People Hail Jailing of Six Tatmadaw Soldiers for Kachin State Killings

The military tribunal also ordered the dismissal from service of six members of the Tatmadaw in the verdict passed on January 19 by the Tatmadaw court at the Northern Command infantry base at Mansi, said Ko Aung Myo San, one of the villagers who witnessed the trial.

The case stemmed from an incident on May 25, 2017, when the bodies of the three victims were recovered a few miles from a refugee camp in Mine Khaung village. The victims were among five people who had earlier been seized by the Tatmadaw. Two of the villagers were freed unharmed.

Ko Aung Myo San said those sentenced had ranks from private to battalion commander.

Kyo Aung Myo San said it was the first time in his memory that Tatmadaw personnel were found guilty of a crime and given harsh sentences.

“This incident is a strange one in our region. As the verdict of this case is passed transparently, I hope that it would contribute in Myanmar’s the betterment of the justice system in our country,” he said.

U La Ja, a leader of the Kachin Baptist Convention, welcomed the military tribunal’s decision.

“I welcome the verdict passed by the officials for the murder of the villagers,” he said. “But although they were sentenced to manual labour, prison, and dismissed from the Tatmadaw, there’s no mention of where they will be imprisoned. Our villagers also did not get a chance to ask. My mind is in limbo over this.”

An official of the Northern Command said that the Tatmadaw soldiers waiting to hear the verdict had been locked up in prison.

“Yes, the sentence has been passed. But, even if we knew where they’ve been locked up, or the kind of punishment they’ll receive, we cannot disclose that information,” said the official.

 Security observers noted a change in the way the Tatmadaw is handling accusations of abuses against its personnel.

Earlier in the month, a Tatmadaw investigation team made a rare admission of security forces being responsible for the killing of 10 people at Inn Din village in northern Rakhine at the height of their retaliation for Muslim extremist attacks in the area.

The investigating team, headed by  Lieutenant General Aye Win of the office of the Commader-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, vowed to take action against civilians and security forces who committed the crime.