English
ကညီကျိာ်
မြန်မာOn June 28th, a drunken Border Guard Force (BGF) [1] Commander punched a village head in Nabu Township, Hpa-an District for no apparent reason. He also intimidated another village head by grabbing his head violently. As the Commander had weapons and was accompanied by two of his soldiers, the victims dared not speak up. They were also afraid to report the case.[2]
Part 1 - Incident Details
| Type of Incident | Physical abuse |
| Date of Incident (s) | June 28th 2019 |
|
Incident Laocation (Village, Township and District) |
D--- village, Waw Lay village tract, Nabu Township, Hpa-an Districct |
| Victim Information | |
| Name | Saw E--- |
| Age | 50 |
| Sex | Male |
| Ethnicity | Karen |
| Family | Married |
| Religion | Buddhist |
| Position | Village head |
| Village | B --- |
| Perpetrator Information | ||||
| Name (s) | Rank | Unit | Base | Commander's |
| Bo Kyaw Hein | Cantoment Area Company Commander | Border Guard Force (BGF) Cantonment Area(2) | Yah Tah Village, Ta Kreh Township | Cantonment Area Commander Saw Kyar Ain |
Part 2 - Information Quality
| 1. Explain in detail how you collected this information. |
| On June 29th 2019, one of the victims told me about the incident. After that, I interviewed the other victim. I also asked an official from Ta Kreh Township about the perpetrator. |
| 2. Explain how the source verifed this information. |
| The source experienced this incident first hand. |
Part 3 - Complete Description of the Incident
| Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. |
|
On June 28th 2019, Saw E---, a village head from B--- village, was attending a meeting in D--- village, Waw Lay village tract, Nabu [T’Nay Cha] Township. During the meeting, he met Bo Kyaw Hein, a BGF commander. On the way back, Bo Kyaw Hein asked the village head to come to a house. Saw E--- entered the house, after which Bo Kyaw Hein grabbed him by his hair and punched him.
Saw E--- explained the incident to KHRG: “I went to a meeting in D--- and met him. He told me to go with him so I went with him to a house. When I reached the house, he was already inside. I cleaned my feet with water before entering the house. I was a little bit slow so he said that I was being mean to him. When I sat down, he asked me: “Do you know me?” How could I have known him? I had never seen him before. I did not say anything because I was afraid that he would torture me regardless of my answer. Since I did not tell him anything, he grabbed my hair violently and punched me one or two times.”
Saw E--- worried that Bo Kyaw Hein might do something to him, as the BGF Commander had weapons with him. Bo Kyaw Hein was drunk when he punched the village head, so the latter did not know why he was punched. Saw E--- explained: “I was really afraid when he punched me and I was also worried that he would punch me harder. I did not know why he punched me but he was really drunk at that time.”
Saw E---entered the house with his friend Saw H---, another village head from T---village. Bo Kyaw Hein also grabbed Saw H---'s head violently. Saw H--- was scared of Bo Kyaw Hein, and worried that he might hurt him. According to Saw E---: "Bo Kyaw Hein grabbed Saw H---'s head once or twice. Since he has no hair, Bo Kyaw Hein just grabbed his head violently. We couldn't tell him anything. We were afraid of him because he had brought a gun with him and also his two soldiers were there too." Both the victims are afraid to report this incident to the relevant authorities. |
Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details
| Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided. |
| The victim gave us permission to use this information. |
Footnotes:
[1] Border Guard Force (BGF) battalions of the Tatmadaw were established in 2010, and they are composed mostly of soldiers from former non-state armed groups, such as older constellations of the DKBA, which have formalised ceasefire agreements with the Burma/Myanmar government and agreed to transform into battalions within the Tatmadaw. BGF battalions are assigned four digit battalion numbers, whereas regular Tatmadaw infantry battalions are assigned two digit battalion numbers and light infantry battalions are identified by two or three-digit battalion numbers.
[2] The present document is based on information received in July 2019. It was provided by a community member in Hpa-an District 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 staff.
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