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SPDC: Money for forced labour/ 100



Subject: Re: SPDC: Money for forced labour/ 100 000 Burmese killed in Jap labour camps?

on this figure of the burmese civilian deaths in japanese forced labour
camps WWII, has there been much documented sources on this, what
documents are you refering to, are there documents in the Imperial War
Museum in London? There is a book among many that discusses British pow
treatment in Burma, some of you may find interesing, a personal approach
to the peace 50 years later between the author, a British prisoner of
war, and his former Japanese camp torturer, by then a repentent Buddhist
full of pain and suffering for what he had done in the camps. "The
Railway Man", (Vintage) by Eric Lomax, a modest, straight and earthy
account told raconted by the Scotsman himself. 


Tanpyan@xxxxxxx wrote:
> 
> SPDC: Money for forced labour
> by Lu Libra (30-9-99)
> 
>    It transpired that American lawyers representing Nazi-era slave
> labourers and German companies were recently engaged in negotiations in
> which the lawyers have been demanding between $30 and $35 billion for
> the survivors while German companies seem ready to pay less than $ 2
> billion originally mooted. There was also disagreement over the number
> of potential beneficiaries from a settlement. German historians talk of
> 700,000 whereas a lawyer for slave labourers speaks in terms of 1.5
> million and other lawyers say that 2.3 million is closer to the mark.
> The average age of surviving slave labourers is 86.
> 
>    Months of talks have secured broad agreement over the procedure for
> compensating the slave and forced labourers. Once a deal is struck, the
> American lawyers will, after obtaining the approval of their clients,
> wind up the multi-billion dollar class action suits lodged in the U.S.
> courts against German companies. After that the U.S. and German
> governments would sign an agreement partially protecting German
> companies against further legal action. But first the cash sum has to be
> agreed. It has been left to last and the row is threatening to unravel
> the whole process. The lawyers are unlikely to retreat radically from
> their on-the-table demands until the next round of talks on 6 October
> 1999.
> 
>   In the light of the law suit against German companies, Burmese
> democrats abroad, their dejure government in exile and their NGO friends
> should look into the cases of about 100,000 Burmese citizens killed in
> the Japanese forced labour camps during the construction of the River
> Kwai Railway in 1942 and 1943 and two million Burmese citizens who have
> been subjected to unpaid forced labour since the present military regime
> came to power in September 1988. The International Labour
> Organisation(ILO), in August 1998, condemned the Burmese military junta
> (SPDC) for its "systematic and widespread" use of forced labour.  It
> says the SPDC treat the civilian population as an unlimited pool of
> unpaid labourers and servants. The ILO has proven that the political
> system in Burma is based on force and intimidation and the Burmese
> people are denied the rule of law.
> 
>   A commission of enquiry set up by the Geneva-based ILO accused
> soldiers of raping or sexually assaulting women in their charge and says
> other civilians are frequently beaten. More than 250 people testified to
> the ILO investigators and gave evidence about the pervasive use of
> compulsory labour imposed by the SPDC. Large sections of the population
> are forced to service military camps, maintain the roads and railways
> and farm the land without pay, according to the ILO report.  Those who
> are unwilling or unfit were beaten, tortured or murdered, it says.
> Women, children and the elderly are allegedly used as porters and are
> even sent ahead to check out minefields. The ILO, on 7 September 99,
> slammed SPDC for its "widespread use of forced labour," saying it saw no
> hope of working with the junta to improve working conditions. ILO
> official Werner Blenk said SPDC had consistently flouted the most basic
> humanitarian principles.
> 
>   As usual, the SPDC regime, which refused access to the ILO inquiry
> team, said the complaints were based on biased and unfounded allegations
> by those wishing to denigrate the government. SPDC has always insisted
> that these people have voluntarily contributed free labour in accordance
> with the aged-old Buddhist tradition of the country. By saying so the
> SPDC has effectively fouled up the Burmese Buddhist tradition.
> 
> by Lu Libra (30-9-99)