|
U.S.
Should Oppose Allies' Misuse of "Anti-Terror"
(New York, September 25, 2001) -- The Bush
Administration should signal its allies not to use the fight
against terrorism as cover for their own domestic campaigns
against political opponents, Human Rights Watch urged today in a
letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
In recent days, a number of governments around
the world have taken advantage of the attacks of September 11 to
justify internal crackdowns against those they deem to be
terrorists and "separatists." Russia has compared the
U.S. war on terrorism to its own brutal campaign against Chechen
rebels. China has requested support for its repressive policies
in Tibet and the Muslim region of Xinjiang. Egypt has lashed out
against outside criticism of its human rights record, saying
that the world should now adopt its fight against terrorism as a
model.
"If an American-led counter-terrorism
effort becomes associated with attacks on peaceful dissent and
religious expression, it will undermine everything the United
States is trying to achieve," said Kenneth Roth, Executive
Director of Human Rights Watch. "Many countries are sensing
that the United States will condone actions committed in the
name of anti-terrorism that it would have condemned a short time
ago."
The danger of this kind of opportunism is
particularly acute in Central Asia, Human Rights Watch said.
Uzbekistan, which U.S. military forces will be using as a
staging ground for operations in Afghanistan, has in recent
years imprisoned thousands of non-violent Muslims for worshiping
outside state controls or joining unregistered religious
organizations.
"President Bush has rightly said this can't
become a war on Islam," Roth said. "Uzbekistan's
indiscriminate persecution of non-violent Muslims is directly
undermining his message."
Human Rights Watch called on the U.S.
administration to continue denying U.S. security assistance to
those who might use it to commit human rights abuses, to avoid
cooperative activities that will be read by abusive governments
as condoning their practices, and to publicly condemn efforts by
repressive governments to take advantage of the recent attack.
A copy of the letter sent to Secretary Powell
can be found at
http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/09/uspowell0924.htm.
For more information on human rights and the
September 11 attacks, please see Aftermath of the September 11
Attacks: Human Rights Implications (HRW focus page) at http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/september11/.
Source: Human Right Watch, 25 September 2001
TOP
AFP: Myanmar belatedly releases condolence
message for the US
YANGON, Sept 23 (AFP) - Myanmar's military
regime has belatedly released a message of sympathy sent to the
United States after the terrorist attacks there, and denied
rumours that its troops were ready to fight with the alleged
perpetrator Osama bin Laden.
Myanmar's official press maintained a blackout
on the attacks until the weekend when it finally ran a letter to
US President George W. Bush from junta leader Senior General
Than Shwe, sent the day after the attacks.
"I was deeply shocked by the news of the
dreadful violence perpetrated in the cities of Washington DC,
New York and Pittsburgh on 11 September 2001," Than Shwe
said in the message.
"At this tragic hour, the people and
government of the Union of Myanamr join me in offering our
heartfelt condolences to the government and people of the United
States of America."
The Myanmar junta typically has a hostile
relationship with the US government, which has led the
international community in condemning the regime over its poor
human rights record and resistance to democratic reforms.
Meanwhile, the official press also issued a
statement dismissing what it said were rumours of a connection
between government troops and fighters aligned with Bin Laden,
who the US has accused of masterminding the attacks.
"The government and the people of Myanmar
are quite surprised to learn that in Europe there is a malicious
rumour going around stating that the Myanmar soldiers are going
to join Usamah Bin-Ladin's forces," it said.
The statement said the reports were being spread
deliberately by exiled dissidents who were aiming to discredit
the government and deter tourists from visiting Myanmar.
However, the opposition radio network, the
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) said the government's denial was
the first it had heard of the bin Laden connection.
"DVB has contacted Europe-based Burmese
democracy groups but they said they have not heard the rumours,"
it said.
The Myanmar Times said in a report to be
published in its Monday edition that Deputy Foreign Minister
Khin Maung Win had also expressed the government's sympathies
over the attacks in a condolence book.
"These acts were indeed in no way
acceptable to all mankind," the minister wrote in the book
opened at the Inya Lake Hotel, where a prayer service for the
victims was held Wednesday.
"In this hour of great tragedy, Myanmar
wishes to reaffirm its friendship with the great people of the
United States."
Source: BurmaNet 23 September 2001
TOP
ILO mission:FORCED LABOUR TEAM HOLDING
CARDS CLOSE TO THE VEST
Based on an SCMP article (with additions):
September 21, 2001
RANGOON -- An International Labour Organization
(ILO) team arrived in Rangoon Monday on a three week mission to
investigate efforts by Burma's military regime to eradicate
forced labour in the country.
The four-member team, along with seven
accompanying experts, had a working lunch with Aung San Suu Kyi
on Wednesday and on Friday met with Gen Khin Nyunt of the ruling
military council. No details of the meetings were released.
Talks with the Attorney-General and the Chief Justice were also
on the itinerary, which the United Nations body kept tightly
under wraps.
Francis Maupain, who is a representative of ILO
director-general Juan Somavia, said the itinerary since the trip
started on Monday had been "very packed". "We are
seeing everyone, including all the ministers concerned," he
said.
Maupin declined to confirm reports that the team
would travel to Karen and Shan states, where reports of forced
labour are rife. "We do not yet know exactly where we are
going," he said. "That depends on the information that
we collect during the course of our talks here."
ILO officials said earlier the military
government hadn't been told most of the destinations that the
team wants to visit and that they would only be advised after it
had had a chance to assess the situation in Rangoon. They are
also expected to insist on privacy in any of the interviews they
conduct in areas where the use of forced labour has been
reported.
The team also held a meeting with ethnic
minority parties, as part of the briefing process. Shan
Nationalities representative Khun Tun Oo said the meeting had
focused on whether forced labour had persisted since last
November, after the junta issued regulations to enforce a ban
announced earlier. "We generally conceded that except for
the nation's periphery, where conflicts with anti-government
armed groups still went on, conditions in the rest of the
country had improved," he said. "We found the team to
be very serious and open-minded, and our meeting was quite
satisfying."
--------------------------------
Editor's (Burma Courier) note: Anyone with any
doubts about the persisting use of forced labour in ethnic
minority areas of Burma should have a look at the latest collection of photos and commentary posted on
the website of the Karen Human Rights Group earlier this month.
Check out the pictures and information on the
most recent collection at khrg@khrg.org
Source: Burma Courier No. 288, 16-22 September 2001
TOP
*
News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *
21 September 2001
ASA 11/010/2001
168/01
"The fear of military attacks on
Afghanistan has caused a mass movement of people towards borders
-- it is imperative that the international community take
responsibility for this and urgently address the unfolding
humanitarian crisis," Amnesty International said.
"Pakistan, Iran and Tajikistan must reopen
their borders and provide protection to Afghan refugees. However
they should not bear a disproportionate cost - the international
community must assist," the organization said.
Before the current crisis at least 1.1 million
Afghans were internally displaced people due to drought, armed
conflict and food shortages. There are already some two million
Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Now several hundred thousand are on
the move fearing imminent attack. According to some reports more
than 100,000 people have left Kandahar alone, the seat of the
Taleban.
There are many obstacles for people seeking to
flee; many are too poor to obtain transport, many are too weak
to move.
Even though there is said to be 2-3 weeks supply
of food, with the withdrawal of foreign aid workers, food
distribution has come to a virtual standstill.
In the last few days Pakistani security forces
have reportedly sealed the border with barbed wire in a number
of places - despite UNHCR appeals not to turn back refugees.
Only those with valid visas are currently allowed to enter but
Pakistani authorities have ceased issuing permits altogether. Up
to 15,000 Afghan refugees have reportedly made it through in the
last week but hundreds of people have been turned back at the
Pakistan border. Despite closing its borders, Pakistani
authorities have reportedly begun to make arrangements for those
who flee Afghanistan but such efforts may be too little too late
for the thousands approaching the border.
Neighbouring states have obligations under
international law, in particular the principle of non
refoulement, which prohibits states from returning anyone
against their will directly or indirectly, to another country
where they risk serious human rights abuses.
"The people of Afghanistan have suffered
conflict and famine for decades. The international community
must offer protection and relief immediately and provide
adequate resources to the UNHCR for it to carry out its mandate
in an effective manner," Amnesty International said.
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Source: Amnesty International, September 22,
2001
TOP
Basket
Case: Pottery Barn Backs Out of Burma
20th Company in 14 Months to Cut Business Ties Reveals Burma is
"New South Africa"
SAN FRANCISCO - Pottery Barn, a home furnishings store owned by
San Francisco-based Williams Sonoma company has announced to the
Free Burma Coalition (FBC) that the company has broken off all
business ties with the country of Burma "because of the
current political and human rights issues."
The decision makes the $1.8 billion home retailing giant the
20th
company to end business with Burma during the past 14 months on
account of human rights abuses, joining other retailers such as
Wal-Mart, Costco, TJ Maxx, Fila, IKEA, Sarah Lee, and Perry
Ellis.
Two letters to FBC, dated September 10th and 12th, explained
that
Pottery Barn has removed products made in Burma from its store
shelves, catalogue, and on-line store and that the company has
adopted a policy against placing any new orders from the
country. The letter also read that the company continues to
produce a line of products called "The Martaban
Collection"--so named for a major gulf off Burma in the
Andaman sea--but that "all items…are the new, non-Myanmar
made products."
"There have not been this many companies to withdraw from a
country on human rights grounds since South Africa in the
1980s," said Ko Ko Lay, a Burmese dissident in exile and
leader of the Bay Area Burma Roundtable, an affiliate of FBC.
"Williams Sonoma has joined a long list of companies who
realize that business with Burma’s pariah military regime is
unconscionable. This is the new South Africa."
A coalition of 26 U.S. based consumer organizations, labor
unions, and human rights groups--including Global Exchange, the
National Labor Committee (NLC), the American Anti-Slavery Group,
the United Methodist Church’s Women’s Division, and the
Lawyer’s Committee for Human Rights--became concerned about
ties to Burma’s regime after the NLC obtained shipping data
showing Williams Sonoma imported items worth $321,548.00 from
Burma late last year. FBC members subsequently found items from
Burma for sale in Pottery Barn stores in Washington, DC and
planned a nation-wide day of protest in six U.S. cities in front
of Pottery Barn stores for September 15th., including San
Francisco’s Castro location grand opening.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi--the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose
political party won Burma’s 1990 democratic election that were
later
annulled by the ruling military regime--has called for companies
to stay away from Burma until "rule of law and basic
democratic institutions" are in place. Suu Kyi has
been held under house arrest by the regime for most of the past
12 years. In response to recent evidence of a widespread
"modern form of slave labor " in Burma presented by
the International Labor Organization, an agency of the United
Nations, U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Patrick Leahy
(D-VT), Max Baucus (D-MT), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jesse Helms
(R-NC), and Robert Smith (R-NH) have co-sponsored Senate bill
#926 to ban all imports from Burma.
"Companies like Williams Sonoma are beginning to realize
that doing business in Burma helps perpetuate forced labor and
misery," says Charles Kernaghan of the NLC.
"Fortunately, Williams Sonoma has joined most businesses in
saying ‘no’ to the military dictatorship of Burma."
Source: G L O B A L E X C H A
N G E, Free Burma Coalition, September 20, 2001
TOP
The
Independent Bangladesh: Ethnic cleansing campaign in Myanmar
alleged
Arakan Muslim leader seeks world help for asylum
by Abdur Rahman Khan
The President of the Arakan Muslim Development
Foundation, M A Rahim, an asylum-seeker in Bangladesh since
February this year, is passing his days in distress waiting for
humanitarian assistance from the international community.
Assisted by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services
Trust, a legal and human rights organisation, MA Rahim has
appealed to the international community for asylum and action
against "the tyranny of the Myanmar military
government."
Rahim, called U Mg Aung in Burmese, holds an
L.L.B degree from Yangon University and a B.Ed degree from the
Institute of Education in Yangon. He worked as an educationist
in his home town Myauk-U.
He was arrested by Military Intelligence (MI-10)
on November 23 last year and held in confinement in Myauk-U for
over a month. Rahim alleged that while in custody he was
routinely tortured by the army and police men.
Continued torture resulted in the loss of all
his teeth and severe injuries to his eyes, he alleged adding
"I am now a half-dead man".
Rahim was released following an order from an
appeal judge’s court where he was not proved guilty, he said.
No sooner had he been released from Sittwe
prison than he and other Muslim leaders were accused of setting
fire to a mosque in Myaungbwe in early February this year.
Actually, the MI-10, police and Maghs destroyed
the mosque but they implicated the Muslim leaders, Rahim
alleged.
"As the commanding-in-chief Western sector
ordered the officers of a brigade to kill me and other Muslim
leaders, I fled to Bangladesh leaving behind all my property of
about 20 million kyats and the beloved members of my
family", Rahim told this correspondent.
"I do not know what has happened to my
wife, seven sons and one daughter at my home", said Rahim
in an emotion-choked voice.
Talking to The Independent U Mg Aung alleged
that there is no rule of law in Myanmar where the Arakanese
Muslims were leading a deplorable life due to torture,
humiliation and killing.
The general people of Myanmar are provided with
a pink card showing their identity as a citizen while the
Muslims are given temporary non-citizenship immigration card in
white subjecting them to discrimination, he complained.
Alleging that there is a sustained ethnic
cleansing operation against the Muslims, U Mg Aung said 18
Muslim scholars along with their families were drowned while
trying to escape to Yangon from the state capital Sittwe by a
launch this year.
Source: BurmaNet 10 September 2001
TOP
Arakan
Human Rights Organisation (AHRO) condemns terrorist attacks
9/11/2001
We,
Arakan
Human Rights Organisation condemn the apparent
terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and offer our
deepest condolences to the families of those who were
killed or injured.
We also request to all Arakanese to offer
whatever help they can to the victims and their families.
We further call on media professionals to
exercise restraint and not draw premature conclusions as to who
was responsible for the apparent attacks.
The Executive Committee
Arakan Human Rights Organisation
Source: Arakan Human Rights Organisation, 14 September 2001
TOP
BurmaNet:
New York bombing reactions--Regime silent, Unocal donates
$100,000, exiles extend condolences
September 14, 2001
In the aftermath of floods in Thailand, the
massacre of the royal family in Nepal, Immediately after the
mistaken bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia by US
aircraft in 1999, Burma’s ruling regime issued a statement
offering condolences to China and deploring “this grave
incident which tantamounts [sic] to violation of the UN Charter
and the basic norms of the International law.”
Condolences were also forthcoming to Nepal after
the massacre of the Nepalese royal family and to Thailand
following deadly floods. A regime official condemned the
bloodless seizure of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok by members
of the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors saying “terrorism is
a scourge to all and that the international community cannot
condone terrorist acts under any circumstance. There can be no
exceptions.” In the wake of the most lethal terrorist incident
in world history, the regime thus far neither issued condolences
to the victims nor condemned the attackers. In contrast, Yasser
Arafat and even the Taliban have done both (whether they are
sincere is another thing).
Formal and informal messages of condolences have
been issued by Burma’s government in exile and a number of
individuals in Burma-related news groups. Representative of the
comments is one posted by a Burmese exile now living in Indiana
saying “At the time of this tragedy in America, my heart and
thoughts go to the good side of America.” The poster also
suggests a reason for the regime’s silence thus far on the
attack: “We should all note that USA was the first country to
bring our fellow Burmese students and refugees to get further
opportunity to continue with their lives and struggle for
democracy and humane government at home in Burma.”
The Irrawaddy, a magazine run by Burmese exiles
provides coverage of the attack’s impact on Burmese living in
New York and Washington (see Irrawaddy: Burma Residents Feel
Effects, below) while the Internet versions of regime-run
newspapers and magazines ignore it completely, opting instead
for the usual fare such as accounts of how the regime has
“endeavoured for the all-round development of Yangon City by
widening and renovating the roads, constructing modern high-rise
buildings....and setting up new market centers for the
convenience of shoppers.”
The Unocal oil company, which along with Total
are the largest investors in Burma has responded with a $100,000
donation to funds set up to aid the victims and their survivors
of the attack. Unocal’s generosity may have an element of
pre-emptive public relations damage control because of the
company’s past involvement with the Taliban. In 1998, Unocal
was forced to abandon plans to build a pipeline in Afghanistan
after intense pressure from women’s and human rights groups as
well as coercion by the United States government. The pipeline
would have provided more than $100 million dollars annually to
the Taliban.
The attack on the United States is likely is
likely to have contrasting short and long term effects on Burma.
In the short term, it looks increasingly likely that the United
States is lining up an international coalition to eliminate the
Taliban organization along with Osama bin Ladin. As long as the
coalition is focusing on what is likely to be a major military
attack or invasion of Afghanistan, anything else --including
pressuring Rangoon over forced labor and drugs--is likely to be
given scant attention. In the longer term however, the
elimination of pariah regimes like Milosevic’s Yugoslavia and
now the Taliban increases the ability of the international
community to focus pressure on hold-outs like North Korea and
Burma.
Source: BurmaNet
14 September 2001
TOP
BUSH,
ASHCROFT CONDEMN ANTI-MUSLIM HYSTERIA
Other officials join in rejecting attacks on
Muslims and Arab-Americans
(WASHINGTON, DC - 9/13/2001) - A prominent
American Muslim advocacy group today applauded remarks by
President Bush, Attorney General John Ashcroft and other
government officials condemning attacks on American Muslims and
Arab-Americans in the wake of terrorist incidents in New York
and Washington, D.C. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
says anti-Muslim attacks have included vandalism and shootings
at American Islamic centers, threats against Muslim institutions
and attacks on individuals who are identifiably Muslim.
In a phone conversation today with New York
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, President Bush said: "...we
must be mindful that as we -- as we seek to win the war [against
terrorism], that we treat Arab-Americans and Muslims with the
respect they deserve. I know that is your attitude as well,
certainly the attitude of this government, that we should not
hold one who is a Muslim responsible for an act of terror."
In a news conference today, Attorney General
John Ashcroft said: "Since Tuesday the Justice Department
has received reports of violence and threats of violence against
Arab-Americans and other Americans of Middle Eastern and South
Asian descents. We must not descend to the level of those who
perpetrated Tuesday's violence by targeting individuals based on
their race, their religion, or their national origin. Such
reports of violence and threats are in direct opposition to the
very principles and laws of the United States and will not be
tolerated."
Just after the attacks, Mayor Giuliani said:
"Nobody should blame any group of people or any nationality
or any ethnic group. The particular individuals responsible or
the groups responsible, that's up to law enforcement and it's up
to the United States government to figure out. And citizens of
New York should, even if they have anger, which is
understandable, and very, very strong emotions about this, it
isn't their place to get involved in this. Then they're just
participating in the kind of activity we just witnessed. And New
Yorkers are not like that."
Other elected officials, including Rep. Tom
Davis (202-225-1492) of Virginia issued similar statements. Rep.
Davis said: "Anyone who resorts to acts of violence against
Arab-Americans and/or American Muslims is giving the
perpetrators of these heinous acts exactly what they wanted. Now
more than ever, Americans of all ethnic and religious
backgrounds must stand tall together in defense of our rich
diversity and in defiance of those who seek to tear apart the
American fabric."
Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia wrote:
"...our nation must resist the dark temptation toward human
prejudice as the investigation of these events unfolds...No
religious or ethnic group in our diverse society - including
Arab Americans and Muslim Americans should be made to suffer
because of fanatics half a world away."
"American Muslims appreciate these
expressions of support from government officials and believe
these statements will help to reintroduce a tone of tolerance in
our society," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
There are an estimated seven million Muslims in American and
some 1.2 billion worldwide.
Source:
CAIR, 14 September 2001
TOP
World
Condemns Attacks on US
By Fady Alhur, Middle East News Online Reporter
Posted Tuesday September 11, 2001 - 08:25:35 PM EDT
WASHINGTON, USA: While the
United States is scrambling to deal with the tragedy that struck
earlier today, the international community's position is very
clear: utter condemnation of the terrorist acts and vows to
support the United States in any way possible.
Yasser Arafat, the Chairman of
the Palestinian Authority (PA) was the first to react.
He spoke with deep emotions
condemning the "dangerous attack." "We are
completely shocked. It's unbelievable," He told reporters
in Gaza, while surrounded by close aids and personal guards.
He lamented, "It's very
difficult for me and for anyone to speak about what happened,
adding, "It's not only against the American people and
against America, it's against international humanity. Something
is touching my heart." "We completely condemn this
very dangerous attack, and I convey my condolences to the
American people, to the American President and to the American
administration, not only in my name but on behalf of the
Palestinian people." He added.
King Abdullah was on his way to
Jordan when his airplane pilot announced that they have to
divert their flight and land In Canada.
The Jordanian position was as
strong as many official declarations made throughout the Middle
East, a strong condemnation of the terrorist acts, and prayers
for the victims and their families.
Kofi Annan, Secretary General of
the UN spoke about the sadness that he and the whole world has
felt today, affirming that "terrorism can never serve a
just cause." European leaders rushed with strong
condemnation as well, pledging support for the United States in
the wake of terror attacks.
Reportedly, Belgian Prime
Minister Guy Verhofstadt was shocked by the attacks and he
condemned the incidents.
Romano Prodi, the head of the
European Commission, expressed his sympathy to all Americans and
to US President Bush.
"Europeans stand together
with the United States" he said.
Similar messages of condemnation
and vows of support came form European Commission external
relations chief Chris Patten, Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka
Fisher, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, British Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw and from Russia's President Vladimir.
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak
held an urgent session with his government, where they discussed
the attacks and came out with a strong reaction of condemnation.
However he expressed his
concerns regarding the nature of the American
"retaliation".
Israeli generals also condemned
the attacks. However, there reaction was seen by Middle Eastern
analysts as a manipulative and a self-serving one.
Israeli leaders rushed with
predictions blaming it on "Islamic militants."
"The threat of radical Islam is the central threat to the
free world because its goal is to destroy everything connected
to the values of western democracies." Ben Eliezer,
Israel's Defense Minister alleged.
Ehud Barak, former Israeli prime
minister said that "a Bin Laden organization" was
responsible.
"Most obviously my guess is
a bin Laden organization...We have to stand firm against such
terrorism," Barak said.
"We have to coordinate to
launch the same kind of fight that our forefathers gave to the
fight against piracy on the high seas - mainly terrorists should
not be allowed to land at any port or airport," he said.
Source: Middle East News Online,
11 September 2001
TOP
VOA
News: ILO Team Heads to Burma For Labor Probe
11 Sep 2001 22:04 UTC
The International Labor Organization or ILO is
sending a high level team of experts to Burma to evaluate the
government's efforts to deal with forced labor.
The three-week mission will begin on September
17.
The Burmese military junta promised to eliminate
forced labor after the ILO condemned the practice. The U.N.
organization has been examining forced labor in Burma since
1998.
Burmese authorities agreed to the group's
mission in May following a visit to Burma by an ILO official. A
date for the mission was set last week.
The ILO group will be led by Ninian Stephen, a
former governor general of Australia and former judge at the
International War Crimes tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
Other members of the team will be Nieves
Roldan-Confesor of the Philippines, Kulatilaka Ranasinghe of Sri
Lanka and Jerzy Makarczyk of Poland.
Source: BurmaNet 1 4 September 2001
TOP
Announcement:
Arakan
Human Rights Organisation
This is to announce that by the will of Allah (SWT) on 1st September 2001 a group of Rohingyas
living in Bangladesh/ Burma Boarder and in exile were able to
launch an Arakan Human
Rights Watch under the name of Arakan Human Rights
Organisation (AHRO).
Arakan Human Rights Organisation is
a regional campaigning body
working to protect and promote all the human rights in
the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and international
standards. In particular all the human right abuses that the
military Junta of Burma has subjected against
the people of Arakan, to mention a few; denial and
rejection of citizenship, forced expulsion, forced relocation,
genocide and ethnic-cleansing, forced labour, restriction on
freedom of movement, extra-judicial killings, summary
executions, arbitrary arrests , torture, humiliation,
slave labour, uprooting of villages and forcible eviction of
inmates, confiscation of properties, desecration and destruction
of mosques, cemeteries and religious schools, rape, molestation
of womenfolk etc.
It is to be expected that
the worst abuses of human rights will occur where exploitation
and inequity are greatest and
where the governments are not accountable to their
people. As the Burmese SPDC (State Peace and Development
Council) is neither an elected government accountable to the
people nor a popular government ruling under a constitution
accepted by the people but a government that has usurped power
by military force, there can be no rule of law and the
independence of the judiciary is a mere scrap of paper, a
mockery of the system. Thus, today
Burmese military junta is characterized by brutality with
worst human rights records In the world
Arakan Human
Rights Organisation is impartial and independent of any
government, political persuasion or religious creed. It
activities and principles are focused and based on the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent human rights
instruments and institutions .The protection and promotion of
universal ratification and implementation of human rights
treaties is the sole object of AHRO activities.
AHRO
Committee
Source: Arakan Human Rights Organisation, 4 Sept
2001
TOP
About
160 Rohingya Arrested
Maungdaw,
September 04, 2001
By our Correspondent
From last two weeks about 160 Arakanese Rohingya Muslims
have been arrested by Bangladesh police in Teknaf area of Cox's
Bazar district in Southern Chittagong. These unfortunate
people have years of stay in the villages of the Cox's Bazar
district, mixing with the local people, after they had
left their homeland Arakan for their lives. They have been put
in jail while the police operation against Rohingyas is
still continuing.
It may be mentioned that occasional arrests against the Rohingya
settlers is a regular phenomenon in Bangladesh particularly in
the districts of Cox's Bazar and Bandarban. On the other hand,
the Burmese military have rejected their citizenship and have
subjected them to ethnic cleansing and large-scale persecution
in Burma.
Source: Press & Publication Department, ARNO
4 September 2001
TOP
CITIZENSHIP
AND FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT DENIED TO ROHINGYA
Since military rule in Burma, the movement of
Rohingyas is under humiliating restriction. They are not
permitted to travel from one place to another, even within the
same locality, without movement pass issued by the military and
local administration. This restriction has seriously affected
them in their socio-cultural, economic, educational activities
and daily life. In fact, the sufferings and humiliation that the
Rohingyas are facing today
are unacceptable to any living creatures on earth.
Recently by the order of the Brig. Gen. Phone
Swe, the commanding officer of Danya Wadi military headquarters
in North Arakan, the immigration authorities have stopped
issuing movement pass and form 4 to the Rohingyas. It was warned
that all the Rohingyas were to remain in their respective places
by 20th June and
those who are found to have not complied with the order
would be imprisoned for a period of not less than 6 months. Thus
the Muslims in Arakan are
virtually in concentration camps while their movement is
completely banned.
It may be mentioned that the military SPDC has
rejected citizenship to the Muslim
Arakanese and has reduced them to the status of stateless
in their historical homeland. On 11 March 2000 India-based
Arakan Human Rights Watch (AHRW) reported that about thirty
thousand Arakan nationals living in and around Sittwe (Akyab),
the capital of Arakan, have no National Identity Cards as the
military government refused to issue
ID cards to them. In fact, this ID cards are compulsory
in their daily life particularly in Arakan. It is important for
ownership of property, transport and studies, facing the law and
even staying at home. Today the SPDC has rejected the
citizenship to the Rohingya Muslims and has reduced them to the
status of stateless in their historical homeland. This
conspiracy continues to create outflows of refugees.
Source: Press & Publication Department, ARNO
28 August 2001
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Associated
Press: Myanmar denies HIV/AIDS is rampant across country
September 3, 2001
AYE AYE WIN; Associated Press Writer
YANGON, Myanmar
Contrary to the "gloomy picture" presented in the
West, Myanmar is not suffering from an HIV/AIDS epidemic, the
health minister said Monday.
Still, the government is committed to fighting the disease by
"using all its available resources," the minister,
Maj. Gen. Ket Sein, told a World Health Organization meeting.
The minister did not give figures for HIV-infected people or
people suffering from AIDS. But the United Nations has said that
530,000 of Myanmar's 48 million people are estimated to be HIV
positive. "Contrary to the gloomy picture presented in some
reports especially those of the Western media, HIV/AIDS is not
rampant in Myanmar," Ket Sein said.
Myanmar officials consistently deny that the AIDS problem is
serious in the country.
However, Chris Beyrer, an American researcher who directs an
AIDS program at the Johns Hopkins University, told a U.N.
conference in June that the military government of Myanmar was
falsifying statistics to hide evidence that the disease has
reached epidemic levels.
He presented a study suggesting 687,000 adults in Myanmar
were living with AIDS in 1999 - or nearly 3.5 percent of the
population, a rate worse than any other nation in Asia except
Cambodia where about 4 percent are infected.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, reported 802 AIDS deaths in
1999. But the United Nations estimated the death toll was
48,000.
Ket Sein told the WHO's 54th Southeast Asia Regional
Committee meeting that Myanmar has implemented a comprehensive
prevention and control program for HIV/AIDS despite limited
international assistance. A multi-sector National AIDS Committee
chaired by the health minister was formed in 1989 to oversee the
national AIDS program, he said.
The three-day WHO meeting is being attended by nearly 100
delegates including representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan,
North Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and
Thailand.
Source: BurmaNet 4 September 2001
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DVB:
Curfew imposed to prevent student unrest
Excerpt from report by DVB on 27 August
DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] has already
reported about a fight that broke out between some GTI
[Government Technical Institute] students and local youths in
Sandoway, Arakan State on 24 August. A curfew was imposed the
following day.
The incident happened when four GTI students,
who were returning home after visiting a friend at Sandoway
general hospital, were attacked by a group of local youths at
about 2100 on 24 August. The four students suffered severe
injuries... When the students in town heard about the news
hundreds of students turned up at the GTI compound. After that,
the GTI compound was cordoned off by riot police from Myoma
Police Battalion, Sandoway and personnel from LIB [Light
Infantry Battalion] No 55. A curfew was later imposed.
The following afternoon Brig-Gen Tin Thein from
Military Operations Management Command No 5 based in Ann arrived
at Sandoway with an office staff and a battalion of soldiers.
Later, a temporary command centre was set up at Sandoway Peace
and Development Council Office where the situation was
monitored. At night, Brig-Gen Tin Thein went to the GTI and
warned the teachers and students not to create any unrest.
According to latest reports received by DVB,
although the situation has not improved, a curfew remains in
place.
Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in
Burmese 1430 gmt 27 Aug 01
Bernama:
M'sia Offers Military Technology To Myanmar
Malaysian National News Agency, Fri, 31 August
2001
From Shahrullizan Rusli
YANGON, Aug 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia-Myanmar
military ties have entered a new phase with the Myanmar military
ruler agreeing to send a technical team to Malaysia to study the
country's sophisticated defence technology.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said
except in military training, defence ties between Malaysia and
Myanmar were very limited previously.
"They are very keen to know our expertise
in defence technology and how they can benefit from the
knowledge and expertise Malaysia have," he told Bernama in
Bagan at the end of his four-day visit to Myanmar.
The technical team comprising officials from
Myanmar's three services -- land, sea and air -- would be sent
as soon as possible to explore the opportunities available in
the local defence industry.
Although Myanmar had its own defence industry,
it was confined to manufacturing short-range rockets,
ammunition, bombs and land mines.
Their technology is quite old but creative to
the extent of inventing own rifle merged with the technology of
AK-47 Russian-made rifle and rifles of other European countries.
Najib said Myanmar armed forces were keen to
acquire defence technology available in Malaysia and in turn
Malaysia would tap the investment opportunities in that country.
The highlight of Najib's visit to Myanmar was
his meeting with Prime Minister Senior Gen Than Shwe who is also
chairman of the State Peace and Development Council on Tuesday.
Than Shwe told Najib that he was impressed with
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad's leadership and
was implementing the proposals made by him.
"I feel this visit is successful as the
Myanmar government is showing keen interest on efforts to
enhance bilateral ties between Kuala Lumpur and Yangon," he
said.
Najib said Malaysia was prepared to help develop
Myanmar and not merely to enhance friendship. "If Malaysia
can contribute towards Myanmar's stability and prosperity, the
region will also benefit including Malaysia," he said.
Najib also encouraged Malaysian entrepreneurs to
invest in Myanmar.Myanmar, with a 44 million population, besides
providing cheap labour, was rich in untapped natural resources.
"Dr Mahathir himself encouraged Malaysian
entrepreneurs to seek business opportunities in Myanmar. The 150
entrepreneurs based here are involved in various businesses
including hotel, trade and logging," he said.
He said the secret of doing business in Myanmar
was the ability of businessmen to forge cordial ties with the
government. "The prospect of getting business is very good
indeed if they established close ties," he said.
Najib said Malaysian entrepreneurs also had good
opportunities in Information Technology (IT) as the Myanmar
government was learning from Malaysia's expertise in preparation
to enter the Internet network.
Despite entering the millennium era, Myanmar
still does not have Internet. The communication network was
still backward and its infrastructure facilities was 50 years
behind Malaysia.
Source: BurmaNet 3 September 2001
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