Villagers beaten by Burmese Army in Ye Township

March 3, 2007

Toe-Thet-Ywa-Thit village, Ye Township, Mon State

Case No. 1: Between August 21 and August 24, 2007, Mg San Oo (not his real name), a 28 year old from Toe-Thet-Ywar-Thit village, was arrested by Burmese soldiers led by Sergeant Thet Zaw Oo from the Light Infantry Battalion No. 586, under Military Operations and Management Command (MOMC) No. 19. Mg San Oo was arrested at the edge of Koe-Mine Village, where he was attending the funeral of a relative.

“He was beaten on his back and legs with a bamboo pole. His face is covered with black welts from the torture he received. They accused him of being a reporter for a Mon rebel group. They interrogated him and when they were dissatisfied with his answers, they beat him. We can hear him crying in pain, even from far away,” said a witness from Toe-Thet-Ywa-Thit who didn’t give her name.

Mg San Oo is currently seeing a former New Mon State Party medic because he cannot afford to have his wounds taken care of in a hospital.

Mg San Oo served as a corporal in the Mon National Libration Army for several years. He left the MNLA in order to take care of his parents, whose farmland had been confiscated. He had been supporting them by clearing other people’s gardens and plantations.

Case No. 2: On August 23, San Win Aung, 23 years old, and his sister, Ma Myint, 26 years old, both of Yin Dein village, were on the way to sell vegetables when they were beaten by a group of soldiers under the leadership of Sergeant Myint Zaw. The soldiers were from the Light Infantry Battalion No. 586, under Military Operations and Management Command (MOMC) No. 19.

San Win Aung and his sister are retailers. They buy vegetables from other people’s plantations and resell them. When the soldiers began to take the vegetables, San Win Aung begged them to take anything but the mushrooms, as they were expensive.

According to a witness, Sergeant Myint Zaw responded by kicking him and screaming at him. He also slapped Ma Myint and asked her if she wanted to die. He then flipped over their trays and crushed their vegetables.

A fellow vegetable seller and friend of Ma Myint said that “They have been doing this sort of thing for a long time. We try to run away whenever we see them coming. Sometimes we give them something before they ask.”

Later, Mg San Win Aung and his sister informed the village heads of their encounter and urged them to take action. So far these pleas have been in vain.

According to villagers living near the Battalions, the villages around the area are facing the same problem as Yindaing village. The violations are thought to be occurring due to a shortage of army provisions and the military’s subsequent order to their soldiers to find food however and wherever they can.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News