US-ASEAN Biz Council Condemns...

[dohrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: RE: US-ASEAN Biz Council Condemns...



On Thu, 14 Jan 1999, Tony Albrecht wrote:

>        Larry : I agree that the HR situation in Burma is deplorable and
> worthy of condemnation. 

Yet your organization, the US-ASEAN Business Council, to my knowledge, has
neither acknowledged the human rights abuses documented by the UN, ILO,
USDOL and others, nor ever condemned them.  True or not?  If I am
ill-informed, please cite some specific statements.

Remember, the UN Special Rapporteur said "In its conclusions on the
substance of the case, the Commission stated that there was abundant
evidence before it of the pervasive use of forced labour imposed on the
civilian population throughout Myanmar by the authorities and the military
for portering; the construction, maintenance and servicing of military
camps; the construction and maintenance of roads, railways and bridges;
other infrastructure work; other work in support of the military; and work
in agriculture, logging and other projects undertaken by the authorities
or the military, sometimes for the profit of private individuals."

Also, "The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned about the serious human
rights violations that continue to be committed by the armed forces in the
ethnic minority areas. The violations include extrajudicial and arbitrary
executions (not sparing women and children), rape, torture, inhuman
treatment, forced labour and denial of freedom of movement. These
violations have been so numerous and consistent over the past years as to
suggest that they are not simply isolated or the acts of individual
misbehaviour by middle- and lower-rank officers but are rather the result
of policy at the highest level, entailing political and legal
responsibility."

Do you and the US-ASEAN Business Council agree that the "highest level" of
the junta holds "political and legal responsibility" for crimes such as
the arbitrary executions of children?

Or do you just mean that the situation itself is deplorable, and yet no
one in particular is to blame?

Larry