human rights

The Shan Human Right Foundation released a statement detailing the brutal rape of a 73-year-old woman by a Burma Army soldier near Mong Phyak Town in eastern Shan State, on April 2, 2018 The Shan Human Right Foundation said the rape and knifing of the elderly woman “highlights the vulnerability of women amid the heavy Burma Army presence in this…

This month another forgotten anniversary is passing by without official acknowledgement. The 8th of August 1988 is remembered for the nationwide protests and crackdown which followed. Troops opened fire on civilians, estimates put the number of people killed at more than three thousand, some as high as ten thousand. Thousands more were arrested. In summaries of the history of Burma,…

The Burma Campaign UK released a statement welcoming the British government’s decision to stop funding and training of Burma’s military forces. The Burma Campaign UK said that in 2016 “the British government spent £305,000 of British taxpayers’ money training the Burmese military – 67% of the money came from the overseas aid budget.” The Burma Campaign UK pointed out in…

The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) met on 11 September to hear a complaint against the Ben Chaung Coal Mine. The coalmine is located in the Thanintharyi Region of Burma and three Thai companies are involved. The complaint, filed by representatives of indigenous Karen communities with the support of local and international NGOs, alleges the open-pit mine has…

The Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) released a statement demanding the Burma Army stops it abuses of civilians. The KWAT said it its statement that “on August 11, 2017, hundreds of Burma Army troops entered Kasung village, in Mogaung township of Kachin State, shooting indiscriminately at civilians. One villager was killed, at least two injured, and over 1,000 IDPs were…

The Shan Human Rights Foundation alleged that recent Burma Army offensives have targeted civilians that resulted in disappearances, arrests and human rights abuses, including torture. The Shan Human Rights Foundation said the targeting of villagers followed a clash between Burma Army soldiers from its IB 249 the ethnic armed group, the “RCSS/SSA near Hai Khai village, Nam Pha Khee tract.”…

Fortify Rights, an international human rights organization called on the government of China to offer safe refuge to “thousands of ethnic Kachin civilians fleeing ongoing armed conflict in Myanmar and prevent forced returns.” Fortify Rights in a statement on Friday 13 January said Kachin civilians running from the fighting in Burma were caught in a hard place. “China should provide…

The New York based Human Rights Watch have issued a report claiming that satellite imagery and on the ground interviews with refugees support allegations that places “responsibility for burnings of Rohingya villages in Burma’s Rakhine State squarely with the Burmese military.” Human Rights Watch’s statement issued on 13 December said that “since October 9, 2016, at least 1,500 buildings have…

The Free Burma Rangers released a report documenting human rights abuses during fighting between the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and the Burma Army and its militia, the Border Guard Force on Karen villagers. FBR state that the villagers in the Karen National Liberation Army’s 7 brigade region have yet to find respite from the intermitted clashes between the [breakaway]…

A statement released by the Shan Human Rights Foundation on December 6, 2016, details the torture and shooting of villagers in northern Shan State. The statement alleged that three villagers were “tortured for speaking loudly.” The SHRF report that on “November 13, 2016, three villagers, including a 16-year-old boy, were badly beaten by Burma Army troops of LIB 119 in…