SPDC patrols arbitrarily harass, beat, and arrest villagers in Nyaung Lay Bin Township

September 11, 2010

HURFOM, Nyaung Lay Bin: A series of security crackdowns in five villages in Pegu Division by SPDC troops have resulted in a wave of arrests and beatings of regional villagers. The area, heavily contested by KNLA forces, has seen a recent increase in reprisal patrols as engagements between KNLA and SPDC forces have increased.

On August 1^st to the 3^rd State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Captain Htin Aung Kyaw lead a combined military column on a patrol of the four villages, Myaung Auu, Pul Pe Del, Thee Dol Lo, and Nyaung Bin Tar, in Nyaung Lay Bin Township. The column made up of battalion commander Htin Moe Kyaw and 50 soldiers from Light Infantry Battalions (LIBs) No.599, No.590, and Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 48, based itself in Myung Auu village. Captain Tin Aung Kyaw, who had ordered the initial campaign of security patrols in the Nyaung Lay Bin Township area, ordered travel restrictions placed on the villages while the combined column conducted patrols.

On August 3rd, in an apparent response to the security patrol orders of Captain Htin Aung Kyaw, LIB No. 361 entered Mu Sel village, Nyaung Lay Bin Township, with 15 soldiers. The unit arrested two villagers, a married couple, Saw Maung Tin, 45, and Naw Paw Mu, 43. The couple was then beaten, with both husband and wife being struck in the face, kicked, and struck with buts of the soldiers’ rifles. HUROM has been unable to confirm why the couple was assaulted or what they were accused of, however, according to residents, the couple were beaten for being unable to pay a large amount of money demanded by LIB No.361 soldiers. One resident related to HURFOM an account of the assault, saying, “[Saw Maung Tin]’s wife’s face beaten seriously while he…was arrested by LIB No. 361. But he was allowed to go back home after being taken half way to the next village[1]. That was on August 3^rd.”

Later during the 1^st week of August, Captain Thant Zin Oo, who announced that the security activities would continue, conducted a second patrol with a unit from LIB No. 599 in the three villages of Myaung Auu, Pol Pee Tal, and Thee Dol Lo, in Nyaung Lay Bin Township. By the end of August when HURFOM conducted these interviews, a 3^rd patrol from LIB No. 599 had been rotated in to conduct security sweets with an unconfirmed number of soliders. of unidentified troop strength arrived from LIB No. 599.

A resident from Myaung Auu village, 35, who asked to remain anonymous, described an incident of a villager attempting negotiate with the unit to lessen the impact patrols and travel restrictions were having on the community:

In the first week and [then the] second week of August, while the Burmese soldiers, from LIB No. 599, were based in our village, they restricted travel outside our village. Because of this order- banning villagers from traveling out of our village – we couldn’t go to work in our paddy fields, crop fields, and rubber plantations. These Burmese soldiers also came to disturb villagers’ work, and … and used verbal abuse when they talked to villagers. They accused the villagers of being rebel supporters and [being] related to rebels. Because of the disruption of the work of villagers and orders restricting travel outside the village, Saw Kyaw Thant, a Nyaung Bin Tar villager, went to ask [the battalion commander] not to continue disturbing [villagers] and or [to remove] the order [of travel restrictions]. [As a result] he was arrested and beaten up by the soldiers. But I do not know what happened [to him] after that.

This series of patrols indicates the aggressive effort by SPDC forces to increase their presence in the area, normally under the control of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). The security measures taken by SPDC patrols appear arbitrary, with random arrests, beatings, and even shootings[2], all illustrative of the areas ‘free fire’ status. This policy of intentional systemic abuse with in the area continues to significantly impact residents who rely on farming and cultivation outside of their villages for their daily income and livelihood. This policy of random violence, arrest, and travel restriction is intended to undercut the KNLA presence in the area by disrupting basic elements of villagers’ livelihoods, and attempting to instill a fear of SPDC reprisal for possibly assisting or supporting insurgents.

It is important to highlight, that despite these efforts, residents such as Saw Kyaw Thant, continue to attempt to alleviate their own plight though negotiation or compromise. While these types of efforts are made at extreme personal risk, they illustrate recognition that both the situation of abuses is abnormal and that it might eventually be corrected. HURFOM has not yet been able to confirm what happened to Saw Kyaw Thant after his beating and arrest.

[1] The village LIB No. 361 left for was 3 miles away, so Saw Maung Tin was released after 1.5 miles.

[2] See also, “SPDC soldiers arbitrarily shoot villager and boy,” HURFOM, August 2010.