[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

HRWatch press release:arrests



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   September 27, 1996

For Further Information:
Zunetta Liddell, London       (44) 171 713 1995
Sidney Jones, New York        (212) 972 8400 ex. 290
Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington (202) 371 6592 ex. 113


Human Rights Watch/Asia condemns new wave of arrests in Burma, 
calls on ASEAN  and World Bank donors to intervene 

Human Rights Watch/Asia calls on ASEAN governments to
intervene to stop a new wave of arrests in Burma that has
effectively placed opposition leader Daw Aung Suu Kyi under
house arrest and over 109 elected Members of Parliament and
members of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD),
in detention. The arrests began Thursday evening, September
26. 

"Burma was granted observer status in ASEAN earlier this year
and is lobbying hard for full membership.  If ASEAN countries
do not protest against these new arrests and use their
influence to secure the release of those detained, they will
effectively be letting Burma set the human rights standard for
the region," said Sidney Jones, executive director of Human
Rights Watch/Asia.

At 10:30 p.m. local time Thursday night, Daw Aung Suu Kyi's
house was surrounded by between 100 and 150 soldiers. At least
some of them entered the Nobel laureate's compound, and her
maid was taken away. Aung San Suu Kyi remains effectively
under house arrest and all roads leading to her house have
been barricaded by troops. The government has issued a
statement ordering her not to leave her house for three days.

The arrests came on the eve of a new party congress of the
NLD, to be held in Rangoon to mark the eighth anniversary of
the founding of the NLD. The last attempt at such a congress last May led to the detention of
thirty-three party activists and 235 Members of Parliament
elected in 1990   an election that the NLD won overwhelmingly
and whose results the Burmese government failed to honor.  Most
of the detainees were later released, but twelve were given
lengthy prison sentences and since May, a further sixty-seven
people, including nine students arrested last weekend, have been
detained.  

Human Rights Watch recommends that:

- ASEAN countries call in the Burmese ambassadors in their
countries to make a formal expression of concern and urge the
release of those detained.  

- The ASEAN Secretariat immediately issue a public statement
urging the government to immediately release those detained.

- ASEAN member states use their influence with the Burmese
government to ensure that the U.N. Secretary General's
representative and the U.N. Special Rapporteur to Burma be
granted immediate access to the country.

- At the World Bank annual meeting, which convenes on October 1,
donor governments and the World Bank should both privately and
publicly indicate to the Burmese Finance Minister who will be
attending the meeting that these arrests and continuing
political instability make it impossible for the World Bank to
resume any loans, suspended since 1988. In addition they should
urge the Burmese government to release all those detained.

- The United States, Japan, the European Union, Canada and
Australia assist the ASEAN countries in pressing for the U.N.
representatives to be allowed access. If access continues to be
denied, these governments put in polace increased multilateral
sanctions until such time as there are verifiable improvements
in the human rights situation in Burma. As these arrests
continue, the U.S. Administration prepare to impose additional
economic sanctions as contained in legislation now pending in
Congress.




Human Rights Watch/Asia
Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental organization established in 1978 to
monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights
in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and among the signatories of
the Helsinki accords. Kenneth Roth is the executive director; Cynthia Brown
is the program director.  Robert L. Bernstein is the chair of the board and
Adrian W. DeWind is vice chair.  Its Asia division was established in 1985 to
monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights
in Asia.  Sidney Jones is the executive director; Mike Jendrzejczyk is the
Washington director; Robin Munro is the Hong Kong director; Patricia Gossman
is a senior researcher; Jeannine Guthrie is NGO Liaison; Dinah PoKempner is
Counsel; Zunetta Liddell is a research associate; Joyce Wan is a Henry R.
Luce Fellow; Paul Lall and Olga Nousias are associates; Mickey Spiegel is a
research consultant.  Andrew J. Nathan is chair of the advisory committee and
Orville Schell is vice chair.

Gopher Address://gopher.humanrights.org:5000
Listserv address: To subscribe to the list, send an e-mail message to
majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx with  subscribe hrw-news  in the body of the message
(leave the subject line blank).