Several owners of a tailor shop in Yangon have been arrested months after being accused of severely mistreating two teenage maids in a case that has fueled widespread outrage at police and Myanmar’s National Human Rights Commission for what many perceive as its lax attempt to hold the suspects accountable.
The commission’s members, which got involved after a Myanmar Now correspondent contacted them due to police inaction following his original complaint to authorities three months ago, was under fire today at its Yangon offices as a small group of protesters gathered outside and a combative press conference took place inside.
At the press conference, five of the rights officials attempted to deflect questions about responsibility and a petition calling for members to resign.
“I have no opinion on this petition so I have nothing to comment on it,” commission member U Zaw Win said.
At the source of the anger is the fact that the commission urged the family to accept compensation for the abuse suffered by San Kay Khine, 16 and Tha Zin, 17, over the course of five years that they lived with the owners of the AVA tailor shop on 40th street as maids.
San Kay Khine suffered broken bones, was attacked with scissors, and had burned skin. Tha Zin’s was cut with a knife but her injuries were not as severe. Their family accepted the compensation, which amounted to a few months of work.
The case went viral on social media in Myanmar after photos of the wounds appeared online. There was also the fact that the two victims are from Kawhmu in Yangon region, which is Aung San Suu Kyi’s constituency. They are recovering there after fleeing the shop earlier this month.
Wynn Pyae, a freelance researcher and an activist who attended the press conference, said that the human rights commission should understand human rights.
“Not only in this case, there are a lot of similar cases in the past but this case got social interest for now. We’ll work for those cases and take example from this case and work for their physical and mental health by collaborating with other expert organizations,” she said.
At the press conference today the human rights commission members did not admit wrongdoing, saying they were simply assisting with negotiations.
Swe Win, the Myanmar Now journalist who has led the charge since receiving a tip about the case months ago – and is responsible for helping it spread on social media, forcing the police to act – wrote on Facebook today that he met with law enforcement officials for five hours and asked them to bring the “full weight of justice” against the suspects.
“The Yangon Regional Police force is planning to take action on every adult member of AVA Tailor shop,” he wrote.
But so far, only three people have been arrested. The Irrawaddy identified them as Daw Tin Thuzar, Ma Su Mon Latt and Ko Tin Min Latt.
As part of the protest outside the commission’s office, activists hung poster memes under the main sign.
One has Leonardo Dicaprio in “The Great Gatsby” saying “Cheers for the broker who could negotiate a human rights violation case.”
Another showed a portrait of a kid saying “Amazing! Amazing! You can violate human rights by giving 40 lakhs,” referring to the amount in compensation given to San Kay Khine’s family, which amounts to about $3,500. Tha Zin received $900.
Yet another was a portrait of one of the suspects Ma Su Mon Latt, with a quote.
“My super power is I can run away from the judiciary system by giving 40 lakhs after committing a crime.”
The activists who attended were also the ones who launched the petition calling for members of the commission to resign.
Reader Interactions