15 Shan Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have issued a statement following the discovery in a forest of the bodies of the Ta’ang Party regional chairman, Mai Nom Han, his wife and seven-month-old child.
Locals believe the family was killed by the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS/SSA) ethnic armed organisation (EAO). According to them the family was arrested at an RCSS/SSA checkpoint near Ton Law Village in southern Shan State’s Mong Kai Township.
According to eyewitnesses from Pan Pwe Village and a Ta'ang Palaung soldier who escaped from the RCSS/SSA forces the family was killed by RCSS/SSA soldiers.
The RCSS has denied arresting Mong Nom Han, but on 10 January, only RCSS troops were stationed around Ton Law and Pan Pwe villages. Other allied forces only arrived in Ton Law Village on 24 January, according to villagers.
Over one thousand people attended the family’s funeral on 13 March and The Ta'ang Women's Organization (TWO); The Ta'ang Students and Youth Union (TSYU) and the Ta'ang Political Consultative Committee (TPCC) all sent their condolences.
The statement from the Shan CSOs condemned the killing and other unsolved killings in Shan State saying: “Conflict among armed groups in Northern Shan State has escalated since 2006 and it has taken a devastating toll on civilians,” and it demanded that “all armed groups in Shan State to refrain from targeting civilians, take concrete action to end human rights violations and protect the defenseless people of Shan State.”
They ended the statement by urging “all organizations to establish mechanisms to investigate human rights violations and atrocity crimes committed in their respective areas so that the perpetrators can be put on trial and justice can be brought to victims.”
Below is the statement in full:
“We are shocked and saddened by the news that Chairman of Ta'ang National Party Mong Kung township Main Nom Han, his wife and daughter were killed. The family went missing in January but their bodies were later found near Ton Law village.
“We strongly condemn any individual and group for targeting innocent civilians, torturing and arbitrarily arresting, and brutally killing them. We demand justice for Main Nom Han and his family and the perpetrator must be held accountable.
“Conflict among armed groups in Northern Shan State has escalated since 2006 and it has taken a devastating toll on civilians. There are scores of reports that innocent civilians were killed and some simply went missing without a trace.
“It is likewise Maing Nom Han's murder case; justice had not been served for six young men who went missing in Namkham township where armed conflict is intensified. The perpetrator who committed the crime of killing the abbot of Shwe Jin monastery of Kyaukme and abbot of Khur Nim monastery of Lashio have not been brought to justice. NLD lawmaker U Theik Zaw was murder in his house in November 2020 but the case has remained unsolved.
“There have been so many case that brutal crimes against innocent civilians were committed with impunity, thus weakening the hope in justice, and encouraging the repetition of the same offenses.
“We therefore demand all armed groups in Shan State to refrain from targeting civilians, take concrete action to end human rights violations and protect the defenseless people of Shan State.
“We also urge all organizations to establish mechanisms to investigate human rights violations and atrocity crimes committed in their respective areas so that the perpetrators can be put on trial and justice can be brought to victims.
“Participating Organizations
1. Tai Youth Yangon
2. Tai Students' Union - TSU
3. Tai Youth Organization - TYO
4. Global Shan Network
5. Tai Youths Network Japan
6. Tai Youth Community South Korea
7. Tai Sangha Students Thailand
8. Tai Youth Htong Mao
9. Tai Youth Laikha
10. Shan Community Japan
11. Kyun Ta Htaung Myae Foundation
12. Shan Community Denmark - SCDK
13. Tai Community Norway
14. Tai National Community Thailand
15. UK Shan State Society – UKSSS”
