EBO
Amnesty International
Report 2003
Head
of state and government: General Than Shwe
Death
penalty: retentionist
International
Criminal Court: not signed
Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the main opposition party,
the National League
for Democracy (NLD), was released
from de facto house
arrest in May. There was no reported
progress in confidential
talks about the future of the
country, begun in
October 2000, between the ruling
military government –
the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) – and Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, over 300
political prisoners were
released during the year, bringing
the total of those
released since January 2001 to over 500.
Some
1,300 political prisoners arrested in previous years
remained in prison and
some 50 people were arrested for
political reasons,
despite the SPDC’s stated commitment to
release political
prisoners as part of their undertaking to
work with the NLD.
Extrajudicial executions and forced
labour continued to be
reported in most of the seven ethnic
minority states,
particularly the Shan and Kayin states.
Civilians
continued to be the victims of human rights
violations in the context
of the SPDC’s counter-insurgency
tactics in parts of the
Shan and Kayin states.
Background
As
in previous years, the army was involved in skirmishes with
the Karen National
Progressive
Party (KNPP), and the
In
May the SSA-South captured some SPDC outposts in
eastern
permitting the SSA-South to
launch attacks from Thai territory
and closed the 2,000-km border
with
General
Ne Win, who headed the military government
between 1962 and 1988,
was placed under de factohouse
arrest with his
daughter, Sanda Win, in March. He died in
December;
his daughter remained under house arrest. His sonin-
law and three grandsons were
arrested at the same time and
detained at Insein Prison.
In September the four were
sentenced to death for high
treason; their sentences were
appealed but the first
appeal was denied and further appeals
were pending. The family was
widely believed to have been
involved in economic
activities which were contrary to SPDC
interests, and to have
tried to influence some members of the
military to support their
businesses.
Political and economic
developments
Dialogue
on substantial issues between the SPDC and the NLD
did not progress during the year.
Some NLD offices around the
country reopened, but the
party did not receive permission to
publish party materials.
On several occasions NLD officials
called on the SPDC to
begin talks with them and to release all
political prisoners.
Students, NLD members and other activists
calling for political
change or who possessed publications by
exiled opposition groups
were arrested during the year.
During
the latter part of the year,
kyat, traded at over 800 kyat to
the US dollar; the official rate
remained six kyat to the
dollar. Large increases in the price of
rice and other commodities, severe
power shortages, and the
lack of major development
assistance, led to further economic
hardship for much of the
population. Farmers continued to be
forced to sell or give
part of their rice crop to the government at
significantly lower than market
prices. The SPDC continued to
spend a very small
proportion of their budget on health,
education and welfare.
The
lack of adequate nutrition and the prevalence of
preventable diseases in
ethnic minority states, particularly in
counter-insurgency areas,
increased civilian suffering. The
army continued to subject
civilians to forced labour and
extrajudicial executions in
southern
efforts against
SSA-South. Thousands of Karen
civilians in Papun District, northern
live in hiding from the army after
their villages were destroyed.
In
April, civilians were forcibly relocated, extrajudicially
executed or subjected to forced
labour in Kya-in-seik-gyi and
Kya-in townships in southern
counter-insurgency measures
against the KNU which
continued to operate in
these areas. Civilians in some parts of
labour and land
confiscation by the army.
Political prisoners
Some
50 people were arrested during the year, most
apparently for their
peaceful political opposition activities.
Approximately
1,300 political prisoners remained behind bars,
including 18
members-of-parliament-elect.
*
Among the prisoners of conscience held during 2002 were
U
Win Tin, Ma Khin Khin Leh;
U Win Htein; Thet Win Aung,
who
had been sentenced to 59 years’
imprisonment in January
1999;
and Paw U Tun, alias Min Ko Naing, who was among
almost 30 people held
under administrative detention
provisions after having
served their sentences.
*
Prisoner of conscience Dr Salai Tun
Than, a professor and
member of the Chin
ethnic minority in his seventies who had
been arrested in November 2001 for
a staging a peaceful
demonstration, was sentenced in
February to seven years’
imprisonment amid ongoing
concerns about his health.
b Aung
Thein and Kyaw Naing Oo, both NLD youth members,
were arrested in July for
possessing publications by an exiled
opposition group. They were
reportedly severely beaten
during interrogation.
They were sentenced in September to
seven years’
imprisonment.
*
Two university students, Thet Naung
Soe and Khin Maung
Win,
were arrested in August for staging a peaceful protest at
seven years’
imprisonment respectively.
*
Ko Shwe Maung, an NLD
supporter, was arrested in
November
in
poor children and making a bamboo
hat, the NLD party symbol.
Releases
Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi was released in May and was allowed to
travel freely within the
country. U Aye Tha Aung, a prisoner of
conscience and leader of the
Arakan League for Democracy,
was released in August. Pastor Gracey, a Chin Christian
minister, and Myo Mying Nyein, a writer, were released in
February;
Myo Mying Nyein had been imprisoned since 1990.
Many
of the political prisoners released during the year had
completed their sentences.
Torture and ill-treatment
Reports
of torture of political prisoners during initial
interrogation by Military
Intelligence continued to be
received. Three political
prisoners died in custody during the
year, bringing the total known
number of custodial deaths of
political prisoners since
1988 to 73.
*
Sai
Phat, a 61-year-old
member of the Shan
ethnic minority, died in detention in
disputed circumstances in
October in Kengtung,
He
had been organizing local NLD activities when he was
arrested in September, and
was reportedly accused of
instigating farmers not to
pay a rice tax to the authorities. The
SPDC
stated that he died of cerebral malaria; opposition
sources indicated that he
may not have received adequate
medical treatment.
Prison conditions
Since
the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC)
began to visit prisons
in
improved. However adequate
food and medical care for
prisoners was lacking,
which contributed to the poor health of
some political prisoners.
Convicted criminals were at risk of
being sent to labour
camps, where conditions were sometimes
harsh, to work on
infrastructure projects. They were also
reportedly taken from
prisons to porter for the army in
counter-insurgency areas,
placing them at risk of being killed
in combat or of dying from
ill-treatment and neglect.
Forced labour
SPDC Order No. 1/99 and Order Supplementing Order No.
1/99,
which outlaws forced labour by the military and all other
government officials and
provides for punishments for those
found responsible,
appeared not to have been enforced by
the SPDC in many parts of the
seven ethnic minority states.
Some
civilians were told about the orders by the military, but
there did not appear to
be any decline in forced labour.
Unpaid
forced labour and extortion of money, food and other
goods from civilians by
the military continued in some areas
of the Shan, Kayin,
Chin, Rakhine and Mon states, and in the
Tanintharyi Division. As part of the
military’s self-sufficiency
drive, ethnic minority
civilians were forced to work on
infrastructure projects and on
military farms, which had
previously been confiscated
from the civilian population.
Civilians
were subjected to forced portering, which entailed
carrying heavy loads for
soldiers over rugged terrain for
extended periods, in
counter-insurgency areas.
*
A Mon woman who worked as a day labourer
in
Thanbuyzat township,
for 10 days in January by the
military; she had to perform
unpaid forced labour for
several days every month.
*
A Shan man from Namzarng township was forced to carry
meat for the army during forced portering duties in February.
Despite
paying “porter fees” twice per month to avoid being
taken, he was forced to
work on military farms and dig
trenches.
Extrajudicial executions
Extrajudicial
executions of ethnic minority civilians taking no
active part in the
hostilities continued to be reported,
particularly in the context of
the army’s counter-insurgency
activities when civilians
were punished for alleged contacts
with armed opposition groups.
*
In January Lun Kon, Sai Ohn
Ta,
Leng, four-month-old Naing Naing, six Shan civilians
from
Murngkerng township,
members of Infantry
Battalion 281 in Murngton township as
they were travelling
to
International initiatives
In
April the UN Commission on Human Rights adopted by
consensus its 11th
resolution extending the mandate of the
Special Rapporteur on
resolution expressed concern
about the high level of human
rights violations, and
urged the SPDC to accelerate the pace of
national reconciliation.
In December a similar resolution was
adopted by consensus by
the UN General Assembly.
In
May the
provided for limited
sanctions was renewed in April and again
in October. EU troika visits
took place in February and
September.
The
International Labour Organisation (ILO) opened a
liaison office in
the SPDC, and in September
appointed a permanent Liaison
Officer. The Liaison
Officer met with the SPDC Implementation
Committee
and other officials, but no independent mechanism
for investigating reports of
forced labour had been established
by the SPDC by the end of the
year. The UN Secretary-General’s
Special
Envoy visited the country three times in attempts to
foster political
dialogue between the NLD and the SPDC and to
facilitate the release of
political prisoners. The UN Special
Rapporteur
on
October,
when he was given unimpeded access to prisons and
allowed to travel outside
of
AI country reports/visits
Reports
•
Index:
ASA
•
of conscience (AI Index: ASA
Amnesty
International Report 2003 - This report covers the period January to December
2002
ISBN:
0 86210 329 0
AI
index: POL
Amnesty
International Report 2003 - This report covers the period January to December
2002
ISBN:
0 86210 329 0
AI
index: POL
www.amnesty.org
©
Copyright Amnesty International Publications 2003
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