MMR 002 / 0315 / OBS 021
Obstacles to freedom of peaceful assembly /
Arbitrary detention /
Judicial harassment
Burma / Myanmar
March 23, 2015
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Burma / Myanmar.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary detention and sentencing of Messrs. Thein Aung Myint and Saw Hla Aung, members of the Movement for Democracy Current Force (MDCF). MDCF is a community-based organisation that campaigns against land-grabbing and other human rights violations.
On March 23, 2015, a court in Mandalay’s Chan Aye Thar Zan Township sentenced Movement for Democracy Current Force (MDCF) members Messrs. Thein Aung Myint and Saw Hla Aung to six months in prison under Article 18 of the Act on the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession for leading a peaceful protest against electricity price hikes on March 27, 2014.
The court also sentenced two other people, Mr. Kyaw Myo Htun and Ms.Khet Khet Tin, to six months under the same law in connection with the March 27 protests, even though they were not involved in the demonstration. Mr. Kyaw Myo Htun only observed and applauded the protesters, while Ms. Khet Khet Tin, who is Thein Aung Myint’s wife, was shopping in the area at the time the protest took place. When she saw that authorities were arresting her husband, she asked them not to use excessive force in the process. The four are detained in Mandalay’s Oh Bo Prison. Ms. Khet Khet Thin will appeal the sentence.
Thein Aung Myint had applied for permission from township authorities to hold the protest. However, authorities refused to grant permission on the grounds that Thein Aung Myint was not a resident of that township. About 100 people took part in the March 27 demonstration.
Thein Aung Myint is a human rights defender who has been working to help communities advocate for their rights, including land rights. He is also a former political prisoner. He was detained in 1994, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2012 for his peaceful protest activities.
The Observatory regrets that MDCF members have been the target of judicial harassment and arbitrary imprisonment.
The Observatory strongly denounces the detention and judicial harassment of Messrs. Thein Aung Myint and Saw Hla Aung, which merely aim at sanctioning their peaceful human rights activities, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Burma, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Thein Aung Myint, Saw Hla Aung and Kyaw Myo Htun and Ms. Khet Khet Tin, as well as of all human rights defenders in Burma;
ii. Release Messrs. Thein Aung Myint, Saw Hla Aung and Kyaw Myo Htun and Ms. Khet Khet Tin immediately and unconditionally since their detention is arbitrary as it seems to only aim at sanctioning their human rights activities;
iii. Put an end to acts of any acts of harassment, including at judicial level, against them as well as against all human rights defenders in Burma;
iv. Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with its:
– Article 1, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”;
– Article 6(a), which foresees that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to participate in peaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms”;
– Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
v. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and ratify international and regional human rights instruments.
Addresses:
· U Thein Sein, President of Myanmar, President Office, Office No.18, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: + 95 1 652 624
· Lt Gen Ko Ko, Minister for Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Office No. 10, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: +95 67 412 439
· U Win Mra, Chairman of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, 27 Pyay Road, Hline Township, Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar; Fax: +95-1-659668
· Dr. Tun Shin, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Office No. 25, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: +95 67 404 146/ 106
· U Tun Tun Oo, Chief Justice, Office of the Supreme Court, Office No. 24, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: + 95 67 404 059
· U Kyaw Kyaw Htun, Director General, Myanmar Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs, Office No. 10, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: +951 549 663 / 549 208
· H.E. Mr. Maung Wai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 47, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 732 89 19, +41 22 732 73 77, Email: mission@myanmargeneva.org
· Embassy of Myanmar in Brussels, Boulevard Général Wahis 9, 1030 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 (0)32 2 705 50 48, Email:mebrussels@skynet.be
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Burma in your respective countries.
***
Paris-Geneva, March 23, 2015
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 4
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Equality Myanmar (EQMM) is a leading nongovernmental organization that organises a wide range of human rights education and advocacy programs, the documentation human rights violations, and provides emergency support for activists, human rights defenders, and their families. We work with a range of local civil society organizations, educators, activists, various local actors, and our programs and activities reach all states and regions in Myanmar.
