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Myanmar blasts UN report on human r



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Myanmar blasts UN report on human rights violations


AFP, Bangkok, 18 October 2000. Myanmar's military junta
Wednesday blasted a United Nations report that condemned it for
widespread human rights violations and said it was an attempt to
"discredit" the country.

"The report of the special rapporteur, as in previous years, is highly
biased and derogatory," Myanmar's foreign ministry said in a statement.

UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, Rajsoomer Lallah, in his report
which was released Monday, said torture of political detainees and
ethnic minorities was widespread and systematic in Myanmar.

In particular, Lallah said murder, rape, torture and forcible relocation
of ethnic tribespeople were part of the government's counter-insurgency
strategy in areas bordering Thailand.

"The allegations are completely untrue since Mr Lallah has based
his  report on information obtained from armed insurgent and
dissident groups  attempting to compromise the unity, stability and
development of our country," the junta said.

Lallah said he had "received a number of convergent credible reports
of a series of massacres in Kunhing township (Shan state) in which
over 100 Shah and hill tribespeople were killed in the months of
January, February and May of 2000."

But the junta rejected his report, saying it completely ignored the
"unprecedented peace and tranquility which now prevails in Myanmar
as a result of the government's endeavours to put an end to the
insurgency and build unity among the national brethrens," the junta said.

"The report, even when it grudgingly noted the appreciation expressed
by the (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
 ... attempted to put the matter in a negative light," the statement added.

Myanmar has continually expressed its displeasure over the appointment
of a special rapporteur in 1992, but has allowed the UN envoys access to
the country on five occasions "because of its desire to cooperate with the
United Nations."

Lallah however has still not been allowed in. The junta, in the statement,
said his failure to reflect the many positive developments" in the country
had led them to question his "independence and neutrality."

"Mr Lallah's report vindicated our decision (not to receive him) which
we had taken with great reluctance," the junta's statement said.

But Lallah in his report noted the visit last week by the UN's special
envoy, Razali Ismail, and said he hoped the government would cooperate
with him.

Razali met the head of the military junta, Than Shwe, for the first time
during a four-day stay in Myanmar. He also met twice with Aung San
Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD)
in an attempt to restart dialogue between the two sides.

The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 parliamentary elections that were
annulled by the military.

The UN special rapporteur's report also drew attention to the plight of
children in Myanmar, where unofficial reports put the number of child
soldiers at 50,000, the highest of any country in the world.

"The special rapporteur continues to receive information on incidents
of wilful killing, torture, trafficking and forced labour of children," the 
report said.


[The report is on the UN website as a pdf file
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/docs/55/a55359.pdf  DA]

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<html>
<br>
Myanmar blasts UN report on human rights violations <br>
<br>
<br>
AFP, Bangkok, 18 October 2000. Myanmar's military junta <br>
Wednesday blasted a United Nations report that condemned it for<br>
widespread human rights violations and said it was an attempt to <br>
&quot;discredit&quot; the country. <br>
<br>
&quot;The report of the special rapporteur, as in previous years, is
highly <br>
biased and derogatory,&quot; Myanmar's foreign ministry said in a
statement. <br>
<br>
UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, Rajsoomer Lallah, in his report <br>
which was released Monday, said torture of political detainees and <br>
ethnic minorities was widespread and systematic in Myanmar.<br>
<br>
In particular, Lallah said murder, rape, torture and forcible relocation
<br>
of ethnic tribespeople were part of the government's
counter-insurgency<br>
strategy in areas bordering Thailand. <br>
<br>
&quot;The allegations are completely untrue since Mr Lallah has based
<br>
his&nbsp; report on information obtained from armed insurgent and <br>
dissident groups&nbsp; attempting to compromise the unity, stability and
<br>
development of our country,&quot; the junta said. <br>
<br>
Lallah said he had &quot;received a number of convergent credible reports
<br>
of a series of massacres in Kunhing township (Shan state) in which <br>
over 100 Shah and hill tribespeople were killed in the months of <br>
January, February and May of 2000.&quot; <br>
<br>
But the junta rejected his report, saying it completely ignored the 
<br>
&quot;unprecedented peace and tranquility which now prevails in
Myanmar<br>
as a result of the government's endeavours to put an end to the <br>
insurgency and build unity among the national brethrens,&quot; the junta
said. <br>
<br>
&quot;The report, even when it grudgingly noted the appreciation
expressed <br>
by the (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
<br>
 ... attempted to put the matter in a negative light,&quot; the statement
added. <br>
<br>
Myanmar has continually expressed its displeasure over the appointment
<br>
of a special rapporteur in 1992, but has allowed the UN envoys access to
<br>
the country on five occasions &quot;because of its desire to cooperate
with the <br>
United Nations.&quot; <br>
<br>
Lallah however has still not been allowed in. The junta, in the
statement, <br>
said his failure to reflect the many positive developments&quot; in the
country <br>
had led them to question his &quot;independence and neutrality.&quot;
<br>
<br>
&quot;Mr Lallah's report vindicated our decision (not to receive him)
which <br>
we had taken with great reluctance,&quot; the junta's statement said.
<br>
<br>
But Lallah in his report noted the visit last week by the UN's special
<br>
envoy, Razali Ismail, and said he hoped the government would cooperate
<br>
with him. <br>
<br>
Razali met the head of the military junta, Than Shwe, for the first time
<br>
during a four-day stay in Myanmar. He also met twice with Aung San <br>
Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD)
<br>
in an attempt to restart dialogue between the two sides. <br>
<br>
The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 parliamentary elections that were
<br>
annulled by the military. <br>
<br>
The UN special rapporteur's report also drew attention to the plight of
<br>
children in Myanmar, where unofficial reports put the number of child
<br>
soldiers at 50,000, the highest of any country in the world. <br>
<br>
&quot;The special rapporteur continues to receive information on
incidents <br>
of wilful killing, torture, trafficking and forced labour of
children,&quot; the report said. <br>
<br>
<br>
<font face="Courier New, Courier">[The report is on the UN website as a
pdf file<br>
</font><font face="Courier New, Courier" color="#0000FF"><u><a href="http://www.un.org/documents/ga/docs/55/a55359.pdf"; eudora="autourl">http://www.un.org/documents/ga/docs/55/a55359.pdf</a></u></font><font face="Courier New, Courier">&nbsp;
DA]<br>
</font></html>

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