HR Foundation of Monland
Urgent Release

Human Rights Foundation of Monland
January 15, 2004

Serious Human Rights Violations: Crimes Against Humanity! Murder, Rape,
Forced Relocations in Ye Township, Mon State, Burma (Myanmar) The Burmese
Army based in southern Ye, Mon State inhumanly raped local women, abused
Buddhist monks, killed local Mon villagers, restricts the movement of local
farmers, uses the villagers as porters in the front-line, and collects money
from poor villagers for the general income of the military troops in late
2003 and early 2004. Consequently, the civilians in that area have faced
meaningless violations against human dignity, various hardships for
survival, population displacement and food-shortage problems. Over 100
families have fled to border areas and other jungle locations for safety.


The armed force of Burma's military government, State Peace and
Development Council, (SPDC), Burmese Army's Light Infantry Division No. 22
and Light Infantry Battalion No.299, LIB 282, Infantry Battalion No. 61, IB.
343 have seriously committed human rights violations against the Mon
civilians in villages situated in the southern part of Ye Township during
their intensified military offensives against a Mon rebel group in late
December 2003 and earlier January 2004.

The Mon villagers were accused as being rebel-supporters, because an
active Mon armed group have been in the region. However, there is no hard
evidence that they are guilty of the accusations.

Burmese Army has launched the military operations in the area where about
20 Mon villages are situated with over approximately 30,000 populations in
the area.   LID No. 22 troops are led by Col. Nyi Nyi Swe, and the other
battalions are under the direct control of South East Military Command based
in Moulmein, the capital of Mon State.

Human Rights Foundation of Monland, as an ethnic Mon human rights group,
implores the international community and human rights organizations to urge
the Burma regime SPDC and its army to cease all types of human rights
violations against the innocent civilians, women, children and religious
leaders.  In particular, we would like to call upon international entities
such as the United Nations, the U.S. Government, The European Union, and
ASEAN to demand and pressure the military regime of SPDC to comply with
standards of international human rights law.  We need urgent actions that
will convey to SPDC to immediately cease the civil war and human rights
violations against ethnic populations.

Media Contact

Kasuah Mon (Director)

Telephone 01 365 9140 or Chan Mon 09 549 4296



CASES AND NATURE OF VIOLATIONS:


Arbitrary killing

From mid-December until present day, the troops of LIB No. 22 have killed 6 men: Nai Zeit (40 years old), Han Gan Village; Mehm Kao Chan (19 years old), Han Gan Village; Nai Non Ong (37 years old), Han Gan Village; Nai Zan (Age 28,) Han Gan Village; Nai Kyaw (Age 30), Khaw Zar village; Mehm Ye Myint Paing (Age 16), Khao Zar Village;

Mehm Kao Chan, a young man was killed in a farm hut near his village, Han
Gan, while Nai Zeit was killed when he was hunting. Four other people, two
men, one woman, and one 15-year-old child, but no names are available in
this report. Further fact finding will be made soon. All of them are being
accused as rebels, because they did not hold permitted documents to stay
outside of villages. Nai Non Ong (a former Mon medic of NMSP) and his friend
Nai Zan were accused as rebel-supporters and were killed on December 22,
2003.    Sexual assaults: Both married and unmarried women from 9 Mon
villages near the patrolled areas of LIB No. 299, and other surrounding
battalions in southern Ye Township, have been forced by commanders to sleep
with them at night for sexual abuse.   The troops demand and took 3 women
per day to stay for 24 hours in their bases.  According to a testimony by a
woman who fled to the border area, Mi San Myint from Krone Kanya village,
the commanders ordered women to cook  and do chores during the day and raped them at night.

Forced relocation

Mon villages in Southern Ye Township, Win-kyan village with approximately 70
households; Win-pop with approximate 80 households; Day Boung Village with
approximately 150 households, were ordered to relocate immediately in first
week of January, 2004.  About 30 households in the outskirts of
Mi-htaw-hlar-gyi village were ordered into the middle part of the village in
late December to prevent the sheltering of rebels.    Torturing of Buddhist
monks: 3 Mon Buddhists monks from villages:Khaw-zar, Mi-htaw-hla-kalay and
Kyone-kanya, were arrested and accused of supporting rebels and were
seriously tortured in late December 2003.   According to witnesses, the
monks were tied up by the  hands, and the soldiers beat them in several
parts of the body, burnt their bodies and put them under the hot sun.   (THE
END)