The Christmas massacre reinforces the ‘evil’ ideology of Myanmar | War Stories
At about 2 a.m. on December 24, Pray Meh was awakened by the sound of unmanned aerial vehicles flying over his village of Hpruso in southeastern Kayah, Myanmar. As tensions between anti-terrorists and the military began in May, the sound of drones has become increasingly common.
Pray Meh, a member of the Karenni Christian majority in Buddhist Buddhism, often celebrates Christmas with its locals. But this year, the overthrow of the government on February 1 and the war that ensued left people indifferent to the celebrations in a government where almost half of the population is Christian. Pray Meh had planned to go to a nearby church to pray for peace.
But before they could eat breakfast on Christmas Eve, they had to leave the plan.
“I received a phone call that soldiers were coming to the village,” he told Al Jazeera. I stopped cooking and started packing to escape.
By noon, smoke was rising, and rumors were circulating that the army had killed civilians. Living in a nearby village, Pray Meh eagerly awaits the change.
“I could not hear anything that night. The only thing I knew was that there was a lot of smoke, ”he recalled.
His worst fears were confirmed the following morning on Christmas Day: Troops burned more than 30 civilians in their vehicles, leaving the bodies burning unconscious.
“I felt as though I had fallen off a cliff, and my whole body was shaking. My bones were weak, ”said Pray Meh. We cannot be happy about Christmas.
For security reasons and because of the risk of retaliation, Al Jazeera uses the nickname Pray Meh.
‘Killing innocent people’
After enduring months of deadly terrorist attacks against their non-violent protests, gun resistance has grown since May. Some have joined existing militias, while others have formed new anti-sectarian groups.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which oversees the situation in Myanmar, since Thursday at least 1,382 people have been killed in Myanmar since the February 1 February 1 insurgency. More than 11,200 pro-democracy activists were arrested during the same period.
Kayah province and neighboring towns south of Shan State, Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), made up of a number of newly formed armies, and Karenni’s army, armed with tribal weapons, has resorted to military tactics that were not traditional in the military.
In response to a nationwide arms embargo, including in Kayah and south of Shan, militants attacked all areas with eagles, arson, indiscriminate gunfire and gunfire, all the while preventing civilians from getting what they needed – following the so-called “four-pronged approach”. has been used for many years to undermine the military support base.
As of December 19, more than 150,000 civilians had fled their homes across the towns of Kayah State and Pekon south of Shan State, according to the Karenni Civil Society Network.
Condemnation of the conspiracy is a request for international assistance from the National Unity Government of Myanmar.
The NUG is made up of ordinary (secret) civilians displaced by the Burmese army.#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar https://t.co/LmftaSS2RV
– MiMi Aye (@meemalee) December 27, 2021
Fighting erupted in the town of Hpruso and other parts of Kayah State on December 22, a KNDF spokesman told Al Jazeera, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On the morning of December 24, the KNDF troops seized a group of soldiers marching on the town of Hpruso, according to a press release issued by the KNDF that day.
The document stated that the riots lasted for more than four hours, and that the soldiers set fire to cars and arrested 10 civilians.
In an effort to free the civilian population, four members of the local army, led by the military, went to the area to negotiate with the military. Instead of being released, the men were arrested and shot in the head, according to the KNDF.
A KNDF spokesman told Al Jazeera that the military could kill the four men to “remove the witnesses”.
Later that night, KNDF posted pictures of the four men on its Facebook page. Then on Christmas morning, they released a series of photographs of the burnt bodies and criticized the military for burning 35 civilians, including women and children, calling them “killing innocent people”.
Al Jazeera contacted military spokesman Zaw Min Tun but could not be reached for comment.
The Mirror Daily, reports by the military, said the military had seized seven vehicles bound for the town of Moso on December 24.
According to the incident, the occupants of the vehicles also included people with local anti-aircraft weapons. They reportedly did not stop their vehicle, and instead shot the soldiers with rifles and grenades, which he was “arrested for dead”.
A KNDF spokesman denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning gunmen have been made more than once.
On Monday, KNDF and Karenni State police announced they were investigating the killings together.
The Karenni State police force, which was established in August, has more than 200 police officers who went on strike under the auspices of the military and joined the ranks of the nation’s most disobedient members. The group wants to provide security for civilians across the state, their intelligence chief told Al Jazeera, in a statement not to be named.
The information officer said the investigative team was facing a number of difficulties in gathering evidence, but “is trying to take action and make the world aware of the atrocities that are taking place at Christmas”.
‘Extremely hot bodies’
On Wednesday, a KNDF spokesman told Al Jazeera that the search team had received reports of 37 missing people, including two children under the age of 12. But it was not immediately clear if all 37 had been burned. Fear of being shot by the military, made the search team unable to carry the bodies until Monday afternoon.
Doctors with an investigative team conducted a forensic examination of 31 bodies and determined that he had been shot before being burned, according to a KNDF spokesman. He said that the other four bodies were so badly burned that detailed investigation was not possible.
With unidentified bodies, the identity of the victims is based primarily on reports of missing persons, as well as what evidence may be available on the site.
A KNDF spokesman said none of the victims were identified as members of the armed forces, and no one was carrying weapons.
Those reported missing include health care workers, seven rural people and refugees who may have come from buying food, the owner and 10 employees of another oil company.
Save the Children confirmed that two of the co-workers, the new father, were also among the victims..
On December 29, villagers buried the cremated bodies and buried them.
Attack on social workers is a crime.@UNMyanmar #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/CzOAkTokA6
– Aung Myo Min (@aung_myo_minn) December 27, 2021
Frightened, frightened
Residents of the area told Al Jazeera that the massacre had caused a great deal of controversy at Christmas.
“People are upset and scared,” a KNDF spokesman said.
“[The military] they show their cruelty at Christmas in every way. They may think that by doing all these things in the way that most Christians do, that people will obey because they are afraid and that things will work out for them, but they are completely wrong. This rebellion will be quickened by their cruelty. They will experience the consequences. ”
The head of the church told Al Jazeera that because of the ongoing war and displacement, no one was planning to hold any celebration, but after receiving news of the Christmas carnage, even prayers were canceled.
“Christmas is often a celebration of beautiful culture, but this year, everything is not going to be quiet,” he said.
“When we saw the pictures [of the victims]… We all had tears in our eyes. We can no longer say Merry Christmas. “Christmas was so dark for us…. The presence of burning bodies was near us.”
Fear of further attacks
As residents of Hpruso mourn the loss of their loved ones, they remain fearful of being resurrected as they struggle to find food and necessities in an area where the temperature drops below minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter.
A KNDF spokesman told Al Jazeera that as of Monday, about 30,000 people in the entire Kayah region had fled their homes.
Pray Meh said their entire village has fled, some living in nearby villages while others are hiding in the bush.
“It is very cold here and we have not been able to bring blankets. We tried to return to the village to get supplies but the soldiers were firing, ”he said.
Speaking to him on Monday evening, Al Jazeera said he felt unsafe and heard fighter jets flying overhead.
A volunteer nurse living in Moso confirms that the villagers are scattered over the nearby villages and that no one is left behind.
“I fled to the nearest village with only my bag … When I got to the village, they were also planning to flee because they heard gunshots, so we fled again,” he said.
She continues to receive phone calls from other villagers who need help, but are having difficulty finding or helping them.
On Sunday, he and a team friend approached some villagers who were hiding in the woods under tent cloths.
He said: “We still hear gunshots as we provide medical care.
The church leader, interviewed by Al Jazeera, said churches in the area continue to make efforts to reach refugees and provide assistance, although the congregations have been repeatedly persecuted for doing so.
“It has become a part of our lives, to be in this situation,” said one church leader.
The United Nations and the governments of the world have issued a statement calling for the immediate investigation into the allegations.
On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council again condemned the killings and called for a series of sanctions, reaffirming its members’ support for the people of Myanmar and the transformation of democracy “and” their strong commitment to governance, political freedom, regional and regional integrity. one. Myanmar unity ”.
But the leader of the Kayah church said it was too late to say more.
“We need to take action. We pray about that every day. Every morning and evening we pray for an end to this cruel, vicious cycle. But we also need to get involved with the outside world to help us. ”
Awng Myat Down contributed to this.
(This article was funded by support from ARTICLE 19 under Voices for Inclusion, a project sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands.)
