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WIRE:05/18/2000 05:28:00 ET
Myanmar jails opposition MP for nine years YANGON, May 18 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military rulers have jailed an opposition member of parliament (MP) for nine years for making subversive speeches in his constituency, a government official said on Thursday. Than Lwin, a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) elected for the central district of Mandalay at the country's last democratic polls in 1990, was found guilty of "making concocted accusations and giving agitating talks" to local people, government spokesman Than Tun said. Another seven NLD party members in Taungdwingyi Township, about 300 miles (490 km) north of the capital of Yangon, were also sentenced to seven years each under the Emergency Provision Act. The spokesman did not give specific details of their offences but the NLD said earlier this month that 37 of its members were arrested in the township after attending party meetings. Than Tun said they had been arrested as "a precautionary measure." "We can use needles if action is taken in good time or we will have to use axes if action is too late," he told reporters. The NLD, led by 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 of the 485 seats contested in the 1990 election. But the military, which had seized power two years earlier after killing thousands of opponents during a pro-democracy uprising, ignored the result and has never allowed the party to govern. The ruling generals have maintained a steady barrage of attacks on the NLD and its supporters in recent years, arresting hundreds of them and encouraging others to leave the party. The U.S. embassy in Myanmar this week issued a statement deploring the military's refusal to recognise the election result and what it said was the arrest and harassment of opposition members. OPPOSITION SAID LINKED TO SABOTAGE Than Tun said the Myanmar authorities had recently uncovered collusion between the NLD and an exiled group he identified as "NLD (Liberated Areas)" or "NLD (LA)," which he said was based in neighbouring Thailand. Three NLD members had been arrested after the authorities had found "various illegal documents, publications, such as anti-government propaganda journals, flyers, computer diskettes and stickers" and documents containing "false allegations against the government" sent by NLD (LA) to NLD headquarters in Myanmar. He said NLD (LA) had been recruiting and training people to commit acts of sabotage. "It is high time the NLD leadership realised that the entire people, as they no longer like the NLD, are withdrawing their support for the NLD and recalling those they elected gullibly," Than Tun said. NLD officials were not immediately available to comment on the jail sentences or the government accusations. The party has estimated that around 2,000 political prisoners, mostly its own members, are being held in the country. The U.S. government has dismissed Myanmar's attempts to associate the NLD with terrorist plots as "malicious fabrication." "We view these arrests as a further act of repression against Burmese (Myanmar) people engaged in the peaceful _expression_ of their political beliefs," it said in a statement on May 15. "This political party has demonstrated for more than a decade that it seeks non-violent political change in Burma." Thursday, May 18 7:52 PM SGT
Myanmar Military Warns Monks, Citizens Against OppositionYANGON, Myanmar (AP)--The military government Wednesday acknowledged the arrests of opposition supporters ahead of the 10th anniversary of elections won by the party headed by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Col. Than Tun, a senior military intelligence officer, gave a news conference warning Buddhist clergy and ordinary people against falling prey to alleged incitement by Suu Kyi and other anti-government forces to cause unrest in the country, also known as Burma. Than Tun confirmed to The Associated Press reports by Thailand-based student dissidents that seven members of a central Myanmar branch of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy were recently sentenced to seven years hard labor "for allegedly giving anti-government speeches." The main purpose of the news conference was for the government to present what it called evidence of how Suu Kyi's party, which has always espoused nonviolence, was communicating with a splinter group the government says has taken up arms along the Thai-Myanmar border. Than Tun also said that Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, was "inciting unrest using the Buddhist monks, inciting students and workers and putting a wedge among the ethnic minorities. Such preparations against Myanmar have very dastardly aims." Three "operatives" acting as liaisons - Kyaw Myo Min, his wife, Mya Kyi Kyi Min and Tint Wai - had been arrested recently in possession of incriminating propaganda, Than Tun said. Recent commentaries in state-run newspapers have suggested that Suu Kyi and her supporters are committing treason for such alleged ties and that the death penalty should be used against them. The NLD overwhelmingly won parliamentary elections held May 27, 1990, but the military, surprised that parties it had backed lost, never honored the result. The party's attempts to commemorate the anniversary every year are usually preceded by arrests. Asked if there had been more arrests in the run-up to this year's anniversary, Than Tun said that 69 members of the party who were elected to the parliament were in so-called "guest houses," a lighter form of detention than the country's prisons. It was unclear how long they had been there. Over the past two years, hundreds of NLD members have been detained in guest houses and held until they renounced the party. The military, which has stayed in power since 1962, has rejected holding a dialogue with Suu Kyi, viewing her as a traitor for her calls for economic sanctions aimed at forcing a measure of civilian rule. Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, was vaulted to international prominence during a 1988 uprising against military rule. The protests were crushed at the cost of thousands of lives. Suu Kyi was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and her activities remain tightly restricted. Of the 485 representatives - 392 of them from the NLD - who were elected in 1990, only 169 are still considered valid members, Than Tun said. Thirty-four have died, 97 have resigned and 185 have been disqualified. The remaining 169 include 110 members of the NLD - of which 69 are being detained at guest houses - and 39 independent candidates and 20 from other parties. Thursday, May 18 7:06 PM SGT US envoy defends Myanmar PM's Bangladesh visitDHAKA, May 18 (AFP) The United States Thursday defended Myanmar's Senior General and Prime Minister Than Shaw's state visit to Bangladesh, saying it could help resolve the country's refugee problem. US Ambassador John Holzman told members of the Dhaka Reporters' Unity in reply to a question about the military junta leader's trip, that "the visit could solve the problem of some 22,000 Rohingya refugees who have been living in camps in (southeastern) Cox's Bazar for eight years." The US is among countries that worked with Bangladesh to aid the refugees and this visit could "contribute in return wonderfully," he said. Than's three-day state visit from May 29 will make him the first top military junta leader to visit Bangladesh. The trip follows an invitation from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed. Relations between the two neighbours were strained in the early 1990s with an influx of some 250,000 nationals of Myanmar into Bangladesh alleging atrocities commited by the military. Most of the refugees were repatriated home under a UN agreement, but more than 20,000 are still living in Bangladeshi camps. On President Bill Clinton's visit to Bangladesh in March this year, Holzman said the president "was not motivated by any grand strategic design. Rather he came to Dhaka because Bangladesh matters to America." It is the eighth most populous country in the world and "more importantly we want Bangladesh to succeed," he said. "Bangladesh is in the midst of a difficult passage from a turbulent past, marked by dictatorship and despotism, to constitutional democracy (and) Americans understand this never-ending struggle to achieve democracy, because it is our struggle too," the outgoing ambassador said. "At peace with its neighbours, Bangladesh is a stabilising element in the subcontinent which President Clinton called the most dangerous place in the world, as India and Pakistan pursue their nuclear programs" he said. Holzman said he believed Bangladesh shared that assessment and has acted on its convictions of being the only country in South Asia to ratify the anti-landmine treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Sheikh Hasina's fall visit to Washington, the first such official visit by any Bangladeshi leader, would help to strengthen bilateral ties. He rejected some newspaper reports and charges by leftwing political groups that Washington was seeking to set up a military base in Bangladesh. Holzman also refused to answer questions on the security threat that marred Clinton's maiden trip to Bangladesh, reiterating "there was a serious security threat and I hope the people of Bangladesh will understand the situation." "No one can take risk when the president's life was in threat," he added, referring to the outcry after Clinton became the first visitor not to visit the martyrs' memorial outside Dhaka. He praised Dhaka's international role, saying it had become a "responsible international citizen" and "a voice for reason and moderation in international organisations -- an increasingly influential voice." Total financial assistance to Bangladesh from the US since independence in 1971 stood at 4.5 billion dollars. Thursday, May 18 6:06 PM SGT Myanmar junta arrests "couriers" in alleged opposition plotYANGON, May 18 (AFP) Myanmar's junta said Thursday it had arrested two "couriers" for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and a party official allegedly involved in a plot to destabilise the government. The arrests came as the military ratcheted-up the pressure on Nobel peace laureate Aung San Su Kyi's opposition ahead of the 10th anniversary of her May 27, 1990 election win which was ignored by the junta. "Daw (eds: honorific) Suu Kyi and the NLD while shouting at the top of their voice that they are a legitimate political party on the one hand, are, on the other, observed collaborating with different anti-government groups (aiming) to destroy Myanmar," a senior official said at a press conference at state TV and radio headquarters. Colonel Than Tun, who heads the political department of the Office of Strategic Studies (OSS), said those arrested were smuggling messages and party materials in and out of the country and held them up as "concrete" evidence of a plot to destabilise the military government. The OSS comes under the direct authority of powerful military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt. The arrests also come amid widespread rumours here that Buddhist monks are planning an anti-government demonstration for the anniversary. Opposition radio based in Olso earlier Thursday reported 29 monks were arrested this week at a peaceful demonstration in the southern city of Mergui. Exiled student groups said Wednesday the junta had arrested 32 members of the NLD. Last month the party said Aye Tha Aung, one of Myanmar's top opposition politicians, was arrested and transferred to military custody. It was the first time a member of the NLD's representative committee was arrested. Than Tun said the couriers' arrests was "concrete" evidence that the opposition were working with illegal organisations and dissidents in an ongoing plot to destabilise the country. "When these people were apprehended they were caught together with hundreds of anti-government publications, propaganda flyers, journals, computer diskettes and hundreds of stickers," he said. He identified two of them as husband and wife team Kyaw Myo Min and Ma Kyi Kyi, who live in Mon State near the Thai border. The couple have been accused of running materials between the NLD and exiled dissidents in Thailand. The third person was an NLD township secretary identified as Tint Wai. Three young students detained at the same time were returned to the custody of their parents, while three other suspects remain on the run, Than Tun said. "What is important is not whether legal action should or should not be taken, but that the people have come to see that the NLD, who they had voted for, had deviated from the national cause." The NLD won a landslide election victory in the 1990 polls. Ten years of firm repression, which included more than half a decade of house arrest for Aung San Suu Kyi, meant many opponents of the government fled to neighbouring Thailand and other countries. According to figures released by the junta, more than 50,000 "disillusioned" NLD members have left the party to date. Only 110 elected MPs out of 382 remain, most of whom are "guests of the government," meaning they are being detained. According to many observers, the NLD has been largely marginalized from Myanmar politics through oppression. The military has been in control of Myanmar, formerly Burma, in various guises since 1962. Thursday, May 18 12:30 AM SGT Myanmar Dissidents Sentenced
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar dissidents said Wednesday that seven opposition activists from Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party have been sentenced to seven years jail. The members of the National League for Democracy were jailed a week ago under an act that punishes threats to national security, the All Burma Students Democratic Front said in a statement received in Bangkok. Another 25 members of the NLD, most of them in their 20s and early 30s, were under detention, the student front said. ``No one has had access to them, their present condition is unknown and we hold grave fears for their safety,'' said Sonny Mahinder, head of foreign affairs for the group. Mahinder's group is made up of students who fled the bloody crackdown of an uprising against military rule in 1988 and took up arms. The group is based in Thailand and has good contacts inside Myanmar, also known as Burma. The reported detentions appear to be the latest moves in a crackdown ahead of a politically sensitive date. On May 27, the NLD plans to hold a party meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of its 1990 election victory. The group won 82 percent of the parliamentary seats but the military, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962, did not honor the result. Parliament has never been convened. There was no immediate comment from the Myanmar government or the NLD in Yangon, Myanmar's capital. The military calls Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, a traitor for her support for international sanctions to force the government to allow more democracy. 05/18/2000 Justice Ministry to begin deliberations on Myanmar group's asylum requests next week The Justice Ministry said
yesterday that it would start deliberations next week on whether to offer
refugee status to 20 self-proclaimed pro-democracy activists from Myanmar who
sought asylum here Tuesday.
"We are going to interview them individually and
examine their documents from next week to confirm their activities," said a
ministry official who asked not to be named. "We also plan to verify their
claims through our channels in Myanmar."
He said the applicants range in age from 24-49 and
entered Korea between 1991 and last year. Citing the applicants' right to
privacy, the official refused to give any further information.
The 20 asylum seekers, who are technically illegal
residents here, are reported to be members of the Korean branch of the National
League for Democracy (NLD). All of them said they would face political
persecution if sent back to their home country.
The NLD is Myanmar's main opposition party and is
led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, long in the vanguard of the
pro-democracy movement in the military-controlled country. The military regime
in Myanmar refuses to accept the results of the 1990 general election, which the
NLD won in a landslide. The NLD's Korean branch was established early last year.
Local human rights groups were surprised by the
ministry's acceptance of the refugee applications, pointing out that Korean
Immigration Law allows asylum seekers to apply for refugee status only within
their first 60 days in the country. All of the applicants have been in Korea for
much longer. The ministry official said exceptions to the 60-day regulation are
possible under certain "unavoidable" circumstances.
Last week, the ministry accepted a refugee
application from another member of the NLD's Korean branch named Sharlinn, who
was detained at an immigration office for overstaying his visa.
Like his compatriots, Sharlinn claimed he would face
persecution if deported to Myanmar.
Human rights groups voiced hopes that the "first
Korean government-recognized refugee" would emerge from the pending cases.
Fifty-four people have sought refugee status in
Korea since 1994, all of whom were denied asylum here. According to the Justice
Ministry, 41 of them had their applications rejected because they did not meet
government requirements and 10 withdrew their claims. The nation joined the
International Convention on Refugees in 1992.
The examination of an application for refugee status
takes about six months on average. US renews call for democracy in Myanmar
WASHINGTON: The United States has called for the
immediate restoration of democracy in Myanmar and release of the jailed
pro-democracy movement leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and leading human rights activists
gathered on Capitol Hill to mark the 10th anniversary of the last free elections
in Myanmar. It was "the last time that right was exercised by the people of
Burma (Myanmar)," they noted.
Albright said the gathering was also meant to pay tribute to "the
overwhelming winner of those elections, the National League for Democracy (NLD),
and to its leader Aung San Suu Kyi."
Later she spoke at a luncheon sponsored by the National Endowment for
Democracy. "Today, we renew our call to the authorities in Rangoon (Yangon) to
abide by the democratic wishes of their people and to free political prisoners,
end torture, fight narcotics production and halt forced labour," she said.
"We renew our commitment to Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League of
Democracy. As long as you struggle, we will do all we can to assist. And we know
that you will not stop struggling until you prevail," Albright said.
The 1990 elections were a rout, Albright said, with the NLD winning "more
than 80 per cent of the parliamentary seats contested." But, she said, "instead
of respecting the people's voice, the military tried to silence it."
Myanmar's rulers consolidated their own powers and "threw dozens of elected
representatives in jail and drove others into exile," she said. "Aung San Suu
Kyi, herself, spent more than five years under house arrest," she noted.
"We can ensure that Aung San Suu Kyi and her Burmese allies are never alone,
for their bravery and sacrifice are part of a larger struggle that has engaged
the energies and courage of humankind for generations," Albright said.
Suu Kyi is the daughter of the late Aung San, the hero of Myanmarese
independence. She was educated abroad, but in 1988, returned to Myanmar.
This was a period of turbulence, but after years of military rule a
democratic opening did, in fact, seem possible.
Albright said, "People often ask me about the symbolism of my jewellery.
Well, today here (is) the freedom light and here is a necklace that Aung San Suu
Kyi gave me. And if in any way she would know that, I would be very pleased. She
is a wonderful person who has kept the spirit alive."
Suu Kyi is using the 10th anniversary of elections to renew her call for a
dialogue aimed at returning her country to democracy. The authorities have
responded with a new wave of arrests and slanders.
In a sense, the battle of wills between Suu Kyi and the military government
is grossly unequal, Albright said. The military has all the weapons of coercion,
she added.
"So each time Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to her supporters in Burma, she is
vulnerable. Each time she expresses outrage about the lack of opportunities
available to Burmese children, or the decline in education, the spread of
disease, the loss of freedom, she is vulnerable...Always, she is vulnerable,"
the Secretary of State said. (India Abroad News Service) Wednesday, May 17 2:20 PM SGT WASHINGTON, May 17 (AFP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi vowed to continue her struggle for
democracy in a speech marking the 10th anniversary this month of her party's
overwhelming but unrecognized election victory. In a videotaped message to a US advocacy group, the Nobel Peace Prize winning
head of the National League for Democracy (NLD) said Tuesday that government
repression against her supporters would not prevail. Many NLD members and candidates elected in the cancelled 1990 election have
been arrested or forced to resign their party memberships but "many are still
working for democracy under very difficult circumstances," Aung San Suu Kyi
said. "We have not given up our struggle and we are not going to give up our
struggle," she added, demanding that the government finally accept the election
results if it wanted it claims in support of democracy to be taken
seriously. "The military regime declares that it also wants democracy for Burma
(Myanmar), but they have to prove this by deeds, not by words alone," Aung San
Suu Kyi said. "By arresting our people, by preventing our party from operating freely as a
legal political organization they are only proving to the world that their words
and their deeds are on different tracks altogether." Ten years ago, the NLD won more than 80 percent of the vote in the election,
triggering a government crackdown and a refusal by the junta to hand over
power. The videotape was shown at a luncheon here honoring the US National Endowment
for Democracy attended by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who hailed
Aung San Suu Kyi for her bravery in keeping up the fight. Albright reaffirmed Washington's call for the establishment of democracy in
Myanmar, saying the wishes of the people could not be ignored and lauding the
NLD for its persistence under increasing barrages of government harassment. "Today, we renew our call to the authorities in Rangoon (Yangon) to abide by
the democratic wishes of their people and to free political prisoners, end
torture, fight narcotics production and halt forced labor," Albright "We renew our commitment to Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League of
Democracy," Albright said. "As long as you struggle, we will do all we can to
assist and we know that you will not stop struggling until you prevail." "We can ensure that Aung San Suu Kyi and her Burmese allies are never alone,
for their bravery and sacrifice are part of a larger struggle that has engaged
the energies and courage of humankind for generations." The military, which has been in control of Myanmar since 1962, brands Aung
San Suu Kyi a traitor and an agent of foreign countries and has rejected all
attempts to force itself into a dialogue with the NLD. Albright said Myanmar's military authorities would not be able to suppress
the NLD and the wishes of the people for an indefinite period. "The yearning for freedom is relentless, the walls it cannot overwhelm it
will nevertheless erode, and I am confident the day will come when Burma is
free," Albright said. Wednesday, May 17 5:48 AM SGT WASHINGTON, May 16 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Tuesday hailed Myanmar opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi for her bravery in standing up to military repression on
the 10th anniversary of her party's overwhelming but unrecognized election
victory. Albright also reaffirmed Washington's calls for the establishment of
democracy in Myanmar (Burma), saying the wishes of the people could not be
ignored, as Aung San Suu Kyi herself vowed in a videotaped address that her
National League for Democracy (NLD) would not give up its fight. "Today, we renew our call to the authorities in Rangoon (Yangon) to abide by
the democratic wishes of their people and to free political prisoners, end
torture, fight narcotics production and halt forced labor," Albright told a
luncheon here honoring the US National Endowment for Democracy. "We renew our commitment to Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League of
Democracy," Albright said. "As long as you struggle, we will do all we can to
assist and we know that you will not stop struggling until you prevail." "We can ensure that Aung San Suu Kyi and her Burmese allies are never alone,
for their bravery and sacrifice are part of a larger struggle that has enagaged
the energies and courage of humanking for generations." In the videotape, Aung San Suu Kyi said despite Yangon's refusal to recognize
the 1990 election in which the NLD won more than 80 percent of the vote and the
military regime's subsequent crackdown, her supporters would not relent. Many NLD members and candidates elected in the cancelled poll had been
arrested or forced to resign their party memberships, but "many are still
working for democracy under very difficult circumstances," Aung San Suu Kyi
said. "We have not given up our struggle and we are not going to give up our
struggle," she said, demanding that the government finally accept the election
results if it wants to be taken seriously in its claims to want democracy. "The military regime declares that it also wants democracy for Burma, but
they have to prove this by deeds, not by words alone," she said. "By arresting our people, by preventing our party from operating freely as a
legal political organization they are only proving to the world that their words
and their deeds are on different tracks altogether." Ten years ago this month, the NLD election victory triggered a government
crackdown and a refusal by the junta to hand over power. The military, which has been in control of Myanmar since 1962, brands Aung
San Suu Kyi a traitor and an agent of foreign countries and has rejected all
attempts to force itself into a dialogue with the NLD. Albright said Myanmar's military authorities would not be able to suppress
the NLD and the wishes of the people for an indefinite period. "The yearning for freedom is relentless, the walls it cannot overwhelm it
will nevertheless erode, and I am confident the day will come when Burma is
free," Albright said. Myanmar Dissidents
Sentenced BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Myanmar dissidents said Wednesday that seven opposition activists from Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party have been sentenced to seven years jail. The members of the National League for Democracy were jailed a week ago under an act that punishes threats to national security, the All Burma Students Democratic Front said in a statement received in Bangkok. Another 25 members of the NLD, most of them in their 20s and early 30s, were under detention, the student front said. ``No one has had access to them, their present condition is unknown and we hold grave fears for their safety,'' said Sonny Mahinder, head of foreign affairs for the group. Mahinder's group is made up of students who fled the bloody crackdown of an uprising against military rule in 1988 and took up arms. The group is based in Thailand and has good contacts inside Myanmar, also known as Burma. The reported detentions appear to be the latest moves in a crackdown ahead of a politically sensitive date. On May 27, the NLD plans to hold a party meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of its 1990 election victory. The group won 82 percent of the parliamentary seats but the military, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962, did not honor the result. Parliament has never been convened. There was no immediate comment from the Myanmar government or the NLD in Yangon, Myanmar's capital. The military calls Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in
1991, a traitor for her support for international sanctions to force the
government to allow more democracy. |