CSW Call on UN Security Council to Act as Attacks Continue in Burma

The Burma Army has displaced more than 1,200 people in its attacks against villages and hiding places of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Southern Karenni State, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has reported.

|TOP|CSW has pointed to troops from the Burma Army from battalions 421, 426, 428 and 424 as carrying out attacks against villagers in Southern Karenni on Dec. 23rd.

The horrific attack saw twenty-six houses burned down in the Gee Gaw Ber village, which led to all 610 residents of the village fleeing from the Burma Army to find shelter and hiding places.

In the near-by village of Toe Ka Htoo, another 341 people fled from the Burma Army, and still another 255 people from the Pah Poe (Papo) village, which was attacked on Dec. 17th fled into hiding as the Army wrecked havoc among the villagers.

Almost all of the newly displaced people are now in hiding and without shelter, with temperatures in the region falling to below zero degrees in many areas.

The attacks against the people in Southern Karenni State have been constant since Dec. 2002 when more than 2,000 Karenni and 3,000 Karen were attacked by ten battalions of the Burma Army, tell CSW.

|AD|The Burma Army has been ruthless in carrying out its states purpose, which has been to clear all villagers out of the Karenni-Karen border areas and force them into relocation areas under Burma Army control.

CSW estimate that there are now approximately one million IDPs in Burma, as the situation declines into near-genocide against certain ethnic groups.

As one of the leading Christian organisations working in the area, CSW has made a renewed call to the United Nations Security Council to take hasty action against the Burma Army on behalf of the suffering Burmese people.

On Dec. 16th the UN Secretariat reported to the UN Security Council regarding the deterioration of the situation in Burma.

CSW report: “Ibrahim Gambari, Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, gave a 25 minute briefing which focused on reports of human rights abuses, the detention of political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and Burma's refusal to grant access to the UN special envoy.”

Alexa Papadouris, CSW's Advocacy Director, stated, “The ongoing attacks against villagers and IDPs in Karenni state highlight the urgent necessity of UN Security Council intervention.

“While the world stands by, thousands of people every year are losing their lives in Burma and hundreds of thousands are being forcibly displaced as part of a deliberate strategy to destroy their ethnic group. CSW will continue to advocate for concerted international efforts to promote peace and universal respect for human rights in Burma.”