Dear ___________,
MYANMAR: Paltry compensation for death of prisoner serving military operation
Details of victim: Htun Htun Naing, 31 (at time of death), Service ID No. C/1312, son of U Myint Shwe, married with three children, a textile worker from Mingalardon Township, Yangon; died in Myanmar Armed Forces custody on 17 August 2006
Serving with: Infantry Battalion 250, stationed at Loikaw, Kayah State, from 21 June 2006
Payment to family: 7200 Kyat (approx. USD 5.75) in order of 30 January 2007
I am shocked to learn that the family of a man who died after he was allegedly taken illegally to serve as a worker in an operation for the Myanmar Armed Forces has been compensated with an amount equivalent to less than six US dollars.
According to the details that I have received, after Htun Htun Naing was jailed on a gambling offence he was on 21 June 2006 taken from Insein Prison and sent to serve as a worker on a military operation under IB 250, based in Loikaw.
On 9 November 2006, Deputy Warrant Officer Aung Kyaw Htun visited Htun Htun Naing’s family and notified them that he had died of malaria on August 17. The officer did not give any documents to prove that he was dead or cause of death, such as a death certificate and medical report. However, he took the house register, victim’s national identity card and proof of residency document from the ward council office in order to process the case, and advised the family to go to the army battalion. But because of the battalion’s distant location and the poverty of the family, they could not go.
Thereafter, the family was shocked when notified in a document from the Ministry of Defence of 30 January 2007 that it had decided to award the family with 7200 Kyat compensation for Htun Htun Naing’s death. On the current exchange rate, this amount is less than six US dollars.
Although the family has since requested that the case be reviewed and additional compensation be given, to date they are not known to have received anything further. Nor have they received documents to prove the death and circumstances of death.
I am aware that although the Government of Myanmar denies that convicts are used for the purposes of military operations, such practices have been widely documented and collaborated. And in this case, without regard to the circumstances under which Htun Htun Naing was brought to serve in the army operation, there can be no excuse for the appallingly low amount of compensation paid to his family or the fact that the family has also not been given written documentation to prove the circumstances of his death, which raises serious questions about what actually happened to him.
Accordingly, I urge you to conduct an investigation of this case to establish what happened to Htun Htun Naing–how he was brought to serve in a military operation far from his residence, how he died and what happened to his remains–and to review the amount of compensation paid to the family. In the event that it is also found that he was illegally forced to serve in the military operation in violation of Order 1/99 and the Supplementary Order on forced labour, I urge that criminal action be taken against those officers responsible.
Yours sincerely
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Maj-Gen. Maung Oo
Minister for Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Office No. 10
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +951 250 315 / 374 789
Fax: +951 549 663 / 549 208
2. Lt-Gen. Thein Sein
Prime Minister
c/o Ministry of Defence
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: + 95 1 372 681
Fax: + 95 1 652 624
3. Mr. Steve Marshall
Liaison Officer (Myanmar)
International Labour Organization (ILO)
4, route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 798 8685
E-mail: marshall@ilo.org
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
