English
ကညီကျိာ်
မြန်မာThis Incident Report describes the restriction of movement by Tatmadaw Infantry Battalion #5 and Light Infantry Battalion #102 in Dwe Lo Township, Hpapun District in December 2013. Naw S--- and 20 of her friends were stopped at a Tatmadaw military checkpoint on their way to attending a religious concert in another village on December 3rd 2013 at 7:00 pm. Corporal Na Taw ordered them to perform physically demanding and abusive drills for him. When they refused to do so, they were ordered to return home. Naw S--- stated that she does not think there should be any restrictions on freedom of movement during the ceasefire period.
Incident Report | Dwe Lo Township, Hpapun District (December 2013)
The following Incident Report was written by a community member who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights abuses. It is presented below translated exactly as originally written, save for minor edits for clarity and security.[1] This report was received in February 2014 along with other information from Hpapun District, including three other incident reports.[2]
Part 1 – Incident Details
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Type of Incident |
Restriction of movement |
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Date of Incident(s) |
December 3rd 2013 |
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Incident Location (Village, Township and District) |
Between M--- and Ma Lay Ler, Meh Kyoh village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Hpapun District
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Victim Information |
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Name |
Naw S--- |
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Age |
23 |
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Sex |
Female |
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Nationality |
Karen |
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Family |
No |
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Occupation |
Medic |
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Religion |
Buddhist |
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Position |
No |
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Village |
M--- |
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Perpetrator Information |
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Name(s) |
Rank |
Unit(s) |
Base |
Commander’s Name |
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Na Taw (or) Maw Hta |
Corporal |
[Infantry] Battalion #5, [Light Infantry] Battalion #102 |
K’Daw Koo Hta |
Commander Kyaw Thein |
Part 2 - Information Quality
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1. Explain in detail how you collected this information. |
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On December 3rd 2013 at 7:00 pm, Naw S--- was trying to go to a Ma Lay Ler religious campaign concert. She went with 20 of her friends and when they arrived at the checkpoint between M--- [village] and Ma Lay Ler [village], they asked permission from [Commander] Na Taw at the checkpoint, but Na Taw did not allow them, so they came back to their village. |
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2. Explain how the source verified this information. |
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Naw S--- faced this abuse herself and she reported the information, so the information is true [valid]. |
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 December 3rd 2013 at 7:00 pm, Naw S--- went to a Ma Lay Ler religious campaign concert with 20 of her friends. They were on their way and later arrived at the Tatmadaw checkpoint between M--- and Ma Lay Ler, which was set up by Tatmadaw Commander Kyaw Thein. Kyaw Thein ordered [Corporal] Na Taw to wait at the checkpoint. When Naw S--- and her friends arrived at the checkpoint, they asked permission from Na Taw to go [through]. Na Taw questioned them and asked [demanded] that they sit down and stand up repeatedly, but Naw S--- and her friends would not do it, so he forced them to go back [home]. Naw S--- and her friends were not allowed to go to the campaign concert and, moreover, they were asked to sit down and stand up repeatedly. They are teenagers and they feel shy; some of them even cried. Naw S--- said that there should not be any restriction of movement during this time [after the ceasefire].[3] “We don’t know why they questioned us and stopped us from going to other places. I thought the Karen leaders would improve the situation right? If they are trying to improve it like this, it is not good. I was not the only person who faced that, but my friends also faced the same thing as me. I faced this incident myself and I reported it to you, so all of the information is true,” said Naw S---. |
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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Naw S--- allowed this information to be used and published to many media groups for the better [less restricted] movement [of villagers in Karen areas of Southeast Burma]. |
Footnotes:
[1] KHRG trains community members in eastern Burma 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, 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] On January 12th 2012, a preliminary ceasefire agreement was signed between the KNU and Burma government in Hpa-an, the capital of Kayin State. The exact terms for a long-term peace plan are still under negotiation. For updates on the peace process, see the KNU Stakeholder webpage on the Myanmar Peace Monitor website. For KHRG's analysis of changes in human rights conditions since the ceasefire, see Truce or Transition? Trends in human rights abuse and local response since the 2012 ceasefire, KHRG, May 2014.
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