BBC-Burma activists deported to Tha

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Saturday, August 15, 1998 Published at 15:05 GMT 16:05 UK 

Burma activists deported to Thailand 

A group of 18 foreign activists who were sentenced to five years' hard
labour by a Burmese court have arrived back in Bangkok after being
deported. 

Deportee Tyler Giannini: "We believe in freedom of expression"At a brief
trial on Friday, they pleaded guilty to charges of sedition after being
arrested for handing out pro-democracy leaflets in the Burmese capital,
Rangoon. The group had been held for questioning for six days. 

Reporting from neighbouring Thailand, BBC Correspondent David Willis says
it is thought that the harsh sentences originally handed out to the foreign
detainees were intended to send a signal to other activists who may be
planning to enter Burma. 

Minutes after the court imposed the sentence, a letter arrived from Burma's
Ministry of Home Affairs announcing that as long as the prisoners committed
no further violation of Burmese law, they would be deported instead. 

The suspension was ordered in "view of bilateral relations between Myanmar
and the relevant countries," the home ministry said. 

"We were treated like kings and queens" US student Sapna Chhattpar told
reporters at Bangkok's airport. "But it's hard to be happy when the people
of Burma who have done the same things we have are still under attack." 

In contrast, the three Thais in the group said they had been kept in dirty
rooms without mats to lie on and no running water. 

Suu Kyi protest 

Activist Alison Vicary: "The trial was complete theatre"Their release came
as Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi entered a fourth day at a
road block outside the capital, Rangoon. 

Reports say the van in which she was travelling has been towed to the same
bridge where she spent six days in a similar confrontation last month,
although this time she is thought to have brought extra supplies. 

The military government has said it cannot allow her to proceed further for
her own safety as there are security problems in the area, and an ambulance
had been taken to the site for her safety. 

In a statement on Saturday, a government spokesman said efforts were being
made to make her roadside stay comfortable as possible and that she had
been provided with a tape player and cassettes by Madonna and Michael
Jackson "to help Ms Suu Kyi pass the time." 

Warning to others 

The arrests of the 18 foreigners had sparked strong international
condemnation and in Washington, Secretary of State Madaleine Albright
welcomed the release. But she said the incident clearly demonstrated
Burma's flouting of basic human rights. 

She also had words of support for Ms Suu Kyi saying efforts to promote
dialogue in Burma have reached what she called "a moment of truth."