Myanmar: Immediately Take Action Against the Security Forces and Village Administrator for Shooting Arakanese Man Dead

Press release for immediate release / All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress (AASYC) | April 10, 2017

All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress (AASYC) seriously condemns the arbitrary shooting by Myanmar security forces of an Arakanese civilian U Won Htay (aka) Maung Fru Daung aged 28, which took place at around 10:15 AM on Monday 3 April, 2017, in the village of Nat Hrun on the Island of Angrachain of Pauk Taw township, Sittway district, Arakan/Rakhine state, western Myanmar/Burma.

AASYC strongly urges Myanmar authorities to conduct an urgent, impartial and independent investigation into the policeman U Tun Lin who shot Maung Fru Daung and the village administrator U Than Maung for giving the shooting order, and calls for immediate action against the perpetrators involved in the shooting.

Local witnesses told AASYC’s field worker that on Monday 3 April at around 10:15 PM a team of security forces from the Kyauk Su village tract outpost and the local village administrator U Than Maung were patrolling in the village of Nat Hrun when they arrested a villager named U Maung Than for being drunken and insulting the police patrol. U Maung Than’s brother-in-law Maung Fru Daung begged the police not to arrest U Maung Than and said he would go to the police camp the next morning to solve the problem. The village administrator U Than Maung told the police to take U Maung Than without regard to the others and to shoot them if necessary. The policeman U Tun Lin then started shooting at Maung Fru Daung. A total of six bullets were shot, three of them directly hitting the victim’s abdomen and one hitting his thigh. Maung Fru Daung fell down on the ground bleeding, and the security forces ran away without trying to take him to the hospital.

Villagers made their own arrangements and took Maung Fru Daung, who was in a seriously wounded condition, to the Pauk Taw township hospital on a small motorboat from the Island of Angrachain, arriving at the hospital at midnight. Three hours later, due to severe blood loss, Maung Fru Daung succumbed to his wounds.

“This kind of arbitrary shooting of an innocent civilian by the Myanmar security forces at a time of democratization in the country is unacceptable.  This is clearly a violation of fundamental and constitutional rights of citizens of Myanmar and it also goes against international human rights laws. Furthermore, the perpetrator is part of the security forces who are supposed to give protection to the citizens,” said Ting Oo, the Coordinator at Human Rights Documentations and Research Unit of AASYC, adding that the Myanmar Government and relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Home Affairs and Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC), must conduct separate impartial, independent and effective investigations into the case. Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions.

In addition to calling for an independent and impartial investigation, AASYC urges the Myanmar Government to bring the Myanmar security forces under civilian control and ensure that perpetrators of human rights violations are held to account.

Media Contacts:

Mr. Ting Oo :   In English, Burmese and Arakanese(Rakhine) +66 (0) 0881450366

Mr. Saw Twan :  In Burmese and Arakanese (Rakhine) +95 (0) 09773388464