Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed by the Yoma 3 news service (Thailand) and other sources that the organiser of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP) group in Burma was on March 27 assaulted on a public street. Although the police said that the victim was entitled to complain, so far there has been no investigation.
CASE DETAILS:
At about 9pm on 27 March 2008, U Myint Aye, who heads the HRDP, was waiting for a taxi in Sanchaung Township of Rangoon when an unknown man came up and hit him on the head before running away. Myint Aye was rushed to hospital and later transferred to the General Hospital where he received five stitches and was x-rayed.
The next day, the chief of police in Sanchaung, named Kyaw Kyaw, came to the hospital and told Myint Aye that he could make a complaint about the case. However, Myint Aye has said that so far there have been no inquiries into the incident.
Myint Aye told the Burmese service of Voice of America radio that he is too old to be having fights on the street and as he has no personal conflicts the only reason he can think of for the assault is his human rights work.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The attack on U Myint Aye follows a familiar pattern of attacks on human rights defenders in Burma, such as the assault on U Than Lwin (UA-230-2007) who has since gone blind in one eye as a result of delayed medical treatment while in prison (AHRC-OLT-003-2008) and the six members of HRDP who were assaulted in Hinthada and then also jailed (The Hinthada 6). The HRDP group has itself been a special target for attacks and arrests: see the recent case of Ko Thiha (AHRC-UAC-052-2008) and earlier, UP-108-2007 and AHRC-OL-035-2007.
For further general information on Burma see also the 2007 AHRC Human Rights Reportchapter on Burma.
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SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the persons listed below to call for a thorough investigation of the assault on U Myint Aye. 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 Rangoon, Yangon.
Please be informed that the AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders and the UN Regional Human Rights Office for South East Asia, calling for intervention in this case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
MYANMAR: Human rights defender assaulted
Details of victim: U Myint Aye (a.k.a. U Maung Sein), 57, Chairperson, Human Rights Defenders & Promoters, residing at Makyidan Hill, East Ward, Kyimyindaing Township, Yangon
Place of incident: Intersection of Padummar and Bhagarar roads, Sanchaung Township, Yangon
Date of incident: 27 March 2008, around 9pm
I am highly concerned to hear that an “unknown person” has assaulted yet another human rights defender in Myanmar.
According to the information I have received, around 9pm on 27 March 2008 at the place indicated above an unidentified man hit U Myint Aye, the leader of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP) group on the head and ran away. U Myint Aye was admitted to hospital and had five stitches to the wound as well as x-rays before being discharged.
Although the Sanchaung Township Police chief reportedly visited U Myint Aye in hospital and told him that he could lodge a complaint about the assault, according to the victim there has so far been no investigation.
Given that U Myint Aye has no personal enemies and also that this assault follows a pattern of similar attacks on human rights defenders over the last year, including that on U Than Lwin in Mettaya Township, Mandalay, and the assault on Ko Myint Naing and five others in Hinthada Township, Ayeyarwaddy Division, I share his concerns that the attack was motivated by his human rights work.
I urge that the Myanmar Police Force take the necessary steps to fully investigate and apprehend the culprit of this attack. In this regard I wish to remind the Government of Myanmar that under international human rights standards where there is a clear pattern of incidents that infringe on basic human rights and the state fails to address this then it too is complicit, irrespective of whether or not it was directly involved.
Yours sincerely
—
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Maj-Gen. Maung Oo
Minister for Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Office No. 10
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 412 079/ 549 393/ 549 663
Fax: +95 67 412 439
2. Brig-Gen. Khin Yi
Director General
Myanmar Police Force
Ministry of Home Affairs
Office No. 10
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 412 079/ 549 393/ 549 663
Fax: +95 67 412 439
3. U Aye Maung
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Office No. 25
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 404 088/ 090/ 092/ 094/ 097
Fax: +95 67 404 146/ 106
4. Lt-Gen. Thein Sein
Prime Minister
c/o Ministry of Defence
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: + 95 1 372 681
Fax: + 95 1 652 624
5. Mr. Shariq Bin Raza
Representative
UN Office on Drugs and Crime
11A Malikha Road
Ward 7, Mayangone Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Tel: +951 666 903/ 660 556/ 660 538/ 660 398/ 664 539
Fax: +951 651 334
E-mail: fo.myanmar@unodc.org, shariq.raza@unodc.org, camila.vega@unodc.org
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
