Asian Tribune : Karen civilians facing continuing attacks from the Burma Army are urgently appealing to the world for assistance, telling the Free Burma Rangers (FBR) that “If the Burma Army is not stopped, or we do not get help, when you come to Karen State in the future, there will no longer be Karen people. Please tell the rest of the world to help us.”
According to a report from the FBR, a humanitarian aid organisation working in the conflict zones of eastern Burma, “much of the population of northern Karen State is now displaced”. Over 24,000 civilians are in hiding close to their old villages, and at least 6,000 have fled to the Thai-Burmese border. “For those remaining, continual attacks, patrols, and the close proximity of new Burma Army camps has made returning to villages and fields impossible,” the Free Burma Rangers report claims.
On 29 January, the Burma Army attacked a valley near Saw Wa Der, Toungoo District, with mortars and machine-gun fire, causing internally displaced people (IDPs) in the area to flee again.
Burma Army patrols “shoot on sight”, according to the Free Burma Rangers. On 24 January, troops from Burma Army Infantry Battalion 231 arrested and killed Maung Ga Shwey, the headman of Na Shwe Mo village, in Dooplaya District, central Karen State.
On 1 January, soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 704 shot and killed a 53 year-old man, Saw Bo La Gyi, and shot and wounded Saw Bo Wa, aged 32, in Yaw Kee village in Nyaunglebin District. Yaw Kee has been attacked multiple times in recent months, and was mortared and destroyed in October.
“The displaced people here remain steadfast in their hope for a better future and their struggle for freedom against Burma’s dictators,” the Free Burma Rangers report states. “At the same time they ask us for help and ask us to tell our friends around the world that they need help … The dictators of Burma have no interest in stopping the oppression of the ethnic peoples or relinquishing their power, and until the dictators are stopped, no amount of food or medical relief is enough to solve the human crisis now existing in northern Karen State, eastern Burma. The people here need protection from the Burma Army.”
Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Advocacy Director, Tina Lambert, said: “The Karen people are struggling for their very survival. For too long their cries have fallen on deaf ears around the world. It is time for that to change. The world must act to bring an end to the dictators’ reign of terror in Burma – before it is too late.”
