the nation; Detainees in Myanmar to

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Detainees in Myanmar to get harsher punishment next
time: envoy

posted at 22.35 hrs (Bangkok time) 

MANILA, Aug 15 -- Foreign activists recently deported from Myanmar are
being threatened with
even sterner punishment if they try to repeat their action, the Philippine
ambassador in Yangon
warned here Saturday. 

Sonia Brady was quoted in a report as saying, ''if they were to return to
Myanmar in the future and
violate their laws, they would serve not only the sentence that would be
imposed upon them but
also the sentence condoned'' on Friday. 

Two Filipinos were among 18 foreign activists detained in Myanmar this week
for distributing
pro-democracy leaflets. 

The 18 -- including six US nationals, three Thais, three Malaysians, three
Indonesians and one
Australian -- were deported Saturday as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
dug in for the fourth
day of a roadside stand-off with the ruling military. 

They were sentenced to five years hard labour by a court in Myanmar Friday
for attempting to
incite unrest but the penalties were suspended and they were deported. 

Brady said Yangon deported the group ''on the condition that they do not
violate the country's
laws again.'' 

She also said the detainees had argued they were ''not aware of the customs
of the country and did
not intend to come for the purpose of inciting unrest. They also said they
did not mean any harm by
distributing leaflets.'' 

Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon welcomed the release of the
Filipinos, saying, ''we
are heartened by the decision made by the Myanmar government to condone the
sentences.'' 

He said, ''we are gratified that Myanmar took positive action with respect
to this case and we
hope that similar positive action could be taken with respect to other
pressing matters confronting
the government there.'' 

Observers said this was an apparent reference to the Myanmar junta's
efforts to prevent
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from meeting her followers. 

A Malaysian human rights group, meanwhile, slammed the country's foreign
ministry for its ''callous
and irresponsible'' attitude towards three local activists who were among
those arrested in
Myanmar. 

Suara Rakyat Malaysia chided Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who
reportedly said he
finds it ''difficult to sympathise with Malaysians who go to other
countries and consciously create
trouble or break the laws. 

''This statement is most callous and irresponsible,'' the group's
spokesperson Kua Kia Soong said
in a statement. 

''It stands out in direct contrast to the caring, positive and proactive
attitude exhibited by the
foreign ministries of all the other countries whose nationals were victims
of the Burmese
government's actions.'' 

The group urged for a clarification on the ''behaviour and actions'' of the
foreign ministry over the
matter. 

On Friday, the United States welcomed Myanmar's decision to expel the US
activists but said
their arrest was just one example of the junta's abuses. 

Seeking Japanese support for her campaign to get the junta and its critics
talking, Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright said efforts to promote dialogue in Myanmar had
reached a ''moment of
truth.'' 

Albright also noted that Aung San Suu Kyi has called for the convening
August 21 of opposition
MPs elected in 1990. They have been barred from taking their seats by the
country's military
leaders. (AFP)