Human Rights Yearbooke 1994:
2
Extra-judicial,
Summary or
Arbitrary Executions
If
we captured Karen soldiers we never kept them alive. We killed them. The NCOs
didn't even interrogate them, they just said, 'Pray to your God' and killed
them with a bayonet, then beheaded them. Then sometimes they fried their heart
and liver and ate it. I saw Corporal Aung Myint do
this. This was done often by the sergeants, warrant officers and sometimes
company commanders. The company commander gave the order to kill the prisoners,
and got the officers or NCOs under him to do it. Once we found a wounded Karen
soldier and they stepped on his throat to kill him. Other times they killed
wounded Karen soldiers with a bayonet. I saw several Karen soldiers executed like
this, and also villagers with connections to the KNLA. If they suspected any
villagers of being in contact with the KNLA they summoned them, and they never
used a gun just a bayonet. Usually the lance corporals and corporals did it,
sometimes the sergeants. They had no real evidence if they didn't like the look of a
civilian they'd just accuse him of being connected to the KNLA and kill him.
—
While military tribunals
are no longer handing out death sentences on civilians, the number of
executions in
Arbitrary executions take
place anywhere and at any time, by military leaders as well as rank and file. People who run from the military – even in cities – out of
fear of being forced into portering, are routinely shot at without regard for
their lives. This sort of recklessness brings back memories of the 3,000-10,000
pro-democracy demonstrators murdered by army troops since 1988. Recent
arbitrary executions also include prisoners being tortured to death while in
custody, beatings, denial of adequate food and medical care, and subhuman
conditions in prisons. Executions of all kinds have focused particularly on
ethnic peoples, in most cases only because of their ethnic backgrounds. For
instance, as many as 300 Muslims have been killed by SLORC since January while
another 3,000 were imprisoned and subjected to those life-threatening
conditions. True numbers of deaths may never be known, but one fact remains clear;
civilian death by execution is commonplace throughout
[see also under “Eye-witness Accounts”, interview 33-34,
44-45, 47-48, 55, 59-62, 85, 92-97, 100, 106-113, 117-119, 130]
List of Incidents
On
On 5 January, SLORC troops
from IB 57 executed 2 villagers from
On 16 January, a company of
SLORC troops led by Hla Tun of IB 506 and a faction
of the Shan State Army, which defected to SLORC and was led by Sai Norng, arrived in Norng Sien Village, arrested Sai Su (male, 38), headman of Torng
Teik Parish, Hsipaw
Township in northern Shan State. The victim was accused of sending information
to the rebels in that area. After conducting an interrogation with torture, he
was killed by Ai Thun (Kha
Tong) of the SSA. Soldiers then ransacked the victim's house, took 25,000 Ks in
cash and other property and destroyed one image of Lord Buddha by chopping the
statue into pieces. [source: SHRF]
On 12 January, SLORC troops
from IB 246 shot to death Sai Seng
Harn (male, 24) from No. 1 Quarter of Kun Hein
Township in southern
On
On 13 February, Bn Comdr Lt Col Yin Soe Min and
Coy Comdr Capt Soe Naing from IB 84, under the
command of LID 99, executed Saw Thar Kyi (41) and Saw
Tun Phwa (27, son of Phwa Gaw Yar from Talai
Kayin Village, Thaton District) and took 30,000 Ks in
cash belonging to the victims. [source: ABSDF/KNU]
On 19 February, Sai Be (30, son of U Lon Ann and Daw Mai) from Ma Khae Kham Village in Lwe Paw Parish,
Death in Custody
29-year old Yan Gyi Aung from No. 4, Zee
Taw Quarter, Pa-an Township,
On 2 March, Pvt Soe Moe Naing from SLORC
military 1st Column led by Warrant Officer Ngwe Maung
of LIB 341, shot Ma Mi Nge (16, daughter of U Ba Pe and Daw Nu from Kyun Pin Village, Papun Township, Karen State) with his
BA-63 rifle, hitting her on the left side of the chest which caused death. This
occurred when the perpetrator tried to rape the victim at gunpoint and, when
the victim refused and attempted to defend herself,
the perpetrator killed her. When Coy Comdr Capt Tu Lun and his troops reached the village, they reported that
this was a case of an accidental shooting that resulted while Soe Moe Naing was hunting wild poultry. The captain
threatened the villagers that those who attempted to degrade the dignity of the
armed forces will be shot to death. In fear of their safety, the parents of the
victim and other villagers dared not raise the case. [source:
ABSDF]
The Ultimate Result of SLORC Presence: Torture, Death, Fear and Displacement
On 3 March, soldiers from IB 35, based in Kyauk Kyi, entered Paw Mu Der Village. It has 24 houses, 143 people. It is only a one-hour walk from the Say Day Camp of SLORC IB 59 based in Kyauk Kyi. On 3 March, 2nd Column of that IB 59 led by Column Comdr Maj Aung San Oo came to the village. As soon as the villagers knew they were there they tried to escape to the jungle, without being able to take anything with them. SLORC troops captured 20 people who did not know how to escape, particularly women and children, including Saw Ghay (male, 35) and his 3-year old daughter. Saw Ghay's wife was very sick but still managed to escape with their another child, an 18-month old son. Saw Ghay's sister-in-law was hiding in another house, and saw the soldiers drag Saw Ghay away from the others. In addition, there were arrested a total of 19 villagers – 2 men, 7 women, and 10 children. Then the soldiers took all the villagers' belongings from every house. They stayed there for 2 days and then released everyone except Saw Ghay.
They found a photo in Saw Gay’s house showing a man in a Karen uniform, so they accused Saw Gay of having a relative in the Karen army and ordered him to explain. Afterwards they took him cut off his arms and legs. They left him bleeding on the ground for 2 hours, but he was still not quite dead so they cut off his penis, then cut open his belly and ripped out his internal organs. Saw Gay’s brother is in the Karen army, but Saw Gay himself was just an innocent villager.
Naw Lay Swai, age 75, was reportedly kept tied naked to a tree. When the troops left the village, they took with them 40 pigs, 38 goats and all the villagers’ chickens and ducks; whatever the soldiers couldn't carry away with them were destroyed. Since then many of the people in the village have fled to Karen-controlled areas closer to the Thai border.
The troops stayed in the village for three days. Afterwards they returned to their camp and reported to their higher authorities that they had taken a Karen position in battle, captured and executed a Karen soldier, and that the property they'd collected was from the Karen base [this was reported to the villagers by one of the soldiers; also note that Saw Ghay was not a Karen soldier]. Now the villagers dare not stay in Paw Muh Der Village anymore, so they've moved to another place where there is not fertile enough for growing crops. [source: KNU]
On 10 March, 2nd Column of
LIB 59 Comdr Aung San Oo came to
On 17 March, Column Comdr
Ah Tin and Coy Comdr Myat Soe
of SLORC IB 37 opened fire on the villagers from Ko Kyaw Kaw
Soo Village, Nyaunglebin District, while they were
collecting firewood. Five villagers were gunned down with the result that 1
person died.
On 18 March, 2nd Column of
IB 59 led by Column Comdr Maj Aung San Oo went to
Rohingya Muslim Fishermen Executed
On 24 March, members of the Burmese military's Western Military
Command patrolling the
Eight of the Rohingya fishermen were interrogated and tortured for five days; although it is not known what statements the arrested Muslims had given to their torturers, the Na Sa Ka in-charge ordered to shoot all the arrested persons and accordingly, on 31 March at about 4:30 p.m., all of them were brought out of the camp with their hands tied behind their backs and they were made to stand in a row. Subsequently, they were all shot by firing squad. Persons who were killed without any trial and at the order of Na Sa Ka in-charge, Balukhali are:
1) Roostum Ali (35, son of Feran Ali) from Shwezapara, Maungdaw
2) Mohammed Shafi (27, son of Feta Ali) from Shwezapara, Maungdaw
3) Zafar Ahmed (22, son of Kala Meah) from Shwezapara, Maungdaw
4) Abu Jamil (35, son of Feran Ali) from Shwezapara, Maungdaw
5) Rahimullah (35, son of Abul Kasim) from Alaythangyaw, Maugdaw
6) Rashid Ahmed (22, son of Syed Akbar) from Alaythangyaw, Maungdaw
7) Abu Taher (27, son of Mohammed Hossain) from Alaythangyaw, Maungdaw
8) Mohammed Rafi (17, son of Aboo) from Akyab
It is to be reported further that the Muslim villagers of nearby villages who have contact with the Na Sa Ka concerned had earlier approached the officials with a request that the arrested persons were poor fishermen and did not have any bad record in their villages and should be released. However, the in-charge reportedly warned the villagers not to make any further request and went ahead with his decision to execute the fishermen.
The people of north Arakan have long been targets of whimsical killing by military officers. If villagers report the crime to higher officers, no charges of arrests are made. This particular incident, carried out despite the presence of UNHCR officials in Maungdaw, indicates that SLORC will not easily stop these types of persecution against the Muslims of Arakan. [source: MOA]
On 30 March, SLORC troops
from IB 73 abducted 2 village headmen from Lay Ti and Nat Ywa
villages of Taungoo District, and the victims were
beaten to death.
On 28 April, SLORC troops
from IB 96 came to
On 10 May, troops from
SLORC LIB 76 came to
On 12 May, SLORC troops
from LID 55 plundered and murdered in
On 23 May at 5:00 p.m.,
SLORC troops from Coy 1 of IB 22, led by Coy Comdr Capt Khin Soe, arrested Sai Aung Mong (25,
son of Lung Tsam Pa and Pa Nang
Pin), of Shan nationality, living in Worn Pung Laing Village, Hsipaw Township,
while the victim was working on Ye Yoke Farm. He was interrogated, tortured and
beaten to death. [source: SHRF]
On 30 May, Thai police in
Thom Papum,
In June 1994, SLORC troops
commanded by Maj Soe Hlaing from IB 73 came to Say Pa Let Village, captured U Aw
Htoo (55) and asked him where his son was. U Aw Htoo said his son had gone trading, but they didn’t believe
him so Maj Soe Hlaing took U Aw Htoo and
detained him for 1 month in the military barracks. When his son had still not
appeared after that time, U Aw Htoo was executed.
In
mid-June 1994.
Laydoo (30, son of Jalal
Ahmed), Mohammed Siddique (35, son of Fazal Ahmed), Mohammed Tayub (30,
son of Shafif) and Abdul Jabbar
(45), from Barigya-bil in
On 20 June, combined troops
from IB 32 led by Maj Tun Yee, under the command of
LID 33, and IB 36 led by Column Comdr Thein Zaw, went
into Papun area, razed Phoe Tha Nge's
house to the ground and shot Than Aung, Phoe Htaw and Saw Win to death.
On 10 July, four Pilatus PC-7s flew out of Kengtung,
On 5 August, AIG soldiers
and troops from IB 96 came to
At
On 18 August, Tsai Hla-thay, a Shan farmer, was executed by IB 246. He was
among several people captured to carry ammunition and supplies for SLORC
columns moving between Laikha and Kun Hing. Unable to carry the heavy loads any more, he was shot
to death by an unnamed soldier. Another porter in the same group, Tsai Tsaam Mya, attempted to escape but was caught and beaten
severely with sticks. [source: SHRF]
On 22 August, SLORC troops
from LIB 408 arrested U Shay (56), a bus comptroller from Ah Lae Sa Khan Village, Ye Phyu
Township, at his home and brought him to the headquarters of LIB 408 in
Sometime during the first
week of September 1994, Noor Mohammed (about 45, son
of Fakir Bakker), hailing from Myothugyi
Village, 3 miles east of Maungdaw Township, Arakan
State, was carrying some food items from Buthidaung
Township. His bicycle was stopped for a routine check at a 3-mile outpost by Na
Sa Ka forces. After searching, the official not only
seized a small rice bag he was carrying but he was also beaten up for carrying
objectionable goods. At this Noor Mohammed lost
control of his temper and resisted the in-charge, reportedly called Thet Naing and belonging to MIS Unit 10. Under the
circumstances, the in-charge became furious and went for his pistol. Perceiving
the danger, Noor Mohammed ran for his life and took
refuge in an under construction building of the UNHCR but the 15 security
forces of the 3-mile outpost who were after him finally caught their intended,
only to be punished with summary death. His dead body was later handed over to
his family members for burial. [source: MOA]
On 7 September, the camp
commander of SLORC’s Ba Nwe
Kla Camp ordered 2 villagers from
Villagers Who Flee Forced Porterage
Are Tortured and Murdered
On 11 September at 8 p.m., Coy 1 of IB 27 under LID 33, Bn Comdr Chit Thaung, Second-in-Command Zaw Myint, Coy 1 Comdr Capt Win Tint, entered Kru See Village (Burmese: Kyaun Sein Village). All the villagers ran away because they were afraid to be taken as porters. The company opened fire.
Tee Toh Po, a 38-year-old Karen Buddhist
farmer of
The villagers never recovered Maung Than Oo's body, but the other three were found. Moo Ko had been stabbed with a knife in his throat. His entire body had been broken all over – it was black, and the villagers could barely recognise him. Ko Naing's nose had been cut off and he had been stabbed in the eyes and in both of his ears. His body had also been broken all over and it was black. Thein Win had had all his teeth broken and his left arm was broken. The left side of his face had been cut with a knife, and his body had also been broken all over.
While the soldiers were in the village, they also looted all of the
villagers' belonging from their homes: clothes, rice, pots, etc. They also took
and ate all the chickens, fruit and vegetables they wanted. The village headman
begged the company commander, Capt Win Tint, to release the four villagers, but
he was beaten up and couldn't dare ask again. One of the four killed, Moo Ko, was
the village headman's son. On 12 September at
On 12 September, soldiers
from LIB 27 (Bn Comdr Maj
Aung Myint, deputy commanders Myint
Zaw and Capt Win Tun) killed three villagers; Saw Ko Nee (23, son of U Thein Nwe), Saw Mkoe Ko (21, son of U Kya Thay) and Saw Thay Win (12, son
of U Aung Shwe).
The Burmese military forces
military patrolling south of Buthidaung Township
entered Saubrang Village on 18 September and took
away Moulvi Dil Monammed (25), alleging that he had been associated with
anti-state elements. He was later shot dead without any trial. [source: MOA]
The same group of Burmese
military forces who patrol south of
On 31 October, four army
personnel including one sergeant belonging to the 525th Burma Regiment,
stationed at Aung Mingala outpost entered the house
of Ma Nu Begum (25, wife of Qarim) at
About 100 SLORC troops from
Shwe Kyin-based IB 351 led by Deputy Bn Comdr Lt Col Kyaw Kyaw,
penetrated into villages located north of Shwe Kyin
and committed torture and killings of innocent villagers on 20 November. That
military column arrested U Saw Bi (58) from
On 18 December, companies
from SLORC LIB 351 patrolled the area in
On 22 December, SLORC
troops from LIB 351 shot Maung Zaw Naing Oo (son of U Kyaw Hlaing)
and other 5 people from Ma Bee Lay Village near
On 29 December at
On 31 December, Saw Lar Noe (20, son of Tee Kyaw Moe)
from