Slaughter in Burma

A chilling report about atrocities by the Burmese Army against the Shan people has just been released by the Jubilee campaign. * On 2 August 2000, troops from Company No 4, Light Infantry Battalion 520, led by Captain Aung Hpe, massacred a family of six people at their farm about three miles north of their village in Ho Lin tract, Murng-Pan township, in Shan state. A patrol of 45-50 Burmese troops entered the farm and ordered the head of the family, Lung Pan-Ta, to call the farmers to gather. Captain Aung Hpe then accused them of supporting the Shan resistance and ordered his troops to shoot them. All six family members were shot dead. * On 18 July 2000, Burmese troops from Infantry Battalion 66 led by Captain Htay Aung raped and killed two displaced Shan women at their rice farm about three miles north of Nam-Zarng town in Nam-Zarng township. The victims were sisters, Naang Tawng, aged 18 and Naang Maai, aged 16. The two sisters were working in their farm when a patrol of about 60 Burmese troops, of Company No 3, Infantry Battalion 66, led by Captain Htay Aung, surrounded the farm and arrested them. The Burmese soldiers raped both women then beat them to death. * In July, eight displaced Shan villagers who were foraging for food were killed by Burmese troops from Company No 4, Infantry Battalion 246, led by Captain Kyaw Mint, in Kun-Hing township. On 2 July 2000 the Burmese army patrol of about 35 soldiers beat to death Zaai Wun, aged 29. On 8 July this patrol beat to death a displaced man and woman, Zaai Pan and Pa Mung, aged 40. Pa Mung was raped before she was killed. On July 14th the same military patrol beat to death five other displaced persons in a forest some distance from Kun-Hing town. The five victims, all male, were: Zaai Thun, aged 43, Zaai Nyo, aged 37, Zaai Maat, aged 29, Zaai Ka-Ling, aged 31 and Zaai Mon, aged 41. These recent killings are part of a pattern of escalating atrocities being inflicted on the Shan people. On 23 May this year, a column of 90-100 Burmese troops from Infantry Battalion 246 led by Captain Htun Aung seized 64 internally displaced Shan people including women and children. They were gathered as a group outside Kun-Hing town in Shan state and all of them were shot and killed. In late May this year, six displaced Shan women were brutally raped and killed by Burmese troops from Infantry Battalion 246. These soldiers were led by Captain Aung Htay and the incident took place between Ka Li village relocation site and Kun-Hing town. Captain Aung Htay and his men robbed the women then, after raping one of them himself, told his soldiers to follow his example. About 50 to 60 of his soldiers then proceeded to take turns raping the women. After that, Captain Aung Htay ordered his soldiers to shoot all the women. The six victims were Naang Muay Phawng, 27, Naang Zaam Pao, 24, Naang Htun Nae, 21, Naang Khur Wan, 20, Naang Laao Sai, 18 and Naang Seng Hurn, 16. These are not isolated incidents, say campaigners, but part of an ongoing campaign of genocide by the Burmese military against the Karen, Karenni and Shan ethnic minorities. There are about seven million Shan in Burma, making them the second largest ethnic minority after the Karen. There are over 600,000 internally displaced Karen, Karenni and Shan as a result of Burmese military action. Many of them are hiding in the jungle from the Burmese army with no food or medicine and are usually killed on sight when discovered. Jubilee has been campaigning to try and stop the slaughter of the Karen, Karenni and Shan in Burma and to persuade the UN Security Council to set up an International Criminal Tribunal to try Burma's military regime for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Jubilee's parliamentary officer, Wilfred Wong, says, "We are determined to raise each and every atrocity committed with the Burmese and British governments. These victims are very poor people just trying to get enough food to survive but the Burmese Army simply won't leave them in peace and think nothing of raping and slaughtering them at will." Jubilee Campaign is an interdenominational Christian human rights group, which has worked with over 150 British parliamentarians on human rights cases in countries as diverse as Sudan, Pakistan, Mongolia, China, Indonesia, Egypt, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras and Vietnam.