• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Burma Campaign UK

Burma Campaign UK

  • Campaign News
  • Media
    • News
    • Reports
    • Burma Briefing
    • Blog
  • Take Action
    • Campaign Actions
    • Investment and Trade in Burma
    • Dirty List
    • Free All Political Prisoners
    • Persecution of the Rohingya
    • Arms Embargo
    • Aid to Burma
  • Support us
    • Donate
    • T-shirt store
    • Fundraising for Burma
    • Leave a gift in your Will
    • Trade Union Affiliation
    • Sign up to our Action Network
  • About Burma
    • Introduction
    • Timeline of the Coup
    • Fake 2010 Elections
    • Cyclone Nargis
    • 2007 Uprising in Burma
    • Aung San Suu Kyi
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Resources
  • Donate

Kachin Schoolchildren Beaten And Hospitalised By Burmese Army

June 17, 2009 All News, News Stories

Around 15 schoolchildren and young men have been beaten, and some hospitalised, after Burmese Army soldiers went on a rampage through Mayan village in Kachin State, Burma.

According to Burma Campaign UK sources, the attacks happened after youths in the village prevented soldiers from gang-raping a 17 year old girl.

On the morning of 31st May a young man in the village, Lasaw Naw, was brutally beaten by a group of army soldiers in an unprovoked attack.

Later the same day Wa Sha Ki, a Kachin schoolgirl, was attacked by four Burmese army soldiers on her way home. A knife was held to her throat, and they attempted to rape her, but were disturbed by a group of young people who saw the attack, and released her. She is 17 years old and grade 8 student.

Anger has been growing in the village over attacks and abuses like this, which commanders and local authorities have failed to take action on following complaints. Abuses include land confiscation, forced labor, forcing people to pay illegal tax, and rape and sexual abuses toward women and children. Later in the day, when a group of young men saw the same soldiers who had attempted the rape, they attacked them and beat them.

Battalion commander Lt-Col Ye Yint Twe gathered 30 of his soldiers and ordered them to “kill all Kachin young men in the village.” The soldiers rampaged through the village for three hours, dragging boys and young men from their homes, from public transport, and from a video theatre, and beating them.

More than 15 youths have been severely injured, and 3 persons were hospitalised. One young man was arrested, his feet locked in wooden stocks, and was brutally beaten. He received head injuries.

A 14 year old schoolboy, Sawan La San, was severely beaten by a group of army soldiers in the local train station and left unconscious. He was assaulted without any warning. He suffered four broken ribs, was vomiting blood, and has a brain injury, resulting in a coma. He is reportedly now in Myitkyina hospital.

There are more than 600 households living in Mayan village and most of them are ethnic Kachin. After the brutal assault villagers were threatened by the Lt-Col Ye Yint Twe not to speak of the attacks to anyone. A night curfew was set till 4th June 2009 and villagers were warned anyone on the streets after 7pm would be shot.

Since the incident, a Col. Pyi Win Soe and more than 10 soldiers, often without uniform, have been patrolling the village carrying guns, knives and sticks. The soldiers are from the village-based Burmese Army Artillery Battalion No. 372.

A villager said, “we have been suffered this kind of abuses by the Burmese army soldiers decades after decades since our grandfather generation, but no one can help us. We don’t want army based in our village. They are not here to help us but to abuse and oppress us every day in different ways. They took our land and farms for their business, they steal our cows, they forced us to work, and they forced us to pay illegal tax and they commit sexual violence towards our women and girls. Therefore, unless the military is removed from our village, we will continue suffer”.

Thirty youths from the village have now gone into hiding as they are afraid of arrest, beatings, torture, or being killed.

Last August, a 15 year old school girl was gang raped and killed by Burmese military soldiers in Bamaw district, Kachin state but no action was taken by the regime. Last December, a 21 year old girl in Sarmaw was gang raped by a group of Burmese soldiers and again no action was taken.

“This incident is typical of the kind of things going on in villages and towns across Kachin State,” said Nang Seng, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “Since the ceasefire in 1994 more Burmese troops have come to Kachin state and human rights abuses are part of daily life. This will continue after elections next year, as ethnic people have been given no rights, no level of autonomy, and Burmese Army soldiers will still occupy our villages.”

For more information please contact Nang Seng on 0207 324 4710.

Recent news stories

Previous Post:Former political prisoners call for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release
Next Post:Teenage Karen Women Raped and Murdered By Burmese Army – Security Council Must Take Action

Sidebar

You may also like

  1. Escalation Of Kachin Conflict Shows UK Premature In Offering Training To Burmese Army
  2. Burmese Army Shoots Pregnant Teacher In Kachin State
  3. Kachin women demand immediate end to Burmese regime’s use of rape as a weapon of war
  4. Kachin farmer murdered by Burmese Army soldiers – authorities take no action

Join our action network

Subscribe

Who we are

Burma Campaign UK works for Human Rights, Democracy and Development in Burma

Join our Action Network

Subscribe

Find out more

  • Campaign News
  • About Burma
  • About Us
  • Resources

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Materials on this website are provided under a Creative Commons License | Privacy and Cookies Policy

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Click Read More for information on cookies and our privacy policy. Accept or Block non-essential cookies
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT