The Legal Aid Network released a report titled ‘Seeking Accountability for Ending Impunity in Burma’ on April 24 and held a press conference in Thai northern city of Chiang Mai to explain the report which highlights the war crimes in the northern Shan State, the Karenni (Kayah) State, and the Kachin State.

“The Myanmar Army committed [the war] crimes in all three incidents. Just look at the crimes committed by the Myanmar Army, which is currently led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. The largest number of crimes was committed in Mong Ko. The second largest number of crimes was committed in Tanai, followed by the Karenni State. In all three places, all war crimes have been committed by the Myanmar Army,” U Aung Htoo, a human rights lawyer, told the press conference.

According to the report, the Tatmadaw used 147 villagers as human shields during the clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Northern Alliance forces in Mong Ko under Muse District in the northern Shan State in November 2016. Two villagers were killed and 13 were injured after they were forced to lie down facing the ground around the Tactical Hilltop for 13 days.

The second incident describes the extrajudicial killing of three Karenni soldiers and one villager on December 20, 2017.

In the third incident, the Myanmar Army blocked over 4,000 civilians from fleeing the gold and amber mine areas for over 13 days in order to use them as human shields. Two Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers and four civilians were also killed at the KIA’s tax gate.

U Aung Htoo explained that the report has selected three incidents of major war crimes in order for Myanmar to achieve genuine peace and fairness and become developed.

The public is living in poverty due to the violations of human rights and lack of economic development and rule of law as a result of the civil war, he claimed.

"The Myanmar Army wants to monopolize natural resources owned by ethnic states after it came into power. Wars have been waged to seize full control of the main natural resources areas in ethnic areas. Rule of law has been lost and human rights have been violated. The civil war is still running. That’s why we want to highlight these basic points,” he told the press to explain the reason why the civil war has been raging for seven decades.

The report was written within a span of one year after visiting the area of war crimes to collect surveys and interview local residents who were involved in the incidents.

The Legal Aid Network pointed out that the majority of the war crimes have been committed in Mong Ko and Tanai areas and there have been cases of damages from aerial bombings, detainment and killing by the Myanmar Army, burning of houses and rice barns, blocking a large number of people from leaving, pressuring many people to cross a path that has been planted with landmines, cutting of food rations of the people who have been blocked, confiscation of mobile phones and cutting communication with the families.

Human rights lawyer U Aung Htoo urged the government to establish an investigative body with representatives from both sides and set down its authority as the first stage and establish a joint tribunal with international and local judges as the second stage.

“An independent and impartial judiciary is definitely needed in Myanmar. Actually, this court should take the action. [The Myanmar Army] killed the civilians. It’s not an action that took place within the military. This is the killing of ten Rohingyas. So, a crime that goes against the public cannot be brought to trial at the military tribunal. It’s not included in the 1959 Defense Services Act, which is the existing law. [The Tatmadaw] decided that its tribunal has the authority because Section 71 from this Act covers civil offences. It can’t do this. The judiciary system must be amended. The military tribunal, which is stated in the 2008 Constitution, must be abolished. It doesn’t exist in either Myanmar or the world,” he added.

The Legal Aid Network recommended the UN Fact Finding Mission to form a new International Criminal Tribunal for Myanmar or recommend the UN Security Council to transfer the situation of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in order to take effective legal action against the perpetrators from the Myanmar Army who committed heinous crimes.