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UPDATE (Burma): Further worrying developments in case of deadly assault victim Thet Naing Oo

March 30, 2006

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

31 March 2006

[RE: UA-097-2006: BURMA: Municipal officers and firefighters beat man to death then police charge his friends; UP-060-2006: BURMA: Innocent people blamed for killing of Thet Naing Oo; witnesses remain in police custody]
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UP-064-2006: BURMA: Further worrying developments in case of deadly assault victim Thet Naing Oo

BURMA: Assault; torture; extrajudicial killing; illegal detention; impunity; un-rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned by further developments in the case of Ko Thet Naing Oo, who was beaten to death in a Rangoon market on March 17, allegedly by Burmese government officers (UA-097-2006 and UP-060-2006). A secretive tribunal has been launched to "investigate" the case; however, the persons accused of killing Thet Naing Oo have reportedly not been arrested. And police have instead concentrated on intimidating the families of two of the victim's friends who have been detained and charged in connection with the case. 

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL ESTABLISHED

Due to the heavy attention on the beating to death of 40-year-old Ko Thet Naing Oo on 17 March 2006, the authorities have set up a "special tribunal" on the case.

According to Thet Naing Oo's mother, Daw San Yi (not Daw Sein Yi as reported previously), on March 28 officials came to her house and called her to go to the special tribunal hearings at Kyimyintaing Township Police Station. Daw San Yi says that the tribunal consisted of the Director General of the Prisons Department, a director from the General Administrative Department, and a senior police officer (all under the Ministry of Home Affairs). According to her, all of the witnesses on the police side were heard, and she also was interviewed. She says that she told them everything she knows about what happened and asked that the real perpetrators be held accountable in accordance with the law. She also says that they reassured her that they were working on the case, and informed her that she could attend the session of the tribunal at central Insein Prison the next day to observe and hear the investigation.

However, on March 29 when she went to the prison at around 9:30am Daw San Yi was denied entry. She waited outside the prison, but was not given access. She was instead told to wait outside and would be called "if needed". In the afternoon, one witness for her side, a man named Hlaing Min Htwe, was called by the tribunal at about 1pm, and returned after 3pm. But San Yi was not given any information about what is going on.

Meanwhile, two other witnesses known to San Yi have reportedly left the capital or can not otherwise be located, as they are apparently afraid to testify. 

The AHRC is gravely concerned that the special tribunal--which is not a court and does not consist of any judicial officers--will be used to exonerate the alleged perpetrators and open the way for legal action against innocent persons, and also for counter-legal action against San Yi of the sort seen in other cases where persons have complained of gross criminality by government officials in Burma. Following from the investigations of the tribunal it should be possible to open more investigations or lay charges against the genuine perpetrators. However, from the observations of the AHRC in other cases where special panels have been comprised in Burma, the main objective and key outcome of the inquiry process is to avoid this result and hold others to blame, including the complainants themselves. For the police officers involved, if a separate panel is set up under police regulations, the worst they can expect is to be demoted by a rank, or transferred to another location.


OTHER WORRYING DEVELOPMENTS

Meanwhile, it has been reported that while seven people are still in custody in connection with the killing, none of them are those identified as actually having beaten Thet Naing Oo. A person named Aung Myat Thu (not a police officer as previously reported) is accused of having delivered the fatal blows, together with municipal officers and auxiliary fire fighters. A police corporal named Tin Maung Ni is known to have been involved in the arrest of Thet Naing Oo--when he was already unconscious and half-dead--and subsequent steps to arrest and accuse innocent persons in connection with the case. However, three trishaw drivers and two others as yet unidentified persons are supposedly those in custody, in addition to the two friends of the victim who have been accused of obstructing and harming officials trying to perform their duties, and aiding and abetting a crime.

The two friends, Ko Win Myint and Ko Khin Maung Zaw, have reportedly also been examined by the special tribunal, as well as members of their families. However, according to some sources, Special Branch police have come to their houses and videotaped inside and out, causing great anxiety to their families. No reason is known to have been given by the police for their actions.

______________________________

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Minister of Home Affairs calling for the special tribunal to take great care in conducting its investigation, and asking for assurances for the safety of all persons concerned, particularly those currently in custody. Please also call for guarantees that the mother of the victim will not herself be made the target of counter legal action.

Please note that for the purpose of the letter, the country should be referred to by its official title of Myanmar, rather than Burma, and Rangoon, Yangon. 

Sample letter:

Dear Major General Maung Oo

MYANMAR: Progress of special tribunal in case of Ko Thet Naing Oo; guarantees needed for security of witnesses and mother

Name of victims:
1. Ko Thet Naing Oo, 40 years old, of Patin Road, Bawga Ward, Kyimyintaing Township, Yangon Division (deceased); son of Daw San Yi
2. Ko Win Myint, 38 years old (under custody)
3. Ko Khin Maung Zaw, 21 years old (under custody)
4. Five persons arrested in connection with the killing, including three trishaw drivers
Name of alleged perpetrators: A group of fire-fighters and municipal officers posted at the Thirimingalar Market in Kyimyintaing Township, Yangon Division, together with two patrolling police officers, one identified as Police Corporal Tin Maung Ni
Date of incident: 18 March 2006 and subsequently
Place of incident: Thirimingalar Market, Kyimyintaing Township, Yangon Division; Dagon Police Station

I am writing to express my concern at the inquiries into the deadly assault on Ko Thet Naing Oo in the Thirimingalar Market on March 17, allegedly by a group of municipal officers and auxiliary fire fighters.

While I am pleased to hear that a special tribunal of senior officials has been comprised to hear the case, I am concerned by the manner of work conducted by the tribunal. In particular, I am informed that the mother of the victim, Daw San Yi, had been promised access to the tribunal on March 29, but that she was denied entry. She has also not been informed of the tribunal's progress, and has been unable to arrange for all witnesses to corroborate her account of events, as at least two persons have reportedly gone into hiding out of fear. 

I understand that the tribunal is comprised of a senior police officer and officials from the Prisons Department and General Administration Department, all of which are under your Ministry. The tribunal is meeting behind closed doors. As such I understand that it is a precursor to, and in no way a substitute for, judicial process. It also can not be considered an impartial and open inquiry. I strongly hope that whatever its findings, the tribunal will proceed carefully and with due regards to all facts. Under any circumstances I trust also that the necessary actions will be taken to bring the true perpetrators of this crime to justice. That includes the taking of criminal legal action against police officers who allegedly had some involvement in the victim's death, including Police Corporal Tin Maung Ni of the Kyimyintaing Township Police Station. As a man was killed, it is essential that the genuine perpetrators are subjected to full criminal sanction, in order that your government secure its pledge that "no one is above the law" in Myanmar.

I also call on you to guarantee the security of all persons involved in the case, including those seven persons reportedly under custody, and family members of the victim. Of the seven in custody, it has been reported that five were innocent bystanders and two friends of the victim who were also assaulted: Ko Win Myint and Ko Khin Maung Zaw. I am deeply concerned that all of these persons are still in incommunicado custody some two weeks after the incident, despite there being a reported lack of evidence upon which to hold them in detention. Meanwhile, the alleged perpetrators remain at large. I urge you to take the necessary steps to rectify this situation.

I am further informed that the homes of Win Myint and Khin Maung Zaw have been raided by Special Branch police officers who have videotaped everything and caused great anxiety among their family members. Needless to say, such deliberately invasive and intimidating tactics by the police are completely unacceptable and without any validity. I urge you to also have this matter investigated and give instructions that the family members of these persons are not made the target of attacks by government officers.

Finally, I wish to express special concern for the situation of the mother of the victim. Out of a mother's love and a sense of sheer injustice, she has spoken strongly and bravely on his death. I remain concerned, however, that this case will follow the same pattern as so many others in Myanmar, whereby complainants are in turn made the targets of spurious and punitive counter legal action by the alleged perpetrators. I seek your guarantee that Daw San Yi will not be subjected to legal action for having sought the truth of her son's death. Let there be no more victims of this tragic incident.

Yours sincerely

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

Maj-Gen. Maung Oo
Minister for Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Corner of Saya San Street and No 1 Industrial Street,
Yankin Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Tel: +951 250 315 / 374 789
Fax: +951 549 663 / 549 208


PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

1. Lt-Gen. Soe Win
Prime Minister
c/o Ministry of Defence
Signal Pagoda Road
Yangon
MYANMAR
Tel: + 95 1 372 681
Fax: + 95 1 652 624

2. U Aye Maung
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
101 Pansodan Street
Kyauktada Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Fax: + 95 1 371 028/ 282 449 / 282 990

3. Brigadier General Khin Yi
Director General
Myanmar Police Force
Saya San Road
Yankin Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Tel: + 95 1 549 196/ 228/ 209

3. Mr. Patrick Vial
Head of Delegation
ICRC
No. 2 (C) - 5 Dr. Ba Han Lane
Kaba Aye Pagoda Road, 8th Mile
Mayangone Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Tel.: +951 662 613 / 664 524
Fax: +951 650 117
E-mail: yangon.yan@icrc.org

4. Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro
Special Rapporteur on Myanmar
Attn: Ms. Audrey Ryan
Room 3-090
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: + 41 22 9179 281
Fax: + 41 22 9179 018 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR MYANMAR)
E-mail: aryan@ohchr.org

5. Professor Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Atten: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016, c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS)
Email: lventre@ohchr.org

6. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr.Safir Syed
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 9179016 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-064-2006
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.