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Print:This Incident Report describes events that occurred in Moo (Mone) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District in April 2022, when villagers were told to get a COVID-19 vaccination without their consent by police officers and soldiers of the State Administration Council (SAC). SAC soldiers and police officers stopped people on the road, asked them to show their COVID-19 vaccination certificate. Those who did not have it were told to go to the public hall to get a vaccination. According to one of the victims, the vaccination was not administered by health professionals, and villagers felt that they were forced to get the vaccination even though they did not want it.[1]
Part 1 – Incident Details
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Type of Incident |
Forced Medical Intervention |
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Date of Incident(s) |
April 11th 2022 |
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Incident Location (Village, Township and District) |
Mone Town, Moo (Mone) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District |
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Victim Information |
||||
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Name |
Naw[2] A--- |
Naw B--- |
Naw C--- |
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Age |
20 |
51 |
25 |
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Sex |
Female |
Female |
Female |
|
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Nationality |
Karen |
Karen |
Karen |
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Family |
Unmarried |
Married |
Married |
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Occupation |
Teacher |
Farmer |
Housewife |
|
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Religion |
Christian |
Christian |
Christian |
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Position |
Villager |
Villager |
Villager |
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Village |
D--- village, Paw Pee Der village tract[3], Moo Township |
D--- village, Paw Pee Der village tract, Moo Township |
D--- village, Paw Pee Der village tract, Moo Township |
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Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors) |
||||
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Name(s) |
Rank |
Unit |
Base |
Commander’s Name |
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SAC soldiers |
Unknown |
LIB #599 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
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Myanmar [SAC] Police Force |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Mone Town |
Unknown |
Part 2 - Information Quality
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1. Explain in detail how you collected this information. |
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Naw A--- attended a Village Agency Workshop (VAW) provided by the staff of Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) in the past, so she knows about KHRG and its activities. Therefore, after being forced to get a COVID-19 vaccination when she went to Mone Town, she talked to the KHRG researcher who is from her village and told him about the incident. The KHRG researcher then asked her whether it is okay for her to be interviewed about the incident. Since she agreed to do the interview, the researcher conducted an in-person interview with her to gather details about the incident. |
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2. Explain how the source verified this information. |
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The person who shared the information is one of the victims. |
Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident
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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. |
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On April 11th 2022, while Naw A---, her mother and elder sister were in Mone Town for their personal errands, they were stopped by soldiers from State Administration Council (SAC)[4] Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[5] #599 and police officers on the road near the public hall in Mone Town. They were told to go to the public hall without being explained why. When they arrived, they were forced to get a COVID-19 vaccination.
The security forces that stopped them in Mone Town asked them to show their COVID-19 vaccination certificate. According to Naw A---, “[…] if we had it [a vaccination certificate], they would let us go. If we didn’t have the certificate and if we had not received any dose of COVID-19 vaccination, we were told to go [to the public hall] and get it.” She added that the security forces had guns with them and they would not allow them to refuse getting vaccinated. “We were afraid of them”, she said.
After they reached the public hall, they were given a number and asked to stand in a queue according to their number. At the public hall, there were police officers and five to six soldiers, as well as many SAC-appointed senior administrators from the town. According to Naw A---, their health condition was not examined before they were vaccinated and everyone except pregnant women were made to receive the vaccination. Some people told them that they had health issues and were not willing to get the vaccine but they were told to get it anyway. They did not have the option to choose the type of vaccine, and were also not told what type of vaccine was given to them. Naw A--- stated that she does not know who the people administering the vaccination were but believes that they were not nurses or healthcare workers from Moo (Mone) Hospital as most of the hospital staff are participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)[6]. She added that the people who gave the vaccine were brought by the SAC. The people who vaccinated them also did not explain anything to them following the vaccination but gave them some sort of vaccination certificate that stated when to come back for a second dose.
According to Naw A---, soldiers and police officers were present around the hall, carrying guns with them so civilians were afraid and received the vaccination although they did not want to. Naw A--- added, “After we received the vaccination and exited the building, they [the police officers, soldiers, and administrators who were standing outside] laughed [were smiling and seemed amused].” When asked by the KHRG researcher how she felt, she said that she wasn’t satisfied because she felt like she was forced to get a vaccination without wanting to. After the vaccination, she had a fever and muscle pain but no other health complications. |
Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details
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Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided. |
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The person who shared the information gave KHRG permission to use the information she provided. |
Further background reading on human rights violations and the security situation in Kler Lwee Htoo District in Southeast Burma can be found in the following KHRG reports:
- “Kler Lwee Htoo District Situation Update: Violation of the right to information, travel restrictions, torture, increased SAC activities and displacement in Ler Doh and Moo Townships, August 2021 to February 2022”, April 2022.
- “Kler Lwee Htoo District Short Update: SAC troops fired mortars into a village, injuring three villagers, December 2021”, January 2022.
- “Kler Lwee Htoo District Incident Report: Arbitrary arrest of civilians by SAC military in Moo Township, August 2021”, January 2022.
- “Kler Lwee Htoo Short Update: Arbitrary arrest and killing, July 2021”, August 2021.
Footnotes:
[1] The present document is based on information received in May 2022. It was provided by a community member in Kler Lwee Htoo who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions on the ground. The names of the victims, their photos and the exact locations are censored for security reasons. The parts in square brackets are explanations added by KHRG.
[2] Naw is a S’gaw Karen female honorific title used before a person’s name.
[3] A village tract is an administrative unit of between five and 20 villages in a local area, often centred on a large village.
[4] The State Administration Council (SAC) is the executive governing body created in the aftermath of the February 1st 2021 military coup. It was established by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on February 2nd 2021, and is composed of eight military officers and eight civilians. The chairperson serves as the de facto head of government of Burma (Myanmar) and leads the Military Cabinet of Burma, the executive branch of the government. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the role of SAC chairperson following the coup.
[5] A Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) comprises 500 soldiers. Most Light Infantry Battalions in the Tatmadaw are under-strength with less than 200 soldiers, yet up-to-date information regarding the size of battalions is hard to come by, particularly following the signing of the NCA. LIBs are primarily used for offensive operations, but they are sometimes used for garrison duties.
[6] On February 2nd 2021, healthcare workers at state-run hospitals and medical facilities across Burma (Myanmar) spearheaded what is being referred to as a Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) consisting of labour strikes in protest against the February 1st 2021 military coup. The movement quickly spread to include civil servants from all sectors of the government who are walking off their jobs as a way of non-recognition and non-participation in the military regime. Because of the popularity of the movement, and its seminal role in wider protests across the country, some people have begun using it as a catch-all phrase to include other protest forms like boycotts and pot-banging.
