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Shoot on Sight
The ongoing SPDC offensive against villagers in northern Karen State
In December 2006 Burma Issues released a special report and video both entitled Shoot on Sight: The ongoing SPDC offensive against villagers in northern Karen State.
The report and video details the horrendous situation that villagers in Toungoo, Nyaung Lay Bin and Muthraw Districts are facing and includes testimonies from villagers and prison porters affected by this offensive. Throughout this military campaign, which began in November 2005 and is still ongoing, villages have been shelled with mortars, looted and burnt to the ground. Crops and food supplies have been destroyed. Burmese soldiers are ordered to shoot on sight regardless of whether it is a combatant or a defenseless civilian. As a result more than 27,000 people have been forced from their homes, either hiding in the jungle or trying to find refuge in Thailand. The Burmese army continues to increase its military presence in these areas and carry out attacks against villagers. Thousands of lives have been affected by this offensive and many have been lost – all valuable and irreplaceable.
The three actions that we are calling for are:
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For ASEAN, China and India to pressure the SPDC to stop the attacks in northern Karen State
- For Thailand to enable more humanitarian assistance to cross the Thai-Burma border into Burma, and for donor countries to support cross border work
- For a United Nations Security Council resolution on Burma
To download a copy of the report please click
here
Burma Issues have developed a number of supplementary documents and information that accompany the report and video. A list of documents, a brief summary, and links are provided below.
- Screening Guide
The screening guide for the video “Shoot on Sight: The ongoing SPDC offensive against
villagers in northern Karen State” contains information that will enable people to use the video as an effective advocacy tool. Included in this guide is information on the ongoing offensive in northern Karen State, important talking points relating to the military attacks, how this is a threat to regional and international security, and what ASEAN, the United Nations Security Council, the international community and individual people can do. This should give people the resources to make a presentation about the situation in northern Karen State. The package also includes information on the Video project and Burma Issues.
To download a copy of this guide please
click here.
- Supplementary Update
In the six monthssince the release of both the report and video Shoot on Sight the situation in northern Karen State has continued to deteriorate. Of important note is that:
- 25,000 villagers face imminent starvation
- the Burmese military is using helicopters to restock their army bases (food and supplies including weapons and ammunition) and to provide new soldiers to the frontline areas
- increased militarization of northern Karen State continues unabated
- Internal Displacement continues
- as does systematic human rights violations against civilians
To read the full supplementary update please
click here
Additionally, on June 25th, on the eve of the United Nations International Day
in Support of Victims of Torture Burma Issues in conjunction
with the Human Rights Documentation Unit held a press conference
in Bangkok at the Foreign Correspondent Club Thailand. We
produced two press releases for the media event which
can be viewed on our media page. To go to the media page please
click here
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