The Burmese Army is committing with impunity, savage and rampant sexual violence on ethnic Chin women, said a new report released today.

The Burmese Army commits brutal sexual crimes against Chin women even in the presence of witnesses and sometimes torture and even murder the victims with impunity, said the report, titled ‘Unsafe State: State-sanctioned sexual violence against Chin women in Burma’.

The report, compiled and released by the Women’s League of Chinland, an umbrella ethnic Chin women’s group, documents 38 cases of rape committed by the Burmese Army during the past five years.

While some victims were murdered, at least a third of them were gang-raped, and many tortured and savagely raped in the presence of local communities, said the report.

In one case, the report said, a woman was stripped naked and tied to a cross, in a shocking act of mockery against the Chin’s belief in Christianity.

Cheery Zahau, coordinator and spokesperson of WLC told Mizzima, “Rape committed by Burmese soldiers is acceptable and there is no action taken even if the victims file a report.”

“These horrors are being sanctioned by the state in Burma.” Cheery added.

Meanwhile, the junta backed Myanmar Women Affairs Federation in a meeting held in Chin State earlier this month said peace and tranquility prevails in Chin state and citizens are free to practice religions of their choice.

It also said that under the current government, Chin State has seen various developments and accused groups in exile including women’s organisations of trying to create unrest among the people. It further states that women groups in exile do not represent women folk inside Burma.

“This women’s group [The Myanmar Women Affairs Federation] is sponsored by the junta and are puppets of the junta,” said Zahau.

The report, launched today by former Indian Defence Minister, George Fernandez, is in keeping with the trend of earlier reports by other ethnic women of Burma including the Shan Women Action Networks’ “License to Rape” which documented widespread rape committed by the Burmese Army in Shan state.

The ‘License to Rape’ report evoked an international outcry against the Burmese junta’s appalling human rights violations. However, the Burmese Army unabashedly continues to commit sexual violence against women.

In February, four teenage girls from Putao of Kachin State in upper Burma were gang-raped by Burmese soldiers including an officer. Instead of taking action against Burmese soldiers the girls were arrested and detained when the news was leaked to the foreign media.

“How can the civilized world accept this junta in their ranks? And how can countries like India and China arm these rapists?” Zahau asked, urging India and other neighbouring countries to stop supplying military hardware to the junta.

India, which is cosying up to the junta in terms of bilateral relationship, is supplying armaments to Burma. These include field guns, mortars, surveillance equipment, aircraft, tanks, and air-defence guns.

Economic and military support to the Burmese junta by neighboring countries such as India are directly fuelling militarization in Burma’s ethnic areas, Zahau said.