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Forced labour endemic in Myanmar an



Forced labour endemic in Myanmar and resistance brutally punished: ILO

       Wed 19 Aug 98 - 15:46 GMT 

       GENEVA, Aug 19 (AFP) - Forced labour of women, children and old people
is pervasive in Myanmar and those
       who resist are often tortured, raped and murdered, the International
Labour Organization said.

       An ILO-appointed commission of inquiry in a report issued Wednesday
charged that the government, and
       particularly the military, "treat the civilian population as an
unlimited pool of unpaid forced labourers and servants
       at their disposal."

       These actions are part of a political system "built on the use of force
and intimidation to deny the people of
       Myanmar democracy and the rule of law," it said.

       The commission was appointed in March 1997 to examine Myanmar's
observance of the 1930 Forced Labour
       Convention following complaints lodged by delegates at an ILO
conference in June 1996.

       The commission said its report "reveals a saga of untold misery and
suffering, oppression and exploitation of large
       sections of the population...by the government, military and other
public officers."

       The report, compiled with the help of non-governmental organizations
and 250 witness accounts, stated there was
       "abundant evidence" showing the "pervasive" use of forced labour,
particularly by women, children, the eldery and
       those unfit for work, which was almost never compensated.

       Compulsory labour was rife in such activities as portering,
construction, servicing of military camps, agriculture,
       logging, construction and maintenance of roads and other
infrastructure.

       For example, the commission said porters were often sent ahead in
particularly dangerous situations as in suspected
       minefields, and many were killed or injured this way.

       Porters were rarely given medical treatment, and some sick or injured
were left behind in the jungle.

       Similarly, on road building projects, injuries were rarely treated and
deaths from sickness and work accidents were
       frequent on the job.

       The commission said victims were often extorted for money in exchange
for a "temporary alleviation of the burden."

       Those "unwilling, slow, or unable to comply with a demand for forced
labour" were often hit with reprisals
       including "physical abuse, beatings, torture rape and murder," the
commission said.

       The commission urged the authorities to end forced labour and to
conduct thorough investigations, prosecute and
       adequately punish those found guilty.

       The Myanmar government refused to allow commission members to visit the
country.

       It said much of the criticism related to forced labour in Myanmar was
"unfortunately based on biased and specious
       allegations made by expatriates living outside Myanmar...who wish to
denigrate the Myanmar authorities for their
       own ends," according to the commission.

                                                                              
          ©AFP 1998




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