Reuters-Britain to urge Myanmar to

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Subject: Reuters-Britain to urge Myanmar to hear activist's appeal 

Britain to urge Myanmar to hear activist's appeal
07:45 a.m. Sep 20, 1999 Eastern
BANGKOK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The British embassy in Yangon said on Monday it
would urge military-ruled Myanmar this week to waste no time in hearing a
British woman's appeal against a seven-year jail term for a pro-democracy
protest.

British ambassador John Jenkins is due to see Yangon's Deputy Foreign
Minister Khin Maung Win on Wednesday to raise concerns about the handling of
the cases against Rachel Goldwyn and James Mawdsley, a British man jailed
for 17 years, also for pro-democracy activism.

``He will be raising the British government's shock at the severity of the
sentences and concerns about the way the cases were handled, particularly
over legal representation and consular access,'' the embassy official said.

``We will be asking again for at least monthly access to both of them and
for Rachel's appeal to be heard as soon as possible,'' the official added.

Goldwyn's lawyer at her trial last Thursday said the 28-year-old human
rights worker would appeal. She was sentenced on Thursday after a solo
protest the previous week that the court ruled was a danger to state
security.

She had tied herself to a railing in central Yangon and sung a pro-democracy
song and democracy slogans.

An appeal must be filed within 90 days but the process can take months to
complete.

The British consul spoke to the Foreign Ministry on Monday to seek access to
Goldwyn as soon as possible to discuss the appeal. Her lawyer, Kyi Win, said
he hoped to file the appeal next week.

Political analysts in Myanmar say Goldwyn could have her sentence suspended
if the appeal is successful and be deported since it was her first offence.

She has been held at Yangon's notorious Insein Jail where many political
prisoners have been detained in the past. The British embassy, after being
allowed to see her before the sentencing, said she was being well-treated
and was in good spirits.

Mawdsley, a 26-year-old from Lancashire who also has an Australian passport,
was jailed on September 1 after crossing into northeast Myanmar a day before
with pro-democracy leaflets.

The government has said it could not be lenient with him as it was his third
arrest for similar protests in Myanmar. He served 99 days of a five-year
sentence for illegal entry last year before being deported on condition he
never return.

He was being held in jail in the remote northeastern town of Kengtung, where
British and Australian officials saw him last week for the first time since
his arrest. He appeared well.