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Myanmar army raping with impunity, say Karen activists
Written by: Emma Batha
Many Karen have fled to makeshift jungle camps near the Thai border. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
Soldiers in eastern Myanmar are raping with impunity, according to a rights group. Their victims, villagers from the Karen minority, have reportedly included children and nuns. Activists say that in one case a young woman was gang-raped by four soldiers in her home. They then killed her by shooting into her vagina. No action was taken against the soldiers. The Karen, a predominantly Christian minority, make up about seven percent of Myanmar's population. Karen rebel groups have been fighting for greater autonomy in the east for decades. But Myanmar's military junta is widely accused of targetting civilians as well as rebels in a campaign of terror which has forced many thousands to flee for their lives. Many of the rapes are perpetrated by senior military officers or done with their complicity, according to the Karen Women's Organisation. They say the perpetrators know that most villagers will be too afraid to complain. Evidence of the systematic rape and abuse of villagers is highlighted by the KWO in the latest issue of Forced Migration Review which is devoted to the massive displacement crisis in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The KWO says village chiefs risk abuse and torture if they fail to comply with the military. When women take on the role - as happens in the absence of men - they face the added risk of rape. Some are forced to have sex with soldiers as the price of protection for themselves, their families and communities. FORCED LABOUR Women and girls from across Karen State have also been forcibly recruited to help build roads and bridges, clear landmines and carry military supplies, the KWO says. Recruits include elderly women, pregnant and breast-feeding women, and schoolgirls as young as 11. One woman told KWO how she has been forced to work as a porter for the army. "Every day we had to carry up the mountain and down again," she said. "I was sweating and couldn't breathe because I am very old and the soldiers prodded me with their guns because I am slow. I felt like my heart was breaking." The KWO works in refugee camps on the Thai border and with people displaced inside Myanmar. Last year it published a report called State of Terror which drew on thousands of documented cases of murder, rape and torture of Karen women at the hands of the junta. The army has designated Karen State and neighbouring Karenni State as black zones. Black areas are 'free-fire' zones where the army can kill anyone it comes across, says David Eubank, director of Free Burma Rangers, which provides help in conflict areas. Writing in Forced Migration Review, Eubank describes how the army regularly launches sweeping operations in which soldiers often mortar and machine-gun a village before looting and raping. They then lay landmines in and around the village. Sometimes they burn down entire settlements. A Karenni pastor quoted in the article asks: "Why do the Burmese soldiers come to burn our villages? We do not go to burn theirs. Why do they want to come and bother us? We only want to have our farms, do our work and live in peace. Our life in the mountains is already very hard. Why do they want to make it harder?" In the current military offensive - the largest since 1997 - over 30,000 people have been displaced. Many are hiding in the jungle, others have fled to Thailand. "The disruption of food production, burning of homes and the shoot-on-sight orders of the Burma Army have made staying in their homeland untenable for thousands," Eubank says.
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5 responses to “Myanmar army raping with impunity, say Karen activists”
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25 Apr 2008 09:27:40 GMT
Do you know how many thousands of Burmese soldiers and innocent people are died by these rebels and their supporters? Have you ever read genocides to Burmans by these people fleeing to border? There are unaccountable killing and raping cases by these rebels. Burma's longest river, Irrawaddy has full of tears of Burmese people since 1948. Rebels chop and eat up the Burmese soldiers' bodies when they caught them. How do you think about the feeling of these solidiers' families left behind? Rebels kidnapped many young women and sold them to sex dealers. These rebels attacked hundred of towns and villages and burned down and killed all people including toddlers and elders. These barbaric acts are done by the Rebels and people whom you are mentioning above. In the civilized human society, no one or government will tolerate such kind of actions. There are several million of Karens and other ethnics people are still living inside Burma peacefully. Their number is much highr than these rebels, supporters and their families. If you say, People come down there are due to the economic reason, why don't you go to the central Burma to save world' poorest people. They are more and more poorer than these people jumping over borders. If you guys have good will and do not have colour with any politic or religion, you can enter and do the work freely.
06 May 2008 08:57:28 GMT
Just a short question for Mr. Henry. What are the causes of the people in central Burma to be the poorest in the world? Please give us a solid honest answer. Thank you.
06 May 2008 09:02:52 GMT
Henry,
You do know the Burmese soldiers are the worse people in this world and their behaviour are not tolerated to ordinary people. Your stories mentioned are not for the rebels but it is really for these Burmese soldiers. As you know and the people all over the world knows that these soldiers were tortured and murdered too many innocent people and our respected monks in September uprising in Burma recently. Do not cover the true story with your military biasing story. Be considerate and stay with the innocent people if you are well civilised person.06 May 2008 19:31:36 GMT
Hey, It is really good work you have done about Burmese soldiers. But Why your hands are lacking to write about Tamils they are living in Sri Lanka? Sri Lanka Army is also doing the nasty against minority Tamils as Bermese soldier. You can browse through the internet regarding this issues more detailly. No international community is helping us..... we are alone opposing SLA
15 May 2008 08:04:28 GMT
It is not possible to associate Burmese soldiers with innocent people. Burma has a completely corrupt government. They violate numerous basic human rights. Look at the situation there now, after Cylcone Nargis hit - they won't even let their people have access to clean water! It's almost as if the Burmese military - the Junta and all other Burmese government officials want these people to die. This government needs to be replaced. Anyone who supports this government and it's militaristic, genocidal tendencies should really understand that there are more civilized, democratic and humanitarian ways to live in a society. An authoritarian government and society does not provide the adequate health, education and other benefits that a democratic government and society can provide.