DKBA ‘kidnapping’ defector children | Democratic Voice of Burma 14.07.

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DKBA ‘kidnapping’ defector

children
By NAW NOREEN Like (0) Comments (0) Share
Published: 14 July 2010

The pro-Burmese
government Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army
(DKBA) is taking captive
family members, including

http://www.dvb.no/news/dkba-‘kidnapping’-defector-children/10743 Seite 1 von 4

DKBA ‘kidnapping’ defector children | Democratic Voice of Burma 14.07.10 12:12

young children, of soldiers

who have defected to an
opposition Karen army. DKBA troops march during new
year celebrations (Reuters)
A seven-member platoon
fled the DKBA’s 999 brigade on 11 July and, armed with weapons and ammunition, joined the Karen
National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU).

But the following day, the families of platoon leader Saw Myo Myo and three other defectors were taken
by DKBA troops in Shwe Gkoh Ko, a town close to the Karen state border with Thailand.

“The DKBA is angry with me,” said Saw Myo Myo. “I heard that my father, my sister and my wife have
been taken captive…and being detained in Shwe Gkoh Ko. Apparently, they told my wife she has to pay
for the guns or she will never be released. They will make her work for them during the detention.”

His platoon decided to join the KNU because of insufficient rations and supplies provided by the DKBA,
as well as their rejection of the government’s attempts to turn the milita into a Border Guard Force.

Twelve relatives of the four men have been kidnapped, said the KNLA lieutenant-colonel, Saw Paw
Doh. This includes a two-year-old boy and an 80-year-old.

“The women had nothing to do with their husband’s work,” he said. “The DKBA took captive of
underage children and innocent people. This is a violation of human rights. We don’t know how much
[compensation for the guns] the DKBA wants but the families have been told to sell all their land and
other properties they own to pay them.”

Since the DKBA split from the KNU in 1995 and allied itself to the government, the two factions have
been at loggerheads. Both are vying for control of territory in Burma’s eastern Karen state, which has
been torn by a six-decade conflict between the KNU and the Burmese government, which is now being
aided by the DKBA.

Rumours of large-scale defections from the DKBA back to the KNU circulate sporadically, but only a
handful is ever confirmed. Factions within the KNU would like to see its numbers strengthened by
additional troops, but the question of whether to accept back former enemies looms over the debate.

The DKBA’s 999 Brigade is headed by the somewhat-infamous Chit Thu, known to be close to Burma’s
ruling junta and an aggressively military tactician. Aung Myo Min, head of the Thailand-based Human
Rights and Education Institute of Burma (HREIB), said that “taking captive of children in armed conflict
is the biggest violation of child rights”.

Detaining underage children and the elderly violates UN article 1612 on children and armed conflict, he
continued. “The DKBA is already accused of using child soldiers and they are committing another crime
by taken hostage of children. We would like to urge them to stop detaining children and ensure
protection for their rights.”

The reports mirror an incident that took place in May this year when the parents of DKBA defector Pho
Taw Taw were detained and asked to pay 160,000 baht (US$5,000) compensation for the guns he took.
The parents were released after they paid 80,000 baht (US$2,500) to the DKBA raised by selling their
properties.

Author: NAW NOREEN Category: News, Politics

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