Myanmar troops rape, kill: NGO

[dArKeR]

AP , BANGKOK, THAILAND
Sunday, Apr 04, 2004,Page 4

Myanmar soldiers have raped more than 100 ethnic Karen women, using sexual assault as a weapon of war, even as the country's military government negotiates a cease-fire with Karen guerrillas, according to a new report.

"These rapes occur as part of a strategy designed to terrorize and subjugate the Karen people, to completely destroy their culture and communities," said the report by the Karen Women's Organization (KWO), a voluntary group based in Thailand.

The report, which was released Friday, documents 125 case histories between October 2002 and March 2004. Some of the cases were from witnesses or survivors in Myanmar while others were obtained from Karen men and women staying in refugee camps along the Thai border.

The junta did not immediately react to the document, which came after it launched informal peace talks late last year with Karen rebels, who have been fighting for autonomy for more than 50 years. Both sides have declared a provisional truce to the fighting.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/04/04/2003116612