They will not be silenced_San San N

[nin@xxxxxx]

	On 16 Feb 1998 brelief@xxxxxxx wrote:
	> They will not be silenced 
	> (excerpts)
	> 
	> The Independent
	> in cooperation with The Yomiuri Shimbun
	> Friday 15, 1998
	> 
	> As Salman Rushdie enters the tenth year of the fatwa against 
	> him,  what of the hundreds of other writers around the world 
	> who are living in danger or forced into exile, far from the 
	> international spotlight? 

Daw San San Nwe (tha-ya-wadi)

Daw San San Nwe, a 51-year-old journalist and well-known writer, 
was arrested  on 4 or 5 August 1994 in Yangon. A widow with four 
children, she was arrested with her daughter Ma Myat Mo Mo Tun and
two other political leaders.  According to the State Law and Order 
Restoration Council (SLORC, Myanmar's military government), the four 
were detained for passing on information to foreign journalists
and diplomats "against or critical of the government in order to 
make foreign governments misunderstand the government." They were 
also accused of sending information to the United Nations
Special Rapporteur for human rights on Myanmar.

Daw San San Nwe was sentenced on 6 October 1994 to seven years' 
imprisonment under Section 5(e) of the 1950 Emergency Provisions 
Act (for spreading false information) and three years under 
Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act (membership or 
contact with illegal organizations). However Amnesty
International believes that she is a prisoner of conscience, 
imprisoned solely for exercising her rights to
freedom of expression and assembly.  

Daw San San Nwe had been arrested previously in July 1989 during 
a nationwide crackdown by the military of the political opposition. 
She is a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD),
Myanmar's foremost opposition party founded by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi 
in 1988.  Her writing has been banned in Myanmar since the beginning 
of the 1988 democracy movement. All publications are heavily
censored there, and the government controls most of the media.
However, one of her banned short stories was featured in a book 
entitled "Inked Over, Ripped Out, Burmese Storytellers and the 
Censors", which was published by the PEN American Center in 1993. 

In March 1993 Daw San San Nwe made this comment about her role as 
a writer:

"I believe that it is not the duty of a writer to take part personally 
in political battles; it is my conviction that a writer discharges his 
or her duty simply by observing and putting on record the
rights and wrongs, the justices and injustices that result from 
these battles."

Once democracy was established in Myanmar, Daw San San Nwe had planned 
to resign from the NLD in order to take an independent stand as a writer. 
However, because of a lack of progress towards democracy, she felt that 
she must continue to work on behalf of the party.

She was born on 28 August 1945 in the town of Tha-ya-wadi, about 
50 miles north of Yangon, and took Tha-ya-wadi as her pen name. 
She began her career at 13 when she wrote poems and stories for The
Children's Journal.  She also wrote for newspapers when she was a 
teenager, and later married another journalist in 1966 and moved to 
Yangon. Her first novel was written in 1974, but it was her third 
novel Prison of Darkness, critical of the ruling party's policies, 
which created interest among the general public and politicians.

Dr Ma Thida
===========
Dr Ma Thida, a surgeon and well-known writer, was arrested in July 
1993 together with a number of other members of the National League 
for Democracy (NLD). Prominent amongst Myanmar's political
opposition, she had earlier been a campaign assistant for Daw Aung 
San Suu Kyi, one of the leaders of the NLD. In October 1993 she was 
sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment and is currently detained in
Insein Prison, Yangon (Rangoon, the capital).  

Between March and September 1988, widespread civil unrest broke out in 
Myanmar as mass demonstrations were held to call for an end to 26 years 
of one-party military rule.  Although the demonstrations were put down 
by the army, often violently, the pro-democracy movement grew and
demonstrations continued for several months until a final crackdown 
by the security forces. The army reasserted military control in 
September 1988 through the newly-formed State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC). In May 1990 the NLD won over 80% 
of the seats in a general election, but the SLORC has refused to 
accept the result and remains in power today. 

Dr Ma Thida and the others arrested with her were held  incommunicado 
before being brought to trial. The first attempt to start the trial 
had to be postponed because large crowds gathered at the courtroom.
The trial finally began on 27 September. Dr Ma Thida and the 10 other 
defendants were charged with endangering public tranquillity under 
Section 5j of the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, having contact
with unlawful associations under Section 17(1) of the 1908 Unlawful
Associations Act, and distributing unlawful literature under Sections 
17 and 20 of the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Act.
Amnesty International believes that the vaguely-worded provisions 
of these laws have been used to sentence Dr Ma Thida and the others 
to long terms of imprisonment solely for their peaceful political
opposition activities. All defendants were sentenced to 20 years' 
imprisonment on 15 October 1993. 

At the time of her arrest Dr Ma Thida was working at the Muslim 
Free Hospital in Yangon. She had written many short stories, as well 
as several novels, none of which have been published. Although she
was given official permission to publish her latest novel, this has 
now been  banned. 

Dr Ma Thida has suffered from poor health since her detention, 
including digestive and gynaecological problems, and tuberculosis.
Although she has now  recovered from tuberculosis, Amnesty 
International remains concerned that she may not receive adequate 
treatment for her health problems.  During her detention she has 
also been held in solitary confinement with no access to reading 
or writing materials.

*[The above information is solely updated by the Amnesty
  International, international secretariat, London, 
  dated 6 Feb. 1998.]*

 .............................................................

U Pa Pa Lay and U Lu Zaw

Two comedians, U Pa Pa Lay, 49, and U Lu Zaw, 45, were sentenced in 
March 1996  to seven years' imprisonment for one of their comic 
performances. U Htwe and U Aung Soe, two political activists who
arranged this  performance, were also sentenced to seven years' 
imprisonment.

On 4 January 1996, the 48th anniversary of Myanmar's independence 
from the United Kingdom, some 2000 members of the National League 
for Democracy (NLD) attended a celebration at the home of NLD
leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon (Rangoon, the capital). 
The NLD is a  political party which won over 80% of seats in the 
May 1990 elections. Despite this victory, the ruling military 
authorities - the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) 
- have not handed over power to the NLD, and continue to harrass 
and imprison its members for their opposition.  

The independence day  celebration included a performance by an 
Anyeint troupe, a traditional Burmese entertainment group who sing, 
dance,  and make satirical jokes. U Pa Pa Lay and U Lu Zaw were 
members of the Anyeint troupe, known as Myo Win Mar or "Our Own Way".
In their routine they reportedly made jokes which portrayed 
government cooperatives as thieves and sang a comic song about 
Myanmar's generals. Following the performance, members of the troupe 
returned to their homes in Mandalay on 7 January.  That evening they 
were arrested. The following day U Aung Soe and U Myint Thein, 
two NLD members who had arranged the performance, were also arrested.
For a time nobody knew what had happened to them or where they were.  

One month later eight of the troupe members were released, but 
U Pa Pa Lay, U Lu Zaw, U Aung Soe and U Htwe, the NLD Chairman 
for Mandalay southeast township, remained in prison.  The two comedians
were charged under Section 5(e) of the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act 
which imprisons anyone who "causes or intends to spread false news, 
knowing beforehand that it is untrue".  It is not known what U Htwe 
and U Aung Soe were charged with. On 18 March they were each sentenced 
to seven years' imprisonment. None was allowed legal representation.
Amnesty International believes they are prisoners of conscience, 
detained solely for the peaceful expression of their political views 
and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release. 
U Pa Pa Lay was previously imprisoned in 1991 for one year
because he made a joke about the popularity of the NLD.

In early April 1996 U Pa Pa Lay and U Lu Zaw were transferred from 
prison to Kyein Kran Ka labour camp, 25 miles from Myitkyina in Kachin 
State. They were forced to work with iron bars across their legs
and lost a  lot of weight. Both are now held in different prisons 
in Myitkyina.

*[The above information is solely updated by the Amnesty
  International, international secretariat, London, 
  dated 6 Feb. 1998.]*