3 December 2012

Letpadaung Crackdown: New and Unknown Incendiary Grenades used by Anti-Riot Forces The UN Human Rights Council Needs to Hold a Special Session Urgently
On 29 November 2012, riot forces violently dispersed the Letpadaung anti-copper mine protest camps near Monywa Township in Sagaing Region, upper Burma (Myanmar). Hundreds of peaceful protesters suffered severe burn and scald injuries during the crackdown and the majority of victims are now in intensive care in Mandalay Hospital which is about 84 miles east of Monywa. Numerous reports by witnesses and victims strongly suggest that unknown incendiary devices are used by regime forces during the raid. It is the first time in Burma that such devices are used against civilian protesters by anti-riot forces. Presidents Office released a statement on the day claiming that only tear gas, smoke bombs and water cannons are used against the protesters. However, the statement was withdrawn after an hour without providing any further explanation. Massive burn injuries suffered by crackdown victims indicate that riot forces used the grenades filled with highly combustible chemicals such as napalm or white phosphorus. It is not the act of an accountable and so-called reformist government to silence the peaceful dissent with the use of excessive violence. Violent crackdown against peaceful protesters using incendiary grenades is a grave violation of fundamental rights and freedoms in Burma by the nominally civilian government. This incident reveals that freedom of expression, assembly and association and many other rights are continued to be denied and violently oppressed by the government. Such oppressions and the use of incendiary devices clearly point to the hypocrisy of the government of Burma (Myanmar) led by former general, President Thein Sein. Dozens of crackdown victims are still hiding in the nearby villages of the copper mine project unable to receive treatments for the injuries while those in the hospital are also not known to receive the correct medical treatment. Presumably, local doctors and surgeons are under constant pressure from authorities not to reveal the actual cause of burn injuries. If victims are not given correct and effective treatments in time, they are likely to experience serious adverse health consequences or death. Meanwhile, further protests against the crackdown and copper mine project elsewhere face brutal repression as dozens of protesters in Rangoon have been arrested within a week. Presidents Office announced the formation of 30-member investigation commission for the Letpadaung incident on 1 December 2012. The opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is nominated as the head of the commission along with many other Members of Parliament and experts. However, it is doubtful that the commission would be able to resolve this issue effectively in such circumstances. Therefore, we call for the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold a Special Session urgently to address the human rights violations by the government of Thein Sein. We call for the international community including the member states of the UN Human Rights Council to condemn the crackdown by President Thein Sein government on peaceful demonstrators. We call for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to dispatch a mission to Burma urgently to investigate the crackdowns and the use of incendiary devices. We call for the full accountability of the perpetrators of the Letpadaung crackdown.

Burma Independence Advocates Park House 111 Uxbridge Road Ealing London United Kingdom