Police in Yangon Region approved almost 90 percent of the more than 300 applications to protest submitted so far this year, a senior official said last week.
By Toe Wai Aung | Monday, 27 October 2014
Police in Yangon Region approved almost 90 percent of the more than 300 applications to protest submitted so far this year, a senior official said last week.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Myint Htwe, the head of police for Yangon’s eastern district, said 301 applications had been submitted from January to the end of September, of which 266 were approved.
Eighteen applications were rejected, while 17 were withdrawn, he said.
Fifty-two people were charged under section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law for holding illegal protests, he added.
The law was approved on December 1, 2011, and came into force with the enactment of by-laws on July 5, 2012. However, it has proven controversial because it gives the township police chief significant discretion to reject a protest application.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, convictions for violating the peaceful protest law were the main reason for the number of political prisoners increasing from 29 at the end of 2013 to 80 by the end of September.
Earlier this year, amendments were passed to make it more difficult for police to reject applications but these are not yet in effect because the government has not changed the by-laws.
Under the law, a person must submit their application to the township police chief at least five days in advance. If approved, the police chief forwards it to the township administrator.
“The aim of the protest, the place, the date and time, the subject of the speech, the arrangements made and the number of people involved must be submitted in advance,” a spokesperson said.
United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee raised concerns about the peaceful protest law in her report to the United Nations General Assembly last week.
Ms Lee said that while the changes should make it easier to stage demonstrations the rules were still burdensome. “[T]he exercise of the right to freedom of assembly should not be subject to authorisation by the authorities … Prior notification should be sufficient,” she said.
Citing official figures, she said 85 of 86 applications to protest made between June 24 and July 31 had been approved.
Translation by Win Thaw Tar