Myanmar Spring Chronicle – March 9 Overview
MoeMaKa, March 10, 2025
The Killing of a Shan Monk and the Informant Allegation Issue
On the evening of March 4, an armed group killed a Shan monk, U Dhammasara, and his lay attendant, Sai Aik Pi, in a village in Pekhon Township, Shan State.
The incident took place in Ohn Taing village, which is part of the Nah Hee village tract, east of Pekhon Lake in Pekhon Township. The slain monk had been residing on the western side of Pekhon Lake but had temporarily traveled to a village on the eastern side. Before returning, he was shot and killed in Ohn Taing village by an armed group.
Following the killing, the Pekhon People’s Defense Force (PDF), Battalion 1006, which operates in the area, released a statement denying any involvement in the incident. Before any evidence identifying the responsible armed group emerged, Pekhon PDF clarified that neither its commander nor any of its members were involved.
After the monk was shot on March 4, local villagers held a funeral service in accordance with religious traditions on March 5. For two to three days after the incident, no armed group claimed responsibility for the attack. The only public statements came from Pekhon PDF, which denied involvement, and a statement from the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) on the fourth day.
Before there was any confirmation of the perpetrators, pro-military Telegram channels accused the PDF of carrying out the attack. However, some news organizations’ fact-checking sections identified these claims as misinformation designed to incite ethnic and religious tensions.
On March 8, the IEC released a statement outlining the sequence of events and announcing that it would investigate the incident in collaboration with the township’s joint administrative council and various resistance groups. The IEC stated that findings from the investigation would be disclosed to the public.
Additionally, the statement addressed concerns about extra-judicial killings. It emphasized that executing individuals suspected of being military informants (commonly called “Dalans”) or captured soldiers without due process is a violation of international law. The wording of the IEC’s statement suggests that it had received preliminary information about the incident and regarded it as a killing based on allegations of being an informant. The IEC appears to have been informed by the perpetrators and has initially acknowledged their reasoning, while also making it clear that extrajudicial executions cannot be condoned under the rule of law.
A day after the IEC’s statement, a local defense group called the “Bee Guerrilla Force,” based in Pekhon Township, issued a separate statement admitting that its members were responsible for the killing. In a handwritten statement accompanied by a photograph, the Bee Guerrilla Force claimed that its members suspected the monk of being a military informant. They stated that six of their armed members went to question him, but one of them lost control in the confrontation and shot him.
The group also confiscated the monk’s phone and bank book, later claiming that phone records contained military contacts. However, the Shan Students’ Union and some local residents dismissed this as a post-incident justification. They emphasized that the monk, U Dhammasara, was a well-known humanitarian who actively supported war victims and had taken a strong stance against the military coup.
A member of the Shan Students’ Union remarked that accusing and executing the monk as an informant not only killed him physically but also damaged his reputation, making it a “double killing.”
The justification provided by armed groups—claiming a suspect was an informant or that the shooting was unintentional—mirrors narratives frequently used by the military to excuse extrajudicial killings. Once someone is killed without due process, there is no way for the victim to defend themselves, making such justifications highly problematic.
Under current administrative boundaries, Pekhon Township falls within Shan State but is home to Shan, Karenni (Kayah), Pa-O, and other ethnic groups.
A similar incident occurred recently in Sagaing Region, where a Catholic priest, Father Martin Donnel, was brutally killed by a local defense force in Kan Gyi Taw village, between Shwebo and Wetlet townships. A few weeks later, this latest case in Pekhon involved the killing of a Buddhist monk and his lay attendant by a local defense group.
The pattern of targeting religious leaders based on allegations of being informants, followed by their execution, has raised concerns. While these incidents are being carried out by local defense groups known as LPDFs (Local People’s Defense Forces), they risk damaging the reputation of the broader Spring Revolution.
The IEC, which oversees Karenni (Kayah) State, and the National Unity Government (NUG), which has authority over Sagaing, may not be directly responsible for these killings, but such incidents undermine public trust and could draw criticism, comparing them to the military’s own extrajudicial killings.
The NUG’s Ministry of Human Rights must take a strong stance against such unlawful executions and wrongful accusations. Civil society organizations and local defense forces themselves must also ensure that extrajudicial killings are not tolerated. It is crucial to guarantee the rights of individuals to a fair trial, to present their defense, and to have their cases properly investigated under the rule of law.