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  ______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
          An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
  ______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
  
  April 21, 2000
  
  Issue # 1514
  
  
  This edition of The BurmaNet News is viewable online
  at:
  
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$339

  
  
  
  
  
       
  *Inside Burma
  
  
  THE IRRAWADDY: WHAT IS TORTURE?
  
  MTBR: MAYFLOWER BANK OPENS SHAN BRANCH
  
  NLM: MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION RECEIVES
  JAPANESE VISITORS
  
  
  
  *International
  
  
  SHAN: JAPAN TO CHANNEL SALWEEN DAM FUNDS THROUGH CHINA
  
  KYODO: CAMBODIA SENTENCES 2 MYANMARS TO JAIL FOR ILLEGAL
  ENTRY
  
  REUTERS: MYANMAR TO HOST ASEAN ECONOMIC MEETING
  
  FBC: MINNEAPOLIS TO VOTE ON "FREE BURMA" RESOLUTION    
            
  AP: COOK VISITS MYANMAR REFUGEE CAMP
  
  
                      
  
  *Opinion/Editorials
  
  
  ERI: EARTH DAY STATEMENT ON YADANA PIPELINE
  
  
  
  
  
  __________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
  
  
  THE IRRAWADDY: WHAT IS TORTURE?
  
  Vol.8 No.3, March 2000
  
  ARTICLE
  
  Bo Kyi recalls and explains his experiences in Burma's
  prison.
  
  Torture: The deliberate, systematic or wanton
  infliction of physical or mental  suffering by one or
  more persons acting alone or in order of any
  authority, to force  another person to yield
  information, to make a confession or for any other reason.
  - The Tokyo Declaration on Torture, October 1975 
  
  One of the greatest obstacles to assisting victims of
  torture and ending this abhorrent  practice is public
  ignorance about the nature of the problem. Few people
  really  understand what torture is. Since a greater
  awareness is essential for the prevention of  future
  torture, I would like to explain what torture is, as
  well as its aims, methods and  effects, drawing in
  particular upon the experiences of torture victims in
  Burma. 
  
  The Tokyo Declaration on Torture, cited above,
  provides a basic definition of torture.  Concerning
  the aims of torture, however, it mentions only the
  immediate reasons for  inflicting torture and not the
  underlying purpose, which is to effectively destroy
  the  soul of a human being. Torture is designed to
  break down the identity of a strong man  or woman,
  turning a union leader, a politician, a student
  leader, a journalist, or a  leader of an ethnic
  minority group into a non-entity with no connection to
  the world  outside of their torture chamber.
  
  The process begins with arrest, usually at night. In
  Burma, however, sometimes this  process starts in
  broad daylight in public places. This was the case
  with the arrest of  Min Ko Naing, one of the most
  prominent student leaders of the 1988 pro-democracy 
  uprising. Min Ko Naing, now 38 years old, is the
  chairman of the All Burma  Federation Of Student
  Unions (ABFSU). He and I were arrested in front of
  many  people by a group of men in civilian clothes on
  the afternoon of March 23, 1989. Our  arrest was
  violentthree policemen pulled our necks very roughly,
  as if we were  dangerous criminals. Then we were
  turned over to agents of the Military Intelligence 
  Services (MIS). The MIS men put handcuffs on Min Ko
  Naing and pulled a dirty  hood over his head before
  taking him away in a truck. I and several other people 
  witnessed the vicious beating he received as he was
  being dragged away to the truck.  The MIS agents
  kicked and punched him all over his body, then took
  him away to a  secret destination where he was kept
  for several weeks and brutally tortured. His  family
  was not permitted to visit him for nearly three years.
  They saw at once that he  was suffering from physical
  and psychological trauma. Now, 11 years after his
  arrest,  Min Ko Naing still languishes in Sittawe
  prison, far from his family in Rangoon. 
  
  In Burma, under the present military regime, various
  physical torture methods are  being used, including
  systematic beatings (aimed at inflicting permanent
  injury),  unsystematic beatings (using rifle butts,
  truncheons, etc.), electric torture (applying 
  electrodes to sensitive parts of the body, such as the
  gums, ears, fingertips, and sexual  organs) and "moe
  dewa", or water torture (drops of water fall onto the
  victim's head  until, after a number of hours, they
  feel like a pounding hammer). Another common 
  practice is burning victims with cigarettes. 
  
  In the case of unsystematic beating, permanent damage
  may occur, even if that was  not the intention. Thura
  Soe, a former political prisoner who was released in
  1999,  described being kicked and beaten by a group of
  men while being held at an  interrogation center. The
  beatings started even before he was asked any
  questions.  Both of his ears were hit during this
  indiscriminate beating, leaving his hearing 
  permanently damaged. Later, his right leg, which had
  not healed from a previous  injury, was repeatedly
  jumped on. 
  
  Moe Aye, another former Burmese student political
  prisoner, described his experience  of systematic
  torture in his book, Ten Years On: 
  
  "'Sit down,' MIS ordered, 'and stretch out your legs.'
  
  "Then one of my legs was pulled up, and I felt
  terrified. Both of my legs were placed  on a piece of
  hard wood, and I then felt something like another
  piece of wood being  placed on top and I heard the
  sound of iron chains. It was extremely painful and I 
  cried out loud." 
  
  After being brutally tortured, the tissue damage and
  structural and functional  consequences are the same
  as after assaults, accidents and sports injuries. In
  other  cases, victims suspended by their wrists and
  with their arms above their heads, a  common posture
  during interrogation by MIS agents, complain of long-
  term joint  pain, and some have difficulty standing or
  sitting for long periods of time.
  
  The physical forms of torture are very severe, but the
  worst form of torture is  psychological. Mostly,
  psychological torture starts upon arrest. As soon as
  one is  arrested, a dirty hood is placed over the
  head. One immediately looses all contact with 
  the outside world. Then one is put into isolation in a
  small cell, which is kept either  very dark or very
  bright. While under interrogation, one is not allowed
  to sleep, eat or  drink for at least 36 hours. The
  victim loses all sense of time. Torture victims are
  not  allowed to bathe for many days and are kept in
  very unsanitary conditions. When the  detainee
  requests a visit to the toilet, the authorities turn a
  deaf ear.
  
  Under such circumstances, the torture victim may
  become abnormal, sometimes  resulting in suicide. Tin
  Tin Nyo, 26, a well-known female student leader, was 
  detained and interrogated by MIS in 1990. While she
  was in the interrogation center,  she was kicked in
  her supra pubic region by MIS agents wearing jungle
  boots. Further  details of her torture are not known,
  because she refused to discuss them with anyone. 
  Finally, on December 31, 1993, she succeeded in
  killing herself.
  
  Physical and psychological forms of torture are often
  closely linked, leaving scars that  are difficult to
  detect. Many victims will not dare to reveal their
  experiences of having  their sexual organs violated as
  it is closely linked to shame and guilt and the fear
  of  social stigma when they are released. 
  
  Many victims suffer from insomnia and nightmares long
  after experiencing torture.  Severe depression is
  another common problem, often so debilitating that it
  becomes  extremely difficult for the victim to return
  to normal life. 
  
  Public awareness can help prevent the future torture
  of unfortunate victims, as well as  the nearly 2,500
  political prisoners still inside Burmese prisons.
  Let's think how we can help the torture victims. 
  
  Bo Kyi, a former student activist now living in exile,
  contributed this article to The  Irrawaddy.
  
  
  
  
  ____________________________________________________
  
  
  
  MTBR: MAYFLOWER BANK OPENS SHAN BRANCH
  
  
  THE MYANMAR TIMES & BUSINESS REVIEW
  April 10 - 23 ,2000                           
  Volume 1, No.6 & 7
  
  BRIEFS
  
  Mayflower bank opens Shan branch
  
  MYANMAR Mayflower Bank Ltd opened a branch in Kengtung,
  northern Shan State, at a ceremony held at the bank on 3
  April.. SPDC Member Commander of Triangle Region Command
  Maj-Gen Thein Sein, Minister for Finance and Revenue U
  Khin Maung Thein and MMFB Chairman U Kyaw Win spoke on the
  occasion. MMFB has now opened 21 branches. Altogether 1162
  people opened accounts amounting to K5m at the branch on
  its first day.
  
  
  ____________________________________________________
  ____________________________________________________
  
  
  
  NLM: MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION RECEIVES
  JAPANESE VISITORS
  
  New Light of Myanmar
  
  
  YANGON, 20 April- Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation
  Maj-Gen Nyunt Tin received Director-General of Policy
  Research Council Liberal Democratic Party of Japan Mr
  Tomomitsu Iwakura and Director Mr Akira Karasawa of
  Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock of Japan
  at his office at 4 pm today. They discussed matters
  related to economic and technical cooperation in the
  agriculture sector between Myanmar and Japan.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  __________________ INTERNATIONAL ___________________
            
  
  
  SHAN: JAPAN TO CHANNEL SALWEEN DAM FUNDS THROUGH CHINA
  
  
  21 April 2000
  
  No: 4 - 6
  
  The Salween Dam
  
  Source: Japan To Channel Funds Through China
  
  An informed source from Rangoon told S.H.A.N. recently
  that an agreement  had  been made to channel Japanese
  financial assistance for the forthcoming 
  construction of the Salween dam to Burma through a Chinese
  bank.
  
  The source, who requested withholding of her identity,
  said as it was  difficult for Japan to hand out funds
  straight to Rangoon, due to the  situation in Burma as
  well as the strong opposition of the west with  regards to
  aiding the junta, it was agreed that the money would be 
  deposited at the Bank of Shanghai that has a branch in
  Rangoon.
  
  The Chinese condition was that the bulk of the equipment
  needed for the construction be purchased from China, she
  said.
  
  Kendo, a Japanese construction company in Rangoon, was one
  of those that  had been lobbying the Japanese financial
  sector for support for the dam  project.
  
  The projected dam site, near Tasarng, between Mongpan and
  Mongton of Shan  State, is currently under final study by
  GMS Power, a Thai company.
  
  The project is being opposed by Shans, Karens, Karennis
  and Mons who live  along the Salween basin.
  
  ///END\\\
  For further information, please contact S.H.A.N. at:
  Shan Herald Agency for News. P.O. Box. 15, Nonghoi P.O.,
  50007, Chiangmai, Thailand
  e-mail: <shan@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
  
  S.H.A.N. is a non-profit, independent Shan media group. It
  is not affiliated to any political or armed organization.
  
  ____________________________________________________
  
  
  
  KYODO: CAMBODIA SENTENCES 2 MYANMARS TO JAIL FOR ILLEGAL
  ENTRY
  
  
  PHNOM PENH, April 20 (Kyodo) - A Cambodian military court
  on Thursday sentenced two Myanmar immigrants to three
  months and eight days in prison for entering the country
  earlier this year without proper travel documents.
  
  During the hearing, Moth Sayhamsamay, 45, and Kao Saknoun
  Chhai, 26, identified themselves as members of the
  Rehmanya Restoration Army resistance movement, which is
  fighting the Myanmar junta.
  
  The pair entered Cambodia on Jan. 7 and were arrested five
  days later in the northwest province Battambang, according
  to court documents.
  
  The men face extradition to Myanmar after serving their
  prison terms.
  
  Defense lawyer Puth Theavy said he was trying to contact
  international human rights organizations, including the
  office in Cambodia of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights,
  in an attempt to ensure the pair's safety after they
  return to Myanmar.
  
  
  
  ____________________________________________________
  
  
  
  REUTERS: MYANMAR TO HOST ASEAN ECONOMIC MEETING
  
  2000-04-21
  
  BANGKOK, April 21 (Reuters) - Myanmar will host a
  meeting of  economic and trade ministers of the
  10-member Association of  South East Asian Nations
  (ASEAN), China, Japan and South Korea  next month,
  officials said on Friday. 
  
  The meeting in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, will
  start with an informal gathering of ASEAN ministers on
  May 1, Thai officials told Reuters. The Southeast
  Asian ministers would then meet their North Asian
  counterparts on May 2. An official in Yangon confirmed
  the dates but gave no further details. 
  
  A spokeswoman for the Thai Commerce Minister said
  Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi, who is
  also trade minister, would represent Thailand at the
  meeting. Thai sources said it would be the first time
  military-ruled Myanmar had hosted such an event since
  joining the regional grouping in 1997. 
  
  ASEAN comprises Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia,
  Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos,
  Cambodia and Brunei. Myanmar is subject to U.S.
  sanctions because of its human rights records, while
  the European Union bars senior officials of the
  government from its borders. Japan has taken a softer
  line. 
  
  The EU froze aid to Myanmar after troops there killed 
  thousands to crush a pro-democracy uprising in 1988
  but resumed some humanitarian assistance after
  opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from
  six years house arrest in 1995. 
  
  In November, then Japanese Premier Keizo Obuchi
  offered help to Myanmar should it seriously take up
  economic structural reform. 
  
  Obuchi stressed it would be easier to provide aid if
  Myanmar was more democratic, but analysts say Tokyo's
  principal concern appears to be losing business and
  political influence to China. 
  
  
  
  
  ____________________________________________________
  
  
  FBC: MINNEAPOLIS TO VOTE ON "FREE BURMA" RESOLUTION
  
  
  
  Contact:  
  612-874-7899
  BurmaNow@xxxxxxxxx
  
  Minneapolis To Vote On 'Free Burma' Resolution
  Proposed "Selective Purchasing Agreement" Will Cut
  Business Ties with Burma's Military
  
  Friday, April 21 at 9:30 a.m.
  City Hall, Room 317
  
  Minneapolis, MN--A two-year long effort to enact a human
  rights policy regarding Burma in the City Council of
  Minneapolis will be decided at the full Council meeting on
  Friday.  The "Burma Selective Purchasing Agreement"
  directs the city to avoid purchasing products or
  contracting with companies that do business with the
  draconian military controlling Burma (a country in SE
  Asia).  If approved, Minneapolis  will be joining some 25
  cities and states across the US that have placed such
  policies into action since 1995, including Los Angeles,
  New York, and Massachusetts.  The Council vote is
  scheduled for the 9:30 a.m. meeting at City Hall, Room 317
  
  The Selective Purchasing Agreement was introduced by 6th
  Ward Council Member Jim Niland in 1998 and has been
  through the legislative mill in several committees.  This
  final version of Selective Purchasing has picked up a co-
  sponsor as well, 8th Ward Council Member Brian Herron.
  The resolution, which is based on the Anti-Apartheid
  resolutions of a decade ago, establishes a protocol
  against purchasing or accepting contract bids from
  companies that have ties to the military in Burma,
  wherever possible. ìThe measure has no impact on city
  operations.
  
  "Minneapolis can easily find other companies or, in a rare
  case, opt out of the measure if no other company provides
  a vital service.  This is a no-brainer for the Council to
  enact," explains Mick Schommer of the Free Burma
  Coalition, the human rights group sponsoring the
  resolution.
  
  With Council Members largely split on the resolution, it
  is not certain how close the vote will be.  "Clearly, the
  City has the ability and right to make this work if they
  have the courage and decency.  It's upsetting that we
  haven't had unanimous consent from the very
  beginning," said Patti Hurd, a volunteer who works with
  the local Burmese community in the Twin Cities.  Pro-
  business interests and jurisdiction questions brought up
  by opponents have obstructed the vote until now.  Yet,
  Selective Purchasing has enjoyed wide endorsements,
  from the DFL party, the Central Labor Committee, local
  human right organizations, and Senator Paul Wellstone.
  
  Burma is one of the most severe military states, where
  forced labor of some 5 million people (including
  children), torture, rape, executions, and massacres of
  ethnic minorities are financed by Western investment
  and even, some allege, directly encouraged by corporate
  heads.  In addition, the regime facilitates over 60% of
  the heroin trade to the US, including Minnesota where
  heroin continues to be the most prevalent street drug. 
  "It's bloody business.  Minneapolis must not help kill my
  friends and family back home," said Aung Koe, a recent
  refugee from Burma.
  
  
  
  
  ____________________________________________________
  
  
  AP: COOK VISITS MYANMAR REFUGEE CAMP
  
  
  Thu 20 Apr 2000 
  THAM HIN TEMPORARY SHELTER, Thailand (AP)    British Foreign 
Secretary Robin Cook visited a camp for refugees from Myanmar today 
and left buoyed in the belief that his  government should pressure 
the nation's military regime for political change. 

  Cook's visit highlights British concerns over the poor human rights 
record in Myanmar, also  known as Burma, and the regime's failure to 
turn over power to a democratically elected  government. 

  Britain ``is happy to work with Burma as a partner but with a 
different government which represents the people,'' Cook said after a 
two-hour tour of the camp housing almost 8,000 refugees. 

  Thailand avoids public criticism of its neighbor's political 
system, but is concerned about the many refugees it has to host and 
the large amount of illegal drugs it says originate there. 

  The Tham Hin camp, about nine miles from the border, covers 16 
acres and houses refugees from Myanmar's Karen ethnic minority, a 
group that has been at odds with the central  government since the 
country obtained independence from Britain in 1948. 

  Most of those at the camp came during fighting between government 
forces and Karen guerrillas in 1997. 

  Daniel Zu, a camp leader, told Cook of the residents' desire that 
Britain keep pressuring the military regime in Yangon to move toward 
peace and democracy. 

  Britain has given $395,000 for non-governmental organizations to 
assist people in the refugee camps, and Cook said he would make a 
case when he got home for continued financial support. 

  He also said Britain would stand firm in keeping the pressure on 
the regime, both by itself and in coordination with other European 
Union countries. 

  Myanmar dissidents had earlier appealed to Cook to keep up the 
pressure on the military regime. 

  A letter from the National Council of the Union of Burma, a 
coalition of dissident Myanmar groups, said today that Cook's visit 
``comes at a crucial time in our struggle for freedom,
 human rights and democracy for Burma.'' 

  The NCUB and other exile opposition groups support the main legal 
opposition party, the National League for Democracy, which is led by 
1991 Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu  Kyi. The party won a 
landslide victory in a 1990 general election, but the military 
refused to hand over power. 
  
  
  
   
  _________________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________
  
  
  ERI: EARTH DAY STATEMENT ON YADANA PIPELINE
  
  Earth Rights International
  
  For the Indigenous Solidarity Statement speakers
  from one country from every inhabited continent
  speaks out on the issue of oil and gas in their
  lands. Burma was the country chosen for Earth Day
  2000 from Asia to highlight the negative impacts
  of the Yadana Pipeline project in Burma. Below is
  Ka Hsaw Wa's statement to a press conference on
  Tuesday April 18 in Washington DC, given in
  conjunction with Oronto Douglas, Indigenous leader
  of the Ijaw People in Nigeria. 
  ------------------------------------ 
  
  Statement of Ka Hsaw Wa for Earth Day 2000 Press
  Conference (Launching Indigenous Solidarity
  Statement for Earth Day 2000)
  
  Thank you very much for coming today. I am very
  happy to be representing my people of Burma in
  this Earth Day event. It is important that
  indigenous people from all over the world stand
  together in solidarity, to let the world know
  about the reality of oil, gas and mining in our
  lands. 
  
  It is also important for me to be able to talk to
  you here. As you know, my people are silenced in
  Burma by the military dictatorship that rules
  there. People in Burma cannot participate in any
  Earth Day celebrations. Even though most of the
  people in my country rely on a healthy environment
  for their survival, they cannot openly stand with
  the rest of the world to celebrate and protect
  that environment. The military will not let them.
  
  For the people in Burma, Earth Day''s call for
  clean energy means two things. It means energy
  that does not pollute our land, our water, our
  forests. But in the land of Unocal''s Yadana gas
  pipeline, my people want a different kind of clean
  energy. They want energy that is not polluted with
  their blood, their sweat or their tears. Clean
  energy means energy that does not destroy our
  lives.                   
  
  The reality for the Karen, Mon and Tavoyan people
  who are forced to live with Unocal''s pipeline is
  this: Forced labor, torture, rape, killing, forced
  relocation of villages. This is what happened in
  my country when Unocal hired the SLORC to secure
  their pipeline. This is what continues today in
  the pipeline region as I speak to you now.
  
  The pipeline construction is complete. Yet the
  forced labor and the violence continue. And it
  will continue as long as western oil companies
  like Unocal and Total send in the Burmese army to
  protect their pipelines. If these companies really
  care about the earth and its people like they say
  they do, they will get out of Burma.
   
  Clean energy, for us, means that the oil companies
  will stop supporting the military dictatorship
  that oppresses us daily. They will leave us alone,
  to live in peace and freedom, without their
  pipelines and the suffering that they bring.
  
  Thank you. 
  
                      
  
  ________________
  
  
  The BurmaNet News is an Internet newspaper providing
  comprehensive 
  coverage of news and opinion on Burma  (Myanmar).  
  
  
  For a subscription to Burma's only free daily
  newspaper, 
  write to: strider@xxxxxxx
  
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  ________________
  



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