US CONGRESSMAN TRIES TO OPEN GENOCIDE FILE OF BURMA

US Congressman accuses Burma of committing "genocide"

US Congressman Trent Franks, the co-chair for the Congressional Human Rights Caucus Taks Force on International Religious Freedom, expresses condolences over the death of Karen rebel leader Pado Mahn Sha, and urged the world to hold the Burmese junta for their attacks against civilians.

"It is time the world hold the Burmese military regime accountable for decades of genocide against the ethnic and religious minorities of Burma. They are all God's children and deserve the dignity to live as such, in freedom and without fear. I call on the international community to act in solidarity to end the suffering of these people and support the democracy movement of which Mahn Sha was a critical part." Franks said in a statement sent from his office on Friday.

Franks described Mahn Sha as a "visionary Karen leader" and that his death was "a great loss for the Karen people and the movement for democracy in Burma." Mahn Sha was a strong supporter of pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi who has been placed under house arrest for most part of the past two decades.

"Mahn Sha gave his life to protect the Karen from the incomprehensible genocide committed against them by the Burmese military regime. My heart goes out to his family and the people of Burma who have lost a courageous leader."

Franks said attacks by Burmese government troops against civilians were a clear violation of international humanitarian law.

According to information Mahn Sha provided before his death, in 2007 alone, the Karen suffered 2,000 attacks on civilians, 20,000 people were forced to flee their villages, 3,000 Karen became refugees and there were about 110 deaths, the statement said.