Thu, 04 Dec 2014
Hpapun Incident Report: Landmine Incident in Lu Thaw Township, May 2013

This Incident Report describes a landmine incident resulting in the death of a villager in Lu Thaw Township, Hpapun District. On May 31st 2013, Saw Pgheh Nay Thay stepped on a landmine near a Tatmadaw army base while crossing a vehicle road with a friend, on their way to go fishing. Due to the severity of his injuries, he died one day later, on June 1st 2013. He left behind a wife and children who are now concerned for their livelihoods.

Incident Report | Lu Thaw Township, Hpapun District (May 2013)

The following Incident Report was written by a community member who has been trained by KHRG to monitor local human rights conditions. It is presented below translated exactly as originally written, save for minor edits for clarity and security.[1] This report was received in November 2013 along with other information from Hpapun District, including 32 other incident reports, 31 interviews, one situation update, 89 photographs and ten video clips.[2]

Part 1 – Incident Details

Type of Incident

Death by Tatmadaw landmine

Date of Incident(s)

May 31st 2013

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

A--- village, Hkay Poo village tract, Lu Thaw Township, Mu Traw [Hpapun] District

 

 

Victim Information

Name

Saw Pgheh Nay Thay

Age

40

Sex

Male

Nationality

Karen

Family   

Yes [married]

Occupation

Farmer

Religion

White elephant [Animist][3]

Position

Villager

Village

A--- village

 

Perpetrator Information

Name(s)              

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown 

(MOC) Military Operations Command[4] (9)

Khaw Daw Hkoh army camp, Hkay Poo village tract

Unknown

Part 2 - Information Quality

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

I got this information directly from the village tract secretary, other villagers and from a B--- clinic health worker, all of who witnessed the incident. Saw Pgheh Nay Thay stepped on a Tatmadaw landmine which lay in K'Hpoh Hta area nearby Khaw Daw Hkoh army base on May 31st 2013 when he and his friend went fishing.

 

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The incident is true because the person who gave me the information is the village tract secretary Saw C---. There are many people who are telling the truth about this incident too. The landmine that was stepped on by Saw Pgheh Nay Thay was truly laid by the Tatmadaw who is based in Khaw Daw Hkoh army camp.

Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. For each incident, be sure to include 1) when the incident happened, 2) where it happened, 3) what happened, 4) how it happened, 5) who was involved, and 6) why it happened. Also describe any villager response(s) to the incident, the aftermath and the current living situation of the victims. Please use the space prepared below, and create an attachment if needed.

Saw Pgheh Nay Thay, a 40-year-old man, lives in A--- village, Hkay Poo village tract, Lu Thaw Township, Mu Traw [Hpapun] District. On May 31st 2013, Saw Pgheh Nay Thay and his friend were trying to cross a vehicle road in order to go fishing when he [Saw Pgheh Nay Thay] was hit by a landmine which had been laid by the Tatmadaw. He was brought to B--- clinic for treatment, but as he was seriously injured he passed away in the afternoon on June 1st 2013. He died shortly [after he was injured] and left behind his wife and children. [His death] has left his wife and children in a miserable situation; they do not know what to do next for their livelihood and they have only their neighbor and [the wife’s] sibling to rely on.

Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details

Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided.

We asked them to tell us the information about what they are suffering. They explained what they suffered and they allowed us to use the information when asked permission. 

Thu, 04 Dec 2014

Footnotes: 

[1] KHRG trains community members in eastern Burma/Myanmar to document individual incidents of abuse using a standardised reporting format; conduct interviews with other villagers; and write general updates on the situation in areas with which they are familiar. When writing incident reports, community members are encouraged to document incidents of abuse that they consider to be important, by verifying information from multiple sources, assessing for potential biases and comparing to local trends.

[2] In order to increase the transparency of KHRG methodology and more directly communicate the experiences and perspectives of villagers in eastern Burma/Myanmar, KHRG aims to make all field information received available on the KHRG website once it has been processed and translated, subject only to security considerations. For additional reports categorised by Type, Issue, Location and Year, please see the Related Readings component following each report on KHRG’s Website.

[3] White Elephant Animism is a form of animism practiced in Kayin state which revolves around the worship of white elephants.

[4] Military Operations Command. Comprised of ten battalions for offensive operations. Most MOCs have three Tactical Operations Commands (TOCs), made up of three battalions each.

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