Christie Island

Christie Island[1] is an island in the Mergui Archipelago and the southernmost point of Burma (Myanmar). It lies at the southern end of the archipelago 18 km (11 mi) to the NNE of Ko Surin Nuea, and the Thai-Burmese oceanic border is located between these two islands.

Christie
Location of Christie Island in Burma

Christie Island is 4.6 km (2.9 mi) long and has several peaks it covered with thick forest. The tallest is 325 meters high. Murray Island and Sanders Island are small rocky islets off its southern shores. Christie Island is part of the Alladin Islands subgroup.

1998 massacre

In May 1998, Colonel Zaw Min, landed on Christie Island and found 59 Burmese nationals living there to gather wood and bamboo, in violation of Burmese law. General Than Shwe ordered they were to be "eliminated" and all were subsequently murdered.[2][3]

A few days later, Burmese troops from the same base captured a Thai fishing boat that had strayed close to Christie Island. The 22 Burmese and Thai fishermen on board were shot and buried on the island.[2]

See also

References
  1. Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 India & Bay of Bengal Enroute By National Geospatial-intelligence Agency
  2. Defector tells of Burmese atrocity, The Australian, June 9, 2008
  3. As Myanmar Opens Up, Idyllic Islands Remain Unwelcoming, New York Times, By Thomas Fuller, April 25, 2012


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