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UPDATE (Burma): Police officer convicted of assault let off with petty fine

June 16, 2005

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

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

17 June 2005

[RE: UA-81-2005: BURMA: Brothers jailed and beaten for complaining about police assault over tattoo; UP-65-2005: BURMA: Successful conviction of police officer but one victim remains in jail]
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UP-71-2005: BURMA: Police officer convicted of assault let off with petty fine

BURMA: Assault; Torture; Illegal imprisonment; Un-rule of law; Impunity
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received more information from the Yoma-3 news service, Thailand about two young men who were jailed in Burma after complaining about a police assault (UA-81-2005). Although as was reported previously one police officer was sentenced to one month's rigorous imprisonment for the assault (UP-65-2005), according to local residents he has already been released through a higher court order and is still serving as a police officer, and moving about freely. Meanwhile, one of the two men is still in prison and it is reported that his health has worsened.

Please write to the attorney general of Burma to demand that the matter is investigated fully and the police officer is properly punished. Please also call for the release of the one imprisoned victim, and appropriate medical treatment.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

As reported previously, 27-year-old Ko Zaw Win complained to the authorities in Burma that he and 35-year-old Ko Min Zaw Oo were assaulted by Police Sergeant Myint Oo and Fireman Nyo Win in a Rangoon restaurant on April 29 and illegally detained for eight days. On May 27, Judge U Hla Oo of Hlaingthayar Township Court found Pol. Sgt. Myint Oo guilty of assault and sentenced him to one-month's rigorous imprisonment.

Unfortunately, on June 8 the West Hlaingthayar District Court granted an appeal against the decision and released Pol. Sgt. Myint Oo with only a fine of 200 kyat (US $ 0.20). Since that time the police officer is reported to have resumed his duties at the police station and has been travelling about the township freely on bicycle.

Meanwhile, Ko Min Zaw Oo is being held in Building No. 5 of Insein Jail on the grounds that he violated a movement-restriction order. Ko Zaw Win has said that Ko Min Zaw Oo has been sick with fever and suffering from an assault that is alleged to have occurred after imprisonment. His family has been unable to visit him regularly due to financial hardship.


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the attorney general to urge that the police officer earlier found guilty of assault not be permitted to escape punishment and that an investigation be launched into the case. Please also call for the release from detention of Ko Min Zaw Oo, as well as for an investigation into allegations that he was beaten in prison. A suggested letter follows. Please note that for the purposes of this letter, the country should be referred to as Myanmar, rather than Burma, and the capital Yangon rather than Rangoon.  


Sample letter:

Dear Dr Tun Shin

Re: Case of Pol. Sgt. Myint Oo in West Hlaingthayar District Court, Yangon, and continued detention of Hlaingthayar resident Ko Min Zaw Oo

I have been informed that on May 27 the Hlaingthayar Township Court (Judge U Hla Oo presiding) found Police Sergeant Myint Oo guilty under Penal Code sections 323/324 of having assaulted two local residents, Ko Zaw Win (27) and Ko Min Zaw Oo (35) on April 29. However, subsequently the West Hlaingthayar District Court released the accused officer on June 8 with only a 200 kyat fine. He is since reported to have returned to his work as a police officer at Hlaingthayar Police Station.

It is most regrettable that a police officer in Myanmar can publicly assault citizens and escape proper punishment. While respecting the jurisdiction and integrity of the courts, I urge you to take steps to see the case properly and fully investigated and if sufficient grounds exist to find that the said officer did indeed assault the two men, he is punished accordingly. In particular, it is incumbent upon the state agencies in Myanmar, not the victims of the alleged assault, to take the necessary steps to ensure that this be brought about, as it is a matter specifically concerning the actions of a state officer. While investigations are pending, I urge you to suspend him from his service in the police force.
 
I have also received information to the effect that one of the two assault victims, Ko Min Zaw Oo, is being held in Building No. 5 of Insein Jail on the ground of having violated a section 41 order restricting his movement. I also urge you to take steps to ensure that the detention of Ko Min Zaw Oo is reviewed in order that he may be released without delay. I also urge you to initiate an investigation into allegations that he was beaten while in prison, and ensure that he is treated for health problems experienced while there.

Yours sincerely

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

Dr Tun Shin
Director General
Office of the Attorney General
101 Pansodan Street
Kyauktada Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Fax: + 95 1 371 028 / 282 990 / 282 449


PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

1. Lt General 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. Maj-Gen Maung Oo
Chairman
Myanmar Human Rights Committee
c/o Ministry of Home Affairs
Corner of Saya San Street and No 1 Industrial Street,
Yankin Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Fax: +95 1 549 663 / 549 208

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.: +95 1 662 613 / 664 524
Fax: (+951) 650 117

4. Mr. Paulo Sergio Pineheiro
Special Rapporteur on Myanmar
Attn: Ms. Hulan Tsedev
Room 3-090
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: + 41 22 9179 281
Fax: + 41 22 9179 018
E-mail: htsedev.hchr@unog.ch

5. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the question of torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-71-2005
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.