One year on, still no justice for Burmese rape-murder victims

[yuiyoshida]

By John Quinley III

TODAY marks the one-year anniversary of the brutal rape and murder of two Kachin teachers in Shan State by the Burma Army. On January 19, in Bangkok, Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) and Legal Aid Network (LAN) launched a new report detailing witness testimonies, mishandling of evidence by police, and barriers to justice for women in Burma. Finally, the report established through detailed witness testimonies that the key suspect of the murder and rape was commanding officer Major Aung Phyo Myint.

The two women, Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin and Maran Lu Ra, were devout Christians from Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. They had been working for the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) as volunteer teachers in Kawng Kha village.

Human rights groups and locals blame the Burma Army for perpetrating the hideous crime. The death has caused international outrage; yet, there is still no truth or justice for the families and the community. On January 19, 94 civil society organizations (CSO) called on the Burmese government to give an official mandate and power to KBC to investigate the Kawng Kha case and to request an independent investigation from the international community, and for the National League for Democracy (NLD) to continue to seek justice for the families.

The village at the time of the murder had about 50 troops from the government’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 503, under Major Aung Phyo Myint. They arrived in the village on January 19th 2015, coming from the direction of Mong Ko, where there had been a military offensive against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) earlier in the month. The soldiers stayed in houses around the village. According to local sources, the two teachers were fearful of the soldiers.

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/01/142061/

[Mike__M]

1. Justice for minority women?

Millions around the world are ... ignored

The Burma Army has used rape as a systematic tool of oppression with impunity against women during more than six decades of civil war. The main victims of sexual violence have commonly been non-Burman ethnic minorities....

[smirkymonkey]

2. Poor women. They look so sweet and lovely.

It really pains me to think of what a horror their last minutes must have been like.