APSN | Army abuses, murder reported in Taungoo

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Army abuses, murder reported in Taungoo

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Lawi Weng – A 31-year-old Karen villager from Tantabin Township in Taungoo District was shot dead in cold blood on Dec. 24 on suspicion of being a rebel sympathizer, according to the editor of the Karen Information Centre (KIC), Nan Paw Gay.

"The victim, Saw Ko Mya, was innocent and was shot without provocation," he said. "He was killed with gunshots to the body and to the head. They shot him because they suspected he was a KNU supporter," said Nan Paw Gay.

He said that Saw Ko Mya was shot by government troops from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 540, which is active in the area and is under the control of Military Operations Command No. 9.

This is not the first time soldiers from LIB 540 have been accused by rights groups of murder and human rights abuses in Tantabin Township.

The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reported that two Tantabin villagers were shot dead on Aug. 18 by soldiers from LIB 540 while those villagers were hunting in the jungle.

The KHRG and KIC have also reported that LIB 540 has forced Tantabin villagers to work as laborers repairing the road from Bawgali to Bu Sah Kee.

The KIC said that government troops also forced the villagers to carry food and supplies for their battalions. Both rights groups claim that the abuses are part of a wider program of terror that has not halted despite claims by the Burmese government that a military ceasefire has been called while peace talks are under way.

In recent months, the KHRG has reported abuses by government soldiers in Tenasserim Division, Papun District, Kawkareik Township, Nyaunglebin, Pa'an District and Taungoo District.

Some villagers reportedly escaped to the Thai-Burmese border where they were sheltered in refugee camps while others were displaced to other areas in Karen State and beyond.

Though it is situated in Pegu Division, Taungoo District is mostly made up of ethnic Karens and is recognized as a "Black Area" by government soldiers – meaning they can treat all citizens as suspects of being sympathizers of the rebel Karen National Union (KNU) whose armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, has its Brigade 2 based there.

Meanwhile, the KNU says it will continue to hold peace talks with the Burmese government despite the ongoing abuses.

"The peace talks go on, but our Karen villagers are still suffering from human right abuses," said Nan Paw Gay.