August 30, 2003

1. Today is exactly three months to the day, that the military junta in Burma committed the Depayin Massacre, the assassination attempt against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and many other innocent people. At the start of our investigation, the commission heard reports from four eyewitnesses. They stated that the perpetrators, numbering about 5,000, might have been the members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a lackey organization of the ruling junta chaired by Senior General Than Shwe. However, those eyewitnesses were not able to identify exactly who commanded the attacks. The commission assumes that the perpetrators committed a well-organized and heinous crime under the protection and control of the authorities. This is indicated by the following facts:

(a) the authorities provided training to the USDA members, who attacked the victims, before the incident took place.

(b) the perpetrators of the attacks used telecommunication devices, that are usually only used by the authorities in Burma, and communicated with each other in almost the same way as a military operation.

(c) the perpetrators of the attacks, who were wearing uniform symbols of their gang, took positions at the site of the massacre in an ordered manner, attacked the entourage of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi almost at the same time and retreated from the scene of crime systematically.

Then, in August, the commission heard from some more victims, who were at the site of the second masacre. They confirmed that they witnessed army personnel and police directly commanding the attackers, that numbered about 4,000. Bearing this evidence in mind, it has become quite obvious that the SPDC ruling junta masterminded the massacre.

2. The Commission has received indications that the authorities are obliterating the evidence for these crimes. For instance:

• the blood stains on the tar road were watered down over night;

• the bodies were buried;

• the two pick-up trucks were set up to look as if they had had a head-on collision;

• the wounded were arrested and placed in jail, instead of bringing them to hospitals;

• the eyewitnesses at nearby villages were forced to relocate to other parts of Burma;

• the detainees were released only after they entered into bonds guaranteeing that they would not publicize their experiences on Depayin massacre; and,

• U Win Aung, a foreign Minister of SPDC, was sent to ASEAN leaders to convince them that nothing serious had happened in Burma and to display their fabricated photographs of Depayin incident.

3. The Depayin massacre was a heinous crime against innocent people and the leaders and supporters of the National League for Democracy (NLD), that won a landslide victory in the May 1990 election. A genuine national reconciliation between the ruling junta and the NLD cannot be dreamed of so long as the truth on Depayin massacre is covered up and the denial of accountability continues to take place. The Depayin massacre issue impacted negatively not only over Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, but also on all the citizens of the country. While such an atrocious crime, that was committed publicly against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (a well-known Nobel Peace Laureate) and NLD party leaders, remains publicly unaddressed, the perpetrators will enjoy impunity. As a consequence, without any hesitation, the responsible authorities are assured to repeatedly commit more heinous crimes against any person in any part of the country. To uncover the truth and seek accountability on Depayin massacre should be a pre-condition in any political process for democratic transition and national reconciliation through a dialogue with the military junta.

4. Notwithstanding that the commission is making concerted efforts to seek justice for Depayin Massacre and is joining hands with democracy activists, political forces, journalists, and some international and regional human rights organizations, the progress has not yet been made effective. The commission requires further assistance and cooperation from human rights activists and democratic and ethnic organizations inside and outside the country. Only when the commission has received more detailed information, oral and documentary evidence, and eye-witness reports, can the truth on Depayin Massacre be uncovered and justice for the victims sought. Subsequently, the effective actions in the national and international communities, including submitting the issue to the UN Security Council, may be taken.

5. For the sake of seeking justice, our commission humbly and profoundly appeals for assistance from the international community and all people from Burma, inside and outside the country in the following ways:

(a) The victims themselves and the families of the victims and the missing people of the Depayin massacre should open First Information Reports in the police stations and file lawsuits in the courts. To this end, lawyers and Bar associations should provide necessary assistance by applying the existing legal mechanisms in Burma. Information needs to be sent to the Media before and after doing so.

(b) If the victims themselves, the families of the victims and the eyewitnesses dare not to act alone, they can come forward to the commission and provide detailed and accurate statements. With the assistance of our commission, they can make trips to democratic countries and publicize the unjust dealings of the authorities in the presence of Parliaments of foreign countries and international Media groups.

(c) Even if taking both aforementioned actions are not possible, the victims themselves and the eyewitnesses can provide detailed and accurate statements in writing in the presence of officials in the embassies from democratic countries, the UN agencies, the international human rights organizations, Bar associations, notary publics and senior advocates. These statements should be countersigned and, together with any photographs, send to our commission by the any means possible.

(d) Even if no actions mentioned in paragraph (a)(b)(c) can be taken, the victims and eyewitnesses should contact all available Media groups and provide statements orally through telecommunication channels;

(e) All legal practitioners and other academics, political leaders, human rights organizations, governments, democratic organizations, people's associations, human rights activists, who would like to seek justice and accountability for the Depayin Massacre, should submit request letters to UN Secretary General and the Security Council to urge them to send an investigative commission inside Burma and take proper legal action on the Depayin Massacre in accordance with international human rights law.

For an example of a statement by a victim and eye-witness of the massacre, please see the appendix.

The Ad Hoc Commission On Depayin Massacre (Burma)

For more information, please contact U Aung Htoo, Coordinator, Ad Hoc Commission on Depayin Massacre. Tel (66) (01) 487 0262 (or) (66) (07) 206 9729