Kachin rights groups demand justice for Maran Lu Ra (20) and Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin (21), two female teachers who were reportedly raped and killed by government soldiers in northern Shan State on 19 January 2015.
“Eight years have already passed and they still haven’t received justice. That is why we have released this statement as a reminder of their case. We’ll continue to work until justice is served,” a Kachin leader told KNG, asking for her name to be withheld for fear of reprisals.
Fourteen women’s organisations released the statement on the anniversary of their gruesome murders in Kawng Hkar, Muse Township, where they were volunteering under the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC).
The military refused to tell the truth about what happened when multiple soldiers from the 503 Light Infantry Battalion raped and murdered the two volunteer teachers, the statement said. Since then, the army has continued killing Kachin nationalities and commit other human rights violations in northern Shan and Kachin states.
The KBC has said earlier that the Northern Military Command reported that DNA tests were conducted on all the suspected soldiers and no match was found. Five years after their deaths, a KBC truth-seeking commission found that justice was delayed because witnesses were afraid to testify.
Lu Bu, the mother of Tang Bau Hkawng Nan Sin, said, “I’ll always remember them and I’m still heartbroken…We’ll continue to fight for justice for them.”
During previous anniversaries of the teachers’ deaths, thousands of people gathered to pray for the deceased teachers, but no memorial service was held in Burma this year.
