A Burmese ethnic armed group executed three of its members sentenced to death during a public trial on Wednesday, in a town near the Chinese border recaptured from the junta in January, a media outlet affiliated with the insurgents reported.
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Ten “army personnel” were tried, including for murder, extortion and kidnapping, in Laukkai (north-east), according to The Kokang, associated with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).
A video posted on the Chinese-language media’s Facebook page shows the defendants, handcuffed and dressed in the same blue uniform, exposed Wednesday on a stage in front of a crowd of several hundred people. They wear a sign around their necks with their name and crime, while men in military uniform read the verdict.
Three men were sentenced to death for murder and selling stolen weapons and ammunition to the MNDAA, according to The Kokang. The others received prison sentences.
The trial is “an important measure to teach the population not to commit crimes against the law,” the media wrote.
AFP tried to contact a Source close to the MNDAA for a reaction.
Burma’s border regions are home to several ethnic minority groups, who have been fighting the army for decades for more autonomy and control of lucrative local resources (timber, jade, or opium).
The MNDAA brings together ethnic Chinese fighters and has territories in Shan State, close to the Chinese province of Yunnan.
In January, after weeks of clashes, the group regained possession of the town of Laukkai, from which it had been driven out in 2009 by troops then led by the current head of the junta, Min Aung Hlaing.
Laukkai is renowned for trafficking of all kinds – drugs, prostitution, online scams – to the point of worrying neighboring China, due to the number of Chinese victims.
Beijing, an arms supplier to the junta, has repeatedly called on Burmese authorities to put an end to these opaque industries.
The MNDAA offensive, which promised to close illegal sites, would have had the tacit approval of China, according to analysts.
