EBO
News Summary:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. UN rights envoy
cuts short
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UN rights envoy
cuts short
Pinheiro on Monday
cut short a mission here after finding bugging equipment in
a room he used to interview political
prisoners, saying he was "very angry".
"I have cut
short my mission because of the incident relating to the
standard operating procedures. I am very
angry," Pinheiro told reporters.
"I informed
the authorities that while interviewing prisoners at Insein
Prison on Saturday
22nd March I found a functioning listening device in the
form of a wireless microphone placed under the
table in the room which I was
using to conduct my interviews," he said.
"Under these
circumstances I felt obliged to interrupt my mission."
Pinheiro, who is
on his fifth mission here aimed at assessing the human
rights situation in the country, has already met
Lieutenant General
Khin Nyunt, and Foreign Minister Win Aung.
He has also met
with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace
laureate who heads the National League for
Democracy (NLD).
"After
presenting my complaint to the authorities concerned I cancelled all
my engagements since the evening of Saturday.
I have not met anybody. I have
not gone to see Aung San Suu Kyi for the
second time as I promised because
this would not have been consistent with my decision,"
the Brazilian academic
said.
"I am very
angry about this incident and I straight away decided to leave
the country," he added.
Pinheiro said he
was leaving despite authorities pledging to investigate
the incident.
"The
authorities expressed regret on learning of the incident from me and
they gave assurances that the incident will be
investigated in full," he said.
"Since my
first mission to
authorities of the country assurances that there would
be no interference with
the conduct of my proceedings," he said,
adding that these included the
respect of confidentiality in prisoner interviews.
"I also
reiterated that all persons who operate with me should be free from
any form of intimidation, harassment or
punishment before, during and after my
missions. In this regard the
to this principle."
Pinheiro has
stressed his top priority was the release of some 1,200 to
1,300
political prisoners in
He said he had met
with Home Minister U Tin Hlaing and Deputy Foreign
Minister Khin
Maung Win and told them the slow release of political prisoners
was "unacceptable".
As one of few prominent
international figures advocating engagement with
"I have not
seen substantive steps towards substantive political dialogue,"
Pinheiro said.
The envoy arrived
in military-ruled
to leave Wednesday. He said he did not know
when or if he would return.
###
If you do not wish to receive this daily newsletters, please reply
with your e-mail address and the "cancel" in the text section.
With many thanks,