SEXUAL VIOLENCE HIGHLIGHTS URGENT NEED FOR BURMA ARMY TO STOP OFFENSIVES AND PULL

BACK TROOPS FROM KACHIN AREAS

(Chiang Mai, January 22, 2015)

The Kachin Baptist Convention volunteers – Maran Lu Ra and Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin – were gang-raped and killed in their church compound in Kawng Hka Shabuk village, Muse District. The day after, a woman in Hku Maw village, Northern Shan State suffered severe injuries during an incident of attempted sexual violence by a Burma Army soldier stationed there. The government of Burma must immediately stop its military offensives in ethnic areas, pull back its troops, and start political dialogue with all the ethnic armed groups.

The killings of the two teachers were committed by Burma Army troops carrying out a military operation against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Northern Shan State. The troops were stationed on guard around the teachers’ village on the night of the incident, making it impossible for anyone else to have committed these crimes.

Recent weeks have seen intensified attacks by the Burma Army across Kachin areas, displacing thousands and mleading to the targeting of civilians. Sexual violence by the Burma Army has increased since the renewed conflict magainst the KIA in June 2011. Since that time, the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) have documented over 70 cases of gang-rape, rape and attempted sexual violence by Burma Army troops. In only two of these case were the perpetrators punished.

‘The latest murders show that, for all the rhetoric about reform, Burmese government troops continue to rape, torture, and kill women and girls with impunity’, said Moon Nay Li of KWAT. ‘The international community must establish an independent international investigation into crimes of sexual violence by the Burma Army.’

As the Women’s League of Burma noted in our report, ‘If they had hope, they would speak’, abuses by the Burma Army which we have documented since the elections of 2010 may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under international criminal law. Despite the acclaim won for the Burmese government following last year’s signing of the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence, the rape and murder of our Kachin sisters is clear evidence that sexual violence is still used as a weapon of war against the country’s ethnic communities. Today we reiterate our calls for an immediate end to sexual violence against the women of Burma, and the establishment of an independent international investigation into crimes of sexual violence in conflict.

The brutality inflicted on our Kachin sisters is a reminder that, despite the optimism of the international community for our country’s future, Burma remains plagued by violence of the most horrific kind. If the Burmese government is sincere about establishing peace, it should not be launching offensives in the ethnic areas, and allowing its troops to m,commit abuses with impunity. The government must start political dialogue immediately to begin a process of federal reform that will bring genuine peace, which is the only way to protect women from sexual violence at the hands of the Burma Army.

Details of the rape and murder of two Kachin teachers in Panghsai township, Muse district, Northern Shan State

Background:

Maran Lu Ra (age 20) from Myikyina, and Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin (age 21) from Waingmaw, were working as volunteer teachers in the village of Kawng Kha Shabuk village, about 20 miles east of Muse town, in Northern Shan State. They had been sent there by the Kachin Baptist Convention about eight months ago. They taught at the village school, and stayed in a small bamboo house in the village church compound. No one else stayed in the compound, which was at the edge of the village. There are about 40 households in the village, with a population of about 160 people. There is no Burma Army base in the village, which lies in a government controlled area. There are no resistance forces operating in or around the village.

Monday January 19th 2015

At about 7am, about 30 Burma Army troops from LIB 503, based in Kyaukme, led by Major Aung Soe Myint, arrived on foot at Kawng Kha Shabuk village, about 20 miles east of Muse town. They had come from the direction of Mong Ko, where there had been a military operation against the Kachin Independence Army in early January. The soldiers based themselves in four houses in different parts of the village, posting guards around the village within eyesight of each other. They maintained close guard of the entire village to ensure their security.In the evening there was a birthday party for the child of the village headman at his house, so the two teachers went to the party. They returned back to their house at about 10pm at night.

Tuesday January 20th 2015

At about 1am, three villagers staying near the church compound heard screams and sounds of beating coming from the church compound. They went to the house in the compound where the two teachers were staying, and called out to them, but there was no answer. There was no light on in the house, only in the toilet nearby. They could hear some groaning from inside, and they tried to push open the door, but they couldn’t. The villagers thought the women may just be sleeping deeply, and perhaps the screaming had been from some quarrelling neighbours nearby.

They therefore went back to their homes.

Early in the morning, before 7am, a truck left the village with some of the Burma Army soldiers, but some soldiers were still left in the village.

At about 7am, a neighbor was surprised when the teachers were not seen around their house preparing breakfast, so asked a child to go and call the teachers. The child went and called out the teachers’ names outside their house, but there was no reply, so the child came back. Then the neighbor went to see, and also called out the teachers’ names, but there was no answer. The neighbor then pushed open the door, which opened easily. Inside, the neighbor saw the teachers lying down covered with a blanket. The neighbor thought they must still be sleeping, and went to lift the blanket, and found they were dead. Their bodies were half naked, and there were knife wounds on their bodies, and their heads had been severely beaten. By the bodies there was a big stick with bloodstains on it.

The neighbor called out, and other villagers came immediately. They noticed there were marks of boots in the dirt in front of the house.

The village headman called the police by phone, and at 2pm the police arrived from Panghsai, together with an ambulance. The ambulance took the bodies to Muse Hospital. 

 

Burma Campaign UK statement:

In the early hours of 20th January, two ethnic Kachin teachers, Maran Lu Ra (20 years old) and Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin (21 years old), were brutally raped and killed by Burmese Army soldiers who had recently arrived in their village.
 
The British government has said that ending sexual violence in conflict is one of their top foreign policy goals. Yet when it comes to Burma, instead of taking action to end impunity, they simply say the Burmese government should investigate, knowing full well they have never conducted a genuine investigation.
 
There are now around 120 documented cases of rape and sexual violence by the Burmese Army since 2010, and this is believed to be just the tip of the iceberg, as most cases are never reported because of fear of stigma and reprisals. In none of these cases has a soldier been convicted and jailed, and even an investigation is incredibly rare.
 
Despite this, instead of taking the practical action which is recommended in its own Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, the British government only calls on the Burmese government to investigate these crimes.
 
The British government could immediately take three practical steps to help stop rape in Burma, but so far they have refused to do so. 

Will you take action to persuade them to act?
 
The three steps:

Step One: The British government has set up teams of experts to investigate cases like this. They should lobby the Burmese government at the highest level to allow a team to be sent to Burma.
 
Step Two: Stop training the Burmese Army until they take concrete action to end impunity for rape, and take other steps to prevent rape.
 
Step Three: Support an international investigation into rape and sexual violence in Burma. These rapes are war crimes, and the UN should investigate.
 
Email the Foreign Secretary now! No more rapes! No more killings! No more impunity!
 
Thank you.

Anna Roberts
Burma Campaign UK

 

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