UPDATE (Burma): Professor says he will launch new solo protest; passport illegally revoked 

[RE: UA-004-2002: BURMA: Arrested Professor prepared to die for democracy; UP-004-2002: BURMA: Who is Dr. Salai, Burmese political prisoner?; UP-019-2002: BURMA: Arrested professor sentenced to seven years jail; UP-016-2003: BURMA: Professor Salai Tun Than; UP-017-2003: BURMA: Professor Salai Tun Than Released]
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UP-123-2006: BURMA: Professor says he will launch new solo protest; passport illegally revoked

BURMA: Un-rule of law; denial of free expression
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Dear friends,

Dr Salai Tun Than, the retired agriculture professor who in 2002 was imprisoned by the authorities in Burma after launching a solo protest against the military regime, has had his passport illegally revoked. Tun Than, who has been staying with relatives abroad, announced in May that he would return to Burma on June 19 and make a new protest. However, according to the latest information, his passport has been illegally cancelled by the authorities, in an attempt to prevent him from carrying out his plans.

In a statement released in the US on May 10, Dr Salai Tun Than announced that he would return to Burma on June 19, which is the birthday of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and launch a new solo protest. He also called for a civil disobedience campaign and began travelling around the world to raise publicity for his plan.

However, after Tun Than arrived in Bangkok on July 7, the authorities in Burma reportedly revoked his passport.

According to concerned lawyers, it is illegal for the state to unilaterally revoke the passport of a citizen. There is no provision under the Burma Passport Act 1920 that allows for the government to do this. Furthermore, the Burma Citizenship Act 1982 only allows for citizenship and the attendant rights to be removed if a person has become a citizen of another country. But Tun Than has not taken citizenship of any other country. He has only his Burmese passport and citizenship.

Tun Than has said that he will nonetheless attempt to return to Burma and launch his protest. It is not clear at this stage as to whether or not it will be possible. It is also not clear what will happen if or when he tries to leave Thailand if the authorities there have been notified by the government of Burma that the passport is cancelled. The situation is apparently without precedent.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Salai Tun Than attracted international attention when in 2002 as a mild-mannered retired agriculture professor he made a solo protest against the military regime in Burma. Despite his prestigious background and history of service to the state, he was immediately summarily sentenced to seven years in jail by a tribunal. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) at that time set up a webpage on his case: http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/tunthan/

Salai Tun Than was released from prison on 4 May 2003 on health grounds. He later travelled abroad to stay with family.

Solo protests in Burma are infrequent, but in recent years a number of persons and members of the Buddhist clergy have performed such actions. All are given lengthy jail terms.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Minister of Immigration questioning the legality of the reported cancellation of Salai Tun Than’s passport. 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 the capital as Yangon rather than Rangoon.

 

 

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