MYANMAR: Time to end forced labour[

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

 News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International *
News Service 157/98
AI INDEX ASA: 16/22/98


MYANMAR: Time to end forced labour

Amnesty International today welcomed this week's hard hitting report by the
 International
Labour Organization (ILO) into forced labour in Myanmar. The human rights
organization called
on the Burmese government to cease the widespread ill-treatment of forced
labourers, and urged
governments and companies investing in Myanmar [Burma] to ensure that their
 operations do not
lead to human rights violations.

     "Amnesty International and other NGOs have for a long time campaigned
against the
killings, ill-treatment and misery inflicted by the army's use forced
labour in Myanmar, " the
organisation said.  "Now, with the publication of this report, companies
and governments
investing in the country -- many in projects with the army as partners --
can no longer claim
ignorance of the situation on the ground."

     "The Directors of these companies must seriously examine their
operations in Myanmar
to ensure that their presence is not contributing to human rights
violations. Consumers,
shareholders, investment trusts and members of the NGOs and the public will
 hold them to
account for their actions."

     The ILO formally established a Commission of Inquiry into forced
labour in Myanmar
in June 1997, following a complaint by the International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions
(ICFTU). This Commission of Inquiry, which is the strongest legal action
that an ILO member
state can take, found that government is in breach of ILO Convention 29
which forbids the
"exaction of labour under the menace of a penalty, from residents who (had)
 not offered
themselves voluntarily..."

     Amnesty International has documented and reported on forced labour by
the tatmadaw
(Burmese army) for more than 10 years, and interviewed hundreds of victims
of the practice.   As
a result of the dramatic increase in the size of the army over the last
decade, hundreds of
thousands of civilians have been forced to work under very harsh
conditions.

     The majority of victims are from ethnic minorities, who make up one
third of the
population in Myanmar.  They include the Karen, Mon, Shan, Rohingya,
Karenni, and Chin
people, who have been rounded up as part of  counter-insurgency activities
by the tatmadaw
against  armed opposition groups.

     During these offensives, soldiers have seized thousands of villagers
to act as porters --
carrying weaponry, munitions and provisions for the army. Hundreds have
been either killed or
left for dead if they try to escape or cannot perform their duties due to
old age or illness such as
malaria.

     As well as portering,  the army forces civilians from all ethnic
groups to work on roads,
dams, quarries, and railways throughout the country, all in the name of
"development" for the
people.  Villagers of all ages, including women and girls are forced to
work long hours in
sometimes dangerous conditions without pay, adequate food or medical care.

     Those unable to perform their duties to the satisfaction of the army
face beatings and
deprival of food. Many have been killed or have died from neglect and
ill-treatment, and those
who are forced to labour on a regular basis cannot tend their farms or
otherwise earn their living.

     Amnesty International welcomed the report as being a very significant
tool for
governments, the United Nations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
trade unionists, and
individuals around the world to use to raise awareness of the dire human
rights situation in
Myanmar.

ENDS.../