[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
BurmaNet News: November 27-28, 1994
- Subject: BurmaNet News: November 27-28, 1994
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 29 Nov 1994 15:02:00
************************** BurmaNet **************************
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
**************************************************************
BurmaNet News: Monday-Tuesday, November 27-28 1994
Issue #73
**************************************************************
Contents:
NATION: UNHCR SAYS ALL ROHINGYAS TO RETURN HOME BY NEXT YEAR
BKK POST: CHINA GIVES BURMA $40M INTEREST-FREE LOAN
BKK POST: BURMESE JUNTA REJECTS FORCED LABOUR CHARGES
NATION: NEW LEADER TAKES CHARGE OF KACHIN RESISTANCE GROUP
RSF: NUMBER OF BURMESE JOURNALISTS IN PRISON
REUTERS: OVER 56,000 RUN IN BURMA'S WEEKEND MARATHONS
KRC: KAREN REFUGEE COMMITTEE MONTHLY REPORT
UNGA: HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS: HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS AND
REPORTS OF SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS AND REPRESENTATIVES
**************************************************************
The BurmaNet News is an *********************************
electronic daily newspaper * *
covering Burma. Articles * Iti *
from newspapers, magazines, * snotpo *
The wire services, news- * werthatcor *
letters and the Internet * ruptsbutfea *
are published as well as * r.Fearoflos *
original material. * ingpowercor *
* ruptsthosewhoare *
The BurmaNet News is * subjecttoit...Theef *
e-mailed directly to * fortnecessarytoremain *
subscribers and is * uncorruptedinanenvironm *
also distributed via * entwherefearisanintegralpar *
the soc.culture.burma and * tofeverydayexistenceisnot *
misc.activism.progressive * immediatelyapparent *
newsgroups as well as * tothosefortun *
the seasia-l mailing * ateenoughtol *
list. For a free * iveinstatesgo *
subscription to the * vernedbytheru *
BurmaNet News, send * leoflaw...Iam *
an e-mail note to: * n ota frai *
* d.. *
strider@xxxxxxxxxxx * .D *
* aw *
Subscriptions are handled * Au *
manually so please allow * ng *
for a delay before your * San *
request is fielded. * Su *
* uK *
Letters to the editor, * yi *
comments or contributions * . *
of articles should be *********************************
sent to the strider address as well. For those without e-mail,
BurmaNet can be contacted by fax or snailmail.
By fax: (in Thailand) (66)2 234-6674
Attention to BurmaNet, care of Burma Issues
By snailmail: (in the United States)
BurmaNet, care of Coban Tun
1267 11th Avenue #3
San Francisco, CA 94122 USA
**************************************************************
NATION: UNHCR SAYS ALL ROHINGYAS TO RETURN HOME BY NEXT YEAR
November 28, 1994
Cox's Bazar - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
has said all of the estimated 150,000 Burmese Muslim refugees
still in Bangladeshi border camps will return home by the end
of next year.
Their return was to have been completed by next June but the
coming monsoon and the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Feb-
ruary will almost certainly push the date back, an official
said on Saturday.
"The repatriation now seems likely to be over by December of
next year," said Stefano Savere, UNHCR mission chief in Cox's
Bazar, temporary home for the Burmese.
He said the repatriation was proceeding smoothly. "We are sat-
isfied with the cooperation from Bangladesh and Burma."
More than 112,000 Burmese Muslims, knows as Rohingyas, have
gone home since September 1992, government officials said.
This left about 150,000 refugees in 18 camps, mostly along the
Bangladesh Burma border.
The Rohingyas fled from west Burma's Muslim-majority Arakan
state in early 1992 to escape persecution by the Burmese army.
On average, 20,000 Rohingyas return home each month under
UNHCR supervision, officials said.
Agence France-Presse adds from Dhaka: Bangladesh Home Minister
Abdul Matin Chowdhury will pay a four-day official visit to
Burma beginning Dec 1, official source said on Saturday.
Chowdhury is expected to sign an agreement with his Burmese
counterpart on bilateral cooperation in checking drug
trafficking during the visit.
The accord aims at plugging the production and smuggling of
drugs from the "Golden Triangle" bordering Burma, Thailand and
Laos. (TN)
**************************************************************
BKK POST: CHINA GIVES BURMA $40M INTEREST-FREE LOAN
A chinese cooperative is to give Burma a $40-million, inter-
est-free laon to buy ships, Burma's state-run media reported
yesterday.
The Yunnan Machinery Import and Export Cooperative signed the
agreement on Saturday with the inland Water Transportation
Ministry, the reports said.
The money is to be used to buy 30 vessels, 23 to be built in
the China and the rest in Burma. (BP)
**************************************************************
BKK POST: BURMESE JUNTA REJECTS FORCED LABOUR CHARGES
November 27, 1994
The Burmese military government has denied that it forces ci-
vilians to work against their will, citing what it calls a
tradition of local people giving their services voluntarily
for the benefit of the country.
Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, military intelligence chief, told a
teachers' meeting in Rangoon on Friday that "unscrupulous
elements and some terrorist groups" were circulating false
reports alleging forced labour.
Such reports were calculated to mislead people who had not
been to Burma and were not familiar with its customs and
traditions, Burmese television quoted Khin Nyunt as saying.
A United Nations human rights rapporteur who visited Burma
from November to 16 reported continuing human rights abuses.
Japanese Professor Yozo Yokota said that though there were
signs of some improvement, many civil and political rights
were still restricted.
"Particularly, the right to life, liberty and security of
person, freedoms of thought, opinion, expression, peaceful
assembly and association are widely ignored and seriously
violated, especially in connection with forced labour
including portering, force relocation, and political
activities including activities related to political parties
and the Nations Convention," Yokota said.
Yokota opened a new section of railway line west of Irrawaddy
and also visited a railway construction site linking the towns
of Ye and Tavoy in the southeast. Some refugees arriving on
the Thai-Burmese border have conmplained that the Ye-Tavoy
line was being built with forced labour.
Yokota, who said he would compile a full report to the UN
Commission on Human Rights, said evidence he had collected
showed there were still cases of torture, arbitrary killings,
rapes, disappearances and confiscation of private property.
(BP)
**************************************************************
BKK POST: LETTERS-KNU STATEMENT ON HOLDING TALKS WITH THE SLORC
November 28, 1994
Sir: together with its alliances and forces for peace at home
and abroad, the KNU has been endeavouring to establish genuine
internal peace by calling for the solving of the political
problems of the country by political means. With this basic
stand, The KNU has made the effort to initiate talks and
create an amicable start between itself and the Slorc.
Accordingly, arrangements were made with the Slorc military
attache to Thailand, Col Thein Shwe, for the meeting of KNU
and Slorc to take place at the Slorc embassy in Thailand. At
first, the Slorc give the appearance of assent but,
subsequently, as the Slorc hierarchy disapproved, the
arrangements for the meeting of advance delegations of the two
sides had to be cancelled.
Then again discussions were made Col Thein Shwe on the plan
for the KNU advance delegation to begin talks with the Slorc
authorities in Rangoon in the present of UN representatives
serving as witness.
However, according to the reply made through Col Thein Shwe on
November 11, 1994, the Slorc authorities rejected the
participation of UN representatives. They also said that the
KNU advance delegation was to meet only with the head of
Southeast Military Command, Gen Ket Sein, in Moulmein, and not
in the capital city, Rangoon.
In connection with the above matter, the KNU would like to
clarify to its allies, to the Slorc and the forces for peace
at home and abroad, as follows:
1. As the establishment of genuine peace is a political
question of the magnitude encompassing the whole country,
consultation and disposition of top leaders of the two sides
is necessary. An attitude of openness, honesty and quality is
also essential. The KNU is entirely not responsible for the
failure, up to this day, of the advance delegations of the two
sides to meet.
2. In the establishment of genuine internal peace, seriousness
in the disposition of mind is indispensable. Peace cannot be
established without it. In conclusion, the KNU would like to
state that it will continue to endeavour for the holding of
talks with a steady and honest disposition, and with the
objective of establishing s genuine and lasting peace in the
whole country. (BP)
**************************************************************
NATION: NEW LEADER TAKES CHARGE OF KACHIN RESISTANCE GROUP
November 27, 1994
Burma's Kachin Independence Organizatin (KIO) has named acting
chairman Maj Gen Zau Mai to succed its late leader Brang Seng,
who passed away in August after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
The appointment, announced officially on Thursday night, was
no surprise for Burma watchers who had expected that Zau Mai,
acting KIO chairman since Brang Seng suffered the first of two
strokes in October 1993, would eventually assume leadership of
the armed ethnic resistance group. "The KIO has a collective
leadership structure and a clear line of command, so we had
been expecting for some time now that Zau Mai would succeed to
the leadership," commented a Thai official who has been
monitoring the activities of ethnic groups engaged in an
ongoing armed struggle with the Burmese government.
Zau Mai, who is currently chief of staff of the Kachin
Independence Army, was also elected prisident of the Kachin
Independence Council - the legislative arm of the Kachin
resistance movement - at a special meeting of the 17-member
central committee earlier this month. The 58-year-old general
is the first person to hold all three top posts in the KIO
(military administrative and legislative) at the same time.
Zawng Hra, the KIO's outgoing general secretary, was elected
vice chairman of the movement. He will be replaced as general
secretary by Col Zau Seng, who currently serves as chief KIO
representative to Thailand and India. Brigadiers Tu Jai and
Zau Ing remain as vice president and vice chief of staff
respectively.
Born in July 1938 in Sumprabum, Zawng Hra graduated from
Rangoon University with a BA degree in 1960. He joined the KIO
in 1963 and has been mainly involved in directing the KIO
administration. Col Zau Seng, the KIO's new general secretary
was born on May 21, 1942 in Myitkyina. Immediately after his
graduation from Rangoon University, he joined the Kachin
Independence Army and rose through the ranks to his present
post.
Reuters adds: The Burmese military government has denied that
it forces civilians to work against their will, citing what it
calls a tradition of local people giving their services
voluntarily for the benefit of the country.
Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, military intelligence chief, told a
teachers' meeting in Rangoon on Friday that "unscrupulous
elements and some terrorist groups" were circulating false
reports alleging forced labour. Such reports were calculated
to mislead people who had not been to Burma and were not
familiar with its customs and traditions, Burmese television
quoted Khin Nyunt as saying.
Burma's rebel groups are drafting a parallel constitution in
opposition to the constitution being drafted by the ruling
junta, a senior official of the anti-military umbrella group
said yesterday. At the "Seminar on the Constitution of the
Union of Burma" held in rebel-held territory inaccessible to
the Burmese army, more than 200 delegates from 41 groups
unanimously proposed a federal system of government to be
adopted in the constitution, said Tin Maung Win, second vice
chairman of the Democratic Alliance of Burma (DAB). (TN)
**************************************************************
REUTERS: OVER 56,000 RUN IN BURMA'S WEEKEND MARATHONS
RANGOON, Nov 27 (Reuter) - More than 56,000 people took part
in Burma's biggest marathon event on Saturday, according to media
reports on Sunday.
Organisers staged a marathon and half-marathon, an eight-mile
(13 km) race, a wheelchair race of 13 miles (21 km), and a relay
of 36 miles (58 km).
Among the prizes were $10,200 in cash, a Korean-made car and
refrigerators. Rangoon held its first marathon five years ago.
REUTER
Transmitted: 94-11-27 05:30:24 EST *****************
**************************************************************
RSF: NUMBER OF BURMESE JOURNALISTS IN PRISON
QUARTERLY DIGEST No. 9 - OCTOBER 1994
Reporters Sans Frontieres
Worldwide Survey
Since the beginning of 1994, at least 73 journalists have been
killed and at least 140 others have been held in prison (latest
figures - 30 September 1994)
Journalists in Prison
Myanmar (Burma): 7
Source: Reporters Sans Frontieres
**************************************************************
KRC: KAREN REFUGEE COMMITTEE MONTHLY REPORT
OCTOBER 1994
After more than six long months of cloudy weather and
intermittent
spells of heavy rain, the sky got clearer by the end of October.
A cold north wind that now blows across the land signals the
arrival of the cold season.
In the camps, life goes on as usual. The refugees are provided
with the most basic items of need and also with basic health
care. They struggleon their part from day to day to acquire those
other items of need that are not provided.
The situation in general continues to be quiet but in certain
areas of Burma and quite close to the border in some cases,
civilians are still severely affected by war and its terrible
consequences. They are living in fear and in uncertainty. There
are confirmed reports of arrests, beatings and detention of
innocent villagers.
Order for relocation had been given to residents of some villages
a bit distant from the Kaw Ka Reik-Myawaddy highway. The
villagers
managed to get permission to stay on in their respective villages
at least until the end of rice harvest time.
NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN CAMPS
MAE SOT AREA NORTH
1 Wang Ka 11 Kler Thay Lu
2 Don Pa Kiang 12 Mae Po Hta
3 Mae La 13 Mae Paw Moo Hta
4 Kamaw Law Kho 14 Ka Htee Hta
5 Kler Kho 15 Wei Gyi
6 Sho Klo
7 Mae Sa Lit SOUTH
8 Mae Ta Waw
9 Maw Ker 16 Per Kler
10 Klay Mo Hta 17 Pang Sa Nok
18 Nat In Daung
______________________________________________________
Camp: No. Of Over-12 Years 5-12 Years Under
5 Years
Families: M: F: M: F: M: F:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
1 803 1211 1558 480 440 348 312
2 503 941 857 306 291 229 260
3 1196 1581 2163 1040 954 235 260
4 696 1177 1216 407 374 317 317
5 579 1111 1091 361 375 276 309
6 1546 2528 3184 1142 1065 613 705
7 631 997 1279 461 461 163 172
8 963 1723 1977 871 857 496 487
9 861 1741 1667 470 414 484 443
10 536 929 1013 394 348 233 211
11 183 280 321 117 102 65 46
12 218 156 250 333 81 53 46
13 396 817 897 275 259 196 215
X - - - - - - -
14 488 679 836 394 416 195 249
15 129 184 136 161 141 77 102
16 588 1316 1097 455 365 172 193
17 410 690 618 263 263 149 159
18 - - - - - - -
___________
Camp: Total:
1 4349
2 2884
3 6233
4 3808
5 3523
6 9237
7 3533
8 6411
9 5219
10 3128
11 913
12 919
13 2659
X 81
14 2769
15 801
16 3598
17 2142
18 300
-------------------
IN ALL 62,507
______________________________________________________
RICE AND OTHER ITEMS RECEIVED FOR THE MONTH
--------------------------------------------------------------
Rice (100 kg sacks) 6,994 3,502 350 10,846
Salt (1 kg tins) 16,700 8,210 - 24,910
Fish paste (16 kg tins)2,603 1,020 - 3,623
Blankets (40 pcs. Boxes)758 11 - 769
Sweaters (bales) 445 - - 445
Yellow bean (Kg) 1,350 - - 1,350
BBC Burmese Border Consortium
COERR Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees
______________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTION OF RICE AND OTHER ITEMS RECEIVED
Camp:Rice Salt F.P. Blan.Sweat.Y.Beans
-----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
1 667 1610 232 62 33 -
2 435 1010 152 40 18 -
3 944 2400 355 92 52 -
4 576 1400 200 54 28 -
5 534 1160 186 46 25 -
6 1421 3100 501 120 82 -
40 100 20 2 - -
7 535 1270 192 50 25 -
8 967 1930 343 75 53 -
9 792 1740 273 68 41 -
30 60 10 3 - -
10 473 1080 169 42 21 1350
11 *430 *1220 *130 17 9 -
12 *447 *1380 *130 22 9 -
13 *1240 *2400 *355 33 16 -
14 *1305 *3030 *370 42 17 -
15 - - - - - -
*For three months, i.e. November, December 94 and January
95.
The Karen Refugee Committee expresses its sincere gratitude to
the
Thai authorities and to the people of the Kingdom of Thailand for
the kindness and understanding that has been shown to the
Karens and other displaced people from Burma who are in trouble
and need. The committee is fully aware that this kindness and
understanding is utterly vital for the survival and well being of
these people during their time of refuge in Thailand. This noble
gesture of goodwill is sincerely appreciated and will always be
remembered by the Karens of Burma.
The committee also expresses its sincere gratitude to the
individuals and agencies for the noble deeds that have been done
in many ways through the years to help these people who are
taking refuge in the various Karen refugee camps in Thailand.
Efforts to bring peace back to Burma is greeted with high
expectation by these people in their camps as it also is by the
people of Burma and by the world community. The future is still
bleak and uncertain but it is our ardent wish that, through the
sincere and concerted efforts of every peace loving people at
home and around the world, a practical solution to the Burma
problem could finally be found.
Yours faithfully,
[Sgd.]
Robert Htwe
Chairman
Karen Refugee Committee
**************************************************************
UNGA: HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS: HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS AND
REPORTS OF SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS AND REPRESENTATIVES
United Nations General Assembly
Distr. GENERAL
A/49/594 28 October 1994
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Forty-ninth session Agenda item 100 (c)
HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS: HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS AND REPORTSOF
SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS AND REPRESENTATIVES
Situation of human rights in Myanmar
Note by the Secretary-General
The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the
members of the General Assembly the interim report prepared by Mr
Yozo Yokota, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human
Rights on the situation of human rights in Myanmar in accordance
with paragraph 20 of Commission on Human Rights resolution
1994/85 of 9 March 1994 and Economic and Social Council decision
1994/269 of 25 July 1994.
94-42026 (E) 111194 151194
ANNEX
Interim report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
prepared by Mr Yozo Yokota, Special Rapporteur of the Commission
on Human Rights, in accordance with Commission resolution
1994/85 and Economic and Special Council decision 1994/269
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. INTRODUCTION 1 - 4 3
II. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF MYANMAR
5 - 8 3
III. SUMMARY OF ALLEGATIONS RECEIVED
9 6
I. INTRODUCTION
1. On 9 March 1994, at its fiftieth session, the Commission of
Human Rights adopted without a vote resolution 1994/85 entitled
Situation of human rights in Myanmar. 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 fifty-first session. The present report, which
constitutes a preliminary report by the Special Rapporteur, is
being presented in accordance with that request. A final report
will be submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its
fifty-first session.
2. In resolution 1994/85, the Commission, inter alia: noted
with particular concern that the electoral process initiated in
Myanmar by the general elections of 27 May 1990 had yet to reach
its conclusion; deplored the fact that political leaders
remained deprived of their liberty, in particular Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; expressed its grave concern
at the violations of human rights which remained extremely
serious, including, in particular, the practice of torture,
summary and arbitrary executions, forced labour, including
forced portering, abuse of women, politically motivate arrests
and detention, forced displacement, important restrictions on
the freedoms of expression and association, and the imposition of
oppressive measures directed at minority groups; and expressed
its concern about the continuous problems created in
neighbouring countries by the exodus of refugees from Myanmar.
3. In addition to the above, 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 with the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) concerning
voluntary 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. On 25 July 1994, the Economic and Social Council, in its
decision 1994/269, approved Commission resolution 1994/85.
II. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF MYANMAR
5. On 10 August 1994, the Special Rapporteur addressed the
following letter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Union
of Myanmar:
I have the honour to refer to Commission on Human
Rights resolution 1994/85 of 9 March 1994 by which my mandate as
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
was extended for a third year. For your convenience, please find
attached a copy of resolution 1994/85. As you may be aware, at
its most recent session, the Economic and Social Council
approved Commission resolution 1994/85 by its decision 1994/269
of 25 July 1994.
By paragraph 20 of its resolutions 1994/85, the
Commission called upon the Special Rapporteur to establish or
continue contacts with the Government and people of Myanmar,
including political leaders deprived of their liberty. Paragraph
21 urged the Government of Myanmar to cooperate fully and
unreservedly with the Commission and the Special Rapporteur and,
to that end, to ensure that the Special Rapporteur has
effectively free access to any person in Myanmar whom he may
deem it appropriate to meet in the performance of his mandate,
including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Accordingly, I would be most grateful to continue
benefiting from the cooperation of your Excellencys Government so
that I may provide the Commission and the General Assembly with a
comprehensive assessment of the situation of economic, social,
cultural, civil and political rights in Myanmar. In this regard,
I would wish to visit your country again. Specifically, and
keeping in mind the schedule of the General Assembly, I would
hope that your Government would agree to my visit at about the
same time as last year; may I suggest from 7 to 16 November
1994? Hoping that this would be acceptable to your Excellencys
Government may I also follow upon the suggestion made to me last
year in Yangon by one governmental official that, after spending
the first days of my visit in Yangon, I might spend some days in
the eastern part of your country towards the frontiers? On this
last matter especially, I would certainly welcome your specific
suggestions. On more general and substantive issues, let me also
restate my commitment to endeavouring to accord full
consideration to your Government's views and that, as such, I am
at your disposal to continue our dialogue about the situation of
human rights in Myanmar.
6. On 23 September, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the
Union of Myanmar addressed the following letter to the Special
Rapporteur:
I have the honour to refer to your letter of 10 August
1994, regarding your proposed visit to Myanmar.
I am pleased to inform you that your proposal is
acceptable to the Government of Myanmar. It is indeed our
pleasure to welcome you again this year to Myanmar as an
expression of our continuing cooperation with the United
Nations.
I am sure that you will have the opportunity once
again to observe at first hand the consensus reached for the
writing of a firm and enduring Constitution in the national
political process, as well as the achievements made in the
economic development endeavours.
I shall once again try my best to make your visit in
Myanmar most productive and meaningful.
7. In a letter from the Permanent Representative of the Union
of Myanmar to the United Nations Offices at Geneva, which
accompanied the above letter from the Minister for Foreign
Affairs, the Special Rapporteur was informed that the proposed
dates for his visit had been tentatively agreed to.
8. On October 1994, the Special Rapporteur addressed the
following letter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Union
of Myanmar:
I have the honour to refer to your letter of 23
September 1994, by which you communicated your Government's
acceptance of my proposal to visit the Union of Myanmar in
November of this year. I am most appreciative of this
opportunity to examine first-hand the situation of human rights
in your country and to continue in person our dialogue on issues
and developments in this regard.
With respect to the specific itinerary to be followed
during my visit to your country in November, I would welcome
again the opportunity of meeting with the following officials:
Secretary of the State Law and Order Restoration Council; the
Minister of Information; the Attorney-General; the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court; and, of course, your Excellency. In
addition, I would welcome the opportunity of meeting with the
following persons: leaders of various political parties
participating in the National Convention, including the Chairman
of the National League for Democracy; representatives of the
Myanmar Red Cross Society; and, in fulfilment of paragraph 21 of
Commission on Human Rights resolution 1994/85, Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi. I would also appreciate the opportunity of visiting again
Insein Prison with unrestricted access to all prisoners.
Finally, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity of travelling
to the eastern part of your country towards the frontiers where
I would hope to meet with local authorities, visit a local
prison, tour some development or construction sites, and meet
with such persons as I may deem relevant to my mandate.
In keeping with my commitment to endeavouring to
accord full consideration to your Government's views on the
substantive issues raised in my mandate, including both general
and specific allegations of human rights violations by the
Government of Myanmar, I submit herewith a summary of
allegations, I would appreciate receiving your Government's
responses to the following:
1. Please specify the reasons, including reference
to specific legal authority, for keeping Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
under house arrest after 20 July 1994, and please indicate
precisely when the Government intends to release her.
2. Please describe in as much detail as possible the
present status of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis physical health.
3. Please detail the Government's position with
regard to maintaining dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
indicating the time-frame the Government intends to follow in
this regard.
4. Please describe in as much detail as possible the
progress made so far in the National Convention and the drafting
of a new constitution, indicating the anticipated schedule of
future meetings.
5. Please indicate whether or not the Burmese
version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been
distributed to all the delegates in the National Convention.
In so far as I would like to bring your Government's
views on the attached summary of allegations to the attention of
the General assembly during its present session, I would be
grateful of receiving your Government's comments or specific
responses by 31 October 1994. I would also appreciate receiving
your Government's responses to the above queries as soon as
possible.
The continuing cooperation of the Government of
Myanmar in the fulfilment of my mandate is more appreciated.
III. SUMMARY OF ALLEGATIONS RECEIVED
9. The following is the text of the summary of allegations
which the Special Rapporteur submitted to the Government of
Myanmar with his letter of 5 October 1994 as indicated above.
With due regard to general assembly resolutions 37/14 Commission
of 16 November 1982 and 47/202 B of 22 December 1992 and
Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/94 of 11 March 1993,
concerning, inter alia, the timely submission and circulation of
reports, the Special Rapporteur reproduces below the text of his
summary of allegations while awaiting receipt of the views of
the Government of Myanmar. Immediately upon receipt of the views
of the Government of Myanmar, the Special Rapporteur shall
submit an addendum to the present report reproducing the
aforementioned views in their entirety.
A. Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution
1 Numerous communications from non-governmental sources
continue to be received by the Special Rapporteur reporting
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings of civilians by
Myanmar military forces under a variety of circumstances. In the
regions of the country with predominantly non-Burman populations
and where insurgencies have been taking place, many of the
alleged killings are summary executions of civilians who are
accused of either being insurgents or collaborating with
insurgents. For example, on 5 February 1994, Myanmar Army forces
from Division No. 99, Battalion No. 84, reportedly arrested
seven men working in a field in Paan Township, Thaton District,
Karen State; the men were accused of collaborating with the
armed Karen insurgents and two of them were executed, while the
others were held to ransom and subsequently freed. Many other
similar situations include allegations of such severe torture
that the victims died as a result. For example, in March 1994 in
Paan Township, Thaton District, Karen State, soldiers from the
Myanmar Army reportedly arrested a 13-year-old boy driving
cattle outside his village; the boy was said to have been
interrogated, tortured and killed by the Myanmar forces. Other
examples of alleged extrajudicial killings include the
following: on 10 March 1994, forces of Light Infantry Battalion
No. 59 alleged arbitrarily executed Saw Soe Ghaz Htoo (aged 35
years) in Thay Baw village, Lu Thaw Township, Papun (Mudraw)
District; on 18 March 1994, forces of Light Infantry Battalion
No. 59 also alleged arbitrarily executed saw Ko Pa Moo (aged 30
years) in Thu Daz village, Lu Thaw Township, Papun (Mudraw)
District; on 20 April 1994, forces of Light Infantry Battalion
No. 96 are alleged to have killed the villager Pa Kloh (aged 26
years) and wounded Saw er Ker (aged 20 years) in Paw Ghem Khee
village, Thaton District; and on 10 May 1994, in Naw KToh
village, Thaton District, two villagers (Kyaw Soe Puy, aged 32
years, and Than Shwe Ganoo, aged 35 years) were said to have
been arrested and executed by the forces of the Light Infantry
Battalion No. 76.
2. Many of the reports from non-governmental sources have also
described occasions where soldiers from the Myanmar Army have
opened fire with light arms against civilians without any evident
provocation. Such situations have frequently been reported in the
process of attempts by the Army to arrest and detain civilians
for the purposes of forced portering and other labour; as
villagers attempt to avoid being arrested or to escape the
approaching troops, soldiers are often reported to open fire. In
other situations, the Army is reported to have killed civilians
who have disobeyed orders from the Army to relocate their homes,
to supply goods or provide labour for little or no compensation.
3 In addition to the above, Myanmar Army troops are reported
to take revenge against nearby villages after being attacked by
insurgent forces. These collective and arbitrary punishments are
often said to include summary executions of civilians present in
the area. On 15 December 1993, for example, following an
insurgent ambush of Myanmar Army forces near Htee La Nay
village, Hlaing Bwe Township, Paan District, Karen State, Army
villager working in Army field was reportedly shot on sight.
Under similar circumstances in May 1993, two young schoolboys
were allegedly shot in Kyint Kyo village, Thaton Township. It
has also been reported that, in the beginning of 1994, the
regional commanders in Thaton District informed the civilian
headmen of the district that, in the future, five villagers
would be killed for every soldier who died. However, it is not
known whether these reported threats have ever been carried out.
4. In Shan State, different sources have alleged that, since
December 1993, an offensive by the Myanmar Army against Khun Sa
and the so-called Ming Tai Army has included air force strikes on
civilian villages in the area of the insurgency. For example, on
10 July 1994, San Akhu village is reported to have been attacked
and two boys are said to have been killed (aged 7 and 14 years)
while five other persons were wounded. Whole villages are
reported to have been destroyed by the Myanmar Army Forces
because of alleged cooperation with the Ming Tai Army. As in
other cases, villagers trying to escape the military forces are
said to have been shot on sight upon the suspicion of being
insurgents or cooperating with them.
B. Arbitrary arrest and detention
5. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is
still being held under prolonged house detention without trial;
on 20 July 1994, she passed her fifth anniversary in detention.
Seeking her release and return to freedom in Myanmar, including
respect for all of her civil and political rights under
international law, parliamentarians, non-governmental
organisations and individuals from throughout the world sent
thousands of petitions to the United Nations in the last few
months.
6. Although some political prisoners have reportedly been
released in the last year from centres of detention in Yangon,
reports from different sources describe how an unknown number of
civilians continue to be arrested as suspected insurgents (or
sympathizers thereto) and how they remain detained in
countryside prisons, especially in the regions of the country
with predominantly non- Burman populations.
7. Recently, the following new cases have been brought to the
attention of the Special Rapporteur. On 27 May 1994, Army Swiss
national displayed Army banner in front of Yangon City Hall,
demanding the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Seven persons who
were passively observing the protest in Yangon are reported to
have been arrested by Myanmar intelligence officers.
8. On 4 July 1994 at Yangon airport, members of Military
Branch Three reportedly arrested Khin Zaw Win (a university
student) when he tried to board a plane for Singapore. The
report indicates that Khin Zaw Win was studying in Singapore and
was writing a thesis on the political situation in Myanmar; he
had been visiting Myanmar in order to obtain more material for
his thesis. Recent reports say that he has been transferred from
the Military Intelligence Centre to Insein Prison, and is now
being detained in the same cell as a supporter of the National
League for Democracy. Khin Zaw Win has allegedly yet to have
been charged with any offence.
9. On 21 July 1994 in Plat Hon Pai section, Kwan Saya village,
part of Halockhani refugee camp, soldiers from Infantry Battalion
No. 62 of the Myanmar Army attacked the camp, destroying about
50 houses and causing some 500 Mon refugees (recently
repatriated from Thai) to flee again across the t border. The
soldiers reportedly arrested 19 men, most of whom were camp
leaders. The fate of those arrested remains unknown.
10. On 4 or 5 August 1994 in Yangon, the following persons were
reportedly arrested: U Khin Maung Swe (aged 52 years, a
prominent dissident Member of Parliament-elect and member of the
Central Executive Committee of the National League for
Democracy); U Sein Hla Oo (aged 58 years, a journalist and
opposition politician); Dr. Htun Myat aye (a dentists who had
apparently worked for the un Childrens Fund (UNICEF) at Yangon);
Daw San San Tin (a translator who had apparently been working
occasionally for UNICEF); and Daw San San Nwe (a writer) and her
daughter. It is not known where these persons are being
detained, nor what (if any) charges have been brought against
them. It is also reported that Khin Maung Swe, U Sein Hla Oo and
Saw San San Nwe have all been previously imprisoned by the
Government.
11. Since 1993, many reports from different sources have alleged
widespread practice of arbitrary arrest and detention of persons
for ransom, especially in the countryside. Civilians are said to
have been rounded up in various public places in both urban and
rural communities and held in detention until their relatives
could supply a certain sum of money or goods; these detentions
are often said to be maintained under the threat that the
detainees will be taken as Army porters or be executed should
the ransom not be paid.
12. The information has also reached the Special Rapporteur
that, on 15 July 1994 in Insein Prison, Thet Khine died four
days after a failed suicide attempt. It has been alleged that
the prison authorities placed Thet Khine in the prisons Medical
Unit after his attempted suicide, choosing not to take him to a
hospital facility outside the Prison; he died in the prisons
Medical Unit. Thet Khine was arrested in 1989 and had been
sentenced to 20 years imprisonment together with other political
prisoners.
C. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment
13. Numerous allegations, often in considerable detail, have
been received from various sources alleging that forces of the
Myanmar military, intelligence and security services and police
continue to torture persons in detention or otherwise subject
them to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments and punishments.
Such treatment seems to be routinely employed during the
interrogation of persons who have been arrested or held on
suspicion of real or perceived anti- government activities.
Allegations include subjection to severe beatings, shackling,
near suffocation, burning, stabbing, rubbing of salt and
chemicals in open wounds and psychological torture, including
threats of death. Other reported methods of torture include
forcing victims to consume large quantities of water or pouring
hot liquids down victims noses or throats.
14. The Special Rapporteur has continued to receive information
from many sources indicating that rape occurs on a wide scale;
reports of so-called gang rapes by entire groups of Myanmar
military personnel are not uncommon. The victims are mostly
reported to be women belonging to minority populations, although
allegations of homosexual rape have also been received
(including, e.g., the written testimony of a 13-year-old boy
from Thaton Township, Thaton District, Karen State). Women
serving as porters or otherwise as forced labourers are
especially vulnerable and are often said to be victims of rape.
It is also reported that rape is being used as a punishment for
joining indigenous womens groups. Some of the reported rapes are
said to have lead to death as a consequence of continuous rape
or be infections caused by rape. Reports also describe
situations where women who have resisted rape, or screamed during
rape, have been killed. Furthermore, rape is also alleged to be
used as a method of forcing women from ethnic minorities to
marry soldiers from the Myanmar Army; the children of these
marriages are subsequently considered to be of Burmese
nationality.
15. An especially severe incident which has been brought to the
attention of the Special Rapporteur reportedly occurred on 2
August 1993 in Won Mon village, Won Tse village circle, Laikha
Township in Southern Shan State, when Myanmar Army soldiers from
Infantry Battalion No. 64 were said to have entered the village
in search of a defector: they alleged arrested 12 women (ages
15 to 35 years) and took them to a nearby farm for
interrogation, whereupon the women were gang-raped.
D. Forced labour
16. In his 15 August 1994 statement to the United Nations
Subcommittee on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities at its forty-sixth session, Ambassador U Tin Kyaw
Hlaing of the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations
Office at Geneva stressed the following: In Myanmar, voluntary
contribution of labour to build shrines, temples, roads,
bridges, etc. is a long- established tradition going back
centuries. While the Special Rapporteur observes that uncoerced
contribution of labour for the public good can hardly be
described as a violations of human rights, it is to be noted
that numerous reports from a wide variety of sources still
characterize most of the contributed labour as being conducted
under various threats of violations of personal integrity rights
or property rights. In general, reports of such forced labour
may be divided into three categories: forced portering, other
forced labouring and different kinds of obligatory guard duty.
17. As has been previously reported by the Special Rapporteur,
much of the forced portering in Myanmar has occurred in
connection with military campaigns against insurgent forces in
various of the states of the Union of Myanmar. Although
cease-fire talks between the Government and the main insurgent
groups were agreed upon in late 1993 and early 1994, reports on
forced portering for the Army still flow in from different
sources. For example, in May 1994 the Myanmar Army is said to
have arrested hundreds of persons in Tachilek in Shan State in
order to use them as Army porters in the battle against Khun Sa
and the Ming Tai Army. Porters were reported to have been
forcibly recruited from all public places and also from private
homes in the areas of Kalaw, Taunggyi and Tachilek. Fighting
between the Myanmar military and the Ming Tai Army is reported to
have been intense with high casualty figures on both sides,
including the deaths of many porters caught in the cross-fire.
The Myanmar authorities have also reportedly failed to protect
civilians from being forced to porter for the Ming Tai Army.
Moreover, the Myanmar Army has allegedly regularly been taking
internally displaced persons from a camp established by the
Myanmar Army at Loi Hsa Htoong near the border with Thai for
purposes of portering military materiel as needed.
18. Forced portering has been reported especially in the areas
of conflict in the Karen, Karenni, Shan and Mon regions. Persons
taken for portering are reported to have been rounded up by the
military in various places, such as schools, buses and market
places. Convicts are also said to be used as Army porters,
especially at the front lines of the fighting. Reports indicate
that porters are forced, under very poor conditions, to carry
heavy loads of Army materiel and supplies for the troops. They
are said to be given very small or spoiled food rations, little
water and no medical care if ill or wounded. Large numbers of
porters are reported to have died from ill-treatment, illness and
malnutrition. Irrespective of their condition, those who can no
longer respond to the heavy physical demands of portering are
reportedly routinely abandoned without food, or simply executed
on the spot. Porters who attempt to escape are reportedly shot.
19. Allegations have also been made that elderly persons, women
and children have been taken as Army porters. These persons are
often said to be used as human shields in military operations.
20. Of a similar nature to forced portering in support of
military activities, the Special Rapporteur has received
information alleging the use of civilian labour, under coercive
measures, for other purposes. Reports indicate that the villages
near Army camps are obliged to supply daily workforces to assist
with the construction of Army barracks, fences, land clearance,
wood-cutting operations, agricultural projects and other
activities in direct support of the Army camps.
21. In connection with certain large development projects
initiated by the Government of Myanmar, some of them with the
assistance of foreign aid, it has been alleged that civilians
have been forced to contribute non-recompensed labour. Such
projects include the building of hospitals, roads, railways, gas
pipelines, bridges, and fisheries. Reports indicate that people
from villages in the areas of various projects are frequently
obligated to contribute their labour and other resources, often
under threat of violation of their personal integrity rights.
22. Many reports of considerable detail have been received
alleging a variety of violations of human rights on a massive
scale in connection with the construction of a railway between
the city of Ye in Southern Mon State and the city of Tavoy in
Tenasserim (Taninthari) District. The Government reportedly
began construction of the railway in November 1993. According to
reports received, each family from the villages along the line
and also from surrounding areas is obliged to supply one worker
for 15 days at a time in rotating shifts. Almost all the
civilian families in Ye Township, Thanbyuzaya Township and Mudon
Township of Mon State, as well as Yebyu Township, Tavoy
Township, Launglon Township and Thayet Chaung Township of
Tenasserim District, are said to have been forced to contribute
labour for the railways construction. The workers are reportedly
required to bring their own food, provide their own shelter,
ensure their own health and medical needs, use their own tools
and, in some cases, also supply materials for the construction
of the railway. Allegations have also been made that the
military supervising the construction of the railway demands
money for the use of bulldozers available at construction sites;
the fuel needed for use of the bulldozers is also said to be
sold by the military. Despite articles in the official government
press stating that wages have been paid to local persons
participating in ground-levelling and other work associated with
the construction of the railway (e.g., an article published in
the 31 July 1994 edition of the New Light of Myanmar), reports
received consistently estimate that over 100,000 persons have
had to contribute their labour for the railway project without
any compensation. Elderly persons, children and pregnant women
are also reported to have been seen as labourers along the
railway. Several persons are also reported to have died from
illness and accidents caused by poor conditions at construction
sites. Forced labour is said to be concentrated in seven main
control centres from Ye to Zimba. Each of the aforementioned
centres is alleged to control 7,000 to 8,000 forced labourers
daily. The land along the railways route is said to have been
confiscated from its owners without compensation. Myanmar Army
battalions (especially Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 343, 407,
408, 409 and 410, together with regular Infantry Battalion Nos.
61 and 104) are reported to be responsible for the construction
of the railway. The railway is expected to be completed sometime
during 1996.
23. As other examples of forced labour allegedly being used in
relation to major development projects, information has been
received relating to a road project started in December 1993
between Bo Pyin and Lay Nya in Mergui/Tavoy District. Every
family from the villages along the road have reportedly to
participate in its construction by building 10 feet of the road.
Forced labour is also said to be used in the construction of an
international airport at Bassein and a new military airfield in
Laboutta Township. In addition, many other smaller development
projects in urban areas, such as the restoration of tourist
sites in Mandalay, are reported to rely upon forced labour.
24. Another form of forced labour which has been reported to the
Special Rapporteur alleges the requirement of lengthy guard duty
by civilians along roads and railways in many of the regions
where insurgencies have been taking place. Reports indicate that
civilians from nearby villages are often required to serve 24
hour guard duties without compensation and on threats of
violations of their personal integrity rights. In addition, such
guard duty is often said to include contribution of physical
labour for reparations to the roads and railroads. Furthermore,
some reports allege that civilians used for such duties, in
particular women and children, are also required to sweep roads
for land-mines; it has been alleged that villagers have been
forced to walk or ride in carts in front of military columns in
order to detect mines.
E. Violations of the freedom of movement
25. Reports continue to be received alleging the forced
relocation and internal displacement of persons on a wide scale:
in the past six years, it has been estimated that over 1 million
persons have been forcibly relocated, without compensation, to
new towns, villages or relocation camps or have been internally
displaced owing to armed conflict with various insurgent groups.
In the regions of the country with predominantly non-Burman
populations and where insurgencies have been taking place, the
inhabitants of small vis are still said to be forced to relocate
to larger villages or to temporary relocation camps for purposes
of enabling government forces better to control the populations.
In those cases when the inhabitants of a village refuse to
relocate, they are said to be first threatened in various ways
prior to being forcibly evicted and having their homes
destroyed.
26. Forced relocations and evictions have also been reported in
connection with major development projects. According to several
non-governmental sources, the gas pipeline project from the
Martaban Gulf to Thailand led to the forcible relocation of
villages in Mergui/Tavoy District in December 1993: villagers
around Bsaw Law were allegedly forced to move to Kaleingung;
villagers around Shwetapi were allegedly forced to move Huan
Gui; and villagers in the Baw Law Gui area were allegedly forced
to move to Ye Byu. All the relocation sites are said to be along
a government-controlled road near to the coast.
27. In connection with the reports of forced relocations of
persons residences, information has been received by the Special
Rapporteur that other restrictions are placed on the liberty of
movement of relocated persons. For example, some persons are said
to have been placed in relocation camps which are surrounded by
high fences and guarded by Government forces. Reports allege
that a curfew from 0600 to 1800 hours is in effect in these
camps, despite the fact that the official curfew order was
lifted by the Government of Myanmar on 10 September 1992.
Persons held in the relocation camps, or who are otherwise
apparently required to remain within the confines of the
villages to which they have been forcibly relocated, are
reportedly prohibited from returning to tend to their farms or to
collect property which they were forced to leave behind. In some
places, persons needing to go outside a village or a camp (e.g.,
for purposes of work) are reported to need special permission,
which is issued for one day at a time against a fee, from the
local Army headquarters. In certain rural areas, persons are
reportedly prohibited from spending the night in temporary
shelters at their farms.
28. While most reports concerning alleged violations of freedom
of movement detail incidents of forced relocation, the Special
Rapporteur has also received reports alleging forced assembly and
participation in public meetings organized by the Government.
Such reports have mostly related to meetings of the Union
Solidarity Development Association organized since the beginning
of 1994 in different parts of Myanmar (e.g., Toungoo, Monywa,
Mandalay and Lokaw). People from the surrounding areas were
reportedly forced to attend these meetings under various
threats, such as deprivation of electricity or water supplies,
monetary fines or physical abuse. Students are said to have been
told by their teachers that if they failed to attend the rallies
they would each receive 15 lashes of a cane. The Union
Solidarity Development Association rally held on 7 February 1994
in Prome town in Pegu District is reported to have been preceded
by chaos when large numbers of people who had been brought into
fenced compound the night before were not allowed to leave the
compound for purposes of going to the toilet: in the hysteria
which accompanied a fight between civilians and security forces,
2 men are reported to have been trampled to death while over 20
other people were said to have been wounded.
F. Violations of the right to property
29. Many reports received by the Special Rapporteur allege
various kinds of violations of property rights, especially by the
Myanmar military forces. These reports include allegations of
regular looting of villages in the countryside, the arbitrary
and unlawful institution of a wide variety of fees for various
purposes and the application of military orders against
civilians requiring them to provide specified goods without
adequate compensation.
30. Myanmar Army troops are frequently reported to have entered
villages and to have confiscated, without compensation,
different kinds of valuables in the forms of non-perishable
personal property, food supplies and livestock. Among the goods
reportedly confiscated are many items which cannot be said to be
necessary for purposes of providing public security, for example
womens sarongs, jewellery, tape-recorders and alcohol.
31. Various kinds of fees are said to be regularly demanded from
both individuals and villages as a whole. The most widespread fee
is said to be the porter fee which is allegedly demanded each
month from every family: in towns, the fees are reported to be
about 100 kyats per month, while in the countryside they are
reported to be between 200 and 400 kyats per month. Recent
reports have also alleged the application of other kinds of
fees, such as courier fees and taxes on tools, carts and other
goods. As noted above, villagers in the areas of development
projects are also said to be forced to participate in the
funding of these projects; fines are also reportedly assessed if
a family is unable to supply the demanded amount of forced
labour or a minimum amount of demanded goods. People who are
unable to pay assessed fees or fines are reportedly threatened
with being taken away to be used as Army porters or for other
purposes of long term and heavy forced labour.
32. Reports received in the last several months allege that the
Myanmar Army has started to demand compensation from local
villagers for vehicles and other military property damaged by
land- mines. Fines of 100,000 kyats are said to have been
demanded from the village closest to the place of an incident,
with 50,000 kyats being demanded from as many as 10 or 13 of the
surrounding villages. For example, in Thaton Township a truck
was reportedly destroyed by a land-mine on 29 January 1994: the
two nearest villages, Tor Klor Khee and Tor Klor Po Khee, were
said to have been fined 300,000 kyats by Myanmar Army Infantry
Battalion No. 120. Village headmen in Thaton Township have also
reportedly been forced to sign documents taking all
responsibility for security in the area and to pay fines of
50,000 kyats if shelling by insurgent forces occurs or to pay
fines of 100,000 kyats if Army trucks are damaged by land-mines.
33. Other reported incidents of compensation being required
from villagers following loss of property by the military include
reports of cases where owners of cattle which have been killed by
Army land-mines close to Army camps have had to pay compensation
for the destroyed land-mines. In one reported incident, villagers
had to pay compensation to members of the Armed forces for the
bullets fired at them when, in fear of being taken as porters,
the villagers tried to escape the soldiers.
34. Farmers are also said to have been forced to sell parts of
their crops to government-related agencies for prices well below
market price, in addition to paying the fixed government tax on
these crops. As a result, it has been reported that some farmers
no longer cultivate their fields in order to avoid the constant
confiscations of their crops or the obligations to sell parts of
their crops well below market value. In addition, reports have
also described how soldiers sometimes deliberately destroy rice
paddies and other crop fields. For example, on 21 February 1994,
Light Infantry Battalion No. 32 led by Captain Myo Lwin Thet
Lwin, allegedly burned down the houses of four villagers in
Taree Hta Gaun village in Kya In Seik Gyi Township, Dooplaya
District, destroying in the process the stored crops of rice,
betel nut and pepper.
35. With respect to real property, reports indicate that Myanmar
military forces frequently confiscate land in all parts of the
country, without paying any compensation. Such confiscations
have been reported in relation to the realization of development
projects, the creation of State farms, or for the personal
benefit of military commanders. For example, in Tacheilek, Shan
State, it has been alleged that senior members of the Myanmar
Army confiscated paddy fields, divided them into blocks and sold
them back to farmers or to officers under their command.
G . The situation of refugees from Myanmar
36. According to information received by the Special Rapporteur,
approximately 75,000 refugees from Myanmar are estimated to live
in camps inside Thailand along the border with Myanmar. An
unknown number of persons, possibly as many as 100,000 are said
to be internally displaced on the Myanmar side of the border.
These persons are reported to have fled their villages in fear
of ill-treatment, forced portering, forced labouring or other
human rights violations. Some 200,000 Muslim refugees from the
northern Rakhine State are still in Bangladesh after fleeing
their homes in Myanmar. Many of them reportedly allege that they
were forcibly relocated or that their land was confiscated for
government construction projects, prawn cultivation or timber
projects during 1990-1992.
37. Recently, thousands of Mon refugees were repatriated from
Loh Loe in Thailand to Halockhani inside Myanmar. On 21 July
1994, the refugee camp inside Myanmar was reportedly attacked
and partly destroyed by approximately 300 soldiers of the
Myanmar Armys Infantry Battalion No. 62 under the command of
Deputy Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Ohn Myint. Fifty refugees
were said to have been taken hostage by the troops while all the
Mon refugees (approximately 5,000 to 6,000 persons) in the camp
fled back into Thailand. Although reports indicate that most of
the hostages were later released (after allegedly having been
used as human shields and porters), 19 of those taken hostage
are still believed to be detained.
-----
**************************************************************
NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:
AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
AFP: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
AW: ASIAWEEK
AWSJ: ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt.=US$1 (APPROX),
BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
BI: BURMA ISSUES
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 EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW
IRRAWADDY: NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
JIR: JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
Kt. BURMESE KYAT; 150 KYAT=US$1 BLACK MARKET
100 KYAT=US$1 SEMI-OFFICIAL
6 KYAT=US$1 OFFICIAL
MOA: MIRROR OF ARAKAN
NATION: THE NATION (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (DAILY STATE-OWNED NEWSPAPER, RANGOON)
S.C.B.:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP
S.C.T.:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP
SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST
USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
**************************************************************