An ethnic militia group in southeastern Myanmar that faces sanctions by the United States over its alleged involvement with human trafficking and online scams has criticized Washington’s actions.
An ethnic militia in
southeastern Myanmar that has been sanctioned by the United States for alleged
involvement in human trafficking and online scams on Tuesday denied the
accusations.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday announced sanctions
against the Karen National Army, or KNA, as well as its leader Col. Saw Chit
Thu and his sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit. They are accused of
“facilitating cyber scams that harm U.S. citizens, human trafficking, and
cross-border smuggling,” according to a Treasury Department statement.
“Cyber scam operations, such as those run by the KNA,
generate billions in revenue for criminal kingpins and their associates, while
depriving victims of their hard-earned savings and sense of security,” said
Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender. “Treasury is committed to using
all available tools to disrupt these networks and hold accountable those who
seek to profit from these criminal schemes.”
Those who are hired to carry out the scams have often been
tricked into taking the jobs under false pretenses and find themselves trapped
in virtual slavery.
The sanctions block the targeted individuals and their
companies from accessing money and assets under U.S. control, and prohibit U.S.
citizens from providing financial services to them.
Saw Chit Thu has already been sanctioned by the European
Union and the U.K. for profiting from scam compounds and human trafficking.
Lt. Col. Naing Maung Zaw, a spokesperson for the KNA — which
operates as the Karen ethnic minority’s official Border Guard Force affiliated
with Myanmar’s military government — said the group’s activities are aimed at
regional development and not related to cyber scams.
He described the U.S. sanctions as a deliberate act of
abasement by a powerful country over a weaker one.
“They are doing it because they can,” he told The Associated
Press on Tuesday.
Local militias in several border regions have de facto
control in areas where their minority groups are dominant. The KNA controls
Shwe Kokko and some areas in Myawaddy, on the border with Thailand in the state
of Kayin, also known as Karen state.
Shwe Kokko and Myawaddy are known havens for criminal
syndicates that have forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia
and elsewhere into helping run online scams, including romantic ploys, bogus
investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes. Critics have accused the KNA
of being involved in the criminal activities, at least to the extent of
providing protection to the scam centers.
Naing Maung Zaw said scam operations were carried out not
only in areas controlled by the KNA but also in other places in Myawaddy.
He acknowledged that his group rented land to some
businesses holding the property where scam centers were located and said the
KNA would continue with its mass repatriation of the foreigners working in scam
centers, which it carries out in cooperation with the military government.
He said 7,454 of 8,575 foreign scam workers have been
repatriated through Thailand following a crackdown on the scam centers by
Thailand, Myanmar and China in February.
Naing Maung Zaw said more than 10,000 people remain to be
identified in the KNA-controlled areas, and the group will continue to work
toward the elimination of scam activities.
Kayin state, which is dominated by the Karen ethnic
minority, has seen intense armed conflict since the army seized power from the
elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
The U.S. has previously imposed sanctions on Myanmar's
military leaders, their suppliers and state-owned banks in connection with
alleged human rights abuses.