MMR 002 / 1216 / OBS 109
Murder
Burma
December 16, 2016
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a
partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests
your urgent intervention in the following situation in Burma.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the murder
of Mr. Soe Moe Tun, a journalist with the Eleven Media Group, a company that own several news outlets in
Burma, including the Daily Eleven
newspaper. Mr. Soe Moe Tun was known for his investigative work on illegal
logging and timber smuggling in several areas of Sagaing Region, including
Monywa and Sagaing Townships.
According to the information received, on the morning of December 13,
2016, the body of Mr. Soe Moe Tun was found on the side of Pyidaungsu Road near
the Monywa golf course in Monywa, Sagaing Division. Bruises, wounds on his
head, and an apparently fractured skull led police to believe Mr. Soe Moe Tun was
beaten to death with a blunt object.
Shortly before his death, on December 7, 2016, Mr. Soe Moe Tun had
written a Facebook post that included
a list of individuals who were allegedly tied to the illegal timber trade in
Sagaing Region.
On December 13, 2016, police in Monywa opened a murder investigation in
connection with Mr. Soe Moe Tun’s death. Preliminary evidence gathered by the
police appears to show that the killing was intentional and premeditated, and
may have involved at least two people. At the time of publication of this Urgent
Appeal, no arrests had been made in connection with Mr. Soe Moe Tun’s murder.
The Observatory expresses his deepest concern over the unsafe
environment for human rights defenders in Burma. The Observatory recalls that
Mr. Soe Moe Tun’s death is the second killing of individuals working on land
and natural resources in the country within a month, following the murder of
Karen woman human rights defender Ms. Chit
Pandaing, better known as “Eh
Paw Tel”[1].
The
Observatory urges the Burmese authorities to conduct a swift, thorough,
impartial, and transparent investigation into the death of Mr. Soe Moe Tun.
It also calls on the authorities to adopt effective measures to ensure
the protection of human rights defenders, including land and environmental
rights defenders, in Burma.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Burma asking them to:
i. Carry out an immediate, thorough, impartial, and transparent
investigation into the murder of Mr. Soe
Moe Tun in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before an
independent tribunal, and sanction them as provided by the law;
ii. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological
integrity of all human rights defenders in Burma;
iii. Comply with all the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human
Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9,
1998, in particular with its Articles 1 and 12.2;
iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in
accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
Addresses:
• U Htin Kyaw, President; Fax: +95 1 652 624
• Lt Gen Kyaw
Swe, Minister for Home Affairs; Fax: +95 67 412 439; Email: mohamyanmar@gmail.com
• Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fax: +95
67 412396
• U Win Mra,
Chairman of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission; Email: chmyanmarnhrc@gmail.com
• U Tun Tun Oo,
Union Attorney General; Email: ago.h.o@mptmail.net.mm
• Maj Gen Zaw
Win, Director General, Myanmar Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs, Fax: +95
67 412006; Email: mpfserver@gmail.com
• HE Mr. Htin
Lynn, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to
the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 732 89 19, +41 22 732 73
77, Email: mission@myanmargeneva.org
• Embassy of
Myanmar in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 705 50 48, Email: mebrussels@skynet.be
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Burma in your
respective countries.
***
Paris-Geneva, December 16, 2016
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the
Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and OMCT. The objective of this
programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human
rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu,
the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by
international civil society.
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