BURMA: IMPRISONMENT OF TWO RAPE VICTIMS

April 19, 2004 – (OMCT Appeal) The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Myanmar.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission, a member of the OMCT network, of the imprisonment of two rape victims for attempting to charge their perpetrator in Myanmar.

According to the information received, on November 25, 2002, U San Net Kyaw, the chairman of the Peace and Development Council (PDC, the governing body), sent for Ma San San Aye (15 years old at the time) and Ma Aye Mi San (age unknown) in Pyapon Township, Ayeyawaddy Division. The two girls were brought to him at around 8 pm that same day by U Win Myint (the ward headman) along with their employer U Thaung Aye.

According to the testimony of the victims, U San Net Kyaw raped Ma San San Aye at about midnight and he raped Ma Aye Mi San at 4 in the morning of the following day.

On November 26, the two victims consulted with the village elders, reporting the crime and seeking their cooperation in filing a complaint against U San Net Kyaw. On the same day, the victims went to the hospital to get medical examinations and they filed a complaint with the police at Kyonekadone police station.

The statements of U Win Myint and U Thaung Aye were also recorded, confirming that the two girls were brought to the house of U San Net Kyaw. The police, however, were reluctant to file a formal complaint because the accused was the chairman of the ruling council. Because the victims perceived the reluctance of the police, they also went directly to the higher authorities in the Township and District PDCs.

On December 12, a tribunal examined the witnesses and heard the case against U San Net Kyaw and on December 19, he was charged with rape. However, despite this charge, U San Net Kyaw was never arrested and he was not brought before an official judicial or legal body. Instead, the police sought the advice of the Pyapon Township Law Office, which referred the matter to the Pyapon District Law Office.

The Pyapon District Law Office found that there was insufficient evidence of rape, and recommended that the charges be dropped agaisnt U San Net Kyaw and that charges be brought against the two women for falsely accusing a government officer.

On March 6, 2003 Ma San San Aye and Ma Aye Mi San sent letters of appeal to senior government officials as well as to the Myanma National Working Committee for Women's Affairs (MNWCWA). There has been no inquiry following these requests for intervention.

On October 20, 2003, Ma San San Aye and Ma Aye Mi San were sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment on charges of falsely accusing a government officer. Although Ma San San Aye is still a child, it is reported that she was treated as an adult in the trial, contrary to the law in Myanmar as well as international human rights standards. It is currently unknown where they are being held.

The information received also indicates that this is not the first time U San Net Kyaw has raped girls and women in this village. Previous rape victims have not reported the crimes because U San Net Kyaw commands a considerable amount of power and influence in the area. OMCT is gravely concerned that this incident is part of a larger pattern of rape by government officials and soldiers in Myanmar. Rape and other forms of sexual violence occur with impunity in Myanmar and can, as in this case, even lead to the prosecution of the victim is she dares to speak out.

OMCT would like to remind the government of Myanmar that the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, in article 4(c), states that States should “exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons.”

OMCT also recalls that Myanmar has acceded to both the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which specifies in Art. 19.1. that “ States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, (…), including sexual abuse”.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Myanmar urging them to:

i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ma San San Aye and Ma Aye Mi San;

ii. locate the victims and order their immediate release;

iii. ensure that victims reporting crimes against them do not become the target of criminal charges;

iv. reopen the investigation against U San Net Kyaw and prosecute and punish him taking into full
consideration the testimony of the victims, the results of their medical exams and the statements of other witnesses;

v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.


Addresses

Dr. Tun Shin, Director General, Office of the Attorney General, 101 Pansodan Street, Kyauktada Township, Yangon, MYANMAR, Fax: + 95 1 282 449 / 282 990

General Khin Nyunt, Prime Minister, c/o Ministry of Defence, Signal Pagoda Road, Yangon, MYANMAR, Fax: + 95 1 652 624

Colonel Tin Hlaing, 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

Major General Sein Htwa, Chairman, Myanmar National Working Committee for Women's Affairs, 64 Kabar Aye Pagoda Road, Yangon, MYANMAR, Fax: +95 1 650 002

Please also write to the embassies of Myanmar in your respective country.
Geneva, April 19, 2004

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

From OMCT Appeal