Dr U Ne Oo Human Rights Home Page

Written by U Ne Oo on 1997-02-13

Dr U Ne Oo

48/2 Ayliffes Road

St Marys SA 5042

AUSTRALIA

February 13, 1997.

Hon. Rajsoomer Lallah

Special Rapporteur for Human Rights irteur for Human Rights in Myanmar

c/- U.N. Centre for Human Rights CH - 1211 Geneva 10

Switzerland

Dear Special Rapporteur:

I call the Special Rapporteur's attention to the continuing arrest and detention of political activists in Burma, including the elected members of National League for Democracy. In this connection, I enclosed a list of people detained in Myanmar after the anti-government protest in December 1996. This list was forwarded recently by exiled pro-democracy groups. According to this list, the milit to this list, the military authorities have arrested, in some parts of the country, most of the prominent members of the NLD. I am very concerned about such development, which will weakened the National League for Democracy from functioning normally.

I also bring the Special Rapporteur's attention to the un-lawful detainment of elected members of National League for Democracy in a large-scale in May-1996 and September-1996. In the week of May-19, some 260 elected members of National League for Democracy were arrested by military aud by military authorities to prevent these members from attending the NLD Convention on 26-28 May. Again in September 1996, more than 560 activists, including the NLD supporters and elected members, were arrested to prevent NLD from convening of a Congress.

I believe such repeated occurrence of large-scale arrest by military authorities in 1996 indicate that there has been severe deterioration of political situation in Burma. I therefore request the Special Rapporteur recommend, at this Commission on Human Rights meeting, to sts meeting, to send human rights monitors to Burma. I also enclosed my appeal to U.N. Secretary-General and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to help solve Burma's political and refugee problems.

I also call the Special Rapporteur's attention to the unjust urle of laws in Burma that promulgated by the SLORC from the time it came into power in 1988. I am particularly concerned about the SLORC's illegal and non-constitutional rulings after the Election of 27-May-1990. The United Naitons Commission on Human Rights should takeRights should take certain step to remove various decrees, such as SLORC Order 5/96 of JUne-1996, that specifically have been designed by military authorities to suppress the opposition's movement in Burma.

In closing, I thank the Special Rapporteur for your continuing efforts to improve human rights situation in Burma.

Yours respectfully and sincerely,

Sd. U Ne Oo.

1. Mr Jose Ayala-Lasso, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, c/- U.N. Centre for Human Rights, CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.

LONDON, Feb 12 AFP - Political repression by Burma's military junta in 1996 was the worst since the army's violent suppression of a popular uprising in 1988-90, Amnesty International said today.

Calling 1996 Burma's worst year so far this decade in human rights, the London-based rights group sai rights group said more than 2,000 human rights protestors had been arrested, and that severe restrictions were imposed on the speech and movements of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) were attacked by organised mobs, apparently encouraged by the government, said Amnesty.

"Already, 1997 has been marked by the long jail sentences handed down to at least 34 people detained after last year's pro-democracy demonstrations," demonstrations," Amnesty said in a statement.

Throughout 1996, it said, the military government, or State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) "suppressed peaceful political meetings, gatherings and demonstrations, sometimes violently".

"At the beginning of the year, Burmese people could gather peacefully every weekend to listen to speeches by NLD leaders," it said. "By the end of the year even this was forbidden."

Amnesty said it was "particularly concerned at a worrying new development which emerged during the year with the violent attacks against senior members of the NLD.

"On 9 November, a group of about 200 young men attacked Aung San Suu Kyi's motorcade with iron bars and sticks. They were thought to be members of the Union Solidarity Development Organisation (USDA), a SLORC-sponsored group, and were allegedly paid ... to participate."

Earlier this month, Amnesty noted, Aung San Suu Kyi said that shortly before the attack on her motorcade, a government minister told a meeting of USDA members that she should be killed. AFP mp