The WLC released Unsafe State: State-sanctioned sexual violence against Chin women in Burma (pdf) this month. The 38 page report goes into great detail, accounting for the sytematic use of rape by the Burmese military.
“These horrors are being sanctioned by the state in Burma,” said Cheery Zahau, a spokesperson for the Women’s League of Chinland. “How can the civilised world accept this junta among their ranks? And how can countries like India and China be arming these rapists?”
There are many disturbing but vital testimonies from victims. The report documents 38 cases from the last five years and offers some insight on what life is like dealing with such abuse.
This is an incredibly significant report. For many years now the annual State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices ( 2006) has failed to offer much detail and has at times, even seemed to insinuate that the use of rape by the military might be better categorized as allegations without concrete evidence. One can hope this report may help clear a few hurdles of political semantics.
