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Asia Watch Burma Report 1994
- Subject: Asia Watch Burma Report 1994
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 02:28:00
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ASIA WATCH BURMA REPORT 1994
from Human Rights Watch World Report 1994: Events of 1993
pages 145-148
by Human Rights Watch (Asia Watch)
485 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10017-6104
hrwatchnyc@xxxxxxxxxxx
BURMA (MYANMAR)
Human Rights Developments
The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council or SLORC
continued to be a human rights pariah, despite its cosmetic gestures to
respond to international criticism. Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the
1991 Nobel Peace Prize, was permitted visits from her family but
remained under house arrest for the fifth year. SLORC announced the
release of nearly 2,000 political prisoners, but it was not clear that the
majority had been detained on political charges, nor could most of the
releases be verified. At least one hundred critics of SLORC were
detained during the year, and hundreds of people tried by military
tribunals between 1989 and 1992 remained in prison. Torture in
Burmese prisons continued to be widespread. Foreign correspondents
were able to obtain visas for Burma more easily, but access by human
rights and humanitarian organizations remained tightly restricted. A
constitutional convention met throughout the year, but over 80
percent of the delegates were hand-picked by SLORC.
Professor Yoko Yokota, the Special Rapporteur to Myanmar appointed
by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, issued a report in February
on his December 1992 visit to the country. The report documented
systematic violations of basic personal freedoms and physical integrity
and concluded that "serious repression and an atmosphere of
pervasive fear exist in Myanmar." It also noted the lack of cooperation
from SLORC and the intimidation and harassment of individuals
wishing to provide testimony.
The human rights commission passed a resolution on March 10 which
called on SLORC, among other things, to end torture, forced labor,
abuse of women, enforced disappearances and summary executions;
allow investigations of violations; improve prison conditions;
cooperate with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for
the safe return of refugees; and release Aung San Suu Kyi
unconditionally. It also extended the mandate of the Special
Rapporteur for one year.
To respond to international condemnation of its refusal to allow the
National Assembly elected in May 1990 to meet, SLORC convened a
national constitutional convention in Rangoon on January 9. Of some
700 delegates who attended, only 120 were elected parliamentarians. It
was chaired by a fifteen-member commission, all of whom were active
military officers, and delegates were divided into eight groups by
occupation and background, such as peasants, workers and "national
races." Each group was chaired by a military officer.
The convention met on and off throughout the year, and in September,
six out of the eight groups agreed to a constitution that gave the
military continued control of the government. The two groups that
opposed it were the elected parliamentarians and representatives of
political parties.
Many SLORC opponents were arrested in connection with the
convention meetings. On August 4, Dr. Aung Khin Sint, a convention
delegate and elected representative of the opposition National League
for Democracy (NLD), and Than Min, alias Tin Tun Aung, an NLD
executive committee member for Mingla Taungnyunt township, were
arrested for distributing leaflets. They were accused of political
agitation and intent to undermine the national convention. On October
15, they and nine others were sentenced to twenty years in prison. All
were detained in Insein Prison in Rangoon.
Fighting between the Burmese military and various ethnic insurgencies
along the Thai-Burmese and other borders was minimal during the
year, in part because of a concerted effort by SLORC to negotiate
cease-fires with different minority groups. In April, for example, a
cease-fire was negotiated between SLORC and the Kachin
Independence Army (KIA), and on October 1, SLORC signed a cease-
fire agreement with the Kachin Independence Council (KIC). Thailand
and China pressed insurgents based along their borders to negotiate
or else lose their ability to shelter and mobilize on their respective
territories.
Despite the low level of conflict, however, refugees continued to
stream into Thailand. In June, NGOs estimated that 1,000 Burmese were
crossing the border every day. The Thai government and international
agencies were quick to refer to the newcomers as illegal immigrants,
but many reported fleeing forced relocations, forced labor and forced
conscription.
The state of Arakan in northwest Burma, home to the Rohingya
Muslim minority, remained off-limits to outside observers, raising
concerns about the possible repatriation of almost 300,000 Rohingyas
who had fled neighboring Bangladesh in 1991 and 1992. More than
13,000 refugees were repatriated in late 1992 and early 1993 without
adequate screening procedures to determine if they were returning
voluntarily or adequate monitoring mechanisms on the Burmese side.
On January 31, UNHCR staff were allowed to interview refugees
scheduled for repatriation in one transit camp in Bangladesh and found
that nearly all were there against their will. In May, a memorandum of
understanding was signed between UNHCR and the Bangladesh
government ensuring UNHCR full access to all camps, and in July,
Sadako Ogata, the head of UNHCR, reached an agreement in principle
that the agency would be allowed a monitoring presence in Arakan.
Details of the agreement were still being negotiated as of November.
SLORC took no steps to address the large-scale trafficking of Burmese
women into forced prostitution in Thailand. Instead, it appeared to be
arresting many women deported from Thailand on charges of illegally
leaving the country and engaging in prostitution. It also routinely
tested returning women for AIDS without their consent and without
regard for confidentiality.
PART TWO OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 1994...
The Right To Monitor
No indigenous human rights groups were allowed in Burma, and
passing information to outside groups was considered subversive.
The International Committee of the Red Cross had access neither to
Burma's prisons nor to displaced populations along the border with
China, Thailand and Bangladesh, although it did have a delegate based
in Rangoon to run its prosthetics program for amputees.
SLORC tried to divert criticism of its refusal to allow access to
prisoners by permitting individual foreign delegations highly
controlled meetings with a few detainees.
U.S. Policy
The Clinton administration continued to be harshly critical of SLORC,
and all economic assistance remained frozen, but the administration
made no effort to discourage investment by U.S. companies. On May
19 and July 20, President Clinton publicly called on SLORC to release
Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, respect the 1990
elections and undertake genuine democratic reform.
Following a meeting with a group of Nobel laureates in July, President
Clinton ordered a high-level interagency review to determine how the
U.S. could increase pressure on Burma to address human rights
abuses. As of November, the review was ongoing. No decision had
been taken about such outstanding issues as whether to send an
ambassador to Rangoon or to advocate corporate disinvestment in
Burma.
At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post-
Ministerial Conference in Singapore on July 26, Secretary of State
Warren Christopher repeated Clinton's statements of May and July,
but took no action to encourage new initiatives by ASEAN towards
Burma. Privately, U.S. officials acquiesced in ASEAN's "constructive
engagement" policy.
Congress remained active on Burma. On June 22, more than forty
members of the House of Representatives wrote to Prime Minister
Chuan to urge Thailand to actively promote specific steps to improve
human rights conditions in Burma. The Senate passed a resolution on
April 19 calling for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the
transfer of power to those elected in May 1990 and an arms embargo to
be effected through a resolution of the U.N. Security Council.
The Senate passed a resolution on April 19 calling for the immediate
release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the transfer of power to those elected in
May 1990 and an arms embargo to be effected through a resolution of
the U.N. Security Council.
Administration policy was reflected in international agencies as well.
The U.S. representatives to the fortieth session of the governing
council of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on June 9
announced that the U.S. would not support infrastructure development
projects that could enhance SLORC's legitimacy in the eyes of the
Burmese people. The U.S. contribution to UNDP for Burma was $7
million, to be used only for projects that promoted human rights and
did not benefit SLORC.
The foreign operations bill adopted on June 10 by the House
Appropriations Committee pledged $1 million for Burmese students
displaced by civil conflict. The committee also called on the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID) to support assistance
to Burmese refugees and displaced people.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continued a low-level
liaison with SLORC, although direct assistance to counter narcotics
production remained suspended. An April report by the State
Department on narcotics strategy concluded that while Burma
accounts for over 50 percent of illicit opium production, there were few
signs that SLORC would commit itself to serious law enforcement in
this area.
The Work Of Asia Watch
Asia Watch sent missions during the year to Thailand and Bangladesh
to interview Burmese refugees and victims of human rights abuses,
including women trafficked over the Thai border. The missions to
Thailand were jointly undertaken with the Jesuit Refugee Service.
A major report on the trafficking of Burmese women into Thailand was
scheduled for release at the end of the year. A short report examining
abuses of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh was published in
September, and Asia Watch issued several press releases during 1993
calling for the release of detainees in Burma and better protection for
Burmese refugees.
Burma was a key issue in meetings Asia Watch held with Japanese
officials in April. Asia Watch helped coordinate and circulate a letter
issued jointly on June 22 by the U.S. Congress and the Japanese Diet.
The letter was addressed to the prime minister of Thailand and
requested his assistance in implementing the recommendations of the
March resolution on Burma of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
Asia Watch, in cooperation with the Lawyers Committee on Human
Rights and the Jesuit Refugee Service, also held regular roundtable
meetings on Burma in New York and Washington.