Annex 1 & 2: Murder of seafarers’ trade union organiser

Annex 1

General Than Shwe, Chairman
State Peace and Development Council
c/o Ministry of Defence
Signal Pagoda Road
Yangon
Union of Myanmar

24 May 2005

Murder of seafarers’ trade union organiser

I am writing with extreme concern and regret, on behalf of more than four million transport workers affiliated to the ITF, to express horror at the murder by members of your military forces of Ko Moe Naung, a Seafarers’ Union of Burma (SUB) organizer in the Ranong region, on 19 May 2005.

According to the information we have received from the Seafarers’ Union of Burma, which is affiliated to the ITF, Ko Moe was arrested at 8:00 pm local time on that day at his residence in Ranong by unidentified men. He was brought to 8-Mile Village Army Base LIR 431 in Kawthaung, Burma and in the space of three hours was tortured to death during interrogation.

We understand that Ko Moe was a dedicated trade union leader, who was organizing Burmese fishermen and migrant workers from Burma at the Ranong area. It is clear that he was targeted by the SPDC regime because of these activities.

This murder vividly highlights yet again the unacceptable brutality of the SPDC military regime. The ITF will continue to expose and condemn such actions and today is calling upon transport workers’ unions worldwide to join in energetic protests at this horrific killing.

The international business community must no longer tolerate the Burmese military regime’s stance of stamping out all forms of trade union organization, with no regard for human life. The ITF, together with the wider international trade union movement is addressing this point with transport, tourism and other transnational companies to ensure that whilst basic human and trade union rights remain alien to the SPDC regime, the country will remain isolated politically and commercially.

Any comments from you that may throw light on this appalling case will of course be examined; however, it would seem from the evidence that there is little doubt that this incident is yet a sad reminder that the SPDC regime is determined to remain an international pariah.

Yours in great sadness

David Cockroft
General Secretary

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Annex 2_Burma action alert

General Than Shwe
c/o Permanent Mission of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations
47 Avenue Blanc
1202 Geneva
Switzerland
Fax: +41(22)7328919
e-mail: mission.myanmar@ties.itu.int

Embassy Of The Union Of Myanmar
19A Charles Street
London
W1J 5DX
Fax: +44 2074097043

General Than Shwe
c/o Embassy of the Union of Myanmar(Japan)
8-26, 4-CHOME, KITA-SHINAGAWA,
SHINAGAWA-KU
TOKYO 140-0001
Fax: +81 3 3447-7394
Email: contact@myanmar-embassy-tokyo.net

General Than Shwe
c/o Embassy of the Union of Myanmar (France)
60 RUE DE COURCELLES - 75008
PARIS
FRANCE
Fax: 331-456 21330
e-mail: me-paris@wanadoo.fr

General Than Shwe
c/o Myanmar Embassy (Pakistan)
No. 201, Street No. 10,
Sector E-7 Islamabad,
Pakistan
Fax: +92 512879616

General Than Shwe
c/o Embassy of the Union of Myanmar (Brazil)
SHIS QL 07, Contjunto 14, Casa 05 CEP 71625-340 Brasilia-DF
Brazil
Fax: (61) 364 2747
E-mail: mebrsl@brnet.com.br