Burmese Government Urged to Cease Assaults and Arrests of Students Protesting in Letpadan and Rangoon

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1 13 March 2015 Burmese Government Urged to Cease Assaults and Arrests of Students Protesting in Letpadan and Rangoon We, the undersigned organizations, strongly condemn the latest instance of brutal and indiscriminate assault by the police and vigilante groups against the students, monks, and residents in Letpadan who have been peacefully exercising their civil and political rights. We further call on the Burmese government to immediately stop the violent attacks, harassment, and arrest of students peacefully protesting against the National Education Law, which centralizes power over the education system, hampers academic freedom, and was approved without proper public consultation. Since 20 January, hundreds of students have been marching from Mandalay to Rangoon to demand changes to the National Education Law, passed by Parliament in September The students 11 demands for changes to the law include ensuring the freedom to form student unions, mother-tongue language instruction in ethnic areas, greater autonomy for universities, and the allocation of 20% of the national budget to education. On 2 March, students resumed their protests after the government failed to meet their demands to amend the law by 28 February. A group of students in Letpadan, Pegu Division, were subsequently blocked at a monastery and prevented from marching to Rangoon. In a show of solidarity, students and other supporters in Rangoon and other parts of the country also held peaceful protests at the beginning of March. On 5 March, police in Rangoon violently cracked down on students peacefully protesting in front of Rangoon City Hall, injuring several and arresting eight protesters, including women s rights activist Nilar Thein. On the morning of 6 March, police in Letpadan also violently dispersed the student demonstrators held near a monastery and their supporters. Police arrested five students. These detained protesters have since been released. On 10 March, after the protesters in Letpadan were initially allowed to go to Rangoon, police and members of vigilante groups surrounded the peaceful and unarmed protesters and proceeded to brutally attack them. Injured students, monks, and Letpadan residents who had gathered to express their support were then taken away by the police. We strongly condemn the use of excessive force and violence against the peaceful protesters by the police. 1 The government must take responsibility for the unlawful and aggressive actions of its security forces against the peaceful protesters. These aggressive actions are reminiscent of the tactics of past military regimes that have been infamous in using lethal violence against students and crushing any form of dissent. Of particular concern is the cooperation between police forces and vigilante groups, who participated in the crackdown and used excessive force against these young women and men. If President Thein Sein is serious about making educational reform one of the priority measures of his government, it is in his interest to take an inclusive approach by having a dialogue with the students, including leaders of the National Network for Education Reform (NNER) and other student groups in the formulation of education policy. 1

2 The violent crackdowns against student protesters further intensifies the backslide on the government's efforts to transition to full democracy and reveals the government s continuing reliance on repressive actions. They substantiate the critique that the Burmese government is merely putting up a façade of democratic reform for the sake of gaining political legitimacy and economic engagement from the international community. We, the undersigned organizations, urge the Burmese government to: - immediately cease and desist using excessive force and violence against the peacefully protesting students, monks, activists and residents and ensure that security forces exercise the highest degree of restraint in any interactions with the protesters who are exercising their civil and political rights. - continue to hold the next hearing sessions for the draft law amending the National Education Law with the representatives of the diverse student movement, including those from ethnic and religious minorities, and to provide the students with an effective avenue to voice their concerns and propose solutions on these matters. - prevent any actions that violently repress the right of the students to be heard on issues that directly affect them. This includes protecting the students from the violent actions of vigilante groups that have been harassing them. We condemn the Letpadan police s threat of using the provisions of the Peaceful Assembly Law against the right of the student demonstrators to freedom of speech, and peaceful assembly. 2 - investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the violence, and institutionalize nationwide measures to prevent recurrence of similar incidents. - drop all charges against the arrested students, and unconditionally free any students still in detention. - amend without delay the National Education Law in line with students demands to ensure authentic educational reforms that address the needs and concerns of the stakeholders. Signatories: 1. Action Committee for Democracy Development, Burma/Myanmar 2. Actions Birmanie, Belgium 3. Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), Bangladesh 4. All Arakan Students' and Youths' Congress, Burma/Myanmar 5. Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma 6. Article ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights 8. ASEAN Sogie Caucus 9. Asia Democracy Network 10. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development 11. Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition 12. Assistant Association for Political Prisoners, Burma 13. Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters, Burma/Myanmar 14. Association Suisse-Birmanie, Switzerland 15. Ayerwaddy Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 16. Backpack Health Worker Team, Burma/Myanmar 2

3 17. Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha, India 18. Burma Action Ireland 19. Burma Campaign UK 20. Burma Issues, Thailand 21. Burma Link, UK 22. Burma Medical Association 23. Burma Partnership 24. Burma-Initiative, Stiftung Asienhaus, Germany 25. Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK 26. Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association- ADHOC, Cambodia 27. Centre for Human Rights and Development, Mongolia 28. Child Rights Coalition Asia 29. Chin State Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 30. Christian Solidarity Worldwide 31. Civil Authorize Negotiate Organization, Myanmar 32. Civil Rights Defender 33. Coalition for Refugees from Burma (USA) 34. Colorful Girls, Burma/Myanmar 35. Directorio Democratico Cubano (Cuba) 36. Empower Foundation Thailand 37. Forum for Democracy in Burma 38. Free Burma Campaign, South Africa 39. Globe International Center, Mongolia 40. HAK Association, Timor Leste 41. Hong Kong Coalition for a Free Burma 42. Hong Kong Committee for Children s Rights 43. Htoi Gender and Development Foundation, Burma/Myanmar 44. Human Rights Foundation of Monland, Burma/Myanmar 45. Human Rights Working Group, Indonesia 46. Imparsial, Indonesia 47. Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Indonesia 48. Info Birmanie (France) 49. Interfaith Cooperation Forum 50. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), France 51. Just Associates Southeast Asia 52. Justice for Women, Burma/Myanmar 53. Kachin Peace Network, Burma/Myanmar 54. Kachin State Women Network, Burma/Myanmar 55. Kachin State Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 56. Kachin Women Peace Network, Burma/Myanmar 57. Kachin Women s Association Thailand 58. Karen Community of Canada 59. Karen Human Rights Group, Thailand 60. Karen Women Organization, Thailand 61. Karenni National Women s Organization 62. Kayan New Generation Youth, Burma/Myanmar 63. Knights for Peace International, Philippines 64. KontraS, Indonesia 65. Lanna Action for Burma, Thailand

4 66. Law and Society Trust (LST), Sri Lanka 67. Magway Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 68. Malaysians against Death Penalty and Torture, Malaysia 69. Mandalay Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 70. MARUAH, Singapore 71. Migrant Forum in Asia 72. Mindanao Action Group for Children s Rights & Protection, Philippines 73. Mon State Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 74. Myanmar ICT for Development Organization 75. Myanmar Teachers Federation 76. National Youth Congress, Myanmar 77. Natural Resources Accountability Myanmar 78. Network for Democracy and Development, Burma 79. Network for Human Rights Documentation Burma 80. Norwegian Burma Committee 81. Pago Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 82. Palaung Women s Organization, Burma/Myanmar 83. Panzagar, Myanmar 84. People s Empowerment Foundation, Thailand 85. People s Watch, India 86. People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), South Korea 87. Peoples' Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, India 88. Pergerakan Indonesia, Indonesia 89. Philippine Alliance for Human Rights Advocates 90. PILIPINA Legal Resources Center, Philippines 91. Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy (PODA), Pakistan 92. Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity, India 93. Pusat KOMAS, Malaysia 94. Radanar Ayar Rural Development Association, Myanmar 95. Rakhine State Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 96. Right to Know Campaign, South Africa 97. SAARC Youth Association 98. Sagaing Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 99. Shan State Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 100. Shwe Gas Movement, Burma/Myanmar 101. Society for Threatened Peoples, Germany 102. South East Asian Committee for Advocacy 103. Students and Youth Congress of Burma 104. Suara Rakyat Malaysia 105. Swedish Burma Committee 106. Taiwan Association for Human Rights 107. Taiwan Free Burma Network 108. Tanintharyi Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 109. Task Force Detainees of the Philippines 110. Tavoy Women s Union, Burma/Myanmar 111. Tavoy Youth Organization, Burma/Myanmar 112. Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma, Thailand 113. Thai Volunteer Service Foundation 114. The Life Skills Development Foundation 115. The Seagull, Myanmar

5 116. Think Centre, Singapore 117. Union of Karenni State Youth, Burma/Myanmar 118. US Campaign for Burma 119. Universities Teachers Association 120. Vietnam Association for the Protection of Children s Rights 121. Voluntary Internship Program, Myanmar 122. William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com, UK 123. Women Peace Network Arakan, Burma/Myanmar 124. Women s League of Burma 125. World Merit, Myanmar 126. World Student Christian Federation Asia Pacific 127. Yangon Youth Network, Burma/Myanmar 128. Yayasan LINTAS NUSA Batam, Indonesia 129. Yayasan SEJIWA, Indonesia 130. Zo Indigenous Forum, India