KIO sadi maja let ganawn ra na kaw Miwa Asuya mung lawm ai.
Miwa ngu gaw shi hta akyu pru na matu sha kaga masha ni hpe jai lang ai wa re.
Moi Myen ဗကပ hpe grai garum hkyen ai zawn rai wa masu nna Myen mung kata Miwa amyu sha ni hpaga lam ra ai hku lu shalau lu hkra Myen Asuya hte bawng ban jahkrup la nhtawm ဗကပ hpe raw hkra di kau ai ni re.
Ya dai ni mung KIO hte rau Rawt malan hpung ni hpe she garum na zawn zawn rai masu yu nna Myen hpyen dap hpe mahtang Laknak Kaba ni Dut jaw ai Hpyen nbung li ni dut jaw ai
Myen hpyen dap hte pawng yang shi a matu hpaga amyat grau lu ai hpe shi chye taw nga ai .
Rawt malan hpung ni hpe shi a Mungdan kata pru shang yak hkra shagyep wa ai Miwa Bank hta bang da ai myen mung masha ni a account pat ya ai ngu mung madung gaw rawt malan hpung ni hpe shading taw ai lam re .
Sinpraw Hkran de majan byin ai shara ni mung Miwa asuya a hpaga lam masing kaba hpang na shara ni re taw ai hpe mu lu ai .
Ya danai de bai majan byin wa ai mung Miwa asuya a lido lam hpe hpagam lam kaba shatai na masing kaba hte matut nga ai re .
Myen hpyen dap hte pawng nna Rawt malan hpung ni hpe gau ngwi ngwi shamyit lu na baw nu mchye machyang gaw Miwa wa shaw nhtawm Myen hpyen dap gaw ta tut hkrang shala taw ai hpe chye mu ra na re .
Dai majaw dai ni Kachin state kata majan baw ai Myen hpyen dap a hpang kaw Miwa nan lawm taw nga ai re hpe dum ra ai.
Hting bu Miwa wa hpe mung grai sadi ra nga ga ai law.
People displaced in the conflict between the Burmese military and the Kachin Independence Army are seen at a church in Tanai Township, Kachin State, June 14, 2017.
(Rangoon) – The Burmese military and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) should provide civilians with safe exit routes from conflict areas and ensure that civilians are properly distinguished from combatants, Human Rights Watch said today.
On June 3, 2017, fighting erupted in Tanai Township in western Kachin State between the Burmese army, known as the Tatmadaw, and the KIA. On June 4, mortars landed near a village in the township, injuring a woman and her two daughters, aid groups reported. Human Rights Watch was unable to establish who was responsible for the attack. On June 5, Tatmadaw helicopters dropped leaflets over Tanai Township, the aid groups said, ordering local residents to evacuate specific areas by June 15, or they would be “considered as cooperating with the terrorist group KIA,” and warning that the Tatmadaw would soon “clear the area.”
“Military operations must be conducted by all parties in a way that respects international law and protects the vulnerable civilians in Tanai Township,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Parties to a conflict can’t declare people terrorists or combatants simply because they refused to leave their homes.”
An escalation of violence between the Tatmadaw and the KIA followed the June 3 fighting. That has caused local residents from at least three surrounding towns to seek shelter in the town of Tanai, but the army has blocked most routes out of surrounding villages, aid groups told Human Rights Watch. Many villagers and migrant workers trapped by the fighting have been forced to walk long distances as they cannot afford the high rates that operators of motorboats or cars charge to evacuate them.
Aid groups have only recently gained access to villagers north of Tanai to assist with transportation. As of June 14, four of the five main roads leading to Tanai town remained blocked, the aid groups said. The total number of those displaced by the fighting could not be confirmed.
Under customary international humanitarian law, parties to the conflict should take all feasible steps to remove civilians from the vicinity of military objects. All parties are also obligated to facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian assistance to all civilians in need.
A copy of the leaflet dropped by Tatmadaw helicopters on June 5, 2017, over Tanai Township, Kachin State, ordering local residents to evacuate specific areas by June 15 or be “considered as cooperating with the terrorist group KIA.” The leaflet warns that the Tatmadaw would soon “clear the area.”
Human Rights Watch obtained a copy of the warning leaflet dropped on June 5, which identified 10 mining sites it claimed were illegal and were destroying the environment. The warnings did not specify where the “local residents and migrant workers” should seek safety. It is not clear how many people in Tanai Township were notified or how many received the warnings, but images of the warnings were spread on social media. Aid groups also confirmed that villagers arriving in Tanai town had received the warnings. The warning said that local people and migrant workers living in the identified areas must evacuate by June 15, and “the people who don’t leave will be considered as cooperating with the terrorist group KIA (Kachin).” It said that the warnings were delivered to help prevent civilian casualties.
Under customary international humanitarian law, parties to a conflict must, where circumstances permit, provide effective advance warnings of attacks that may affect the civilian population. To be “effective,” a warning must take into account the amount of advance notice and the ability of civilians to flee the area to safety.
Civilians who do not evacuate following warnings are still fully protected by law. Even after effective warnings have been given, attacking forces may not assume that civilians have evacuated, and must remain aware of the presence of civilians in an area. The attacker remains obligated to distinguish between military targets and civilians or civilian objects, and must still take all feasible precautions to avoid loss of civilian life and property. It is a violation of the laws of war to presume that anyone who remains in an area following warnings to flee is a legitimate military target. Warring parties may not cause forced displacement by threatening civilians with deliberate harm if they did not heed warnings.
The renewed fighting in Kachin State comes on the heels of the six-year anniversary of the resumption of active hostilities between the Tatmadaw and the KIA. On June 9, 2011, a major army offensive on KIA-controlled territories broke a 17-year ceasefire. Since the resumption of fighting, Human Rights Watch has documented numerous violations of human rights and humanitarian law by both the Tatmadaw and the KIA. Tatmadaw abuses include torture, forced labor, attacks on civilians, extrajudicial killings, destruction of property, and the use of child soldiers. The KIA was found to have used child soldiers and landmines. A June 14 report by Amnesty International details numerous abuses by both the Tatmadaw and the KIA, as well as other ethnic armed groups, in both Kachin and Shan States over the last seven months.
“While it is important that the Tatmadaw issued warnings, its threats to treat the civilians as combatants because they choose to stay in their homes violates the principle of civilian immunity,” Adams said. “It’s a tactic that terrorizes, not protects.”
The
deadline set by the Govt Army - Tatmadaw asking the local residents and
miners from Tanai Amber mines to leave before 15th June is due today.
Many people are still trapped, while some reach to Tanai, in Kachin
state, but some fled to Hkamti, Sagaing Division.
Concern, Care and Contribute to the IDPs Now, (https://www.facebook.com/cccIDPsNOW)
volunteer fund raising team has already transferred 15,000,000 kyats
(15 million kyats) for the recent IDPs in Tanai via Joint Strategy Team,
with public donation. Thanks to all the contributors. May God bless you
all.
Over the last seven months, fighting has intensified between the Myanmar Army and ethnic armed groups in Kachin and northern Shan States, areas with long-running conflicts as ethnic minorities have sought greater autonomy and respect for their rights. This report documents war crimes and other human rights violations by the Myanmar Army, including extrajudicial executions, torture, forced labour, and indiscriminate shelling. Most victims are civilians from ethnic minorities in the region, continuing a legacy of abuse that has rarely led to accountability for the soldiers or commanders responsible.
TANAI TOWNSHIP, Kachin State — Three days ago, Steven Naw Ring, 35, and his family fled their home in the mining village of Nan Kon in Tanai Township, Kachin State.
Fighting had broken out between the Myanmar Army, also known as the Tatmadaw, and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), forcing the ethnic Kachin farmer to abandon not only his house but also most of his possessions, including his animals and important documents.
Sitting on the concrete floor of the assembly hall at a Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) church in Tanai town, he told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday afternoon he wanted to go back, to collect some papers.
About 500 people—most of whom were children and women, some nurturing newborn babies—huddled in groups on the floor. Families lined up to receive food donations; others were too exhausted, and slept.
Around 950 the Kachin internally displaced people (IDPs) have sought shelter at Tanai’s churches: 500 are with the KBC, 200 are in the care of the Catholic Church, 133 are in the Anglican Church, and 120 are staying at two Buddhist monasteries.
But local sources estimate that thousands of villagers and migrants working in amber and gold mines have fled from 10 communities in KIA-controlled territory near the Kawng Ra, N’Ga Ga and Nambyu areas, since fighting broke out between the KIA and the Tatmadaw on June 6.
Many of the migrant workers sheltered at Buddhist monasteries in the township, and some traveled to the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina on the journey back to their hometowns. However, local people have felt that they have nowhere else to go.
“We are in a different condition from the migrant workers,” said Steven Naw Ring, who sometimes works as a miner. “We have to abandon our properties, but they don’t.”
Leaflets dropped from Myanmar Army helicopters over his village on June 8 warned residents to leave by June 15 or the army would recognize them as “insurgents” and take action against them when they launched military operations in the area.
But local sources said Myanmar Army ground troops began attaching the KIA on June 9. The leaflets stated the Tatmadaw would attack the KIA as it had allowed mining in its territory and was destroying the environment.
Mining in the area has not been a recent development, according to locals. Mining operations have been active since 2000 following a ceasefire agreement between the KIA and the Tatmadaw.
Amber and gold mining is the main source of income for the KIA, migrant workers and locals in the area. The majority of Tanai’s people and businesses rely on mining for an income.
Tanai has become crowded with those who fled the mining areas in recent days. Guesthouses and restaurants are packed, while buses and taxis regularly shuttle people to Myitkyina.
Pressure to Evict IDPs
The Myanmar Army is pressuring Christian religious leaders to remove the Kachin people who fled the conflict, including Steven Naw Ring, sheltering at one of its churches, according to an IDP camp committee.
Reverend Dabang Jedi, a KBC spokesperson for Tanai IDPs, told The Irrawaddy that a Burma Army colonel told the committee in a meeting on Tuesday to turn away the IDPs.
“He has told us this at every meeting. He even told us yesterday to move out those IDPs from the town, then send them to stay at Kawng Ra village,” said the reverend.
Kawng Ra, about 10 miles from Tanai town, has experienced fighting for the last two days, according to the KBC.
“We told him it was not safe to send them there,” said reverend Dabang Jedi, adding that the Tatmadaw and local authorities heavily scrutinized IDPs who arrived in the town.
KBC member Naw Seng recounted the colonel telling the committee that if they did not force the IDPs out of town, the army would hold it responsible for any future problems involving the IDPs.
“They put a lot of pressure on our religious leaders to force IDPs out of the town,” said Naw Seng.
Tu Ja, a Kachin IDP camp leader from the Roman Catholic Church, said, “If it was possible, the army would not have IDP camps in Tanai. Maybe they do not want to take responsibility for the IDPs or they do not want to have IDPs camps in the country in the future.
“In order to make them happy, we told them that those people were just temporary IDPs. But if in a year they can not go back to their villages, they will have to stay here,” he added.
Children and women make up most of the recent wave of people fleeing conflict between the Myanmar Army and the KIA in the villages of Tanai Township. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy)
The KBC church has a ration of four bags of rice per day for about 500 people so far, according to the committee, and the Myanmar Army has not donated anything yet for IDPs.
The committee added that only one representative of the government—the lawmaker from Tanai—helped the IDPs, donating four bags of rice, and the township authorities donated one bag and one basket of cooking oil.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) donated 10 bags of rice, and a local company—Citizens Star—donated 10 bags of rice and some drinking water, according to the KBC.
“We will help the IDPs as much as we can. But we do not know how much longer we will have rice to cook for them. We will ask others for donations, too,” said reverend Dabang Jedi.
Father La Sai from the Roman Catholic Church said children were suffering the most, as many of the older people had built up some resistance.
“It was difficult for the IDPs to travel during the rainy season, especially the children, as they had to travel all day,” he said.
The government and the Myanmar Army did not prepare camps for people fleeing their homes in the mining areas, according to local sources, and the wave of IDPs came as a challenging shock to the KBC.
Some local people fled their homes driven by the fear of a coming battle in which the roads would be blocked, preventing them from escaping to Tanai. KIA leaders also told Kachin people to leave the areas, as they said that they could not provide security, according to local sources.
The Myanmar Army has tightened security in Tanai and is checking vehicles traveling on the township’s roads. Local sources said the army is preparing to launch another military offensive against the KIA.
Kachin, tribal peoples occupying parts of northeastern Myanmar (Burma) and contiguous areas ofIndia (Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland) and China (Yunnan). The greatest number of Kachin live in Myanmar (roughly 790,000), but some 150,000 live in China and a few thousand in India. Numbering about 1012,000 in the late 20th century, they speak a variety of languages of the Tibeto-Burman group and are thereby distinguished as Jinghpaw, or Jingpo (Chingpaw [Ching-p’o], Singhpo), Atsi, Maru (Longvo), Lachid, Nung (Rawang), and Lisu .
The traditional Kachin religion is a form of animistic ancestor cult entailing animalsacrifice. As a result of the arrival of American and European missionaries in Burma beginning in the late 19th century, a majority of the Kachin are Christian, mainly Baptist and Roman Catholic. Among the Kachin in India, Buddhism predominates.
