Amnesty International on Friday called on Myanmar authorities to immediately drop charges against a well-known Karen environmental activist.

Saw Tha Phoe’s home in Hpa-an was raided on the night of March 6, after state officials charged him under making statements that could incite offences against the state or public tranquillity under Penal Code section 505b.

The charge carries a sentence of up to two years in prison.

Saw Tha Phoe was reportedly not home at the time of the raid but has apparently gone into hiding since.

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The Myainggalay cement factory, which is owned by the military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation, began switching from natural gas to coal power in December, despite opposition from locals - including Saw Tha Phoe. 

“The charges are a clear attempt to suppress his activism and will seriously hinder his ability to support communities advocating for their rights,” Amnesty International said in a statement released March 13.

The statement followed another signed by more than 300 civil society organisations (CSOs) condemning Karen state officials for the attempted arrest and criminal charges against Saw Tha Phoe.

State authorities will face “consequences” if they do not withdraw the charges, the group of 325 environmentally-focused CSOs warned in a March 9 statement.

Villagers have been protesting the Myainggalay cement factory for months, claiming that uncovered piles of coal dust it stores on-site are contaminating groundwater blackening the water in their wells. 

Local authorities, however, reject these claims, insisting it’s potable and safe.

The CSOs say the raid was prompted by Saw Tha Phoe’s role in a public prayer ceremony held on January 17, when about 800 villagers from 27 villages within two miles of the factory gathered in Natkone village to pray for clean water.

State officials could not be reached for comment.

Police acted like an “abominable dictator” and used “excessive force”, their statement said, adding: “We do not tolerate authoritarianism.”

The Hpa-an township court will hear charges against Saw Tha Phoe on March 20, according to Naing Lin Htut, secretary of the Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability (MATA) - of which Saw Tha Phoe is deputy in charge for Karen state. 

He said a Hpa-an township administrator filed the charges, but Myanmar Now was unable to confirm details about the case with local courts or authorities.

Naing Lin Htut said MATA will mobilise locals to protest and reach out to international partners for support if the case proceeds, an action which “will affect the government’s image”.

Controversial law

Amnesty International and other rights groups have called on the Myanmar government to reform a number of laws, including section 505a and 505b of the Penal Code. 

The “excessively broad and vague manner” in which these laws are written is routinely used to restrict citizens’ rights to free expression and peaceful assembly, it says.

In the past year, a former child soldier who spoke to media about his forced conscription, a traditional Thingyan performance troupe that satirised the military and a well-known human rights filmmaker were all jailed under similar charges. 

The government must “ensure an environment in which it is possible to defend human rights without fear of reprisal or intimidation,” the March 13 statement said. 

Reporting by Hayman Pyae. Written by Nyunt Win