Protests against Burma arresting leaders of the 88 Generation Students spread to many countries
Rangoon, 27 August, (Asiantribune.com): The City of Rangoon City was silent on August 26 with a few travelers on the streets except security forces. It was reported yesterday that police and members of USDA were stopping cars and checking bus, railway and ferry terminals across Rangoon still searching for Htay Kywe, another leader of the 88 Generation Students Group, who was not yet arrested on 21st Aug midnight along with the arrests of other student leaders. His picture has been posted in local authorities’ offices and in many public places.
Anti-Myanmar government protesters gather Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007, near the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, to stage a demonstration against recent fuel price hikes. Fuel prices in Myanmar were doubled last week sparking street demonstrations. More than 65 activists, who protested against the hikes, have been detained according to state-controlled newspapers. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
On Saturday, more demonstrations took place in three cities in central Burma – Mogok, Yae-nan-chaung and Taung-twin-gyi. About 150-200 joined the march in Mogok.
The group stopped at a state-owned gas station to give a letter to the manger to send to the Ministry of Energy with the call to reduce fuel prices. Township authorities accepted it and asked the demonstrators to break up.
Burma Lawyer Council (BLC), independent institute of Burmese legal experts in exile, issued a statement on Aug 25 on its finding of legal analysis on the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).
BLC said that under the existing Criminal Procedure Code USDA is an “unlawful association.” and demand the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to immediately declare the USDA an “unlawful association” and stop all violence and cease its criminal acts. BLC said if the SPDC does not declare that, it will have been a proof of its using of the USDA as its weapon to crush down its own people violently.
The group also calls on the Government of Japan and other international communities to cease providing assistance to USDA through SPDC as the organization has been taking advantage of human resource development program contributed by Japan to prolong the administrative mechanism of the regime. The text of Unlawful Associations Act of SPDC is posted at the end of this news report.
1) EU Declaration (Aug 25): The Presidency of European Union issued a declaration dated August 25 on behalf of the EU stating that it condemns the SPDC’s decision to detain people who were exercising their basic right to peaceful demonstrations, and calls for their immediate release and further urges the junta to release without delay Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leaders and political prisoners, and to engage with all different components of the society of Burma /Myanmar in the sort of open and inclusive dialogue which is indispensable to long awaited political reform.
2) Demonstration in Bangkok (Aug 26): At 10:00 am yesterday, Thai and Burmese people joined hands and staged a demonstration in front of the SPDC Embassy in Bangkok. About 150 people, including Burmese students and migrant workers and representatives from civil society organizations and political institutions and Thai solidarity friends joined the protest.
3) Demonstration in Korea (Aug 26): About 50 Burmese in Korea staged a demonstration this afternoon in solidarity with people in Burma and in protest of the SPDC’s violent crack-downs on the peaceful protesters.
4) Ethnic and Political Groups’ Voices inside Burma (Aug 25): United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD) and Veterans Politicians group inside Burma issued statements and sent letter to General Than Shwe, chairperson of SPDC.
5) Ethnic Groups in Exile (Aug 26): Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) and National Democratic Front (NDF) – leading political institutions of ethnic nationalities of Burma in exile issued statements calling on the SPDC release all detainees and enter into dialogue with MPs and ethnic opposition forces to solve the country’s problems.
6) Joint Statement by(15) Thai and Burma Groups (Aug 26): Following groups issued joint statement today as they held a demonstration in front of the SPDC Embassy in Bangkok.
(1) Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (TACDB)
(2) The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
(3) National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB)
(4) National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB)
(5) Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB)
(6) Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma)
(7) Labor Union of Arakan (LUA)
(8) Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association (YCOWA - Bangkok)
(9) Rakhaing Patriotic Literature Club (RPLC)
(10) Asia Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
(11) Burmese Women Union (BWU)
(12) Association of Burma Ex-Political Prisoners (ABEP)
(13) The SHWE Gas Movement
(14) The Migrant Karen Labour Union
(15) Thai Students Network
More solidarity actions is expected to follow outside Burma in many countries in the coming days while it's likely more demonstrations may take place inside Burma as the regime continues to neglect the calls from people to resolve this current economic and political situation. This is all for today.
Unlawful Associations Act of SPDC
Unlawful Associations Act, Section 15(2) provides that “unlawful association” means an association –
(a) which encourages or aids persons to commit acts of violence or intimidation or of which the members habitually commit such acts, or(b) which has been declared to be unlawful by the President of the Unionunder the powers hereby conferred.
Additionally, Section (16) of this law provides –
If the President of the Union is of opinion that any association interferes or has for its object interference with the administration of the law or with the maintenance of law and order, or that it constitutes a danger to the public peace, the President of the Union may, by notification in the Gazette, declare such association to be unlawful.
The Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 54(1), provides –
Any police-officer may, without an order from a Magistrate and without a warrant, arrest-first, any person who has been concerned in any cognizable offence or against whom a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information has been received or a reasonable suspicion exists of his having been so concerned;
Section 59 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides –
(1) Any private person may arrest any person who in his view commits a non-bailable and cognizable offence, or any proclaimed offender, and without unnecessary delay shall make over any person so arrested to police-officer, or, in the absence of a police-officer, take such a person or cause him to be taken in custody to the nearest police-station.
(2)If there is a reason to believe that such person comes under the provision of section 54, a police-officer shall re-arrest him.
(3) … If there is no sufficient to believe that he has committed any offence, he shall be at once released.
- Asian Tribune –
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