**************************BurmaNet*************************** "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ************************************************************* The BurmaNet News: Monday, 27 March 1995 Issue #130 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTED IN PASSING: "If the UNHCR gets in there, those refugees are f****d. They'll be repatriated [for] sure." A senior Bangkok journalist on rumors that the UNHCR will take over the refugee camps in Thailand. Contents: ***********************INSIDE BURMA*************************** REUTERS: BURMA CUTS PRISONERS' SENTENCES TO MARK FORCES DAY PPF: PEOPLE'S PROGRESSIVE FRONT FOUNDED **********************INTERNATIONAL*************************** BURMANET: REGARDING RUMORS OF FORMAL REFUGEE CAMPS FOR BURMESE IN THAILAND BURMANET: SOME ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON THE UNHCR UNCHR: 1995_REPORT BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR BURMA UNCHR: INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN MYANMAR BURMANET: TEXT AND COMMENTARY ON RESOLUTION CONDEMNING SEXUAL TRAFFICKING OF BURMESE WOMEN AND GIRLS BURMANET: LETTER REQUESTING INFORMATION ABOUT TKAM MONASTERY ************************************************************** The BurmaNet News is an ********************************* electronic newspaper * Iti * covering Burma. 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For a * edbytherule * free subscription to * oflaw...fear * the BurmaNet News, send * is ahab it. * an e-mail message to: * Iam * * no * majordomo@igc.apc.org * taf * * ra * In the body of the message, * id. * type "subscribe burmanet-l" * Aun * (without quotation marks) * gSa * * nS * Letters to the editor, * uu * comments or contributions * Ky * of articles should be * i. * sent to the editor at: ********************************* strider@igc.apc.org In Washington: Attention to BurmaNet c/o National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) Information Office 815 15th Street NW, Suite 609 Washington D.C. 20005 Tel: (202) 393-7342, Fax: (202) 393-7343 In Bangkok: Attention to BurmaNet c/o Burma Issues PO Box 1076, Silom Post Office Bangkok 10504 Thailand Tel: (066) (02) 234-6674, Fax: (066) (02) 631 0133 [The NCGUB is the government-in-exile, made up of the people who won the election in 1990. Burma Issues is a Bangkok-based non-governmental organization that documents human rights conditions in Burma and maintains an archive of Burma-related documents. Views expressed in The BurmaNet News do not necessarily reflect those of either NCGUB or Burma Issues] ************************************************************** *************THE BURMANET NEWS--MARCH 27, 1995*************** ************************************************************** *************************INSIDE BURMA************************* REUTERS: BURMA CUTS PRISONERS' SENTENCES TO MARK FORCES DAY 27 March 1995 RANGOON (Reuter) - Burma's military government said it has cut by one-third the sentences of more than 23,000 prisoners in honor of the 50th celebration of Armed Forces Day, official media reported Sunday. The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the Minister of Home Affairs, Lt.-Gen. Mya Thinn, issued a decree reducing the sentences of inmates who have worked on projects that were completed in time for the celebration Monday. ``As a gesture hailing the Golden Jubilee Armed Forces Day, one-third of their sentences... has been reduced,'' the order said, without adding whether this meant that any of the prisoners would walk free. But state-run newspapers, television and radio made no mention of any leniency toward Aung San Suu Kyi, a co-founder of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) who has been under house arrest in Rangoon since July 1989. There have been renewed rumors in diplomatic circles and among residents of Rangoon that Suu Kyi may be set free soon. Top officials of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) have been busy cutting ribbons and inaugurating a highway, several bridges, a beach resort and television channel -- all to be ready in time for Monday. Armed Forces Day marks the anniversary of the date in 1945 when the Burmese rose to end Japan's World War II occupation. Burma officially has no political prisoners, although dissidents, diplomats and human rights groups abroad say several thousand people are in jail for political offenses. On March 15, the government announced the release of 31 prisoners, including leading dissidents Tin Oo and Kyi Maung. Diplomats described them as the two most prominent opposition figures to be set free since the house arrest of former prime minister U Nu was lifted in April 1992. Former defense minister Tin Oo, 68, was a co-founder with Suu Kyi of the NLD in 1988 and became its first chairman. He was arrested with her in July 1989 and imprisoned on a charge of stirring discord. Kyi Maung, 76, a former colonel, led the NLD to an overwhelming election victory in 1990 but the SLORC, the ruling body of the Burmese armed forces, ignored the result and has retained power ever since. ***********************INSIDE BURMA*************************** PPF: PEOPLE'S PROGRESSIVE FRONT FOUNDED PRESS RELEASE, 1-6-95 1. Introduction of a New Political Organization A new political front, named as "People's Progressive Front", was founded in the border area on 1-1-95. It was formed as a political organization based on current situations and political developments in order to be able to intensify Democratic People's Movements in Burma. 2. Brief Biography of PPF DATE FORMED: 1-1-95 PLACE: Golden Hill, Payaw Range, Monland (Burma) FOUNDERS: 1. Members of the former Mobile Medical Team 2. Progressive students 3. Patriotic personnels MAIN BASE: Golden Hill MEMBERSHIP: (now) 40 people 3. Major Goals of PPF 1. To topple the military dictatorship; 2. To end civil war and build internal peace; 3. To promote national reconciliation; 4. To form a new Federal State which exercises rights of equality and self-determination, basic human rights and democratic freedom, and to maintain national solidarity. 4. Concepts of PPF 1. We firmly believe that our goals cannot be achieved by means of negotiations with SLORC, the military clique which represents military dictatorship in Burma. 2. We deeply conceive that our goals can be achieved through revolutionary struggle, cooperatively done by strong and hard alliance forces including both democratic and national revolutionary forces. 5. Policies of PPF 1. PPF will try best at all costs with all means of fighting to topple the military dictatorship. 2. PPF supports and will try to form a "Civilian Interim Government" that the Burmese people trust in. 3. PPF will fully support multi-party democracy. 4. PPF will try and work hard to form a new State which guarantees equality and self-determination. 6. Objectives of PPF, January to June 1995 1. To recollect former members scattered along the border areas and to recruit new strong members. 2. To work on the matters related to Internal Displaced People Program. 3. To carry out a communication system for internal organizational functions. 4. To make more contacts with all groups fighting against military dictatorship. 5. To heighten awareness among international peoples to understand how the Burmese people are suffering from massive and systematic suppression by their military rulers. 6. To try to participate in the activities of the Democratic Alliance. CENTRAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF THE PEOPLE'S PROGRESSIVE FRONT U Zaw Win Maung Chairman Dr. Kyaw Nyunt General Secretary U Min Lwin Joint General Secretary U Zaw Win Organizational Secretary U Aung Kyaw Hlaing Sec. of Information and Communication The Central Organizing Committee has a life-span of six months to perform its function. ORGANIZING SUB-COMMITTEE Daw Win Win Htay Deptth U Thet Ko Oo Dept of Research Salai Rang Big Dept of Organization U Zar Ne Tun Dept of Communication Ko Kyaw San Win member Mo Nyi Nyi member Maung Sun Win member **********************INTERNATIONAL*************************** BURMANET: REGARDING RUMORS OF FORMAL REFUGEE CAMPS FOR BURMESE IN THAILAND 27 March 1995 By "Puck" As yet, there has been no formal agreement between UNHCR and the RTG [Royal Thai Government] to develop full-scale Burmese refugee camps. However, UNHCR has stated its preference for formal refugee/"safe" camps over the present informal aid situation. Reasons cited include lack of security in border areas and abuse, harassment, blackmail, incarceration etc. of illegal Burmese nationals at the hands of Thai police, military, civilians etc. Accounts of hardship faced by Burmese near the border, in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand are well documented. HCR [The High Commissioner for Refugees] has stated concern over these reports, and considers the development of refugee camps as a possible humanitarian solution. In a concentrated camp situation extended medical, nutritional and educational services could be provided. It is likely that for most asylum seekers, the level of service provided in a formal refugee camp setting would greatly exceed the equivalent services available in their pre-flight and current refugee situations. Reasons for not developing camps include destruction of existing communication and social infrastructure among border groups, relative loss of autonomy and freedom of movement, promotion of complete dependency among the refugee population and development of a situation whereby refugees must ultimately be repatriated at the convenience of the Thai gov't, in cooperation with the Burmese gov't and under the auspices of the UNHCR. Current alarm in the face of this prospect underscores a serious lack of confidence in all three bodies. BURMANET: SOME ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON THE UNHCR 27 March 1995 By Strider The article above by "Puck" is an accurate summary of the current situation. To put that situation in some context however, a bit of background information is useful. There are in Thailand, about thirty camps housing refugees from Burma. None of them is or ever has been run by the UNHCR. The reason is simple enough--the Royal Thai Government has prohibited the UNHCR from involvement on that border. The UNHCR had a leading role in the Cambodian refugee crisis of the late 70s-80s. Recovering from an abysmal start, the UNHCR went on to provide a useful but flawed service. From the point of view of the Thai government, the flaw was that it ran a high profile refugee operation that was difficult to control and a frequent cause of embarrassment to RTG. From the point of view of some non-governmental organizations, the problems of the UNHCR were its bloat, and its willingness to turn a blind eye to things like Khmer Rouge intimidation and murder in some of the camps. When the Burmese refugee crisis started in the mid-80s, the first to respond were a number of Thai and Thai-based church groups. As the situation got worse, Thai officials struck a bargain with the church groups, who were the founders of the Burmese Border Consortium (BBC). The refugee camps would be operated primarily by ethnically-based relief committees (i.e. the Karen Relief Committee and the Mon National Relief Committee) with food-aid provided through the BBC. There was to be no publicity and everything had to be cleared by Thai officials. This arrangement has worked extremely well. RTG retained control of its border with little outside attention, got credit for its humanitarianism and didn't have to spend any of its own money. The refugees in turn were able to function as a community with their own leaders and their own customs. The donors (primarily Northern European governments and church groups), got an extroardinarily cost-effective relief operation (now a staff of four moving food aid to over 80,000 refugees at a cost of about US$4million per year). In none of these areas does the UNHCR's record on the Cambodian border compare favorably. Although the UNHCR does not recognize any of the Burmese as "refugees," they have retained a minimal involvement in the Burmese situation. UNHCR is involved in the process of resettling "persons of concern" to third countries and they operate the "safe area" at Ban Maneloi. When RTG wanted to set up a Ban Maneeloi, the UNHCR agreed to operate it over objections from several quarters. Prior to the "safe camp" Burmese students awaiting third-country resettlement were allowed to live anywhere in Thailand so long as they obeyed the law. Moving the students to a camp was opposed because the only purpose served was to curtail political activity by the students. The UNHCR's involvment with the Burmese refugees reached a low-water mark last year at the Halockanie camp. Burmese troops attacked the camp, the refugees fled and Thai troops ordered them back. UNHCR at first refused to condemn the Thai effort at forced repatriation or even to make the drive up from Bangkok to see the camps. Under intense criticism from NGOs and some governments, the UNHCR changed course and Ruprecht Von Arnim, the Commissioner in Thailand, went on record condemning the action. For the first time, a UNCHR representative was sent out to the camps. According to one critic, that first visit is emblemmatic of the UNHCRs flaws. According to the critic, the UNHCR representative's car (a Mercedes) could only make it to within two kilometres of Halockanie because of the mud. The representative then ordered her driver to return to Bangkok because she would not, on account of her heels, be able to walk through the mud. The situation along the border may yet bring UNHCR involvement, however unwelcome. The SLORC sees the refugee camps as base areas for the Karen and Mon rebel groups and is pressuring the Thais to turn the refugees over to them. The Chuan government has no stomach for the international condemnation this would bring but some are pushing for an alternative. The alternative would involve forcing all Karens and Mons along the border either into the camps or back to Burma. Movement in and out of camps would then be restricted, with the intention of breaking links between members of the KNU and their families in the camps. To break the control of indigenous organizations (KRC and MNRC) within the camps, an outside agency, e.g. the UNHCR or a UNHCR contractee, would be brought in to run the camps. This change would be an unwelcome change for most camp residents but may happen anyway. With the repatriation of refugees to Cambodia and Laos, the UNHCR is an agency with a staff but who no longer have a mission. Involvement on the Burmese border would be a justification for their continued existence in Bangkok. The UNHCR's malfunction isn't merely that their personnel in Bangkok are more concerned with having jobs then with playing a constructive role. That would have been more accurate before von Arnim and the current High Commissioner (Mrs. Ogata) took over. It is the more frustrating that UNHCR is still such a problem even when it has good leadership. An example of the limitations even good Commissioners have is the trouble von Arnim got into with his bosses in Geneva recently. von Arnim landed in trouble for saying he thought it likely that SLORC would use forced labor in building the Unocal/Total pipeline as they used it everywhere else. [Hint--von Arnim is about to look like a prophet]. UNHCR's problem is simple and insoluble--they deal with governments, not people. The UNHCR was created by governments and is answerable to them. This defect shows up both in personnel and in policy making. All to often, jobs are handed out to fulfill national quotas or for any number of of reasons having nothing to do with ability or interest. Once these persons become tenured, it is almost impossible for a Commissioner to fire them or even carry out a change in policy without their consent. At a policy level, the UNHCR is affected because they operate in a country at the sufferance of the government. In the case at hand, the Thai government doesn't want the refugees and the Burmese regime would prefer to liquidate at least some among them. Given a starting point with two uncooperative governments, the chance that the UNHCR can do any good is close to nil. If their history in similiar circumstances is predictive of their future, letting UNHCR onto the Thai/Burma border would be a humanitarian disaster. To see why one need only look as far as Burma's western border. For the second time in a generation, the UNHCR is trundling Rohingya refugees back across the Burma/Bangladeshi border. That they've collaborated with the SLORC and Bangladeshi government to repatriate unwilling refugees to an unsafe country seems of little moment to the UNHCR. It was one of von Arnim's bosses who began his career by supervising the first Rohingya repatriation and is actually proud of it. If instead, he, and the UNHCR as a whole, had the sense to be ashamed of their first effort and attempt to learn from their mistakes, their desire to get into the refugee business on the eastern border would not be such a cause for alarm. One senior Bangkok-based journalist summed it up this way: "If the UNHCR gets in there, those refugees are f****d. They'll be repatriated [for] sure." UNCHR: 1995_REPORT BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR (1/5) [Para. 1-16] UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL Dist. GENERAL E/CN.4/1995/65, 12 January 1995 Original: ENGLISH ----------------------------------------------------------- COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Fifty-first session Item 12 of the provisional agenda QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO COLONIAL AND OTHER DEPENDENT COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES Report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar prepared by the Special Rapporteur, Mr Yozo Yokota in accordance with commission resolution 1994/85. CONTENTS Paragraphs Page -------- ---------- ---- Introduction ................................... 1-16 A. Mandate ....................................1-4 B. Historical background ..................... 5-16 I. ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ........ 17-94 6 A. Introduction .............................. 17 6 B. Visit to Myanmar .......................... 18-93 6 C. Visits to camps in Thailand ............... 94 21 II. ALLEGATIONS ................................ 95-144 21 A. Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution .................. 95-103 21 B. Arbitrary arrset and detention ............ 104-113 23 C. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment .................... 114-117 27 D. Freedom of movement ....................... 118-120 27 E. Freedom of expression ..................... 121-123 28 F. Labour rights.............................. 124-127 29 G. Rights of the child ....................... 128-129 30 H. Treatment of the Muslim population in Rakhine State ....................... 130-135 30 I. The National Convention ................... 136-141 31 J. The movement towards reconciliation with insurgents .................. 142-144 32 III. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............ 145-155 35 Annexes ------- (Documents given to the special Rapporteur by the Myanmar authorities) I. Response of the Government of Myanmar to allegations of extrajudicial execution while in custody, as raised by the Special Rapporteur during his meeting with Colonel Kyaw Win of the Directorate of Defence Service Intelligence on 10 Novenber 1994 .....................................38 II. National armed groups which have returned to the legal fold ...........................................42 III. Chart showing particulars of those against whom action has been taken for having contact with KNU insurgents and who have been released by the Myanmar authorities during 1994 ..............................43 Introduction ------------ A. Mandate 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rihgts in Myanmar has been described in each of the Special Rapporteur's previous reports to the General Assembly (A/47/651, A/48/578 and A/49/594), and to the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/1993/37 and E/CN.4/1994/57). The mandate, initially articulated in Commission resolution 1992/58 and extended most recently by the Commission in its resolution 1994/85 of 9 March 1994 (approved by the Economic and Social Council in its decision 1994/269 of 25 July 1994), required the Special Rapporteur to establish or to continue direct contacts with the Government and the people of Myanmar, including political leaders deprived of their liberty, their families and their lawyers, with a view to examining the situation of human rights in Myanmar and following any progress made towards the transfer of power to a civilian government and the drafting of anew constitution, the lifting of restrictions on personal freedoms and the restoration of human rights in Myanmar. In resolution 1994/85, the Commission urged the government of Myanmar to extend its full and unreserved cooperation to the Commission and the Special Rappporteru and, to that end, to ensure that the Special Rapporteur had effectively free access to any person in Myanmar whom he might deem it appropriate to meet in performance of his mandate, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; and requested the Special Rapporteru to report to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session and to the Commission at its fifty-first session. 2. The substantive issues addressed by the Commission on Human Rights in resolution 1994/85 include the following concerns: that the electoral process initiated in Myanmar by the General elections of 27 May 1990 has not yet reached its conclusion and that the Government still has not implemented its commitments to take all the necessary steps towards democracy in the light of those elections; that many political leaders, in particular elected representatives, remain deprived of their liberty and that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is still under house arrest; and that serious violations of a variety of fundamental rights continue, inter alia the proctice of forced labour , including forced portering and forced displacement of the population. The Commission also expressed its concern about the continuous problems created in neighbouring countries by the exodus of refugees from Myanmar. 3. In addition, the Commission took note of the fact ttat the Government of Myanmar had acceded to the Geneva convention of 12 August 1949; signed a memorandum of understanding on 5 November 1993 with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) concerning the voluntary and safe repatriation of refugees from Bangladesh; received the Special Rapporteur for a visit to Myanmar; and observed cease-fires and undertaken negotiations with several minority groups. 4. The Special Rapporteur submitted a preliminary report to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session in October 1994 (A/49/594 and Add 1). The present comprehensive report is submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-first session for its consideration. B. Historical Background 5. IN 1948, the Union of Myanmar ( then called Burma) gained independence from British colonial rule. From 1948 until 1962, the country was governed by a parliamentary democracy based on the Constitution of 2 September 1947. It provided for a federal sstem of government with separate executive, legislative and judicial branches. The states under the Union were considered autonomous. According to article 201 of the Constitution of 1947, ethnic monorities had , in theory, the right to secede from the Union, but, under article 202, this right was not to be exercised until 10 years from the date of entry into force of the Constitution. In March 1948, an armed insurgency against the then Government of Burma was begun by the Communist Party of Burma. Between 1948 and 1961, various minority ehtnic groups joined the armed insurgency. 6. In March 1962, General Ne Win took power in a coup d'etat. He installed one-party (the Burma Socialist Programme Party) rule under military control and embarked upon a programme known as the "Burmese Way to Socialism". In 1947, a new constitution was drafted under which one-party rule continued. 7. Towards 1988, nationwide demonstrations began in reaction to the suppression of all civil and political rights since the overthrow of the constitutional Government in 1962 and to the economic failure as a consequence of the policy of the "Burmese WAy to Socialism". 8. From March to June 1988, students, workers and onks demonstrated for more fredom and democracy, but the army used harsh measures to crush the demonstrations. Hundreds of civilians were arrested and many suffered severe injuries or died from ill-treatment in detention. Many persons were summarily or arbitrarily executed. On 21 June 1988, the Government iposed a ban on all public gatherings. 9. On 23 July 1988, General Ne Win resigned as party leader and promised economic reform and the holding of areferendum to end one-party rule and institute a multi-party system. However, demonstrations continued and the army and riot police attacked the demonstrators. It was reported that approximately 3,000 persons were killed in August 1988 alone. On 18 September 1988, the military took power and the state Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) was set up under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff, Senior General Saw Maung. The National Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw), the Council of State and other governmetal bodies were dissolved. Free elections were promised by SLORC, but Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of General U Aung San ( the National Hero of independence who was assassinated in 1947) and general Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD), ws benned from campaigning on the ground that she kept unlawful association with insurgent organisations. On 20 July 189, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was detained by government forces. She has been under house arrest without trial since then and, in 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Many others, including most of the important oppssition political leaders, were also detained. 10. On 27 May 1990, general elections were held in which the main opposition party (NLD) won 81 percent of the seats (392 seats out of a total 485) and 60 per cent of the vote. However, the official announcement of the results of the elections was postponed by SLORC in order to allow the election Commission set up by SLORC to scrutinize the expense accounts of all elected representatives. 11. Beginning in early 1992, a mass exodus of Myanmar Muslims from Rakhine State into Bangladesh was reported. At least 250,000 such persons sought refuge for fear of persecution. On 28 April 1992, the Government of Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement for the voluntary and safe return of the refugees. By October 1993, approximately 40,000 refugees had returned to Myanmar under this arrangement. 12. On 5 November 1993, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Government of Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding in an effort to ensure the voluntary and safe repatriation of the persons who had left the country. This memorandum of understanding was similar to the one between UNHCR and the Government of Bangladesh signed on 12 May 1993. Both Governments expressed satisfaction at this accord and at the participation of UNHCR. Between September 1992 and the end of September 1994, a total of 75,000 refugees returned to Myanmar. Another 45,000 refugees are expected to return the end of 1994. 13. In April 1992, General than Shwe became Chairman of SLORC after general Saw Maung had resigned from the post for reasons of health. Since this change of leadership, a number of new policies have been announced and implemented, including the release of many political leaders in detention (among them the former Prime Minister U Nu, but not Daw Aung San Suu Kyi); the holding of a national convention to draft the principles and guidelines for a new constitution; the granting of permission to the family of daw Aung San suu Kyi to visit her; the opening of universities and other institutions of higher education; the lifting of the curfew order and martial law; and cessation of the he of civilian cases by military tribunals. 14. On 9 January 1993, the National convention was convened, composed of 702 delegates in eight categories:(a) representatives of political parties, including NLD(49); (b) representatives elected in the 1990 elections (107) ; (c) representatives of national racial groups (215) ; (d) representatives of peasants (93) ; (e) representative of workers(48); (f) representatives of the intelligentsia (92); and (h) other invited peersons (57). The meeting of the National Cn has been adjourned several times for reasons not clear to outside observers. 15. When the National Convention adjourned on 9 April 1994, the Chairman of the National Convention, Chief Justice U Aung toe, stated that agreement had been reached on the principles for drafting the chapters of the constitution on the State, the state structiur and the Head of State. According to these principles, the country would be governme by an executive president and two vice presidents, elected by presidential electoral colleges formed by all members of the tow house of Parliament. The Naitonal Convention reconvened on 2 September 1994. The subjects on its current agenda are self-administered divisions and self-administered zones, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. 16. In July 1994, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, began her sixth year of house arrest. Earlier in the year, and for the first time since her arrest, she was allowed to meet with persons other than her immediate family. United States Congressman William Richardson met with her twice at her home during his visit to Myanmar from 15 to 17 February. Also present at the meetings were the Resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Myanmar, a representative of the United States Embassy, and a reporter from The New YOrk times. On 20 September 1994, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi attended another meeting with the Chairman of SLORC , General than Shwe, and Secretary One, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, at a governmental guest house. The meeting was the result of mediation by Dr Rewata Dhamma, a Burmese Buddhist monk living in the United Kingdom. During tow visits to Myanmar in 1994, Dr Rewata Dhamma met with Daw Aung San suu Kyi, whon he has known for many years, and also with members of SLORC. A second meeting between SLORC representatives, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, Armed Forces Judge-Advocate, Brigadier General Tin Aye and DAW Aung San Suu Kyi took place on 28 October 1994 at a governmental guest-house. ENDS(1/5)\ UNCHR: INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT BY SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR. Final Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Prepared by Yozo Yokota, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights under Resolution 1994/85 UNCHR: INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN MYANMAR fifty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights To be delivered on 23 February 1995 Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. distinguished delegates, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured to be given the opportunity to introduce this important body of the United Nations the report on the situation of human rihgts in MYanmar as its special Rapporteur. As you might recall, on 9 March 1994, at its fiftieth session, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1994/85, entitled "situation of Human Rights in MYanmar" without a vote. In paragraph 20 of the resolution, the Commission decided " to extend for one year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur to establish or continue direct contacts with the government and people of Myanmar, including political leaders deprived of their liberty, their families and their lawyers", and requested " him to report to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session and to the Commission on HUman Rights at its fifty-first session". My prelimenary report, published as document A/49/594, dated 28 October 1994, and document A/49/594/Add.1, dated 9 November 1994, was submitted to the Secretary-general of the United Nations for dissemination to all State Members of the United Nations at the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly. My comprehensive report, published as document E/CN.4/1995/65, dated 12 January 1995, is now submitted to this fifty-first session of the Commission on Human rights for consideration by the Commission. Mr. Chairman, this report marks the third time that international examination of the situation of human rights in Myanmar has been taken up under a public procedure by the commission on Human Rights. The object of the direct contacts with the Government and people of Myanmar, which were requested to the Special Rapporteur to establish by the commission under resolution 1994/85, is to examine the situation of human rights in MYanmar and follow any progress made towardsathe transfer of power to a civilian government and the drafting of a new constituation, the lifting of restrictions on personal freedoms and the restoration of human rights in MYanmar. In order to facilitate the fulfilment of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, the Government of MYanmar was urged " to cooperate fully and unreservedly eit the commission and the Special Rapporteur and, to that end, to ensure that the Special Rapporteur has effectively free access to amy person in Myanmar whom he may deem it appropriate to meet in the performance of his mandate, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi". The substantive issues addressed by the Commission on HUman Rights in the same resolution include the following concerns: that the electoral process initiated in Myanmar by the general elections of 27 May 1990 has not yet reached its conclusion and that the Government still has not implemented its commitments to take all necessary steps towards democracy in the light of those elections; that many political leaders, in particular elected representatives, remain deprived of their liberty and that Daw Aung san Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is still under house arrest; and that the violations of human rights in Myanmar remain extremely serious, in particular the practice of torture, summary and arbitrary executiaons, forced labour, including forced portering for the military, abuse of women, politically motivated arrests and detention, forced displacement of the population, athe existence of important restrictions on the exerise of fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of expression and association, and the imposition of oppressive measures directed, in particular, at minority groups. The Commission also expressed its concern about the continuous problems created in neighbouring countries by the exodus of refugees from Myanmar. In addition, the Commission took note of the fact that the Government of Myanmar had acceded to the Geneva conventions of 12 August 1949; signed a memorandum of understanding on 5 November 1993 wiht the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) concerning the voluntary and safe repatriation of refugees from Bangladesh; received the Special Rapporteur for a visit to Myanmar; and observed cease-fires and undertaken negotiations with several minority groups. At the invitation of the Government of Myanmar, by a letter of the Minister for Foreign Affairs dated 23 September 1994, I undertook a visit to the Union of Myanmar from 7 to 16 November 1994. From 16 to 20 NOvember 1994, I visited some Myanmar ethnic minorities in Thailand, along the Thai/Myanmar border , to ascertain the situation of human rights within Mynamar for these ethnic minorities. Mr. Chairman, I wish to note with special gratitude that the Government of Myanmar facilitated the visit, including travel within Myanmar to Mon, Mandalay and Nangwe states, to Mandalay and Insein Prisons, and to Yangon and Dagon Universities, and extended many courtiesies to the Special Rapporteur. During the course of my visit, I was received by a number of high-level government officials including Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, Secretary One of the State Law and order Restoration Council(SLORC) , U Ohn Gyaw, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brigadier General Myo Thant, Minister of Information, U Tha Tun, Attorney-General, and U Aung Toe, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. While in Myanmar, I also had the opportunity to see the representatives of the three political parties particiapating in the National convention, namely, the Union Kayene League, The National League for Democracy (NLD) , and the National Unity Party (NUP). In spite of the strong request by the Special Rapporteur to meet with them in private at his office in the United Nations compound in Yangon, the meetings with these pollitical leaders were arranged to take place at a Government guest house. The location and atmosphere were not coucucive to a free and unencumbered exange of views. I appreciate the efforts of the government of Myanmar in facilitating my visit to various places and meetings with various persons mentioned here, the details of which are recorded in the relevant parts of my comprehensive report, particularly, in Chapter I entitled "Activities of the Special Rapporteur", Section B entitled "Visit to Myanmar". Nevertheless, I must express my dissapointment that I was not allowed to see daw Aung San suu Kyi. This comprehensive report is also based on copious information relevant to my mandate, provided by government authoriites, non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations and other individuals from Myanmar. Compared with my previous visits to Myanmar, I observed that in my most recent visit some signs of further relexation of tension in the daily life of people. Consumer goods were available in market places where shoppers crowded. there were more cars on the streets. Many streets and bridges have been built or improved. Restaurants and hotels have been build and opened to public. However, just as last year, I was informed that only a small portion of population enjoy the improved life and the majority who were poor rather suffered from higher prices of basic necessity goods such as rice and medicine. I am still concerned about the serious restrictions imposed upon people in the enjoyment of civil and political rights. My personal experience, observation and reports from reliable sources indicate that pople do not generally enjoy freedom of thought, opinion, expression, publication and peaceful assembly and association. People are generally still fearful that whaterver they say or do would rsk interrogation and arrests by the police or military intelligence. The persons whose civil and political rights are most severely restricted are the leaders of political parties, particularly the NLD leaders, and delegates to the National convention, particularly those from NLD. With regard to arbitrary detention and imprisonment of political leaders, I welcome the release, since April 1992, of more than two thousand persons detaained under the emergency regulations. However, I am concerned that hunderds of political leadrs are believed to be still in prison or in detention. In this connection, I was recently informed from the Permanent Representative of the Union of Myanmar in Geneva, Ambassador U Aye, that , since the beginning of this year, over eighty persons serving sentences in various prisons in Myanmar have been released after the reduction of their sentences. I am very pleased to note that among the released I find a number of prominent political leaders such as DR. Aung Khin Sine, to whom I have just referred to, U Tin Moe, a wellknown poet, and U Win Htein, a distinguished politician of NLD. I welcome the leniency and flexibility shown by the Government of MYanmar in releasing these persons and I hope that further actions in this direction will be quickly taken by the Government with regard to other political leadrs in prison or in detention. On the same subject, I must express my disappointment that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since 20 July 1989, has not yet been released. I now understand that her detention has been further extended for six months from 10 January to 11 July 1995. This decision was taken by the council of Ministers on 14 December 1994, though the order was only shown to her finally on 29 January 1995. According to the Government's own interpretation of its altered law, applied to ner with retroactive effect, she cannot continue to be held beyond 11 July 1995, by which time she will have been detained without trial for six years. With regard to the National Convention which has been meeting on and off since January 1993 to draft the guidelines and principles for the new constitution, there has been some progress made and the delegates have completed the deliberation and agreed on the first three chapters out of the total of sixteen chapters. As I stated last year in the Commission, I cannot help but feel that, given thae composition of the delegates, the restrictions imposed upon the delegates, and the general guidelines strictly to be followed, the National convention does not appear to be the steps towards the restoration of democracy, fully respecting the will of the people as expressed in the democratic elections held in 1990. However, if the process of the National convention is one that is irreversible, the Government of Myanmar could at least encourage the delegates to consider various provisions of the Uiversal Declaration of HUman rights of 1948 as a basis for the relevant human rights provisions for the new Constitution, and for this purpose distribute a copy of the text of the Declaration in Burmese to all the delegates of the National Convention. The Government could also consider the possibility to hold a national refrendum for the adoption of the new Constitution. I am gravely concerned at the continued reports of forced porterage, forced labour, forced relocation, arbitrary killings, beatings, rapes and confiscation property by the Army soldiers which are most commonly occurring in the border areas where the Army is engaged in military operations or "regional development projects". In the past two years or so, I was under the impression that the number of incidences of this kind of serious violations of human rights was decreasing due to less need for major military operations. In this context, I welcomed the conclusion of agreements between the Government of Myanmar and thirteen armed ethnic nationals, and I was hopeful that an agreement would be reached peacefully between the Government and the Karen National Union(KNU) , the largest armed ethnic group remaining. However, it was reported that, starting from the end of last year, an armed conflict occurred between the army of Myanmar and the Karen armed group. Since I was aware of the implications of such military conflict for the situation of human rights in Myanmar, I expressed my concern to the government of Myanmar and to the appropriate high officials of the United Nations. I particularly pointed out that vulnerable civilians, in particular women, children and the sick and wounded may have special humanitarian needs. I, therefore, called upon the Government of Myanmar to resolve peacefully its difficulties with ethnic minorities and to take all appropriate measures to ensure respect for human rights and humanitarian obligations in this region. With regard to the disciplinary actions taken against the members of the Army who have broken the law, the Government of Myanmar for the first time provided me with a list of some concrete cases. As it reached me after I have submitted my comprehensive report to the Secretariat, I was unable to include in my report a reference to such cases. I wish to mention this fact with satisfaction that the Government of Myanmar is trying to facilitate my work as Special Rapporteur by providing me with such delicate but important information. Mr. Chairman, I would like to conclude this introductory statement by summarizing the recommendation included in my comprehensive report: (a) The Government of Myanmar should fulfil in good faith the obligations it has assumed under articles 55 and 56 of the Charter of the United Nations "to take joint and separate action in cooperation with Organization for the achievement of ....universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language and religion". (b) The Government of Myanmar should consider accession to: the International Covenants on Human Rights; the convention against Torture and Other Curel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and the two Protocols additional to the Geneva conventions of 1949. (c) Myanmar law should be brought into line with accepted international standards regarding protection of physical integrity, including the right to life, protection against disappearace, prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, providing humane conditions for all persons under detention and insurance of the minimum standards of judicial guarantees. (d) The Government of Myanmar should take steps to facilitate the guarantee enjoyment of the freedoms of opinion, expression and association, in particular by decriminalizing the expression of oppositional views, relinquishing government control over the media and literary and artistic communities, and permitting the formation of independently organized trade unions. (e) All political leaders, including elected political representatives, students, workers, peasants and others arrested or detained under maritial law after the 1988 and 1990 demonstrations or as a result of the National Convention, should be tried by a properly constituted and independent civilian court in an open and internationally accessible judicial process. If found guilty in such judicial proceedings, they should be given a just sentence. Alternatively, they should be immediately released and the Government refrain from all acts of intimidation, threats or reprisals against them or their familites. with respect to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the government should release her immediately and unconditionally. (f) The Government of Myanmar should take the necessary steps to bring the conduct of the military, including ordinary soldiers and officers, into line with accepted international human rights and humanitarian standards so that they do not arbitrarily kill, rape, confiscate property, force persons into acts of labour or porterage, relocate them or otherwise treat persons without respect to their dignity as human beings. When the hiring of local villagers for porterage and other works may be required for governmental purposes, it should be undertaken on a voluntary basis and adequate wages should be paid. the nature of work should be reasonable and inaccordance with established international labour standards. When the relocation of villages is considered necessary for military operations or for development projects, proper consultiation with the villagers should take place and appropriate compensation should be paid for those relocations which may be determined necessary for reasons of the public good. (g) The Govenment of MYanmar should take all spets to refrain from recruiting any person who has not attained the age of 15 years into their armed forces, in accordance with article 38(3) of the Convention on the rights of the Child. (h) All military and law enforcement personnel, including prison guards, should be thoroughly informed and trained as to their responsibilities, in full accordance with the standards set out in international human rights instruments and humanitarian law. Such standards should be incourporated into Myanmar law and legislation, including the new constitution to be drafted. The training programme underteken with the cooperation of the International Commission of the Red Cross is a good start in this direction and should be continued. (i) Goven the magintude of the abuses, official condemnation should be made by the government of all acts by authorities involving human rights violations. Such acts, including all acts of intimidation, threat or reprisal, should not benefit from the present syetem of almost complete denial by, and impunity under, the Government. (j) The Government of Myanmar should consider the revision of the 1982 Citizenship Law to abolish its burdensome requirements for citizenship. The law should not apply its categories of second class citizenship in a manner which has discriminatory effects on racial or ethnic minorities, particularly the Rakhine Muslim population. It should be brought into line with the principles embodied in the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of 30August 1961. (k) The Governemt of Myanmar is encouraged to continue its cooperation with the Office of the United Naitons High commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in facilitating and ensuring the voluntary and safe return of Rakhine Muslims from Bangladesh. (l) The Government of Myanmar is also encouraged to continue its cooperation with international non-governmental organizations in facilitating and ensuring the free access of their international staff to ordinary persons in the townships and villages in order to establish contacts and provide assistance to persons who are suffering from a shortage or lack of food, safe water, medicines, medical care and proper education. Thank you very much, Mr. chairman, for giving me the opportunity to introduce my comprehensive report on MYanmar. ENDS\ **********************INTERNATIONAL*************************** BURMANET: TEXT AND COMMENTARY ON RESOLUTION CONDEMNING SEXUAL TRAFFICKING OF BURMESE WOMEN AND GIRLS 27 March 1995 Posted by reaproy@cais.com The following resolution has been introduced by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-New York) and her office is currently seeking other Members of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor it. So far, 43 Members have done so. A similar resolution was introduced last session of Congress (but only a few months before the end of that session) and it managed to attract more than 60 co-sponsors. This is to say that much more work needs to be done this time around! Very few persons could say that they are opposed to seeking an end to trafficking in women of any race, esp. for prostitution, and in this case the plight of Burmese women is particularly compelling. Human Rights Watch/Asia did a very comprehensive report on this situation last year and you should contact them if you need more information about this phenomenon. Their contact is: Human Rights Watch/Asia, 1522 K. Street, N.W., Suite 910, Washington, D.C. 20005, phone: (202) 371-6592. Internet: hrwdc@hrw.org. In any case, it is urgent that you and your friends who care about Burma contact your U.S. Congressperson and urge them to co-sponsor this important piece of legislation. If a sufficient number of Members of Congress co-sponsor it, there is a strong likelihood that it will be brought up on the House floor and passed, thereby sending a strong message to the SLORC and the corrupt Thais profiting from Burma's misery. Contact your Congressperson: Rep. ________________ U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 or call: (202) 225-3121 (Capitol Hill switchboard) and ask to be transferred to the office of your Congressperson. ====================================================================== 104th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 21 Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning the trafficking of Burmese women and girls into Thailand for the purposes of forced prostitution. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 1, 1995 Ms. Slaughter submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning the trafficking of Burmese womand girls into Thailand for the purposes of forced prostitution. Whereas credible reports indicate that thousands of Burmese women and girls are being trafficked into Thailand with false promises of good paying jobs in restaurants or factories, and then forced to work in brothels under slavery-like conditions that include sexual and physical violence, debt bondage, exposure to HIV, passport deprivation, and illegal confinement; Whereas credible reporindicate that members of the Thai police force are often actively involved in, and profit from, the trafficking of Burmese women and girls for the purposes of forced prostitution; Whereas the United States Government conducts training programs for the Thai police and United States arms and equipment are sold to the Thai police; Whereas the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women requires all States Parties `to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women'; Whereas Article 1 of the 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery calls for the complete abolition or abandonment of debt bondage; Whereas forced labor, defined under the 1930 Forced Labor Convention as `all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily,' is internationally prohibited; Whereas the 1949 Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others finds the traffic in persons for the purposes of prostitution `incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person,' and calls on States Parties to punish any person who procures for the purposes of prostitution, keeps, manages or knowingly finances a brothel, or rents premises for the prostitution of others; Whereas Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs John Shattuck has testified that the United States `urgently needs to encourage countries in which trafficking of women and children goes on with impunity to enact new laws, and to enforce existing laws. A particular target of this stepped-up law enforcement should be government officials who participate in or condone trafficking, as well as brothel owners and traffickers'; and Whereas Secretary of State Warren Christopher stated before the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights that `(g)uaranteeing human rights is a moral imperative with respect to both women and men': Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that-- (1) trafficking in persons violates the fundamental principle of human dignity, and forced prostitution involving physical coercion or debt bondage constitutes arm of forced labor and a slavery-like practice; (2) the United States State Department should continue to press the Thai Government to strictly enforce all laws that can lead to the prosecution of those involved in trafficking and forced prostitution, including procurers, traffickers, pimps, brothel owners, and members of the Thai police who may be complicit; (3) the State Department should ensure that Thai police participants in United States Government-sponsored police training programs are systematically vetted to exclude those who are implicated in trafficking and forced prostitution; (4) the executive branch should take steps to assure that weapons and equipment provided or sold to the Thai police do not become available to members of those forces who might be involved in trafficking, forced prostitution, or abuse of women and girls who are apprehended; (5) the State Department should urge the Thai Government to protect the rights and safety of Burmese women and girls in Thailand who are freed from brothels or who are arrested as illegal immigrants because their status as trafficking victims is unclear; (6) the United States Agency for International Development should target a portion of its assistance to Thailand for AIDS prevention and control to the foreign population in Thailand, particularly Burmese women and girls in the Thai sex industry; and (7) the State Department should report to Congress, within 6 months of the date of this resolution, on actions that it has taken to advocate that the Thai Government implement the above steps. **********************INTERNATIONAL*************************** BURMANET: LETTER REQUESTING INFORMATION ABOUT TKAM MONASTERY 27 March 1995 BurmaNet has received the following request: Friends, does anybody know if TKAM monastery (Watsonville, CA) has an E-mail address? Any address or phone number would be appreciated. Pls respond to ehager@morakot.nectec.or.th attn: TJOR. Thanks. **********************INTERNATIONAL*************************** BURMANET: LETTER---HELP! >From U=Win%Counseling%OCC@banyan.cccd.edu Thu Mar 23 09:31:35 1995 From: U=Win%Counseling%OCC@banyan.cccd.edu Date: Thu, 23 Mar 95 09:22:10 PST Subject: HELP! HELP! HELP! To: strider@igc.apc.org Cc: I careless deleted the two pieces I flashed on the internet. The first one is an editorial from the Los Angeles Times of 14 Feb 95 followed by my response as letter to the LAT editor published on 24 Feb 95. There was another long piece called A GOOD MAN IN BURMA, about the shooting of BEYOND RANGOON on location in Malaysia. If anyone still has these two pieces, please forwarded back to me. I am also trying to establish a net of friends around the world who have internet capability. Would appreciate to hear from as many as possible giving name, location, phone/fax numbers as well. I am particularly in need of contacts in Canberra, New Delhi, Melbourne, Jakarta, Penang, Paris, London. Thanks, and many thanks. God Bless. Professor U Kyaw Win Orange Coast College PO Box 5005 Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5005 USA Phone +(1714) 432-5860 E-mail alias: win@cccd.edu ************************************************************** NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET: ABSDF: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT AMNESTY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS AFP: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE AW: ASIAWEEK Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt. EQUALS US$1 (APPROX), BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION BF: BURMA FORUM BKK POST: BANGKOK POST (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK) BRC-CM: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-CHIANG MAI BRC-J: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-JAPAN CPPSM:C'TEE FOR PUBLICITY OF THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE IN MONLAND FEER: FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW GOA: GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA IRRAWADDY: NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY BURMA INFORMATION GROUP KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP KNU: KAREN NATIONAL UNION Kt. BURMESE KYAT; UP TO 150 KYAT-US$1 BLACK MARKET 106 KYAT US$1-SEMI-OFFICIAL 6 KYAT-US$1 OFFICIAL MOA: MIRROR OF ARAKAN MNA: MYANMAR NEWS AGENCY (SLORC) THE NATION: A DAILY NEWSPAPER IN BANGKOK NCGUB: NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (DAILY STATE-RUN NEWSPAPER,RANGOON) NMSP: NEW MON STATE PARTY RTA:REC.TRAVEL.ASIA NEWSGROUP RTG: ROYAL THAI GOVERNMENT SCB:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP SCT:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA MAILING LIST S.H.A.N.: SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS SLORC: STATE LAW AND ORDER RESTORATION COUNCIL TAWSJ: THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL UPI: UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY **************************************************************