CSW Reveals Burma Army Abuses in Kachin State September 16, 2006
The Kachin Post
All spectrums of the daily lives of people in Kachin State of northern Burma has been worsening due to the aggressive policy of ruling Burmese military government, according to the report documented by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, CSW, an international human rights organization.
CSW, which specialized in religious freedom, discovered that Burma army is conducting rape, force labor, killing and destruction of villages, land confiscation and religious persecution as a weapon against Kachins who are mostly Christian.
The report said the Kachins as other ethnic nationalities in Burma face the same status of repression, even though, Kachin Independence Organization, a major Kachin resistance force, made ceasefire agreement with Burmese military government since 1994.
Churches in Kachin State allow worshiping openly, however, military government is practicing subtle strategy of ‘Burmanization’ and ‘Buddhist-isation’, according to CSW report. The military government strategy involves restriction on Churches activities and construction, discrimination against Kachin Christians, and attempted forced conversion of some Kachin Christian children. Kachin children in remote villages are forced to attend morning and evening Buddhist worship at the government organized special school, Na-Ta-La. Kachin girls are forced to dress as Buddhist nuns, according to the report.
Furthermore, the defected Burma army officer said, Burma army soldiers are encouraged to marry Kachin Christian women to convert them to Buddhism and ‘dilute’ their ethnicity and religion and ‘assimilate’ them. “They [Burmese military government] hate Kachins and Chins because we are Christian,” said a Kachin pastor who was interviewed by CSW.
Burma Army’s northern commander Brigadier General Ohn Myit reportedly said in his speech during the meeting in October 2005 that he did not want to see any crosses or other Christian symbols on roadside in Kachin State.
In 2002, a Christian prayer mountain of Daw Hpum Yang village, which is located on the Myitkyina-Bhamo road and closed to Laiza, was sized and destroyed by Burma Army. It is later reported that Russian-made rockets have been installed on the prayer mountain, targeting the KIO headquarter in Laiza.
Rape is also very common and happened in every areas where there is and Burma army camp, according to CSW. A former Burma army officer who defected to Kachin Independence Organization confirmed CSW that rape is widespread, and is mostly carried out by officers. The defected officer recalled the court martial case in Kachin State in which seven-month pregnant Kachin women and her sister were raped, killed and stolen their belonging by Burma army soldiers. However, the rape case hadn’t been punished because of the protection from the regional commander.
The report is based on CSW’s first fact-finding mission to Kachin State during August 25 to September 1, 2006. CSW is doing campaign on Burma issue for almost tow decades, focusing predominantly on the persecution of ethnic nationality groups. The organization has conducted many fact-finding visit to Karen, Karenni and Shan ethnic groups on both side of Thai-Burma border. In 2004, CSW made two fact-finding visits to Chin people along the India-Burma border.
