SHATTERING SILENCES
Karen Women speak out about
the Burmese Military Regime’s use
of Rape
as a Strategy of War in
By
The Karen Women's Organization
(KWO)
with the collaboration of
The Committee for Internally Displaced
Karen People (CIDKP),
The
The Karen Human Rights Group
(KHRG)
The Mergui-Tavoy District
Information Department
April 2004
Front Cover
Image
As this report demonstrates women in
The woman in the image on the cover weeps in the
face of these ongoing demands and the continued violations of her human rights.
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the
participants and contributors who courageously shared their stories and gave
their precious time and energy to inform this report.
We also extend thanks to Refugee International Research,
Interparis, BRC and Saw Hser Wah for the valuable financial support which made
researching and printing of this report possible.
A very special thanks to friends Eileen Pittaway, Linda
Bartolomei, Alison Aggarwal and Colleen Bartolomei from the Asian Women Human
Rights Council (AWHRC) and the Australian National Committee on Refugee Women (ANCORW).
Without their timely assistance in design, editing and coordination, this
report would not have been possible.
We express additional thanks to all KWO supporters,
friends and colleagues. May we all continue to work with the same cooperative
and collaborative spirit in the field of women's rights throughout the country.
Table of Contents Page
Number
Acronyms 5
Executive Summary 6
Recommendations 7
Introduction 10
Methodology 11
History of the Karen People 14
Findings 16
Conclusion 25
Detailed cases 26
Data Source list for the Detailed Cases 66
Annex 1: Complete List of Rape Cases
Annex 2: KWO – Aims of the organisation
Annex 3: Map of
ACRONYMS
CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of
Discrimination Against Women
CIDKP The Committee for Internally Displaced
Karen People
KHRG The Karen Human Rights Group
KIC The
KNU The Karen National Union
KWO The Karen Women’s Organisation
SLORC The State Law & Order Restoration
Council (now SPDC)
SPDC The
State Peace and Development Council
UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees
UNCHR The United Nations Commission on Human
Rights
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
"…if you shout I’ll choke you…. If you fight or cry
or shout, I’ll kill you“ [1]
This report “Shattering Silences” clearly documents the
widespread and systematic rape being committed by the Burmese military against
Karen women in
This is
the first report that focuses on the atrocities being committed by the SLORC/SPDC
military against the Karen women. The report explores the patterns of rapes committed
against the Karen women by the SLORC/SPDC soldiers and the effects on the women
and their families. The report locates
these atrocities within a human rights framework, to show the direct link of
accountability the SPDC bears for the violations committed in these cases. It also demonstrates the multiplicity of
human rights violations occurring, as the rape of women is often committed in
conjunction with other human rights violations such as beating, mutilation,
torture, murder, forced labour, denial of rights to food, water
and shelter, and denial of the right to legal redress. These rapes occur
as part of a strategy designed to terrorize
and subjugate the Karen people, to completely destroy their culture and
communities. This report demonstrates very clearly that it is the women who
bear the greatest burden of these systematic attacks, as they are doubly
oppressed both on the grounds of their ethnicity and their gender.
Many
foreign governments continue talking about
As the world comes to realize the full extent of human
rights violations being committed by the SPDC, particularly against women from
ethnic nationalities, the actions members of the international community take
to address this issue becomes critical.
In order to address the needs of women survivors, to
prevent further violations of women’s rights in
RECOMMENDATIONS
To the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC):
1. To immediately instate a
nationwide cease-fire, withdraw troops and decrease militarization in
2. To immediately instate Tripartite
Dialogue with non-Burman ethnic representatives and the National League for
Democracy (NLD) in order to reinstall democratic processes in
3. To ratify the Geneva Convention Protocols,
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and relevant human rights
conventions, as a measure of reinstating human rights and democratic processes
in Burma.
4. To cease all human rights
violations against women, happening on a widespread scale in the ethnic areas,
including forced labor, forced relocations, torture, rape and other sexual
violence committed by military personnel; and
5. To fulfill its obligations under
the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child by implementing national
legislation in conformity with these conventions.
1. To press for a nationwide
cease-fire and demilitarization and withdrawal of troops in ethnic
nationalities areas in
2. To press for Tripartite Dialogue,
and insist that measurable progress towards democracy and national
reconciliation is made;
3. To press the SPDC to implement
the resolutions passed by the Commission on Human Rights and to comply with the
recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women;
To
the United Nations
1. UN agencies operating in
2. UNHCR to prioritise processing
women who have suffered sexual and gender based violence and support
community-based organizations providing services for their recovery.
3. UNCHR to pass a specific
resolution condemning the sexual and gender based violations by the SPDC
military of women in
To
Royal Thai Government
1. To continue to provide protection to Karen asylum seekers, refugees
and persons of concern, by allowing them to cross the border and access refugee
camps, humanitarian aid agencies and UNHCR.
2. To not forcibly repatriate Karen
refugees to
3. To ensure the inclusion of ethnic
nationality representatives and NLD representatives in all discussions held on
all economic, political and State matters with the SPDC.
4. To ensure survivors of rape and
sexual violence, fleeing to Thailand have access to adequate physical and
mental health support systems (e.g. torture and trauma counseling, safe
abortion services, reproductive and maternity health care, safe houses);
INTRODUCTION
This report Shattering Silences has been compiled
and produced by the Karen Women's Organization (KWO), with the collaboration of
Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP), Karen Information
Center (KIC), Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), and the Mergui-Tavoy District
Information Department.
Rape and sexual assault against women is widely committed
in the Karen, Karenni, and Shan states. Although this has been known about for
many years and has been documented in a number of reports produced by a range
of human rights organizations, it has been little acknowledged by the
international community. It was not
until the release of Licence to Rape[3] produced by the Shan Women
Action Network and Shan Human Rights Foundation in 2002 that the world
community really began to take notice of the gross human rights violations
which continue to be perpetrated against ethnic women in
While hundreds of Karen women have been raped by the
SLORC/SPDC military it has only been possible to document 125 cases within one
and half year in this report. For
despite the widespread and systematic rape of Karen women by the SLORC/SPDC
military, very few rape cases in
There are no known cases where legal action has been
taken against the perpetrators.
This report seeks to break the culture of silence about
the rapes of Karen women, and bring to light the full nature of atrocities and
human rights violations being committed by the SPDC against Karen women.
METHODOLOGY
The paucity of documentation of military rape cases of
Karen women reflects not the lack of incidents but the difficulties in
obtaining information about the incidents. For those not familiar with the
current military environment in which many Karen people live under in
1. Many Karen villages have
continued to be displaced by the Burmese military regime since 1975. Hundreds of
women have been raped and killed, particularly during the period 1975-1985 when
the regime was actively implementing its ‘Four-Cuts Policy’[4].
The aggressive and continuous offensives by the military have made it
impossible for Karen groups to keep records of all the incidences of human
rights violations.
2. Many of the women who have been
raped live in areas controlled by the SLORC/SPDC military. Their movements and
activities are under close surveillance. Therefore they are unable to speak out
for themselves. Many of the women fear repercussions by the military, against
themselves or their families if they do speak out.
3. Women do not want to be reminded
of their painful and unpleasant experiences of rape. It cannot be underestimated the extent to
which women want to avoid re-living their experience of rape each time they
tell their story. Therefore it is
important for researchers wanting to address these issues to use the stories in
this report, rather than asking women to re-tell their stories.
4. It is very unusual for women who
have suffered from rape and other sexual violations to reveal what they have
been through because according to the customs and traditions among ethnic
groups in
To overcome these difficulties, a variety of methods were
used to collect these reports. Some of the cases were documented by KWO, from
witnesses or survivors in
In the most recent agreement on international
humanitarian law, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), rape is defined in the context of
crimes against humanity in Article 7 (1) (g)-1, as:
“1.
The perpetrator invaded the body of a person by conduct resulting in
penetration, however slight, of any part of the body of the victim or of the
perpetrator with a sexual organ, or of the anal or genital opening of the
victim with any object or any other part of the body.
2.
The invasion was committed by force, or by threat of force or coercion, such as
that caused by fear of violence, duress, detention, psychological oppression or
abuse of power, against such person or another person, or by taking advantage
of a coercive environment, or the invasion was committed against a person
incapable of giving genuine consent.
3.
The conduct was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed
against a civilian population.
4.
The perpetrator knew that the conduct was part of or intended the conduct to be
part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian
population.”
The ICC has meant that now at both international and national
levels, rape has been recognised as a crime in conflict situations. However,
due to the limited knowledge of women's human rights among Karen organisations,
rape and other forms of human rights violations have not been seriously
addressed or comprehensively documented.
Where Karen men have documented human rights violations, sexual violence
was generally not covered as an issue.
In documenting these cases, care has been taken to also
identify the form of sexual violence and the specific human rights violations
committed in each case. Many of the incidents of rape were committed in
conjunction with other human rights violations such as forced labour, denial of
food, water and shelter, and denial of legal redress. Thus the cases are also a
record of other forms of human rights violations committed against Karen women.[6]
Locating these incidences within a human rights framework is an
important aspect of illustrating the State’s culpability in these acts. The Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence Against Women, 1993, outlines in Article 4
(c) that States should "exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate
and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against
women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private
persons". The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women further noted that States are required to ensure equal
protection of the law for their citizens.
So if there is evidence of systematic, discriminatory, non-prosecution
by the State of crimes of violence against women, then, States arguably have
violated their responsibility under international human rights law.[7]
Over the years, it
has become apparent that women’s experiences of human rights violations need to
be acknowledged and redressed. When such violations are allowed to go
unchecked, the perpetrators are able to continue committing rape and other
human rights violations with impunity. It is important that the silence around
this issue not be seen as an acceptance of these acts but women and the
international community condemn these acts. Thus it is important for the
international community to realise the extent to which the SPDC is culpable for
the systematic military rapes being committed on Karen women.
HISTORY OF THE KAREN PEOPLE
Once upon a time, an old man arrived at an island where
there were no other men. He hung his shirt on a fishing pole and planted it on
the island as a mark of his discovery. He called the place 'Taku (which is now
known as
Within
Even though the Karen people are known for converting to
Christianity, the majority of Karen are still Buddhists and animists. They work primarily as subsistence swidden
farmers in the hills and deep forests, as wet-rice cultivators in the plains,
and some work as specialized cash-crop producers. Today, many Karen people also work as salary
workers, functionaries and business people living in towns and cities.[8]
The Karen people's struggle for freedom, peace and
justice in
The Four Cuts Policy aims to cut access and supplies of food, funds,
recruits and information to insurgent groups by systematically terrorizing the
civilian population in ethnic national areas. In the "brown areas,"[9] forced relocation and forced
labor are common practices. However, in the "black areas," which are
also called “free-fire zones", the military troops shoot on sight at
anything or any person seen. In addition they systematically extort or destroy
villages, crops, livestock, churches, schools, houses, cash, valuables and rice
fields. Some other common practices of the Four Cuts Policy include detention,
torture and execution; forced labor; forced relocation to sites and villages
directly under the control of the Burmese military troops; and systematic rape
and other forms of violence against women.
The Four Cuts Policy heralded the beginning of massive
forced relocations of Karen communities, which resulted in hundreds of
thousands of Karen people being internally displaced.[10]Due
to the high level of terrorisation of communities and destruction of their properties
during these forced relocations it has not been possible to collate accurate
figures of the number of internally displaced persons. However, according to the 1974 military
government census the Karen population had decreased from 5 million to 3.2 million,
while
In
The aspirations of the Karen people were originally
expressed by the Karen people in 1948 when the entire Karen population
demonstrated for ethnic equality and the right to self-determination. The same
desire has since taken the form of a national struggle, led by the Karen
National Union. The Karen Women's Organization, as part of this ongoing
struggle, continues to hope and work for democracy, peace and justice in a
Federal Union of Burma, in which the Karen people and all other ethnic
nationalities can coexist in harmony and equality.
FINDINGS
The cases
presented in this report demonstrate all too clearly the way in which the rape
of Karen women and girls is being used as a strategy by the Burmese SLORC/SPDC
military to intimidate and control the Karen people inside
“ I was raped by the column
commander Captain Ye Htut first,
then he ordered his soldiers to
rape me.”[12]
Historically, under international law, rape of women in armed
conflict has not been regarded as a crime in the same way as other strategies
used in conflicts. Under the 1949 Geneva Convention, rape was prohibited, but
only in terms of being “ an attack on their honour”. However, now it is
recognised, that sexual violence against enemy women is much more than a
dishonourable act. “It is part of the punishment, intimidation and
terrorization of a political, religious or ethnic minority, a means for a
military strategy, or State policy: …” [13]
Rape is now understood as an act of sexual torture or
cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, particularly where the aim of the
torture has been to “destroy the personality of the victim and at the same time
set an example for the community by creating a culture of fear that intimidates
and terrorises”[14]. Further in the Rome Statute
on the International Criminal Court, it has been recognised as a war crime, and
crime against humanity.
As these
cases show, rape is not simply an act of immorality between two individuals.
Rather, rape is used
as a political strategy by the State military regime to control ethnic
nationality communities such as the Karen. This is evidenced by cases where
SLORC/SPDC military commanders encouraged their private soldiers to rape Karen
women and often initiated such events by sexually harassing Karen women in the
villages.
“After she arrived back home she
told her husband and her father-in-law that about 20 Burmese soldiers at Pah
Klaw Hta SPDC troops' camp raped her. She said, “ I was raped by the column
commander Captain Ye Htut first, then he ordered his soldiers to rape me.”
Captain Ye Htut also said to his soldiers, “ You all must rape that woman,
those who refuse to rape will be shot and killed.” [15]
In other cases, women were targeted inside their homes; sometimes their husbands were present but most often they were away working as porters for the military. In many cases women were accused of either being supporters of the KNU or having family members who were active with the KNU. Seven of the 35 fully documented cases included in this report recount experiences of rape in women’s homes, including the case of Naw Bway Paw who was eight months pregnant when she was gang raped by eight soldiers in her home.
“On 15 May in 1999 at 12 noon, 8
of the soldiers of SPDC troops LIB (210) led by Battalion Commander Maung Maung
Ohn came back from the battle field fighting in the village of Kyong Doe, Koe
Kyoung, and Noe Taw Pla. They came back with the wounded soldiers and when they
arrived at the house of Naw Bway Paw, they went into her house and tied up her
husband with rope in three parts of his body, at his neck, his body and his
leg. And 8 of the SPDC soldiers raped her. She was gang raped.”[16]
There are also numerous cases of women engaged as porters
themselves, being raped while working, or being taken along as “comfort women”
during work routines. In ten of the 35
fully documented cases included in this report, women recounted experiences of
being abducted from their villages and forced to work as porters. In some cases
women were able to escape within a few weeks but in others they were enslaved
for periods of up to three years. All of them were routinely raped almost every
night by one soldier or by groups of soldiers.
“While
she was living in her village she was captured as the porter to carry shells
for the SPDC. At daytime she was forced to carry heavy things and at night she
was raped………… She was raped every night by from one to 5 persons. If she
refused or asked them not to rape her, then they slapped her or beat her or
closed her mouth. So when she was raped by many of them as gang raped she was
unconscious sometimes. At that time they jumped on her body with their boots.
While she was being raped at night she heard women shouting from other places.
And so she knew there were many women suffering like her.”[17]
As already stated
in Licence to Rape, and supported by the cases documented here the
widespread and systematic nature of military rape in
Karen women rarely report crimes of military rape to the
authorities or higher military officers because of the fear of retribution
against them or their families. The only
option Karen women have is to avoid the SPDC soldiers as much as possible. Ma
Pyu Pyu’s story is one of many in this report which highlights the community’s
fear of reporting incidents of rape.
Ma Pyu Pyu was held and raped by a Burmese border guard
at a Burmese military checkpoint as she returned from working in
“After raping her, Lt Thein Myint
Zaw took away 10,000 Thai baht from her. The next day on
In the majority of documented cases where women and their families have reported cases of rape, there has generally been no action taken.
“The next day I went with the
village chief to their place and told them what happened to me. But they didn't
take any action; instead they told me not to tell other people. I was afraid of
them after I was raped because I got pain and shock which I had never faced in
my life.”[19]
In many of these cases after the report was made the women were threatened by the military commanders and told not to speak of the rapes to anyone.
“When they went to the Commander
of the troops and told what happened to her, instead of taking action, the
Commander told her not to tell anybody about it otherwise she would be
punished.”[20]
In those few cases
where some action had been taken by military commanders or unit heads, this has
generally involved no form of punishment. In one of the reported rape cases the
SLORC sent their team of medics to provide the woman with medicine to prevent
pregnancy.[21] In another the SPDC troops
visited the woman’s house and provided her with bags of rice and tins of beans.
Although they promised to take further action, it is not known whether this occurred.[22] In only one of the documented
cases was the perpetrator punished however the punishment meted out was to say
the least nominal! The soldier who had committed the rape was required to carry
a log once around the camp.
“I went to his commander Myint
Shwe Htoo to report it and told him how terrible I felt, and he told me I could
do whatever I liked, so I left. He made the soldier carry a log around the camp
just once as punishment.”[23]
According to cases documented by, the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) in cases where the commanders themselves participate in such crimes of violence, the lower-ranking offenders are almost never disciplined.
In at least a third of the cases documented here the rapes were committed by commanders and other high ranking officers. In a number of cases once the officers had finished raping the women they then passed them onto the lower ranking soldiers who then raped them again. As a result of the lack of legal redress and punishment of perpetrators, the Burmese soldiers continue to attack Karen women, with impunity and without fear of any consequences.
Stigmatisation by community
“Sexual torture harms women’s bodies and minds. It
controls and stigmatizes them socially, impairs their sexual identities and in
the worst cases turns them into living dead.
Further, because women play a crucial role in caring
for the family, her physical and psychological suffering affects not only
herself but her entire family”.[24]
Most of the survivors interviewed in these cases live
like people without a future. In
addition to the trauma they suffer, many also face the
stigmatisation in
the community. For many there is no pleasure in living. Sexual assault violates
the most intimate parts of a woman’s body and identity, resulting in survivors
often carrying the humiliation, shame and fear for the rest of their lives. In
many of the cases documented here, women speak of their deep feelings of shame,
of their fears that their husbands will blame them and of their thoughts of
suicide. Nan Bway Poung returned to her village after being gang raped by 20
Burmese soldiers, unable to contemplate life after these rapes she suicided.
“
In other cases women’s husbands reacted in anger to their wives experiences of rape and rather than directing this anger towards the perpetrators they instead blamed their wives. In some cases women were verbally abused in others they were beaten and rejected by their husbands.
“When her husband came back again
she told her husband what had happened to her. But her husband hit her, scolded
her and told her to get out from the house. The result was that her husband
divorced her and her child also died. In the end, she stayed with some of her
friends sometimes and relatives as well. Her friends said that she had a mental
problem after being raped and going around the village.”[26]
Such consequences have been found to occur not only in
“Sexual attacks are in most communities
perceived as shameful and the victim is stigmatized. She may be unable to marry or stay in a
marriage if it is known that she has been abused…[sometimes]… she is perceived
as the culprit that should be punished.”[27]
It is clear from the many stories
documented here that the SLORC/SPDC forces understand and manipulate
communities’ perceptions of rape and sexual assault as shameful. It is these perceptions which all too often
act to keep women silent about these violations of their human rights but also serve
to destroy the bonds of family and community.
“He just kept threatening that
he’d give me to his men who’d rape me to death, waving his knife and demanding
sex. I kept fighting but he tied up my other hand, and then he pushed me down
and raped me. I warned him I must tell the Church but he ordered me not to. When he was finished he asked me, “Are you
satisfied?” All I could tell him was that my life was now nothing but darkness.
He just said, “If you’re so troubled and ashamed, go hang yourself.”
Many rape survivors face blame and rejection from their
own families and communities, and are often stigmatized for many years after
the rapes have occurred. In their speaking out against the
SLORC/SPDC soldiers and commanders who have raped them, the women of courage
who have shared their stories have shattered the silences behind which their
rapists have hidden. The shame was and is not the women’s to bear but lies
instead with every soldier and commander who has raped Karen women and girls
and with the Burmese military regime who continues to allow these gross
violations of women’s human rights to continue with impunity.
“Nobody could want such a baby.”
In many of the documented cases
women describe their terror of pregnancy as a result of the rapes they have
experienced. It is well known that forced pregnancy is one of the strategies
adopted by the SLORC/SPDC as part of a policy of ethnic cleansing. In each of
the many cases where pregnancy was the result of rape the women have sought the
assistance of their mothers or other community members in order to abort the
babies of rape.
“Many women
came back pregnant, and then their mothers had to get medicine to get rid of
the baby. Nobody could want such a baby.”[28]
In some of the documented cases the
women have become ill as a consequence of these abortions. Although none of the
stories here document deaths due to unsafe abortions, it is well known among
health providers working on the Thai Burma border that the lack of access to
safe abortion is one of the major risk factors for Burmese women.
“Then when we got home many of us
were pregnant. I was pregnant myself. We all had to get medicine to get rid of
the baby. Now I’m in debt 1,000 Kyat for medicine. One of my friends who came
back pregnant got rid of the baby too, and she’s been very sick and thin ever
since. She’s still very sick.”[29]
Many of
the stories highlight the ongoing climate of fear which the widespread rape and
associated violence have created. Women of all ages describe past incidents of sexual
assault and the constant fear and sense of vulnerability it generates among
Karen women. In all the documented cases
women were threatened with knives or guns prior to being raped or abducted as
porters. In some cases women were raped while guns and knives were held to
their throats or faces. Women were threatened that they would be killed if they
fought back or cried out for assistance.
“Then he put his rifle barrel against
my face - it felt so cold and made me so afraid I can’t tell you. He put the
barrel against my chest and pushed me down again. He grabbed my throat and
said, “If you shout I’ll choke you!” and tried to slap me but I turned my face
away. So he took his gun and held it against one side of my face, and pulled
out his knife and held it against the other side, and said, “If you fight or
cry or shout, I’ll kill you.”[30]
In some of the documented cases women were raped and then
brutally murdered.
“The Lt. Col. Zaw Lwin from No.2 Column, Battalion
Commander of Infantry, Battalion 17 raped the two Karen women, Naw Eh Thee and
This
climate of fear has forced many women to flee their homes and villages and to
seek safety in other parts of the country or in the refugee camps in
“There were also other women who
have faced the same problems as me but we didn't dare to find out each other's
problems. When I arrived home I told my family and the village head about what
happened to me. They all suggested to me to leave this village and go to Kaw
Thoo Lei area, and so early in the next day, I left my village and came to Mar
Ner Plaw. Since then I've been back to my village once, but just only for a
while and I came back and never go back again.”[31]
Many women have left their homes and are now living in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. But often the conditions are not necessarily any better.
There
are at least 300,000 internally displaced Karen people, who come primarily from
the eastern and southern region of
Many of the cases documented here detail women’s experiences of being abducted from their villages and being forced to work as porters for the military. The women describe being forced to carry heavy loads, often beyond their physical capacity, being beaten if they were too ill to work or too tired to continue.
“The soldiers are very bad people
- they’re always pushing us and shouting at us. And when we were sick, we still
had to carry. When I couldn’t carry they hit me with a gun or a stick in the
back, or with their boots. When I wanted to rest they slapped me. There were
nine of us, and they did the same to us all.”[32]
They were forced to work all day often without being
given food or water. If food was provided to them it was often rotten and
usually consisted of no more than a little rice. Water was usually only
available to the porters if they were given the task of collecting it for the
soldiers and were able to steal a few mouthfuls from the soldiers’ water
bottles.
“When we were on the mountains we
got no water. We never got to bathe until we got to the frontline, and then we
had to walk 2 hours down the mountain and 2 hours back up to carry water for
the soldiers every day. When we got to the frontline and put down our loads
they made us stay there but gave us no more food. There was a rice field there,
and if we wanted to eat we had to pick the rice off the stalk and peel it with
our teeth until we filled a little milk tin, and then cook it.”[33]
The porters were forced to sleep on the ground at night, without blankets or any form of shelter.
“At night we all had to sleep on
the ground, like dogs or pigs. At night - it was terrible. The soldiers raped
me. They pointed a gun, and forced us to follow them. I can’t describe it to
you. I can’t talk about it.”[34]
They were no sanitary facilities and a number of women speak of the enormous sense of humiliation they felt when soldiers refused to allow them to urinate in private. Instead they were often forced to urinate where they slept.
“They made us sleep on the ground
in the camp, but the mosquitoes usually kept us awake. We could only go to the
latrine once in the early morning or once after work in the evening, and we had
to urinate where we slept.”[35]
Many became ill due to the appalling conditions and the lack
of food, clean water and medicine.
The rape and sexual violence experienced by the Karen
women have had profound effects on their mental, physical and emotional well
being. They face rejection and stigmatization by their families and communities.
They lack both access to legal redress for the crimes, and to crisis and health
support. Many of the stories document
the anguish and intense mental trauma which the women who have survived rape
live with everyday.
Conclusion
The
stories documented here provide clear evidence of the systematic use of rape as
a strategy of war to oppress the Karen people in
The ongoing civil war is the root cause of all the human
rights violations. The use of forced labour and the forced relocation of
villages have impacted most severely on women, children and the elderly. Entire
communities have been uprooted, leaving women particularly vulnerable to rape
and murder. Many of the men have fled from the villages or have been killed in
the civil war leaving the women at risk of being forced to work as porters and
as labourers for the military. This breakdown of community has only increased
women’s vulnerability to rape and sexual exploitation. As stated in Licence
to Rape, women are increasingly targeted and raped by the SPDC soldiers due
to the increased militarization and anti-insurgency measures of the Burmese
regime.
DETAILED
CASES
Note: Names have been changed to avoid
reprisals.
(1)
Naw Chit Chit’s Story
Naw Chit Chit is a Karen,
Buddhist woman from Azin village in Section 3 of the Doplaya district. On
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and threats of violence
Perpetrators – An SLORC Soldier belonging to
LID 44 led by Major Ohn Myint
Consequences- Severe mental trauma and
rejection by husband
“……took out his knife and told her
not to shout if
she didn't want to die. And he
raped her many times…”
Story
teller: Daw
Peh, one of Naw Chit Chit’s fellow villagers.
Naw Chit Chit was a married woman with one child. Her
parents died when she was a child. She stayed with her relatives before she got
married, going around house by house. One day when her husband was away, one of
the SLORC soldiers from LID (44) led by Major Ohn Myint came to her house and
took out his knife and told her not to shout if she didn't want to die. And he
raped her many times. In the morning Naw Chit Chit told her friend what
happened to her at night.
When her husband came back again she told her husband
what had happened to her. But her husband hit her, scolded her and told her to get
out from the house. The result was that her husband divorced her and her child
also died. In the end, she stayed with some of her friends sometimes and
relatives as well. Her friends said that she had a mental problem after being
raped and going around the village. No action was taken for her.
(2) Naw Lah Lah’s Story
Naw Lah Lah is a Karen,
Christian woman from Ter Heh Pwey village,
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape, Attempted killing and Forced Labour.
Perpetrators – Ba Gyi from SLORC troops Light
Infantry Battalion 60 led by Captain Soe Win
Consequences- Forced to flee from village and
community
“…..They demanded the villagers to
bring them women and when they arrived they raped them ….”
I have one daughter and two sons. I am a farmer. When I
was in my village, the Burmese soldiers came to my village every week. They
demanded alcohol, chicken and other food as well. Every time they demanded
foods that would cost 2,000(kyat). When they entered our village, they tried to
find out the villagers to blame about the relationship between the Karen
National Union (KNU) and the villagers. They always accused the villagers of
helping and supporting KNU.
The soldiers
always demanded the villagers to work for them such as digging tunnels, cutting
the bamboo to build huts, constructing fences, carrying water, cooking, washing
clothes and doing sentry duty. We had to work day and night as well. The
soldiers didn't separate the work between men and women, 20 people had to go at
a time. At least 15 people had to go whether they wanted to go or not.
The soldiers
commanded the villagers to work every three months and every time we had to
work for 15 days. They didn't give us food or water. They told us to start
working at
There was often fighting between the KNU and SLORC soldiers in our village. The SLORC soldiers
accused us that we were helping the KNU all the time. The SLORC drank alcohol
and stayed in their camp and demanded our villagers to go and work for them.
They hate our Karen villagers and they tortured us. They stabbed our headman in
his chest. They said that because of our villages the KNU soldiers always came
in. At night, they told the head chief of our village to bring them alcohol and
food that they needed.
It also happened with me when I was in the village.
Because I had to work the whole day so at night, I took a rest and slept
peacefully. When I was in deep sleep, one of my friends who was asked by the
military to wake me up and sent me to one of the soldier's huts. When I arrived
there a soldier tied my hands behind and he stabbed my chest. I tried to push
him away but I cannot. I dared not say anything and then he raped me. I also heard other women screaming. After he
raped me he let me go back. There were
also other women who have faced the same problems as me but we did not dare to
find out each other's problems.
When I arrived home I told my family and the village head about what happened to me. They all suggested to me to leave this village and go to Kaw Thoo Lei area, and so early in the next day, I left my village and came to Mar Ner Plaw. Since then I've been back to my village once, but just only for a while and I came back and never go back again.
(3) Daw
Khin Aye’s Story
Daw Khin Aye is an Arakanese,
Buddhist woman from a village, in
Human
Rights Violations
– Gang Rape and Forced Labour (Porter).
Perpetrators – SLORC soldiers from the Light
Infantry Battalion 1.
“…..was raped very badly every
night and was too small in body to carry her load. She cried all the time
without stopping....”
I was in
the forest near the local monastery collecting firewood with Naw Paw Eh when 10
SLORC soldiers came to us. They ordered us to go with them to help them for a
day. Along the way they told me I would be freed in exchange for a male porter
at the monastery. But they took us to Byu Ha military compound instead, and we
had to spend the night there. There were many porters there, both men and
women. The next morning we all had to go with the soldiers. They made me carry
four heavy 81mm. mortar bombs. I had to carry bombs for 21 days through the
forest and over mountains, into the areas where they’re fighting the Karen
soldiers. It was almost impossible to keep up because the load was so heavy and
we got almost no food. If we were lucky, once a day we got a little rice, but
nothing to eat with it. The rice was usually rotten, and if we passed a stream
many porters would try to rinse their rice in the water so it wouldn’t smell so
bad and they could eat it. But some days we got no food at all, and when we
went over mountains there was no water for us.
At night the soldiers made us all
sleep together on the ground, the women in one place and the men in another. We
only had the clothes we wore when we got arrested and there were no blankets,
so it was very cold. All night long the soldiers would come and drag women away
to be raped. They took turns and women were often raped by several soldiers in
one night. I was raped frequently like the others. While I was being raped or
trying to sleep I could hear the screams of other women all around. This went
on all night, and then in the morning they’d make us carry our loads over
mountains again. I felt especially sorry for Naw Paw Eh, who was raped very
badly every night and was too small in body to carry her load. She cried all
the time without stopping. I wished I could help her but there was nothing I
could do. I could barely carry my own load.
After 21 days of this I just couldn’t take it any more. I no longer cared if I lived or died; I just wanted to escape. The SLORC soldiers were never going to let us go. So early in the morning while it was still dark and the soldiers were busy waking up and packing to leave, I called Naw Paw Eh to come with me. “Where are you going?” she asked, too loudly because she was still half-asleep and didn’t understand. I told her just to follow me, and we made it look like we were going to the toilet. Two other women joined us, and when we got into the trees we ran away. We travelled through the forest all day without knowing where we were going. When it got dark and we didn’t know which way to go, we followed a stream. We came to the Mae Seit riverbank, and luckily some Karen soldiers found us and took care of us.
(4)
Daw Win Hla’s Story
Daw Win Hla is a Karen,
Buddhist woman from a village, in
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and Forced Labour (Porter).
Perpetrators – SLORC soldiers from the Light
Infantry Battalion 1.
“……They made us carry our loads
over high mountains all day, and then every night I was raped along with the
other women …”
While
I was cooking a group of SLORC soldiers came to my house and forced me to go
along with them to Byu Ha military camp. At the camp they made me join a group
of over 100 porters, including 40 women aged from 15 to 50. The soldiers gave
me 81 mm mortar bombs to carry, the same load as they gave many of the male
porters. They made us carry our loads over high mountains all day, and then
every night I was raped along with the other women. It was very hard for us to
keep carrying our loads in these conditions. All we got to eat was a bit of
rotten bad-smelling rice, and we didn’t even get that regularly. For instance,
one night in the forest when the birds were singing the soldiers said it was
the enemy’s signal, so cooking would be too dangerous. So we had to go hungry.
After 9 days I ran away with 3
other women, but the soldiers captured us in our hiding place. They were very
angry, and they pointed their guns at us and shouted that if we ever tried to
escape again they would kill us.
Along the way the SLORC soldiers
were completely destroying the villages we came to. I saw them steal paddy from
the villagers and burn down their houses and paddy barns. I also saw them steal
an elephant from one villager, and they killed many village animals for food,
but we never got any of it.
All of us only had the clothes on
our backs, which quickly got torn and dirty, so it was very cold and
uncomfortable. One day it rained and we all got soaking wet, which made it even
worse that night. We were all very weak, and many men and women were ill with
chills and fever, but the hurt and sick were still forced to carry their loads
and keep up, even if they had to be dragged. There was
Another 45-year-old man showed me a large unhealed gash on the front of
his left thigh, and wounds on both sides of his head. He said he’d run away
during some fighting but the soldiers had caught him. They cut his leg and beat
him on the head. When he told me this he was very weak, but they were still
making him carry big heavy rockets.
When it was still dark one
morning I heard Daw Khin Aye say she was going
into the forest. I thought she was going to escape so I went with her. The four
of us didn’t know which way to go and walked all day in the forest. After dark,
we followed a river until we heard someone shouting, “Daw bway! Daw bway!” [In
Karen – “Sister! Sister!”]. When I first heard the voices I was very
afraid, but when it turned out they were Karen soldiers and they were kind to
us I was very happy.
(5) Khin Khin Lay’s Story
Khin Khin Lay is an Arakanese,
Buddhist woman from a village, who worked as a flower seller in
Human
Rights Violations
– Gang Rape and Forced Labour (Porter).
Perpetrators – SLORC soldiers from the Light
Infantry Battalion 1.
“……even women who somehow survive
being porters will still have to suffer by finding out they’re pregnant
afterwards….”
Some SLORC soldiers came to our house and said my sister and I would have to go with them. We refused, but they forced us at gunpoint. On the way to Byu Ha military camp they raped both of us. When we arrived at the camp they put us together with a group of porters. We saw about 200 porters at the camp, 80 of who were women. Some of the women looked 50 or 60 years old. The next morning we had to set off as porters for the soldiers. I had to carry four 84 mm rockets.
I was not used to climbing
mountains and it was very hard for me. The soldiers would never let us rest,
and we never got any water when we went over mountains. The soldiers kept their
water bottles to themselves and said they couldn’t spare any for us. If the
soldiers were thirsty, they’d send some male porters all the way down the
mountain for water. Then they’d refill their bottles, and if we were lucky
there might be enough left to give us each one little sip.
We had no blankets or medicine
and the nights were very cold, so many people got sick. At night we tried to sleep
all together, but the women had to sleep wherever the soldiers dragged us. One
officer, the soldiers all addressed as “Ba Gyi” came and took away the same
young Indian girl every night. Because of my youth, I was terrified every night
so I always tried to hide among the elderly women. But even so, my turn usually
came not long after the Indian girl. Most of the women were gang raped, one
after another, all night long. Even my sister, 6 months pregnant, was not left
alone. Then every morning we had to haul our loads again.
Compared to the danger I was in
every day, the danger in trying to escape didn’t seem to matter. So when I
thought the other women were going to run away, I went with them. Now the Karen
people are taking good care of us; but I’m still sad and afraid, because I
think of all the women who haven’t escaped. And I think that even women who
somehow survive being porters will still have to suffer by finding out they’re
pregnant afterwards.
(6)
Naw Paw Eh’s Story
Naw Paw Eh is a Karen, Buddhist
woman from a village in Kyaito township in the Thaton district. She was
abducted by the Burmese military to work as a porter on
Human Rights Violations –Gang Rape and Forced Labour
(Porter)..
Perpetrators – The Burmese Military – Light
Infantry Battalion No.1
“...You could
always hear women’s screams at night, if they were strong enough to scream…”
I was with Daw Khin Aye collecting firewood near our village when a group of
soldiers came and ordered us to go with them. They took us to Byu Ha military
camp, where we joined a group of at least 100 porters, including 40 women. We
left the next morning for a long march over the mountains, and I had to carry
four heavy 81mm mortar bombs, even though I am very small. They were so heavy I
almost couldn’t hold them on my back, but the soldiers made me carry them over
high mountains.
We had no blankets and only the
clothes we were arrested in, so it was very cold at night and easy to get sick.
But I didn’t have much time to think about the cold, because the soldiers
always came for me at night. Because I am young and single, they all wanted to
rape me and every night I got raped worse than most of the others. An officer
who the soldiers all called “Ba Gyi” always came for me. He also raped a young
Indian girl very often. All night long, the soldiers would gang rape all of us
one after another. You could always hear women’s screams at night, if they were
strong enough to scream. Then in the morning they made me carry the bombs
again.
This went on day after day, and I
just couldn’t bear it any longer. The other women said they pitied me but there
was nothing they could do to help. They had their own loads to carry. I was so
hungry and thirsty, tired and weak from carrying bombs and being raped that I
was crying all the time. I never stopped crying and I was too weak to climb the
mountains, and when the soldiers saw this they kept shouting at me and waving
their guns, and this just frightened me and made me cry even more.
Finally, very early one morning Daw Khin Aye called me to go with her. I didn’t understand and I asked her where she was going, but she said to just follow her and not ask questions. We ran away but we didn’t know where we were, so we travelled in the forest all day, and the next night we found some Karen soldiers who took care of us. They pitied me because I looked so weak and gave me a warm jacket, which I still have.
(7)
Naw Aye Mya’s Story
Naw Aye Mya is a Karen, Buddhist
woman who worked as a farmer in
Human Rights Violations – Gang Rape and robbery
Perpetrators – The Burmese Military – SLORC
Soldiers
Consequences – Soldiers stayed in village for
one week, many women were raped again.
“……Then they searched her clothes
for anything valuable, and took turns raping her. Not one woman was spared,
whether young, old, married or unmarried…”
A large group of SLORC soldiers
came to Htee Pa Nar village. The men had gone, and we women and children were
very afraid. So we all crossed the
Some of the soldiers went down
into the trench where we’d been hiding. They started calling all the women, one
by one, down into the trench with them. When each woman went down there, they
would accuse her of hiding money and gold in her clothes and force her to
strip. Then they searched her clothes for anything valuable, and took turns
raping her. Not one woman was spared, whether young, old, married or unmarried.
Even though I was holding my baby son at the time, when my turn came, I had to
go into the trench like the others and was raped or the soldiers would have
killed me. In this way, every woman in the village was gang raped. Only when
all the soldiers were finished with you, were you allowed to get dressed and
leave the trench. Then they would call the next woman in.
I can remember the names of some
of the women who were raped. Along with myself, Naw Aye Mya , I can remember
Naw Moo Dah, Ma Pyo, Ma Kyi Thaung, Ma Than
Sein, Naw Che Che, Naw Lay Paw, and Naw Bae Paw. But there were also many
others.
The SLORC soldiers stayed in our
village for a week. They wouldn’t let us leave. During that week many women were
raped again and again. The soldiers murdered a village man, Pah Ngwe Kawt, in
front of all of us.
(8) Naw Tha Shee’s Story
Naw Tha Shee is a Karen, Animist
woman who worked as a farmer a village in Kyaito township in the Thaton
district. On
Human Rights Violations –Gang Rape and Forced Labour
(Porter)
Perpetrators – The Burmese Military – SLORC
Soldiers
Consequences – Pregnancy from rape and
abortion
“…..I
tried to shout but the soldiers clamped their hands
over
my mouth…”
I was taken as a porter in October.
They said it would only be for 4 days, but then they kept me for one month and
4 days. The soldiers came to the village and asked for 5 men to go, but all the
men had fled the village so they took 3 women instead. They made me carry a big
tin of rice, and we had to carry from early in the morning until very late at
night, every day. Altogether there were 25 women in our group, and something
like 100 soldiers.
When we were too weak to carry our
loads, they scolded us and beat us. They beat me with guns and sticks on the
head and the back, and kicked me in the hips with army boots. I got big swollen
bruises. The others were also beaten.
At night the soldiers carried the
wounded back and we had to carry the torches. When there were many wounded we
had to walk all night. Usually all 25 of us slept in a rice storage shelter. At
night I couldn’t sleep because I often saw guards come and take the youngest
girls away. I saw them take 3 girls away like this regularly. It was dark so I
couldn’t see, but I think all the girls they took away were raped.
Two times I had to carry
separately from the rest of the group, and ended up alone in the forest with
the soldiers at night. Both times the soldiers came to me and beat me, showed
me their guns to keep me quiet and then raped me. The first time I was raped by
six soldiers, and the second night this happened I was raped by four soldiers.
I was so very ashamed but I was very afraid, and there was nothing I could do.
I tried to shout but the soldiers clamped their hands over my mouth.
Then when we got home many of us
were pregnant. I was pregnant myself. We all had to get medicine to get rid of
the baby. Now I’m in debt 1,000 Kyat for medicine. One of my friends who came
back pregnant got rid of the baby too, and she’s been very sick and thin ever
since. She’s still very sick.
(9) Naw Wah Paw’s Story
Naw Wah Paw is a Karen,
Christian woman from a village, a village in
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and Forced Labour (Porter)
Perpetrators – SLORC soldiers from the Light Infantry Battalion
Consequences- Loss of physical and mental
well being, Fear and shame.
“…..I
was raped three times in that month by the Captain. I don’t know about the others
because we’re all so ashamed to talk about it, in case our whole village might
find out…”
Nine soldiers came to my house
and captured me. They took 9 women from our village, aged 15 to 38, even though
there were men in the village at the time. They took us to the Army Camp, then
they gave us six 60 mm mortar shells each and forced us to carry them into the
mountains the same day.
When we were on the mountains we
got no water. We never got to bathe until we got to the frontline, and then we had
to walk 2 hours down the mountain and 2 hours back up to carry water for the
soldiers every day. When we got to the frontline and put down our loads they
made us stay there but gave us no more food. There was a rice field there, and
if we wanted to eat we had to pick the rice off the stalk and peel it with our
teeth until we filled a little milk tin, and then cook it.
When we were slow they cursed and
pushed us up the mountains, beat us with their fists and slapped us around the
head. On the way one young woman had dysentery and couldn’t keep going so the
rest of us had to help her along. She was beaten by the soldiers for not
keeping up. The soldiers wouldn’t give us any medicine. We were all very weak
and, crying every day. If the soldiers saw us crying they cursed us very rudely
and abused us.
At night the 9 of us had to sleep
on the ground. Soldiers came and pointed guns at us and forced us to go and
massage the Captain and make a fire for him. We had to take turns doing this
for an hour each, every night. Sometimes the soldiers pointed guns at us and
ordered us to have sex with them. We had to. I was raped three times in that
month by the Captain. I don’t know about the others because we’re all so
ashamed to talk about it, in case our whole village might find out.
When there was fighting we tried
to lie down under trees or bushes. Sometimes we had to carry ammunition to the
soldiers right at the front. If we didn’t dare, the soldiers beat us and forced
us. I saw some men porters wounded and carried back, but if they were bleeding
much then they were just left without any treatment to die. I saw 20 porters
wounded, and 5 who died.
After more than a month they
finally let us go home. We all needed medical treatment for a whole month for
weakness, malaria or other things. Many women came back pregnant, and then
their mothers had to get medicine to get rid of the baby. Nobody could want
such a baby.
(10) Naw Ler Paw’s Story
Naw Ler Paw is a Karen, Buddhist woman., who worked as a
farmer in her village in
Human
Rights Violations
– Gang rape and Forced Labour (Porter)
Perpetrators – SLORC soldiers
Consequences- Possible pregnancy and
abortion.
“……I couldn’t carry it, but they
beat me in the back with a stick,
kicked me, slapped and pushed me,
and I had to keep going….”
I was taken by the SLORC in
October. They used me as a porter for one month and 2 days. I had to carry 6
shells, or one and a half tins of rice, and it weighed about 20 viss [32
kg.]. I couldn’t carry it, but they beat me in the back with a stick,
kicked me, slapped and pushed me, and I had to keep going. I had pain inside.
They hit me and knocked me down, then made me get back up and go again. They
treated all of us like this.
At night we all had to sleep on the
ground, like dogs or pigs. At night - it was terrible. The soldiers raped me.
They pointed a gun, and forced us to follow them. I can’t describe it to you. I
can’t talk about it.
I couldn’t shout. Even if you
shouted, nobody could help you. When they wanted to beat us, they beat us as
they liked.
I was with them for 33 days, then
they let us go. One of my friends was sick and died along the way. Another
woman died when we got back to the village. All the women with our group were
raped, and some became pregnant. It’s been two months now, and I haven’t
menstruated yet. If I find out I’m pregnant, I’ll have to find a way to stop
it. I’ve felt sick ever since I got back. When I was taken as a porter, both my
parents were at the farm. They didn’t know where I went. My mother was sick -
and my father. I don’t know what to say to them.
(11) Naw Say Htoo’s Story
Naw Say Htoo is a Karen, Muslim woman, who worked as a
farmer in her village in
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and Forced Labour (Porter).
Perpetrators – SLORC soldiers
Consequences- Weak with Malaria and other
diseases.
“….They made us bury dead soldiers
and porters too......
Some of them had been blown apart,
and we still had to bury them…”
I was 15 years old. The SLORC came to my village and told us we had to go to help them for a day and then they made me a porter for over a month. I had to carry a heavy load, and when I couldn’t they pushed me and shouted at me to climb the mountain quickly. The soldiers are very bad people - they’re always pushing us and shouting at us. And when we were sick, we still had to carry. When I couldn’t carry they hit me with a gun or a stick in the back, or with their boots. When I wanted to rest they slapped me. There were nine of us, and they did the same to us all.
They made us bury dead soldiers
and porters too. We had to bury about 2 bodies each day for the whole month.
Some of them had been blown apart, and we still had to bury them.
When there was no food we had to
pick rice in the field and peel the husks with our teeth before cooking it. We
got very weak and ill and thin. We got malaria and other diseases. At night we
had to sleep on the ground under a tree. The soldiers often came and forced us
into the forest with them. In the forest they asked, “Do you love me?” Then
they raped me. They raped all of us. I was raped for three times on one day.
Now I don’t dare go back home. We
have to go and work for the troops all the time. They always take the women to
go and work for them.
(12) Naw Htoo Htoo’s Story
Naw Htoo Htoo is a Karen, Christian woman, who worked as a farmer in her village
Wet La Daw in
Human
Rights Violations
–Rape and Forced Labour.
Perpetrators – SLORC soldiers from the 60
Regiment
Consequences- Forced to flee from village.
“……my life was now nothing but
darkness. He just said, “If you’re so troubled and ashamed, go hang yourself”……
The SLORC troops from 60 Regiment often forced us to work for them. They made us sleep on the ground in the camp, but the mosquitoes usually kept us awake. We could only go to the latrine once in the early morning or once after work in the evening, and we had to urinate where we slept.
Then after 3 days of this they
said we couldn’t go home, and we’d have to stay for a week. When we protested
that we had no more food or clean clothes, a village elder was sent back to the
village to get these things from our homes, but we weren’t allowed to go.
Shortly after this system began,
Paw Daw Moo camp closed for a few days while soldiers went to reinforce the
troops at Yan Gyi Aung camp in some fighting with the Karen army. When they
came back, they called a meeting and told all the villagers to cooperate with
them and that they would give us some food if we worked with the army. But we
still had to bring all our food with us every time; they only gave us some
beans and a few other things.
One night, I remember it was February
12; Ba Kyi came back from a trip to headquarters and called a meeting. When we
left the meeting we were split into small groups and kept under guard on the
ground. But none of us could sleep because Ba Kyi went up the hill to the top
of the camp and ordered the soldiers to fire their guns and mortars all over
the place for no reason. There were all kinds of explosions and we were
terrified, which must have been why he did it. Along with the other Christians
there, I just prayed and tried to sleep.
Ba Kyi started calling villagers
to his quarters one by one and questioning them, but we never got to see them
afterwards to find out what happened. Eventually I was woken up and was the
first of the 5 women there taken to see him. After I was left alone with him,
he told me to tell him about Wet La Daw village, especially about the smugglers
coming to buy cattle and buffaloes and any villagers who were helping the
rebels. I didn’t want to tell him anything, and he started yelling at me and
threatening me with his knife. He demanded to know about Karen soldiers and Saw
Lah Oo, their commander. I told him I’m too busy struggling to survive and feed
my children to think about such things. He said he wanted to know what the
villagers said about him. He told me he’d already tied up 2 villagers and
killed them, and started firing continuous questions at me, especially about
Saw Lah Oo. I didn’t even have time to try to answer.
Then he pushed me into a small room behind a wall and tied one of my hands with wire so I couldn’t move. He ordered me to sit quietly while he interviewed the others. Then he went and just pretended to call the next person in, but immediately came back to me and started asking more questions. I said, “Don’t ask me, ask the men,” and he accused me of working for the rebels.
Then he waved his knife at me again, grabbed my free hand and clutched at my breasts. I shouted, “Son, let me free!” But he told me since he was 24 and I was only 33, I must call him Brother, and started asking for sex. When I refused he said, “Then I’ll send you up to the top of the camp – there many of my men will rape you and kill you, and we’ll say the Karen rebels did it! If that frightens you, you’d better give in to me!” I told him, “ Son, don’t do this – you’re single, if you need a woman you can marry someone much prettier than me. I’m a Christian widow, I have 3 children to support and I have to work here. I have too much trouble already.”
He just kept threatening that he’d give me to his men who’d rape me to death, waving his knife and demanding sex. I kept fighting but he tied up my other hand, and then he pushed me down and raped me. I warned him I must tell the Church but he ordered me not to. When he was finished he asked me, “Are you satisfied?” All I could tell him was that my life was now nothing but darkness. He just said, “If you’re so troubled and ashamed, go hang yourself.”
He raped me 3 times that night. I
was tied up so tightly that my elbows were dislocated while he raped me, and
they still hurt even now. Then he told me that when I went the next day I would
have to go and spy on 2 huts near the village that the Karen soldiers used and
report back to him by letter, especially anything about Saw Lah Oo. I agreed
just so he’d let me go. At
But back in the village, I felt I
had to tell them and tell the Church. When I did this I learned that Ba Kyi had
treated many women the same way before. But now that I’d told them I couldn’t
stay there safely any more, and I had to flee my home and bring my children
here.
(13)
Naw Lay Wah’s story
Naw Lay Wah is a Karen, Buddhist woman, who worked as a farmer in her village
in
Human
Rights Violations
–Rape and Death threats.
Perpetrators – 60 SLORC soldiers from the 99th
Division
Consequences- Fear of husband’s reaction.
“……..he
took his gun and held it against one side of my face, and pulled out his knife
and held it against the other side,
and
said, “If you fight or cry or shout, I’ll kill you….”
My story happened in November
when we were still living in our village. We were very afraid of the Burmese, especially
because we women and children were all alone in the village. All the men had
left the village to hide from the SLORC, because every time the SLORC saw
village men in the area they took them straight away to the frontline to be
porters. The SLORC troops at De Caw Po camp also send orders for our men to go
as porters often, and if you don’t go you have to pay 1,500 Kyat each time.
One night in November, after dark
when all the children were already asleep, more than 60 SLORC soldiers from 99
Division came through our village. I heard many soldiers pass my house. My two
eldest children were sleeping at their grandmother’s house, and I was alone
with my two smallest children. I had a small lamp burning because I was very
afraid. I thought may be some soldiers had gone underneath my house. Then one
soldier came straight into my house, and he put out the light right away so I
couldn’t see his face. The soldier said to me, “Mother, where is Father?”
meaning my husband. I said, “He’s at the farm.” The soldier sounded not too
old, and he stank of alcohol. Then he asked, “Has your husband gone to join the
Karen Army?” I said, “ No, he’s a farmer and just works at our farm.” Then the
soldier told me to lie down. He said, “Lie down, Mother.” I refused, so he pushed
me and I fell on my children. They started crying, and the soldier jumped on me
and started to wrestle with me. Then he put his rifle barrel against my face -
it felt so cold and made me so afraid I can’t tell you. He put the barrel
against my chest and pushed me down again. He grabbed my throat and said, “If
you shout I’ll choke you!” and tried to slap me but I turned my face away. So
he took his gun and held it against one side of my face, and pulled out his
knife and held it against the other side, and said, “If you fight or cry or
shout, I’ll kill you.”
My sarong had already come apart
while we were fighting. He raped me, and I couldn’t even scream. My children
started crying very loudly so the neighbours must have heard, but they were all
too afraid to come and help because soldiers were in all of their houses too,
cooking their food to eat and stealing their things.
After he raped me he said, “You
mustn’t tell anyone anything or I’ll kill you. You and you children must just
be quiet. Go to sleep quietly.” Then he left, and I lit the light and we went
to my mother-in-law’s house. I told her what happened. I was angry at her and
said, “Why didn’t you come? You heard my children crying.” She said they
couldn’t because some soldiers were in their house too and were going into
their bedroom and stealing their things. I told her I was very afraid my
husband wouldn’t understand and would be angry at me, but she tried to calm me
by saying he would understand.
(14) Naw Aw Paw’s story
Naw Aw Paw is a Karen, Buddhist woman, who worked as a farmer in her village
in Hlaing Bweh Township, in Paan district. On
Human
Rights Violations
–Rape, Forced marriage and Death threats to self and family.
Perpetrators – Soe Soe from the 338 Battalion lead by
Commander Major Aung Khaing
Consequences- Pregnancy, Loss of baby due to
beatings and ongoing poor health and trauma
“….You are worthless. When I kill
you, I’ll also kill your parents, brothers and sisters. But the most important
thing is that
I must drink your blood before I leave…”
I arrived here a few weeks ago. In my village, the SLORC troops always
came and grabbed people to do forced labour. Because of that, we didn’t have
any time to do our own work. Even when we went to our fields the soldiers came
and grabbed us. One day the soldiers suddenly arrived at my hut. My older
brother and sister escaped, and I was left alone with just my two younger
sisters. They started crying loudly, and then two of the soldiers came up to
me, pointed their guns at me and told me to follow them. They took me to their
camp. When we got there I saw our village headman and asked him to vouch for me
so I could escape. Some of my female friends were also there.
The soldiers
didn’t give us any food, and at night we were very hungry. I told my friends I didn’t
want to sleep there, but it was raining heavily and my friends said,
"Don’t try to escape. We will sleep close together tonight for
safety." Later I found out that there was a soldier there who speaks Karen
who already wanted me and had already told his officer that he wanted to sleep
with me, but at the time I didn’t know, so I went to sleep close to my 2 female
friends. When I fell asleep, the soldier came over and grabbed me. I told him,
“I don’t like you. You are not of my people,” but he said, “I’ll take you and
you’ll have to be my wife.” I kept refusing. The next day they let us go, but
he followed me to my house. Along the way I tried to look very angry and didn’t
smile, because I hated him and wanted him to know it. Then he stayed for 3 days
at my house with my family. After 3 days he asked me to go back with him. My
mother was very worried because she said he would just take me and keep me in
the jungle, but I didn’t dare refuse so I had to go. He kept me at the camp for
3 days and raped me in the daytime. I told him, “I don’t like you and I won’t
marry you,” but he kept saying, “I will marry you and look after you.” Then he
took me back to my house and forced my parents to marry us. They had to because
they couldn’t do anything else. Then he said he would take me home with him. He
took my earrings and my clothes and sold them. Then he took me to
He got very
angry and said, “You don’t respect me - you’re trying to humiliate me. You’re a
woman but you keep kicking me.” Suddenly he managed to grab me and tried to
strangle me. One of my cousins came to help me and I escaped and ran away. The
soldier went to my father and told him, “Tonight I’ll kill her and burn your
rice barn.” He ordered my father and sister to look for me, and they found me
in a small hut where I was hiding and took me home. I washed my feet and went
in, and the soldier asked me stupid questions like: “Do you have brothers and
sisters? Are your parents still alive?” I said yes. He asked, “Do you have your
own family?” I said no. Then he told me, “Make your bed. Tonight you will be
killed, and I’ll drink your blood. I won’t leave this house until I’ve drunk
your blood. Here is the knife. Wait and see. You are worthless. When I kill
you, I’ll also kill your parents, brothers and sisters. But the most important
thing is that I must drink your blood before I leave. Then I’ll burn your body
until only ashes remain, and I’ll put all the villagers on a skewer and burn
them all. And I’ll kill all the monks!”
I got up and
escaped. I went to another house, and the people told me, "He’s taken his
gun and he’s looking to kill you, and he’s going to burn the rice barn at your
house." I didn’t dare stay in the village anymore, so I ran to another
village and talked to the headman. He said, "If you want to go, then go.
He might try to follow you. Just go." So I came here together with my
father and we built this house. We arrived a few weeks ago. I was married to
the soldier for about 3 months. I got pregnant but when the soldier was beating
me he always kicked me in the belly, and it hurt the baby inside. When I was 2
months pregnant I lost the baby because he beat me. Even now, I still don’t
feel completely well. It hurts inside, and I can’t do heavy work or carry
anything heavy any more. I feel dizzy all the time.
(15)
Naw Baw Baw’s story
Naw Baw Baw is a Karen, Buddhist woman, who worked as a farmer in her village
in Hlaing Bweh Township, in Paan district. On
Human
Rights Violations
–Rape, and ill treatment of husband leading to death
Perpetrators – SLORC soldiers from Battalion
28
Consequences- Fled from village
“…I went to his commander Myint Shwe Htoo to report it
and told him how terrible I felt, and he told me I could do whatever I liked,
so I left. He made the soldier carry a log around the camp
just once as
punishment…”
When I had
to go from my village for slave labour, I was raped by a soldier. We went to
work at their army camp for 5 days, and when we got there they refused to give
us any food. Everyone had to work without food, so the next morning I had to go
back to the village with my friends to get some food. After we brought it back
to their camp, two men had escaped from the slave labour at night, so the
soldiers went to try to catch them and made things harder for the rest of us.
That’s why they wouldn’t let us go back to the village after that. Altogether
there were 19 of us, 11 men and 8 women. That night a soldier came, grabbed my
shoulders and pushed me down. Then he covered my mouth so I couldn’t yell. Then
he kissed me and raped me. I felt so terrible. The soldier said, “Don’t tell
anyone about this.” But I said, “I will tell because I feel so terrible about
it.”
I went to
his commander Myint Shwe Htoo to report it and told him how terrible I felt,
and he told me I could do whatever I liked, so I left. He made the soldier
carry a log around the camp just once as punishment. I don’t know the soldier’s
name.
We haven’t been
beaten at this army camp, but when we have to go work at other army camps I’ve
seen the soldiers beat people on the head with a big stick. Then when they’ve
beaten them enough, they start kicking them and then they make them keep
working. The soldiers never give them medical treatment, just beat them and
make them work. I’ve also had to go as a porter to carry bullets and rice -
sometimes only 3 viss [5kg.] but sometimes 10 or 20 viss [16 to 32
kg.]. We had to go 2 day's walk in one direction, and sleep on the ground,
in open places in the mountains. I saw them beat porters who got weak and
couldn’t carry. They beat them with a bamboo rod on the back, the hips, the
arms and legs, and yelled, “Go! Go!” One time they didn’t give us any food,
just let us starve for 2 or 3 days. My Aunt Paw Say was crying because she was
hungry. We cried and we asked permission to go home and get food but they
refused. Even though we were crying they refused. My Aunt Paw Say was 48 years
old and has 4 children. People got stomachaches from starvation. All our food
we’d brought from the village was finished because they told us we were going
for just one day, and then they kept us for several days. The soldiers also
made us pay porter fees of 45 Kyat from each person every month, and when we
can’t afford to pay them, they come to our village and arrest people.
When I have
to go as porter, my children have to stay with relatives. My husband died last
year. He was taken as a porter, he was sick when he got home, and then he died.
My father is also dead. Only my mother is still alive. We didn’t want to stay
there anymore, so I came here with my children. I don’t want to go back.
(16)
Naw Sha’s story
Naw Sha is a Karen, Buddhist woman, who worked as a farmer in her village
Kyo lu, in Kyautkyi Township, in the Nyaunglebin district. On
Human
Rights Violations
–Rape, and murder of husband
Perpetrators – SLORC soldiers
Consequences- Detained by the SLORC for three
years
“…….Because they covered my face I
didn't see anything but I could hear them digging a hole and I knew that was
the grave of my husband….”
I remember in 1995 one day my
husband and I, with one of my friends, went to the forest to look for some
vegetables. When we came back and were at the riverside we heard people
speaking. My husband asked me to wait there and he went to see if these people
were Karen or Burmese solders. My husband came back and told me that they were
Burmese soldiers with their arms and ammunition.
When we started to
come back my husband stepped over a log and suddenly a bullet went through my
husband and he fell to the ground. My friend who went together with us ran away
and called me to go with him, but I didn't. I told him that I had to go and see
my husband. Unluckily the soldiers came toward me and captured me. They tied my
hands at the back and covered my face with a cloth and they pulled me over the
log. Because they covered my face I didn't see anything but I could hear them
digging a hole and I knew that was the grave of my husband.
A gang of soldiers who were 20 to 30 people took me to
Maw Kyo Ko and when I arrived at their camp there were over 1,000 soldiers
living there. It took three days to walk from Maw Kyo Ko to Mu Thet. On the way
when we spent the night the soldiers guarded me one hour each. Among the
soldiers Thaw Heh Htoo raped me when it was his turn to guard me. Five times in
three nights.
After we slept in
Mu Thet ,they took me to Kyautkyi . On the way from Moe Kyo Koh to Mu Thet, the
troop burned down Kyo lu village and an old woman was burned because she
couldn't run as other people and couldn't move as well.
I lived in Kyautkyi for three years with this troop.
Later I heard one of my brothers was in Bassien. So I sent message to him and
he came and rescued me. After I left Mu Thet I came back and I stayed in my
village again.
(17)
Naw Beh Htoo’s story
Naw Beh Htoo is a Karen,
Buddhist woman, who worked as a farmer
in her village in the Doplaya district. On
Human
Rights Violations
–Rape and death threats
Perpetrators – Sergeant
Aung Aung from LID 44 led by Ohn
Myint
Consequences-
No action taken against the sergeant
“…First I thought it was my husband. So I lightened the light. But it
was not my husband. It was an SLORC
soldier dressed in black pants and on his arm I saw three lines…”
I lived in my village called Azin in Doplaya District. The time was one month
after I gave birth to my first baby, about
Then, after the soldier went out, my
husband came back and I told him what happened to me everything. First, he
scolded me. But when he knew everything, the next day, he went to the village
chief and reported what happened to me. Then he went to the troops based
outside the village. When the captain asked whether I could recognise the man
he asked me to go there. I said I knew. First the sergeant denied it. But when
I told him that he was the person who came to me, he stayed silent. So the
captain told me that he would take action to Aung Aung. But I think there was
no serious action taken.
On the following day, the medical
team from SLORC soldier came to me and gave me some medicine to take. I don’t
know what kind of medicine. The
villagers told me that it was to protect me from pregnancy. That is when I came
across the worst experience in my life.
(18)
Naw Me Me and Naw De De’s story
Naw Me Me and Naw De De are both Karen, Buddhist women, who worked as farmers in their village, in
Human
Rights Violations
–Rape and death threats
Perpetrators – Sergeant Chit Shwe and one of
his soldiers from IB(3) led by Major Khin Maung Shwe
“……The two girls were sisters and
as they were single they were
ashamed and couldn’t tell
anybody..”
Story
teller:
Naw Eh Taw, one of the villagers
I was a villager with Naw Me Naw De De and Me. They told
me after what happened to them. They were single and stayed with their parents
in the same house. During that period IB
(3) of the SLORC troops was based in their village. One night in 1996 May 20th
about
The two girls were
sisters and as they were single they were ashamed and couldn’t tell anybody.
But Naw Eh Taw was the neighbour of them and they told her what happened to
them. At that time the village chiefs changed and there was no village chief in
their village. And no action was taken on their case at that time.
(19)
Naw Ta Kaw’s story
Naw Ta Kaw is a Karen, Buddhist
women, who worked as a domestic in her village, in
Human
Rights Violations
–Rape, Beating and death threats.
Perpetrators – LID (44), LI (104), led by Major Aung Zay Oo (called Boe Meh Lone)
Consequences-
Mental trauma
“…..There were an old man and
women in the house and they slept close to me. They knew it. But they couldn’t
do anything because they also were afraid of that man….”
It was 1997 April 19. The SLORC
troops, about 100, enter into my village. At that time I was in my aunty's
house. They came to my house and took my mother and my sister Naw Hsar Wah with
them to another place. One of the villagers, Saw Htun Myiang, came to me and
said that the chief of the village called me. Then I took my one month old child
and went to the place where the chief was. Than I saw many of the SPDC
soldiers. The Major Aung Zay Oo (called) Boe
Meh Lone told me to find my husband and bring him to him. When I told him that
I didn't know where he was, he hit me 2 times on my head and it became swollen.
Then he told me to go with him. I replied that I could not walk, because I gave
birth only one month ago and it was too hot to go. Then he hit me one time.
Then he ordered the chief of the village to find a bullock cart. Then he asked
me to go with that cart with some of his soldiers to Pha Pra village. When I
arrived there he asked me stay in Muga Pu Lu Ku's house. There Major Aung Zay
Oo (Boe Meh Lone) told me to find my husband
to come back and surrender and again beat me. And he scolded me that I was in
the family of a Karen resistant and said he would kill all of us. At night I
decided to sleep with Muga Pu Lu Ku. But he told me not to sleep there because
he would need to ask me questions. So I brought my one month old child and came
back to the place where he told me to stay and I went to sleep.
After the light was out about
(20)
Naw Shwe Myint’s Story
Naw Shwe Myint is a Shan, Pa O
Buddhist women, who worked as a farmer in her village, in
Human
Rights Violations
–Rape and threats of other violence.
Perpetrators – IB 62 , Medic San Htay led by LID 44 Colonel Aung Khaing
“….while I was asleep, in my room,
one man came and pulled
my mosquito net and said
that the elder called me
and asked me to follow
him….”
It was a time when people were
celebrating Christmas at our village in 1997 December 26th. I was at home with
my one year old child and my father. My husband had gone to the church to help
people with cooking. When it was about
They asked me to show where the
place was. Then when I went there it was a garden of rubber trees. The next day
they brought the soldier tied with rope to me and asked him to confess what he
had done to me. First he denied. But some of my villagers recognised him. And
so, later on he said he did.
So I knew that the one who raped
me was the medic from SPDC troop San Htay , the medic from IB
62, led by Colonel Aung Khaing from LID 44.
The next day some of the elders from the SPDC troops came
to my house and persuaded me not to worry and told me that they would take
action. And left 2 bags of rice and some tins of beans. As for me I don’t know
whether they took action or not.
(21)
Naw Myint Myint’s Story
Naw Myint Myint is a
Karen Buddhist from a
village, in
Human
Rights Violations
–Gang Rape, Beating and death threats.
Perpetrators – 4 soldiers of the SPDC troops
from IB (355) led by Column Commander Saw Aung and Second Column Commander Aung
Lwin from Column(2)
Consequences- Threatened by the SPDC
Commander
“…During the time of raping, she
tried to run and shout. But they knocked her, beat her and tore her clothes so that
she could not move. Then they left her….”
Story teller - Naw Eh Taw ( Naw Eh Taw
was a woman who had concern for her villagers. She herself had been raped and
so she was the one who tried to find out cases and tell them to the elder. But
at that time there was no village chief in that situation.)
Naw Myint Myint told her that one evening she went
outside near her house to find firewood. It is not so far from her house and
about
When they went to the Commander of the troops and told
what happened to her, instead of taking action, the Commander told her not to
tell anybody about it otherwise she would be punished.
(22) Ma Sein Sein, Ma Kyi Aye, Naw Htoo Lweh, and Naw Eh Mu’s Story
Ma Sein Sei, Ma Kyi Aye, Naw Htoo Lweh, Naw Eh Mu, are two Burmese and two Karen Buddhist women from a
village, in Yee Township in the Doplaya district. On
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and beatings
Consequences- Pain, fear and shame
“……….told them that she was
pregnant and begged them not to rape her. But they didn’t listen to her….”
The evening of 23rd May in 1998 about 10 pm at night,
three of the sergeants of SPDC troops of LID (207) led by Battalion Second in Command
Myint Thein, came into that village and captured Naw Htoo Lweh, Naw Eh Mu and
two Burmese ladies and took them outside the village to the river and to try to
rape them. Naw Htoo Lweh told them that she was pregnant and begged them not to
rape her. But they didn’t listen to her. Just the same they beat her and with
torch light to her head pushed her on the ground and raped her badly. The other
women, Naw Eh Mu and the other two Burmese named Ma Sein Sein and Ma Kyi Aye,
were raped at the same time. Then the soldiers left them. The time they were
raped was dark and they were afraid of the soldiers and because they suffered
from pain, fear, and shame and were tied they could not come back at once.
Naw Eh Mu became mad and scared about the bad situation
and whenever she saw people with the uniform, she ran away and hid herself. For
the two Burmese women, they escaped to another place to be free from that
situation. No one took action on that case because at that time there was no
leader or chief in the village.
(23) Naw Hsar Paw’s Story
Naw Hsar Paw is a Karen
Christian woman who worked as a farmer in her village, in Kyain Hseit
Kyii Township, in the Doplaya district. On
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and beatings
Perpetrators - SPDC soldiers:
(1) Kyaw Kyaw Win Lieutenant Colonel Battalion LID 22 LIB 205, (2)Aung Gyi Colonel Battalion Second in
Command, (3) Pay Than Win Captain, (4)
Kyaw Lwin Bo Company Commander, and (5)
Ko Oo Bo, Second Company Commander.
Consequences- Pregnancy and abortion
“….So when she was raped by many
of them as gang raped she was
unconscious sometimes...”
While she was living in her village she was captured as the porter to carry shells for the SPDC. At daytime she was forced to carry heavy things and at night she was raped. She said that there were many girls and women like her who were also captured and were forced to carry like her, but they were separated from her by the troop. After the SPDC troop separated them they never met again each other. She did try to escape from the troop but they captured her again and slapped her face about 8 times. From the day when she left her house she slept on the ground every night. From that day and the following days she was raped until she escaped after 10 days. She was raped every night by from one to 5 persons. If she refused or asked them not to rape her, then they slapped her or beat her or closed her mouth. So when she was raped by many of them as gang raped she was unconscious sometimes. At that time they jumped on her body with their boots. While she was being raped at night she heard women shouting from other places. And so she knew there were many women suffering like her.
They fed her only one plate of rice. Because of ill
treatment of the troop of SPDC Naw Hsar Paw escaped from the troop after she
got meal in the morning while the troop were in deep sleep. She ran away with 4
of the male porters and they slept in the forest for 2 days and later on she
came to the place close with the border where she took refuge.
After she was raped she didn't know herself that she got
pregnant. But after she was raped she went to the hospital and got treatment
from the doctor. Later she found out that she was pregnant and had abortion. No
one took any action on it.
(24) Naw Bway Paw’s Story
Naw Bway Paw is a Karen
Buddhist woman form a village, in Kyain Township, in the Doplaya
district. On
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and beatings
Perpetrators
- LIB (210)
Battalion Commander Maung Maung Ohn and 8 soldiers
Consequences- Her baby was born dead
“………8 months pregnant. All of the soldiers raped her and they
captured her husband for 10 days as a porter
to carry military ammunition….”
Story teller -One of Naw Bway Paw’s fellow villagers
On 15 May in 1999 at 12 noon, 8 of the soldiers of SPDC
troops LIB (210) led by Battalion Commander Maung Maung Ohn, came back from the
battle field fighting in the village of Kyong Doe, Koe Kyoung, and Noe Taw Pla.
They came back with the wounded soldiers and when they arrived at the house of
Naw Bway Paw, they went into her house and tied up her husband with rope in
three parts of his body, at his neck, his body and his leg. And 8 of the SPDC
soldiers raped her. She was gang raped.
At that time Naw Bway Paw was 8 months pregnant. All of the soldiers
raped her and they captured her husband for 10 days as a porter to carry
military ammunition. After the SPDC soldiers left, Naw Bway Paw got serious
pain because of her 8-month pregnancy and being gang raped. She could not move
or even shout or cry. But two of her villagers came into her house and took her
to the hospital nearby.
When she arrived at the hospital, the nurse gave her
treatment. Within a few days she gave birth to her baby. But her baby was dead.
Her condition was so bad and she was suffering nearly a year after being raped.
But there was no action taken for her case.
(25) Ma Pyu Pyu’s Story
Ma Pyu Pyu is a Burmese
Buddhist young woman form a village, in the Tavoy district. On the 28th
of January 2001she was raped by an SPDC soldier at a Burmese army checkpoint.
She an 18 year old young woman at the time.
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and robbery
Perpetrators
- Thein Myint Zaw, The Lieutenant from
Consequences- No action was taken due to fear
of the SPDC
“…..company commander in that
camp, summoned her
to his hut and said that he needed to check
her.
Then he raped her badly…”
Ma Pyu Pyu worked in a Thai border town Htong Hpa Hpon
and travelled back to her home in a
(26) Naw Eh Thee and Naw Way Way’s Story
Naw Eh Thee and Naw Way Way are Karen
Buddhist women
from a village, in the Tavoy district. On
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and murder
Perpetrators - Lt. Col. Zaw Lwin from No.2 Column,
Battalion Commander of Infantry Battalion 17
Consequences- Raped and killed by bayonets
“……Both of their bodies were found naked and
with wounds
from bayonet stabbing….”
The Lt.
Col. Zaw Lwin from No.2 Column, Battalion Commander of Infantry, and Battalion 17
raped the two Karen women, Naw Eh Thee and Naw Way Way between Pawat Htein and
Pawat Peindaw village in
The reason was that when the SPDC troops led by Lt. Col.
Zaw Lwin from No.2 Column, Battalion Commander of Infantry, entered the village
they arrested their father and beat him. And asked for 2 walkie talkie radio
communicators. As they were poor and had no idea of that, they
couldn’t show anything. And their father, Saw Dah Bleh, replied
that they had nothing. Then they captured both of the daughters, Naw Eh Thee
and Naw Way Way, and asked them to find the walkie talkies. But they couldn’t
find them. Then they took both of them to another village. People did not know
what had happened to them. But on
(27) Naw Cho Cho and Naw Pre Pre Poe’s Story
Naw Cho Cho and Naw Pre Pre Poe are
Karen Buddhist women from a village, in
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape, abduction and threats of violence
Perpetrators - SPDC
troops of IB 10, LID (88)
“…Then the soldiers tied us with
rope and told us to stay
with them and not to run or shout
if we didn’t want to die…”
Story
teller:
Naw Pre Pre Poe tells her story by herself as follows.
Me and five of my friends went to a place to watch a
movie in the evening about
When
the villagers could not see us, they went back. Then the soldiers tied us with
rope and told us to stay with them and not to run or shout if we didn’t want to
die. But about
I didn’t know the
way to come back and didn’t want to go the same way which we came because I
knew that if we ran the same way maybe they would catch us. And so we ran and
climbed up a mountain, crossed the bushes and valley. We didn’t see anything,
but just ran and ran. Fortunately, I saw a small light far away and I thought
it would be a hut or village. So I encouraged my friend and we ran directly and
so later on we arrived to our village, about
For my friend, she felt so shy she decided to commit
suicide. But her parents talked to persuade her not to. Now as for me, I went
to the near camp and showed the doctor and they took care of me so that I would
be safe from any kind of disease.
(28) Naw Say Say and Naw Lay Lay’s Story
Naw Say Say and Naw Lay
Lay are Karen Buddhist women from a village, in
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape
Perpetrators - A group
of Pyithusit (People’s Militia) from the Burman village of Maw Maid, lead by
Win Nyunt
“….a group of People’s Militia
from a Burman village
..........raped two Karen
women...”
On
(29) Naw Thu Thu’s Story
Naw Thu Thu is a Karen
Buddhist woman who worked as a farmer in her village, in
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape
Perpetrators - IB (78)
led by Captain Win Zaw Oo
Consequences- Ongoing physical pain
“….So he asked his soldiers to
fall in line in front of me and
asked me to point out the one. But
I could not see that fellow among the soldiers…”
My husband died three years ago. I was a widow
with 5 children, one is a girl. I stayed at home with them and was working in
the farm. At that time the SPDC troops of IB (78) led by Captain Win Zaw Oo
were based in our village. But there was no village chief in our village. If
there was anything that we needed help for or to talk about, there was no one
who could take responsibility for us.
One night about
There was no village chief who
could stand for me. After this happened I felt pain and especially in my mouth,
there was pain like burning in my mouth. There was no medicine that could cure
me or release me from pain. They also took almost everything from me such as
household items, animals and all my belongings till I had nothing left.
(30) Naw Tah Tah’s Story
Naw Tah Tah is a Karen
Buddhist young woman from a village, in
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and beatings
Perpetrators - Burmese
troops from Light Infantry Battalion (552)
“…These SPDC soldiers not only
committed the rape and
beating but they looted some of
the villagers’ properties
including the properties of
the Church…”
The Burmese troops from LIB 552 arrived at Le Seit village on
(31)
Nan Bway Poung is a Wa
Buddhist young woman from a village, in
Human
Rights Violations
– Gang Rape
Perpetrators - LIB 349
led by Captain Ye Htut and second in Command Lieutenant Htin Kyaw
Consequences- Suicide by poison
“……said to his soldiers, “You all
must rape that woman, those who refuse to rape will be shot and killed……..”
Nan Bway Poung was a 22 year old Wa woman and she had been
married to Soe Soe Naing for about a year. She lived with her husband at Pa Deh Kaw Village, Ler Doh (Kyaukyi) township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin District), east of
Pegu division,
The
next day on
(32) Naw Eh Thaw’s
Story
Naw Eh Thaw is a Karen
Buddhist woman from a village, in
Human
Rights Violations
– Gang Rape
Perpetrators - SPDC
soldier Sergeant Thein Shwe, from IB (34) led by Major Maung Maung Lwin
Consequences- Overwhelming pain and shock
“….I went with the village
chief to their place and told them what happened to me. But they didn't
take any action; instead they told me not to tell other people…..”
I
was a widow and lived with a 4 year old daughter and one of my sisters. At that
time the SPDC troop which was based in my village was IB (34) led by Maung
Maung Lwin. One day 6 of the SPDC
soldiers came into my house and stayed for 2 days. They ate everything in my
house while they were in my house without permission. Then, on
(33) Naw Cho Myint’s Story
Naw Cho Myint is a Karen
woman from a village, in the Tavoy district. On
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and Murder
Perpetrators - Maung Aye - from Pyithusit People’s Militia,
which is backed up and armed by SPDC troops
Consequences- Murder
“….After raping her, he slashed
her to death and threw
her three year old daughter into Pi Stream…”
On
(People’s Militia or Pyithusit is a
village defense force formed and backed by Burmese troops. They have committed
human rights violations against the neighboring villagers such as looting,
extortion, torture and other in their areas.)
(34) Naw Bay Po’s Story
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape and death threats
Perpetrators - Sergeant Tin Shwe from Light
Infantry Battalion 124 under the command of Captain Aung Naing Oo.
“…Along
the way, Sergeant Tin Shwe raped her and told her not to tell anyone about it.
If she did he would kill her…..”
On
After this threat, he let her go back home.
The head of the village retrieved Naw Bay Po and escorted her home. She arrived
home at about
After about a month, on
1. That no SPDC soldier raped Naw Bay Po.
2.
When SPDC soldiers came to Naw Bay Po's house, they
were not carrying arms and they
only asked Naw Bay Po to
show
them the way to the other village.
(35) Ma Yo Yo’s Story
Ma Yo Yo is a Karen woman from Lay Hkaw
Htee, Du Paw, and
Human
Rights Violations
– Rape
Perpetrators - 3
Soldiers from SPDC troops of LIB (32) Sergeant Kyi Naing, Corporal Soe Hla Oo
and soldier Ang Gyi
“…Then when he was in my house he
pulled me up and raped me badly, in my house….”
I lived in Lay Hkaw Htee Du Paw village near Htee Hta Baw
village,
When they arrived to my village one of them who is
Soldier Ang Gyi came to my house. Then when he was in my house he pulled me up
and raped me badly, in my house. I had no idea what to do.
Then the next day
I went to Sergeant Kyi Naing and reported this to him. Instead of taking
action, he told me that I was a bad woman and a liar and then he slapped me two
times on my face. Then he called his soldier Ang Gyi and asked about it. When
Ang Gyi said, “Yes” he didn’t say or take any action against him. He just
ordered me to go home. No action was taken on this case.
Data Source List for Detailed Cases
|
Case Number |
Source |
|
1 |
Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
2 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) |
|
3 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
4 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
5 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
6 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
7 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
8 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
9 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
10 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
11 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
12 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
13 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
14 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
15 |
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
|
16 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) |
|
17 |
Karen Information Centre (KIC), Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
18 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
19 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
20 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
21 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
22 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
23 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
24 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
25 |
Mergui-Tavoy District Information Department, and Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) from Blit Tavoy |
|
26 |
Mergui-Tavoy District Information Department |
|
27 |
Karen Information Centre (KIC), Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
28 |
Mergui-Tavoy Information Department and Committee for Karen Internally Displaced People (CIDKP) from Blit Tavoy |
|
29 |
Karen Information Centre (KIC), Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
30 |
Mergui-Tavoy Information Department and Committee for Karen Internally Displaced People (CIDKP) from Blit Tavoy |
|
31 |
Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) and Regional Information from Nyaunglebin District Information Centre |
|
32 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Regional Information Centre, Doplaya District |
|
33 |
Mergui-Tavoy Information Department, Blit Tavoy District Information Centre |
|
34 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) |
|
35 |
Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) and the Toungoo District Information Centre |
Annex 1: Complete List of Rape Cases
|
LIST
OF RAPE CASES |
||||||
|
No. |
Name |
Age |
Place |
Date |
Troops |
Details |
|
1 |
Ma
Chit Chit |
27 |
Azin
village, Doplaya District |
|
SLORC
LID (44) led by Major Ohn Myint |
The
troops came to her house and when they didn't see her husband one of the
officers, Major Ohn Myint, raped her many times. It was at night when she was
alone in her house. No one took action for that. After she was raped she got
mental problems. |
|
2 |
Naw
Lah Lah |
44 |
Ter
Heh Pwey village, |
|
Ba
Gyi from SLORC troops LIB 60 led by Captain Soe Win. |
She
was stabbed in the chest and raped by an SLORC soldier |
|
3 |
Naw
Aye Mya |
32 |
Htee
Pa Nar village Shwegun Township Thaton District |
|
A
large group of SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
4 |
Daw
Khin Aye |
32 |
Theinzayat
village |
|
SLORC
LIB 1 |
They
were captured as porters and were
raped by the troops of SLORC
LIB 1 at night. In daytime they
had to work as porters. |
|
5 |
Daw
Win Hla |
42 |
|
|||
|
6 |
Khin
Khin Lay |
20 |
Thaton
District |
|||
|
7 |
Naw
Paw Eh |
17 |
|
|||
|
8 |
Naw
Moo Dah |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
9 |
Ma
Pyo |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
10 |
Ma
Kyi Thaung |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
11 |
Ma
Than Sein |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
12 |
Naw
Che Che |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
13 |
Naw
Lay Paw |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
14 |
Naw
Bae Paw |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
15 |
Daw
Aye Hla |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
16 |
Naw
Gaw Paw |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
|
Naw
Paw Soe |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
18 |
Htoo
Htoo Poe |
|
Htee
Pa Nar village |
|
SLORC |
She
was gang raped by SLORC soldiers along with many other women in her village. |
|
19 |
Naw
Tha Shee |
30 |
A
Village, |
|
SLORC
troops |
She
was captured and forced to labour as a porter for the SLORC. She was gang
raped every night. |
|
20 |
Naw
Wah Paw |
18 |
A
Village, |
|
SLORC
troops No.1 LIB |
She
was captured and forced to labour as a porter for the SLORC. She was gang
raped every night. |
|
21 |
Naw
KuLah |
|
A
Village, |
|
|
She
was captured and forced to labour as a porter for the SLORC. She was gang
raped every night. |
|
22 |
Naw
Ler Paw |
19 |
A
Village, Doplaya District |
|
SLORC
troops |
She
was forced to work as a porter for the SLORC, threatened at gunpoint and was
gang raped every night. |
|
23 |
Naw
Say Htoo |
15 |
A
Village, |
|
SLORC
troops |
She
was captured as a porter. She was gang raped at night during portering for
SLORC Troops. |
|
24 |
Naw
Kee Soe |
38 |
A
village from |
|
The
Infantry Regiment of SLORC |
This
woman was captured and forced to labour for SLORC. She was gang raped by the SLORC
soldiers. (She was asked to work for
the full day and at night the troops raped her.) |
|
25 |
Naw
Htoo Htoo |
33 |
Wet
la Daw village Kyaukyi Township Nyaunglebin District |
|
SLORC
troops from 60 Regiment |
She
was interrogated and raped by Ba Kyi of SLORC |
|
26 |
Naw
Lay Wah |
38 |
A
village Paan Township Paan
District |
|
SLORC 99 Division |
She
was raped in her home. A knife was held to one side of her face and a gun to
the other. |
|
27 |
Naw
Aw Paw |
21 |
A
village, |
|
Soe
Soe from 338 Battalion commander Major Aung Khaing |
She
was raped and forced into "marriage" with a SLORC soldiers. Over
the next three months she was beaten and psychologically tortured. |
|
28 |
Naw
Baw Baw |
32 |
A
village Hlaing Bweh Township
Paan District |
|
Battalion
28 from the SLORC troops |
She
was abducted by SLORC soldiers to work as a forced labourer and raped. |
|
29 |
Naw
Sha |
45 |
Kyo
lu village, |
|
SLORC
|
She
was raped while she was captured as a porter. |
|
30 |
Naw
Chit Pya Pay |
23 |
Kaw
thay der village, Toungoo District |
|
Soldiers
from SLORC troops of IB 95 |
She
was captured and raped by SLORC troops when she and her husband went to the
forest to find vegetables. |
|
31 |
Naw
Beh Htoo |
16 |
A
village Doplaya District |
|
Sergeant
Aung Aung from Column under LID 44 led by Ohn Myint |
While
she was at home about |
|
32 |
Naw
Me Me |
22 |
Doplaya
District |
|
Sergeant
Shwe under Major Khin Maung Shwe |
These
two sisters stayed in their house with their parents. They were raped at night
at their house while they were sleeping by SLORC soldier Sergeant Chit Shwe
about |
|
33 |
Naw
De De |
19 |
||||
|
34 |
Naw
Ywa Moo |
22 |
Maw
keh tha per ko Kyautkyi township Nyaunglebin District |
|
Troops
of SLORC LIB 439 and IB 26 |
She
and her friends were raped while they were in relocated area by troops of
SLORC LIB 439 and IB 26. |
|
35 |
Naw
Paw Sha |
14 |
Poe
Yi village |
|
SLORC
LIB 208 Sergeant
Tway Ngeh, Under the command of Major Tay Aung |
Both
of them were raped by SLORC LIB 208 Sergeant
Tway Ngeh, Under the command of Major Tay Aung . |
|
36 |
Naw
Dina |
35 |
Kya
in seik kyi Township Doplaya District |
|||
|
37 |
Naw
Paw Lah |
35 |
Galakee Kya in seikyi Township Paan District |
|
Company
1 commander from SLORC LIB 205 Capt. Thein Aung and his whole company |
Both
of them were gang raped, and shot to dead and the naked bodies of them were
left at the edge of the forest by Company 1 commander from SLORC LIB 205 Capt. Thein Aung and his whole
company . |
|
38 |
Naw
Tha Bit |
17 |
|
|||
|
39 |
Naw
Ta Kaw |
|
|
|
|
She
was raped one month after giving birth |
|
40 |
Naw
Soe Mya |
- |
Lar
Aw Kor village Thaton Township Thaton District |
|
SLORC
LIB 534 Led Major Aung Than |
She
was kidnapped and raped for two days badly by SLORC LIB 534 led by Major Aung
Than. |
|
41 |
Naw
Tha Ko |
- |
Plaw
Poe Htoo village, |
|
Mying
Oo of DKBA lackey of SLORC |
She
was raped and brutally killed by Mying Oo of DKBA, lackey of SLORC. |
|
42 |
Naw
Htee Paw |
22 |
Ta
Lay Ko village |
|
IB/LIB
280/285 |
Both
of them were raped and killed by SPDC IB/LIB 280/285 who took away the 14
year old daughter and 8 year old son of Naw Hsi Hsi Thart. |
|
43 |
Naw
Ta Mla |
35 |
Tavoy
District |
|||
|
44 |
Naw
Shwe Myint |
43 |
Azin
village Kya in seikyi Township Doplaya District |
|
IB
62, Medic San Htay led by LID (44) Colonel Aung Khaing |
She
was raped by one of the SPDC soldiers, who performed oral sex and other acts. |
|
45 |
Naw
Kay Kay |
23 |
Kaw
thay der Toungoo District |
|
LIB
59 Soldier |
Gang
raped and killed. |
|
46 |
Naw
Myint Myint |
20 |
A
village, Kya In Seik Gyi Township Doplaya District |
|
SPDC
IB 355 led by Column Com. Saw Aung and Second Column Com. Aung Lwin from Column
(2) |
She
was gang raped badly while she went outside her house not so far to find
firewood, by 4 SPDC soldiers. |
|
47 |
Naw
Pee Eh |
20 |
Ba Hat |
|
LIB
234 Officer |
Raped
and killed. |
|
48 |
Maw
Lweh Htoo |
19 |
|
|
LIB
546 Officer |
Raped
her and took her and put her into jail in Toungoo |
|
49 |
Naw
Htoo Lweh |
25 |
A
village Doplaya
District |
|
SPDC,
LID (207) led by Battalion Second in Commander Myint Thein and friends |
They
were raped by the SPDC troops Commander Myint Thein. Naw Htoo Lweh was
pregnant. |
|
50 |
Naw
Eh Mu |
29 |
||||
|
51 |
Ma
Sein Sein |
19 |
||||
|
52 |
Ma
Kyi Aye |
|
||||
|
53 |
Naw
Lay Lay |
50
|
Shwe
Dee village, Nyaunglebin District |
|
LIB
60, Capt. Nyi Nyi Thun |
Raped
her and then asked her 18,000 Kyats and released her. |
|
54 |
Naw
Tha Baw |
39 |
|
|
LIB
60, Capt. Nyi Nyi Thun |
Raped
her in front of her husband and shot both the husband and the wife to death.
It was after her 14 days of delivered her baby. |
|
55 |
Ma
Thanda |
23 |
Ma
U Bin |
|
SPDC
LIB 250, Officer Maung Maung Thein |
Raped
her and released her and now the woman is in the one of the villages along
the border. |
|
56 |
Naw
Lu Lu |
16 |
Htit
Baw village, Pupan District |
|
LIB
230 Officer |
Raped
her and shot a bullet into her vagina to death. |
|
57 |
Naw
San San Aye |
19 |
Noe
padoe village Pa-an District |
|
4
soldiers from SPDC LIB 546 led by Major Tin Aye |
She
was raped by 4 soldiers from SPDC LIB 546 led by Major Tin Aye while she was
at home. |
|
58 |
Naw
Aye Thein |
35 |
Noe
padoe village Pa-an District |
|
4
soldiers from SPDC LIB 546 led by Major Tin Aye |
She
was raped by 4 soldiers from SPDC LIB 546 led by Major Tin Aye while she was
at home. |
|
59 |
Naw
Meh Meh |
25 |
Kler
po |
|
Capt.
Thin Aung |
She
was raped by Capt. Thin Aung . |
|
60 |
Naw
Hsar Paw |
45 |
Du
Soe Pwe Plaw |
|
LIB
552 Soldiers |
Raped
and killed. |
|
61 |
|
20 |
||||
|
|
Daw
San Dar |
43 |
Aung
Chan Thar, |
|
LIB
59 |
Raped
and then shot her to death. |
|
63 |
Ma
Thi Da |
16 |
Nyaunglebin
District |
Capt.
Aung Soe |
||
|
64 |
Naw
Neh Lay |
18 |
|
|
LIB
432, Capt. Tin Aung |
Raped
and killed. |
|
65 |
Naw
K’ Paw |
19 |
K'nye
Chaw |
|
LIB
42 Aung Than |
Raped
and killed. |
|
66 |
Naw
Men Tu |
15 |
Tha
Dwe Ko Village, Hlaing Bweh township Paan district |
|
DKBA
Battalion 555 Maung Pauk Kyaing and 2 others |
|
|
67 |
Naw
Hsar Paw |
|
|
|
Kyaw
Kyaw Win Lt. Colonel LID 22, LIB 205, Aung Gyi, Colonel Battalion 2nd in
Command, Pay Than Win, Captain Company Commander, Kyaw Lwin Bo 2nd Company Commander. |
She
was captured as a porter and asked to carry heavy things. At night she was
raped by 5 of the soldiers, gang raped
for 10 days. During portering for the troops she was tortured and asked to
carry foods for the troops. |
|
68 |
|
25 |
Ta
wah law kee village Toungoo District |
|
A
sergeant and a soldier from SPDC LIB 55 led by Company Commander Maung Cho |
This
women was raped by a sergeant and a soldier from SPDC LIB 55 led by Company
commander Maung Cho |
|
69 |
Naw
Yin Poe |
16 |
Toe
mae kee village at the road side Papon District |
|
Battalion
Commander Aung Win of SPDC LIB 434 and No. 1 Company Commander of Column 1
Kyaw Khin Than |
gang
raped. |
|
70 |
Naw
o' Sar |
38 |
Paung
Aw Taw Nyaunglebin
District |
|
Capt
Aung Zaw Myo, Special troops |
Raped
and killed. |
|
71 |
Naw
Plot Soe |
40 |
||||
|
72 |
Naw
Kaw Kaw |
32 |
Hay
Tah Weh, Nyaunglebin District |
|
Capt
Aung Zaw Myo. Special troops |
Raped
and killed. |
|
73 |
Naw
Heh Say |
25 |
Shwe
Kah Mang, Nyaunglebin District |
|
Capt.
Aung Zaw Myo Special troops |
Raped
and killed. |
|
74 |
Naw
Bway |
21 |
Toe
mae kee village at the road side Papon District |
|
Battalion
Commander Aung Win of SPDC LIB 434 and No. 1 Company Commander of Column 1
Kyaw Khin Than |
She
was raped at the road side by the Battalion Commander Aung Win of SPDC LIB
434 and No. 1 Company Commander of Column 1 Kyaw Khin Than as a gang rape
three times. |
|
75 |
Naw
Bway Paw |
23 |
A
|
|
LIB
210 Battalion Commander Mg Mg Ohn |
She
was raped by 8 soldiers of LIB 210, Battalion Commander, Mg Mg Ohn in her house.
They tied her husband. Her baby was born dead. |
|
76 |
Naw
Ku Kya Boe |
18 |
Bananer
village Nyaunglebin District |
|
Shan
Bu leader of SPDC from Sa Sa
Sa unit |
The
SPDC troops Shan Bu raped her at her house. |
|
77 |
Naw
Ku Paw |
17 |
Mat
Taw Ku village Nyaunglebin District |
|
Shan
Bu leader of SPDC from Sa Sa
Sa unit |
The
SPDC troops Shan Bu raped her at home. |
|
78 |
Naw
Teh Pah |
20 |
Ta
Po Kee village |
|
LIB
101 Section 4 4 Capt Moe Kyaw, Kar Tay |
All were raped and killed. |
|
79 |
|
23 |
Naw
Way Poe was five months pregnant; she was shot dead in her stomach. |
|||
|
80 |
Naw
Ner Kaw |
16 |
|
|||
|
81 |
Naw
Dee Gay |
9 |
||||
|
82 |
Naw
Nay Thaw |
|
|
|
|
|
|
83 |
Naw
Eh Ber |
32 |
Lek Kaw Wa, Nyaunglebin District |
|
LIB
440 Capt. Thin Nyaut |
Raped
and killed. |
|
84 |
Naw
Hser Bleh |
|
||||
|
85 |
Ma
Hsan Thi |
44 |
Par
Klu village Paan District |
|
SPDC
LIB 102 Htun Aung a company Commander |
Was
raped by SPDC LIB 102 Htun Aung a company Commander, she was forced by Htun
Aung to sleep with him every night and was raped every night while she was
there. |
|
86 |
Naw
Eh Eh |
46 |
Nga
yant in village Thanton District |
|
Nyi Nyi Aye SPDC IB 92 Intelligent officer
of the column |
A
military Column from the SPDC IB 92 came to the village, and one of the
intelligence officers of the column Nyi Nyi Aye raped her before they
departed. |
|
87 |
Naw
K' Haw |
32 |
|
|
LIB
342, 55, 24 |
Gang
raped. |
|
88 |
Naw
Ku Ku |
18 |
|
|
|
Raped
and killed. |
|
89 |
|
33 |
||||
|
90 |
Naw
Win Win |
16 |
Kyauk
bilu village Doplaya District |
|
SPDC
LIB 581 troops |
They
were Gang raped by SPDC LIB 581 troops Commander
Tin Oo Lwin and his troops. |
|
91 |
Naw
Leh Mu Paw |
17 |
||||
|
92 |
Naw
Ta Eh Say |
20 |
||||
|
93 |
|
18 |
|
|
SPDC
LIB 3, Lieutenant Win Naing and Intelligence officer under company commander
Kyaw Tin Oo |
Was
raped at |
|
94 |
Naw
Hser Bu |
20 |
Pyaw
Pyaw |
|
SPDC
LIB 246 column 2, Zaw Myint |
She
was raped by SPDC troops led by SPDC LIB 246 column 2, Zaw Myint. |
|
95 |
Ma
Pyu Pyu |
18 |
Kyet
San Pyin village, |
|
Thein
Myint Zaw, Battalion 104 |
On January 28 evening she arrived to a Burma Army border check
point at Thuka, opposite to |
|
96 |
Naw
Eh Thee |
25 |
Chan
Tha Oo village Tavoy District |
|
Lieutenant
Col. Zaw Lwin from No.2 Column, Battalion Commander of IB(17) |
These two women were raped and stabbed to death by bayonet |
|
97 |
|
20 |
||||
|
98 |
Naw
Hser Lah |
20 |
A
village, Toungoo District |
|
LIB
124 Officer, Thura Maung, Ba yee Naw troop. |
Raped
her on her way home from Than Taung Kyi section 5 and section 2 killed her after
they raped and took a golden necklace, sarong and watch from her. |
|
99 |
Naw
Paw |
18 |
Pyo
village Thaton District |
|
K'bar
Min Moe Heain from DKBA troops led by Moe Kyow (aka) Pah Nee Thow |
She
was a teacher from Pyo village. While she was in her house, K'bar Min Moe
Heain from DKBA troops led by Moe Kyow (aka) Pah Nee Thow raped her in her
house. |
|
100 |
Naw
Pre Pre |
16 |
Kaw
Kareit Township Doplaya District |
|
SPDC
IB 10 under LID 88 |
they
were taken outside the village, tied with rope and both gang raped .No action
was taken against the troops committing the rapes. |
|
101 |
Naw
Cho Cho |
18 |
|
|
||
|
102 |
Naw
Shine Htoo |
17 |
Pana
mi village Tavoy
District |
|
SPDC
militia Win Nyunt |
SPDC
militia Win Nyunt raped both of them. |
|
103 |
Naw
Tha Kee |
18 |
||||
|
104 |
Naw
Say Say |
17 |
Palaw
Township Tavoy District |
|
Win Nyunt led a group of Pyithusit People's militia from the Burman |
On |
|
105 |
Naw
Lay Lay |
18 |
||||
|
106 |
Naw
Thu Thu |
45 |
A village,
Kya in Township, Doplaya District |
|
IB
78 Let by Capt. Win Zaw Oo |
She
was raped in her house at night |
|
107 |
Naw
Leh Kee |
|
Ka
Toe Hta village Doplaya District |
|
SPDC
IB 77 Troops. |
She
was gang raped by SPDC IB 77 Troops |
|
108 |
|
22 |
A village, |
|
LIB(349)
led by Captain Ye Htut and second in command lieutenant Htin Kyaw |
She
was raped by Capt. Yeh Htut first and then he ordered his troops to rape her.
After she was released she told people about that and then she drunk poison
and killed herself because of her pain and shame. |
|
109 |
Naw
Thay Mya |
50 |
|
|
Sergeant
Poe Tha Gay from LIB 111 temporary Battalion Commander Aung Min Lwin of the
SPDC troops of LID 33 |
She
was raped by sergeant Poe Tha Gay from LIB 111 temporary Battalion Commander
Aung Min Lwin of the SPDC troops of LID 33. |
|
110 |
Naw
Tah Tah |
15 |
A
village, |
|
Burmese troops from Light Infantry Battalion 552 |
Burmese troops from Light Infantry Battalion 552 raped her and
beat her. |
|
111 |
Naw
Eh Thaw |
25 |
A
village, Kya in seik gyi Township, Doplaya District |
|
SPDC
IB(34) led by Major Mg Mg Lwin (Sergeant Thein Shwe) |
She
was a widow and stayed with her children. 6 of the SPDC troops came to her
house and stayed for 2 days. Then one night
about |
|
112 |
Naw Seh Mu |
21 |
Ka
Lo village Nyaunglebin
District |
|
Boe
Hla Min and his soldiers from SPDC |
While
they were finding vegetables in the forest they met with the soldiers. Then these
SPDC troops led by Hla Min captured all of them and raped them by the river.
After raping the women they shot to death Naw Pre. then two of them escaped
from there. Again they shot at Naw Law La and she was wounded. |
|
113 |
Naw
Sei Paw |
20 |
||||
|
114 |
Naw
Eh Lar |
24 |
||||
|
115 |
Ma
Myint Thein |
28 |
Thin
Dan Quarter, Kyautkyi Township Nyaunglebin District. |
|
Guerrilla
troops of SPDC which stayed in Kyautkyi town led by officer Hla Min |
She
was raped by guerilla troops of SPDC which stayed in Kyautkyi township led by
officer Hla Min while she was at her house and working. |
|
116 |
Naw
K'done |
20 |
Paw
autaw village, Kyautkyi Township Nyaunglebin District. |
|
A
guerrilla officer Sat La Shwe from SPDC troops who stayed in Kyautkyi town. |
She
was raped by a guerilla officer Sat La
Shwe from SPDC troops who stayed in Kyautkyi town near Koe Poe of Bway Ko
motor road. |
|
117 |
Naw Cho
Myint |
23 |
A
village, Tavoy District |
|
Pyithusit
Maung Aye from the SPDC troops. |
She
was 3 months pregnant and was raped by Maung Aye. After raping her, he slashed her to death
and threw her three year old daughter into Pi Stream and took kyat 40000 and
three gold necklaces from her . |
|
118 |
Naw
Than Aye |
19 |
Sha
Kyay village, Shwe Kyi Town Nyaunglebin District. |
|
LIB
350 from SPDC; Sergeant Chan Than and 2 of his friends under the control of
Bo That Khaing. |
She
was gang-raped by SPDC Sergeant Chan Tha and 2 of his friends under the
control of Bo That Khaing, while she was at her farm in her house |
|
119 |
Naw
He Nay Shee |
|
K'neh
lay village Doplaya District |
|
The
SPDC troops of LIB 343 Column 2 Commander Lin Oo and one of his soldiers. |
She
was raped by the SPDC troops of LIB 343 Column 2 Commander Lin Oo and one of
his soldiers. |
|
120 |
Naw
Baw |
38 |
K'neh
lay village Doplaya District |
|
The
SPDC troops of LIB 343 Column 2 Commander Lin Oo and one of his soldiers. |
She
was raped by the SPDC troops of LIB 343 Column 2 Commander Lin Oo and one of
his soldiers at |
|
121 |
Naw
Mu Ku |
17 |
Spadaykee village, Pa-an District |
|
Padawbo
and Mooe Gyo of DKBA, backed by SPDC |
Troops
of DKBA came into the |
|
122 |
Naw
Kyin Shwe |
58 |
Htee
Swa village, Nabu township, District |
|
LIB
549 Sergeant Nay Win and friends, under the control of Battalion commander
Myo Tin |
She
was raped by the SPDC troops of LIB 549 Sergeant Nay Win and friends, under
the control of Battalion Commander Myo Tin, who knocked her in both eyes,
raped her and killed her near their camp. |
|
123 |
Ma
Yo Yo |
24 |
Doplaya,
District |
|
3
SPDC soldier, LIB 32 Sergeant Kyi Naing, Corporal Soe Hla Oo and soldier Ang
Gyi |
She
was raped in her home when SPDC soldiers came to her village |
|
124 |
|
38 |
Taungoo
District |
|
Sergeant
Tin Shwe, LIB 124 under the command of Captain Aung Naing Oo |
She
was abducted from her home and raped. Her 1 year old child was with her. |
|
125 |
Naw
Haw Thay |
17 |
Paan
District |
|
SPDC
soldier, LIB 357 under the command of Captain Khin Maung Htay |
She
was raped by an SPDC soldier. But is too terrified to provide more details. |
Annex 2: KWO- Aims of the organization
The Karen Women's
Organization (KWO) was formed in 1949 with the aim of supporting and organizing
women's contribution to the Karen struggle for freedom, democracy and equality.
Due to effects of the civil war in
In 1985, the KWO
held a congress and reorganized from the central to the grass roots level. KWO
is a founding member of the Women's League of Burma (WLB), formed by women's
organizations from the
The majority of
KWO’s work is carried out in refugee camps and inside
Today, KWO has over 30,000 members including
women from IDP areas inside
• Maintain and
promote Karen culture and tradition.
HOW TO CONTACT KWO:
KWO Central
Mae Sariang 58110
E. Mail: kwo@loxinfo.co.th
KWO South
Mae Sot 63110
www.womenofburma.org
Annex
3: Map of

[1] Naw Lay Wah’s story, case #13
[2] The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) was formerly known as the State Law & Order Restoration Council (SLORC). The name was changed to SPDC in 1997.
[3] This report documented the cases of rape of Shan women by the military
regime of
[4] The Four Cuts Policy has been implemented by the
military junta since the 1960’s. The
policy aims to cut access and supplies of food, funds, recruits and information
to insurgent groups by systematically terrorizing the civilian population in
ethnic national areas.
[5] The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defined the term “violence against women” as “any act of gender based violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life”. The CEDAW Committee (General Recommendation 19) reaffirmed that violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately, is a form of discrimination against women.
[6] Many of these acts arguably also violate the Geneva Conventions (1949) and their Optional Protocols (1977) and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (2002).
[7] E/CN.4/1995/42. She also highlighted the case of Valesquez Rodriguez Case Honduras, 4 Inter.Am.Ct. HR
(Ser.C.), 1988./ where States were also held
responsible for the organization of the government apparatus and structures of
public power in order to make them capable of ensuring free and full enjoyment
of human rights.
[8] Marshall, Harry Ignatius, The Karen People of Burma: A Study in Anthropology and Ethnology, White Lotus Press 1997 (reprinted from the 1922 edition with a new foreword).
[9] The military regime classifies its level of control in an area according to colours: Areas completely controlled by the military regime are called "white areas"; areas accessible to both the military troops and the resistance groups are called "brown areas"; and areas controlled by the resistance groups are called "black areas".
[10] According to figures provided by the CIDKIP as at February 2004 there were over 300,000 internally
displaced Karen people inside
[11] According to figures provided by the CIDKIP as at February 2004
there were 120,000 registered and unregistered refugees living in the camps in
[12] Nan Bway Poung’s Story.
See case number 31
[13] Asian Legal Resource Centre, “Specific contexts of sexual torture and CIDT: Armed conflict, Police/Penal”, March 2004, http://www.alrc.net/mainfile.php/torture/151
[14] Arcel, Genefke,
Kastrup 2001, cited in ALRC, “Torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
of women” Psychological consequences – Introduction”, March 2004, http://www.alrc.net/mainfile.php/torture/147/
[15] Nan Bway Poung’s Story. See case number 31
[16] Naw Bway Paw’s Story.
See case number 24
[17] Naw Hsar Paw’s Story. See case 23.
[18] Ma Pyu Pyu’s Story. See case 25
[19] Naw Eh Thaw’s Story. See case 32
[20] Naw Myint Myint’s Story. See case 21.
[21] Case 17
[22] Case 20
[23] Naw Baw Baw’s Story. Case number 15.
[24] ALRC, “Torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of women” Psychological consequences – Introduction”, March 2004, http://www.alrc.net/mainfile.php/torture/147/
[25] Naw Bway Poung’s Story. See case 31.
[26] Ma Chit Chit’s story. See case 1.
[27] ALRC, “Sexual Torture
and CIDT of women by State-agents”, March 2004, http://www.alrc.net/mainfile.php/torture/150/
[28] Naw Wah Paw’s Story. See case 9.
[29] Naw Tha Shee’s Story. See case 8.
[30] Naw Lay Wah’s Story. See case 13.
[31] Naw Lah Pwey’s Story. See case 2
[32] Naw Say Htoo’s Story. See case 11
[33] Naw Wah Paw’s Story. See case 9
[34] Naw Ler Paw’s Story. See case 10
[35] Naw Htoo Htoo’s Story. See case 12
[36] Naw Ta Kaw’s Story. See case 19