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UN panel rebukes Burma



Attn: Burma Newsreaders
Re: U.N. panel rebukes Burma for rights violations
By Evelyn Leopold 

    UNITED NATIONS, Dec 13 (Reuter) - A U.N. General Assembly panel on
Tuesday deplored human rights violations in Burma and again called on the
Rangoon government to release Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner
in her sixth year of detention withot trial. 

    A resolution was adopted by consensus by the General Assembly's social,
humanitarian and cultural committee without a vote. A decision by the
committee, which includes all U.N. members, is tantamount to passage by the
full assembly which will rubber-stamp the committee's decisions. 

    The document urged Burma to respect human rights and put an end to
``practices'' of torture, abuse of women, forced labour, forced relocations
and summary executions. 

    Human rights groups and U.N. bodies have reported forced labour on
railroads and building projects on a massive scale across the country, with
no wages, food or medical care. 

    The military is accused of raping women and the number of women sold into
prostitution in Thailand is growing. 

    But the resolution was milder in its language than in past years, mainly
due to Japan and other Asian nations, who nevertheless refrained from
sponsoring the draft promoted by Western and European states. 

    It welcomed recent meetings between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi,
leader of the democratic opposition, as well as the government's efforts to
win ceasefire agreements with armed ethnic groups. 

    For the first time since she was put under house arrest in July 1989,
Aung San Suu Kyi was permitted to meet visitors outside her family and has
had meetings with government leaders. 

    Nevertheless, the resolution noted that meetings on drafting a new
constitution still focused on giving the military a leading role in the
nation's future political life. 

    The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), a military body, was
established as a temporary government after pro-democracy uprisings in 1988. 

    The National Convention, established by SLORC in January 1993, is meeting
on a new constitution with apparently no end in sight. Most of its 700
delegates are handpicked by SLORC. 

    Burma's ambassador, Win Mra, said the resolution failed to give credit to
the fact that 13 insurgent armed groups had returned to the ``legal fold''
and were being integrated in the reconstruction of their respective regions. 

    He also denied there was any forced labour. ``It is widely accepted in my
country that voluntary work for the good of the community is not tantamount
to forced labour or a violation of human rights,'' he said. 

    The United States, while critical of human rights violations, remained
the second largest investor in Burma after Thailand although the Clinton
administration maintains a ban on direct aid, according to Human Rights
Watch. 

    Southeast Asian countries have instituted a policy of ``constructive
engagement'' towards Burma, inviting the government to their annual
ministerial meeting. 

    Japan is shipping humanitarian aid and China is said to be the largest
arms supplier to Burma. Australia and the European Union have moved away from
a policy of isolating SLORC in favour of direct political contacts. 

 REUTER


Transmitted: 94-12-13 19:35:11 EST