On the 2nd anniversary of the rape and murder of two Kachin teachers in northern Myanmar, the NGO Burma Campaign UK marked the anniversary by delivering a petition and campaign postcards to the British government. 
The petition has 3,254 people calling on the UK government to do more to lobby and help stop rape and sexual violence in Myanmar.
The NGO alleges two Kachin teachers, Maran Lu Ra and Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin from the Kachin Baptist Convention, were brutally raped and killed by Myanmar Army soldiers overnight on 19th/20th January 2015. Two years on, there is still no justice for them and their family. The attack took place in Kaunghka village, Northern Shan State. This area has faced conflict since 2011, when the Myanmar Army broke a 17-year-old ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Army.
At the urging of the UK, Myanmar signed the Declaration to Combat Sexual Violence in Conflict in June 2014, but has not implemented it in any way. According the NGO, the new NLD-led government has taken no steps to end impunity for rape and sexual violence committed by the Myanmar Army against ethnic women and children.
This is an issue which receives little attention in Myanmar. The British government needs to speak out more on the alleged ongoing use of rape and sexual violence by the Myanmar Army, Burma Campaign UK says. In the past, the approach seems to have been to avoid directly naming and criticising the Myanmar Army for its use of rape and sexual violence, says the NGO.
“It has been two years now since the two Kachin teachers were brutally raped and killed by the Burmese military and there is still no justice,” said Zoya Phan, Campaigns Manager at Burma Campaign UK. “Given the fact that the NLD-led government has taken no steps to end impunity for sexual violence in conflict, it is time the international community to act on this. More support needs to be given to civil society, especially local women’s organisations, which have been documenting sexual violence by the Burmese Army and assisting survivors. The British government should also stop training the Burmese Army until they take concrete action to end impunity for rape, and take other steps to prevent rape.”