Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Yoma-3 news service, Thailand about the worsening health and family conditions of a villager jailed illegally for circulating a petition among farmers opposing the forced production of paddy.
In our earlier appeal, we reported that the villager, 48-year-old Ko Sein Win, was summarily sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison on 2 December 2004 on the spurious charge of possessing an illegal lottery stub. He has since been held in Pyapon Prison.
According to the information received, the health of Ko Sein Win has worsened since he was kept in prison. Ko Sein Win is reported to have already contracted tuberculosis before being arrested. As the conditions in the prisons in Burma are very bad, his health has become much worse. In April he was taken for blood transfusion and intravenous feeding of saline solution. It is not known whether or not his condition has worsened further since then.
Meanwhile, it has also been reported that his family is in dire straits. His wife and four children are living in worsening poverty since Ko Sein Win was sent to the jail, and are struggling to survive.
Please again write to the attorney general of Burma to protest against the denial of due process rights to Ko Sein Win, and demand that he be given adequate medical treatment, for the safety of himself and other prisoners.
For full details of the case and additional commentary, please see the original appeal: UA-175-2004
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the attorney general to express concern over the jailing and worsening health of Ko Sein Win. Please again also urge that farmers be given the freedom to make their own choices about what crops to grow and how to sell them. A suggested letter follows. Please note that for the purposes of this letter, the country should be referred to as Myanmar, rather than Burma.
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Dear Dr Tun Shin
Re: Imprisonment of Ko Sein Win of Bogalay Township in Pyapon Prison since December 2004
I am deeply concerned by the information that I have received indicating that the villager in Bogalay Township, Ko Sein Win, who was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in jail on 2 December 2004 for having an illegal lottery ticket, is becoming seriously ill since being held in Pyapon Prison.
According to the information I have received, Ko Sein Win, a resident of Nonechaung village, Magu village tract, Bogalay township, was suffering from tuberculosis before being taken into custody at the ward office of the Magu Village Tract Peace and Development Council at Kyonesein No. 2 Ward on December 1. Since his summary trial at the Bogalay Township Court on December 2 and imprisonment the following day, his health has worsened. In April, he was taken for a blood transfusion and intravenous saline drip treatment.
It is in the interests of not only Ko Sein Win but also all prisoners and prison authorities that his tuberculosis must be properly treated and health requirements met. In this regard I point to the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which states in article 22 (2) that, “Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals.”
I would take this opportunity to again point to the patent illegality of Ko Sein Win’s detention, apparently prompted by his preparation and distribution of a petition among farmers opposing the continued imposition of a dry season paddy crop system. I urge you to review this case and see to it that Ko Sein Win be given his due process rights without delay.
Finally, I urge the Government of Myanmar to end its coercive practices towards farmers. Despite public statements in recent times that there would be reforms to the paddy production and procurement system to permit farmers to make their own decisions about what to grow and how to sell it, this does not appear to have been the case. The fact that villagers face retribution for attempts to assert their economic rights speaks to the failure of the government to implement the said reforms. However, without changes in the management of this system it is unlikely that Myanmar will progress and its people secure their fundamental rights to food and good health.
Yours sincerely
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
Dr Tun Shin
Director General
Office of the Attorney General
101 Pansodan Street
Kyauktada Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Fax: + 95 1 371 028 / 282 990 / 282 449
PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:
1. General Soe Win
Prime Minister
c/o Ministry of Defence
Signal Pagoda Road
Yangon
MYANMAR
Fax: + 95 1 652 624
2. Maj-Gen Maung Oo
Chairman
Myanmar Human Rights Committee
c/o Ministry of Home Affairs
Corner of Saya San Street and No 1 Industrial Street,
Yankin Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Fax: +95 1 549 663 / 549 208
3. Mr. Paulo Sergio Pineheiro
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
4. Mr. Leandro Despouy
Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers
Att: Sonia Cronin
Room: 3-060
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9160
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
E-mail: scronin@ohchr.org
5. Mr Patrick Vial
Head of Delegation
ICRC
No. 2 (C) – 5 Dr. Ba Han Lane
Kaba Aye Pagoda Road, 8th Mile
Mayangone Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Tel.: (+951) 662 613 / 664 524
Fax: (+951) 650 117
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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