Christie Island is an island in the
Mergui Archipelago
The Mergui Archipelago (also Myeik Archipelago or ''Myeik Kyunzu''; my, မြိတ်ကျွန်းစု) is located in far southern Myanmar (Burma) and is part of the Tanintharyi Region. It consists of more than 800 islands, varying in ...
and the southernmost point of
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(Myanmar). It lies at the southern end of the archipelago to the NNE of
Ko Surin Nuea
The Surin Islands ( th, หมู่เกาะสุรินทร์, ) is an archipelago of five islands in the Andaman Sea, 60 km from the Thai mainland. Administratively, the islands are part of Tambon Ko Phra Thong, Khura Buri Distr ...
, and the
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
-Burmese oceanic border is located between these two islands.
Christie Island is 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. It features a clearing at the top with a helicopter pad and small dusty military base.
1998 massacres
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
Than Shwe ( my, သန်းရွှေ, ; born 2 February 1933 or 3 May 1935) is a Burmese strongman politician who was the head of state of Myanmar from 1992 to 2011 as Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
During this ...
ordered they were to be "eliminated" and all were subsequently murdered.
[Defector tells of Burmese atrocity](_blank)
''The Australian'', June 9, 2008
''New York Times'', By Thomas Fuller, April 25, 2012
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.
See also
*List of islands of Burma
Myanmar (also known as Burma) is the northwesternmost country of mainland Southeast Asia located on the Indochinese peninsula. With an area of 261,228 sq mi (676,578 sq km), it is the second largest country in Southeast Asia and the largest o ...
*List of countries by southernmost point
This is a list of countries by southernmost point on land. Where borders are contested, the southernmost point under the control of a nation is listed, excluding points within Antarctica and its outlying islands south of 60°S. Non-UN political en ...
References
External links
Myanmar Ecotourism - Ministry of Hotels and Tourism
Mergui Archipelago
{{Myanmar-geo-stub