URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
MMR 004 / 1014 / OBS 083
Assassination
Burma
October 27, 2014
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Burma.
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the killing of Mr. Aung Kyaw Naing, a freelance journalist who regularly reported on ethnic issues along the Burma-Thai border and contributed to various Rangoon-based papers.
According to the information received, on October 4, 2014, Mr. Aung Kyaw Naing, who was reporting from Mon State on the recent fighting between the Burma Army and a Karen armed opposition group was killed in military custody.
He was detained on September 30 by soldiers from the Light Infantry Battalion 208 in Mon State’s Kyaikmaraw Township.
According to a Burma Army statement, at about 7:40 pm, Mr. Aung Kyaw Naing was shot and killed by military personnel when he tried to seize a gun from a guard and run away.
Mr. Aung Kyaw Naing’s wife, an activist with the Rangoon-based Peace and Women Network had made several public appeals to the Army, calling for her husband’s immediate release.
The Observatory condemns in the strongest terms the killing of Mr. Aung Kyaw Naing, and fears that this act may have been related to his work on monitoring recent armed conflict in the area and documenting human rights violations committed by the Burma Army. The late release of the Burma Army’s statement and its unclear explanation from the Burmese army make the Observatory’s concern more serious.
The Observatory calls upon the authorities of Burma to carry out a thorough, effective, and impartial investigation into Mr. Aung Kyaw Naing’s killing in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal, and apply the sanctions provided by the law.
Actions requested:
Please write to the Burmese authorities urging them to:
i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in Burma;
ii. Order an immediate, thorough, effective and impartial investigation into the murder of Mr. Aung Kyaw Naing in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the sanctions provided by the law;
iii. Provide adequate reparation to the relatives of Mr. Aung Kyaw Naing;
iv. Put an end to any kind of harassment against all human rights defenders in Burma and ensure in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance or fear of reprisals;
v. Comply with all the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular:
– its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,
– and its Article 12.2 which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration.”
vi. More generally, ensure the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and ratify international and regional human rights instruments.
Addresses:
·U Thein Sein, President of Myanmar, President Office, Office No.18, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: + 95 1 652 624
·U Hla Min, Minister for Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Office No. 10, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: +95 67 412 439
·U Win Mra, Chairman of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, 27 Pyay Road, Hline Township, Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar; Fax: +95-1-659668
·Dr. Tun Shin, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Office No. 25, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: +95 67 404 146/ 106
·U Tun Tun Oo, Chief Justice, Office of the Supreme Court, Office No. 24, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: + 95 67 404 059
·U Kyaw Kyaw Htun, Director General, Myanmar Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs, Office No. 10, Naypyitaw, Myanmar; Fax: +951 549 663 / 549 208
·H.E. Mr. Maung Wai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 47, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 732 89 19, +41 22 732 73 77, Email: mission@myanmargeneva.org
·Embassy of Myanmar in Brussels, Boulevard Général Wahis 9, 1030 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 (0)32 2 705 50 48, Email: mebrussels@skynet.be
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Burma in your respective countries.
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Geneva-Paris, October 27, 2014
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an OMCT and FIDH venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
·Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
·Tel and fax OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29
·Tel and fax FIDH: +33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / 01 43 55 18 80