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San Myaing, Appeal for Human Rights



Letter to General Than Shwe
Chairman State Peace and Development Council
C/o Ministry of Defence
Signal Pagoda Road
Yangon
Union of Myanmar

Alkmaar, the Netherlands, April 25, 1999

Subject: Whereabouts of San Myaing, Appeal for Human Rights.

Dear General,

As you will be aware, Amnesty International speaks out on behalf of victims
of Human Rights violations. We have strong evidence that San Myaing, a
student who participated in the demonstrations for democracy in 1991, is
such a victim. Unfortunately, we do not know for certain his current state
of health, his fate. We care for him. Can you disclose any information
concerning San Myaing? If anyone can supply reliable information about him,
it should be you.

It has been brought to our attention that San Myaing may have been
imprisoned without due process, that he was punished for writing political
poems and singing political songs, that he was beaten and kept in solitary
confinement, all of which would constitute a violation of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and make him a Prisoner of Conscience. Article
9 codifies the right not to be arrested randomly, Article 19 grants Freedom
of expression and Article 20 Freedom of peaceful assembly. Have these
provisions been violated in the case of San Myaing? Can you confirm that
San Myaing is now enduring solitary confinement in Myingyan prison? Is it
correct that his health is deteriorating as we fear and suspect? Can you do
anything to help him? Can you make sure his basic rights are complied with?

It is essential that compliance with Human Rights provisions is not merely
in the interest of the victim of violation. It is in the interest of the
violator himself. He is just as degraded. He is a victim himself.

Human Rights are not everything. But without Human Rights everything else
is nothing. They are a sine qua non of any societal entity that is to last
longer than a few decades. This counts for economic development, cultural
achievement and political power. As a military and political thinker you
will be aware of the dialectics of power. True political power, enduring
power, can never be maintained at the expense of Human Rights. Over and
over, world history shows that a power structure built on oppression and
violence is a power structure built on sand. It will crush under its own
weight, sooner rather than later. Critical voices and free spirits from
inside and outside will undermine its foundations. The wind of justice will
blow it away. With all due respect, General, if your regime plans to stay
in power after the 2000 it will have to instigate major changes.

Human Rights are not a remnant of Western colonialism, nor are they an
instrument of capitalist imperialism. They are a basic human need, they are
universal, they are deeply rooted in all world religions and correspond
profoundly with human intuition - worldwide. It would be a noteworthy step
towards integration into the international community as well as ASEAN
regional cooperation if Myanmar's Human Rights' situation were to improve.
Some dialogue and transparency might be first positive signals.

We would appreciate if you could set an example with San Myaing. He stands
pars pro toto for many other democracy activists. His release would
certainly be perceived as a very progressive gesture.

Respectfully yours,

Thilo Maurer
Maasstraat 303
1823 XL Alkmaar
the Netherlands

cc: Honorary Consul Myanmar, the Netherlands