[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

REPOST: SPDC troops massacre villag



Subject: REPOST: SPDC troops massacre villagers in Arakan State 

SPDC troops massacre villagers in Arakan State 

    December 29, 1997
    ABSDF

    On November 16, 1997, Burma's newly formed junta, the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC),
    committed a brutal massacre at Kyat Taw village, in northern part of
Araken State. LIB 378 troops are responsible
    for the event, killing 13 people including a seven month old child
at Kyaut Ku Su village and Sa Pel Sake village in
    Kyaut Taw township while collecting porters. 

    SPDC's LIB 378 commander ordered his troops stationing at Sa Pel
Sake village to collect porters, in quota of one
    person per house, from Ku Su village. Section Commander later
assigned Shwe Thein and two other soldiers who
    right away asked U Sein Hla Aung, headmen of 100 household of the
village by saying one house must provide
    one porter each without any complaint. 

    While 45 year old U Sain Hla Aung was organising a meeting with
other headmen for getting the porters for the
    SPDC, Shwe Thein and two soldiers entered into the house and began
to heavily shoot, resulting in the death of
    six people, including U Sein Hla Aung and his seven month old son. 

    Later Shwe Thein and two SPDC soldiers proceeded to the house of
other influential headman, namely U Wai
    Pyu Aung and shot abruptly again, killing seven, including U Wai Phu
Aung and his wife. 

    People in Arakan State have been brutally harassed by the increasing
number of the SPDC troops. There have
    been 54 SPDC Battalions in Arakan State, deploying 23 out of 54
Battalions only in Aykab, the capital of Arakan
    State. Nine battalions have also been deployed at the second largest
town, namely Bu Thee Taung, said a
    statement issued by Arakan United Party on December 23, 1997. 

    "People in Araken State are very unhappy with SPDC troops
excessively deployed in Araken State in order to
    coerce the people into forced labour and porterage," said U Sai Aung
Kyaw who recently fled the Araken State. 

    "People ranging from age 8 to over 50 including old and pregnant
women, who can not give fines to the military
    for escaping from being taken as porters, are forced to work without
taking anything in order to construct military
    barracks, dig holes for latrines, work for road repair and
construction and dig lakes for drinking water," U Sai Aung
    Kyaw reported. Military men are performing these abuses with the
intention to get extra-money from people who
    can pay fines, he added. 

    "There have been a series of massacres in working sites on some
people who have refused to work for the
    military, because they have no time left to work for their private
business necessary for their survival," said U Sai
    Aung Kyaw. 

    There have been more worse stories, for instance, in one case, a 20
year old girl from Ma Kyi Taut village in Bu
    Thee Taung township was raped by a soldier from LIB 535 and later
the commander himself dismissed the story,
    he added. 

    As there has been no punishment from their superior SPDC officers,
troops in the field are commiting such crimes
    throughout Burma, resulting in an escalation of human rights abuses
day by day. (Name of 13 people executed
    will be sent very soon).