'You're now on the dead list'
Reports of atrocities committed by Burmese soldiers against 'convict porters' destroy any slim hopes that the shift to a 'civilian political system' will somehow dilute the military's absolute power
- Published: 13/02/2011 at 04:22 AM
- Newspaper section: Spectrum
Aung is a small man, barely out of his teens. He shifts his bruised body, unable to sit or to find comfort or peace of mind. He's full of half-spoken questions. Aung's scared he might be sent back to Burma, where he was forced to work for the army after being jailed.
"I got 12 months, but it's a death sentence," said Aung. He hurts from a soldier's bullet that smashed his arm and dropped him into a coma. He's worried the testimony of the pains the Burmese army inflicted on his body will harm the family he has not seen for more than a year.
Most of all, Aung's haunted by the memory of the battlefield sounds of torn bodies and the terrifying treks he made carrying mortar shells up mountains and through minefields for 15 days.
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About the author
- Writer: Phil Thornton
