NEWS - Activists Denounce Myanmar A

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Subject: NEWS - Activists Denounce Myanmar Abuses 

Activists Denounce Myanmar Abuses 
By Peter James Spielmann
Associated Press Writer
Friday, Sept. 24, 1999; 11:19 p.m. EDT

UNITED NATIONS ?? Exiled pro-democracy activists warned Friday that U.N.
humanitarian aid to Myanmar may backfire and strengthen the ruling
military
junta. 

As Myanmar's foreign minister defended the country's human rights record
before the General Assembly, activists from the exiled National
Coalition
Government of the Union of Burma denounced what they said were rampant
rights abuse by the military government. 

"The list of abuses almost defines the possible range of ways a human
being's rights can be abused," said U Bo Hla Tint, the coalition's
minister-in-exile for North and South American affairs. Among the
violations
he listed were murder, torture, rape, forced labor, ethnic cleansing,
illegal arrest and repression of political and religious expression. 

"What we want is for the international community, through the United
Nations, to speak with one voice and act with one purpose," he said. 

Dr. Thaung Htun, the coalition's representative for U.N. affairs, noted
that
the United Nations and World Bank had offered Myanmar, also known as
Burma,
humanitarian aid "as incentives to entice the military regime into a
political dialogue." 

However, he said, the regime might try to manipulate foreign aid and
delay
reforms if there was not a concrete proposal for democratic transition,
including specific goals and a time frame. 

He also warned that the premature resumption of foreign aid would
jeopardize
the effort to establish democracy. In June, the 174-nation International
Labor Organization barred Myanmar from receiving U.N. assistance because
of
widespread use of forced labor. 

The opposition National League for Democracy, led by Nobel Peace
laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi, swept 1990 elections, capturing 82 percent of 485
parliamentary seats. But the military, which has run Myanmar since 1962,
refused to yield power. 

The U.N. General Assembly has condemned Myanmar for human rights
violations
and for jailing and harassing the opposition. 

Myanmar's Foreign Minister, U Win Aung, told the General Assembly Friday
that the Asian country was taking the steps to establish a truly
democratic
nation. He said Myanmar did not condone violations of human rights, and
that
it subscribes to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. 

"The type of democracy we envision will guarantee the protection and
promotion of human rights, particularly the rights to basic human needs
such
as clothing, food and shelter," the minister said.