The Irrawaddy Magazine

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Amnesty Calls For Investigation Into Torture Allegations on Koh Tao Posted: 08 Oct 2014 03:59 AM PDT A group of Thai and Burmese lawyers, Burmese officials and rights activists talk to Burmese migrant Maung Maung in Koh Samui on Wednesday. (Photo: Min Oo) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment by Thai police during the investigation into the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao last month. In a statement released on Tuesday, the London-based rights group called on Thai authorities to "ensure an independent and thorough investigation into mounting allegations of torture and other ill-treatment by the police, and respect the right to a fair trial" during the murder probe. The statement came after reports that Thai police abused and threatened two Burmese migrant workers, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, who are suspected of murdering Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, on the island in the early hours of Sept. 15. The two suspects are currently being detained on Koh Samui. Yesterday, The Irrawaddy reported that one of the migrants told Burmese lawyer Aung Myo Thant, who is part of a legal team sent by the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok to represent the accused, that he was beaten and threatened with electrocution after refusing to confess to the murders during a police interrogation. "The pressure to be seen to be solving an appalling crime that has garnered considerable attention should not result in the violation of rights, including to a fair trial," Richard Bennett, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Programme director, said. "All suspects should also be guaranteed their rights to a fair trial—which is of particular importance in a crime that could carry a death sentence." The British newspaper The Guardian also reported that photographic evidence, seen by the newspaper, of the alleged abuse of three other Burmese migrant workers who said they had been scalded with boiling water during a police interrogation, had been passed to the British ambassador to Thailand Mark Kent. At a press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday, Thai police strongly denied accusations of torture or ill-treatment. "I confirm that there was no abuse of any of the suspects," lead investigator Maj Gen Suwat Chaengyodsook was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post. Meanwhile, the Burmese legal team sent to assist the accused and investigate other claims of abuses, said that Burmese migrants on Koh Tao were afraid to meet and talk openly with the group, while some had seemingly been prevented from doing so. "When we arrived [on Koh Tao], we couldn't call some migrants that we have regular contact with," said Aung Myo Thant. "Some said Thai police [had] seized their phones." The lawyer added: "It seemed that all of the migrants we met were afraid to speak openly because local Thai authorities accompanied us. It seemed that they acted in accordance with what they were ordered." The legal team were able to meet with another Burmese migrant, Maung Maung, who Thai police claimed they were holding as a witness. However, the Director of the Myanmar Association in Thailand, Kyaw Thaung, who is also a member of the legal team, told The Irrawaddy that Maung Maung didn’t witness the murder as he had left his two friends, the accused, at around 1 am on Sept. 15 to go to bed. "He said his friend [Win Zaw Htun] came back to his residence [on the morning of Sept. 15] and went to bed as usual," said Kyaw Thaung. "He said his friends are not violent characters and doesn't believe [that they are the killers]." The post Amnesty Calls For Investigation Into Torture Allegations on Koh Tao appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Prancing With Pachyderms in Burma’s Kyaukse Posted: 07 Oct 2014 04:59 PM PDT Children join a parade of elephants at the Elephant Dance Festival on Tuesday in Kyaukse, Mandalay Division. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) KYAUKSE, Mandalay Division — As Burma celebrates the end of Buddhist Lent across the country this week in a variety of ways, a town located in the heart of Mandalay Division is marking the occasion with an elephant dance-off. The centuries-old Elephant Dance Festival can only be seen in Kyaukse, where the waxing moon of Thadingyut and its attendant prancing pachyderms draw thousands of spectators from across the country. Each year, about 100 of the life-sized elephants—made with a bamboo frame, papier-mâché, satin and decorative colorful sequins—take part in the spectacle. This year about 26 elephant dance teams will also participate in three competitions. The legend on which the tradition is based dates back to the reign of Burmese King Anawratha, who ruled the country in the 11th century. The king is said to have wanted to enshrine a relic tooth of the Buddha, and decided to let his royal elephants choose an auspicious place for it. Near the Thar Lyaung and Kha Yway mountains, at the base of which Kyaukse is located, the royal elephants stopped and a pagoda was built there to enshrine the relic. The festival to honor the king's royal elephants has been held at the location every year since. The Elephant Dance Festival takes place one day before the full moon day of Thadingyut. On the full moon day, residents of Kyaukse will gather and go up to the pagoda, which is built on the mountainside, to offer elephant-shaped rice cakes. But ahead of that, the elephant dancing was in full swing on Tuesday, the eve of Thadingyut. During the opening ceremony, elephant dancers showed off their skills by dancing wildly, gracefully and with acrobatic flair. Two men inside each of the elephant figures dance to the beat of drummers and traditional Burmese instruments, while other team members sing. The competition is divided into three categories: traditional costume style, elaborate decoration and youths' participation, all of which are judged based on the costumes' aesthetic quality and the dancers' ability. The winning teams this year will take home cash prizes of between 1.6 million kyats (US$1,600) to 2 million kyats. The post Prancing With Pachyderms in Burma's Kyaukse appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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