More than 20 Kachin civilians remain behind bars for their alleged ties to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), according to lawyers in Kachin state capital of Myitkyina. The majority were charged for violating Article 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act that makes association with illegal organizations punishable by jail sentences. Thirteen such detainees were released, including IDP Lahtaw Brang Shawng, as part of a presidential amnesty on July 23.
Duwa Ma Hka, a prominent Myitkyina based lawyer that represented Brang Shawng and many others, told the Kachin News Group that he is very concerned about the safety of the prisoners.
“Most of the people who have been arrested under Act 17/1 are clearly innocent. Lahtaw Brang Shawng was interrogated, tortured and then convicted despite not having committed a crime.”
The president’s chief negotiator Minister Aung Min made good on a promise made in May that Brang Shawng will be released from prison.
Presently the same Myitkyina court that convicted Brang Shawng is hearing the cases of 8 other men with alleged KIO affiliation. Lahpai Gam and Brang Yung, both from the Shwezet Kachin Baptist Church displaced camp are currently faces charges, according to the Kachin Legal Aid Network that is providing for their defense.
Last year Daw Doi Bu (also Dwe Bu), a lawyer that is also a MP for N’Jang Yang Township in Kachin state submitted a bill to parliament to repeal article 17/1 on the premise that it unfairly targets the country’s ethnic minorities.
“If the government wants peace with ethnic minorities the unfair law should be removed first. Other factors will then improve,” the lawyer told the Kachin News Group.
Although Doi Bu insists she will press on with her bill that would also remove current restrictions on public gatherings and protests, it’s unlikely to be passed.
After the KIO's 17-year ceasefire with the government unraveled in June 2011, authorities have resumed targeting and arresting people from the Kachin ethnicity under the pretext of alleged ties with the KIO. The arrests have continued unabated despite repeated assurances from Minister Aung Min that it would stop.
