[ad_1]
SITTWE, Myanmar: After being gang-raped by soldiers, the steely-eyed Thein Nu faced the powerful Myanmar military in a months-long fight for justice, a fight that paid off in a rare legal victory.
His three rapists were jailed for 20 years with forced labor, a sentence he hopes will give other survivors the courage to speak up and challenge the military’s impunity.
The filing of a legal complaint pitted the 36-year-old mother of four against Myanmar’s most powerful institution, whose soldiers have long been accused by human rights groups of using rape as a weapon of war in the zones. conflict of the country.
The crime was committed in June in the northern state of Rakhine, the site of a nearly two-year battle between the army and the Arakan Army, which is fighting for greater autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population.
“Many women like me have already been through the same thing,” Thein Nu, who was given a pseudonym to protect her identity, told AFP.
“If I don’t reveal this, it could lead to many more in Rakhine being abused.”
Her victory comes after an initial denial from the military, who said she made up the allegations, and she still faces the stare of widespread social stigma, even from her husband, who refuses to speak to her.
“I’m happy and sad,” he said, still not believing that the military court ruled in his favor.
“I don’t entirely believe that this verdict will stop the rape and abuse of women in conflict areas because (the military) are untrustworthy people with two faces.”
MOMENT OF THE BASIN?
In a rare acknowledgment of irregularities, the military on Saturday (December 12) announced the verdict and sentence against the three rapists, proclaiming their own “transparent” investigation of the case.
But observers warn that it is too early to judge whether Thein Nu’s victory will be a watershed moment for the armed forces, which directly ruled Myanmar until 2011 and still dominate many aspects of life in the country.
Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch said it was not yet clear whether the army was ready to confront the alleged atrocities committed by its bases.
In the past, his approach has been to outright deny allegations of rape, and in some cases, soldiers file defamation suits against the victim, he said.
“It is going to take much more than a single case to convince us that some kind of change has been reached,” he told AFP, adding that the military court was held behind closed doors.
Members of a support network waited outside the military court for the verdict. (Photo: AFP / STR)
Almost six months later, Thein Nu still clearly remembers the night of her ordeal.
In the evening, gunfire broke out in her village and she hid with her daughter and granddaughter in her mother-in-law’s house with other women and children.
Around midnight, four soldiers broke into the house and discovered his hiding place after the baby started crying.
“I realized that I had no way to escape from three men who are more powerful than me,” he said.
After the attack, Thein Nu and her children fled the village and headed for Sittwe, where she made the harrowing decision to seek justice.
With the three rapists arrested, Thein Nu wants the fourth senior officer, who he believes could have stopped the attack, also face justice.
HOPE OF VALUE
Since the sentences were handed down, more rape victims have come forward to seek legal help, according to Nyo Aye, president of the Arakan Women’s Network, which provided legal assistance, advice and shelter to Thein Nu and her family.
“Currently, we remain hopeful … of similar cases that occurred in other ethnic areas of the country,” said Nyo Aye.
The court also informed him that the proceedings against the fourth soldier, who remained on the sidelines, would continue.
For now, Thein Nu deals with the deep social stigma associated with being a rape victim in Myanmar on a daily basis.
Her husband, who works in Thailand, abandoned her and stopped sending financial support to the family.
“As I suffer the pain in silence, I can only hope that he gradually understands me,” he told AFP.
But he consoles himself in the hope that his success in court may encourage others to come forward instead of hiding in shame.
“I would like to urge all the girls in Rakhine who suffered this to speak the truth instead of being ashamed and hiding it,” she said.
“Be like me, be brave and brave.”
