BURMA: Local officials set up on forced labour charges to cover for senior military officers 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a number of sources that three local government officials in Taunggut township, Arakan state, western Burma, have been arrested for ordering forced labour that was in fact ordered by senior military officers.

The arrests follow some important recent developments regarding forced labour in Burma. On 31 January 2005 a court for the first time convicted local government officials over the use of forced labour there (UP-11-2005). Another conviction has also since been reported. However, on February 23 a high-level delegation from the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) visiting Burma was refused access to senior officers in the military regime.

It appears that this latest move may be an attempt by senior authorities, after the recent conviction of local officials, to keep the blame for any wrongdoing at that level. While they have the power and means to do this, it is also a risky strategy in the long run as it is likely to provoke resentment among local government officials who have a great deal of influence in, and knowledge about, their own areas.

We request you to write letters to the concerned government authorities and the ILO, which is already familiar with the case, calling for action against those persons genuinely responsible for requiring villagers to perform labour against their will.

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

Arrested persons:
1. U Hla Win, Chairman, Kyaw Waing village tract, Taunggut township, Arakan state
2. U Htun Khin, Secretary, U Shwe Maw village tract, Taunggut township, Arakan state
3. Chairman, Naukyan village tract, Taunggut township, Arakan state

Alleged perpetrators of forced labour:
1. Lieutenant General Khin Maung Than, regional commander
2. Officers in charge of Infantry Battalions 544 & 346 under Strategic Command No. 5

Place: Taunggut township, Arakan state

According to the information received, villagers in Taunggut township of Arakan state, Burma have been forced to do labouring work on various ‘development’ projects under orders of the Burma army for about the last two years. The orders are understood to have come from Lt-Gen. Khin Maung Than. In Taunggut township the implementing units have been Infantry Battalions 544 & 346 under Strategic Command No. 5.

The type of work the villagers have been forced to do include digging ponds for fish and prawn farming, irrigation projects, and other earthwork. The villagers have been forced to go to work one person per house per time, starting from 6am to 4pm. They have had to take their own food and come to work without regard to weather conditions.

In 2004, some villagers wrote to the office of the International Labour Organisation in the capital, Rangoon, to complain about the forced labour.

However, it was reported on February 20 that after the matter was taken up with the central authorities, the Kyaw Waing village tract chairman, U Hla Win, and two other local officials–the secretary of U Shwe Maw tract, U Htun Khin, and chairman of Naukyan tract–were arrested instead. The order for the arrest of the three men is said to have come from the state level authorities, through the district chairman. The district chairman has been forced to be the plaintiff in the legal case against the three accused men, although he knows them personally. At last report, the three have been held in detention at the local police station. Local villagers are being instructed to give witness affidavits with which to convict the three. They are each expected to receive around eight months of imprisonment.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

This case comes after a number of recent court battles over forced labour in Burma, which was finally outlawed in 1999 but continues to be widely practiced. The ILO subsequently established an office in Rangoon, which has been informing people around the country of their right to complain if they are obliged to do labour by government authorities. However, up until recently there had been no successful convictions, and instead villagers who had complained were themselves accused of defaming the authorities (see for instance UP-64-2004 and earlier updates). Finally, on 31 January 2004, the Kawmhu Township court sentenced four local officials to prison terms of 8-16 months for using forced labour in public works projects (UP-11-2005).

It is also reported that on 18 February 2005 the chairman of Ponpyin village in Kalewa township, Sagaing division, U Taik Maung, was jailed for eight months on allegations of forced labour on a road construction between Kalewa and Mawlaik. According to the information received, the Sagaing Divisional Court judges came in person to interrogate and sentence the accused.

It now appears that the military authorities, which are ultimately responsible for the practice of forced labour in Burma, may be using a new tactic shifting the blame onto local civilian officials. In the short term these senior officials certainly have the means to take such steps; however, in the long term it may be a dangerous tactic as it will cause greater mistrust of orders of superiors among the lower ranked bureaucrats, and make enforcement of decisions more difficult.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Attorney General raising concerns about this case. Send copies to the Minister for Home Affairs and Prime Minister, as they issued the orders prohibiting forced labour. Please also send a copy to the ILO and concerned persons in the UN system. A suggested letter for the Attorney General follows. Please note that for the purposes of these letters, the country should be referred to by its official title of Myanmar, rather than Burma, and spellings of other names also modified.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER