Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Yoma 3 news service (Thailand) and other sources that two villagers in the Irrawaddy Delta region of Burma have been jailed after reporting to higher authorities that local officials had been extorting money from farmers. U Aye Min and U Win Nyunt were sentenced to two years in prison each on 2 December 2005 after informing the township authorities that their village council had been illegally taking the money for on the pretence of managing an agricultural loan programme. Although the township authorities ordered the village council to stop doing this, the higher up district council later ordered that the two men be arrested for giving “false information”. The first appeal of the men against the decision was also struck down by the district court. They are now appealing to the higher courts.
According to the information received, Aye Min and Win Nyunt, both of Kwinpauk village in Bogalay Township, represented a group of farmers in lodging complaints about extortion of money over their lands, including lands owned by the two of them. U Aye Min was also a primary school headmaster and Win Nyunt was an organiser for the local chapter of the government-established mass organisation, the Union Solidarity and Development Association. Therefore they were both persons of standing in their locality who would be well-suited to represent the farmers’ legitimate grievances.
The two put their names at the head of a list of eight men who complained to the township council in writing on June 30 and August 5 of 2005 that they were among 56 farmers in the locality who were ordered to pay 3000 Burmese kyat (USD 2.50) each “extra” on agricultural loans for the forthcoming 2005-06 planting season. Additionally, they were allegedly ordered to pay 400 kyat each for costs in construction of the Kwinchaung council office. They also reported to the township authorities that the village council had since 2002 demanded various sums without explaining how they would be used.
After receiving the complaints, the township office summoned the village council head, U San Shwe, together with council members, and reportedly warned them to return the extorted money to the farmers, and not continue with the practice.
However, the village council then wrote to the higher-up district council stating that the farmers had wrongly reported them to the township council. On September 12, the district chief, U Ye Htut, ordered the township authorities to take action against the farmers for giving false information. Therefore, on December 22 the township authorities sent a letter to the village administration informing it to proceed with action against the farmers. As a result, the village council did not return the money that it had allegedly extorted, and began legal action against the complainants for making false allegations (under Penal Code section 211).
During the court hearings, the village council members said that they only collected money in accordance with their duties. However, 28 of the farmers involved submitted affidavits to the court that the original complaint was genuine, and other farmers that had put their names on the complaint testified before the court in defence of the two accused. Members of the school committee also spoke in defence of Aye Min.
Nonetheless, the court found that the two men were guilty and sentenced them to the maximum term of two years with hard labour on December 2.
The AHRC has since been informed by the Yoma 3 news service that the men’s appeal to the district court was summarily dismissed in early February. They reportedly plan to appeal to the divisional court, although their families have run out of money for conducting the court cases.
Meanwhile, the village authorities in October had ordered a further investigation into Aye Min on the spurious grounds of being involved in political party activities (which is prohibited for civil servants in Burma) due to his having relatives in the National League for Democracy, and of breaking school regulations by having gone to work in his fields instead of attending to his headmaster duties during school hours. As a result, he was also dismissed from duty on 7 February 2006.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Extortion and land confiscation are among the many adverse government practices routinely faced by farmers in Burma. For instance, the Yoma-3 news service also recently reported that four farmers in another township in the Irrawaddy Delta had 14 acres of land confiscated in the third week of December 2005, which was immediately converted into 60 small plots for sale by the local authorities. As land ownership remains with the state, farmers have limited recourse when lands are confiscated. The 1999 Voice of the Hungry Nation report of the People’s Tribunal on Food Scarcity and Militarisation in Burma discussed these and other related issues in detail.
The jailing of Aye Min and Win Nyunt also speaks to a familiar pattern in cases where ordinary citizens of Burma attempt to make a complaint on virtually any grounds against government officials. As the AHRC has described before, a complaint made against officials is then struck down, after which a counter-complaint is lodged and the original complainants are punished, and made an example to others. In this case, not even the fact that one of the original complainants was the local head of the government’s own mass movement and propaganda organisation, responsible for organising anti-democracy party rallies, was sufficient to save him from retribution. Other recent cases following the same pattern include: UA-50-2006 and UP-017-2006; see also the Ma Su Su Nwe website: www.ahrchk.net/susunwe.
The case also speaks to the connivance of the courts in state-sponsored persecution of complainants against local authorities, in which respect the case of U Aung Pe is instructive: UP-030-2006 and AHRC-PL-012-2006.
______________________________
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the Minister of Home Affairs calling for an investigation into the allegations of the two jailed men, and for their release from detention.
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 Irrawaddy as Ayeyawaddy.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear
MYANMAR: Wrongful conviction of U Aye Min & U Win Nyunt in Bogalay Township Court Criminal Case No. 1334-2005 under section 211 of the Penal Code
Names of victims:
1. U Aye Min, primary school headmaster, son of U Than Maung, Kwinpauk village, Kyisu-Kyonephar village tract, Bogalay Township, Pyapon District, Ayeyawaddy Division
2. U Win Nyunt, organiser, Union Solidarity and Development Association, son of U Thar Gyan, Kwinpauk village
Convicted under: Section 211, Penal Code, in Bogalay Township Court, Criminal Case No. 1334-2005, Judge U Bhyein Aung
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. U San Shwe, chairman, Kyisu-Kyonephar Village Tract Peace & Development Council, Bogalay Township, Pyapon District, Ayeyawaddy Division
2. U Khin Hla, member 1, Kyisu-Kyonephar Village Tract Peace & Development Council
3. U Mya Nyo, member 2, Kyisu-Kyonephar Village Tract Peace & Development Council
4. U Ye Htut, chairman, Pyapon District Peace & Development Council
I am saddened to have received news that two men who brought complaints about alleged extortion by the members of the Kyisu-Kyonephar Village Tract Peace & Development Council in Bogalay Township have themselves been jailed.
According to the information I have received, U Aye Min and U Win Nyunt, both respected figures of Kwinpauk village in Bogalay Township, put their names at the head of a list of eight men who complained to the Bogalay Township Peace and Development Council in writing on June 30 and August 5 of 2005 that they were among 56 farmers in the locality who were ordered to pay 3000 kyat each "extra" on agricultural loans for the forthcoming 2005-06 planting season. Additionally, they were allegedly ordered to pay 400 kyat each for costs in construction of the Kwinchaung council office. They were not issued receipts. They also reported that the Kyisu-Kyonephar Village Tract Peace & Development Council had since 2002 demanded money for various local tasks without explaining to the local villagers how it would be used.
After receiving the complaints, the Township Peace and Development Council summoned U San Shwe, Chairman of the Village Tract Peace and Development Council, with council members, and reportedly warned them to return the extorted money to the farmers and not continue with the practice.
However, San Shwe and his council members accused the farmers of having falsely reported them. On September 12, Pyapon District Peace and Development Council Chairman U Ye Htut ordered the township authorities to take action against the farmers for giving false information (letter no. 2-1-2 Oo-4). On December 22 the Township Peace and Development Council sent a follow-up letter (no. 2-10-2 Oo-6) to the Village Tract Peace and Development Council, informing it to proceed with action against the farmers. As a result, the village council did not return the money that it had allegedly extorted, and began legal action against the complainants for making false allegations under section 211 of the Penal Code.
During the hearings in the Bogalay Township Court (Criminal Case No. 1334-2005), the village council members said that they only collected money in accordance with their duties. However, 28 of the farmers involved submitted affidavits to the court that the original complaint was genuine, and other farmers that had put their names on the complaint testified before the court in defence of the two accused. Members of the school committee also spoke in defence of Aye Min.
Nonetheless, Judge U Bhyein Aung found that the two men were guilty and sentenced them to the maximum term of two years with hard labour on December 2. I am informed that an appeal to the Pyapon District Court was summarily dismissed in early February 2006. A further appeal is due to go to the Ayeyawaddy Divisional Court in Pathein.
I am also informed that following instructions from local officials, on October 6 the Bogalay Township Education Board Head, Chairman U Soe Lwin, member 1, High School Headmistress Daw Khin Pa Pa and member 2, Assistant Head U Hla Myint, investigated allegations that Aye Min was connected with party political activities and breaking school regulations, and dismissed him from duty on 7 February 2006.
It is extremely disappointing that persons with legitimate grievances who bring complaints against local authorities in Myanmar are themselves made the subject of legal action. I am aware that the government of Myanmar has made it a priority to eliminate corruption, and that it has indicated that no person should be above the law. Unfortunately, this case is among many others that show that the local government officials in Myanmar are capable of taking all forms of retribution against persons who attempt to complain of wrongdoing, even where the complainants are themselves holding offices as public servants or as members of government-sponsored agencies.
If the government of Myanmar is to be taken seriously, it must do much more to set up avenues through which complaints can be received from citizens, independently investigated and alleged perpetrators prosecuted. In this case, I call on you to order a full inquiry into the allegations of the original complainants made against the village council members. Additionally, please take immediate steps to see the men released from prison. More generally, I call on your government to make amendments to the law, and specifically section 211 of the Penal Code, in order that it is not used to convict persons making legitimate complaints.
Finally, I wish to remind you of the many concerns felt in the international community regarding the lack of effective remedies for persons wronged by state authorities in Myanmar. I urge your government to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights without delay. This Covenant is the central plank in the international human rights regime and for so long as Myanmar remains outside its provisions there will continue to be many questions regarding the enjoyment of fundamental human rights in your country.
Yours sincerely
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Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
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