Karen Human Rights Group

Thaton Incident Report: Attempted rape in Thaton Township, September 2013

Incident Report | Thaton Township, Thaton District (September 2013)

The following Incident Report was written by a community member who has been trained by KHRG to monitor local human rights conditions. It is presented below translated exactly as originally written, save for minor edits for clarity and security.[1] This report was received in September 2013 along with other information from Thaton District, including one other incident report, three interviews, one situation update, 206 photographs and 16 video clips.[2]

Part 1 – Incident Details

Type of Incident

Attempted rape[3]

Date of Incident(s)

September 27th 2013

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

A--- village, T’Maw Daw village tract, Thaton Township, Thaton District

 

Victim Information

Name

Naw B---

Age

27

Sex

Female

Nationality

Karen

Family   

Married with one child

Occupation

Hill farming

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Village

A---

 

Perpetrator Information

Name(s)              

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

 

Solider with one chevron[4]

Column #1, LIB [Light Infantry Battalion][5] #558, MOC [Military Operation Command][6] #13

P’New Klah army Camp

Battalion Commander Thein Htun Aung

Part 2 - Information Quality

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

Regarding this case, Naw C---, the A--- village head, gave me this information as the victim reported it to her.

 

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The people who know this information are Naw C--- and Naw D---. The victim Naw B--- reported it to the village leader on the evening that the incident occurred.

Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. For each incident, be sure to include 1) when the incident happened, 2) where it happened, 3) what happened, 4) how it happened, 5) who was involved, and 6) why it happened. Also describe any villager response(s) to the incident, the aftermath and the current living situation of the victims. Please use the space prepared below, and create an attachment if needed.

On September 12th 2013, the Burmese Military [Tatmadaw] LIB #558, which is under MOC #13 from E--- village, came into A--- village and has been based in the village since. [On September 27th, 2013] as the military group [LIB #558] had been staying in the village [since September 12th 2013], their soldiers went to search for alcohol to buy in the village. In the evening at 7:00 o’clock on September 27th 2013, [a soldier with one chevron] went [into Naw B---’s house] and lifted up her mosquito net and Naw B--- asked him, “What are you doing here?” and he replied that he had come to search for alcohol. Naw B--- told him that there was no alcohol, so [he should] go away. That is why he went away. The same soldier came again at 1:00 am [September 28th 2013] and began to grope Naw B---. She awakened and shouted to her mother [Naw D---] for help. Her mother awoke and came over with a knife. If she stabbed him, [she feared] he might die, so she dared not [attack him]. [He then left] and they at once went and told the village head [about the incident] who went and told the [LIB #558] deputy commander, because at that time the battalion commander [had already] gone back to military headquarters. The commander [that she reported the incident to] told her not to report [the incident] to the battalion commander and he asked her what they could do to appease [the victim]. The village leader went back and told Naw B--- about what the commander had said and about [his question] regarding what he could do for her. Naw B--- replied to her to just take care of it [on her behalf] and if the soldier did not come again, it was fine. The case ended there.

Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details

Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided.

[Naw C---] gave us permission to use or publish this case as [she said] the situation was getting better.