More violence in Kachin: Burmese army kidnaps and tortures two civilians
Yangon (AsiaNews) - The triumph of the National League for Democracy and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the general election of November 8 seems to have ferried Myanmar towards a new era of peace and democracy. However, violence and conflict continue unabated in the Asian country, particularly in ethnic areas of Kachin and Shan.
The latest incident happened on the border with China, where for more than four years a conflict has been raging between the government army and Kia rebel militias (Kachin Independence Army). The situation on the ground is increasingly on the brink of collapse.
Speaking to AsiaNews the Catholic activist Labang Khon Ja who is also a member of the Kachin Peace Network, the Burmese army has seized, beaten and left unconscious two ethnic Kachin civilians. The incident occurred on November 19 last and confirms the climate of violence and tension that reigns in the area, in spite of the vote and optimistic proclamations of international observers.
23 year old Sai Yee Lin and 44 year old Maung Sam (pictured), from the villages of Naung Mun and Naung Lote, in the town of Mansi. During a journey, the two were stopped by the military and accused of being Kia militants.
The two were subject to physical and psychological torture for days, before being "abandoned half-dead" inside " colored plastic bags " in a Mansi police station at 3pm on 22 November . Both were very weak and covered in blood.
The Kachin activist says the two men received the visit of family members and medical treatment in hospital and have since returned home. However, they are under "constant surveillance" by the intelligence services and "cannot leave their homes."
Yesterday one of the men went to a nearby hospital for pain in his head, the consequences of the beating, but doctors did not want to intervene and some soldiers effectively prevented the patient from getting medical care, forcing him to return home.
In a country of about 135 ethnic groups, peaceful coexistence has always been a struggle, especially with the central government, which is dominated by ethnic Burmese.
In the past, the ruling military junta used an iron fist against the groups least amenable to central control, like ethnic Kachin, who live along the border with China in the north, and more recently, ethnic Kokang in Shan state, where the president imposed a state of emergency.
In Kachin State, fighting between the Myanmar military and Kachin forces resumed in June 2011 after 17 years of relative calm. Since then, scores of civilians have died and almost 100,000 people forced into 160 refugee camps.
In view of the situation, the country’s Catholic bishops issued a plea for a lasting solution to the conflict.
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