Welwyn Hatfield & East Herts Amnesty International Group
14 th Action Briefing on U Saw Naing Naing and U Soe Han.
Introduction.
The two men named in the document title are the Prisoners of Conscience adopted by this group. The work is shared by groups in a number of countries, including Japan , New Zealand and USA . They are both imprisoned in Myanmar/Burma , this having been their situation since December 2000.
The situation in the country continues to be very serious. A pattern of human rights abuses persists. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi [Nobel Peace Prize winner] is still under house arrest, now cut off from the world with no visitors allowed, her telephone disconnected and the house surrounded by armed forces. Although much has been made in some parts of the media in recent months about prisoner releases, it appears that these, for the most part, were people with criminal convictions. The only known Prisoner of Conscience among them is Min Ko Naing , leader of the student uprising in 1988 who has been in prison continuously : sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, he had been imprisoned for 16 years. It is now known that he was kept in solitary confinement for much of that time. Amnesty groups in UK Universities have been particularly active in campaigning for Min Ko Naing.
Note that there are still some 1300 prisoners of conscience including our two men, that under the press coverage of the ‘Releases', the country's dictator Senior General Than Shwe has tightened his grip on the country by replacing the only two Ministers who seemed to be
trying to promote modest reform and replacing them with hard line generals. Indeed, dismissed Prime Minister Khin Nyunt has been placed under house arrest and replaced by the General who organised the attack on Aung San Suu Kyi when on a speaking tour in May 2003 and placed her in what is euphemistically called ‘Protective Custody' since that time.
The Two Prisoners.
Both are leading members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy [NLD]. We believe that U Saw Naing Naing is still in Insein Prison. U Soe Han, following participation in a hunger strike, has been moved 300 miles north to Thayet Prison.
U Saw Naing Naing is now aged 63/64 years. He is one of those who, in the 1990 elections which brought a landslide victory for the NLD, were elected to Parliament. The military government, having agreed under pressure to have an election, faced with a result that was not as they expected, responded in a brutal fashion and prevented that Parliament from assembling then or subsequently. He was arrested after the election and sentenced to a term of imprisonment from which he emerged only in 1999/2000. Once out, he provided information about a part of his time in prison when he was one of a number of prominent prisoners held in cells designed for prison dogs, and deprived of food and water for long periods. He was arrested again in September 2000 detained incommunicado, and then in December 2000 sentenced by a closed military tribunal to 21 years imprisonment. The ‘laws' used were Section 5j of the Emergency Provisions Act 1950, Section 17 of the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Act and Section 17 of the Unlawful Associations Act. The first of these is used to imprison thousands of people for their peaceful opposition to the military government. The second provides sweeping powers aimed at silencing any actual or perceived expressions of dissent. It requires approval by a ‘Censor' of anything that is written or distributed in the country, including books, magazines, newspapers, song lyrics, motion picture scripts, in most cases even before the material is printed. The last of the Acts invoked in this case provides for ‘detention for any person who has had contact with any organisation deemed by the authorities to be against state interests'. U Saw Naing Naing is believed to have been subjected to severe ill-treatment during interrogation.
U Soe Han is now aged 80 years. He was arrested at the same time as the first named and the circumstances of his unfair trial and sentence are the same. He is a respected lawyer who, since its formation prior to the 1990 election, has been Chairman of the NLD's Legal Advisory body. Like U Saw Naing Naing, he has served a previous term in prison, in his case for failing to fulfil the Myanmar Government's requirement to notify intention to stay a night in a residence other than your own. In this case it was the house of his aged mother. He states that he did submit notification. His wife died while he was in prison on that occasion.
In response to our requests, both The Law Society and The Bar Council have sent letters of protest requesting the release of fellow lawyer U Soe Han. Some of our fellow groups on these cases are trying to do the same in their respective countries.
Can ‘You' join in a new wave of action?
The duo leading the group's work on these cases [Charlotte Crilly and Reg Pyne] hope that your answer is ‘Yes'. Although the new post-holders as Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary are handpicked by Than Shwe as hardliners and the credentials of the new PM are clear to see, it is still important that we batter them with letters, and do the same to the Myanmar Embassy in London . It really does matter. One good sign of change is that Myanmar will not take over the Chair of the Association of South East Nations later this year. Pressure from people like us has achieved that! Now lets press on to see what more we can achieve! Don't just leave it to the casework duo. Join in and build up the pressure.
The addresses for your letters are:
Lieutenant General Soe Win, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Theinbyu Road , Botahtaung Township , Yangon , Union of Myanmar . [Dear Lieutenant General]
U Nyan Win, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pyay Court, Pyay Road, Yangon , Union of Myanmar . [Dear Minister]
There is also a fax number – 00 951 222950.
U Wai Lwin Than, Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of the Union of Myanmar, 19A Charles Street, London W1X 8ER. [Dear U Wai Lwin Than or Dear Charge d'Affaires]] There is a fax number – 020 7629 4169.
I hope that some of you will write also to one or both of the following newspapers to say what concerns you and has caused you to write to Prime Minister Soe Win or Minister of Foreign Affairs Nyan Win.
[a] Chief Editor, The New Light of Myanmar , 22/30 Strand Road [at 43 rd Street ],
Yangon , Union of Myanmar .
[b] Chief Editor , Myanmar Times, Level 1, Thamada Hotel, 5 Signal Pagoda Road ,
Dagon T/S, Yangon , Union of Myanmar .
The Action.
Ø State that, like the UN, the European Parliament, the UK Government and Amnesty International, you are concerned about the continued serious abuse of human rights in Myanmar .
Ø Press the case for imprisonment of U Saw Naing Naing and U Soe Han to end immediately and with no conditions attached.
Ø Urge that, without delay, they revoke or amend the legislation used to imprison these men so that it meets accepted international standards and cannot be used to justify such abuse of the human rights of the country's citizens.
Ø Ask that the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi be brought to an end immediately.
In the unlikely event that you receive a reply copy it to me please.
It would help to know how many letters you send.
Thank you in anticipation of your help in this important matter.