Dear Friends
The Mon Forum has reported that a police officer in Mon State, Burma (Myanmar), severely tortured a local farmer alleged to have not given his compulsory quota of paddy to the authorities. When the case became known in the community, Buddhist monks held police and military officials to account. The police held a tribunal that found the officer guilty and recommended he be tried in court, but latest reports indicate that no further action has been taken against him. Your urgent action is required to pressure the authorities to punish the police officer and guarantee the safety of the victim and his family members.
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission
Situation:
Nai La, 78, and his wife have farmed 14 acres in Kyeikmayaw Township, Mon State, for over 38 years. In all that time they have given paddy to the state as required by law. This year, his quota was set at 168 baskets, but as floods destroyed his crop he reported to the local headman, Nai Kyan Kyit, that he could give only 20 baskets because his crop was destroyed. However, the headman unlawfully fined him 560,000 Kyat (about US$560).
On March 4, the militiamen under the chairman arrested Nai La for failing to meet the paddy quota, and detained him at the Tarana police post in Kyeikmayaw Township. They held him for three nights there, before transferring him to Nyaung Pin Zoet Police Station on March 7. That night, Deputy Sub-inspector Maung Toe (#La-120798) handcuffed Nai La and beat him and kicked him inside his cell until he lost consciousness.
On March 8, Nai La was sent in critical condition to Kyeikmayaw hospital. While there, news of the event spread in the local community, and some monks mobilized to take action. On March 10, Reverend Wareinda, local secretary of the Buddhist Monks’ Association, an official body under the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Council, took the matter to Kyeikmayaw Chief of Police Aye Thaung, insisting that action be taken against the perpetrator.
Under pressure, on March 11, the police held a disciplinary tribunal, at which Maung Toe was present. According to official documents, it was chaired by the Kyeikmayaw Chief of Police, Sub-inspector Aye Thaung (#La-102825), and also hearing the case were Deputy Sub-inspectors Tun Than (#La-131217) and Myint Tun (#La-131231). The tribunal heard testimonies by Nai La and his wife, and four police officers, Corporal Thein Aung (#La-81084), and PCs Soe Nwe, Aung Thein Myint and Aung Myaing. The disciplinary tribunal found that Maung Toe was drunk on the night he tortured Nai La and that legal action should be taken against him.
After March 11, other efforts were made on Nai La’s behalf. On March 21, a group of twelve monks under Reverend Silawanta apparently submitted a letter to the Chairman of the Mon State Peace and Development Council and Chairman of the Mon State Southeast Command, General Myint Aung, on the matter. On March 23, the New Mon State Party, a cease-fire group, also lodged a letter of complaint with local military officials, insisting that action be taken. On March 25, Nai La himself wrote to the Chairman of the Mon State Peace and Development Council.
Local officials of the New Mon State Party detained Nai Kyan Kyit for a week while investigating the case. Meanwhile, after the local Buddhist monks became aware of the case and had pressured the police to act, the Kyeikmayaw Chief of Police visited Nai La’s house to undertake further enquiries. Finally, since the police report was leaked to the community, Nai La’s family has been sealed off.
The latest information is that the case is still in the hands of superior officers. To date he has not been punished.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to:
Colonel Tin Hlaing
Minister for Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Corner of Saya San Street and No 1 Industrial Street,
Yankin Township
Yangon
Myanmar
Dr. Tun Shin
Director General
Office of the Attorney General
101 Pansodan Street
Kyauktada Township
Yangon
Myanmar
Fax: 95-1 282 449
General Myint Aung
Chairman
Mon State Peace and Development Council
Mawlamyine
Mon State
Myanmar
Mr. Theo C. van Boven
Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the Question of Torture
c/o Mr. Jean Nicolas Beuze
Room 3-052
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Palais Wilson,
Rue des Paquis 52, Geneva
Switzerland
tel: 41 229179174
fax: 41 22 9179 006
email: jnbeuze.hchr@unog.ch
Mr. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
c/o Ms. Hulan Tsedev
Room 3-090
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Palais Wilson,
Rue des Paquis 52, Geneva
Switzerland
tel: 41 22 9179 281
fax: 41 22 9179 018
email: htsedev.hchr@unog.ch
Please note that access to the internet and email, especially outside of the capital, is virtually non-existent in Burma. Therefore, in this case we urge you to send letters by fax and post to the officials concerned. These persons are unlikely to be aware that the case has attracted attention outside the country, and the receipt of such letters will have a strong impact.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear
Regarding: Torture of Nai La by Police Deputy Sub-inspector Maung Toe
I am very concerned by reports of that Police Deputy Sub-inspector Maung Toe (#La-120798) tortured Nai La, a farmer, in Nyaung Pin Zoet Police Station, Kyeikmayaw Township, Mon State, on March 7, and that to date Maung Toe has not been punished. This is despite his being found guilty by a disciplinary tribunal chaired by the Kyeikmayaw Chief of Police, Sub-inspector Aye Thaung (#La-102825), which recommended that action be taken against him according to law.
I urge the responsible officials to prosecute Maung Toe without delay. Torture is a heinous crime that deserves an immediate and unequivocal response, not least of all in this case, where the alleged perpetrator is a state officer. I am also concerned that the local community, which mobilized to support Nai La, has recently been denied access to him and his family by the authorities. I call on all persons and agencies concerned to guarantee the safety of the victim and his family members.
Finally, I note with concern that to date Myanmar has not yet ratified the UN Convention against Torture (CAT). I exhort the Government of Myanmar to do so at the nearest possible date, bring the CAT into domestic law and establish mechanisms for its effective implementation.
Yours faithfully
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Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
