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'Child Prostitution on the rise in Bangla'

>From Asian Age Newspaper
3rd February 1999

Activists here warn that child prostitution among boys as well as girls is
on the rise with at least 62,000 Bangladeshis employed in the sex trade in
the Indian sub-continent. "In general prostitution, especially child
prostitution is on the increase in Bangladesh," said Ms Salma Ali,
executive director of the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association.

She added: "Child prostitution robs children of their childhood and is a
violation of human rights."

According to the United Nations Children's Fund, there at least 10,000
child prostitutes in Bangladesh with another 40,000 Bangladeshi children
working in the trade in Pakistan and 12,000 in neighbouring India.

The BNWLA said the police estimated there were up to 20,000 child
prostitutes in Dhaka and a recent study had indicated most enter the flesh
trade before reaching puberty.

Ms Shireen Sultana of the rights group Adhikar told reporters that street
children, orphans and those born in brothels dominated the child sex scene
in Bangladesh. Quoting a recent study of street urchins in Dhaka, she said
nearly 70 per cent of the ones engaged in prostitution were migrants from
prostitution were migrants from other parts of Bangladesh. There were two
boys for every three girls involved in prostitution, Ms Sultana added,
with girls on average entering the trade aged 13 and boys at 12.

"More than 20 per cent of  these children die before of just after
reaching adulthood and 22 percent become physically invalid because of the
trauma they suffer or because of their lifestyle," she said.

"Boys as prostitutes in indeed a new phenomenon in Bangladesh and
researchers found about 85 percent of them were not aware of sexually
transmitted diseases or AIDS," Ms Sultana warned.

Ms Ali said the law in Bangladesh allowed adults over the age of 18 to
enter into prostitution, but corruption and loopholes made it easy for
pimps to get papers saying minors were legally employed in the trade.

"Loopholes in the law allow the guilty to slip from justice, said Ms Sigma
Huda of the Coalition against Trafficking in "Women, which groups 50

women's organisations from around the world.

CATW last week ended a three day international conference here with a call
on governments to reject policies that legitimise sex trafficking or
prostitution "as a profession, occupation, entertainment or as or as an
economic sector." Import laws were hazy on the subject of human
trafficking, providing another loophole, Ms Huda added.


New rebel recruits train to face Burmese Army

>From Asian Age Newspaper
3rd February 1999

Sixteen-year-old Boo Reh left his family at a refugee camp in Thailand two
months ago, returning to Burma to join a rebel army.

In mid-March, he and 45 other yourg maen from the Karenni ethnic group
some as young as 14 will complete combat training from a camp deep inside
Burma's to join a rebel army.

Then, they will head to the frontline to fight in a civil war that has
spanned three fenerations. The conflict is fuelled by hatred and mistrust
between the military government of Burma, and the ethnic minorities
scattered along the frontier.

"The Burmese soldiers often harassed our village and demanded that we
provide them with food," said Boo Reh. " They forced many of us to live in
a designated area. Once, I was forced to be their porter." Rebels and
human-rights groups accuse the Burmese army o9f rape and murder of
civilians in rebel areas, driving survivors into holding centres where
they can be stopped from aiding rebel kinsmen.

The government, which denies the allegations, has been contending with
ethnic rebellions for half a century, soon after the country gained
independence from Britain.

Many groups have signed ceasefires in recent years, but a dry-season
offensive is currently under way against those still fighting.

"The government knows the villagers support us," said Bee Htoo, leader of
the Karenni National Progressive Party army, which Boo Reh has joined.
"They forced them into concentration camps to cut off support for our
soldiers."

Like 100,000 other refugees living in numerous border camps in Thailand,
Boo Reh and his family abandoned their village to escape being caught in
civil war. Boo Reh said he returned because he wanted to help free his
people and because life in a refugee camp is not always pleasant. "Some of
the volunteers are young but they are here of their own free will," said
Maj. Soe Myint Aung, Who was trained new recruits for 28 years. "Our
biggest problem here seems to be malaria."

Recently, several recruits weren't much bigger than their M-16 rifles, All
but one were marching in rubber sandals instead of combet boots. The
abasic diet is rice and vegetables. Deer meat hunted by recruits is served
once or twice a week. Maj. Soe Myint aung admitted that adequate training
supplies, such as weapons and medicines, are hard to come by and the
troops make the best with what they have.

The KNPP is urn by a 10-man council and officially seeks independence from
Burma. Though it is willing to consider a some sort of federation.
Discussions on a new Constitution have been stalled for three years
because of the ruling military's dispute with pro-democracy leader Ms Aung
San Suu Kyi. She contends the panel weighing reforms is stacked in favour

of prolonged military rule.

Constitutional experts and even the military agree that any lasting
arrangement must address the ethnic groups, whose commanders usually view
Ms Suu Kyi's vision of democracy as more compatible with their hopes of
autonomy than the military's tough approach.

"They want us to live under a Constitution that doesn't even have the
support of their own people," said Aung Mya, KNPP deputy army commander.
The Karenni and other rebels still fighting are not in a position to make
many demands.

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