Myanmar exiles tell of torture at h

[byva@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Myanmar exiles tell of torture at hands of military ÿ


By ROBERT HORN ÿ

The Associated Press
08/26/98 3:10 AM Eastern

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- The soldiers came in the middle of the night, Yÿ
e
Teiza said. At least a dozen of them, surrounding his home in Myanmar's
capital and pounding on the door. ÿ


"My heart was racing," he said. "I knew I was going to be arrested."  Ye ÿ
Teiza
was a member of a student union campaigning for democracy and an end to
decades of military rule in Myanmar, also known as Burma. ÿ


Like 18 foreign activists caught handing out pro-democracy leaflets in Yaÿ
ngon
last month, Ye Teiza said he was taken into the custody of military
intelligence. ÿ


Most of the American, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Filipino and Australiaÿ
n
activists said they were treated humanely. Sentenced to five years in jaiÿ
l,
they were immediately deported to their home countries. ÿ


In interviews with The Associated Press and in a  soon-to-be-published boÿ
ok,
Ye Teiza and eight other former
political prisoners in Myanmar tell far different tales of their own
treatment. They detailed their accounts of physical and psychological torÿ
ture
suffered at the hands of the nation's military government. ÿ


The book, called "Tortured Voices: Personal Accounts of Burma's Interrogaÿ
tion
Centers," will be published by the All Burma Students Democratic Front, aÿ
n
anti-government exile group. It covers their arrests in the early 1990s.
Reports from human rights groups say conditions haven't improved since thÿ
en. ÿ


The military government denies people are mistreated while under arrest. ÿ


"Myanmar is a land of strong Buddhist belief, and such inhumane acts are
nonexistent," said a government
 spokesman. He called the book anti-government propaganda. Nonethless, thÿ
e
government gunned down 3,000 pro-democracy demonstrators who were callingÿ
 for
an end to military rule in a nationwide protest in 1988. ÿ


Ye Teiza and his colleagues say they were brutalized and subjected to torÿ
ture
until they named other democracy
activists and signed false confessions. Then, they say, they were given sÿ
ham
trials and sentenced to long prison terms. ÿ


Prisoners said they were kept in dungeon-like cells. At the hands of
successive squads of interrogators they were beaten daily, threatened witÿ
h
death, rape, subjected to electric shocks, deprived of sleep, food, waterÿ
 and
using a toilet for days at a time. ÿ


During questioning they were always blindfolded, the writers said. Some wÿ
ere
kept in stocks, while others had
iron rods rolled over their shins. They were forced to kneel on sharp stoÿ
nes
until they bled, or stand on their toes for
hours with pins beneath their heels. ÿ


People arrested by the regime, the authors said, enter the centers with bÿ
ags
pulled over their heads. Sightless, they
were terrified by a continuous wailing of people in excruciating pain. ÿ


Naing Kyaw, an arrested student, wrote that with every question he was hiÿ
t, no
matter how he answered. The
interrogators never let prisoners slip into unconsciousness, something maÿ
ny of
them longed for. ÿ


Ye Teiza said an officer told him: "We can kill you without any problem."ÿ
 He
eventually managed to flee Burma in
1997. ÿ


Asking for water was asking for abuse. Many had it poured over the hoods ÿ
they
were forced to wear, causing the fabric's fibers to close, nearly suffocaÿ
ting
them. Fear of rape was frequent among female prisoners. ÿ


Eventually, the prisoners were tried and charged, like the 18 foreigners,ÿ
 with
disturbing the peace and tranquility of the state. All said they were denÿ
ied
lawyers and sent to Insein Prison in Yangon. ÿ


Those who thought that meant the abuse was over were wrong. Prisoners areÿ

frequently returned to interrogation centers from the jail for more tortuÿ
re. ÿ


The regime's tactics have been effective. Most people are too fearful to ÿ
risk
rising up against it. ÿ


The government has failed to break the will of a small vanguard of democrÿ
acy
activists. On Monday, 200 students spilled into the streets of Yangon andÿ

demonstrated for an end to military rule, the first public protest in almÿ
ost
two
 years. ÿ


They fled down side streets as soldiers arrived. ÿ




____________________________________________________________________
More than just email--Get your FREE Netscape WebMail account today at httÿ
p://home.netscape.com/netcenter/mail