AMNESTY REPORT ON 8/8/96.

[uneoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

/* Written 25 Aug 12:00am 1996 by drunoo@xxxxxxxxxxxx in igc:reg.burma */
/* -------------" The Amnesty Report on 8/8/96 "--------------- */

Dear Friends,

Following is the summary, conclusion and recommendation of the report
made by Amnesty International on 8 August 1996 AI INDEX: ASA 16/38/96.
Those wishing to obtain the original 14-page report should contact your
local Amnesty Offices. Regards, U Ne Oo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
MYANMAR: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST ETHNIC MINORITIES
8 AUGUST 1996, AI INDEX: ASA 16/38/96

Amnesty International in concerned that the Burmese army has arbitrarily
detained, extrajudicially killed, tortured and ill-treated members of
ethnic minorities in the Shan and Mon States and the
Tanintharyi(Tenasserim) Division in eastern Myanmar. This report is drawn
from January and February 1996 interviews with dozens of members of the
Shan, Akha, Lahu, Karen, and Mon ethnic minorities in Thailand. Most of
these refugees are farmers and villagers who said they had fled from their
homes because their lives were made impossible by the security forces.

The information contained in this report deals with events which took place
in 1995; howeer, recent reports indicate that human rights violations
continued in 1996. In the Shan State tens of thousands of people have been
forcibly relocated by the military since March 1996. These relocations have
reportedly been accompanied by threats from the army that those who
remained would be shot on sight. Since February 1996 in the Mon State and
Tanintharyi Division hundreds of people have fled from continuing human
rights violations by the army to areas of the Mon State controlled by the
New Mon State Party (NMSP, the armed opposition group in the Mon State).

Civilians have been arbitrarily seized as porters from their villages by
the military and held in army custody for periods ranging from a few days
to a month or more. Those who were seized were usually not told how long
they would be held and have expressed fear of teh consequences if they
refused the military's demands or protested the fact that they were being
held against their will. Many of those forced to act as porters have been
subjected to torture and ill-treatment as punishment if they could not
carry their loads of supplies and ammunition. Young ehtnic minority girls
have been raped by soldiers while being forced to act as porters; two
Akha girls died after being repeatedly raped in April 1995. Others who have
been seized as porters have been extrajudicially killed if they attempted
to escape or were unable to carry their loads.

Forced labour by civilians continues on the Ye-Dawei railway in
southeastern Myanmar on a large scale. In at least the last five years the
SLORC has increasingly used forced civilian labour to build railway lines,
airports, dams, quarries and roads throughout the country. The army has
forced hundreds of thousands of ethnic Burmans and members of ethnic
minorities to work as unpaid labourers on these construciton projects.
Conditions are often harsh, in many cases amounting to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment. labourers have been subjected to ill-treatment,
including being held in chains and receiving inadequate food and medical
care.

Amnesty International is seriously concerned by the practice of forced
portering and forced labour in Myanmar, and over a number of years, has
reported on the human rights violations that are associated with these
practices. The SLORC has shown little willingness to put a stop to such
violations. In addition, the practice of forced portering is inherently
arbitrary as it allows military commanders to effectively detain people -
usually members of ethnic minorities - for indeterminate periods of time.
This practice should be abolished. As regards the practice of forced
laobur, until such time as the SLORC introduces measures to ensure that
those who perform their required periods of labour are treated fairly and
are protected against ill-treatment and abuse, the practice should also be
abolished.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Ethnic minorities have historically been targeted and singled out by the
tatmadaw for widespread and persistent repression. Amnesty International is
gravely concerned by this ongoing pattern of human rights violations
committed against members of ehtnic minorities. The violations have
continued to such an extent that Amnesty International believes that all
members of ethnic minorities in border areas are at risk of arbitrary
detention, forced portering, and forced labour, during which they are
routinely subjected to ill-treatment.

Recommendations

Amnesty International makes the following recommeadations to the SLORC:

1. Initiate immediate, through, and prompt investigations into the
allegations of extrajudicial killings, torture and ill-treatment described
in this report.

2. Bring those found responsible for such human rights violations to
justice.

3. Abolish the practice of forced portering, as it allows the military to
detain people for indeterminate lengths of time, which is inherently
arbitrary.

4. As regards the practice of forced labour, until such time as the SLORC
introduces measures to ensure that those who perform their required periods
of labor are treated farily and are protected against ill-treatment and
abuse, the practice should also be abolished.

/* Endreport */