Myanmar Sentences British Activist (r)

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Subject: Myanmar Sentences British Activist (AP)

Myanmar Sentences British Activist 

Rangoon 16 Sept 1999, AP.  A Myanmar court sentenced British democracy
activist Rachel Goldwyn to seven years in prison with labor today for a
solo protest against Myanmar's military regime. 

Goldwyn, 28, of Barnes in southwest London, looked saddened by the
sentence, the maximum possible for the charge. She was led away almost
immediately afterwards by policewomen who were to take her back to Insein
Prison in a suburb of the capital, Yangon. 

Her lawyer said he would appeal the sentence within the 90 days allowed for
the process. 

Goldwyn was arrested after chaining herself to a lamppost and shouting
pro-democracy slogans in downtown Yangon on Sept. 7. 

Asked by the judge if she was guilty of actions likely to cause public
unrest the charge against her she admitted the facts of her case but denied
that her motive was to disrupt stability. 

''My demonstration was to show the extent of control,'' she said. ''It was
not to undermine stability. I did not want anybody to take any risk and I
did not want anybody to be arrested.'' 

Goldwyn's lawyer, Kyi Win, had told the judge that the pro-democracy
slogans she chanted were not a criminal offense because the nation's
military leaders have made similar statements favoring democracy. 

The ruling junta in Myanmar took power in 1988 after violently suppressing
pro-democracy demonstrations. It held a general election in 1990 but
refused to let parliament convene after a landslide victory by the
democratic opposition. 

Goldwyn's mother, speaking from her home in Barnes today, said she was
''absolutely desperate'' after being told of her daughter's sentence. 

''We all cry, and then cry again all the time,'' said Charmain Goldwyn. She
said she has had to rely on the British consul in Myanmar for information,
and feared for her daughter's health and safety. 

''We've had no chance to talk to her. We didn't even know where she was
until Monday,'' said Mrs. Goldwyn. 

Mrs. Goldwyn and her husband Ed, a television producer, had thought their
daughter was going to Germany on holiday when she was arrested in Burma
last week. 

Goldwyn's sentence of imprisonment with labor such as road building or
plantation work was seen by legal observers as a technical one reflecting
the severity of the crime, and they don't expect she will have to
participate in such work. 

During much of her trial, Goldwyn looked relaxed and cheerful, wearing a
turquoise T-shirt and Myanmar sarong, or longyi. On her face was sandalwood
powder, a traditional Myanmar cosmetic. 

Prosecution witnesses, including police and a passer-by, said that about
1,000 people gathered to watch Goldwyn's protest. 

There were no defense witnesses. 


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