KHRG Report: Statment of Naw Mya Th

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: KHRG Report: Statment of Naw Mya Thuang

MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Status: R


************************Posted by BurmaNet************************
  "Appropriate Information Technologies--Practical Strategies"
******************************************************************

     AN INDEPENDENT REPORT BY THE KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP

________________________________________________________________  

                STATEMENT_OF_NAW_MYA_THAUNG
________________________________________________________________  

                   Manerplaw, January 24, 1992
Filename: jan24_92

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Name:        Naw Mya Thaung     Sex: F     Age: 36
Address:     Htee Pa Nar Village, Shwegun Township
Occupation:  Farmer             Nationality: Karen
Regarding:   Human rights atrocities, looting and destruction
             in Htee Pa Nar Village by SLORC troops

Statement:   Recently, a large group of SLORC soldiers came to Htee
Pa Nar village.  The men had gone, and we women and children were
very afraid.  So we all crossed the Mae Seit river to the monastery
on the west side, and we hid in a large trench the monks have
there.  The soldiers left but we stayed where we were in case they
came back.  The next day, a different large group of soldiers came
from west of the Mae Seit river.  We could see them ransacking our
deserted village, picking up any valuables they saw and looking for
us.  Then they came to the monastery and looked all around until
they found us.  They called us all out of our hiding place and
gathered us together.  They accused us all of being the wives,
children, and relatives of rebels, and of helping the rebel forces.

Then they called a monk to come down out of the monastery.  They
accused him of being a "monk of the rebels", and then repeatedly
beat him about the head.  After the beating, he was ordered to go
back up inside the monastery and not to come out again.

Some of the soldiers went down into the trench where we'd been
hiding.  They started calling all the women, one by one, down into
the trench with them.  When each woman went down there, they would
accuse her of hiding money and gold in her clothes and force her to
strip.  Then they searched her clothes for anything valuable, and
took turns raping her.  Not one woman was spared, whether young,
old, married or unmarried.  Even though I was holding my baby son
at the time, when my turn came I had to go into the trench like the
others, or the soldiers would have killed me.  In this way, every
woman in the village was gang raped.  Only when all the soldiers
were finished with you were you allowed to get dressed and leave
the trench.  Then they would call the next woman in.

I can remember the names of some of the women who were raped. 
Along with myself, Naw Mya Thaung, I can remember Naw Moo Dah, Ma
Pyo, Ma Kyi Thaung, Ma Than Sein, Naw Che Che, Naw Lay Paw, and Naw
Bae Paw.  But there were also many others.

The SLORC soldiers stayed in our village for a week.  They wouldn't
let us leave.  During that week many women were raped again and
again.  The soldiers murdered a village man, Pah Ngwe Kawt, in
front of all of us.

They stole or killed all of our animals - cattle, buffalos, pigs,
chickens, and goats - saying that we kept the animals to feed the
rebels.  They entered the houses and took all the valuables,
clothes, everything.  They even broke our pots and pans.  Before
they left they burned three houses and our sugarcane fields.  They 
also took whatever paddy and food supplies they could carry, and
burned whatever was left.

Finally, they went.  But they left us absolutely destitute, with no
food to eat, no belongings, absolutely nothing but the clothes on
our backs.  So we all had to flee our own village, our own
birthplace.

NOTE:  NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO AVOID REPRISALS BY SLORC.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Karen Human Rights Group
Box 22
Mae Sot, Tak 63110
Thailand

(Email for the KHRG sent to strider@xxxxxxxxxxx will be forwarded
to them)