Mon splinter group denies killing railway employees

Nai Chan Mon, IMNA
January 26, 2006

The Monland Restoration Party (MRP), a Mon splinter group today denied killing two railway employees in southern Mon state.

Nai Pan Nyunt, leader of MRP, said his men did not kill the station officer and employee working in Poutpinkwin village.

Unidentified armed men kidnapped the two railway employees on the night of December 22. They were killed and a note written in blood near the bodies stated that the killing was the work of a new Mon revolutionary army.

Local Burmese military commander Maj. Zar Oo accused “Nai Chan-Dein”, a commander of MRP operating in the area.

But the MRP leader dismissed the allegations as unreliable. “Nai Chan Dein was on the border for a month but it was not him,” Nai Pan Nyunt said.

Following the murder of the two railway employees, Maj. Zar Oo and his troops from infantry battalion No.299 asked villagers to gather near the village. Each villager was interrogated for information on the killers.

Some men were beaten and some women slapped during the interrogation by the Burmese soldiers. The villagers missed lunch on the day, said Mi Mit.

Some local villagers suspected government troops of the killing but pretending not to know anything and then pinning the blame on the Mon splinter group.

A year ago another railway employee was killed and villagers then too had suspected government troops.

In another incident, Chan-Dein and MRP were accused of a robbery near the village during the last water festival. But local government troops finally found the robber who was not from MRP. He was executed in Khaw-zar town.

However, MRP commander “San Shay” killed four Burmans from upper Burma on January 9 in Koe Maing (Nine Mile) village, according to local people. MRP did not own up responsibility for the killings.

MRP is the former Hongsarwatoi Restoration Party, which split from New Mon State Party.