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Amnesty Condemns Burma



/* Written  4:24 AM  Jul 23, 1994 by wov.central@xxxxxxx in igc:soc.cult.burma */
/* ---------- "Amnesty Condemns Burma" ---------- */
Subject : Amnesty Condemns Burma

   BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- A day after agreeing to discuss its
human rights record with the U.N. chief, Burma was condemned today
for a reported attack by soldiers on a refugee camp on the Thai
border.
   Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw said Friday he had agreed to
meet with U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali at a date to
be determined. But he stressed he did not believe military-ruled
Burma "has a human rights problem."
   Yet less than 24 hours earlier, according to Amnesty
International, 360 Burmese soldiers attacked a refugee camp astride
the Thai-Burmese border, setting fire to 120 houses and taking with
them 16 men, including the civilian camp leaders.
   Reports from the area say several thousand refugees fled into
Thailand in the wake of the attack on Haloekhani Camp, which housed
   In recent decades a welter of rebellions against the central
government have been spawned in regions populated by ethnic
minorities. Reports of Burmese military atrocities come most
frequently from these areas.
   Amnesty said it was concerned for the safety of the 16 prisoners
because it has received many reliable reports of torture and
killing of civilians by the Burmese military.
   In a statement released today, the London-based human rights
group said Burma should "prove its good intentions by ensuring an
end to such incidents."
   Burma has been the target of international criticism since its
junta brutally suppressed a pro-democracy movement in 1988, then
refused to turn over power after losing a 1990 election.
   The United Nations has called on Burma's isolated government to
improve human rights, allow democratic reform and release political
prisoners such as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who this week
entered her sixth year under house arrest.
   Ohn Gyaw announced the planned U.N.-Burma meeting at the foreign
ministers meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
which Burma is attending for the first time.
   ASEAN's invitation to Burma was criticized by the United States
and Australia, as well as Burmese pro-democracy groups.
   But ASEAN, and especially Thailand, maintain that dialogue
rather than isolation will lead to democratic reform in Burma.


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