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UPDATE (Burma): Latest news on jailing of human rights defender Ma Su Su Nwe

October 17, 2005

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Update on Urgent Appeal

18 October 2005

[RE: UA-112-2004: BURMA: Complaints against forced labour blocked and victims punished issued on 3 September 2004; UP-11-2005: BURMA: Four officials sentenced to prison for forced labour in Kawmhu Township, Yangon Division; UP-63-2005: BURMA: Local officials seek revenge against villager who obtained first successful forced labour prosecution; UP-68-2005: BURMA: Preliminary hearing against villager who obtained first successful forced labour prosecution completed; UP-73-2005: BURMA: Defamation case against villager continues; UP-117-2005: BURMA: Human rights defender Ma Su Su Nwe jailed in Insein Prison]
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UP-119-2005: BURMA: Latest news on jailing of human rights defender Ma Su Su Nwe

BURMA: Forced labour; impunity; un-rule of law; threats to human rights defender; arbitrary detention
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported on Friday that Burmese villager and human rights defender Ma Su Su Nwe has been jailed in Insein Prison on the spurious grounds that she abused and intimidated local government officials (UP-117-2005).

We are again calling for your urgent help to secure her release. There are grave concerns for Ma Su Su Nwe's health, as she suffers from a heart condition and was reportedly denied medicines upon being sent to prison. 

Below is the latest information on this case. Please refer to the previous sample letter for how to write to the government authorities in Burma or the embassy or consulate in your country. Please also write to your own foreign ministry or equivalent to urge that it take up the case through diplomatic channels: a second sample letter for this purpose is below.
 
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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LATEST INFORMATION

According to the latest information available to the AHRC, Ma Su Su Nwe was sentenced to a total of 20 months in prison: 18 months for intimidation under section 506 of the Penal Code, and 2 months for abuse under section 294B. Observers at the court have told outside sources that as Judge Daw Htay Htay Win read the sentence her voice was shaking. For her part, Ma Su Su Nwe remained calm throughout the sentencing and departure from the court.

After Ma Su Su Nwe was taken to prison on October 13, the authorities refused to allow her to bring essential medicines for her heart condition and other basic items, all of which were returned to persons in her township by the police. However, she was reportedly permitted to receive visitors on October 15.

The liaison office of the International Labour Organisation in Burma is said to have protested against the sentence. It is not yet known as to what further action it is taking.

The legal department of the National League for Democracy has indicated that it will appeal the case on behalf of Ma Su Su Nwe in the district court. The AHRC has been advised that she can be granted bail under sections 486 & 498 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

It has also been reported, but not confirmed, that the authorities in Tanmanaing village tract of Kawhmu Township have stepped up reprisals against villagers who have supported Ma Su Su Nwe. These have allegedly included restrictions on business activity and confiscation of property. No details are available at present.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

The AHRC is beginning a comprehensive campaign on this case, directed especially at diplomatic missions and international organizations. We request that you contact your government and international organizations in your country to urge that the case be taken up at official levels with the authorities in Burma. A sample letter for this purpose follows. Please refer back to the sample letter in the previous update (UP-117-2005) for letters to the government officials in Burma or diplomatic missions.

Please remember that for the purposes of these letters, the country should be referred to by its official title of Myanmar, rather than Burma.

Sample letter:

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Dear …

RE: HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER JAILED IN MYANMAR

I am writing to urge for your action on the case of Ma Su Su Nwe, an ordinary villager turned human rights defender who was jailed in Myanmar on 13 October 2005 on spurious allegations of having insulted and threatened government officials there.

On 31 January 2005 Ma Su Su Nwe (34) obtained the first successful conviction against government officials for forced labour in Myanmar, in accordance with section 374 of the Penal Code and Order 1/99 and its Supplementary Order. She was supported in her efforts by the liaison office of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in the country. As an act of revenge, the new local government head, U Kyaw Lwin, took legal action against her under sections 294B & 506 of the Penal Code, claiming that she had abused and threatened him and other local council members. She was found guilty by the court on both charges, and sentenced to 20 months in jail in the Kawhmu Township Court on October 13 (Judge Daw Htay Htay Win presiding). She was immediately transported to the notorious central Insein Prison, where she was reportedly denied the right to take with her medicines she needs for a chronic heart condition. 

Ma Su Su Nwe has been given legal assistance by lawyers of the National League for Democracy, who are now preparing to lodge an appeal. I am informed that the offences for which she has been jailed are cognizable and bailable offences under sections 486 & 489 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

I call upon you to take up the case of Ma Su Su Nwe with the government of Myanmar as a matter of special concern. In view of the courageous stand that this young woman took for her basic human rights, in accordance with the relatively narrow legal avenues available to citizens of her country, and given her medical condition, her case deserves urgent attention. 

I also urge you to take up with the government of Myanmar the use of the law as a weapon to unjustly attack innocent persons who challenge the wrongdoing of government officials, particularly with reference to forced labour practices. In this regard, I would draw your attention to a 4 June 2005 statement by the ILO that:
 
"The Government [of Burma] should give clear assurances that no action would be taken against persons lodging complaints of forced labour, or their representatives, in order that the [ILO] Liaison Officer could fully continue to accept and channel such complaints to the competent authorities…" (emphasis added)

I thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to your speedy intervention.

Yours sincerely

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PLEASE SEND OR TAKE YOUR LETTERS IN PERSON TO:

1. The foreign minister (or representative) or equivalent in your country, and your local elected representative (member of parliament or equivalent)

2. International missions in your country, including, where available:

a. United Nations, especially International Labour Organisation and Commission for Human Rights
b. International Committee of the Red Cross
c. European Union or other regional body
d. Diplomatic missions of other countries

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) 

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-119-2005
Countries :
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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.