Rights abuses by the Burmese army on tape

Villagers at the Burma's eastern border areas are the main victims of the abuses
Villagers at the Burma's eastern border areas are the main victims of the abuses
A human rights researcher who's spent five years documenting allegations of human rights violations at the hands of Burma's military government against ethnic minorities, says what he's witnessed amounts to crimes against humanity.

The researcher, Guy Horton, who will publish his report on Friday, says that on frequent clandestine trips into the Burmese jungle, he'd been told of numerous killings, including those of children, and widespread rape.

Mr Horton says he has film footage of several incidents, including the killing of ten people.


The footage show villages in the process of being burnt down, on one occasion by uniformed members of the Burmese junta. The footage shows mass slaughter of animals. It shows one particular massacre of ten people. It shows numerous people murdered.

Guy Horton

"The footage show villages in the process of being burnt down, on one occasion by uniformed members of the Burmese junta. The footage shows mass slaughter of animals. It shows one particular massacre of ten people. It shows numerous people murdered", Guy Horton tells the BBC.

He told the BBC that during one four-week visit, almost every village he saw had been burned to the ground.

There's been no official response yet from the Burmese military authorities, who have, in the past, denied such allegations.

Mr Horton's work is funded by the government of the Netherlands and a major British aid organisation which doesn't want to be named.

The allegations, which make up a six hundred page report, will be presented to American, British, Dutch and Canadian officials in Thailand.