Christian arrested and detained for writing to Burma junta chief

A member of Christian evangelical church who wrote a letter to Burma’s military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) chairman Gen Than Shwe urging him to end the persecution of his church, was arrested and detained at a police station in Pa-an, Karen State.

Yeh Zaw was arrested on 25 February at a checkpoint in Pa-an and his family was only notified on 9 March, his wife Naw Sa Eh told DVB.
“A police corporal informed me on the phone that he is being detained at a the police station. His health is good but he is not feeling good about it and the like,” said Saw Eh. “He is going to be tried on either 22 or 24 (March). Another corporal told me to bring money to hire lawyers and the like. He is charged under (Acts) 420 and 406 he said.” Although Yeh Zaw was accused of travelling without identity card, he was charged under Act 420 for lying.
Yeh Zaw was taken away by Pa-an based army personnel and interrogated on 10 March, added his wife but she didn’t know why.

Yeh Zaw resided in the compound of Rangoon Insein Kanphawt evangelical church whose members were banned from worshipping recently by the local authorities

DVB, March 14th

Thousands of Karen Flee to Jungle

Burmese army offensives in western Karen State have sent nearly 3,000 villagers fleeing into the jungle, according to a new report from relief organization Free Burma Rangers.
The report, which will be officially released tomorrow, says that recent attacks in Nyaunglebin district’s Mon and Ler Doh (aka Kyauk Gyi) townships had forced more than 2,200 villagers from their homes. In addition, the general secretary of resistance group the Karen National Union, Mahn Shah, today confirmed the existence of up to 700 more Internally Displaced People from Taungoo Township, Pegu division, bringing the total number of new Karen IDPs to almost 3,000.
According to FBR, three Burmese army battalions (Light Infantry battalions 366, 368 and 364) launched attacks on the western Karen villages of Klaw Kee and Saw Ka Der in Mon Township, on March 9. A 38-year-old Karen man, Saw Maw Sae Kya, was killed during the attacks and paddy fields and rice stocks were destroyed. Soldiers then continued to nearby Maw La Kee village, where they burned down another seven houses.
“A total of 1140 people from Mon Township have now fled and are currently hiding in the jungle,” the report says. “These people cannot return home due to constant army patrols in the area.”
Meanwhile, Light Infantry battalions 362 and 363 marched into Kwey Der village in Ler Doh Township, forcing more than 1,100 villagers into hiding.
The FBR told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the group was already working on getting aid to the new IDPs: “We have already sent one team with medicine to help them and will be sending another team next week—after that we will send another team together with some money to buy food.”

By Shah Paung
Irrawaddy, March 14, 2006

Image: FBR

Ceasefire Group Seeks Justice for Killings

A Karen ceasefire group has called the Burmese military government to task for the shooting deaths of two of their soldiers, the group’s battalion commander told The Irrawaddy today.
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army alleged that Burmese soldiers from Battalion 18, led by Hla Min, attacked DKBA positions near Three Pagoda Pass, Karen State, over the weekend and shot two soldiers from Battalion 901.
Burma’s State Peace and Development Council claimed that the deaths were the result of friendly fire.
“It was not friendly fire,” said the Battalion 901 commander. “They attacked our position and shot our soldiers in the head.” The two soldiers killed in the attack—Poe Aye and Hsa Naw—were both 18.
The commander added that the attacking Burmese soldiers were newly arrived to the area after having been rotated from other regions.
“Our soldiers did not see the SPDC soldiers as enemies, because we’ve signed a ceasefire agreement,” said the commander. “So we did not return fire.”
The case is now under discussion between Burmese authorities and leaders from the DKBA.
“We are now waiting for the leaders to reach a decision and for the law to be upheld,” the commander said. “We want the [SPDC] commander who ordered the attack to be removed from his position and the soldiers to be sent to jail. This is what they would do to us.”
In 2005, a member of the DKBA was imprisoned for the killing of an SPDC soldier and required to pay compensation to the Burmese army. He is still in prison and faces a 10-year sentence.
“We will not be satisfied without a just resolution,” said the DKBA commander. “If the case cannot be resolved at the commander level, we will pursue the matter with Deputy Snr-Gen Maung Aye, the head of the Burmese army.
The DKBA is a Karen National Union splinter group that signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese junta in 1995. [see related story below]

By Shah Paung
Irrawaddy, March 10, 2006

Image: KHCPS

KNLA Soldier Arrested for Taungoo Bombing

Burmese Police have been holding a purported KNLA Soldier for the March 3rd bombing near No.1 Basic Education High School in Taungoo's Ward 19 and another incident near a Power Transformer in Ward 20.

Named as Saw Gay The Mu (a) Saw Nay La (a) Saw Baw Shwe, Burmese authorities claim the 24 year old to be a KNLA private from the KNU's 5th Brigade which operates in Taungoo district. The suspect was arrested at 4 p.m. the same day and has been held ever since. The bombing resulted in minor damage and there were no reported injuries.

Around 1000 Karen villagers from Taungoo District in eastern Burma, have fled their homes during previous months due to ongoing tortures and killings committed by the soldiers of Burma’s military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
On 3 March, 33 villagers of Takwee had arrived at Mae Ra Mu refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border, according to a report by Network Media Group.
Due to lawless arrests and extra-judicial killings by the SPDC soldiers, Karen villagers had been taking refuge in the jungles their villages and they were constantly chased and attacked with artillery bombardments and small arms fires, before they decided to come to the border region, a refugee named Saw Dada was reported as saying.
Dada claimed his cousin Er Htoo was killed by Burmese soldiers and he lost his wife and three children while they were on the run. The soldiers were reported to have looted all the possessions and burnt their homes.
More than 300 Karen villagers have arrived at the refugee camp since the beginning of 2006 due to the increasing offensives against the Karen National Union (KNU) fighters within Taungoo and nearby Nyaunglebin Districts. Thousands more, known as Internally Displaced people (IDP), are still hiding in the jungles surviving on roots and fruits.

Democratic Voice of Burma
Tue 7 Mar 2006