December 13th, 2021
The sentencing of a soldier who raped a 60-year-old woman in Kutkai Township in northern Shan State is just a window dressing, said the activists working for woman affairs.
On November 7th, a soldier of the military council raped a Kachin woman in Pharkhat village in Namphalon village-tract in Kutkai Township. Private Min Min Soe who raped the victim was sentenced to 20 years in prison on December 10th.
A townelder who attended the court’s hearing said: “The soldier who committed the rape was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Two soldiers who accompanied the rapist were sentenced to three months each in prison. The sergeant who supervised them was demoted to the lance-corporal. The military column commander’s military service was reduced by one year. The company commander’s military service was reduced by one year.”
Daw Tin Tin Nyo, an advisor to the Burmese Women’s Union (BWU) said: “The sentencing of the rapist to 20 years in prison aims to show the public and international community that the case is solved with accountability and responsibility. The main point is to earn a good reputation. Why did the military not take action against the different forms of tortures against the public rudely and the violations of human rights? This is just window-dressing. The military’s culture of impunity will not disappear just by sentencing a soldier. There will be no significant change by just doing it.”
On November 7th, one of three soldiers who came to collect water raped a woman from Pharkhat village. The name of the soldier is Min Min Soe from Light Infantry Battalion-336 based in Phalkhone. He confessed to the rape.
The sentence was handed down to him after the Tatmadaw made interrogation at the Light Infantry Division-45 office in Kutkai Township in accord with the Tatmadaw Acts and Regulations, according to the statement by the Office of the Commander-in-Chief.
Moon Nay Li, the spokesperson of the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) said: “Jail sentence alone will not bring about justice in sexual violence. The military is required to adopt the policy in order that no further cases occur. The Bamar soldiers who arrive in ethnic areas always commit the offences as they enjoy the impunity for violence, gang rape and killings. Soldiers are committing war crimes as a policy. The military has been using rape as a weapon of war. The military is required to adopt a better policy in order to protect the rights of women.”
Before and after the coup, the military council is using rape especially in the conflict-hit ethnic states as a weapon of war, activists say.
The activists said they have got evidence about the rapes committed by soldiers such as the raping and killing of two volunteer teachers in Kaungkhar village, the sexual insult to a 14-year-old Ta’ang nun in Namphatkar, the raping of a pregnant woman and a woman who recently delivered a baby in Teedim Township and other rape cases.
As the soldiers who committed all these offenses still enjoy impunity, the activists working for the women affairs said they would continue to make demands until justice prevails.
Sent by the NMG.