Seven villagers in Kunhing Township were detained for more than a day after renewed fighting between the Burma Army and the RCSS/SSA.
The seven men from Zaikhao Tract in Kunhing Township were taken from their village by Burma Army soldiers on the morning of 25 August after the Burma Army had clashed with Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) troops.
The men were held in an unknown location before being released yesterday. There has been no update about their condition since their release.
The seven detainees were:
- Loong Nanta ( the headman of Zaikhao tract)
- Loong Kawli
- Sai Arh
- Ko Toon
- Sai Naratta
- Sai Kawntinya
- Sai Khurharn
According to Sai La an RCSS/SSA spokesperson before the men were arrested there had been fighting between the RCSS/SSA and the Burma Army in the villages of Peng Khan and Wan Lao. The fighting broke out when RCSS/SSA troops entered Kunhing Township after having travelled there from Namzang Township in Southern Shan State
Nang Wa Nu, a Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) Member of Parliament, said that she has written to U Aung Min, the Vice Chairman of the government’s Union Peacemaking Working Committee, expressing concern for the detainees’ security and that of local civilians, particularly during Burma’s ongoing peace process. She said that since the detention of the seven men people in Kunhing are now afraid and worried for their safety.
Villagers are also concerned by a recent increase in the number of Burma Army troops in the area.
The Arrest and detention of civilians by the Burmese military during conflict has been previously reported and documented throughout the country.
Sai Hor Seng, of the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), an organization that documents human rights violations in the region said: "When there was fighting in local areas the Burma Army would allege that villagers were involved in assisting the Shan Army. In many cases [of detention] the Burma Army forced the villagers to be their porters and tortured or even killed them."
In March of this year, the Shan Herald Agency for News reported on the detention of Sai Hsai Khur, a teacher from Wan Nar Kun village in Mongnai Township. He was arrested on his way to a teachers’ meeting at a temple in the area. The Burma Army detained him for two days, reportedly tying him to a tree and interrogating him.
“They asked me where the Shan State Army bases are and how many soldiers they have,” he is quoted as saying. “When I replied that I don’t know anything, they kicked me and pointed a gun at my head.”
In response to such reports, government representatives have remained silent on or denied the practice of unlawful detention, suggesting that evidence of violations be disclosed to local military commanders.
By SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.)
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
