Eight innocence villagers were tortured by the ILB-144’s Captains

On August 12, 2012, eight innocence villagers were forced to carry materials for Chinese business men and tortured by the Captains of ILB-144 named Myo Naing Aung and Win Moe in Sawyam village, Namhkam Township, Northern Shan State, Burma. 

During torturing, even though village’s governors have come to beg for the victims, the captains refused and demanded his soldiers by threating the local administrators with their guns. 

 

On August 12, 2012, when seventeen villagers arrived at the ILB-144 temporary camp, women were sent back to village and eight men were beaten by the soldier for their cases on August 6.

The accident was started when the majors demanded to Sawyam villagers as a porter to carry materials for Chinese business men instead of the battalion at the 21 miles (boundary pillar) on August 6, 2012. 

“When we arrived at 21 miles (boundary pillar), the soldier ordered us to carry materials for Chinese business men instead for the battalion. We were forced to take our horses to carry the equipment, not only that but also had to bring our own food. As we heard, Chinese men have paid (50,000) Kyats to the majors for transportation per each horse. Because no one was happy for that and some villagers went back to home before finishing carry things as they were very hungry. As a result, the captains demanded villagers to come to the military camp again and beaten them” said by a local resident. 

The captains, Myo Naing Aung and Major Win Moe, even just take responsibility in the temporary camp for two months, not only are they treading very badly to the head of village, but also are they violating to the local people by their military power and guns.

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Burmese military troops loot the properties of residents

On July 25, 2012 the Burmese military troops of ILB.501 base in Kyawkmae, loot local people’s ancestral inheritance and stole belongings from local households and shops in Pan Swe village, Manton Township, Northern Shan State, Burma.

The Military troops carried out random searches on U Nay Aung’s house and after they found traditional valuables in the house of gold and silver, they took everything they wanted by threating the house owner with their guns.

According to an eye witness “the reason the soldiers gave for searching the house was that they believed that house owner was connected with ethnic armed groups but there was no evidence linking him with the armed groups. They forced the house owner to open his jewelry box even though he begged them not to take his things as he explained things their traditional and sentimental value to him and his family. The soldiers ignored his pleas and broke the lock and took all of the contents of the box; a gold ring ($400), silver belt ($170) and silver necklaces”.

At the same time, another three families have also been subjected to having their belongings stolen by military troops as they set up camp in the same village. Over 90 soldiers entered local shops wielding their guns and took what they wanted from the shop without permission, pointing their weapons at the shop-owners.

“They separated into three groups to raid the three different shops at the same time. We were treated very badly and they swore and threatened us that if we said anything they would shoot us. The soldier that seemed to hold a high position gave boots that the shop was going to sell to each of his soldiers. Then they took several other things that they wanted such us expensive food, cigarettes, beer and dry rations. When we asked for money the leader took his gun and said “this is why we don’t we have to pay for it” and left from the village” said one of the shop owners.

The shop owner, U Kunahsin, lost over two hundred thousand Kyat ; U Kunpyo lost over three hundred thousand Kyat and U Nyein Chan lost over three hundred thousand Kyat from the goods stolen by the soldiers.

In Manton Township, most of the villagers rely on the local shops for all their needs due to bad transportation. As the result incidences like this happening whenever the military come through th e village, local people are very upset to lose their property again and again; now wen they hear of the soldiers coming to the village they leave their homes and go to the jungle or somewhere else to hide and avoid the soldiers persecution.

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Government not fulfilling their educational responsibilities

Namhlin village, one of the villages under Ta’ang (Palaung) autonomous areas in Northern Shan State, has been facing the problem of the lack of teachers at their nursery school in the 2012-13 academic school year; the school has only been opened for two months.

Even though the school development committee and village administration have submitted a file regarding the situation and have requested a teacher for nursery school to the local minister of education; it has been totally ignored by the authorities.

Local villagers have said that the situation is very disappointing because the children do not learn anything when they attend school. Their parents are unhappy for the situation their children are in even though attempts have been made by the head of the village to remedy the problem when he went to Namhsan town and discussed the issue with the authorities however they have been negligible about the complaint and nothing has changed.

Namhlinn village is a moderate sized village in Namhsan Township; it houses over 300 families. The village established the new nursery school by themselves but now is struggling to find teachers and is getting absolutely no support form the government authorities.

According to the governmental legislation, a village must have both a nursery school and a middle school in order to get government teachers; the residents have built a new nursery school to adhere to this directive. The school also has to run under management of Namhsan town until the village gets the government to build a high school.

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