The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that Zarganar, a famous comedian in Burma who has been leading some of the relief efforts after Cyclone Nargis, had his house searched and was taken away last night, June 4.

CASE DETAILS:

According to information from a number of sources, around seven police led by the Rangoon Western District police chief together with the local council chairman came to comedian Zarganar's house in Rangoon just before 8pm on June 4 and went inside saying that they just wanted to search it. After they recovered a computer, some VCDs of the cyclone damage as well as the new Rambo movie (the story is situated in Burma) and the wedding video of the junta leader's daughter (see UA-150-2007) they said that they would also take Zarganar with them "for a short while", meaning "around a couple of days". They also took around USD 1000 of money for the cyclone relief effort.

Zarganar has been working constantly on cyclone relief since May 7, and has given interviews to overseas-based radio stations and other media about his work and the needs of the people. He had also ridiculed state media reports about the cyclone aftermath. According to his sister, he had used all his own money for the cyclone victims and had sold his and his wife's mobile phones (which are expensive in Burma) to fund the work. He had organised over 400 volunteers to work in some 42 villages that had been neglected since the cyclone struck. The district official who led the group to the house said that Zarganar being taken away does not have anything to do with his relief work but his family does not accept this.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

There have been many efforts by the authorities in Burma to block not only international relief from reaching cyclone victims but also the domestic donors who stepped in to assist. See for instance AHRC-UAC-117-2008 on the detaining of car drivers and vehicles. Local journalists trying to cover the story have also been held for short periods and threatened, but Zarganar is the first leader of local relief efforts to be detained.

Zarganar was also detained last September for his role in the monk-led protests but was later released. See UP-126-2007 and UP-125-2007.

For more information on human rights issues after Cyclone Nargis please visit: http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/cyclonenargis/

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the persons listed below to call for Zarganar to be released immediately. Please note that for the purpose of the letter, the country should be referred to by its official title of Myanmar, rather than Burma.

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, the UN Working Group on arbitrary detention and the regional human rights office for Southeast Asia, calling for interventions into this case.

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