TARGETING THE LEADERS There are a disturbing number of cases in Myanmar where leaders of protests and other movements critical of the government or campaigning for justice and accountability, have been targeted for arrest and more severely punished than others within their organization. They include: Htin Kyaw, leader of the MDCF, who is serving a total of 13 years and 10 months’ imprisonment for peacefully protesting and handing out leaflets critical of the government. 44 While other members of the organization have been arrested and imprisoned for similar, peaceful activities, none have faced as many charges or have received such long sentences. He is currently in Insein prison. Rohingya leaders Ba Thar, Kyaw Myint and his son Hla Myint who were sentenced on 3 March 2015 to eight years’ imprisonment for “rioting” and other criminal offences under the Penal Code. The court also sentenced Kyaw Khin to five years’ imprisonment. The four men were arrested following a 2013 community protest against the government-led population registration exercise, which did not allow members of the community to identify as Rohingya. These protests led the authorities to suspend the registration exercise. Credible sources have told Amnesty International that the four men did not use or incite or support any violence. Amnesty International believes that they were targeted solely because they are influential Rohingya community leaders calling for the recognition of the Rohingya identity. They were all released as part of a presidential prisoner amnesty on 30 July 2015. Sein Than, leader of the Michaungkan community, who allege that the Myanmar military confiscated their land and have been protesting for its return and for compensation for their losses. Sein Than was arrested on 31 July 2014 for his role in leading the community in a series of peaceful protests and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. Although at least 27 other Michaungkan community members have also been sentenced to imprisonment for taking part in the protests, none were charged with as many offences as Sein Than, and they consequently faced shorter jail terms. He was released as part of a presidential prisoner amnesty on 30 July 2015. Shwe Pyi Thar factory union leaders, Myo Min Min and Naing Htay Lwin and labour rights activists Naing Zaw Kyi Win and Thu Zaw Kyi Win, who were sentenced to between two and two and a half years’ imprisonment in 2015. They were charged for organizing and providing support to striking garment workers from factories in Yangon’s Shwe Pyi Thar Industrial Zone earlier that year. Their arrests led to a halt to the labour protests. All four are currently in Insein Prison. Ye Yint Aung, a farmer from Madaya in Mandalay Region, who was charged in April 2015 along with around 40 other farmers. They are charged for a symbolic, peaceful “plough protest”, that is, for ploughing land they believe is theirs and which they claim was confiscated by the Myanmar authorities in the 1980s. While the mass trial of the farmers is still ongoing, he and three other farmers, known to be the leaders of the protest movement, were arrested and later sentenced to one year and four months’ imprisonment for protesting without permission and for incitement under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code. The additional charges kept the four leaders in jail, thereby weakening the farmers protest movement. Targeting leaders for arrest and imprisonment has proved to be a highly effective tactic in cracking down on peaceful criticism and dissent. By removing the driving force behind a protest movement, or an organization critical of the government, the Myanmar authorities are able to quickly and effectively disrupt the activities of those groups and those who participate in them. Without leaders, the ability to organize and mobilize is often significantly limited. 44 See Chapter 3, box p 19 NEW EXPRESSION MEETS OLD REPRESSION ENDING THE CYCLE OF POLITICAL ARRESTS AND IMPRISONMENT IN MYANMAR Amnesty International 21