Fearing
abuses from the Burmese army, tens of thousands of Kachin fled their villages,
Human Rights Watch said in its October 18 press release. Before arriving at
displaced persons camps in KIA controlled areas, several thousand villagers hid
from the Burmese army in the jungle, in some cases for a month after the
fighting began.
Human
Rights Watch documented the killings of three Kachin civilians by Burmese
soldiers in June and is investigating credible allegations of other killings.
Several people told Human Rights Watch that Burmese army soldiers fired on them
as they were fleeing their village.
The
Burmese army has unlawfully used Kachin civilians for forced labor, which has
long been a serious problem in Burma's ethnic areas, Human Rights Watch said.
While President Thein Sein has been pledging to create a peaceful and organized nation, his military branch has been violating fundamental human rights. All these war crimes violated by Burmese soldiers will re-emerge to haunt the President. If so, the president must try to convince the military commander-in-chief that this war will lead the nation into an abysmal misery.
Hence, the President must call a nationwide ceasefire in order to stop ongoing war crimes. It is a dishonor not only for the President and his government but also for the whole nation that the Burma Army has allowed a variety of criminals in its national armed forces.
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