Bangkok, Jan 21 (AP) A Myanmar military tribunal hassentenced six soldiers to 10 years in prison with hard labourfor killing three civilians in war-torn Kachin state,officials said, in a move welcomed by rights groups.
The Kachin state police office said the tribunal handeddown the sentence Friday after finding the soldiers guilty ofkilling three ethnic Kachin civilians in September. Theprosecution came after an internal investigation by themilitary.
Min Zaw, a Kachin state police officer, said that duringthe hearing the six confessed that they were responsible forthe killings.
Kachin state is home to an ethnic rebel army that hasbeen fighting the Myanmar military for more than seven years.
More than 100,000 people have fled the fighting and live inrefugee camps.
Calls to the military information office rang unansweredyesterday.
The three civilians were among a group of five detainedby soldiers last May while they were heading back to theirrefugee camp after gathering firewood near Hka Pra Yangvillage. Two of the men were released and returned to thecamp, while the bodies of the other three were found in ashallow grave three days later.
Rights groups said the prosecution of the six soldierswas rare and the first step down a long road to endingmilitary impunity. Still they raised concerns about the trialbeing held behind closed doors.
"There's a good reason for the military to keep thesetrials behind closed doors. It makes it a lot easier to coverup widespread and systematic abuses," said David Baulk,Myanmar human rights specialist for Fortify Rights.
Myanmar's military has been accused of violating humanrights with impunity for decades, including in its conflictswith rebel groups.
Most recently it has been accused of abuses during whatit calls "clearance operations" against ethnic RohingyaMuslims in Rakhine state. More than 650,000 Rohingya have leftMyanmar for Bangladesh, fleeing what the United Nations callsethnic cleansing.
Myanmar's military last week made a rare public admissionof killing 10 Rohingya Muslims whose bodies were found in amass grave in a village in northern Rakhine. (AP)AJR.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.