Justice for Human Rights in Burma

strongly condemn the mob attack against Human Rights activists 

Press Release;

20^th April 2007.

Justice of Human Rights is Burma (JHB) strongly condemn and deplore the recent mob attack against Human Rights activists Ko Myint Naing and Ko Maung Maung Lay in Oat Pho village, in Irrawaddy township of Henzada.

JHB urged strongly to State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Henzada Peace and Development Council, and local authorities to investigate this violent act against two ordinary citizens, as well as take necessary legal actions on those who had perpetrated and committed this illegal attacks.

JHB firmly insist to the SPDC to immediately and unconditionally released of all those detained political prisoners in Burma, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo.

Justice for Human Rights in Burma (JHB)

Contacts:

Dr. Sein Myint, Policy Director       (301)-617-9241

Daw Sunda Khin, Media Relations  (703)-352-1078

Ko Myat Soe, Research Director      (260)-615-0575

To:

 

KNU President Saw Ba Thin Sein & KNU Leadership

Office of the Supreme Headquarters

Karen National Union

Kawthoolei

 

25 th December, 2006

 

BURMA DIGEST team would like to express our sincere and heartfelt condolences on the loss of the great leader, Saw Bo Mya.

 

The death of Saw Bo Mya, the Father of the Karen Liberation struggle, the leader of Karen National Union, is a great loss not only for the Karen people but also for all the non-Burman ethnic nationalities and Burmese democratic opposition as a whole.

• BURMA DIGEST

• Shan Democratic Union

• Democratic Federation of Burma

• Kachin National Organization

• Parliamentary Democracy Party

Creating Heroes

 

_ by Jim Mcnalis

[Jim McNalis is the creator of the very well known sculpture of Aung San Suu Kyi. Jim made the sculpture with clay from Burmese soil which he secretly packed away in his suitcase on his returns home from his occasional trips to Burma. He presented his famous sculpture of Aung San Suu Kyi to Burmese government in exile who later relayed it to Aung San Suu Kyi’s family in Britain.

Jim also made a sculpture of Saw Bo Mya, the much revered leader of Karen National Union (KNU). Lately, Jim made sculptures of the three famous comedians in Burma, called “the Three Moustache Brothers” who bravely make jokes on SPDC military regime.]

I have just returned from another trip into Burma and am filled with the usual combination of emotions:  elation at the beauty of the country and the wonderful people; sadness at the continuing injustice under which the people are forced to live; and an anger bordering on rage at the behavior of the regime to its people.

I, along with the rest of the civilized world, was shocked by the re imprisonment of Min Ko Naing and his colleagues.  What the regime fails to understand is that they have not created prisoners, they have created heroes.  Like Daw Suu Kyi, they are unable to break down their opposition.  When they temporarily release these moral warriors from their cells, they are expecting broken, grateful kow towing silence.  It is not to be.  These people have a moral superiority and a strength the generals will never comprehend.  They all possess what I referred to as a “nobility of the human spirit” in describing my sculpture of Aung San Suu Kyi.  People with this “nobility of the human spirit” ennoble us all.  

It is time now to insure that Min Ko Naing’s heroic defiance of injustice are honored.  I hope BURMA DIGEST readers can also answer the call for reference material on Min Ko Naing.

I WILL NEED:   (Anything that can be emailed or sent to me would be greatly appreciated.) 

1.         I would like any written materials, biographies or interviews that will let me understand his personality, intelligence, humor or other characteristics that make him unique…all these features must be incorporated into the sculpture.

2.         Any and all photos of Min Ko Naing.  While a good painting can be done from a good photograph, a good sculpture requires photos of many different angles…Full Front; 3/4 views and any left or right profile shots would be extremely useful.

So I ask all of you to help me honor this brave man and guarantee that every minute the generals make him spend in prison will not make him a prisoner, it will make him a hero.

The generals are fools.  They are actually guaranteeing Min Ko Naing and all Burmese who they imprison will be heroes and that through the example of these courageous people the regime cannot survive.

Please join me in this effort to resist the regime.  Please join me in honoring a hero.  I thank you all in advance for whatever helps you can provide. [If you send anything related with Min Ko Naing to burmadigest@tayzathuria.org.uk , it’ll be forwarded to Jim.]

Jim’s other articles:

• Is Aung San Suu Kyi Still Alive
• Nobility of Human Spirit
• birthday wish for imprisoned Nobel laureate

Lack of Religious Freedom in Burma

 

Highly authoritarian military regimes have ruled Burma since 1962. The current military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has governed without a constitution or legislature since 1988. Most adherents of religions that registered with the authorities generally enjoyed the right to worship as they chose; however, the Government imposed restrictions on certain religious activities and frequently abused the right to religious freedom.

In November 2005, the minister of religious affairs called a meeting of leaders of the four main religions in the country. The minister used the meeting to denounce the 2005 State Department International Religious Freedom Report and requested each leader write a letter stating that their religious communities may practice their faith freely in the country, which the ministry would display on its official website. During a discussion that followed, the representative of the Islamic Religious Affairs Council (IRAC) said that while there had been progress on some religious issues, there was room for further improvement. The minister reportedly stopped further discussion and adjourned the meeting abruptly.

Restrictions on Religious Freedom

The Government continued to show controlling the organization and restricting the activities and expression of the Buddhist clergy (Sangha), although some monks have resisted such control. Based on the 1990 Sangha Organization Law, the Government banned any organization of Buddhist monks other than the nine state-recognized monastic orders. These nine orders submit to the authority of the SMNC, which monks indirectly elect. Violations of this law are punishable by immediate public defrocking, and often by criminal penalties. Authorities defrocked and arrested a group of twenty-six monks in 2003 and sentenced them in 2004 to jail terms of seven years (eighteen years for the leader) for refusing to accept government donations of robes and other items. The authorities released these monks from prison on July 6, 2005. Monks serving sentences of life in prison reportedly included the Venerable U Thondara of Myingyan (arrested during the 1988 anti-government demonstrations). The exile-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) estimated that there were eighty-four monks in prison for various charges.

Authorities refused to approve requests for gatherings to celebrate traditional Christian and Islamic holidays and restricted the number of Muslims that could gather in one place. For instance, after repeatedly postponing the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Islamic Religious Affairs Council and its sixteenth Islam Religious Assembly in Myitkyina, Kachin State, local authorities agreed to allow the convocation from May 30 to 31. On May 29, the authorities asked IRAC leaders to postpone the meeting again, but later the Kachin PDC chairman agreed to allow the nearly 400 delegates who had gathered in Myitkyina after traveling from all over the country to meet for just one and a half hours on May 31. The Muslim delegates found this unacceptable and returned home without convening. In April 2006, Mandalay authorities refused permission for area churches to hold a joint Easter program. When permission was granted to hold a general meeting, Christian leaders reported that authorities often required them to submit details in advance of the meeting, including the name of the pianist and what songs they would play. Islamic groups reported that authorities authorized only remote sites for their annual Eid al-Adha sacrifices within Rangoon. Muslims had to travel long distances to participate. Muslims also reported that the Eid al-Adha ceremonies were restricted to three hours in length. Some Buddhists complained that the animal sacrifices during Islamic religious festivals offended their sensitivities. In 2004, the Government revoked permission at the last moment for the Methodist Church of Lower Burma to hold its one hundred twenty-fifth anniversary gala event.

In 1995, the Government prohibited any opposition political party member from being ordained as a monk or religious leader.

The Government continued to discriminate against members of minority religions, restricting their educational, proselytizing, and church-building activities. In June 2005, authorities forced a Muslim private tutor in Rangoon to close down his school. Although he was teaching only the public school curriculum, authorities accused him of trying to convert children to Islam because he was offering free courses. In June 2005, authorities in Shwepyitha Township, Rangoon Division, arrested eight Muslims, including the imam of the community, and charged them with holding group prayers at the imam’s house. Authorities also arrested a Muslim cleric in South Dagon Township, Rangoon Division, for holding private Qur’an courses for Muslim children at his house.

In October 2005, a proregime Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) group from Kawkareik District, Karen State, reportedly detained three members of the local IRAC, including the chairman, and kept them in an underground cell. A senior DKBA officer intervened and gained their release after three days. In December 2005, authorities at Three Pagoda Township in the same district reportedly ordered Muslim leaders to stop holding prayers at the local worship hall they had used for many years, located on land owned by the IRAC.

Government authorities continued to prohibit Christian clergy from proselytizing in some areas. Christian groups reported that several times during the period covered by this report, local authorities denied applications for residency permits of known Christian ministers attempting to move into a new township. The groups indicated this was not a widespread practice, but depended on the individual community and local authority. In general, the Government has not allowed permanent foreign religious missions to operate in the country since the mid-1960s, when it expelled nearly all foreign missionaries and nationalized all private schools and hospitals, which were extensive and affiliated mostly with Christian religious organizations. The Government is not known to have paid any compensation in connection with these extensive confiscations. Christian groups, including Catholics and Protestants, have brought in foreign clergy and religious workers for visits as tourists, but they have been careful to ensure that the Government did not perceive their activities as proselytizing.

Some Christians in Chin State claimed that authorities have not authorized the construction of any new churches since 1997. In some parts of the state, however, recently built churches are evident. In March 2006, Lt. Col. Hla Maw Oo, director of the Border Trade Department, ordered Kachin Baptists to remove a church from its current location in Mong Yu in northeastern Shan State by April 20 to make way for an economic development zone along the Chinese border. The official reportedly offered $7,000 (8.7 million kyats) compensation for the church that Christian businessmen built for $12,070 (15 million kyats) in 2002. The official threatened to involve the military if the members did not comply. This case was still pending at the end of the reporting period. In Chin State, authorities jailed three persons for constructing new churches. In Rangoon, Mandalay, and elsewhere, authorities allowed construction of new community centers by various Christian groups if the groups agreed not to hold services there or erect any Christian signs.

Local civilian and military authorities continued to take actions against Christian groups: arresting clergy, closing home churches, and prohibiting religious services. During the period covered by this report, authorities in the Rangoon area closed several house churches because they did not have proper authorization to hold religious meetings. Other Rangoon home churches remained operational only after paying bribes to local officials. At the same time, the authorities made it difficult, although not impossible, to obtain approval for the construction of “authorized” churches. In September 2005, officials in Kyauktada Township, Rangoon, ordered the Full Gospel Assembly church to cease its worship services, as it was located in a residential building. The church had been operating from that location for many years and was listed in the 1999 Rangoon Church Directory.

In early 2005, local authorities in the Chin State capital of Haka notified Baptist leaders that they would be forced to relocate an active, historic cemetery from church property to a remote location outside of town. Religious leaders reported that authorities continued to forcefully relocate cemeteries in many parts of the country. In September 2005, local authorities of Pabedan Township, Rangoon, ordered Grace Baptist Church and Theology Seminary to close or face confiscation of their land. The church and seminary continued to operate throughout the period of this report. Evangelists in South Dagon and Hlaing Thayar townships near Rangoon were accused of proselytizing and were threatened in 2003 with arrest if they opened house churches and kindergartens.

In November 2005, authorities in Insein Township, Rangoon, pressured evangelical Christians of the twenty-year-old Phawkkan church to sign “no worship” agreements. Some signed the agreements out of fear, but others refused. In February 2006, the authorities issued an order banning worship at the church. In February 2006, Insein Township authorities ordered a Chin evangelist to stop holding worship services in his house church in Aung San ward.

In February 2006, police at Hpa-an, Karen State, arrested Yeh Zaw, a member of Insein Kanphawt Evangelical Church. Yeh Zaw had earlier written a letter to the regime leader urging him to end the persecution of his church which Rangoon authorities closed in early 2006, banning members from worshipping there. Police charged him with traveling without an identity card.

[These are the excerpts from Burma: International Religious Freedom Report 2006 submitted to the United States Congress by the US Department of State.]