Karen Warlord Protests Against Thai Arrest Threat Over Scam Centers

克伦军阀抗议泰国逮捕诈骗中心威胁（机译）

作者：伊洛瓦底江         来源：伊洛瓦底江

Karen BGF leader Colonel Saw Chit Thu speaks during an Armed Forces Day at Shwe Kokko in Myawaddy Township, Karen State in 2019. / The Irrawaddy

2019年，在克伦邦妙瓦底镇的瑞果果举行的武装部队日活动上，克伦邦整编部队领导人苏奇图上校发表讲话。/伊洛瓦底江

Junta-allied Karen militia leader Saw Chit Thu on Tuesday protested against a threat by the Thai government to arrest him over the clusters of online scam operations that thrive in his fiefdom in Myawaddy on the Thai border.

与缅甸军政府结盟的克伦族民兵领袖苏奇图（Saw Chit Thu）周二抗议泰国政府威胁要逮捕他，原因是在他位于泰国边境的妙瓦底（Myawaddy）的领地上，大量网络诈骗活动猖獗。

“I would like to ask: what exactly have I done to Thailand that would justify such an arrest?” Saw Chit Thu demanded, speaking to BBC Burmese. “Have I committed any acts of rebellion against Thailand?”

“我想问的是：我到底对泰国做了什么，才有理由遭到这样的逮捕？”苏奇督对BBC缅甸问道。“我对泰国有任何反叛行为吗？”

The warlord, who heads one of several so-called Border Guard Forces (BGF) or ethnic junta-aligned militias, runs the scam center hub of Shwe Kokko in Myawaddy Township in a joint venture with Yatai International, owned by notorious Chinese criminal She Zhijiang, who is being held in a Bangkok prison.

这位军阀领导着几个所谓的边防军（BGF）或与缅甸军政府结盟的民兵组织中的一个，他与亚太国际（Yatai International）合资经营着Myawaddy镇的Shwe Kokko诈骗中心，亚太国际的所有者是臭名昭著的中国罪犯佘智江，他目前被关押在曼谷的一所监狱里。

On Tuesday, Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) sought an arrest warrant for the three BGF leaders: Saw Chit Thu, Lieutenant Colonel Mote Thone, and Major Tin Win, for human trafficking.

星期二，泰国特别调查部（DSI）以贩卖人口的罪名对整编部队的三名领导人发出逮捕令，他们分别是：Saw Chit Thu、Mote Thone中校和Tin Win少校。

They are accused of involvement in the trafficking of Indian nationals who were forced to work in call-center scams.

他们被指控参与贩卖印度国民，这些人被迫在呼叫中心诈骗。

Online scam centers mostly targeting Chinese citizens have mushroomed near the border since the 2021 coup, particularly in Myawaddy.

自2021年政变以来，以中国公民为主要目标的网络诈骗中心在边境附近如雨后春笋般涌现，尤其是在妙瓦底镇。

Many local people as well as hundreds of foreign nationals from several countries are forced to work for the scam gangs after being trafficked through northern Thailand amid reports of torture and other abuses.

许多当地人以及来自几个国家的数百名外国人在泰国北部被贩卖后，被迫为诈骗团伙工作，因为有报道称他们遭受了酷刑和其他虐待。

But Saw Chit Thu told BBC Burmese his armed group had done “a lot” to combat human trafficking and helped rescue and return many trafficked victims. “But our efforts have never been reported in the news,” he complained.

但Saw Chit Thu告诉BBC缅甸，他的武装组织在打击人口贩运方面做了“很多”工作，并帮助营救和遣返了许多被贩运的受害者。“但我们的努力从未在新闻中报道过，”他抱怨道。

“The arrest warrant plan is a great danger to us. I truly feel bad about the Thais’ planned action,” he added.

“逮捕令计划对我们来说是一个巨大的危险。我对泰国人有计划的行动感到非常难过。”

Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Karen BGF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Naing Maung Zaw echoed his boss. “What mistake have we made for Thailand to issue an arrest warrant for us?” he said. “We have done nothing wrong, so we have no comment.”

克伦邦整编部队发言人Naing Maung Zaw中校对《伊洛瓦底报》表示赞同。“我们犯了什么错误，让泰国对我们发出逮捕令？”他说。“我们没有做错任何事，所以我们无可奉告。”

Instead, the BGF claimed it will be establishing a special task force, led by Saw Chit Thu, “to completely eliminate and suppress the cyber scam networks in the BGF-controlled border areas” in Myawaddy.

相反，整编部队声称将成立一个特别工作组，由Saw Chit Thu领导，在Myawaddy省“彻底消除和打击整编部队控制的边境地区的网络诈骗网络”。

The rights group Justice for Myanmar exposed the BGF’s involvement in Chinese-run online scams, illegal casinos, and online gambling operations in Myawaddy in May last year.

去年5月，人权组织“缅甸正义”（Justice for Myanmar）曝光了缅甸民团在妙瓦底参与中国人经营的网络诈骗、非法赌场和在线赌博活动。

The U.K. imposed sanctions against Saw Chit Thu in December 2023 over allegations of human trafficking, forced labor, and human rights violations, as did the EU, which also sanctioned Mote Thone and Tin Win.

英国于2023年12月以贩卖人口、强迫劳动和侵犯人权的指控对Saw Chit Thu实施制裁，欧盟也对Mote Thone和Tin Win实施了制裁。

Major Tin Win (left), Colonel Saw Chit Thu (middle), and Lieutenant Colonel Mote Thone

丁温少校（左）、苏奇图上校（中）和莫特汤中校

Last month, the BGF found itself in the spotlight again when the trafficking of a Chinese celebrity, actor Wang Xing, to Myawaddy made global headlines.

上个月，当中国明星演员王兴被贩卖到妙瓦底江成为全球头条新闻时，BGF再次发现自己成为了聚光灯下的焦点。

Under pressure from Beijing, Thai police rescued Wang Xing from a scam operation in circumstances that were never fully explained but presumably required the assistance of local authorities.

在北京方面的压力下，泰国警方从一个骗局中救出了王兴，当时的情况从未得到充分解释，但可能需要当地政府的协助。

As pressure from China mounted, Thailand cut electricity, internet services, and fuel supplies to five areas in Myanmar last Wednesday, including the territories controlled by Saw Chit Thu and another Karen armed group, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) in Myawaddy.

由于来自中国的压力越来越大，泰国于上周三切断了缅甸五个地区的电力、互联网服务和燃料供应，其中包括由Saw Chit Thu和另一个克伦族武装组织民主克伦佛教军（DKBA）在Myawaddy控制的领土。

General Sai Kyaw Hla, the commander of the DKBA’s No. 1 military region, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that his militia will no longer permit online scam centers, except for online gambling businesses, in its territory of Kyauk Khat.

缅甸民军第一军区司令赛觉拉将军星期二对《伊洛瓦底报》说，除了在线赌博业务外，他的民军将不再允许在线诈骗中心出现在其辖区皎崖。

The locations of cyber scam center under the control of the Karen BGF in Myawaddy Township / Justice for Myanmar

位于Myawaddy镇的Karen BGF控制下的网络诈骗中心的位置/缅甸司法

The general claimed that over 100 foreign nationals who had been trafficked to the scam centers there have been rescued and will be handed over to Thai authorities “soon.”

这位将军声称，100多名被拐卖到诈骗中心的外国人已经获救，并将“很快”移交给泰国当局。

Following the Thai cutoff, the junta and Karen BGF jointly handed over 61 trafficked victims from seven foreign countries to Thai authorities.

在泰国切断援助后，军政府和克伦邦整军联合向泰国当局移交了来自7个国家的61名被拐卖的受害者。

The regime also raided online gambling and scam centers in northern Shan State’s Mongyai Township, which it still controls, detaining over 100 people including several dozen foreign nationals.

缅甸政府还突袭了掸邦北部勐崖镇的在线赌博和诈骗中心，拘留了100多人，其中包括几十名外国人。

Thai authorities for their part removed Police Major General Ekkarat Intasuep, the commander of Inspection Division 5, and Pol. Maj-Gen Samrit Aemkamol, chief of Tak Province Police, from their posts for their alleged connections to online gambling and scam centers in Myawaddy and failing to stop the trafficking.

泰国当局则解除了第5视察师指挥官伊卡拉·因塔苏普（Ekkarat Intasuep）少将的职务。达克省警察局长Samrit Aemkamol少将被撤职，原因是他们涉嫌与Myawaddy的在线赌博和诈骗中心有联系，未能阻止人口贩运。

作者：伊洛瓦底江         来源：伊洛瓦底江