Bangkok Post(18/6/99)

[mandalay@xxxxxxxxxx]

<center><bold>Group blasts conditions in Thai jails Amnesty also slams
treatment of aliens


</bold></center>Conditions in places of detention in Thailand amounted to
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of inmates, said the London-based
Amnesty International in its just released annual report.


Demonstrators and detainees were ill-treated by security forces, said the
report, citing a case of one Karen refugee beaten to death by security
forces.


Although Thailand gave shelter to thousands of refugees from Cambodia and
Burma, thousands more Burmese asylum-seekers were denied access.


Immigration officials and police continued to arrest asylum-seekers and
refugees from Burma and other countries for "illegal immigration".
Amnesty said detained asylum-seekers were not given an opportunity to
challenge the legality of their detention as required by international
standards.


Throughout the year, the report said, immigration officials and police
arrested and sent to the border tens of thousands of Burmese migrant
workers, some of whom were asylum-seekers.


There continued to be no legal mechanism in Thailand for seeking asylum,
it said.


Amnesty said legislation establishing a national human rights commission,
provided for in the 1997 constitution, had been drafted but not adopted
by the end of the year.


Thailand's report to the UN Human rights committee on its implementation
of the international Covenant on Civil and Political rights was due in
January, but the report had not yet been submitted. 

-------------------------------------------------------

<center><bold>Factions urged to start talks

</bold></center>

A revered Burmese freedom fighter has urged the junta and Aung San Suu
Kyis's opposition to open a dialogue, adding weight to growing calls for
rapprochement, sources said yesterday. 


Bohmu Aung, a veteran of the Burmese independence struggle from Britain,
and a group of political allies called for talks aimed at eventually
forming a "national reconcilliation government in Burma. 


"In the interest of the state and its people , both sides should abandon
doubts , suspicions, animosity and allegations," The group urged in a
paper submitted to the government and the opposition National League for
Dimocracy(NLD). 


It called on both sides "strive to establish contacts, build confidence
and start a dialogue leading to the formation of a national

reconcilliation government as soon as possible. " 


Five of Burma's ethnic minorities, still fighting the country's military
government, have formed an alliance to battle the junta, rebel leaders
said on Wednesday. 


The announcement follows claims of territorial gains by Shan rebels in
fierce fighting with junta forces in the jungled terrain near Burma's
eastern bourder with Thailand. 


The alliance agreement came during two days of meeting between ethnic
groups held on the Thai -Burmese boder , rebel leaders told reporters at
a secret briefing. 


" Now we have less forces than the military, less than 10 to one, so we
must cooperate, adapt our guerrilla techniques," Said Colonel Yawd Suk, a
commander of the Sha State Army. 


Yawd Suk said the alliance would cooperate in millitary affairs,
politically and on intelligence issues in an effort to unify Burma's
struggling ethnic groups.  

-----------------------------------------------------

<center><bold>There's always room to do better

</bold></center>

Amnesty International on Wednesday released its annual report covering
abuses in Thailand for the year 1998. As with all other countries of the
world, the organisation managed to cite some examples.


Although Thailand gave refuge to thousands of refugees from neighbouring
Cambodia and Burma during 1998, thousands more Burmese asylum-seekers
were denied access. Burmese asylum-seekers and refugees also continued to
be arrested for "illegal immigration".


One Karen refugee was beaten to death by security forces. The security
forces ill-treated demonstrators and detainees. Conditions in places of
detention amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Thirteen
people were sentenced to death; one person was executed.


The coalition government of Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai remained in
power amid a severe economic downturn, which necessitated a substantial
loan from the International Monetary Fund. Legislation establishing a
National Human Rights Commission, provided for in the 1997 constitution,
had been drafted but not adopted by the end of the year.


Thailand's report to the UN Human Rights Committee on its implementation
of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was due in
January, but the report had not been submitted by the end of the year.


Throughout the year, asylum-seekers from the Karen, Karenni and Shan
ethnic minorities fled Burma into Thailand.


In March and April, the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Organisation, an armed
ethnic minority group allied to the Burmese army, attacked three Karen
refugee camps in Tak province, killing five people and leaving thousands
homeless.


The Ninth Infantry Division of the First Army continued to prevent
thousands of Karen asylum-seekers from entering Thailand, who remained at
risk of human rights violations in Burma.


Some 3,000 Karen asylum-seekers at Htee Wah Do village in Burma were
still denied permission to cross the border into Thailand after almost
two years.


The government permitted the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) to establish a permanent presence on the Thai-Burma
border to monitor more than 100,000 refugees on the Thai side. By the end

of the year the government had agreed to five areas of work for UNHCR: to
witness the process of refugee admission; to assist the authorities in
registration; to assist and advise the authorities on camp relocation;
and to assist refugees on their safe return.


Immigration officials and police continued to arrest asylum-seekers and
refugees from Burma and other countries for"illegal immigration".
Detained asylum-seekers were not given an opportunity to challenge the
legality of their detention as required by international standards.


In January, nine Burmese asylum-seekers, all members of groups opposed to
the Rangoon government, were arrested in Sangkhla Buri, Kanchanaburi
province, and detained for two weeks before being taken to the Burma side
of the border.


In August, 30 Burmese refugees and asylum-seekers were arrested during a
prolonged peaceful protest in front of the Burmese embassy in the capital
Bangkok, held in the immigration detention centre for two weeks, and
transferred to the Special Detention Centre at Bang Khen Police Academy,
where they were believed to be still detained without trial at the end of
the year.


Throughout the year, immigration officials and police arrested and sent
to the border tens of thousands of Burmese migrant workers, some of whom
were asylum-seekers. There continued to be no legal mechanism in Thailand
for seeking asylum.


Some asylum-seekers were ill-treated.


In January, around 20 Karen refugees, including two women aged over 65,
were reportedly beaten and kicked by soldiers when they returned to Mae
La camp, Tak province, after foraging for food.


In March, Nyan Lin, a Karen refugee, was beaten to death by soldiers
because he returned to his camp after curfew. No investigation was known
to have taken place, although his widow received financial compensation
from the security forces.


The security forces also ill-treated demonstrators and detainees.


In January, police beat and kicked demonstrators who had given themselves
up during a violent workers' demonstration in Samut Prakan province.


Also in January, three Muslims belonging to the Pattani United Liberation
Organisation (Pulo), an armed ethnic Malay separatist group in southern
Thailand, were reportedly severely beaten while handcuffed and bound by
security forces during 10 days of interrogation after their arrest. They
were still detained and their trial on charges of treason, murder and
possession of weapons was continuing at the end of the year.


The case brought by the families of six suspected drug traffickers shot
dead by police in November 1996 was brought to Suphan Buri court in
October and was still being heard at the end of the year.


Conditions in police lock-ups, immigration detention centres and prisons
amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.


Prisoners were shackled continuously for months at a time, held in
solitary confinement for extended periods, or held in extremely
overcrowded conditions. Adequate medical care, sanitation, food and water
were lacking in many places of detention.



In the Special Detention Centre, where people convicted of drugs offences
were imprisoned, there was severe overcrowding and routine beatings. In
Bang Kwang prison, prisoners were kept continuously for months in
shackles weighing between seven and 15 kg welded to the ankles. Prisoners
in Chon Buri prison also were kept in heavy shackles for prolonged
periods and severely beaten.


In October, Supoj Pengklai, a policeman who had been convicted of murder
in 1996, was executed by firing squad. Thirteen people were sentenced to
death for rape, rape and murder, and amphetamine trafficking. At least 52
others were believed to be under sentence of death at the end of the
year.


In January and February, Amnesty International delegates visited Thailand
to research its human rights concerns and hold discussions with
government officials.


Throughout the year, Amnesty International appealed to the government not
to forcibly return asylum-seekers to Burma. In November, the organisation
condemned the execution of Supoj Pengklai and urged the authorities not
to carry out any further executions.