25 April, 2007　

The Conservative Party Human Rights Commission today urged the UK Government to make representations in the United Nations and other international arenas concerning the brutal attack on a group of human rights defenders in Burma on 18 April by pro-junta militia.

Following the release of a letter by a group known as "Human Rights Defenders and Promoters" to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission added its voice to international protests.

On 18 April, six Burmese civilians who had been participating in a human rights training session in Oatpone village, near Henzada in Irrawaddy Division, Burma, were set upon by a mob of 100 people armed with slingshots and sticks. Two men, Maung Maung Lay and Myint Hlaing, were seriously injured and hospitalized in intensive care. The attacks were allegedly organized by the secretary of the local branch of the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA), a civilian arm of the ruling military regime in Burma. Local police and civilian authorities were also allegedly involved. According to Human Rights Defenders and Promoters, a Burmese

organization: "The attackers are alleged to have comprised of USDA members, police and security officers in plain clothes."

The Human Rights Defenders and Promoters group was formed in 2002 to raise awareness within Burma about human rights. The group regularly distributes copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for example.

Stephen Crabb MP, Chairman of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, said today: "We are shocked and appalled at this kind of attack on unarmed, peaceful civilians who are simply engaging in human rights education. These are people who should be admired and applauded for their courage and commitment to promoting basic understanding of human rights in their country, and yet instead they are savagely beaten up by mobs orchestrated by the junta. The international community, including the UK, must call the regime to account for this brutality. Those responsible for this incident cannot be allowed to pass with impunity."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Conservative Party Human Rights Commission held a hearing on Burma in April 2006, and ranked Burma the worst human rights violator out of 18 countries in its first Annual Report, published in December 2006.

Stephen Crabb MP introduced a Westminster Hall debate on Burma in Parliament in October 2006. He became Chairman of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission in March 2007.

The USDA has a history of violent attacks on democracy activists. On 30 May,

2003 the USDA led the attack on democracy leader Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters in Depayin, in which at least 70 were killed. Aung San Suu Kyi herself was almost killed, and was placed under another term of house arrest immediately following the attack.