An independent investigation team says the Myanmar military is blocking an investigation into the rape and murders of Maran Lu Ra, 20, left, and Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin, 21. A group of soldiers are suspected of killing the volunteer teachers. (Photo supplied)
The Myanmar military is trying to prevent a soldier suspected of raping and murdering two Christian teachers last year from being brought to justice, according to an independent investigation team looking into the killings.
Two ethnic Kachin teachers — Maran Lu Ra, 20, and Tangbau Hkawn Na Tsin, 21, were raped and murdered, allegedly by the soldier in Kaung Kha, a village in northern Shan state on Jan. 19, 2015.
The crime, which sparked outrage in Myanmar, and the slow pace of the investigation, prompted the Kachin Baptist Convention, to launch its own probe into the killings.
The convention ran the school where the two volunteer teachers worked.
The convention said their investigation team was prevented from questioning the soldier directly, an army major, Aung Phyo Myint, at an arranged meeting at a Shan state district police station on May 18.
Kachin rights groups had earlier implicated him in the killings.
The investigation team said they were not even allowed to put questions to the suspect.
The investigation team had initially asked to question 40 soldiers, convention sources said.
Zau Rau, a Baptist leader in Shan state, said the team was told to seek permission from the military if it wanted to question the suspect directly.
"It was a complete waste of time. What was the point of bringing military officers to a police station for a meeting lasting just 15 minutes and which failed to extract any information," Zau Rau said.
The convention's general secretary the Rev. Samson Hkalom said the investigation team was weighing its options and would decide soon on whether to submit its findings to the defense ministry and the president.
"We are not afraid of fighting for justice and will find the ways and means of finding out the truth because the Kachin community will never forget this crime," the Rev. Samson told ucanews.com.
"We hope the NLD-led government will bring about rule of law and justice as they are the people's government," he said.
The army has repeatedly denied any of its soldiers were involved in the brutal killings.
It issued a threat in January 2015 to local media not to implicate soldiers in the Kaung Kha crime, and police have reportedly dismissed the possibility that troops could be responsible.
Despite this, the Kachin Women's Association of Thailand and the Legal Aid Network accused the military of a cover up in a report released in January titled, "Justice delayed, justice denied."
The report also states that the investigation into the murders has been one-sided, which has led to delays and a denial of justice.
The Myanmar army has long been accused of using rape as a weapon in its decadelong wars with ethnic minorities.
The Women's League of Burma, an umbrella organization of Myanmar women's groups, collected more than 100 rape allegations against soldiers between 2010 and 2014.