Arrests cast doubt on Myanmar's reforms

A middle-school teacher, Soe Soe Khine, who attended the 25th anniversary of the 1988 people’s movement on August 8 was fired by the Ministry of Education with no reason given initially. The ministry later said that Soe Soe Khine was forced to “retire” because she did not inform her supervisor about her trip but only rang to say she would not be at work. It said that, under regulations, every employee has to inform their superior if planning to travel beyond the area where they work. She broke the rules by going to Yangon. 

The 2008 constitution allows people to demonstrate freely, but when they apply for a permit to do so, the police deny most applications. After failed attempts to get a permit, some people demonstrate without one, and as a result are arrested. About 20 people demonstrated recently against the controversial Assembly and Procession Law, but two of their leaders were arrested and charged under the same law.

Naw Ohn Hla, a Karen activist and former National League for Democracy member, was arrested on August 13 for demonstrating against a copper mine at Letpadaung Taung in Sagaing division, along with 10 other villagers. She had demanded that the constitution be abolished. Hla is a prominent activist and former political prisoner. She has led many peaceful protests, demanding the release of political prisoners. But the NLD does approve of her activities and she was stripped of party membership.

Police charged Hla with breaking the Penal Code, creating a disturbance and showing lack of respect to the nation. The Monywa Court sentenced her to two years in prison with hard labour. It seems the verdict came from the top, to silence her. Her case is evidence that the rule of law yet is not working in Myanmar. She expressed her belief in freedom of expression and received the maximum sentence.

On May 9, Myint Myint Aye, a leader in Meikhtila township and former NLD member, was arrested, with two colleges, for assisting farmers whose land had been confiscated by the government. A judge denied bail, and Aye has been held in Pound Tae Prison for nearly four months. Aye and the two others were charged under an organisational ban but she said she was only helping farmers get their land back, not forming an organisation.

Both Myint Myint Aye and Naw Ohn Hla were expelled from the NLD for their uncompromising stand against the government. 

On August 2, another activist, Ko Htin Kyaw, who leads the Movement for Democracy Current Force, was detained with three others staging a protest at North Oaklapa Court and demanding to get back their land, confiscated by the government. The judge granted bail for the three others but refused to release Ko Htin Kyaw because of his tireless efforts to expose illegal land grabbing by the authorities.

On August 26, 10 farmers were arrested for “intruding” on their own land, which was confiscated by the local authority and resold to others in Phyapon Township, Irrawaddy Division. In 1994, land owned by 42 farmers was confiscated and resold to others after the farmers were accused of not paying back loans.

These injustices are the tip of an iceberg that activists in Myanmar face daily in disputes with local authorities. 

Meanwhile, the News and Information Ministry has refused to accept proposals for draft news and media laws from the independent Press Council. A ministry spokesman claimed 17 points in the draft were not in line with international norms. But the Press Council said the ministry was simply trying to control the media with restrictive laws already proposed – in the Printers and Publishers Bill – to the Hluttaw (Lower House). Recently, a compromise was made by the ministry and was approved by the Hluttaw, but details have not been released to the public.

The government is also tightening its grip on the staging of meetings, by issuing orders that if groups wish to hold a conference, applications must be submitted to the government, detailing the contents, 18 days before the event date. In the past, anyone could rent a conference room in any location and call a meeting without restriction. Now, people cannot stage events freely without approval from the authorities beforehand. Hotel or function-centre owners also need government approval to rent out rooms for conferences.

President Thein Sein promised western leaders that he would release all political prisoners by the end of this year. But Naw Ohn Hla, Myint Myint Aye and Htin Kyaw are all dedicated activists apprehended for practising democratic rights. They are unquestionably political prisoners.

How many more political prisoners will be locked up for exercising their rights before the end of this year? The government’s open-door policy does not open automatically, and this will be tested again and again by die-hard activists.

The opposition NLD, led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, ignores the plight of former members who tirelessly fought for her release in the past. They were expelled from the party. And now they have been detained again for their stand for grassroots people whose land has been confiscated and livelihoods destroyed. 

Both Suu Kyi’s party and the Thein Sein government see these people as troublemakers, but these activists who really stand up for the people of Myanmar are the true heroes of the country today.

 

Htun Aung Gyaw is a former chairman of All Myanmar Students’ Democratic Front. He resettled in the USA and got a master’s degree in Asian Studies at Cornell University. He is currently President of the Civil Society for Myanmar based in Ithaca, New York.