Press release by the Kachin National Organization, April 16, 2014
Kachin National Organization condemn Burma Army committing sexual violence and still using rape as a weapon of war
We strongly condemn Burma Army continues committing sexual violence and still using rape as a weapon of war in Kachin State.
On 10 April 2014, a 17-year-old schoolgirl from Kagam village of Dawhpum Yang county in Kachin State was allegedly gang-raped by two Burmese soldiers belonged to Light Infantry Battalions (LIB) 320 around 13:30 local time. The incident occurred where the girl was on her way back from farm with a motorcycle after she dropped her mother who was there to herd their cattle. She has lodged an official complaint to the local Police Station but no further action has been taken so far. There is no victim support in the local area and we are very concern that she would be taken by the Burma Army to keep her mouth shut. She has high potential for the future since she has taken a matriculation exam for academic year 2013-2014 and waiting for her exam result.
We are gravely concerned at the fate of this young girl, and of other civilians in this area, who are being systematically and deliberately targeted during new Burma military campaign against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
The Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) has repeatedly documented the systematic use of sexual violence by the Burma Army. Appalling cases occurred even just after the new Burmese government, when fighting between the Kachin Independence Army and Burma Army started in June 2011 after a 17-year-old ceasefire broke down, Burma troops openly commit rape. This is a clear sign that the Burmese Army is committing war crimes.
We urge Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General(SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict and 122 signatory countries that have endorsed historic ‘Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict’ to stop legitimizing the Burma Army’s crimes, should immediately stop them to continued systematic sexual violence.
Central Committee
Kachin National Organization
For media contact:
1). Mr. Hkanhpa Sadan, General Secretary, Kachin National Council, Kachin National Organization (KNO), Phone: 0044 7944 240 774
2). Ms. Lashi Kai Htang, Deputy Foreign Affairs of The Kachin National Organization (KNO) , Phone: 0044 7920 826 694
View this press release as PDF (click to download)
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I’m sorry, am I just losing my mind here or what? Last I checked, Obama (and NO, I’m not anti-Obama OR a supporter of his admin) loosened the sanctions on Burma (or Myanmar….whatever…it’s still called Burma as far as I’m concerned).
NOW THEY ARE STILL DOING THE SAME CRAP THEY DID FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES??? I am sorry, but if we have Special Operations personnel (SEALs, Special Forces, etc) in Yemen, Somalia, Uganda, Sudan, Philippines, etc, then how do we not have a group of shooters from the Joint Special Operations Command (who’s mandate is to literally go into these places and wipe out these bullying turds off the face of the Earth…They don’t just do counterterrorism, they also fight injustice and eliminate future threats to not only Americans but to other countries as well!).
I’ve been privileged enough to become very good friends who work, in let’s just say, very special mission units, and these guys are the TOP Tier of the U.S Special Operations Command, right? EVEN THEY think we are just being cowardly and useless when this kind of crap is going on…Burma has had nothing but poverty and violence in their past. I mean, my buddies in these units were saying the same thing before Chavez died in Venezuela!!!!! They were saying “MY GOD! How are we not over there RIGHT NOW and just wiping this jerk’s whole empire off the face off the Earth! I mean, we should go in there, smoke his butt, take his oil, spread his wealth among the impoverished townsfolk in the local villages/townships/cities etc, and just leave and give credit to some foreign rebel group who hates him as much as we do!”
At the time, I thought he and his idea was brilliant. That, in reality, is what JSOC and the Agency does. They go in, kill everything that poses a threat to either the indigenous population or American citizens, and then give the credit to some other group. Why not do that now? If someone can answer me that, I’d love to hear it…
My email is Rohdrunner@hotmail.com. I’m currently an author writing a book about former US SOF personnel becoming security contractors (and no, I don’t mean Blackwater types) and I discuss their work that they’re doing currently in Mexico (and not just for the $, which actually isn’t that much…not what people got in Iraq), but they are doing it because they absolutely HATE “bullies” and anyone who preys on the weak and helpless and, even when they aren’t getting paid, they still do their job and kick in doors and grab and/or kill the cartel leadership and other TCO personnel (TCO= Transnational Criminal Orgs)…There are even Iranian IRGC operatives there that they are currently hunting….So be sure to remember that there are people in this world that are NOT made for the justice system. They look at a prison in the U.S (like that Somali pirate in the Captain Phillips rescue, who was smiling when he arrived here) as a resort…They eat and sleep better here than they did in the mud huts with bug-infested water buckets (which they also use as a bathroom) that they came from.
So, anyways, sorry for the rant….but if you can counter my argument, I’d love to hear it. I doubt anyone can though, as it seems to me to be pretty rock solid (not being conceited, but just going off what I hear from these US special operators who are ON THE GROUND in these places, that’s all).
-Dennis