BURMA: Alleged rape of a woman by two police officers in Twente Township 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by another rape case committed by the government or security officials in Burma. According to the information received, two police officers, Tin Ko Oo & Kyaw Myo Min, together with a civilian named Naing Min, in Twente Township, Rangoon, Burma, raped a young woman named Ma Soe Soe on 12 June 2005. We were also informed that the local authorities, rather than investigate the incident, took steps to cover it up and intimidate witnesses to prevent the news from spreading.

This case is consistent with other reports of rapes by police officers in Burma that the AHRC has reported previously. (UA-92-2005 and UA-40-2004). It shows a pattern of violence against women in all parts of Burma by government or state security officials there in which higher local authorities act to conceal the crimes of their subordinates.

Your urgent action is required to correct this matter. Please write letters to the Attorney General and international agencies on this case, with particular reference to the fact that Myanmar has international obligation to intervene into this case as it ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

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

Victim: Ma Soe Soe, 30-years-old, married with three children, residing in Myathida ward, Twente town, Rangoon Division, Burma
Alleged perpetrators: Two police officers, Tin Ko Oo & Kyaw Myo Min, together with a civilian named Naing Min
Place of incident: Nyaung Waing area of Twente town
Time & date of incident: 12 June 2005, around 10:30pm

Two police officers in Twente Township, Rangoon, Burma, raped a young woman named Ma Soe Soe on 12 June 2005. According to the information received, Ma Soe Soe was returning home from work on the night of 12 June 2005 together with Ko Naing Oo and his wife Ma Cho, when they were stopped by Tin Ko Oo, Kyaw Myo Min and Naing Min around 10:30pm. The police released Ko Naing Oo and Ma Cho but are reported to have handcuffed Ma Soe Soe and taken her to a deserted place, where they raped her.

At that time, three men returning home from a nearby teashop reportedly came past and witnessed the rape. The police came after them, but were able to capture only one of them, named Poe Cho, whom they put in the lockup. While being kept in the lockup, Poe Cho was asked by an on-duty officer as to why he was being detained. At that time he is reported to have told that it was due to witnessing the said rape.

According to local sources, after the news of the rape came out, the local authorities took steps to cover up the incident and intimidate persons familiar with the details of the case to prevent the news from spreading. As there is usually a lag in obtaining information from Burma, it is not known to the AHRC as to what developments, if any, have occurred in the days since the alleged rape took place.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

As the AHRC has reported previously, this case is part of a pattern of reported violence against women in all parts of Burma by government or state security officials there in which higher local authorities act to conceal the crimes of their subordinates.

Most recently, in June we reported the case of a 25-year-old woman resident of Hsapyin village, Taunggut Township, Rakhaing State who was allegedly raped by a police constable named Kyaw Myo Htaik. In that case too the matter was reportedly covered up by the local police chief with the knowledge of other officials (See further: UA-92-2005). In 2004, the AHRC also reported the particularly tragic case of Ma San San Aye, and Ma Aye Mi San, who were allegedly raped by a local government official, U San Net Kyaw, in Pyapon Township, Irrawaddy Division. The victims were convicted of defamation and sentenced to four years’ rigorous imprisonment after pressing complaints with higher authorities (UA-40-2004). Unfortunately, the AHRC has been unable to obtain further details regarding the victims and their current circumstances in these two cases.  The AHRC has likewise pointed to other reported cases from 2004, including the alleged beating to death of a teenage girl by Captain Aung Kyaw Moe of the Meikhtila Training Airbase, which was blocked from going to court by the local battalion commander.  (See “Additional Comments” of UA-92-2005)

The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is one of only two treaties to which Burma is a State party. The other UN treaty that Burma has joined is Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Unfortunately, consistent reports of incidents such as the one described above speak to a climate of institutionalized impunity for government officers who rape and commit other acts of violence, including murder, against Myanmar women. It should be noted that there are many detailed and credible reports of Burma army soldiers, often under the instruction of officers, systematically raping women in remote parts of the country where there are persistent anti-insurgency and security operations. Regrettably, there are no functioning independent bodies to monitor such violations in Burma, neither by way of the courts or specialized agencies established in compliance with the CEDAW or otherwise. The government-established women’s organizations, including the Myanmar National Working Committee for Women’s Affairs, are instruments for further denial, rather than protection of, women’s rights. They appears to function only as a propaganda tool, and allegedly as an instrument of further repression, rather than support, of women (see for instance the allegation contained in UP-63-2005). This was evident most recently when during the National Women’s Day celebrations these organizations were used to assail the leader of the National League for Democracy, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as an imperialist puppet.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the Attorney General to request an investigation into the reported Hsapyin case. A suggested letter follows. Please note that for the purpose of this letter, the country should be referred to by its official title of Myanmar, rather than Burma, and other names also changed accordingly.