AFP-Forced labour endemic in Myanma

[hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Forced labour endemic in Myanmar and resistance brutally punished: ILO
Wed 19 Aug 98 - 15:46 GMT 

GENEVA, Aug 19 (AFP) - Forced labour of women, children and old people is
pervasive in Myanmar and those who resist are often tortured, raped and
murdered, the International Labour Organization said.

An ILO-appointed commission of inquiry in a report issued Wednesday charged
that the government, and particularly the military, "treat the civilian
population as an unlimited pool of unpaid forced labourers and servants at
their disposal."

These actions are part of a political system "built on the use of force and
intimidation to deny the people of Myanmar democracy and the rule of law,"
it said.

The commission was appointed in March 1997 to examine Myanmar's observance
of the 1930 Forced Labour Convention following complaints lodged by
delegates at an ILO conference in June 1996.

The commission said its report "reveals a saga of untold misery and
suffering, oppression and exploitation of large sections of the
population...by the government, military and other public officers."

The report, compiled with the help of non-governmental organizations and
250 witness accounts, stated there was "abundant evidence" showing the
"pervasive" use of forced labour, particularly by women, children, the
eldery and those unfit for work, which was almost never compensated.

Compulsory labour was rife in such activities as portering, construction,
servicing of military camps, agriculture, logging, construction and
maintenance of roads and other infrastructure.

For example, the commission said porters were often sent ahead in
particularly dangerous situations as in suspected minefields, and many were
killed or injured this way.

Porters were rarely given medical treatment, and some sick or injured were
left behind in the jungle.

Similarly, on road building projects, injuries were rarely treated and
deaths from sickness and work accidents were frequent on the job.

The commission said victims were often extorted for money in exchange for a
"temporary alleviation of the burden."

Those "unwilling, slow, or unable to comply with a demand for forced
labour" were often hit with reprisals including "physical abuse, beatings,
torture rape and murder," the commission said.

The commission urged the authorities to end forced labour and to conduct
thorough investigations, prosecute and adequately punish those found
guilty.

The Myanmar government refused to allow commission members to visit the
country.

It said much of the criticism related to forced labour in Myanmar was
"unfortunately based on biased and specious allegations made by expatriates
living outside Myanmar...who wish to denigrate the Myanmar authorities for
their own ends," according to the commission.