2 BURMESE ARMY DEFECTORS ADMIT WAR CRIMES

ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK TIMES -

ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO SPIN, FALSIFY,
FOOL, AND MANIPULATE
By Rick Heizman, September 2020

The New York Times spits out another hit piece by supreme Buddhist hater Hannah Beech,
that absolutely reeks of agenda driven manipulation and treachery. The article is about 2
defectors from the Burmese army who claim they were part of a genocidal plan to eradicate
the Bengal Muslims (‘Rohingya’) in 2017. The NYT may think it can get away with this
because barely anyone on earth knows anything or has been to villages named in the article -
Taung Bazar, Ngan Chaung, Zin Paing Nyar. So, the NYT can use the ‘exotic’ name and
location to write ANYTHING - and they do, and they get away with it. HOWEVER, I have been
to those villages, and dozens more, where I went 3 times, totaling about 3 weeks, to interview
hundreds of Buddhist, Hindu, ethnic minority, and Muslim victims and eyewitnesses. I can
see, taste, and smell the obvious (to me) fakery and despicable omissions. One shudders at
the extreme depth of Hannah Beech’s shear hatred of Buddhist people, Buddhist culture and
Buddhism. She fittingly can be titled ‘the bin-Laden’ of the media.

The article is titled: ‘Kill All You See’:

In a First, Myanmar Soldiers Tell of Rohingya Slaughter
By Hannah Beech, Saw Nang and Marlise Simons - Sept. 8, 2020

I have, already, denounced and exposed several articles by Hannah Beech, and the NYT, that
were vile hate speech and hit pieces. (I grew up reading the NYT avidly - when it was a real
and honest newspaper - and I have seen it plunge into being a deplorable fake news rag).
Also prominently mentioned and quoted in the article is Matthew Smith, founder of the
notoriously biased group called Fortify Rights, and another supreme hater of Burmese and
Rakhine Buddhists, and the Bengali Hindu population.

Rather than going paragraph to paragraph and exposing the article and its writers, I will just
leave you with excerpts from 7 people (including a Muslim) that I interviewed in Taung Bazar,
3 Muslim interviews in Ngan Chaung, and 5 captured Bengali Muslim (‘Rohingya’) militants/
terrorists who participated in the attack on Zin Paing Nyar on August 17, 2020.

THE QUESTIONS ARE: WHY IS NOT ANY OF THIS INFO IN THIS ARTICLE?
DOES HANNAH BEECH (NYT) AND MATTHEW SMITH (FORTIFY RIGHTS) BELIEVE IN
‘FAIR AND BALANCED’ REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION?
WHY DO HANNAH AND MATTHEW CONTINUALLY TRANSFER THE GOALS OF THE
MUSLIM TERRORISTS TO THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST THE BUDDHISTS?
WHY DO THEY PROMOTE THE IDEA THAT THE MUSLIMS ARE INNOCENT ANGELS?

1
SEVEN VILLAGERS IN TAUNG BAZAR AREA, INCLUDING ONE MUSLIM
Su Chay
from Nga Ronk Chaung Village Tract (near Taung Bazar)
Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Taung Bazar, October 2018
I am Su Chay, from Nga Ronk Chaung Tract near Taung Bazar. I work in
Village Health Development. On August 25, 2017, in the early morning
Bengali Muslims launched huge coordinated attacks. The big army base
at Taung Bazar was attacked by many hundreds of assailants. The
gunfire awakened many Buddhist villagers, and lasted for hours.

All the villagers had to flee. Bengalis chased all of us trying to kill us with swords. We only
survived because security forces arrived and shot guns in the air to frighten the Bengali mob.

But, the Bengalis dared to even come near the police outpost. If we did not have security
forces we would all be dead and even our bodies might not be found.

We did not know which way to run. We had never dreamed this would happen to us. We had
never seen or experienced this kind of thing. We were close and friendly with the Bengalis, we
never thought that they would kill us like this. Even the Bengali boy who used to come to our
house tried to kill us.

As the morning light came my village came under attack. All the Buddhists from various
villages ran in panic to the police outpost on top of a hill. The police outpost was so
overwhelmed that they had to escort groups of people to other police outposts up and down
the Mayu river.

Ever since I was young I was very familiar with Bengali people. We would play and eat together
- no problem. I didn’t believe that they would attack and kill like this. Even when I was
awakened by gunfire in the distance I didn’t think it was the Bengalis.

We lived in the police outpost for 15 days. The police had to make sure to have supplies
arriving to feed hundreds of us refugees. After 15 days they escorted us to the town of
Buthidaung. We had to live in a refugee camp at a Buddhist monastery - I had nothing, we had
to run so quickly from the Bengalis. Now I know, it is impossible to coexist together.

When I finally got back to my village and my home there was nothing - no house, no shop -
there was nothing left. So then I have to start from zero again. I have no idea how to survive
now, what to do now.

That’s why I pray not to live with them anymore. I don’t want to say that, but, what they did
was so bad. When we were young we were working together, going to school together, eating
together, no problem. But, now, they are a very big problem.

I didn’t know that in the Bengali mind, there is an animal element. I live in a Bengali part of the
village.Those who attacked us are all the villagers - they are all ARSA terrorists. When I say that
I am very sad, because, Bengali people and I grew up together. Now, I can tell you what
happened, because I didn’t die. The police and the military saved my life.

2
Sein Tun Aung / San Goe Aung
from Taung Bazar Village,
Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Taung Bazar, October 2018
My name is Sein Tun Aung. On August 25, 2017, the Bengali
Muslims attacked the nearby Baung Daw Pyin police outpost and
the 552 Army headquarters. They also attacked Nga Ronk Chaung
police outpost, near the Health Department. After the attackers
failed to kill all the police and army the Bengali terrorists came back
to their village mosques in the morning for a meeting, probably to discuss what to do next.
We frightened Rakhine Buddhists took the opportunity to run to the Buddhist monastery
compound. After the Muslims finished their mosque meeting they came out and attacked us.
They were shouting such things as, “We are Rohingya! This is Rohingya country! We don’t
want any Rakhine Buddhists here! We will kill you!”

As they were attacking us some of us who had sons or relatives in the army frantically called
them, pleading, “Come quickly! We will all be dead soon!” When some troops came they put
all of us in the school for safety. On our way there we saw many thousands of Bengalis
coming, with swords, knives and clubs. Soon the army officer said it is too dangerous to stay
in the school. So, the army escorted us over the mountain to the army headquarters. They
gave us food and shelter. The army saved our lives, otherwise we all would have been
slaughtered.

I didn’t think this would ever happen. The Bengalis were trying to steal all the land - our land.
They would destroy everything if they could - every non-Muslim village, government and
health departments, army bases, and police stations.

We survived because the army troops arrived just in time. We had nowhere to run. The
Bengalis set landmines on the road. We walked the path near the graveyard.

When we arrived inside of the battalion base, around 500 Bengalis came and opened fire on
the base. They ran away when the army troops shot back with big guns. When they
retreated, they burned houses in the villages.

Before [when we were young] we were living together, eating together, working together, no
problem, but now it’s impossible. All the Bengalis are now ARSA terrorists. They are always
trying to kill us - in their minds. Even the ARSA militants hide their faces, wearing masks -
because we would recognize them.

When my daughter arrived in my village, with army escorts, she told me the Bengalis had
even tried to kill her. She even yelled to the nearby police to shoot the attackers, but the
police were afraid to shoot! - they were so outnumbered. But, she was lucky, just then the
army troops arrived. If the military had not arrived then all of us would have been killed. Even
after the attacks were over we were afraid to live in our village again. That is why we moved
to Buthidaung, and stayed in a monastery.

When I did get back to my home there was nothing left inside - it was a destroyed mess. The
Bengalis took anything of value, and broke everything else. They are so cruel. It’s impossible
to have any coexistence with the Bengalis - if we live with them we will all die.

3
U Maung Loon
from Taung Bazar,
Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Taung Bazar, October 2018

Before the attacks happened the Bengali Muslims were already

plotting to do some violence. Leading up to the attacks the Muslims
killed a man who had informed the police and army of the planning
and plotting of violence. Also, in another Bengali village, Yin Ma
village, the Muslims killed two men accused of being informants. The Muslims were following
their plan.

First, they terrorized and killed fellow Bengalis who didn’t agree with them and gave info to
the authorities. Then, they organized the village people to attack and fight the security
forces. They attacked first, then they lied to the world media, claiming that they were the
victims of the Burmese army, and that they were forced to flee to Bangladesh.

First - they attacked us. We did not attack them. The police and army did not attack them
first - they attacked all of us first. They knew it was their fault, and then they fled to
Bangladesh.

The Myanmar military and police, and the Myanmar nationality people did not force them to
flee to Bangladesh, they fled themselves.

We want the world media and the world people to know the truth. The terrorist ARSA group
also threatened other Bengali Muslims to flee to Bangladesh or else they will be killed by
ARSA. That is why all the journalists and media needs to know the truth, and to tell the world
the truth.

Our villages around here were surrounded by over 10,000 Bengali Muslims. Luckily we were
saved by the army.

Buddhist and Hindu refugees fleeing Taung Bazar

4
U Nyi Nyi
from Taung Bazar Yin Ma Market
Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Taung Bazar, October 2018

I am U Nyi Nyi. I live in Taung Bazar Yin Ma Market. Around 3 am on

Aug 25, 2017, we were awakened by the sounds of many many
gunshots and explosions. We did not know what was happening, but
later learned that the Muslims had surprised attacked about 30
security force outposts at the same time in the early morning.

Around 7 am I went to a shop in my village and asked what was happening. Around our
village there were many Bengali Muslim villages, but now they were strangely quiet - I
noticed that. I thought, “Why were they so quiet?” Then a Muslim man named Islam - who I
knew - showed up, but strangely he didn't say anything. Usually we would greet each other
and talk - but quickly he went back to his village.

Then we heard that the nearby police outpost of Hpaung Taw Pyin Village was under heavy
attack, and one officer was killed already. Some security officers with us then quickly went to
Hpaung Taw Pyin Village to help their comrades. At that time then, around 9 am, we had no
security forces with us. Our village was then surrounded by so many Bengalis. All of us
villagers were so afraid. We could see that all the Bengalis had swords and even guns, and
were closing in on us.

We called the security forces to come and rescue us. All of the surrounding police outposts
were under attack, but finally some security forces arrived in our village - the same ones that
went to rescue their comrades in Hpaung Taw Pyin Village. They gathered us in the school
[behind him] for protection, but we were surrounded again by the huge mobs of Bengalis. I
thought all of us would die that day.

Some government department staff members joined us villagers in the school building. The
military officer looked for a way to escape. We were surrounded by thousands of Bengalis
with swords and guns. The only way to flee was to go through the muddy and flooded rice
fields. The officer led the way, and we were protected by about 20 soldiers. About 4:30 pm
we finally arrived at the big Army base on the other side of the mountain.

When we arrived at the army base the Bengalis didn't go away - they come right up to the
security fence of the army base. We had to stay in the army base for 15 days. The army got
food supplies for us. After 15 days the military took us back to our villages.

Just near here there is a Muslim house - the family of Mohammed Tahir [also interviewed
here]. They did not flee like all the other Muslims. This Muslim family didn't try to kill us. That
is why they are not afraid to stay here - because we know they are good people. But this is
the only Bengali family like this. All the other Bengali Muslims are terrorists, and they fled
after they tried to slaughter us.

5
Mohammed Tahir - Muslim
from Nari Chaung, Patu Gong Village (near Taung Bazar)
Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Taung Bazar, October 2018

[This Muslim man was rather shy on camera, so to keep him

talking I began to ask questions to him, through our Bengali
language translator. He was the one and only Muslim among the
many dozens of Buddhists and Hindus watching us spend a day interviewing and gathering
evidence. He was clearly well-like and respected by all, and friendly and genuine to all.]

My name is Mohammed Tahir and I live in Nari Chaung, Patu Gong village [near Taung Bazar].

When the incident happened on August 25, people [Bengali Muslims] were running here and
there with swords and sticks. When my father tried to persuade them to stop the violence they
came to kill my father. We protected my father and they ran away. We could not reason with
them. After two days, they fled to Bangladesh. They demanded that we flee together with them.
My father said, “We shall not go. We did not do anything wrong. Why do we need to flee?”

After all the people [Bengali Muslims] fled, the military came and provided us with needed rice
and food supplies. After 2 or 3 months, they provided supplies to us again. The military helped
us to repair the market and provided medical treatment to those who needed it. Now, we can
stay well. We could operate our shop in the market here, and can travel to Buthidaung.

Question from Rick Heizman: Ask him if he feels safe here.

Answer: Yes, I am safe here.

Question: Does he fear ARSA?

Answer: I do not have any connection to ARSA. [the question was slightly misunderstood, or
mistranslated to him - I asked if he had any fear, not connections]

Question: Does he have family?

Answer: All of my family members are still here. I have a wife and children.

Question: What did he think about what happened in the August 25, 2017 attacks?

Answer: On Friday August 25, 2017, we saw people [Bengali Muslims] running on the road
with swords and sticks. When my father tried to tell them to stop the violence ARSA
members came to kill my father. My father said if we leave him, they will kill him. So, we
stayed beside our father. From inside our house we could see people [Bengali Muslims]
going around here and there. Here, I do not have any problem. I can stay together with
Rakhine Buddhists and Hindus peacefully. All are like brothers and mothers to me.

Question: What is his job here? What does he do?

Answer: Now, I have a shop in the market, I am a shopkeeper.

Question: Is his shop okay? [not destroyed, sanctioned, or vandalized?]

Answer: Currently business is very well.

Question: Has he ever been to Bangladesh?

Answer: I have never been to Bangladesh. I did not flee to Bangladesh with the others. All of
our relatives are here. They didn’t flee to Bangladesh.

6
Pratik Kumarka - Hindu
from Taung Bazar,
Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Taung Bazar, October 2018

My Hindu name is Pratik Kumarka, and my Burmese name is Ko

Maung Aye. We Hindus lived near here, in northern Buthidaung
Township.

On August 24, 2017, late at night, I heard many gunshots. The

next morning 1000s of agitated Bengali Muslims were encircling
our villages and threatening to attack. Our Hindu population here
is very small. In our village we live together peacefully with Rakhine Buddhists.

At that time I heard the Muslims yelling that they will destroy the Taung Bazar market and kill
the Rakhine Buddhists. We Hindus heard and saw the Muslims shouting like that, and
getting ready to attack.

Some Bengali Muslim women even shouted at us, “Kill the Hindus first, then slaughter the
Buddhists!”

Our village is in block 9 of this village tract [administrative terms, not at all like city blocks].
This is where the Hindus live. Behind our village there is a large Bengali Muslim village, and
in front of our village there is a large Muslim village. We were trapped at that time, we could
not go anywhere.

On August 31, 2017, we got the phone number of an Army officer and called him for help. Army
troops came and rescued us, and escorted us to here, where we are now, in Taung Bazar.

I think that the Bengali Muslim boys over 12 years old already have the mind of an Islamic
terrorist.

I didn’t think that this could ever happen. Since we were young we were living together,
eating together, going to school together, growing up together.

Nowadays we are afraid to live far from Rakhine Buddhists because together we can try to
protect ourselves. We need to live very close to the Buddhists, together, because we alone
are a small minority.

In Kha Maung Seik the Bengali Muslims carried out a horrible genocide, killing 100 Hindus.
Many of those victims were our relatives. At the moment we don’t want any Bengali Muslims
here. If the Bengalis come back to this area we cannot live in safety.

7
U Thet Damma
from Taung Bazar,
Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Taung Bazar, October 2018
(Taung Bazar Monk)

My name is Thet Damma. I have been living in this village for 22

years.

During the Bengali Muslim attack, August 25, 2017, I was here, at this monastery. At that
time the village and the monastery were being surrounded by thousands of Bengali Muslims.
All of the nearby Buddhists were afraid to stay in their village houses and they gathered here,
at the monastery for safety.

I was nearby at Pan Taw Pyin village, and I phoned an army officer, in order to get help. Then
I came back to the monastery. When the army officer [and a few troops] arrived, the Bengalis
surrounding the village didn’t move, they were just watching.

The officer told all of us “Don’t stay here in the monastery, move to the school.” He led all of
us to the school [just nearby]. Bengalis were edging in, getting closer, yelling and shouting,
and trying to stab people with their swords. Then, a bit later, he said, “We can’t stay here at
the school, it is too dangerous.”

The officer and some troops escorted us to the army base. I stayed at the base for 2 or 3
days, and then I moved to Buthidaung, and then about 10 or 15 days later some of the
villagers came back here, and then I returned here.

Now things have calmed down, and people have returned, and are working again, but, we
don’t know what will happen in the future. If the Bengalis return we don’t know what will
happen again.

8
IN THIS NEXT PART NOTICE ANY MENTION OF RAPE:
IN THE ARTICLE, AND IN MY INTERVIEWS
3 Interviews with Bengali Muslims
from Ngan Chaung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Ngan Chaung, January 2018

[We interviewed several Bengali Muslims, around 2-3 hours north of

Maungdaw town. We had heard that this village had not fled to Bangladesh, and that the
village had a different and much more positive attitude than most of the Bengali villages. So,
we stopped there to talk - in Ngan Chaung Village.

Our guide told the Bengalis, “You can say anything to us, you don't have to fear anything
from us, we are not reporting to any authority, and we will accept whatever you say. We are
just looking for truth, whatever it may be.”

To start, I told the interpreter (off-camera) to tell them that they can talk - with no questions
asked, for awhile - about the situation of the village, the Burmese Army, ARSA, their safety,
or anything.]

Interviewee 1: There are no Muslims from the surrounding Bengali villages here anymore,
they left to go to Bangladesh - but we are still here. The Burmese Army has been protecting
us, [from ARSA retaliations] and gave us food supplies, [because bridges had been bombed
by ARSA]. There are no teacher here now [since August, 2017] so the children cannot go to
school.

[Questions are from Rick Heizman]

Q - What happened here on August 25, 2017, when attacks were launched all over?

A - The night of the attacks there was a lot of shooting going back and forth, all around

us - militants shooting at Security Forces - and they were shooting back. Some of

our villagers started to flee, but a Military officer said, "Don't flee! It's too
dangerous! Stay here, we will protect you, stay here!”

When the soldiers were near our village in the darkness, they shot up in the air, to flush

out the militants - that’s when some of our villagers thought they should run, but the

officer shouted, "don't run, we will not harm you."

Q - Has the Burmese Army committed atrocities here? Or has the Burmese Army been

bad to them or fair to them?

A - The military did not burn our village, so we could stay here. The military protected

us, [From ARSA, for being a peace-seeking village.]

Q - Do you know of any women in your village, or any Bengali village, who has been raped?

9
A - Nothing happened in my village, and for other places I don't know.

[a 2nd man there was asked the same question and responded, "I don't know of any.”]

Q - Did ARSA come to this village to recruit men like you?

A - We didn't have ARSA militants in our village. I don't know any ARSA members or militants.

[The next Bengali Muslim man did not want his face on camera, my sense was that he was
more fearful of ARSA retaliation, which has happened quite a lot in villages which did not
follow ARSA.]

Interviewee 2:
Q - Do you fear The Burmese Military, or do you fear ARSA more?

A - (in English) Our villagers do not fear the military.

[Notice - he did not say that about ARSA.]

Q - Why does your village not go to Bangladesh?

A - Other villages around here were shooting [attacking Security Forces], so they had to flee

[after the attacks failed] but our village was peaceful so that's why we didn't have to flee.

Q - Has the Army been abusive to you, or is the Army okay? Do you trust the Army, or not

trust the Army?

A - The Army protected our village that night from the militants.

[There have been many cases where the Islamic militants have savagely cut the throats

of fellow Muslims who don't agree with them. In fact, the very next evening, in

Buthidaung, a Muslim leader was brutally executed for these reasons.]

Q - Do you know of any women in this village, or any Bengali village, that has been raped?

A - (in English) No.

10
[The 3rd interview was with a group of 5 men, the tallest
one in the photo was the primary speaker.]

Interviewee 3:
Q - Why did you not go to Bangladesh?

A - There were about 5000 Bengali villagers

around this cluster of villages, our village is

about 500 people. Our village people stayed

here, but from the surrounding villages most of them fled.

Q - Do you feel basically safe right now, being here?

A - Yes, we feel safe.

Q - Do you know of any women in your village, or other Bengali villages, that have been raped?

A - No women or girls were raped in our village, and for other places I don't know because I

was not there at other places, but I did not hear about any such problems.

[Our translator told them to say what they know, we are not reporting to any authorities,

we just want to know.]

Q - The night of August 25, you heard a lot of gunfire around when other villages were

attacking [the police posts] - what happened that night here, right here?

A - There was a lot of shooting around us, but not from our village. There was a lot of

confusion, and it was dark. Nobody knew what was happening. The Army protected

us, we were not with the militants.

Q - Do you feel that you can live here in peace?

A - Yes.

11
FIVE CAPTURED MILITANT TERRORISTS WHO ALL PARTICIPATED
IN THE ATTACK ON ZIN PAING NYAR VILLAGE POLICE OUTPOST -

NOTICE THE HIGHLIGHTED ADMISSIONS OF HOUSE AND VILLAGE

BURNING
Name – Ar Li Ar Mat

The Mawlawi [Imam], Har Face Mu Zar Bar from our village told all the
villagers who came and prayed in the mosque that we will attack
Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung one day to make our Islamic
state. And in order to get freedom, all Bengalis should organize to fight and
to attack the police outposts and seize the weapons. And Mawlawi Har
Face Mu Zar Bar told us again and again that when the ARSA militants
arrived with weapons, including bombs, the terrorist attacks would start. In
the meantime, all Bengalis had to be ready with knives, sticks and other
weapons whenever it became necessary to attack.

How We Prepared To Attack Zin Paing Nyar Police Outpost:

Mawlawi Har Face Mu Zar Bar told all the villagers to meet in the mosque at 6 pm, 24. 8. 2017. And
let all the villagers know that ARSA militants had arrived. So, we will attack the police outposts early
in the morning and seize the weapons and we should have no worries because ARSA militants had
guns and handmade bombs. Also, other villagers would attack other police outposts in Maungdaw
and Buthidaung. We were told to meet them, bringing our own weapons such as knives and sticks
to the mosque, at 11 pm. So, I went to the mosque bringing my sword, at 11 pm.

How We Attacked Zin Paing Nyar Police Outpost:

Then, Mawlawi Har Face Mu Zar Bar led us to attack the Zin Paing Nyar police post. He had contact
with other Mawlawis from the other villages. So, on the way, Mawlawi Har Face Mu Zar Bar joined
with other Mawlawis who led the other villagers from Mingalar Gyi ( 1 ) village and Mi Kyaung Tat
village. I saw one man from Mingalar Gyi (1) village, his name is Rawfis Annawa and another man
from Mi Kyaung Tat village is Anowha Faisal who joined in this terrorist group. And I think there were
about 30 people in that group. Then we headed to attack Zin Pine Nya police outpost. At 3:45 am,
25. 8. 2017, we surrounded Zin Pine Nya police outpost and unknown leaders of RSO and ARSA
terrorist groups attacked the police post with handmade bombs and guns. When the police shot
back, we ran back to our village. And I also went back to my house.

We Were Ordered to Burn Our Houses:

After the attack on the Zin Pine Nya police outpost, we were told by Mawlawi Har Face Mu Zar Bar
to burn our houses by ourselves and then flee. Some people burned their houses by themselves and
fled away.

12
Name: Anowha Faisal

In my village there are 2 mosques. I usually prayed at the larger mosque. Our
mosque Mawlawis [Imam] are Zubai (about 30) son of Shawfi Ramauk, and
Gawfaur (about 55) son of Sultan. I had to attend and pray 5 times a day. The
head of our village is Dil Mahmud and the Mingala Gyi Village administrator is
Maung Maung Tin.

How I Was Recruited:

Mawlawi Zubai and Malawi Gawfaur told the villagers who attended and prayed at the mosque, that
Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships must be taken one day, and we will declare this
territory as an Islamic State.

We will all unite to fight, and we will attack the police outposts and the security stations, and grab the
weapons and ammunition.

The Mawlawis also incited us by telling that we should be prepared for our Jihad operation to start
when the militants from Bangladesh arrived with guns, landmines, and grenades.

Preparing and Attacking the Zin Paing Nyar Police Outpost:

At about 6:00 pm on 24/8/2017 Mawlawi Zubai and Mawlawi Gawfaur summoned the villagers to the
mosque and told them the RSO terrorists had arrived.

“So, you have to sneak up to the police outposts, attack, and loot the weapons from them. You do not
need to worry about the attacks since the RSO terrorists have a lot of guns and handmade bombs
and mines. Under the leadership of well trained RSO terrorists, other villagers also will attack the
security and the police outposts in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung. You will gather at the
mosque at about 11:00 pm.”

Accordingly, we arrived at the mosque at about 11:00 pm carrying with us knives, swords and sticks.
Arli Juhauks (about 30) son of Enoose, Adul Mullar (about 40) son of Bawli, and Shawbi (about 30)
son of Gula Rawshit also arrived at the mosque with knives and swords. Our villagers were led by
Mawlawi Zubai and Mawlawi Gawfaur. As per pre-arrangement of Mawlawi Zubai and Mawlawi
Gawfaur, we were combined, on the way, with other villagers of Mingala Gyi village No.1 and village
No.2 led by an unknown Mawlawi. Among the other villagers Rawfis Annawa of Mingala Gyi No.1
village, and Harmi Dulla, Amar Ran, Mahmad Sarbil and Arli Ahmad of No.2 village were found
coming into our group with swords in hands. Then, our group, comprising of about 30 people, went
toward the Zin Paing Nyar police station. At about 03:45 am on 25/8/2017 our group besieged the
police station. Then our group, led by the RSO terrorists, attacked the police station with handmade
bombs and guns. The police retaliated and we ran away. Then I came back home.

After having attacked, Mawlawi Zubai and Mawlawi Gawfaur commanded us to set fire to our houses
and run away. Some us set fires and ran away.

13
Name: Rawfis Annawa

There are 4 mosques in our Mingala Gyi Village No. 1. I usually prayed at the
Arwa mosque near my home. After the death of Mawlawi [Imam] Norma,
Mawlawi Rahay Ramauk (about 50) who lives in Kyauk Pyin Sate Village
came and taught the Quran starting 4 months ago.

Mawlawi Rahay Ramauk told the villagers who came to pray at the mosque,
“We Bengali Islamic people, had to fight to occupy Maungdaw, Buthidaung
and Rathedaung townships and to declare these territories an autonomous
Islamic State one day.”

So, We all will unite and attack the police outposts and the security stations, and loot the weapons
and ammunition.

They also used to organize us by telling that we should be prepared for our operation to start when
the militants in Bangladesh arrive with guns, landmines and bombs.

At about 5:00 pm on 24/8/2017 Mawlawi Rahay Ramauk summoned the villagers to the mosque and
told them that the RSO militants had arrived.

How We Prepared To Attack Zin Paing Nyar Police Outpost:

“So, you have to move to the police outposts stealthily, in the darkness of the early morning, attack
suddenly and loot the weapons from them. You do not need to worry about the attacks since the RSO
militants have a lot of guns and handmade bombs and mines. Under the leader of well trained RSO
terrorists, other villagers also will attack security stations and the police outposts in Maungdaw,
Buthidaung and Rathedaung. You have to gather at the mosque at about 12:00 pm with swords and
clubs.”

How We Attacked Zin Paing Nyar Police Outpost:

Then, our group comprising of about 30 people went toward the Zunpaing Nyar police outpost. At
about 03:45 am on 25/8/2017 our group besieged and attacked the police station. The unknown RSO
militants then attacked the police station with handmade bombs and guns. The police retaliated
towards us and we ran away. Then I came back home.

We Were Ordered To Burn Our Homes:

After having returned from attacking, Mawlawi Rahay Ramauk told us to burn our own houses and
run away. Some of us set fires and ran away.

14
Name - Mamed Sarbay
The mosque Mawlawi [Imam] is Hafis Muzaba (50). When our villagers go to the
mosque to pray, Mawlawi Hafis Muzaba would always talk about the plan to seize
Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung someday. We would start by attacking the
security outposts, after militants training in Bangladesh arrived, bringing guns and
bombs with them.

How We Prepared To Attack the Zin Paing Nyar Police Outpost:

At 24.8.2017 around 6:00 PM, Mawlawi Hafis Muzaba called the villagers to the
mosque and told us that the militants from ARSA and RSO had arrived and they
would attack in the early morning and other Bengalis would also do the same to other
police outposts. All of us were ordered to gather at 11:00 PM in the mosque. So at 11:00 PM, I grabbed my
sword and came to the mosque.

How We Attacked the Zin Paing Nyar Police Outpost:

Around 03:45 AM of 25.8.2017, we started attacking the Zie Paing Nyar police outpost with swords and
ARSA/RSO fired guns and threw bombs. When police retaliated, and shot back, it was frightening, and we
hurriedly retreated, and returned back to our houses.

We Were Ordered to Burn Our Houses and Flee to Bangladesh:

After attacking, Mawlawi Hafis told us to set fire our houses and run to Bangladesh. Some of our villagers
set their homes on fire and fled the village towards Bangladesh.

Additional Comments:
I participated in the attacks because Mawlawis Hafis Muzaba told us, again and again, the importance of
their plan. Every time we went to the mosque to pray we heard that.
——————————————————————————————-
Name - Hamid Dullah
At the mosque that I go to the Mawlawi [Imam] is Mawlawi Hafis Muzaba (50).
When our villagers go to pray at the mosque, Mawlawi Hafis Muzaba would always
talk to us, and prepare us to be ready to fight. The plan was that we would take over
Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung one day, and declare it an Islamic State. We
would first attack the security outposts and this would start after our militants came
back from Bangladesh training camps, bringing guns and bombs with them.

How We Prepared To Attack the Zin Paing Nyar Police Outpost:

At 24.8.2017, Mawlawi Hafis Muzaba called for all the villagers to come to the
mosque. He told us that the ARSA / RSO militants had arrived and they would attack
in the early morning and other Bengalis would also do the same to other police
outposts all over our soon-to-be Islamic State.

How We Attacked the Zin Paing Nyar Police Outpost:

Around 03:45 AM on 25.8.2017, ARSA / RSO militants started attacking the Zie Paing Nyar police outpost
with guns and bombs, and we attacked with our swords. When police started to retaliate and shot back at
us, we retreated and then went back to our houses.
15
We Were Ordered to Burn Our Houses and Flee to Bangladesh:
After attacking the police outpost and failing to seize the weaponry, Mawlawi Hafis Muzaba ordered us to
set fire to our houses and run to Bangladesh. Some of our villagers started the fires and most fled the
village.

Additional Comments:
I joined the attacks because Mawlawis Hafis Muzaba persuaded us, and prepared us with the plan to obtain
our goal of an Islamic State, every time we went to the mosque to pray.
————————————————————————————

Hannah Beech, Matthew Smith, and the New York Times have been so untruthful,
manipulative and deceitful in their ‘reporting and investigation’ of this conflict that it is nearly
certain that this article is yet another piece of garbage to advance their wicked agenda.

By Rick Heizman, September 9, 2020

rickmusic4@gmail.com

some NYT, Hannah Beech, Fortify Rights exposés:

https://www.scribd.com/document/430987249/Hannah-Beech-Retort

https://www.scribd.com/document/441629356/Fortify-Rights-Tools-of-Genocide

https://www.scribd.com/document/451065149/Fortify-Schabas

https://www.scribd.com/document/441629366/NYTimes-Fakery

https://www.scribd.com/document/441629364/Hannah-Beech-BS

https://www.scribd.com/document/470139512/Fortify-Rights-Terrorist-Links

16
‘Kill All You See’: In a First, Myanmar
Soldiers Tell of Rohingya Slaughter
Video testimony from two soldiers supports widespread accusations that
Myanmar’s military tried to eradicate the ethnic minority in a genocidal campaign.
By Hannah Beech, Saw Nang and Marlise Simons
• Sept. 8, 2020

Updated 12:00 p.m. ET

The two soldiers confess their crimes in a monotone, a few blinks of the eye their only
betrayal of emotion: executions, mass burials, village obliterations and rape.
The August 2017 order from his commanding officer was clear, Pvt. Myo Win Tun said in
video testimony. “Shoot all you see and all you hear.”
He said he obeyed, taking part in the massacre of 30 Rohingya Muslims and burying them in
a mass grave near a cell tower and a military base.

Around the same time, in a neighboring township, Pvt. Zaw Naing Tun said he and his
comrades in another battalion followed a nearly identical directive from his superior: “Kill all
you see, whether children or adults.”

“We wiped out about 20 villages,” Private Zaw Naing Tun said, adding that he, too, dumped
bodies in a mass grave.

The two soldiers’ video testimony, recorded by a rebel militia, is the first time that members of
the Tatmadaw, as Myanmar’s military is known, have openly confessed to taking part in what
17
United Nations officials say was a genocidal campaign against the country’s Rohingya Muslim
minority.

On Monday, the two men, who fled Myanmar last month, were transported to The Hague,
where the International Criminal Court has opened a case examining whether Tatmadaw
leaders committed large-scale crimes against the Rohingya.

The atrocities described by the two men echo evidence of serious human rights abuses
gathered from among the more than one million Rohingya refugees now sheltering in
neighboring Bangladesh. What distinguishes their testimony is that it comes from
perpetrators, not victims.
“This is a monumental moment for Rohingya and the people of Myanmar in their ongoing
struggle for justice,” said Matthew Smith, chief executive officer at Fortify Rights, a human
rights watchdog. “These men could be the first perpetrators from Myanmar tried at the I.C.C.,
and the first insider witnesses in the custody of the court.”
The New York Times cannot independently confirm that the two soldiers committed the crimes
to which they confessed. But details in their narratives conform to descriptions provided by
dozens of witnesses and observers, including Rohingya refugees, Rakhine residents,
Tatmadaw soldiers and local politicians.
And multiple villagers independently confirmed the whereabouts of mass graves that the
soldiers provided in their testimony — evidence that will be seized on in investigations at the
International Criminal Court and other legal proceedings. The Myanmar government has
repeatedly denied that such sites exist across the region.
The crimes that the soldiers say were carried out by their infantry battalions and other security
forces — some 150 civilians killed and dozens of villages destroyed — are just a part of
Myanmar’s long campaign against the Rohingya. And they portray a concerted, calculated
operation to exterminate a single ethnic minority group, the issue at the heart of ongoing
genocide cases.
The massacres of Rohingya that culminated in 2017 catalyzed one of the fastest flights of
refugees anywhere in the world. Within weeks, three-quarters of a million stateless people
were uprooted from their homes in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, as security forces
attacked their villages with rifles, machetes and flamethrowers.

Old men were decapitated, and young girls were raped, their head scarves torn off to use as
blindfolds, witnesses and survivors said. Doctors Without Borders estimated that at least
6,700 Rohingya, including 730 children, suffered violent deaths from late August to late
September 2017. Roughly 200 Rohingya settlements were completely razed from 2017 to
2019, the United Nations said.
In a report published last year, a fact-finding mission for the United Nations Human Rights
Council said “there is a serious risk that genocidal actions may occur or recur and that
Myanmar is failing in its obligation to prevent genocide, to investigate genocide and to enact
effective legislation criminalizing and punishing genocide.”
The Myanmar government has denied any orchestrated campaign against the Rohingya. Last
December, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the nation’s civilian leader, defended Myanmar against
charges of genocide in another case, this one at the International Court of Justice in The
18
Hague. A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has seen her legacy tarnished
by her support for the military and her refusal to vocally condemn the persecution of the
Rohingya.
Only a few Tatmadaw soldiers have been punished, with brief prison terms, for what the
military says were isolated missteps in a couple of villages.
Although the Rohingya are from Rakhine State in Myanmar, the country’s government claims
that they are foreign interlopers. Myanmar officials have suggested that the Rohingya burned
down their own villages to garner international sympathy.
The two soldiers’ accounts shatter that official narrative.
It is not clear what will happen to the two men, who are not under arrest but were effectively
placed in the custody of the International Criminal Court on Monday. They could provide
testimony in court proceedings and be put in witness protection. They could be tried. The
court’s office of the prosecutor refused to publicly comment on an ongoing case, but two
people familiar with the investigations said that the men had already been questioned
extensively by court officials in recent weeks.

The International Criminal Court normally pursues prosecutions of high-level figures accused
of grave offenses such as genocide or crimes against humanity, not rank-and-file soldiers.
Payam Akhavan, a Canadian lawyer who is representing Bangladesh in a filing against
Myanmar at the International Criminal Court, would not comment on the identities of the two
men. But he called for accountability to prevent further atrocities against the 600,000
Rohingya who remain in Myanmar.
“Impunity is not an option,” Mr. Akhavan said. “Some justice is better than no justice at all.”
The soldiers’ accounts will also add weight to the separate case at the International Court of
Justice, where Myanmar is being accused of trying to “destroy the Rohingya as a group, in
whole or in part, by the use of mass murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well
as the systematic destruction by fire of their villages.”
That case was filed last year by Gambia on behalf of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic
Cooperation. Last week, the Netherlands and Canada announced that they would provide
legal support to the effort to hold Myanmar accountable for genocide, calling it a matter “of
concern to all of humanity.”

In August 2017, the 353 and 565 Light Infantry Battalions conducted “clearance operations” in
the areas where the men said they did, Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships. Commanding
officers whom Private Myo Win Tun said ordered him to wipe out the Rohingya — Col. Than
Htike, Capt. Tun Tun and Sgt. Aung San Oo — were operational there at the time, according
to fellow soldiers.
There is a cell tower close to the 552 Light Infantry Battalion base, on the outskirts of Taung
Bazar town, near where Private Myo Win Tun said he helped dig a mass grave. The base is
well known in the area because it, along with two dozen border guard posts, was attacked by
Rohingya insurgents on Aug. 25, 2017, galvanizing the brutal military operations against
Rohingya civilians.

19
Rohingya refugees who lived in a village adjacent to the 552 encampment said they
recognized Private Myo Win Tun. They described in precise detail the locations of two mass
graves in that area. Residents still in the region, who spoke with The Times, also said they
knew of mass burial sites near the military encampment.

Basha Miya, who is now a refugee in Bangladesh, said his grandmother was buried in one of
the mass graves by the base, along with at least 16 others from the neighboring village of
Thin Ga Net, known in the Rohingya language as Phirkhali.
“When I remember her, I just cry,” he said. “I feel bad that I couldn’t give her a proper funeral.”
After soldiers dumped the bodies in two graves by the banks of canals, they brought in
bulldozers to cover the corpses, eyewitnesses said. Private Myo Win Tun said he and others
buried eight women, seven children and 15 men in one grave.
Thin Ga Net village was wiped from the map by fire. Today, only a couple of water reservoirs
hint that a bustling Rohingya village once stood there.

As they marauded through the villages around Taung Bazar, Private Myo Win Tun, 33, seems
to have lost track of how many Rohingya he and his battalion killed. Was it 60 or 70? Maybe
more?

“We indiscriminately shot at everybody,” he said in video testimony. “We shot the Muslim men
in the foreheads and kicked the bodies into the hole.”
He also raped a woman, he said.
Private Zaw Naing Tun, a former Buddhist monk, admits to a similar fog, as his battalion’s
killing of some 80 Rohingya stretched from hours into days. The soldier said he and other
members of his battalion stormed through 20 villages in Maungdaw Township, including Doe
Tan, Ngan Chaung, Kyet Yoe Pyin, Zin Paing Nyar and U Shey Kya.
Some of these villages were burned to the ground. Bashir Ahmed said that Tatmadaw
battalions entered his hometown, Zin Paing Nyar, early on Aug. 26, 2017.

Zin Paing Nyar village

“They opened fire whenever they found someone in front of them,” he said. “They burned our
houses. Nothing is left.”
More than 30 residents were killed in Zin Paing Nyar, according to survivors’ testimony.
Private Zaw Naing Tun, 30, said that he and four other members of his battalion shot dead
seven Rohingya in Zin Paing Nyar. They captured 10 unarmed men, tied them with ropes,
killed them and buried them in a mass grave north of the village, he said in the video
testimony.
There are some discrepancies between the soldiers’ accounts and those of Rohingya
villagers. Private Myo Win Tun described the cell tower as being east of the 552 base when it
is, in fact, southwest.

But most of the other details are corroborated by statements from witnesses and survivors. In
Ngan Chaung village, part of which was spared destruction, five or six soldiers from Light
Infantry Battalion 353 arrived one afternoon in late August 2017 and singled out five women
20
for rape, said a resident who still lives in the hamlet. The women’s husbands were later killed,
he and other residents said.
Private Zaw Naing Tun said he didn’t commit sexual violence because he was too low-ranking
to participate. Instead, he stood sentry as others raped Rohingya women, he said.
Both of the soldiers who admitted to killing Rohingya are themselves members of ethnic
minorities in a country where persecution of such groups is institutionalized.
Earlier this year, the pair ended up in the custody of the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine
militia currently fighting the Tatmadaw, which recorded their video confessions. Both men said
they deserted from the Tatmadaw.
Desertion is a particular problem in ethnic minority conflict zones, military insiders say. About
60 soldiers are believed to have gone A.W.O.L. from Light Infantry Battalion 565.
“I was racially discriminated against,” Private Myo Win Tun, a member of the Shanni ethnic
group, said in his video testimony, in a rare burst of feeling.

Later, he would describe, in a flat voice, how his commanding officer, Colonel Than Htike, had
instructed the battalion to “exterminate” the Rohingya.
“I was involved in the killing of 30 Muslim innocent men, women and children buried in one
grave,” he said, as he stoically faced the camera.

21