A Tatmadaw company commander has told villagers that his soldiers will shoot anyone they see with a light on after 10pm and that if they do they will not be responsible for their actions.
The threat was made on 27th October by Captain Thein Sein of Infantry battalion 151 against the villagers of Hong Leik village between Mong San and Kali sub-townships in southern Shan State.
A villager, who did not want to give his name said: “That officer only arrived here a few months ago. In the middle of last month he fired his gun for no reason, which scared us all. Last week he called the village head and told him that no lights were to be on after 10pm. Yesterday he said that if anyone is shot and killed [for showing a light] he will not be responsible for any of the consequences.”
A company under the command of Infantry Battalion 151 has been based at Hong Leik monastery for about two years.
The villagers got their their representative in the union level people’s parliament, Daw Nan War Nu the member for Kunheing Township, to ask the army to leave the temple for the three months of Buddhist lent.
The army only moved out of the temple for a week during lent and are still using it as an army base according to the anonymous villager.
The reason army units base themselves in Buddhist temples is because they know Buddhist ethnic armed groups will not attack them when they are in a temple.
