6.2

PREVIEW

1. Which of the following people do you think are not allowed to register a political party in Myanmar?

   • A village elder

   • An Islamic leader

   • A Buddhist nun

   • A Myanmar citizen returning from living in Singapore

   • A Singaporean citizen living in Myanmar

   • An activist from an ethnic minority group

   • An ex-soldier from an ethnic-based armed group

   • A prisoner who was jailed for fraud

2. What do you think makes an assembly or procession “peaceful”?

3. Do you think Ward and Village-Tract Administrators are appointed or elected?

Political Parties Registration Act, 2010

This law explains how to register a political party, what rules political parties need to follow and what could happen to political parties if they fail to follow these rules.

One human right relevant for minority groups in this law is:

• The law states that a political party only needs 15 members when registering and it allows parties to work in just one State or Region. These rules could enable minority groups to establish their own locally-focused or identity-focused political parties. Ninety days after registration, however, the party must prove that they have at least 500 members. The party must also be able to participate in elections in at least three constituencies.

There are some restrictions and violations of minority rights in this law:

• The law states that political parties need to support certain values and principles, including the “non-disintegration” of the Union and “national solidarity”. Political parties also need to be “loyal to the State” and accept a “multi-party democracy system” that is “well-disciplined”. When a party seeks to register, its members cannot propose a flag, symbol or party name that violate these values and principles. Members of some minority groups, such as ethnic and indigenous minority groups, may disagree with these values and principles.

• Persons who are members of “an insurgent organization in revolt with arms against the State”, “an organization as designated by the State as committing terrorist acts” or an “unlawful association” are not allowed to register a political party or to become members of a political party.

• Even persons who contact or assist such organisations, directly or indirectly, are prohibited from registering their own party. This could target members of ethnic, indigenous and religious minority groups, as some of their organisations have been declared illegal by the State.

• Already-existing organisations that are declared illegal by the State cannot register as parties. Registered political parties that are found to do anything illegal, such as being “in revolt with arms against the State”, will lose their registration.

• The law prohibits convicts from registering a political party. This might particularly affect members of minority groups, as they could be faced with arbitrary imprisonment more than members of majority groups.

• Articles 4 and 10 do not allow “members of religious orders” to register a political party or to become members of a political party. However, in this law, “religious orders” only refers to specific groups of people in Buddhist, Christian and Hindu orders. Other religious orders are not mentioned.

There are broad and vague restrictions against religious abuse by political parties. These articles might be used to prevent religious minority groups from forming parties.

• Only legal citizens can register a political party. This excludes stateless persons.

• Decisions on political party registrations are made by the Union Elections Commission and their decisions are final. There could be a risk that minority groups are more likely to receive arbitrary rejections of their applications and then they do not have any right to appeal.

Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, 2011 (Amended 2014)

This law establishes the right to organise and participate in public assemblies and processions if a permission from the Chief of the local Township Police Force is received at least five days in advance. Permission should be given if the assembly or procession does not violate “security of the State, rule of law, community’s peace and tranquility, and public morality.” The law ensures physical protection by the Township Police Force for participants in assemblies and processions. Those who use violence, threaten security or misbehave - whether participants or non-participants - may be prosecuted under this law.

One human right relevant for minority groups in this law is:

• This law can be used to regulate the conduct and the content of public gatherings. Since one of the aims with this law is to ensure “peace and tranquility” in communities, it can protect against physical violence and the possibility of hate speech. These protections are particularly important for members of minority groups.

There are some restrictions and violations of minority rights in this law:

• The law only gives rights to “citizens”. This means that stateless persons and others without a legal citizenship status in Myanmar do not have a right to organise or participate in assemblies and processions.

• The law only gives a right for citizens to express their “wishes and convictions”. It does not give an explicit right for citizens to express criticism. This is a restriction on the freedom of expression.

• Spontaneous events such as protests are illegal because there is an application process.

• The application for organising an assembly or procession requires that a lot of details - for example, about the organiser, any speakers who will attend, the topics and the content - are reviewed by the police. This might allow for discriminatory decisions by the police towards organisers from minority groups.

• There are limitations on the materials that can be used. Flags need to be “official”. This could affect how minority groups identify and express themselves through symbols. Posters are not allowed to “harm the dignity of a person”. This could affect whether or not minority groups can criticise decision-makers.

• There are broad and vague restrictions on the behaviour of participants in assemblies and processions. This could allow for the arbitrary arrest and dispersal of participants by the police.

Ward and Village-Tract Administration Law, 2012 (Amended 2012 and 2016)

This law describes how wards and village-tracts should be governed. It states how Ward and Village-Tract Administrators are elected, what qualifications they should have and what their responsibilities are. The law also describes the qualifications and responsibilities of clerks assisting the Ward and Village-Tract Administrators.

Some of the human rights relevant for minority groups in this law include:

• Ward and Village-Tract Administrators are required to carry out their duties while following certain principles, such as “safeguarding the fundamental rights of the citizens” in the 2008 Constitution, “respecting the customs and tradition of the community and the races” and by helping local residents in times of disasters (articles 12(b), (d) and (e)).

• The law also mentions some specific rights that Ward and Village-Tract Administrators need to safeguard, including rights related with religion and health (articles 24(b) and (e)) and a right “to nurture literature, culture, fine art and custom” (article 24(c)).

• Ward and Village-Tract Administrators help to ensure that people are properly documented in relation to residency, births and deaths (article 13(s)). These documents can support individuals when they apply for identification and scrutiny cards, including to prevent statelessness.

There are some restrictions and violations of minority rights in this law:

• Article 3 gives the power to the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs to change the names of villages, village-tracts, wards and townships. This change must be recommended by one of the Chief Ministers to the President for approval. This allows for the possibility for geographic places known under local names, like ethnic minority languages, to be changed into Burmese-language names.

• The election of Ward and Village-Tract Administrators is supervised by “five elders” who are “respected by the majority and powerful within the ward or village-tract” (article 6). This might disadvantage members of minority groups who want to hold these positions.

• Those who want to be elected as Ward and Village-Tract Administrators need to fulfil certain criteria, including “being a citizen born of citizen parents” (article 5(a)), which discriminates against persons without legal citizenship status. The criteria to have “fair education” (article 5(c)) and to be “in good health” (article 5(g)) could possibly discriminate against persons with disabilities. Members of ethnic, indigenous and religious minority groups might be disqualified if they are considered to be members of armed organisations or to engage or communicate with “unlawful associations” (article 5(k)).

• Some principles that Ward and Village-Tract Administrators need to adhere to include “obeying and upholding the non-disintegration of the Union” and the “non-disintegration of national solidarity” (article 12(a)), which some ethnic and indigenous minority groups might disagree with.

• Ward and Village-Tract Administrators can report festivals and ceremonies to the Township Administrator if these events are held without permission or if they breach certain rules (article 13(f)). This could limit the freedom of assembly of minority groups and the right to freely practice one’s religion.

• Article 13(t) makes it illegal to slaughter animals without permission or against certain rules. This could restrict the possibility for Muslims to perform their traditional slaughter known as halal.

• Article 13(x) gives a right to the Ward or Village-Tract Administrator to administer agricultural land within their ward or village-tract. This could violate local understandings of collective land ownership and usage among ethnic and indigenous minority groups.

• Other parts of article 13 prohibit trespassing in areas governed by the Ward or Village-Tract Administrator or the State. This can result in land disputes with minority groups who might consider these areas to be theirs.

Telecommunications Law, 2013

This law applies to any person, department or organisation within Myanmar as well as any Myanmar citizen who is abroad. Most of the law outlines the rights, duties and obligations of telecommunications service providers in Myanmar. However, there are key articles that apply to users of telecommunications services, most of which are in chapter 18.

Some of the human rights relevant for minority groups in this law include:

• The law aims to expand telecommunications infrastructure and services across the country, including to “underserved” areas. This might especially benefit ethnic, indigenous and religious minority groups who have large populations in rural and remote areas.

• Although the law does not fully support the principle of FPIC, it does include closely related principles. For example, telecommunications companies need to seek agreement (articles 41 and 43) and give prior notice (article 44) before installing telecommunications infrastructure, take measures to reduce any potential harm (articles 45 and 47), pay reparations for any damage or injury caused (article 46), and ensure environmental protection (article 49). These precautions might especially benefit members of indigenous minority groups.

There are some restrictions and violations of minority rights in this law:

• Article 66(d) penalises persons, departments and organisations that use telecommunications networks for “extorting, coercing, restraining wrongfully, defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence or threatening” any person. This law has been used arbitrarily to restrict the freedom of expression of members of minority groups.

• Article 68(a) penalises persons, departments and organisations that use telecommunications networks for “communications, reception, transmission, distribution or conveyance of incorrect information with dishonesty”. This law can be used arbitrarily to restrict the freedom of expression of members of minority groups.

• Chapter 19 grants sweeping powers to the Ministry of Transport and Communications (formerly: the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology). These include the powers to suspend a telecommunications service; intercept communications; obtain information and communications; and control telecommunications services and equipment. These powers can be used to restrict the right to media ownership and media control by members of minority groups, particularly ethnic, indigenous and religious groups. They can also be used to restrict the right to access information by members of minority groups.

Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens, 2017

This law is meant to support the 2008 Constitution in protecting the rights of privacy and security for legal citizens.

One human right relevant for minority groups in this law is:

• Article 8 states that an order, permission or warrant issued according to an existing law or with permission from the President or a Union-level government body is needed for actions that could target members of minority groups, including:

  • entering a private residence for the purpose of search, seizure or arrest;

  • surveillance and investigation of a citizen;

  • intercepting communication between citizens;

  • opening, searching, seizing or destroying private correspondences or packages and;

  • seizing or destroying personal property

There is one restriction and violation of minority rights in this law:

• Article 8(f) states that “No one shall unlawfully interfere with a citizen’s personal or family matters or act in any way to slander or harm their reputation”. This violates the freedom of expression and it has been used arbitrarily to arrest persons who have said things critical of the government and its leaders. This law can be used to target members of minority groups who are critical of the government.

REFLECTION/DISCUSSION

1. Do you think restrictions on the freedom of speech protect minority groups from hate speech, or do they limit their right to criticise the government and majority groups?

2. Do you think restrictions on the freedoms of peaceful assembly and peaceful procession are necessary to protect community harmony, or do they limit the right of minority groups to organise themselves separately?