The UK slapped sanctions on a leader of Myanmar junta-affiliated Border Guard Force (BGF) Colonel Saw Chit Thu and two others involved in the controversial Shwe Kokko new city gambling project in Karen State, over allegations of human trafficking, forced labor and human rights violations, reports the Irrawaddy.
The UK said the three people sanctioned over the Shwe Kokko project have been responsible for supporting or benefitting from the trafficking of individuals who were forced to work as scammers and were subject to torture, physical abuse and further cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.
Burma Campaign UK’s director, Mark Farmaner, said: “[Saw] Chit Thu belongs in jail and these sanctions should act as a stepping stone towards holding him to account for decades of human rights violations by soldiers under his command.”