Burma-rights,sched : Burmese live i

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Subject: Burma-rights,sched : Burmese live in fear as human rights   abuses continue: UN


Burma-rights,sched : Burmese live in fear as human rights
                            abuses continue: UN

                            by Tani Freedman 

                            GENEVA, March 21 (AFP) - Burma's people live in
a climate of fear as serious
                            human rights abuses continue with rural dwellers
and those living near military
                            strongholds particularly exposed, a UN
rapporteur said in a report issued Friday. 

                            "Violations of human rights remain extremely
serious," Rajsmoor Lallah said,
                            highlighting a long list of violations including
torture, summary and arbitrary
                            executions, forced labour and relocation.

                            The absolute power of the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) is
                            exercised to silence opposition and penalize
those holding dissenting views, the
                            special UN rapporteur said.

                            "Because of both visible and invisible
pressures, the people live in a climate of fear
                            in which whatever they or their family members
may say or do...involves the risk
                            of arrest and interrogation by the police or
military intelligence."

                            "In rural areas and in the various regions of
the country where the military has an
                            especially strong position, the human rights
situation seems to be particularly grave
                            and too few violations are being investigated."

                            The report comes as security forces attempt to
quell Buddhist-Moslem religious
                            unrest in Mandalay, Burma's second biggest city.
Demonstrations by monks are
                            also reportedly spreading to a score of other
cities in the country.

                            Torture is not confined to men or adults. Two
Akha girls aged 15 and 16 were
                            reportedly taken away by army troops and
continuously raped for six days, Lallah
                            said, adding that both were said to have
eventually died.

                            Most arrests in Burma are arbitrary and prison
conditions are "deplorable," he said,
                            adding that prisoners are deprived of food and
health care "unless they can pay
                            bribes to prison authorities."

                            He said Burmese authorities refuse to allow
International Committee of the Red
                            Cross workers into detention centers.

                            More than one million people, mainly peasants,
have reportedly been forcibly
                            relocated, without any compensation, to new
towns, villages or relocation camps in
                            which they are essentially detained, the report
says. 

                            Most are made to move as a result of development
projects and under
                            counter-insurgency operations in ethnic minority
regions of the countryside.

                            The military's forced recruitment of civilians
as porters is another reason why
                            people leave their homes.

                            Many flee in "absolute silence," not wishing to
be identified as displaced, to "avoid
                            persecution and fearing execution."

                            Victims of these moves are mostly from ethnic
minorities such as the Karen,
                            Karenni, Shan and Mon.

                            Fighting between the Karen National Union (KNU)
and the Burmese government
                            has sparked a mass exodus of people from
southeastern Burma, with 100,000
                            Karen refugees fleeing across the Thai border.

                            In Central Shan state, more than 100,000 people
from 600 villages are reportedly
                            involved in a forced removal programme. 

                            People are given at most a week to leave and
their crops, land and animals are said
                            to be stolen or confiscated by SLORC troops.

                            Lallah was unable to visit Burma himself as the
ruling junta has repeatedly failed to
                            grant him access.

                            He said his information is based on reports from
non-governmental organizations
                            and meetings with people who are well informed
about the human rights situation in
                            the country.