Burma Underground :: Urgent Appeal

I received an email update the other day concerning the case of the four Kachin girls who were first gang raped by SPDC soldiers and then imprisoned because the story was leaked to the press.

The appeal below was also published at the Kachin News, although I'm not sure where it originated apart from the OMCT- and I couldn't find the original on that website. I'm posting here not only because it's an important case, but because the appeal includes the contact addresses, phone numbers, and emails of several key Burmese officials. I'm sure many people, and hopefully spambots, will be able to put this information to good use.

________________________________
Case MMR 090307.CC.VAW
CHILD CONCERN/ Violence AGAINST WOMEN
Rape of four minor girls/ Arbitrary arrest and detention of the four girls
Geneva, 9 March 2007.

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Burma/Myanmar.

Brief description of the situation:

The International Secretary of OMCT has been informed by reliable sources of the rape and arrest of four minor girls in northern Kachin State, Burma.

According to the information received, in early February 2007, the four girls, Rawang Nang, Chinlai Nin Ram, Nanghkyi Hkaw Dang and Pu Ram, aged between 14 and 16 years, were gang-raped by three army officers and four soldiers from a local SPDC - State Peace and Development Council - military base (Infantry Battalion No. 138, based in Munglang Shidi, Putao District, Kachin State).

Army officials reportedly gave hush money to the girls and their parents in order to prevent them from reporting their case to the police. Later in the same month, the incident was reported by an independent news agency. After the information was released, the four girls were immediately arrested and are now held at Putao Jail.

OMCT is seriously concerned about these events and fears that those responsible may remain unpunished and the four girls once again victimised. Reports have been released for the past several years revealing that SPDC army personnel have been responsible for the sexual abuse and exploitation of civilians and enjoy impunity. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, who has not been allowed to enter the country since 2003, notes in his latest report "the high number of allegations of sexual violence against women and girls committed by members of the military that have been regularly documented since 2002" C 30 cases in 2006 alone. And he adds "The failure to investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible for rape and sexual violence has contributed to an environment conducive to the perpetuation of violence against women and girls in Myanmar.[1]

OMCT recalls that the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women states in its article 4(c) that States should "exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons."

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in Burma/Myanmar urging them to:

Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the four girls and ensure them access to medical and psychological assistance as requested.

Ensure their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, and if such charges exist, ensure that they are given a prompt and fair trial, in which their procedural rights are guaranteed at all times.

Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the rape allegation, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law.

Guarantee the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international law and human rights standards, including the recommendations issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar contained in his report A/HRC/4/14.

Addresses:

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