Around fifteen ethnic Kachin youths, including schoolchildren, were reportedly seriously injured and three were hospitalized in a beating by Burmese soldiers. The beatings took place after the youths prevented the soldiers from physical abuse a Kachin girl in Mayan village in Namti Township, Kachin State, northern Burma.
The incident came after village youths attacked the Burmese soldiers to prevent them gang-raping the teenage girl, according to a report released on Wednesday, June 17, by rights campaign group, Burma Campaign UK (BCUK).
The soldiers attempted to rape the 17-year-old Kachin schoolgirl, Wa Sha Ki, as she was going home on 31 May, but she was rescued by the Kachin youngsters, according to the report.
The soldiers later returned to Mayan village to take revenge, attacking the youths.
The Burmese commander of Artillery Battalion 372, Lt-Col Ye Yint Twe, gathered about thirty of his soldiers and ordered them to punish the young men in the village. The Burmese soldiers rampaged through the village, dragging the youths out and beating them mercilessly.
According to the BCUK report, fourteen-year-old Sawan La San was left unconscious after the beating. Four of his ribs were broken and he was vomiting blood before falling into a coma as a result of brain injury. He is reportedly hospitalized in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.
The army commander warned the villagers not to talk about the incident, and Burmese soldiers have been patrolling the village since the beating took place. Young males in the village are in hiding for fear of arrest and torture.
Human rights abuses that include land confiscation, forced labor, illegal taxation, rape and sexual abuse are regularly occurrences in Kachin State, according to Kachin rights groups.
A Kachin villager was quoted as saying: “We have been suffering this kind of abuse by Burmese soldiers for decades since the time of our grandfathers, but no one can help us.”
“We don’t want the soldiers in our village. They are not here to help but to abuse and oppress us in different ways every day. Until they leave, we will continue to suffer,” said the villager.
There are more than 600 mostly ethnic Kachin people living in Mayan village.
In August 2008, a 15-year-old school girl was gang-raped and killed by Burmese soldiers in Bamaw district, Kachin state, and a 21-year-old was gang-raped by Burmese soldiers in Sarmaw in December. No action was taken in either case, according to the BCUK report.
Nang Seng, a campaign officer with the BCUK said: “This incident is typical of the kind of things going on in villages and towns across Kachin State. 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.”
The incident came after village youths attacked the Burmese soldiers to prevent them gang-raping the teenage girl, according to a report released on Wednesday, June 17, by rights campaign group, Burma Campaign UK (BCUK).
The soldiers attempted to rape the 17-year-old Kachin schoolgirl, Wa Sha Ki, as she was going home on 31 May, but she was rescued by the Kachin youngsters, according to the report.
The soldiers later returned to Mayan village to take revenge, attacking the youths.
The Burmese commander of Artillery Battalion 372, Lt-Col Ye Yint Twe, gathered about thirty of his soldiers and ordered them to punish the young men in the village. The Burmese soldiers rampaged through the village, dragging the youths out and beating them mercilessly.
According to the BCUK report, fourteen-year-old Sawan La San was left unconscious after the beating. Four of his ribs were broken and he was vomiting blood before falling into a coma as a result of brain injury. He is reportedly hospitalized in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.
The army commander warned the villagers not to talk about the incident, and Burmese soldiers have been patrolling the village since the beating took place. Young males in the village are in hiding for fear of arrest and torture.
Human rights abuses that include land confiscation, forced labor, illegal taxation, rape and sexual abuse are regularly occurrences in Kachin State, according to Kachin rights groups.
A Kachin villager was quoted as saying: “We have been suffering this kind of abuse by Burmese soldiers for decades since the time of our grandfathers, but no one can help us.”
“We don’t want the soldiers in our village. They are not here to help but to abuse and oppress us in different ways every day. Until they leave, we will continue to suffer,” said the villager.
There are more than 600 mostly ethnic Kachin people living in Mayan village.
In August 2008, a 15-year-old school girl was gang-raped and killed by Burmese soldiers in Bamaw district, Kachin state, and a 21-year-old was gang-raped by Burmese soldiers in Sarmaw in December. No action was taken in either case, according to the BCUK report.
Nang Seng, a campaign officer with the BCUK said: “This incident is typical of the kind of things going on in villages and towns across Kachin State. 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.”
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