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BBC-ILO attacks Burma forced labour



Thursday, August 20, 1998 Published at 00:42 GMT 01:42 UK 

ILO attacks Burma forced labour 


The International Labour Organisation has condemned the Burmese military
government for its "systematic and widespread" use of forced labour. 

It says the authorities in Rangoon treat the civilian population as an
unlimited pool of unpaid labourers and servants. 

The ILO says the political system in Burma, or Myanmar, is based on force
and intimidation and the Burmese people are denied democracy and the rule
of law. 

A commission of enquiry set up by the Geneva-based organisation accuses
soldiers of raping or sexually assaulting women in their charge and says
other civilians are frequently beaten. 

The commission found human rights, especially in the workplace, had got
worse since the military-backed State Law and Order Restoration Council
(Slorc) took over in 1988. 

More than 250 people testified to the ILO investigators and gave evidence
about the pervasive use of compulsory labour imposed by government
officials and the military. 

'Unwilling workers often murdered'

Large sections of the population are forced to service military camps,
maintain the roads and railways and farm the land for little or no pay,
according to the report. 

Those who are unwilling or unfit are beaten, tortured or murdered, it says.


Women, children and the elderly are allegedly used as porters and are even
sent ahead to check out minefields. 

The report says non-Burmese ethnic groups such as the Muslim minority, the
Rohingyas, who live in the north-western province of Arakan, bear the brunt
of much of the forced labour. 

The Rangoon regime, which refused access to the inquiry team, said the
complaints were based on biased and unfounded allegations by those wishing
to denigrate the government. 

The ILO's allegations will boost supporters of Burmese opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, who has long campaigned against the illegitimacy of a
regime she says is corrupt.