US STATE DEPT: BURMA (PART 2)

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

U.S. Department of State
 
Burma Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997
 
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, January 30,
1998.
 
 
PART 2 (posted in 2 parts for easy downloading
 
 
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
 
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
 
The Government continued to impose severe restrictions on freedom of speech
and of the press. The security services continued to harass and repress
those attempting to express opposition political views, and many more
refrained from speaking out for fear of arrest, interrogation, and other
forms of intimidation. Since late 1996, the authorities have prohibited the
weekend gatherings in front of Aung San Suu Kyi's residence at which she
and NLD vice-chairmen Tin Oo and Kyi Maung formerly responded to letters
from the public and delivered speeches. Barriers blocking access to her
residence remained in place during the year, and her freedom to leave her
compound or to receive visitors was severely restricted.
 
The government monopoly television, radio, and newspaper media remained
propaganda instruments. These official media normally did not report
opposing views except to criticize them. Editors and reporters remained
answerable to military authorities. While the English language daily New
Light of Myanmar continued to include many heavily edited international
wire service reports on foreign news, domestic news hewed strictly to and
reinforced government policy.
 
All forms of domestic public media were officially controlled or censored.
This strict control in turn encouraged self-censorship on the part of
writers and publishers. Citizens were generally unable to subscribe
directly to foreign publications, but a limited selection of foreign
newspapers could be purchased in a few hotels and stores in Rangoon (see
Section 1.f.). A limited supply of international news magazines and a
sizable number of private publications on nonpolitical issues were
available to the public, but censors frequently banned issues or deleted
articles deemed unwelcome by the Government.
 
Monthly press conferences that had begun in August 1996 were suspended by
the Government in April. Prior to that time, most known foreign
journalists, including television crews, had been able to obtain visas to
visit and report on developments, although authorities sometimes monitored
and restricted their movements. The Government issued few visas to
journalists after April.
 
Foreign radio broadcasts, such as those of the British Broadcasting
Corporation, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and the Norway-based
Democratic Voice of Burma, remained the principal sources of uncensored
information. The authorities at times attempted to jam or otherwise
interfere with the reception of these broadcasts (see Section l.f.). They
also continued to restrict the reception of satellite television
broadcasts. Penalties of up to 3 years' imprisonment for operation of an
unlicensed satellite television receiver can be imposed. Licenses, however,
were almost impossible to obtain by citizens, although some ignored the
licensing regulation.
 
A series of totalitarian decrees issued by the Government in 1996 designed
to strengthen its control over all forms of political expression and
citizens' access to information remained in force during the year. Order
5/96 in 1996 prohibited speeches or statements that "undermine national
stability" as well as the drafting of alternative constitutions. A 1996
amendment to the television and video law imposed additional restrictions
and stiffer penalties on the distribution of videotapes not approved by the
censor. Also in 1996, the Government decreed that all computers, software,
and associated telecommunications devices would be subject to government
registration. The law required government permission for all communications
by computer. The Government bars most Internet services to citizens. During
the year, the authorities granted permission to one Internet service
company to provide only electronic mail services to any citizen on a fee
basis.
 
University teachers and professors remained subject to the same
restrictions on freedom of speech, political activities, and publications
as other government employees. These included warnings against criticism of
the Government; instructions not to discuss politics while at work;
strictures against joining or supporting political parties; engaging in
political activity; or meeting foreigners. Teachers continued to be held
responsible for propagating SLORC political goals among their students and
for maintaining discipline and preventing students from engaging in any
unauthorized political activity.
 
Following student demonstrations in December 1996, the Government closed
the universities and even primary and secondary schools to prevent further
demonstrations. While the primary and secondary schools reopened in August,
most universities remained closed at year's end.
 
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
 
The Government restricts freedom of assembly. Its prohibition of
unauthorized outdoor assemblies of more than five persons remained in
effect, albeit unevenly enforced. The 10 existing legal political parties
remained formally required to request permission from the authorities to
hold internal meetings of their members, although some members still met
without official permission.
 
The SLORC's repression of the NLD continued; it forcibly closed NLD offices
upcountry and harassed NLD members for petty offenses, forced NLD members
to work as porters, and arrested and convicted NLD supporters for political
crimes, especially those associated personally with NLD General Secretary
Aung San Suu Kyi.
 
In May the authorities blocked the NLD's attempt to hold a party congress
on the anniversary of the 1990 elections. It temporarily detained or
threatened the detention of over 300 party members living outside Rangoon,
and sealed off access to Aung San Suu Kyi's compound.
 
However, in September the authorities abruptly suspended their policy and
permitted the NLD to convene a party congress on the occasion of the ninth
anniversary of the party's founding. Although the authorities barred
several hundred persons from attending, more than 700 delegates
participated in the congress, the largest gathering held by the NLD since
1990. The authorities permitted several public gatherings of NLD members
and supporters on various holidays, with little or no interference. While
the authorities allowed holiday celebrations to take place in Aung San Suu
Kyi?s compound, police restricted the size of the gatherings. The
suspension of restrictions was temporary, however, and subsequent meetings
outside her compound were blocked. Most universities remained closed, and
police prevent student demonstrations.
 
The Government's mass mobilization organization, the Union Solidarity and
Development Association (USDA), continued to hold large-scale rallies in
support of government policies. In many cases it coerced attendance, using
implicit or explicit threats of penalties for those staying away. There
were no reported incidents in which the authorities interfered with
religious groups? assemblies or other outdoor gatherings during the year.
 
The Government restricts freedom of association. Aside from officially
sanctioned organizations like the USDA, the right of association existed
only for organizations, including trade associations and professional
bodies, permitted by law and duly registered with the Government. Only a
handful continue to exist, and even those are subject to direct government
intervention and take special care to act in accordance with government
policy. This group includes apolitical organizations such as the Myanmar
Red Cross and the Myanmar Medical Association. Only 10 political parties
remained at year's end, compared with 15 in 1992.
 
c. Freedom of Religion
 
Adherents of all religions duly registered with the authorities generally
enjoyed freedom to worship as they chose; however, the Government imposed
some restrictions on certain religious minorities. In recent years,
Buddhists continued to enjoy a privileged position. The Government has made
special efforts to link itself with Buddhism as a means of asserting its
own popular legitimacy. Photographs of SLORC officials paying homage or
making donations at pagodas throughout the country appear regularly in the
official newspaper.
 
The Government monitored the activities of members of all religions, in
part because congregation members have in the past become politically
active. The authorities continued to regard the Muslim and Christian
religious minorities with suspicion. Moreover, there is a concentration of
Christians among some of the particular ethnic minorities against whom the
army has fought for decades. Religious publications, like secular ones,
remained subject to control and censorship. Christian bibles translated
into indigenous languages could not be imported or printed legally,
although this ban is not enforced in some areas. It remained difficult for
Christian and Muslim groups to obtain permission to build new churches and
mosques. In March authorities did little to halt attacks on Muslims by
Buddhists monks (see Section 5).
 
Religious groups of all faiths were able to establish and maintain links
with coreligionists in other countries and travel abroad for religious
purposes; however, the Government reportedly monitored these activities.
Foreign religious representatives usually were allowed visas only for short
stays but in some cases were permitted to preach to congregations.
Permanent foreign missionary establishments have not been permitted since
the 1960's, but seven Catholic nuns and four priests working in Burma since
before independence in 1948 have been allowed to continue their work.
 
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and
Repatriation
 
Although citizens have the legal right to live anywhere in the country,
both urban and rural residents were subject to arbitrary relocation (see
Section 1.f.). Except for limitations in areas of insurgent activity,
citizens could travel freely within the country but had to notify local
authorities of their whereabouts. The Government restricted the freedom of
movement of NLD General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi (see Section 2.a.).
Those residents unable to meet the restrictive provisions of the
citizenship law, such as ethnic Chinese, Arakanese, Muslims, and others had
to obtain prior permission to travel. The Government carefully scrutinized
prospective travel abroad. This produced rampant corruption as many
applicants were forced to pay large bribes to obtain passports to which
they were otherwise entitled. The official board that reviews passport
applications denied passports in some cases apparently on political
grounds. All college graduates who obtained a passport (except for certain
government employees) were required to pay a special education clearance
fee to reimburse the Government. Citizens who had emigrated legally
generally were allowed to return to visit relatives, and some who had lived
abroad illegally and acquired foreign citizenship were able to return to
visit. The Government on occasion restricts the issuance of passports to
young female applicants seeking work abroad, reportedly to prevent young
women from being enticed to travel abroad to jobs that are in fact in the
commercial sex industry.
 
Restrictions on foreign travelers have been eased as part of an effort to
promote tourism. Burmese embassies issued tourist visas, valid for 1 month,
within 24 hours of application. However, select categories of applicants,
such as foreign human rights advocates, journalists, and political figures,
continued to be denied entry visas unless traveling under the aegis of a
sponsor acceptable to the Government, and for purposes approved by the
Government. Although some areas of the country remained closed to
foreigners for security reasons, the authorities permitted travel to most
other destinations. Rangoon-based diplomats generally must apply 10 days in
advance for travel outside the capital.
 
At year's end, there were still 21,000 Rohingya Muslims remaining in
refugee camps in Bangladesh. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees'
(UNHCR's) repatriation program, which since 1992 had succeeded in returning
approximately 238,000 refugees to Burma and had been scheduled to end on
August 15, halted prematurely when the Rohingyas as a group rejected
repatriation and demanded resettlement in Bangladesh. The Rohingyas refused
to return because they feared human rights abuses, including religious
persecution and other government restrictions. The UNHCR reported that
authorities cooperated in investigating isolated incidents of renewed abuse
of repatriated citizens. However, returnees complained of restrictions
imposed by the Government on their ability to travel and to engage in
economic activity.
 
A few thousand students and dissidents continued to live in exile in
Thailand. The more than 100,000 Burmese residing in refugee camps in
Thailand were joined during the year by thousands of new arrivals fleeing
army attacks against insurgencies in the Karen, Karenni and Shan ethnic
areas.
 
The Government does not allow refugees or displaced persons from abroad to
resettle or seek safe haven. The Government has not formulated a policy
concerning refugees, asylees, or first asylum, and it is not a party to the
1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967
protocol.
 
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change
Their Government
 
Despite the overwhelming desire that citizens demonstrated in the 1990
elections for a return to democracy, they continued to be denied the right
to change their government. Since 1988 active duty military officers have
occupied most important positions throughout the Government, particularly
at the policy making level, but also extending to local administration.
Despite the appointment of several civilians to the Cabinet in 1992, the
policy of placing military or recently retired military officers in most
key senior level positions in all ministries has continued unabated. In the
SPDC Government formed in November, only 12 of the 41 ministers appointed
are civilians.
 
Following the NLD's victory in the 1990 elections, the SLORC nullified the
election results and disqualified, detained, arrested, or drove into exile
many successful candidates. Since then, 236 of the 392 NLD deputies elected
have either been disqualified, resigned under pressure, gone into exile,
been detained, or died. Approximately 31 successful candidates from the
election remain in prison.
 
Rather than accept the will of the citizenry as expressed in the 1990
election, the SLORC convened a National Convention in January 1993 to draw
up principles for a new constitution. The SLORC hand-picked most delegates,
and carefully stage-managed the proceedings; even limited opposition views
were ignored. The SLORC tasked the Convention with drafting a new
constitution designed to provide a dominant role for the military services
in the country?s future political structure. In November 1995, the NLD
delegates withdrew from the Convention pending agreement by the authorities
to discuss revising the Convention's working procedures to permit debate
and meaningful participation in formulation of a new constitution. Two days
after its withdrawal the NLD was formally expelled. The National Convention
continued its deliberations until it adjourned in March 1996. It has not
reconvened. The provisions that it adopted were designed to ensure the
large-scale involvement of the military services in all levels of
government--including reserving 25 percent of seats in the Parliament to
appointed members of the military services, and reserving key government
posts for military personnel as well. In addition, it adopted provisions
that prohibited, among other things, anyone "under acknowledgment of
allegiance" to a foreigner or who has received any type of assistance from
a foreign source, from participating in the Government. These provisions
were apparently designed to exclude Aung San Suu Kyi, who is married to an
Englishman and who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
 
Women and minorities are underrepresented in the top ranks of government
services and excluded from military leadership. Members of certain minority
groups continue to be denied full citizenship (see Section 5).
 
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental
Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
 
The Government does not allow domestic human rights organizations to exist,
and it remained generally hostile to outside scrutiny of its human rights
record. Disturbed by the severe criticism contained in 1995 resolutions
adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), the authorities
refused to meet with UNHRC representatives during the year. In his February
report to the UNHRC, Special Rapporteur for Burma, Rajsoomer Lallah, who
was repeatedly denied entry into the country, criticized the human rights
violations committed against ethnic minorities as a result of the SLORC's
policy of forcible relocations and continued recourse to forced labor and
citizens' forced labor as porters.
 
Approximately 14 nonpolitical, humanitarian, international NGO's continued
project work. A few others established a provisional presence while
undertaking the protracted negotiations necessary to set up permanent
operations in the country.
 
The International Committee of the Red Cross was unable to negotiate its
return after closing its office in 1995.
 
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability,
Language, or Social Status
 
The Government continued to rule by decree and was not bound by any
constitutional provisions concerning discrimination.
 
Women
 
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, is infrequent. Married
couples often live in households with extended families, where social
pressure tends to protect the wife from abuse. Trafficking in women and
girls remains a serious problem.
 
There were reliable reports that many women and children in border areas,
where the Government's control is limited, were forced or lured into
working as prostitutes in Thailand. It is unknown how many young women have
been induced or coerced into working as prostitutes, but a common practice
is to lure young women to Thailand with promises of employment as a
waitress or domestic servant. The military forces continued to impress
women for military porterage duties, and there were many reports of rape of
ethnic minority women by soldiers (see Sections 1.c. and 1.g.).
 
In general women have traditionally enjoyed a high status, exercising most
of the same basic rights as men and taking an active role in business.
Consistent with traditional culture, women keep their names after marriage
and often control family finances. However, women remained underrepresented
in most traditional male occupations, and a few professions continued to be
effectively barred to women. The burden of poverty, which is particularly
widespread in rural areas, fell disproportionately on women. The Government
restricts foreign travel by young women (see Section 2.d.).
 
Women did not consistently receive equal pay for equal work. There were no
independent women's rights organizations, and no government ministry was
specifically charged with safeguarding women's interests. The Myanmar
Maternal and Child Welfare Association, a government-controlled agency,
provided assistance to mothers. A professional society for businesswomen,
the Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs' Association, formed in 1995, provided
loans to new businesses. A government-controlled agency, the All Myanmar
Women's Affairs Committee, signed an international convention to eliminate
discrimination against women.
 
Children
 
Despite various child welfare programs, the Government allocated few
resources to programs for children. According to government studies
conducted with U.N. assistance, although education is compulsory, 65 to 75
percent of children do not finish primary school, and only 5 percent
complete secondary school.
 
Child prostitution of young females, especially those from the ethnic
minority Shan state sent or lured to Thailand, continued to be a major
problem. The rising incidence of HIV infection has increased the demand for
supposedly "safer" younger prostitutes.
 
Religious Minorities
 
Anti-Muslim violence erupted in March. Buddhist monks attacked Muslims and
their property in Mandalay, and the attacks spread to other cities
including Rangoon. Monks in Mandalay and Rangoon ransacked mosques,
businesses, and homes of Muslims, and the authorities did little to prevent
such attacks. Authorities reportedly killed one monk in Mandalay while the
authorities were dispersing rioters.
 
People With Disabilities
 
Official assistance to persons with disabilities is extremely limited.
There is no law mandating accessibility to buildings, public
transportation, or government facilities. While there are several
small-scale organizations to assist the disabled, most disabled persons
must rely on their families to provide for their welfare. Disabled veterans
receive available benefits on a priority basis. Because of land mine
detonations, Burma has a very high rate of amputee injuries.
 
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
 
Burma's myriad ethnic minorities have long resented the dominance of the
country's Burman majority. The minorities have been largely excluded from
the military leadership. In recent years, the SLORC has sought to pacify
these ethnic groups by means of negotiated cease-fires, grants of limited
autonomy, and promises of development assistance.
 
The Government included a large number of ethnic minority representatives
in the National Convention and permitted extended debate on the issue of
minority autonomy. However, the ethnic minority populations continue to
complain that their concerns have not been addressed adequately by the
Government. Economic development among minorities has continued to lag,
leaving many persons living at barely subsistence levels.
 
Since the focus of hostilities against armed insurgencies has been in the
border areas where most minorities are concentrated, those populations have
been disproportionately victimized by the general violence associated with
the military forces' activities. Even in areas pacified under cease-fire
arrangements, forced labor, village relocations, and other infringements on
the rights of ethnic minorities continue to be imposed by local army
commanders.
 
Since only people who can prove long familial links to Burma are accorded
full citizenship, ethnic populations, such as Muslims, Indians, and
Chinese, continued to be denied full citizenship and are excluded from
government positions. Persons without full citizenship are not free to
travel domestically and are barred from certain advanced university
programs in medicine and technological fields (see Section 2.d.).
Anti-Chinese and anti-Muslim sentiment remained widespread.
 
Section 6 Worker Rights
 
a. The Right of Association
 
Free trade unions do not exist, and even former government-controlled ones
were dormant. Strikes are rare; however, in December, workers in a
foreign-owned textile factory in Pegu staged a successful 4-day strike.
Following the intervention of the Department of Labor, workers and
management reached a compromise that included higher wages and improved
working conditions. In July 1989, the United States suspended Burma's
eligibility for trade concessions under the Generalized System of
Preferences program, pending steps to afford its labor force
internationally recognized worker rights.
 
Because of its longstanding violation of International Labor Organization
(ILO) Convention 87 on Freedom of Association, Burma was again cited for
noncompliance by the June 1997 ILO Conference which characterized the
situation as "particularly grave."
 
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
 
Workers do not have the right to organize and bargain collectively to set
wages and benefits. The Government's Central Arbitration Board, which
theoretically provides a means for settling major labor disputes, continued
to exist but in practice was dormant. Township-level labor supervisory
committees exist to address minor labor concerns.
 
The Government unilaterally sets wages in the public sector. In the private
sector, wages are set by market forces. The Government pressures joint
ventures not to pay salaries greater than those of ministers or other
senior employees. Some joint ventures circumvent this with supplemental
pay, including remuneration paid in foreign exchange certificates, as well
as through incentive and overtime pay and other fringe benefits. Foreign
firms generally set wages near those of the domestic private sector but
follow the example of joint ventures in awarding supplemental wages and
benefits.
 
There are no export processing zones.
 
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
 
Forced or compulsory labor remains a serious problem. In March following an
investigation of the country's forced labor practices, the European Union
Commission revoked benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences. In
recent years, the SLORC has increasingly supplemented declining gross
investment with uncompensated people's "contributions," chiefly of forced
labor, to build or maintain irrigation, transportation and tourism
infrastructure projects. During 1996 the Government introduced an
initiative to use military personnel for infrastructure projects. This
initiative and the increasing use of heavy construction equipment resulted
in a decline during 1996-1997 in the use of unpaid labor on physical
infrastructure projects, especially for irrigation projects and railroad
building. Nonetheless, there were credible reports that the use of forced
labor remained widespread throughout the country.
 
The army continued to force citizens--including women and children--to work
as porters, which led to mistreatment, illness, and death in military
actions against ethnic insurgents (see Sections 1.a., 1.c., and 1.g.). The
Government does not specifically prohibit forced and bonded labor by
children. While bonded labor is practiced, forced labor occurs in military
porterage and in situations in which a family or household is required to
contribute labor to a particular project, and the children are called upon
by parents to help fulfill that obligation, without opposition by the
Government.
 
In March the governing board of the ILO established a Commission of Inquiry
to investigate Burma for its violation of ILO Convention 29 on forced
labor. The complaint accuses the Government of the systematic use of forced
labor.
 
d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment
 
Although the law sets a minimum age of 13 for the employment of children,
in practice the law is not enforced. Working children are highly visible in
cities, mostly working for small or family enterprises, and in family
agricultural activities in the countryside. Children are hired at lower pay
rates than adults for the same kind of work. Arts and crafts is the only
sector producing for the export market that employs a significant number of
children. Despite a compulsory education law, almost 40 percent of children
never enroll in school, and only 25 to 35 percent complete the 5-year
primary school course. The Government does not specifically prohibit forced
and bonded labor by children. While bonded labor is not practiced, forced
labor by children occurs (see section 6.c.).
 
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
 
Surplus labor conditions and lack of protection by government authorities
continue to dictate substandard conditions for workers, despite recent
annual economic growth of at least 5 percent. The Law on Fundamental
Workers Rights of 1964 and the Factories Act of 1951 regulate working
conditions. There is a legally prescribed 5-day, 35-hour workweek for
employees in the public sector and a 6-day, 44-hour workweek for private
and state enterprise employees, with overtime paid for additional work. The
law also allows for a 24-hour rest period per week, and workers have 21
paid holidays a year. Such provisions actually affect only a small portion
of the country's labor force.
 
Only government employees and employees of a few traditional industries are
covered by minimum wage provisions. The minimum monthly wage for salaried
public employees is $2.50 (600 kyats). This sum is supplemented by various
subsidies and allowances. The minimum wage does not provide a worker with a
decent standard of living. The low level of pay in public employment
fosters widespread corruption. The government minimum wage for day labor is
$0.08 (20 kyats). Workers in the private sector are much better paid. The
actual average wage rate for casual laborers in Rangoon in 1997 was ten
times the official minimum. Wage increases continued to lag far behind
inflation.
 
Numerous health and safety regulations exist, but in practice the
Government has not made the necessary resources available to enforce the
regulations, although workers may in principle remove themselves from
hazardous conditions, in practice workers cannot expect to retain their
jobs if they do so.
 
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