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ITF condemns “fraudulent charges” against trade unionist
6 December 2007
The ITF has denounced charges brought against a railway worker in Burma, who was arrested in November, claiming they were fabricated.
U Tin Hla, an electrician who works for the Burma railway corporation and his family, were arrested by police at his home on 20 November. U Tin Hla is a member of the exiled Federation of Trade Unions – Burma and the Burma Railway Union, both of which are free trade union organisations, which the authorities are attempting to crush.
He was accused of facilitating railway workers’ participation in protest rallies. His wife, son and daughter were detained and interrogated for five days at the Mingala Taungyunt police station; U Tin Hla himself, it was reported, was transferred elsewhere for interrogation but has since been returned to the police station.
He has now been charged – among the charges he faces is possession of “explosive material”. The family claim that police confiscated electrical cords, tools and the toolkit U Tin Hla uses for his job.
ITF General Secretary David Cockroft commented: “At the time of his arrest the police admitted that it was for speaking out against the government. Now they are manufacturing these ludicrous smears to make an already bad situation even worse. We can assure them that no one is convinced.”
In a letter dated 3 December to Senior General Than Shwe, Cockroft called the charges “fraudulent” and urged the General to order the immediate and unconditional release of U Tin Hla.
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