Mandalay protest denied

Mandalay protest denied, "not local enough"

By Than Naing Soe   |   Friday, 17 January 2014

Police in Mandalay have denied yet another request made for a peaceful protest in the region – this time on the grounds that the issue is not relevant to the local community.

Daw Khin Shan from Kanbalu township applied to stage a 10-minute solo demonstration in Mandalay's Maha Aung Myay township over a land dispute.

She told The Myanmar Times that she has tried unsuccessfully to resolve her issue in her township so hoped she could gain attention by demonstrating in Mandalay.

"I have petitioned all levels of [government over my] 5.04 acres of inherited farmland," Daw Khin Shan said.

"The township land management committee transferred my case to the head of township Settlements and Land Records Department but it hasn't been solved. The village land management committee has also seized my land.

"If I protest in my village, senior officials won't know about it. That's why I'd like to protest in Mandalay. Then the … public will know my case with the help of the media."

Officials rejected the protest on the grounds that her grievance does "not concern Maha Aung Myay township", adding that the dispute can be handled by the relevant government bodies.

But former 88 Generation student leader U Nyi Nyi Kyaw said this was "unacceptable".

"People have the right to protest anywhere in their country," he said.

"Daw Khin Shan just wants to tell people about the fact that lower ranking officials failed to properly implement the instructions of their superiors."

U Nyi Nyi Kyaw said only a handful of applications to stage protests have been approved by township officials in Mandalay Region.

A spokesperson from the Mandalay Region Police Force said on January 17 that two protests had been allowed and three rejected in Mandalay Region since the start of the year.

''The police reject the application if the demonstration affect security, concerns religion or is deemed to be about a case that can be resolved according to the legal procedure," Major Khin Aung said. – Translation by Thiri Min Htun

 

 

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/mandalay-protest-denied/