Arbitrary Detention and Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances
N
o one shall be subjected to arbitraryarrest, detention or exile.
-
Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
3.1 Background
In the year 2000 there remained an estimated 2,500 political
prisoners in Burma’s notorious jails. (Amnesty International and other
international NGOs estimated this number to be 1,600) These individuals were
being held in various prisons across Burma, suffering as a consequence of their
involvement in the Burmese struggle for freedom and democracy. The living and
social conditions of these political prisoners are grim and deteriorating daily.
As has been the practice of the military regime since its beginnings, the SPDC
allowed no person to oppose their authoritarian rule, and maintained an
extensive network of MIS, police and government officials ready to detain anyone
suspected of such dissent. The military in Burma has established and enforced
laws curtailing civil and political freedom and utilized laws that allow it to
crush any political opposition. The SPDC’s laws and regulations criminalize
freedom of thought, the dissemination of information and the right of
association and assembly. The most commonly employed laws banning the
demonstration of civil and political rights have been the 1923 Government’s
Official Secrets Act, the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, the 1957 Unlawful
Associations Act, the 1962 Printers’ and Publishers’ Registration Law, the
1975 State Protection Law, Law No. 5/96. These laws and orders have restricted
the civil and political rights of Burmese citizens for years; now, with
technological advances available across the globe, new laws have been enacted in
order to provide the SPDC authorities additional legal bases to curtail freedom
of expression and the exchange of information. For more information on these
laws, please refer to the chapters on the freedom of expression and the freedom
of assembly and association.
The year 2000, which saw a stepped up campaign to destroy the
opposition political party NLD, met with numerous arrests of NLD members. In the
months of April and May alone there were 145 members of the NLD who were
arbitrarily detained and interrogated. Several of them were then sentenced to
years in prison, without a fair or public trial. In August and September 2000
the SPDC twice refused Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the NLD to travel
outside of Rangoon. Both times the SPDC ended the travel attempts by arresting
large numbers of NLD members, and by placing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and top
members of the NLD under house arrest. In fact, at the time of the final writing
of this yearbook in May 2001, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, and U Aung Shwe
remained under house arrest. The SPDC also continued to arrest and imprison
student activists, claiming through the State run media that the arrested young
people had been imprisoned for attempted terrorist activities. In May 2000
several monks were arrested following reports of a planned strike.
SPDC personnel also continued to arbitrarily detain persons
across Burma for illegal association with groups seen as anti-government. In
areas of ethnic insurgency these detentions were common and in most cases the
people suspected of such illegal association were seized, detained and
interrogated, sometimes tortured without warrant or evidence against them. There
were also numerous cases reported in the year 2000 of individuals who
disappeared following arrest and detention.
In addition to individuals arrested for political reasons,
SPDC officials continued to arbitrarily arrest and detain people for
"crimes" such as failure to pay army taxes or to sell the required
crop quota to the government purchasing centers. Many farmers were arrested in
the year 2000 under such circumstances. These farmers were detained, without
trial, until the required quota was met. The SPDC also arrested Muslim minority
people for various reasons. Many of the people who were reported to have been
arbitrarily detained were released following payment of fines set by the
official who arrested them. This portrays the extent to which corruption exists
within Burma. Indeed, SPDC troops and officials often arrest people for no other
reason then to bribe money from them. Many Burmese citizens deported by Thai
authorities in 2000 were arrested and forced to pay high fees for
"illegally leaving the country", or else face imprisonment or forced
labor.
3.2 Denial of a fair and public trial
Although remnants of the British-era legal system are
formally in plaice in Burma, the court system and its operation remain seriously
flawed, particularly in the handling of political cases. In 1975 the State
Protection Act was passed by the BSPP in order to protect the state from
potentially destructive elements. It is directly controlled by the Ministry of
Internal Affairs. Article 10(a) of this act allows for an individual to be
detained for up to three years without a trial. This means that political
prisoners in detainment are denied the rights given to sentenced prisoners and
are therefore often subjected to extraordinarily repressive measures. For
example, under article 10(a) a detainee can be denied visiting privileges and
may be put into solitary confinement. If the military regime believes a prisoner
to be a threat to the state, after that prisoner has served his/her sentence
under article 10(a) he/she can be immediately re-detained.
Throughout 2000, the SPDC continued to rule by decree and was
not bound by any constitutional provision providing for fair trials or any other
rights. Not only have the people charged under the various law and military
decrees been consistently denied fair trials and the due process of law, but
also the judicial system itself has been emasculated over the years.
SPDC appoints the Judges of the Supreme Court. The Supreme
Court selects judges for the lower courts, but requires the approval of SPDC
authorities. The Supreme Court is further in charge of supervising the lower
courts. The Judiciary Law does not contain any provisions on the security of
tenure of judges and their protection from arbitrary removal, thus leaving such
issues entirely in the hands of the SPDC and, what is worse, without any
guarantees provided by law by which the SPDC is bound.
In addition to the SPDC’s unrestricted power in the
appointment of judges, the courts are powerless to protect the rights of victims
of oppression. This is so because a great number of decrees have been
promulgated by the SPDC for the purpose of repressing political activity and the
freedoms of thought, expression, association and movement, among others.
Moreover, emergency laws are still resorted to. The courts have no jurisdiction
to challenge or to discard this repressive legal arsenal.
Unprofessional behavior by some court officials, the use of
overly broad laws — including the Emergency provisions Act of 1950, the
Unlawful Associations Act, the Habitual Offenders Act, and the Law on
Safeguarding the State from the danger of Destructionists — and the
manipulation of the courts for political ends continue to deprive citizens of
the right to a fair trial and the rule of law.
Some basic due process rights, including the right to a
public trial and to be represented by a defense attorney are generally
respected, except in political cases that the authorities deem especially
sensitive. Without the permission of the intelligence organs, judges cannot even
let the family and counsel of the accused know what sentence has been passed. In
many cases, the accused is kept in ignorance of the section of law under which
he is charged. There have been reported instances where Military Intelligence
has passed sentences orally at the time of arrest, before any trial had taken
place. More often than not trials are held on camera. Defendants with political
charges are given little chance to speak during the trial, let alone present a
proper defense. Even where they manage to make a statement, the judges pay no
heed to it. Prior to being charged, detainees rarely have access to legal
counsel or their families and political detainees have no opportunity to obtain
release on bail. In most political cases, trials are held in courtrooms on
prison compounds and are not open to the public. In these instances, defense
counsel appears to serve no purpose other than to provide moral support, since
reliable reports indicate that verdicts are dictated by higher authorities.
Political detainees are held incommunicado for long periods. Even after being
charged, detainees rarely have benefit of counsel.
3.4. Life of Prisoners
There are 36 prisons in Burma, and of them, 20 detain the
estimated 2,500 political prisoners. All prisons have been places of numerous
violations of human dignity and brutal harassment. Conditions of detention in
prison remain deplorable, and fall far short of international standards such as
the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Basic Principles
for the Treatment of Prisoners and the Body of Principles for the Protection of
All Persons Under Any forms of Detention or Imprisonment. In fact, conditions of
detention fall short of even established laws in Burma. Under the current
conditions of the military junta, political prisoners have been denied the
rights entitled to them outlined in the Union of Myanmar Prison Manual.
Furthermore, these prisoners are often subjected to extra prohibitive and
repressive measures not mentioned in the prison manual. For example, every
prisoner has the right to parole. Chapter 11, article 59[5] of the Union of
Myanmar Prison Manual states; ‘A prisoner who has acted in accordance with
prison regulation has the right to parole at least 60, 70 or 90 days a year.’
In May 1999 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
announced that it had begun to visit prisons in Myanmar. In March 2000 the ICRC
also began visiting labor camps, where convicted criminals have been held in
extremely poor conditions. In addition the ICRC has reported that they have been
able to visit prisoners held in government guesthouses, where NLD members have
been detained without charge or trial since the party’s announcement in
September 1998 that they would convene parliament unilaterally. Yet despite this
international monitoring of conditions in Burmese prisons, maltreatment of
prisoners continued to be reported in the year 2000. These abuses include
torture, prolonged shackling, lack of proper medical care, and insufficient
food. (For more information on torture of prisoners, see relevant chapter on
torture)
Prisoners were also subjected to severe overcrowding,
conditions that by themselves constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
in other parts of the world. It is standard in prisons throughout Burma for 3 or
4 prisoners to be held in small cells measuring 8 by 12 feet (2.6 by 3 meters)
for more than 20 hours a day. They are fed an inadequate diet of a thin bean
soup or vegetables, sometimes supplemented with a small piece of fish only once
a week. In Thayet prison, Magwe Division, where there are a total of 74
political prisoners, 3 persons are placed in each of the cells measuring 12' x
8' where they sleep, eat, and defecate. These conditions are most inhuman and a
danger to health of the prisoners which has resulted in the sickness and death
of some.
Medical treatment is rarely provided and then only when a
prison’s illness has reached a severe stage. The most common diseases among
the prisoners are: gastrointestinal diseases (amoebic dysentery, bacillary
dysentery and diarrhea), jaundice (viral and amoebic hepatitis), AIDS and skin
diseases. Conditions in prison allow for the easy transmission of these diseases
due to poor sanitation, unclean and semi-cooked food, dirty kitchens, polluted
surroundings, and lack of personal hygiene (particularly because of poor water
supplies).
Political prisoners who peacefully complain about the abuses
and ill treatments of the prison officials and ask for redressing are given both
severe punishments and additional prison terms. Political prisoners are not
allowed to communicate with one another. In addition, they are only allowed to
meet with their families after they have been sentenced. Apart from the
political prisoners who are put in the solitary confinement, an unknown number
are forced to perform hard labor in their respective prisons on a daily basis.
As a result of the poor food and medical care conditions,
prisoners absolutely depend on the support of their families for the
preservation of their lives. Some political prisoners have died from the lack of
essential assistance such as medicine and nutritious food. The SPDC
intentionally tries to break the spirit of political prisoners down by sending
them to the remote prisons far away from their families where they suffer
psychological and often physical misery from the lack of support from their
family. Meanwhile the MI and local authorities of the SPDC regularly intimidate
and persecute the family members of political prisoners. The MI frequently
confiscates the belongings of the families of political prisoners. They also
harass the economic, social and educational lives of the family members of
political prisoners. In most cases the family members lose their jobs, so that
in the end they find it very hard to provide regular support for their
imprisoned family member. They even can not afford the transportation costs to
visit their imprisoned relatives. In many cases, as the political prisoners used
to be the breadwinners of their families, many families that are left outside
can not afford to assist them for a long time.
Moreover, the political prisoners meet even further bitter
situations when they are released from prison. The SPDC intimidates and harasses
the former political prisoners using all available means, although they have
finished their prison terms, to ensure that they can not resume their political
activities. When extraordinarily sensitive occasions take place in Burma such as
anniversary dates, the former political prisoners are usually detained and
interrogated for unlimited periods without reason. The SPDC also utilizes many
different ways to isolate them from society. The main weapons of the SPDC to
marginalize the former political prisoners are to outcast them from economic and
educational opportunities.
Mergui Prison
An Arakanese man who had saved his money working as an
illegal immigrant in Thailand, was arrested in Kawt Thaung (Victoria Point) by
the Burmese Military Intelligence No. (19) on his way back home to Arakan state.
Military intelligence officer Kyaw Win arrested him and confiscated all his
belongings. He was interrogated and tortured while he was in the military
intelligence’s cellar. He was kicked, beaten, and burnt with cigarette light
by military intelligence officers Khin Lwin, Kyi Win, and Corporal. Kyaw Naing.
He was later charged with a political act and sentenced to four years
imprisonment in Mergui jail even though he had no connection what so ever with
political activities.
Upon his release, he reported that the condition in the
Mergui prison was so harsh and unbearable. They were treated inhumanly. Very
small amount of foods were given and no proper medication was provided for
diseases. He said that many prisoners were succumbed to death by diseases and
inhumane treatments. He reported that Mergui prison was overcrowded with more
than 3000 prisoners prison when he was there. (Source: Yoma3)
Myingyan prison
This prison is considered to be among the worst in Burma
concerning medical services and treatment of prisoners. A number of political
prisoners have died because of 1) severe torture; 2) insufficient food; and 3)
insufficient medical treatment. There is a prison clinic, but there is no
medicine. Families of ill prisoners must purchase medicine outside of the prison
and deliver it to the clinic. Prisoners whose families lack financial resources
to pay for medicine are unable to receive treatment. (Source: AAPP)
Thayetmyo jail
There are over 1000 inmates, including both criminals and
political prisoners, in Thayetmyo jail, Magwe Division. The odor that pervades
the jail is almost as bad as in Insein jail. The SPDC jail authorities fail to
comply with the requirements of the Prisons Act and deliberately mistreat,
torture and persecute the prisoners. Everyday all but 105 are required to do
hard labor. This includes drawing and carrying water without a break, taungya
cultivation, carpentry work, chopping and cutting wood, and all kinds of
cleaning. NLD member, U Pa Lay from Taungdwingyi township (Magwe division) has
suffered very harsh treatment. He originally suffered from a back
complaint and has been made to draw water continuously which has aggravated his
ailment.
The prisoners are woken up at 3:30 a.m. and forced to skin pe
gji (lablab bean). Each prisoner has to skin between one and a half and two
pyis (a pyi is a unit of grain measurement equivalent to 8 condensed milk
tins.) Punishment is given to those who refuse. For example, a respected
NLD Pyithu Hluttaw representative from Mingun township, Magwe division, who is
over 70 years old, was punished for not skinning beans. Similarly, the
elderly NLD Pyithu Hluttaw representative of Myothit township was forced to skin
beans. The revenue for skinning these beans (ten kyats for one pyi), which are
sold to private individuals in the business of making fried beans, has been
pocketed by the SPDC Thayetmyo jail authorities.
In addition to this, the health care provided to the
prisoners is not adequate. Even though medicine has been donated by the
International Red Cross for use in the Thayetmyo jail, the prisoners are
not given it. There is no jail doctor as such and no adequate medical
attention. Though the rule is that prisoners should be medically examined once a
month, in practice they are examined every 2 months. The jail authorities fail
to issue the full quantity of medicines prescribed by the doctor to some
prisoners. When the families of some prisoners offer to buy the required
medicines the doctor refuses them a prescription.
Those convicted of crimes are often given better treatment in
the jails than political prisoners. Though religious literature was permitted in
the middle of 1999, presently no books brought by families of the inmates are
allowed. Also, English language literature is completely banned. Those who
were forcefully removed from Insein jail in July 2000 for no offences on
their part and sent to other places were not allowed visitation by their
families for over a month. Seven NLD members from Taungdwingyi township who were
charged under Section 5(j) and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment were not
allowed family visitation for over two months. (Source: NLD)
Mandalay prison
Over 7,000 prisoners were at Mandalay prison. The prison
shape is a circle and double walled. There were buildings for male and female
prisoners, child prisoners, 5-J (political prisoners), hospital and workshop.
Also there were 15 special cells (single and double rooms) for disobedient
prisoners, political prisoners, mentally ill prisoners and patients who were
infected with communicable diseases. There were many VD and HIV positive
patients as well as some leprosy patients and many of those prisoners were made
to stay together. The ward number (4) of the prison hospital also had more than
(40) VD and HIV positive patients. The hospital did not use disposable syringes
needles. All the buildings were too crowded with prisoners. Water was
insufficient, pieces of soap provided were too small and food also was
insufficient and dirty. Mandalay prisoners had to work at vegetable farms
fertilized by faeces and urine; weaving, wood carving and typing (for the prison
office) all the work was unpaid. (Source: FTUB)
Pahukku prison
There were over 700 prisoners (300 male and 400 female). All
were sentenced under 10 years of imprisonment. Political Prisoners and prisoners
sentenced to terms of over 10 years were sent to Myingyan prison. Most of the
prisoners were drug addicts and sellers. Food provided in the prison were bean
soup and fish paste for lunch and vegetable soup for dinner. On every Monday,
there was dried fish curry. In that prison, prisoners had to work joss sticks
and to peel beans (for a local fried bean merchant). Prisoners were not paid for
their work. In the beginning of April, 2000, thirty prisoners from Pahukku were
sent to Meikhtila prison and waited for 45 days to go to Won-saung (prisoner
porter recruiting) Camp. (Source: FTUB)
3.5 Health Concern for prisoners
Case of Min Ko Naing
 |
The health condition of Burma’s prominent student leader,
Min Ko Naing is reportedly deteriorating day by day and it was confirmed in
early 2001 that he is now suffering from paralysis. Min Ko Naing alias Paw U Tun,
Chairman of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), was arrested on
24 March 1989. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment (later commuted to 10
years under a general amnesty, but he has not been released) for his
anti-government activities. He was initially detained in solitary confinement in
Insein Prison in Rangoon but has been regularly moved from one prison to another
and currently he is being held in Sittwe Prison, still in solitary
confinement.
According to London-based Amnesty International, Min Ko Naing
was reportedly severely tortured and ill treated during the early stages of his
detention and his health has suffered as a consequence. In 1993, a United States
Congressman visited him in Insein Prison and he was said to be in poor health
and appeared disoriented. In November 1994 the Special Rapporteur on Burma
was also allowed to visit him briefly in Insein Prison, and described him as
being nervous and thin. (Source: Mizzima)
Case of Daw San San Nwe
 |
In December 2000 an arm of Amnesty International appealed for
the release of Burmese writer Daw San San Nwe, who is serving a 10-year sentence
in Rangoon, so that she can be treated for very worrying health problems. Daw
San San Nwe is suffering from high blood pressure, heart disease and hemilegia
on the right side, and prison officials have repeatedly denied her the medical
attention she needs. San San Nwe was sentenced on October 6, 1994 to 10 Years in
jail and is now at Insein prison. She allegedly had met two visiting French
reporters in April 1993 and appeared in video they produced. Her daughter,
Ma Myat Mo Mo Tun, was arrested in the same year after allegedly contributing
articles to a journal published by expatriate Burmese.
Case of U Soe Thein
U Soe Thein, a journalist and MP for the National League for
Democracy was admitted, during the third week of September 2000, to the
intensive care service of the general hospital of Rangoon. The authorities sent
him to hospital only after he had had a heart attack in his cell. According to
his family, he is close to death. The stomach disease from which he suffers is
also worse. In July 1997, Soe Thein had a first heart attack. The authorities
refused to treat him. Since the confiscation of the elections in May 1990 by the
army, three journalists have died in detention. 55 years old, Soe Thein has been
detained in the Insein jail since May 1996. The authorities accused him of
writing texts about "peaceful resistance" for the NLD. He was jailed
by virtue of Article 10 of the State Protection Law which provides for
indefinite periods of detention without trial. Soe Thein was editor of the
official newspaper Botahtaung before being dismissed in 1988 because of his
support for the democratic movement. He also published a magazine Ah-Twe-Ah-Myin
(The Thought) until November 1990 when he was arrested a first time. (Source:
RSF)
Case of U Tun Aung Kyaw
In 1990, U Tun Aung Kyaw, (or)
Thakhin Mipwar, age 50 was arrested and sentenced for the first time
to five years imprisonment including hard labor. Since that time he has been
suffering from tuberculosis . He had therefore visited the jail hospital many
times. He was released at the end of 1994.
After being released, although he treated his disease
as much as he could, he could not use too much money. As a result his health
became worse and worse. He still continued, secretly, to be involved in
political movements in accordance with his belief in Democracy and Human Rights.
Unfortunately, military intelligence men raided the Hospital he was visiting in
1997 and detained U Tun Aung Kyaw. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment
including hard labor, under the 5/J law. In the jail hospital, there is not
enough medicine, and specialist doctors are not regularly available. Therefore
it is very important for him to visit specialist outside of the prison. However
military intelligence will not allow this. They give the excuse of
security concerns. (Source: AAPP)
Case of U Ohn Kyaw
U Ohn Kyaw , over 70 years old from Shwe Taung Township, Pegu
Division, is suffering from heart failure and hypertension, resulting in near
paralysis. He is currently serving his sentence in a solitary confinement cell,
and has not been admitted to the prison clinic. It is believed that he will die
if he does not receive immediate treatment at a hospital outside of the prison.
He was sentenced in 1998 to 7 years imprisonment under Section 5/J. He is
currently in Myingyan prison. U Oh Kyaw is a retired township education
administrator. Two of his sons are political activists working with DPNS. One is
a Central Committee Member on the Thai-Burma border, and the other is currently
in prison inside Burma. U Ohn Kyaw is not an activist. At the time of his arrest
he was running a book rental shop that was popular with young people. We (AAPP)
believe he was arrested because of the involvement of his sons in DPNS. His
family has been unable to provide regular medical supplies because of their
financial situation and because the prison is located far away from their home.
(Source: AAPP)
3.6 Death in Custody
On April 30, 2000 U Aung Gyaw, one of four vehicle owners who
had been illegally arrested on April 25, 2000 in Taung-tha, Mandalay Division as
a result of an appeal they had made concerning the forced labor of their
vehicles, died in custody in the Taung-tha Police Station. He had been suffering
from High Blood Pressure and fell seriouly ill while under arrest. Early on
April 30 he asked for medical attention but was refused by the Police in charge
of the station. He then fell suddenly giddy, collapsed, then died. (Source: NLD)
On June 29 2000, a female Muslim political prisoner, Daw Htey
Myint (40 years) of Myittila, Mandalay Division died of fever in Moulmein
central jail. She had not received any medical treatment during her a month-long
illness. On June 12 1998, she was transferred from Myittila jail to Moulmein
jail. According to a relative of the victims, on June 2 2000, one U Tun Khaing
(40 years) and Daw Aye Myint (35 years) died after doing hard labor, from
insufficient food and inadequate medical treatments in the same jail. Both of
them were from Papun Township of Karen state, Burma. (Source: MICB)
3.7 Prolonged Detention
Extended Prison Term for NLD Representative
On July 1, 2000, Dr. Thein Lwin, was given an extended
sentence at the instigation of Sergeant Tin Aye of Meiktila Military
Intelligence No 15 under section 5-J of the law. He has been incarcerated since
September 6, 1998 when the SPDC took into custody Hluttaw representatives and
kept them imprisoned, saying that they are being kept in "guesthouses for
the purposes of discussions." Neither they or their families have been
given a reason for their detentions. (Source: NLD/CRPP)
3.8 Release of Political Prisoners
Release of Maung Moe Thu
On January 3 2000 Maung Moe Thu, alias U Sein Myint, former
CEC member of the NLD, movie director and writer was released from detention. He
had also been a journalist for the economic magazine Danna. He had been arrested
in May 1996, under Article 10 (a) of the State Protection Law of 1975, after
participating in an NLD rally. He was arrested along with U Kyaw Min, architect;
U Win Htein, former captain and personal aide of Aung San Suu Kyi; Sayar Maung
Wun Tha; and Sayar U Thein Tin, NLD organizer for Yangon [Rangoon] Division.
(Architect U Kyaw Min and U Thein Tin have died.) Sayar [honorific] Maung Moe
Thu had been imprisoned in Insein Jail without trial and was reported to be in
poor health at the time of his release. According to the Burmese authorities,
Moe Thu, 62 years old, was freed on humanitarian grounds, following the December
1999 death of his wife. (Source: DVB)
Release of 4 NLD MP’s
On June 6 2000, 4 NLD MPs arrested in mid May were released.
They are:
-Hla Htun from Kyemyintdine
-Aung Zaw from Dagon
-Dr. Than Win from N-okkala
- Dr. Sein Win from Seikkyi. (Source: Yandu)
8 NLD members arrested at Rangoon Central Railway Station
Released
On October 5 2000, a total of eight NLD members were released
after they were made to sign pledges that they would no longer engage in
politics. Those released are:
U Khin Maung Myint (Central Committee-Youth affairs),
Ko Toe Lwin (in charge of Irrawaddy Division Youth Affairs),
U Kyee Myint and
Daw Win Kyi of Thingangyun,
U Than Win of Kamayut,
U Nyunt Kyi of Mingala-Taungnyunt,
Ma San Htay of Bahan,
and one yet to be identified person from Thaketa.
(Source: HRDU)
Release of James Mawdsley
 |
In mid October 2000, after 415 days of solitary confinement
in Kengtung Prison, James Mawdsley was released and flown back to London,
England. He had been sentenced to a 17-year prison term in September 1999 under
Section (13/1) of the Immigration law and Section (17) of the 1962 Printers’
and Publishers’ Registration Law. He had been arrested on August 31, 1999 for
distributing leaflets in Tachilek Township, Shan State. He was released shortly
after the heavy international criticism that had come in response a severe
beating he had received from prison guards. (Source: HRDU)
Release of Six elderly prisoners
On October 17 2000, the SPDC released six elderly political
prisoners following a special request by UN special envoy Razali Ismail.
The six prisoners, 5 of them NLD members, were released from jails in
Yangon, Mandalay and the south of the country. The prisoners had been serving
sentences of between two to14 years. The six, whose ages ranged from
53 to 77, had been jailed for threatening the security of the state, and most
had been jailed at Insein Prison.
U Aung Thein, 72,
U Ohn Gyaw, 69,
U Aye Myint, 55,
U Sein Win, 75,
U Thaung Myint, 75, and
U Chein Poe, 77 (Source: AAPP)
In December 2000 U Than Htun was released from house arrest.
(Source: HRDU)
3.9 Political Prisoners - A few Profiles
Ma Thida Htwe aka Ma Thu Zar
 |
Ma Thida Htwe, or Ma Thu Zar, age 28, was sentenced to life
imprisonment on December 3, 1999 for violations of the 5-J and 17/1 emergency
provisions acts. She was born to U Tin Htwe and Daw San Kyi in Phyu Township,
Bago Division, and has 5 siblings. Her father died when Thu Zar was a young age.
In 1990, intending to complete 10th Standard, she was forced to take time off
due in order to support her family during their financially difficult times. In
1991 and in 1992, still unable to attend school, she took the completion exams
from her home; both times, because of the pressures of holding a job, studying,
and maintaining the home, she was working so hard to support herself and her
family that she failed. Finally, in 1993, she passed 10th Standard.
Thuza moved north to Phyu Township to live and work with her
aunt. In 1995 she began with her first year of the distance university program
from Bago College, majoring in Burmese. She studied and worked for her aunt
during the day, soon completing her distance education. She applied for a
teaching position in Pate, a village eight miles away. During the week, she
worked as a kindergarten teacher, and on the weekends, she returned to her aunt’s
residence to earn some extra income. However, the 50 kyat income wasn’t enough
to sustain herself and her mother and sisters, so in the night she worked in a
cheroot (Burmese cigarettes) rolling factory. Thuza has an older brother, who
also tried to send money home to the family since their father had died when she
was young, and her mother needed all the support she could get to raise her five
children. Friends reported that she was often ill and suffered from headaches,
but she continued to work for her family. In 1995, Thuza attempted to begin a
grassroots campaign and to collect information in her small village, a daunting
task which she did as best she could. In 1997, after a one-year closure of all
Universities/Colleges inside Burma, only the distance education programs were
re-opened, at which time Thida Htwe began her second year studying Burmese. In
1998, she took the third year examination, but her health was poor, and she
failed the test. All throughout this time, as she studied and worked for her
family, she showed great interest in the political situation in Burma, actively
becoming involved in the democracy movement.
In February 1999, she arrived in Mae Sod, Thailand where she
remained for a month of intensive political training in political defiance and
women’s affairs. During her political training she also had many discussions
with other activists in the local organizations. She used to express to them a
Burmese metaphor, "When we meet the people, we should treat them like cows
(with respect, for they are the key to a family’s farm), and when we are faced
with the enemy, we should treat them like a lion (with strength and
courage)." Traveling to the border and working with other activists, most
of whom were men, was a very difficult task for a woman like Thuza to undertake.
Despite the obvious improvement in lifestyle that Thailand offered, Thuza never
considered staying, "She wanted to go back because she knew there weren’t
many activists inside Burma. She believed that one should work for the struggle
and work for her family. She knew that when she went back to Burma, she would be
a leader of the women," says Thein Win, a colleague and friend.
In the summer of 1999, leading up to the ‘9999’ planned
demonstrations, Thida Htwe was actively involved in organizing the activities in
Ago Township, including the 19 July Martyr’s Day demonstration. As a result of
her activities, Ago Military Intelligence #3 arrested her on July 23, 1999. They
accused her of being connected to ABSDF, and therefore on December 3, 1999, the
Military Government sentenced Thida Htwe to life in prison.
Thud’s imprisonment has affected her family since she was a major provider for
the family’s income and supporter of her sisters’ education. One of her
sister’s scholarships to study abroad was revoked after Thud’s arrest. Her
detainment also led the MI to investigate her older brother’s activities. He
was later arrested to 29 years imprisonment. The decline in the families’
income also unfortunately made it nearly impossible to provide any aid to Thuza
while she was in prison. They simply can not afford to visit her. Without
additional food and medicine in prison, it is certain that she is suffering
physically. One message did manage to reach her family through the variety of
connections that exist between prisoners and activists. She conveyed to her
family "Don’t worry about me. I realize that you have more difficulties
outside of prison, and I am sorry for that……..I will continue to carry out
my duty in prison, and continue to stand on the side of the people."
The Case of U Do Thwang, NLD MP-elect
U Do Thawng, age 61, a Chin Christian, is currently under
detention in Mandalay Prison. He was arrested by MI at midnight on May 21, 1996
while preparing to attend the 6
7-year prison term, and sent him to Mandalay Prison. He was sentenced under
Article 5 (j) of the 1950 Emergency Provision Act. U Do Thawng’s eldest son Za
Dawla was also arrested in Homalin Township, upper Chindwin and sentenced two
years. Soon after the father was arrested, his two other sons, Dr Ro Ding (now
NLD/LA) and Dr Lal Lawm Thanga (Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo- Norway) fled to
India to escape from the MIS.
U Do Thawng was born in Bo Kyone village, Falam Township,
Chin State. He passed his 3-year Medic Training in Rangoon in 1962 with the
highest mark in the country. From 1963-1971, he worked as Rural Health Assistant
in Thantlang, Matupi and Kanpalet Townships of Chin State. In 1971, he was
arrested for the first time with other prominent Chins by the so called
Revolutionary Council led by General Ne Win and spent two years in Myingyan
Prison. After his release, he was banned from posting in Chin State and was
forcibly transferred to the Sagaing Division. Later he decided to retire from
civil servant and joined NLD party in 1989.
He was elected from Kalemyo Township constituency-1 in the
1990 general elections. He was then democratically elected, within the party, to
represent Sagaing Division NLD. His residence in Kalemyo became party office and
meeting place for Township NLD. However, following his arrest the party
signboard and flags were pulled down and removed by the local authorities.
Since he has been in prison, his wife, Pi Lal Than Sungi, 60,
has been allowed to visit him twice a month for an hour per visit. They are not
allowed to speak in their own Chin language but are made to speak in Burmese in
prison visits. Only family members are allowed to visit him.
U Do Thawng was put into the dark cell for a week in November
1998 for refusing to sit in prison-position while the authority was passing by.
After representatives of the ICRC were allowed to visit Burma prisons, the
authority provides him enough rice and water to cook but he still has to be
provided with curries from outside. After a series of argument with the prison
officials, he succeeded to celebrate Christmas in prison in 1999. He was once
infected with tuberculosis and still has to get follow-up treatments. He is also
suffering from ischaemic heart disease, which allowed him to retire after
serving 25 years in the health department. (Source: CHRO)
The Case of U Pa Pa Lay and U Lu Zaw
 |
U Pa Pa Lay and U Lu Zaw belong to an "Anyeint"
troupe called Myo Win Mar, or Our Own Way. Anyeint is a Burmese performance
genre that blends classical dance and music with skits and satire. The tradition
dwindled after SLORC/SPDC seized power in 1988, but latterly it has been revived
by a celebrated Burmese comic called Zargana, who has also done time for
cracking jokes during Anyeint shows.
On 4 January 1996, the 48th anniversary of Burma’s
independence, Our Own Way performed for 2,000 members of NLD at the home Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi. Our Own Way sang songs about the generals, state repression
and told gags about government cooperatives: "In the past, thieves were
called thieves. Now they are known as co-operative workers." Burmese
humor has to be indirect, because there is such extensive censorship. In a land
without an independent press, live performers can reach an illiterate and
technologically disenfranchised audience without access to television or the
internet. "The dance troupe will tell the truth," said Our Own
Way. "People call us jokers, but now we’re going to achieve democracy;
we’d rather be called comedians for democracy." Their aim: "To
open the eyes and the ears of the people. That is our job."
Pa Pa Lay and Lu Zaw were arrested, denied legal
representation, and not allowed to call or question witnesses. They had called
NLD members, including Aung San Suu Kyi, but these witnesses were not allowed to
travel to the trial in Mandalay; they were told that their train had broken
down. When NLD members reached Mandalay, they found the courthouse closed. The
trial took place in prison. Pa Pa Lay and Lu Zaw were given seven years each for
spreading "false news", and sent, in shackles, to break rocks in a
labour camp. Prolonged sleep deprivation was reportedly used during their
interrogation.
Lu Zaw is now believed to be held in Mandalay, where it is
thought he is being made to work on an airport construction site. Pa Pa Lay, who
was also imprisoned for 20 months in the early 1990s, is in a prison camp in the
far north of Myanmar. (Source: ‘New Statesman’)
3.10 The International Committee of the Red Cross in Burma’s
Jails
Since May 1999, workers from the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been visiting prisons in Myanmar. The Red
Cross has come across 30,000 inmates, of which 1,450 are held for reasons of
"security". Among those held for security reasons are politicians,
students and rebel fighters, all arrested by the military regime for membership
of "unlawful associations."
Since May 1999, when the prison visits started, the Red Cross
has been allowed into 25 jails, all the main ones, including the infamous Insein
prison near Yangon. Eight prisons were visited twice. Since the beginning of
March 2000, the Red Cross has for the first time also been granted access to
labor camps. So far it has seen two agricultural labor camps located near the
capital. Many more remain unseen. The labor camps are holding common criminals
and having them work on roads as chain gangs, in mines or in the fields. The organization
has also inspected, twice, three government "guest
houses", where members of NLD are detained. In effect, the
"houses" are internment centers.
The Red Cross was given permission to open an office in
Yangon in October 1998. There followed lengthy negotiations with the junta over
obtaining access to all the detention centers. Per standard Red Cross practice,
the ICRC also asked to register all prisoners, to hold talks with them in
private and to be allowed repeat visits. At the end of each inspection, ICRC
workers make recommendations to the local prison authorities and pass their
conclusions, confidentially, to the Prison Department. In addition, the Red
Cross is paying for families of "security detainees" to travel to the
jail where their relatives are held. (Source: AFP)
Prisoners moved before ICRC visit
In late 2000, ICRC and ‘Red Moon’ members went to
Kawthaung, Tenasserim Division to investigate prisons. However, prior to their
arrival, political prisoners (prisoners sentenced under 5/J) from the prison at
9 Mile were moved to another place. In addition, prisoners from New Life Camp
(prison labor camp) were kept inside the camp, and soldiers under the
supervision of Military Operation (13) based in Bookpyin township were
substituted for the prisoners to meet with the ICRC and Red Moon members.
Prisoners who have escaped from the prison at 9 Mile say that the conditions of
food and health care are very poor and only prisoners who can afford to pay
bribes receive enough medical treatment. Therefore, many prisoners die monthly.
Moreover, the ICRC members were not given the chance to speak with civilians
during their visit. (Source: ALD)
3.11 Partial List of arrested Politicians, including NLD
MP-elects and NLD members arrested in 2000
In March 2000, 4 members of the of the NLD Organizing
Committee were all sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. They are: Deputy Chairman
U Tint Lwin, Deputy Chairman U Myo Kyi, Secretary U Mya Thein, and Joint
Secretary U Soe Myint of Kawa township, Pegu Division. The 4 were arrested as a
result of their response to the threats and oppression they had been receiving
from the Ward and Village PDC, the USDA, and the Police that was attempting to
force their resignations. In response, the NLD organizing committee, in order to
send letters of complaint to the different authorities, they made copies of the
letters at the Han Win Photocopy shop in Pegu. Information about this was given
to the Military Intelligence and the Pegu PDC by Ma Thitsa, an employee of the
shop resulting in prosecution under the 1962 Printers and Publishers
Registration Law and Section 5 (10) of the Emergency Provisions Law. The
trial proceedings were conducted in secret in contravention of the rules and
regulations promulgated by the authorities themselves. The right of
defense was denied to the accused. The trial was unfair, unjust and the
punishment out of all proportion to the offence. (Source: NLD)
On March 14 2000, U Min Swe, a NLD MP of No 2 constituency,
Pyapon District, Irrawaddy Division and his son Ko Myo Min Swe were given no
reason but were required to report to the Police station. They were accused of
taking 70,000 kyats worth of liquor from one Maung Maung, a total stranger,
without making any payment. U Min Swe denied the charge and asked that he be
allowed to confront Maung Maung , his accuser. The police refused. This Maung
Maung is in fact a person closely associated with the Military Intelligence and
one who was seeking personal advantage. The case was heard the next day and they
were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code. At the time the offence was
alleged to have been committed, U Min Swe was undergoing a sentence of 3 years
and 9 months imprisonment for violating Section 22 and 23 of the Private Tuition
Law. (Source: NLD)
On March 29 2000, six members of the NLD organising committee
of Magwe Division, Aunglan Township Branch were arrested. They were charged
under Section 188 of the Penal Code. Their trial was held on March 31, and all
six were sentenced by the Township magistrate to 6 months imprisonment. The six
organising committee members were the Chairman U Htoon Kyaw, Deputy Chairman U
Kyi Nyunt, Joint Secretary U Sein Maung, U Kyaw Hla, U Nyan Paing and Daw Waing
Than, the owner of the building in which the office operates. (Source: NLD)
On April 11 2000, Ma Khin Hla Htay, a member of the NLD
organising committee, Bassein township, Irrawaddy Division, who also holds the
position of Secretary of the NLD Women’s Wing and member of the NLD Youth
Wing, was arrested. Local authorities arrested her after they entered and
searched her residence, and claimed that they had found a bag full of illegal
cash and lottery tickets. Ma Khin Hla Htay and her sister denied ownership of
the bag, and Ma Khin Hla Htay bravely put on her NLD party uniform and said that
if they wanted to arrest her for her political activities she would take the rap
and went along with them. She is presently being illegally held in Bassein jail.
(Source: NLD)
At midnight on April 12 2000, the eve of the Buddhist New
Year, 38 NLD party members were arrested from their homes on unknown charges.
Nine party members from Dagon, 14 from Kyimyindine and 14 from Mingdalon
townships and the party’s township chairman from South Okkalapa were arrested
by security personnel and dragged from their houses in handcuffs.
A total of 38 persons were arrested as listed below:-
- In Dagon Myothit township- A female member of the
organising committee, (NLD office building owner) and 8 other youths. (9)-
In Kyemyindine township - Township chairman and deputy chairman and 12
youths.(14)- In Mingaladon township - The secretary and joint secretary, member
and owner of the office building, 2 members of the women group and 9
youths. (14)- South Okkalapa township - Chairman of the organizing committee.
(1)
Shortly following the arrests of members of the Mingaladon
NLD Youth Wing on April 12, 2000 the Military Intelligence further arrested
three members of the Mingaladon NLD Youth Wing. Among those arrested was U Nyunt
Aung, a member of the Mingaladon Organising Committee, whose young daughter had
recently died. He was arrested before the traditional religious ceremony of the
7
(Source: NLD)
U Aye Thar Aung,
 |
On April 24 2000, Aye Tha Aung, a member of the CRPP was
arrested by SPDC police at his home. It was not known why he was arrested or
where he was being held. Aye Thar Aung, a leading member of the Arakan League
for Democracy, serves as the chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Nationalities
Affairs of the CRPP. (Two other leaders of minority ethnic parties, 82-year
old Nai Tun Shein of the Mon National Democratic Front and Kyin Shin Htan of the
Zomi National Congress were arrested last November after they spoke with Alvaro
de Soto, then the UN’s special envoy to Burma. The 83-year Saw Mra Aung,
another ethnic minority leader who was elected Speaker of the CRPP, has been
under arrest since the committee was formed in September 1998.) A notice
posted in a government information bulletin admitted that the ethnic minority
leader had been taken into custody. It accused him of being connected with
"outlawed armed groups operating along the Thai-Myanmar border" and
blamed him for "creating misunderstanding" between the military junta
and cease-fire armies in eastern and northern Burma. On June 7 2000 he was
sentenced to a 21 year prison term. He was denied the right to a defense lawyer.
Following the sentence, Aye Tha Aung’s family had only been allowed to see him
once, on July 27. (Source: NLD)
On April 30 2000, 41 members of the NLD Youth Wing of
Taungdwingyi township, Magwe Division were arrested without arrest warrants,
following a meeting at the Youth Wing branch office on April 29. The houses of
the Chairman of the organizing committee, U Mya Saing, and the Secretary of the
organizing committee, U Tin Win were raided without search warrants. Two other
members of the organizing committee, and 37 young men and women from several
different villages were also handcuffed and taken away and all were detained at
No 3 Taungdwingyi Police Lock Up. Shortly after, 32 of the NLD members including
township’s NLD chairman U Mya Saing, were taken to the headquarters of the
locally-based LIB No. 103 for investigation. Eight of the 32 NLD members were
charged and prosecuted by local police and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment
with hard labor under section 5/j. They were sentenced at the Taungdwingyi court
on May 10, 2000. On May 11, all 32 arrested NLD members were transferred to
Thayet Prison. The remaining uncharged 25 NLD members remained in detention for
further interrogation, and were released 2 months later.
(Source: NLD, ABSDF, AAPP)
In early May 2000, 4 members of the NLD were detained in
Mandalay Division. U Than Lwin (NLD Member of Parliament for Constituency 2,
Madaya township, Mandalay Division and Chairman of Township Organizing Committee), U Kyaw Swe (Secretary), U Nyein Maung (Treasurer), and U Tin Aung
(Youth Wing leader) were all illegally arrested and taken away by the Military
Intelligence. Burmese press reports said local constituents had expressed no
confidence in U Than Lwin, and the others were accused of threatening peace and
stability. On May 18 2000, U Than Lwin was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment
for, "making subversive speeches in his constituency." (Source: NLD)
On May 1 2000, township authorities arrested the Magwe
Division, Taungdwingyi township NLD executive committee and 25 members following
a local level NLD meeting held in Taungdwingyi township on April 29. Altogether
32 NLD members were arrested for attending this meeting. They were mostly young
people and included two women. They were taken to the headquarters of the
locally-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 103 for investigation. Seven of
the 32 NLD members were charged and prosecuted by local police and sentenced to
imprisonment at the Taungdwingyi court on May 10. (see below) On May 11, all 32
arrested NLD members were transferred to Thayet Prison. The 25 NLD members who
had not been sentenced were detained in Thayet Prison until May 19. During their
time of detention, they were severely maltreated. They were given food which was
impossible to eat, and put into crowded and unsanitary rooms where they were
unable to clean themselves or their waste. They were given no medical treatment,
were denied family visitation, and were beaten and subjected to severe
harassment and physical and mental torture. They were released only after their
parents were threatened into signing papers in which they promised to prevent
their children from associating with the NLD. (Source: NLD and ABSDF statements)
On May 7, 2000 U Kyi Lwin, an NLD MP, was arrested by the
SPDC. U Kyi Lwin was an elected official of the Ngaphae constituency, Ngaphae
Township, Magwe Division, and the NLD Ngaphae Township organizer. The police
department arrived at U Kyi Lwin’s residence without proper notification and
began searching. Upon this search the officials found some hardwood located near
his house. The police considered this a crime and charged U Kyi Lwin with
illegal trafficking of wood. In addition, the police claimed that the pharmacy
that U Kyi Lwin owned was illegitimate so they detained U Kyi Lwin. The incident
was reported to Ava through a source in Ngaphae. U Kyi Lwin is a 45 year old
retired teacher who was a vocal participant in the 1988 uprisings, and then ran
for the NLD during the 1990 elections. (Source: AvaNewsGroup)
On May 10, 2000, NLD organizing committee deputy chairman of
Wuntho Township, Saigaing Division, U Nyein Aung a physician practicing
German Homeopathic Medicine, was arrested by the Special Drug squad from Katha,
upon charges of drug possession. However, no evidence of the alleged crime was
produced. Then on May 12, the authorities arrested NLD Treasurer U Kyaw Thoung,
also a physician of Wuntho Township at his residence in Namkhan (Kyauk-pa-sat
shwedwin camp). Action was also taken against him on the allegation
that the drug, "atromin" was found on the premises. These
charges were also unfounded. (Source: NLD)
On May 10 2000, SPDC authorities sentenced 8 NLD members,
including the Taungdwingyi township NLD chairman to 7 years imprisonment with
hard labour. They had been arrested on May 1 2000 (see above) for attending a
NLD meeting in Taungdwingyi, Magwe Division. The jailed NLD members were all
charged under the 1950 Emergency Provision Act Section 5 (J). They include: U
Mya Saing, NLD (chairman), U Tin Win (secretary), U Sai San (township level
organizer), U Ya Tin (village level organizer), U Htay Lwin (member), U Sein
Maung (member) and Aung Kyaw Moe (NDL-Youth). They are serving their sentences
in Thayetmyo Jail. All have been mistreated, and the Chairman, U Mya Saing
suffered head injuries due to beatings. (Source: ABSDF and NLD statements)
On May 16 2000, 3 NLD members (U Aung Zaw, Dagon Township
constituency; U Hla Tun, Kemmendine Township constituency; and Dr Than Win,
North Okkalapa constituency) were arrested by MI. The SPDC gave no reason for
their arrest. The youngest of the detained, U Aung Zaw, was elected in Dagon
constituency where the War Office is located and where most of the military
circles live. U Hla Tun was arrested for the first time in October 1990 and was
sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment. He was in jail for eight years and was
only recently released. The 3 were released in June. (see release of prisoners) (Source:
DVB)
On May 17 2000, the SPDC claimed it had arrested two
"couriers" for the NLD and a party official allegedly involved in a
plot to destabilize the government. Colonel Than Tun, who heads the political
department of the Office of Strategic Studies (OSS), said those arrested were
smuggling messages and party materials in and out of the country and held them
up as "concrete" evidence of a plot to destabilize the military
government. He identified two of them as husband and wife team Kyaw Myo Min and
Ma Kyi Kyi, who live in Mon State near the Thai border. He accused the couple of
running materials between the NLD and exiled dissidents in Thailand. The third
person was an NLD township secretary identified as Tint Wai. Three young
students detained at the same time were returned to the custody of their
parents, while three other suspects remain on the run, Than Tun said. (Source:
AFP)
On May 19 2000, members of the Mandalay division organizing committee, the Women’s and Youth Wing and the township
organizing committee
were illegally, forcefully arrested and detained without a known cause. They
were:
1. U Kan Tun (Secretary, Division Organizing Committee).
2. U Ko Gyi
3. U Tun Win
4. U Ye Myint Aung
5. U Hla U
6. U Pe Tin
7. U Aung Tint
8. U Myint Soe
9. U Sein Hla Aung
10. Ko Zaw Win tun
11. Ko Min Thu
12. Ko Kyaw Kyaw
13. Daw Win Mya Mya
14. Daw Than Than Sein
15. Daw Khin Aye Myint
16. Daw Nu Nu Naing
17. Daw Tin Myint
(Source: NLD)
On May 22 2000, 15 members of the NLD Pegu Division, Pegu
Township organizing committee, including 3 women were illegally arrested and put
into solitary confinement at the No 1, Pegu jail. There were viable reports that
they were being interrogated by a detachment of the MI, unit 3, and police
personnel under very cruel and torturous conditions with hoods over their faces
for entire days and nights. (Source: NLD)
On May 26 2000, U Soe Han, Advocate of the Chief Court,
Member of the NLD Rangoon Division, Syriam township Organizing Committee and
Chairman of the NLD Legal Advisory Body, and 3 others were arrested. They were
charged by the MI for failing to report their overnight visit to U Soe Han’s
mother’s house, although they had indeed reported their visit as required.
Family members were denied their right to visit and defend the accused, which is
ensured under a SLORC/SPDC law. Bail was also unlawfully refused. The 3 were
found guilty, and charged 50 kyats each. However, U Soe Han was not released and
further charges were brought against him (theft and impeding a public servant).
The MI found him guilty, again without counsel or right to defense, and
sentenced him to 3 months imprisonment. (Source: NLD)
On May 29 2000, the following NLD members were arrested:
1) U Myint, private tuition teacher, Tamwe township
2) Ma Aye Aye Chit, private tuition teacher, Tamwe township
3) Ko Min Zaw, NLD youth, Sanchaung township
4) Ma Thuzar, NLD youth, Sanchaung township
5) Ko Myo Naing, NLD youth, Sanchaung township
6) Ko Lin Naing, NLD youth, Sanchaung township
7) Ko Lin Lin, NLD youth, Sanchaung township
8) Ko Han Aye, NLD youth, Sanchaung township
9) Ko Thet Oo, NLD youth, Sanchaung township
10) U Thaung, NLD member, Owner of the building, Hlaing
Tharyar township
11) Ko Aung Zaw, NLD youth, Hlaing Tharyar township
12) Ko Tin Ngwe, NLD youth, Hlaing Tharyar township
13) Ma Aye Aye Ye, NLD youth, Hlaing Tharyar township
14) Ma Win Pa Pa, NLD youth, Hlaing Tharyar township
15) Ko Khin Maung Myint, NLD youth, Insein township
16) Ko Khin Maung Cho, Humanitarian Assistance Committee,
Insein Township
17) Ko Khin Maung Htay, NLD youth, Insein township
18) Ko Khin Maung Shein, member of divisional law assistance
committee, Insein township
19) Ma Than Than Su Tin, NLD youth, Insein township
(The were all reportedly sent to Insein Jail.) (Source: NLD)
On June 14 2000, five MI agents, two females and U Kyaw Yin,
Secretary of the Ward USDA, captured and detained Ma Moe (a) Ma Ni Ni Khaing
(Assistant to the Treasurer of the township organizing committee) and her elder
sister Ma Yee Yee Khaing and an infant aged 1 year and 7 months at the home of
Daw Myint Myint Aye in Bahan Township, Rangoon Division. These women were
detained after the officials were unable to find and arrest Ma Pauk and Ma Swe
Swe Khaing. U Kyaw Yin had visited the home of Daw Myint Myint Aye 2 times
prior, looking for the girls. The involvement of the USDA, a social welfare
organization, in the detention of NLD Youth Wing members, is notable as the
organization was not designed for use in intelligence service or given
administrative power. (Source: NLD)
On June 24, 2000 at 9:30 a.m., NLD organizing committee
members from Taungdwingyi in Magwe division, U Thoung Sein (a) U Kyauk Khe, U
Soe, U Pa Lay and U Pu, traveled to Pa-ya-kwin village (a distance of about 4
miles from Chaung-ne village). Waing San, an NLD member who lived in that
village had been arrested under Section 5 (10) and their mission was to obtain
his household census list and his wife’s, Daw Khin Lay Kyi’s, registration
papers to forward to the International Red Cross. At 12 noon the same day, USDA
chairman Aung Win and local authority chairman Tha Sein telephoned the police at
Taungdwingyi and Set-thwa and reported that the Taungdwingyi NLD was "organizing
the villagers". Police from both the stations lay in wait and arrested the
NLD members on their return home and detained them at the Taungdwingyi Police
station. Their families were not permitted to see them. On June 26, 2000, they
were charged under Section 505 (b) for being in possession of NLD
documents. NLD is a legally constituted political party and they are
entitled to possess these documents. The complainants were Police
Superintendent Thet Naing, and U Myo Myint, Township legal officer. The NLD
members were sentenced to 2 years imprisonment with hard labor. (Source: NLD)
On June 30, 2000, NLD member U San Win, a resident of
Nget-pwa-kwin village in Nyaung-don township, Irrawaddy division, went to the
NLD central head office and purchased some statements for the members in his
area to read. On July 1, 2000, while cycling home to his village at about 11:30
a.m., he was arrested by, Saing Ko Ko Lat, a member of the Me-za-li-auk-su
inspection team, for possessing four NLD statements. That night four policemen,
led by Soe Win and Htein Lin, chairman of the Nget-pwa-kwin village authority,
went to U San Win’s house and conducted a search. They left without finding
any contraband. Later they returned and claimed that a small syringe had been
found. Only his paralyzed mother and 70-year old father (U Than Aung) were in
the house at the time. They took his father to the Me-za-le-auk inspection
center and forced him to sign a paper saying that the syringe belonged to his
son. U San Win was being held at the Nyaung-don police station when he was
confronted with this search form bearing his father’s signature. He was
told that if he refused to confess, action would be taken against his father for
making a false statement. On Monday July 3, 2000, after completion of this
trumped up charge, he was sent to court and found guilty under Section 27 (1) by
the Nyaungdon township judge and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. He was also
made to pay kyats 300/- for transportation to the Ma-u-bin jail and kyats 200/-
for lock up fees. Htein Lin, the SPDC chairman involved in this incident
threatened to imprison anyone who reported back to the NLD central office.
(Source: NLD)
The arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, top members of the NLD
Central Executive Committee, and NLD youth members at Dala
On August 24 2000, NLD Chairman U Tin Oo, General Secretary
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Rangoon Division Organizing Committee Chairman and Central
Executive Committee member U Soe Myint, Rangoon Division Organizing Committee
member Dr. U Myo Aung and sixteen members of the NLD Youth Wing (including the
two drivers) were prevented from visiting Kungyangon and Kawhmu townships to
reorganize the youth wing. They were stopped 3 miles outside of Dala at
Kyansitha ward, and told to return to Rangoon, which the party refused to do.
(See chapter on movements for more details about the blockade.) The blockade
lasted from August 24 to September 1, 2000.
On September 1 2000, at 11:30 pm Commander Hla Myint Maw from
the special unit of Military Intelligence (12) was ordered by Major -General
Kyaw Win, Deputy Director of Military Intelligence to arrest Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, U Tin Oo and U Soe Myint and the 16 NLD youths, and to return them to
Rangoon. In carrying out the orders, (5) policewomen from the information unit
of the office of the Bureau of special investigation (BSI) stationed at 9th
mile, Mayangone Township, Major Than Tun from the DDSI and Office of Strategic
Studies (OSS), Chief Police Superintendent Aung Nwe, Police Superintendent Myo
Lwin, and a force of around 200 security personnel including MIS Major Ne Soe
and Teza suddenly traveled to Dala and raided the camp. Whilst Major Than Tun
was talking to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo, the (5) policewomen without
warning forcibly apprehended and handcuffed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and violently
pushed her into a car and drove her to Rangoon . At the same time the electric
supply to Dala was temporarily cut off. The NLD youths refused to be handcuffed
and as a result there was a brawl between the youths and the police in which 9
youths were beaten hard and seriously injured. But they were not hospitalised
and directly sent to Insein prison, together with U Soe Myint, chairman of the
NLD Rangoon Division Organizing Committee, and Dr. Myo Aung.
Those detained in Insein jail were:
U Soe Myint,
 |
Aage 78, (a member of CEC and Chairman of
Rangoon division NLD)
Dr. Myo Aung (member of Rangoon Division NLD organizing committee)
and the following NLD youth members:
1- Htun Zaw Zaw ( Rangoon division)
2- Myo Nyunt (Rangoon division)
3- Htun Myint (same)
4- Thein Lwin (same)
5- Aung Htoo (same)
6- Khin Oo (same)
7- Moe Thaw (a) Pauk Pauk (same)
8- Myint Kyaw (same)
9- Shwe Gyo (same)
10- Than Htut (same)
11- Nyan Lin Aung (same)
12- Aye Myein Lin (same)
13- Than Htun (same)
14- Thein Swe (Irrawaddy Division)
15- Zaw Min Kyaw (same)
16- Min Aung Nyo (Mon State)
The NLD members of Dala township who were nearby were
arrested at the same time and then released after a few hours. However,
they were arrested again in the afternoon of the same day and sent to
jail. Force was applied to U Tin Oo who was transported to his residence where
he was dragged out of the car very aggressively. U Tin Oo was dropped off
at his home and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was temporarily taken to an unknown
destination before being taken to her residence. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi including
(9) members of CRPP were then pressured to sign documents dissolving the CRPP.
They were all threatened with being immediately driven to where U Aye Thar was
being held and then imprisoned, if they did not sign the documents dissolving
the CRPP.
The Committee members of the CRPP were separated from each
other, and their telephone lines disconnected. They were told not to attend the
party offices or go outside their homes, and they were all placed under house
arrest. The 16 NLD youths who were separated from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at 12:30
pm were placed in special solitary confinement at Insein jail, and held for
investigation. The persons in charge of this investigation was said to have been
Major Hla Thet Maw, and Major Than Tun. Dr Myo Aung, Ko Tun Zaw and an unknown
youth (from the 16 NLD youths) were said to be dangerously ill. (Source: NLD,
ABSDF, HRDU)
On September 2, 2000, in the early morning, Major Than Tun
and security personnel arrived in two trucks at the Shwegondaing Road NLD
office, and ransacked the offices and the library, and took away documents and
files, and (4) responsible members who were in the office. All the 10 CEC
members of NLD were put under house arrest. All telephone lines were cut
and no one was allowed to enter or go out, including the residences of Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo. Upon arriving back from Dala, U Tin Oo had a chance to
make contact outside of his home for about 15 before his telephone line was
suddenly cut and his house was blocked from the outside. The NLD MP’s homes
are also under watch, and all their residential phone lines were also cut on
September 2
nd. Some were reconnected
on September 3rd
, yet all the
residences remained under watch and the phone lines tapped.
In addition, all NLD members and other people who came to NLD
HQ on the morning of September 2nd without knowing the situation were arrested
and taken away by trucks to jail. During the period of house arrest, Central
Executive Committee member U Lwin was not permitted to visit the surgery for his
physical ailment and was told by the security guard that he would not be
permitted to go anywhere at all and to avoid responsibility he said that these
were orders from above. U Lwin’s request for visitation by certain doctors was
refused. However, later on after repeated demands for medical attention of U
Lwin and others, permission was granted. On 14 September 2000 at 9:00 a.m. NLD
Chairman U Aung Shwe was invited by SPDC Secretary 1, General Khin Nyunt and was
informed that all movement restrictions placed on NLD Central Executive members
were withdrawn and the head office was also opened. (Source: NLD, ABSDF, HRDU)
U Saw Naing Naing U Tun Myint
 |  |
| U Saw Naing Naing | U Tum Myint |
Both arrested on
September 13, sentenced to 21 years in prison
On September 13 and 14 2000, 11 members of the NLD were
arrested following a NLD member’s statement of 12 September regarding the
military’s prevention of Aung San Suu Kyi’s travel at Dala. The 11 were
arrested by Military Intelligence Unit 14 and detained in Insein Jail.
 |
On December 14 2000, they were tried in a closed session
military tribunal in Insein Jail. 5 of the detainees were each sentenced to
21-year prison terms for violations of the 1975 State Protection and 1950 5-J
Emergency Provision Acts. No official statement was issued by the SPDC regarding
the sentencing of the NLD members and their relatives were not officially
informed. Recent information suggests several are in very poor health.
(Source: NLD, AAPP, HRDU)
( HRDU Note: Outside media sources listed Aye Kyu (Monywa
Aung Shein), an NLD member, as one of the arrested NLD members. It was also
reported that Kyaw Sein Oo, an NLD member who had assisted in printing the
statement was sentenced to a 7-year prison term under the Printers and
Publishers Registration Act. It is possible that Kyaw Sein Oo and Kyaw Sein Aung
are the same. )
 |  |  |  |  |
| Daw Aung San Suu Kyi | U Tin Oo | U Aung Shwe | U Hla Pe | Naw ohn Hla |
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, top members of the NLD Central
Executive Committee, and NLD supporters arrested at the Rangoon Central Railway
Station
On September 21 2000, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo
attempted to travel by train to Mandalay to investigate reports of NLD
repression there. The authorities refused to allow her to board the final train
of the day which left at 9 PM. The group was told that all trains were full, but
remained at the station until all the trains had departed. The authorities
alleged that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi "lashed out at a station cleaning
crew" before being requested to leave. Scores of plainclothes officers
and police in riot gear were sent to the station, and journalists were ordered
to leave the area. There was tight security around the station, with shops and
businesses closed. At 1 AM, U Tin Oo was taken into custody by the authorities
and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was taken to her home and put under house arrest. About
100 of her supporters were herded into trucks by military police at the station
and taken away. (See appendix # 2) Seven other members of the NLD central
executive committee were also confined to their homes.
A commentary published on September 26 in the Myanma Alin and
Kyemon newspapers said Suu Kyi’s house arrest was necessary because she had
incited unrest. "If such restrictions had not been imposed, the
nation-building tasks in progress in the country today would not have been
smooth," ......... "The people do not accept Suu Ky’s
activities to incite unrest as they understand unrest is not democracy. The
government had to put a brake on her unruliness in accord with the desire of the
people." Also on September 26, a government spokesman insisted the
current restrictions on Suu Kyi and her colleagues were temporary, but could not
say how long they would last. As of October 2000, all other members of
the Central Executive Committee also remained under house arrest. They
were not allowed to leave their homes except for emergency medical treatment. In
October sources inside Burma reported that the military regime’s claim that
Vice Chairman U Tin Oo is being detained at a state guesthouse is untrue and
that he is being held at the Yekyi Aing Military Intelligence Interrogation
Center. All members of the NLD CEC were released from house arrest in late
2000, with the exception of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, and U Aung Shwe, who
remained under custody of the SPDC as of May 2001.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi regular food purchases continued to
be thoroughly checked by security personnel, and she was restricted from having
visitors. (Source: HRDU, Inside Sources) (See appendix # 2)
NLD "Guest Houses" and new restrictions
From March 2000, the military stopped the practice of
allowing the NLD MP’s from Rangoon Division, living in "guest
houses" to return to their homes fortnightly. Previously this had been
allowed, and the subsequent separation from family has had negative effects on
the physical and mental health of the detainees, who have been detained without
cause since September 1998. (Source: NLD)
Hunger Strike and resulting interrogation of Arrested MP’s
In May 2000, the majority of the NLD MP’s incarcerated on
September 6, 1998 staged a hunger strike. The SPDC and M.I. responded to the
demands of the hunger strikers by inviting representatives to ‘Ethay Yay Tha
Hotel’ for discussion. When the representatives arrived, they were arrested by
the authorities and interrogated to solicit who instigated the strike. Those who
refused to cooperate were threatened. After they were interrogated by the
military intelligence personnel, some were returned to the original camps while
others were transferred to military camps in regions infested with poisonous
snakes and centipedes. Five of the MP’s were by force removed from the
original holding centers to an unknown center. The demands of the hunger
strikers were as follows:
1. That every Member of Parliament arrested and held in
custody illegally since September 6, 1998 be immediately and unconditionally
released.
2. That every member of the NLD Youth Wing and NLD organising
committee members incarcerated since the April 12, 2000 be immediately and
unconditionally released.
3. That the 1961 Habitual Offenders Act be abolished and all
those NLD members whose movements have been restricted as a result of the Act be
immediately relieved from the terms under which they have been held.
4. That every political prisoner suffering imprisonment since
1988 be immediately and unconditionally released.
5. That all political parties be allowed to function and
operate according to democratic principles. (Source: HRDU, PD Burma)
3.11 Partial List of arrested activists and opposition forces
in 2000
On February 29 2000, Saw Tin Oo was deported by Thai police
to Burma and immediately arrested by SPDC military intelligence. Saw Tin Oo had
been arrested by Thai police outside of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok on
October 1, 1999 - the day that the "Vigorous Burmese Students
Warriors" had seized the embassy. He had been held in the Bangkok
Immigration Detention Center until his deportation. Saw Tin Oo was allegedly a
member of "God’s Army" and was accused of being part of the embassy
seizure plans. On May 18 2000 the Yangon East District Court gave Saw Tin Oo the
death sentence for high treason under Section 122 (2) of Penal Code, three years’
imprisonment under Section 17(1) of 1908 Unlawful Associations Act and five
years’ imprisonment under Section 13 (1) of 1947 Immigration Act. (Source:
HRDU)
In May 2000, 3 contributors to the opposition newspaper, MoJo,
were arrested by MI in Burma. They are: Tint Wae, of KaMarYut (near Rangoon), Ko
Myo and Ma Htay Htay, both of Bilin (Mon state). They were accused by the
authorities of collecting dissident news and secretly distributing copies of
MoJo, which is linked to the NLD. At a press conference in Rangoon on 17 May
Colonel Than Htun, an MIS officer, accused MoJo of trying to destabilise the
country. 6 other MoJo contributors had been arrested in Burma in 1999, bringing
the total to 9. These 9 journalists face prison sentences of up to 10 years.
(Source: RSF)
In June 2000, 8 student activists, members of the ABFSU, were
arrested by the Military Intelligence. They were accused in SPDC state-run media
of violent terrorist activities, put in MI interrogation centers, then detained
at Insein. As of May 2001, they were still being detained in Insein Prison,
Rangoon, and had not yet been given a trial or sentenced. The arrested students
were:
(1) Ma Than Than Htay (a) Akyi Htay, age 33
(2) Ma Tin Tin Myint
(3) Htun Zaw Htay (a) Htun Htun
(4) Ko Aye Win
(5) Zin Min Oo (a) Ah Nge Lay, age 23
(6) Myo Aung (a) Ah Nge Lay, age 25
(7) Ko Myo Thant (a) Ko Myo Sat, age 32
(8) Ko Kyaw Htay (a) Japan Gyi (a) Ko Latt, age 30
(Source: ABFSU-FAC)
On September 13 2000, Cheng Poh, a well-known 77-year old
lawyer was sentenced to 14 years in jail for allegedly distributing foreign
press clippings with anti-government slogans written on the back. Cheng Poh had
been arrested in July, and detained in Insein Prison up until the time of
sentence, which was given by a special court inside the compound of Insein
prison. The state prosecution accused Cheng Poh of copying anti-government
foreign media publications and distributing them with statements written on the
reverse, such as "No Freedom, Our Mouths Are Sealed." He was given
seven years under the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act and seven years under the
1962 Printers and Publishers Act to be served consecutively. His family plans to
appeal the verdict. There are concerns for his health. (Source: AP)
3.12 Reported incidents of civilians arbitrarily arrested and
detained in2000
On January 8 2000, a unit of troops from IB No. 54, led by
Captain Myint Naing, went to the villages in Tee Lon village tract and arrested
several people suspected to be in connection with rebels. People whose names
were on the list that the troops brought with them were arrested without
questioning. The troops went to Daw Parpah and Daw The villages and ordered all
villagers to gather at a football ground. They then read the names on the paper
and forced these people out of the crowd, tied them up and tortured them in the
presence of the rest of the villagers. Some of the soldiers looted gold and
livestock from the houses in the village while people were convened in the
football ground.
The first batch of arrested people were; Hay Reh, 35, Raw Reh,
55, Tra Reh, 45, Mia Reh, 35, Noh Reh, 28, Eu Reh, 31, Hah Du, 58, Pastor Bot
Cah, 27, Go Reh, 25, Tre Reh, 35, Ywa Reh, 20, Pam Reh, 50, Lwe Moe (female),
30, Wei Reh, 25, and Mya Reh, 30 from Daw The village, Hla Pe, 48, La Dal, 33,
Doy Reh, 20, Mo Reh, 30, Eai Reh, 56, Naw Reh, 30 and Pwa Reh, 20, from Daw
Parpah village, Tio Mee, 35, Noh Reh, 26, Rah Reh, 25, an unknown villager from
Wam Ngaw village and Daing Mein, 45, from Nam Sukuay village.
The second batch of arrested people were; Fah Reh, 35, Mew
Reh, 45, Kwi Reh, 25, Ohn Feh, 45, Moi Reh, 40, and Fre Reh, 35, from Daw Parpah
village. As of April 2000, some of these 33 people arrested had been released
but others were still detained at the military base. (Source: KNAHR)
On January 16 2000, one man and three women of Pahoe village,
Lopwa Koe District, Karenni State were arrested by troops from LIB 516, Company
4, led by Maj. Aye Kyaw while they were on their way to the church. Four more
villagers were arrested when the troops reached another village All the arrested
villagers were tied up with string - they tried to escape while the troops were
searching the village for properties to take with them. The troops then set fire
to the village. (Source: KNAHR)
On January 19 2000, U Than Chaun of No 3 Saing-kone quarters,
Shwe-goo township, Kachin State was charged sentenced to suffer two years
rigorous imprisonment under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code. U Than Chaun had
been a proprietor of a coffee shop, and on December 18,1999 the Shwe-goo
Police arrested him and seized the radio in the coffee shop because the
radio had been tuned in to Voice of America (VOA) (Burmese Section). While in
prison, his distraught wife who suffered from heart ailment and high blood
pressure passed away. U Than Chaun who is 70 years old suffers from medical
problems.
(Source: NLD)
On January 20 2000, about 70 well-armed soldiers from LIB 428
entered Misar Padeh village, Lopwa Koe District, Karenni Statet and arrested 40
villagers. They separated the men and women, then took their names and pictures.
The troops then searched all the households and took all the belongings that
they saw. All the villagers domestic animals were eaten by the troops as well.
(Source: KNAHR)
On January 24 2000, a farmer, U Han Tin of Chaung-sauk
village, Khan Tet village tract, Zeegon township, Pegu Division was arrested
because he had defaulted in supplying the full quota of paddy due to bad weather
conditions during the previous year end of crop season. Furthermore he was
unable to pay the prescribed cash in lieu of the paddy quota. (Source: NLD)
On January 29, 2000, SPDC troops of Murng-Khark-based LIB328
arrested 2 Lahu villagers, Kya Yae (m), aged 21 and Kya Pae (m), aged 22, of Nam
Laek village, Tong Pha Kao tract, Murng-Khark township, and detained them in the
military base. The Lahu villager leaders were forced to exchange a cow for their
release. (Source: SHRF)
In February 2000, U San Htun,an Officer-in-charge of the
Maungdaw Police Station, who is notorious for his extreme hatred towards
Rohingya community, arrested six innocent Rohingya youths under a concocted
charge of drug addicts. They were sentenced to jail for a term of 14 years
without trial. They have since been moved to Sittwe jail. (Source: ARNO)
On February 11 2000, a Mon farmer, Nai Tun Shwe, from
Kawpee-htaw village in Kalortort village tract of Mudon Township, Mon State was
arrested by authorities and police after he failed to sell the remaining amount
of paddy that he owed to the government paddy buying centers. In December 1999
the village headmen and paddy-buying authorities had set for him to sell 192
baskets of paddy for his 12 acres of land, even though he had lost some crops
due to flooding in the 1999 rainy season. From December to January, he had
managed to sell about 131 baskets of paddy, but 61 baskets remained to be sold..
On February 5, the village headmen warned him to sell the remaining as quickly
as possible, but he was unable to do this, and so he was arrested at his house
and detained for 25 days. During his time in detention, the authorities forced
his family to sell the remaining paddy and he was released after his wife sold
the full amount of paddy. (Source: HURFOM)
On February 12 2000, troops from IB 332 captured 30 men from
Wan Phai Long, Mong Pan Township, Shan State and detained them in the monastery of Hsao Pet. 10,000
kyats was demanded for their release. (Source: SSANews)
On February 18 2000, Mudon Township authorities and
paddy-buying officials went to Kamawet village, Mudon township, Mon State to
force villagers who had failed to sell the paddy quota to comply. These
authorities, together with village militia troops, arrested Mi Phaw Tin, F, age
51, and her son, Mehm Raing Chai, 21 years old and brought them to Mudon
township police station. The two were arrested in place of their husband/father
who had not been able to sell his paddy quota and had not been at the house when
the officials arrived. The mother and the son were detained in the police
station for 7 days and the authorities also gave pressure to Nai Nyein Han to
sell the set amount of paddy for the release of his wife and son. The farmer
pled with the officials to detain him instead of his family, but the authorities
refused. The farmer was then forced to sell some of his belongings, buy paddy,
and give it to the authorities for the release of his wife and son.
(Source: HURFOM)
On February 28 2000, SPDC soldiers of IB 287 made a search
for farmers who had been working in the "free fire area". The soldiers
were stationed at Wan Sing to stand guard on the Mong Nong-Wan Sing highway
Laikha township, Shan State and were bivouacking at Loi Sork. During their
patrol in the east of Loi Nang Mai, they arrested 5 farmers, all females, from
Wan Koong Nong Wuo, Naa Poy tract, Wan Sing, Shan State. They were:
1. Nang Lu
2. Nang Ong
3. Nai Nang
4. Nang Yong and
5. Nang Kya Yong
On reaching their village the victims were released after they had paid 45,000 kyats and 30 tickals (1/2 kg.) of raw opium. (Source: SSANews)
On February 25 2000, the commanding officer of the Western
Area Command # 4 arrested 14 Ulema (religious leaders) from Ziban Chaung (Ziban
Khali) village under Bawlibazar township for alleged reconstruction by the
villagers of their age-old village mosque. The arrested persons include Moulvi
Khaled son of Moulvi Sayed and Moulvi Rashid. The military prohibits building or
repairs of any mosques or Muslim institutes particularly in Arakan. (Source:
ARNO)
On March 20 2000, SPDC authorities arrested a villager and
put him into jail in Karen state. According to a relative of the victim, the
villager SPDC authorities arrested the villager, U Ba Myint (40 years) and
handed over him to the MI officers of Moulmein Myo (town) who put him into the
jail without any trial. U Ba Myint was from Fahloon village, Papun township,
Karen state. Fahloom village consists of about 180 houses and is about 110 miles
away in the south from Pa-an, the capital of Karen state. (Source: MICB)
On March 24 2000, Nine 10th standard students were arrested
and sentenced to three months in jail. They were arrested as a result of an
incident on March 13, in which they had led a group of motorcyclists around
Mergui, Tenasserim Division, with US flags tied to their motorcycles. The
authorities took the incident as an act of political defiance aimed at
disparaging the image of the military government through nonviolent means. The
SPDC then issued a decree banning the display of foreign flags on festival
pavilions and cars and prohibiting the wearing of flags as headbands during the
Thingyan [Water] Festival. The SPDC also put its Union Solidarity and
Development Association members and military intelligence units on alert to
watch foreign travelers participating in the Water Festival. (Source: DVB)
On April 21, 2000, 3 villagers, Zaai Paain, aged 22, Zaai
Leng, aged 26 and Zaai Kam, aged 31, from Saalaa Wan Mai village in Phang Min
tract, Ta-Khi-Laek township, were arrested and extorted 30,000 baht each by
police and 7 members of the township USDA. The police and USDA members arrested
the 3 villagers at their farms and accused them of being amphetamine traffickers
and detained them in a Buddhist temple at Saw Kong village in the same tract.
They were threatened with being sent to prison if they refused to pay. The
farmers were so frightened that they finally agreed to pay the money and sent
one of them, Zaai Paan, to borrow it from their fellow villagers. Later, these
farmers had to sell their livestock and other belongings to pay back their
debts. The victims were know among the local people to be simple farmers who
grew rice and soya-bean and kept some livestock. Their financial status was no
better than any other ordinary local farmers and they had never engaged in any
kind of trading business. (Source: SHRF)
On April 23, 2000, a patrol of 30 SPDC troops from IB244
arrested 3 Akha villagers of Loi Mi village in Huay Phaa tract, Kaeng-Tung
township and extorted 7,000 kyat, after their families negotiated the price down
from 30,000 kyat, for the release of each of them. The 3 men were Kham Maw, age
36, Ai Lu, age 41, and Aa Noo, age 29. (Source: SHRF)
On April 25, 2000, 4 vehicle owners were arrested from
Taung-tha, Mandalay Division. They were arrested following a letter of appeal
they had written to the Secretary 2 of the SPDC requesting that the unreasonable
demands of "voluntary labor" be reconsidered. They had been ordered
to use their vehicles to haul gravel for a road, yet there were no passable
roads which led to the construction site. The vehicle owners were U Aung Gyaw, U
Maung Nyo, U Nyo Hla, and U Htay Gyi, all respected town elders. They were
illegally arrested under Section 5(f) and held in the Police Lock Up at
Taung-tha. U Aung Gyaw, who suffered from high blood pressure was denied medical
attention during the detention, and died in custody.
(See
‘Death in Custody’)
(Source: NLD)
On May 2 2000, a combined troop of about 70 well-armed soldiers from SPDC LIB
427 and the KNPLF patrolled around the Daw Krawku, Mosoe area, Karenni State and
arrested three village heads from Daw Krawku, Daw Kuleh and Hteeduku villages.
(Source: KNAHR)
On May 5 2000, SPDC police officers of Kyauk Se main police
station arrested two Muslim men and sentenced them each to 15 years. The police
officers of the main police station of Kyauk Se (Myo) town demanded kyats 10,000
each from the two Muslims and a quarrel took place between them. Later, the
police officers arrested and put them into the jail. According to a villager
(name withheld) the police officers further warned that if the news leaked out,
the police officers would frame (false) political case under section 5-J. The
two Muslims were U Kasem (29 yerar) and U Than Tun (31 years) of Kyauk Se (Myo)
town. (Not their real names). (Source: MICB)
In the middle of May 2000, 7 farmers from Depe-yin township,
Sagaing Division were arrested and incarcerated for damaging a road on the day
before the new road’s opening ceremony. The road had been built on land that
was being used for cultivation in the region between Pyan-kya and Ma-gyi-zauk
villages in De-pe-yin township causing the loss of about 10 acres of
agricultural land. The farmers were arrested following their preparations for
cultivation in their fields. (Source: NLD)
On May 18 2000, 25 farmers who had been unable to supply
"duty paddy" in the Koon-gyan-gone Township of Rangoon Division were
arrested by township authorities. These farmers had made every attempt to
fulfill the paddy quota, yet they had been unable to due in part to the red tape
involved in the purchase of diesel oil which is required for irrigation
machinery. Every time that farmers in the area desire to purchase oil, they must
first get endorsements from several town officials, which costs the farmer 1200
to 1500 kyat even before the oil is purchased. U Than Htay (Taungkoo West
village), U Aye Kyi (Taungkoo East village), U Aung Win, and U Than Win (Kha-lauk-ta-ya
village) were some of the 25 farmers who were incarcerated at the Police
Station. The families of these farmers were forced to sell their lands,
buffaloes and cows, or take loans in order to meet the quota so the arrested
could be released. Those whose families were not able to come up with the quota
were kept in jail. In addition 28,000 kyats were demanded in bail from the
families of U Japangyi and U Aung Win from Taung-goo east village and U Hla Htay
from Taung-goo west village, even after their quotas were met. (Source: NLD)
On May 26 2000, SPDC military intelligence officers arrested
U Tin Hlaing (50 years) of Oak poe village, Taung Ngo township, Pegu division.
According to a relative, he was accused of making contact with the NLD and was
then sent directly to notorious Thaya waddy prison. (Source: MICB)
On May 27 2000, Daw Khin Nu and Daw Chaw, both females in
their late 60’s, early 70’s, were threatened and then arrested by SPDC
authorities in Rangoon during the legitimate proceedings of the NLD
commemoration of the 10
th
anniversary of elections. The women were the owners of the NLD office building,
though as the owners they were uninvolved in the event, or associated with the
NLD. Both these ladies are elderly and dependent on medication for their
deteriorating physical conditions. The authorities refused to allow members of
their family to take them the necessary daily medication, and they were sent to
Insein Jail.
(Source: NLD)
On May 31 2000, Burma’s state newspapers recorded that Tun
Myat Thu, alias Naing Lin Hset, was arrested at his house in an eastern suburb
of Yangon with fake passports and government seals and sentenced to 27 years by
the Yangon East District Court. He was accused of buying the documents from an
ABSDF member in Bangkok. Ma Win Yee, who was accused of smuggling the forged
documents from Thailand to Myanmar, was sentenced on the same day to 12 years in
prison. She allegedly was caught at Myawaddy, on the Myanmar side of its eastern
border with Thailand, with 165 forged seaman’s passports, 91 forged
first-grade overseas nautical officer certificates and 48 other fake documents.
(Source: AP)
In June 2000 Ma Thein Htwe Oo, a female soldier and wife of
the Commanding Officer of LIB 530, which is based in Loikhaw town,Karenni State,
was found to have spoken for the well-being of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD.
As a result of what she said, the Loikhaw authorities arrested Ma Thein Oo and
sentenced her to 6 months in prison with hard labor. (Source: PD Burma)
On June 6, 2000 about 20 troops from DKBA led by Bo Po Dah
and Bo Aung Gyi came into Tone-ta-dah village, Kyaukkyi Township, Karen State
and arrested Saw Ba Li, age 28, son of Saw Ngati and Saw Po La Min, age 27, son
of Saw Kway Pyu. They accused them of having connections with the KNU, and sent
them to Bo Moe Hmong base at Klaw Maw where they were detained. The two men were
Christian, but were forced to become Buddhist monks. As of October 2000 they had
not yet been released. (Source: KAWU)
On June 6, 2000, members of SPDC’s Police Department in Ta-Khi-Laek,
conscripted a civilian car and traveled to Wan Naa villager, Murng-Phong tract.
They arrested 3 villagers and accused them of dealing in amphetamines, after
which they detained them at the Ta-Khi-Laek police station and ordered their
parents to pay 30,000 baht each for their release, otherwise they would be sent
to jail. They were released after their parents paid 10,000 baht, all the money
they could come up with, for the release of each one. The 3 men were Zaai Leng,
age 26, Zaai Pan-Yaa, age 21, and Zaai Kham Yaang, age 20.(Source: SHRF)
On June 9, 2000, troops from SPDC LIB 399 arrested
Toh-thay-poo villagers Saw Pa Le and Saw La May, and Kaw-tha-say villager Saw
Win Naing. They took them to Klaw-maw-ko, Nyaung-lay-bin District, Karen State
and demanded 20,000 kyat and some of their clothing. (Source: KIC)
On June 16, 2000, SPDC troops of IB 99 were coming from Ham
Ngai when they arrived at Wan Long village, Wan Mong tract, Murng Kerng
township, Shan State. They saw 5-6 villagers in a house belonging to Loong Yawd
Murng, and accused all of them of discussing how to send supplies to SSA troops.
After that they searched every corner in the house and arrested the 5-6 men.
(Source: SSA)
On June 23 2000, troops from LIB 705, led by SPDC (Company 2)
Commander Pau Mong Nae, raided Htee P’ Nyae Village, Kya Aye Township,
Dooplaya District, Karen State. The following civilians were arrested on
suspicion of having KNU connections:
1. Maung Ping (32),
2. Saw Pae Paw (17),
3. Maung Kyaw (35),
4. Saw Aung Thay Paw (17) and
5. Saw Taw Oo (50).
(Source: DIR)
On June 26, 2000, a Chin woman named Pi Sai Sung, a 29 year
old farmer, was arrested by a group of Burmese soldiers led by Captain San
Lwin from LIB 266 in Bungkhua village of Chin State. She was accused
of having a relationship with CHRO field monitor Mr. Zothang who had been
killed by the soldiers earlier that same day. (See relevant chapter on
killing) She was brought on foot to Thantlang town, which is 28 miles away
from Bungkhua village. According to the villagers, the soldiers covered
her mouth with rags and let her wear only her bra and under skirt along
the way. Her husband is detained by the SPDC authority in Kalaymyo jail.
He had been accused of supporting the Chin National Front (CNF) and arrested
in July 1999. Their two children, an 11 years old daughter and 5 year old
son, are now looked after by villagers. (Source: CHRO)
On June 29, 2000, SPDC MI officers from Taung Dwin Gyi, Magwe
division arrested a Muslim man with an allegation that he had contact with the
NLD. According to a trader, the victim known as U Kasem (35 years) lived in
Block No. (1), Taung Dwin Gyi Myo (town), Magwe division of Burma. (Source: MICB)
On July 10 2000, SPDC authorities arrested a Muslim man by
the name of U Mohammad, age 40, and fined him 50,000 kyats in Pa-an township,
Karen State for simply reporting an offence by neighbors. He had informed
the authorities led by Bo Myint, a DKBA officer, that the cattle of
neighbors had destroyed his cultivation field and caused him great loss.
The SPDC officers responded that he should not disturb the officers on duty with
such a small matter, and arrested him. (Source: MICB)
On July 20 2000, SPDC troops from LIB 101, led by Second
Commander Ko Ko Oo, arrived in a village in Karenni State and arrested Pha Taw,
23 yrs, and Saw Sa Kaw Doh Mo, 17 yrs, when they came over them. It was reported
that the two men were released after questioning. (Source: KNAHR)
On July 28 2000, USDA township officials handed over two
Burmese Muslim civilians to MI No.25, who put them into prison in Karen state of
Burma. Papun township USDA officer, U Saw Fata demanded bribe money in the
amount of kyats 10,000 from each Muslim. The two Muslims, U Kadir (30 years) and
U Aung Min (38 years) requested the USDA officer forgive them because they were
very poor and unable to comply with the demand. The USDA officer framed a false
case that the two Muslims had a close contact with the NLD and handed over them
to the MI. (Source: MICB)
On July 30 2000, two prisoners disappeared in Mandalay prison
and their mothers were arrested by the SPDC authorities. The two mothers of the
two prisoners did not know that their sons, with along other dozens of
prisoners, were sent to the porter-recruiting camps in Myaing Kalay, Southwest
of Karen state, about 20 kilometers away from Mya Waddy. The two mothers went to
the prison and asked the prison-authorities the whereabouts of their sons. The
prison authorities reported the matter to the MI officials who immediately
arrested the two mothers. The two prisoners were Win Htey (24 years) and Mya Din
(30 years) and the two mothers were Daw Mya Mu (53 years) and Daw Khin Su (58
years) of Mandaly (Myo) town. (Source: MICB)
On August 5, 2000, 6 SPDC troops from LIB526 who were manning
a checkpoint at Pa Kok ferry crossing on Nam Mae Sai river in Murng Phong tract,
Ta-Khi-Laek township, arrested 2 villagers, Lung Saam Ko, aged 50 and his son,
Zaai Laa, aged 19, and extorted 1,200 baht from them. (Source: SHRF)
On August 6, 2000, SPDC LIB 421 entered Law Jar village in
Pruso Township, No. (1) district of Karenni State, and arrested the headman
(name was not available) and secretary named Ko Reh. Ko Reh was tortured to
death in the village while the headman was taking to Pruso police station where
he was detained for one day. On August 8 he was released after being questioned.
(Source: KNAHR)
On August 8, 2000, troops from SPDC LIB 60, went to
Aung-soe-moe village, Nyaung-lay-gin District, Karen State and arrested innocent
villager Saw Ko Kyaw, brought him to Kyauk-kyi police station and demanded
23,000 kyat. (Source: KIC)
On August 15 2000, SPDC troops under command of Tactical
Commander Khin Maung Myint arrived in Phon Tha Yat village, Sagaing Division and
arrested two villagers, Oo Wel Sin and Oo Pya, as result of their taking photos
of the SPDC troops. (Source: Inside Burma)
On August 15, 2000, 7 policemen from the SPDC’s People’s
Police Force in Kaeng-Tung township arrested 3 villagers at Wan Laao village in
Loi Long tract, Kaeng-Tung township, on a charge of dealing methamphetamines and
locked them up at the police station in the town. The 3 men, Zaai Sai, aged 36,
Zaai Zaen Sen, aged 30 and Zaai Peng, aged 25, were Shan farmers who earned a
simple living by growing rice and some other crops and vegetables. There was no
evidence against them and on August 18 the village headman and some fellow
villagers came to plead with the police authorities for the release of the 3
men, stating that they guaranteed their innocence. The police released them, but
only after the villagers paid 3,000 kyat to each of the 7 policemen for their
time and effort used in arresting them. During their detention in the police
station, the 3 villagers were forced to work from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every
day. Each day, about 11-12 detainees were forced to work in the police station;
doing sanitary work, weeding grass, fetching water and polishing floors, etc.
(Source: SHRF)
On August 25, 2000, SPDC authorities arrested 6 Burmese
Muslims on the allegation that they failed to attend the anti- NLD demonstration
held by USDA. The authorities were led by Pyu township USDA President U Maung
Thet and Secretary U Soe Paing. The six Burmese Muslims were U Kasem (46 years),
U Tha Khin (43 years), U Esoof (35 years), U Amin (40 years), U Than Htaik (29
years) and Daw soe Ma Ma ( 30 years old female, from Pyu Myo, Pegu division.
(Source: MICB)
On August 28, 2000, SPDC LIB 560 2nd commander Maj. Htay Win
summoned captured villager Saw Tee Tu Baw who was in confinement and demanded
200,000 kyat for his release. (Source: TIR)
On August 21, 2000, column No. 1 from SPDC Division 22 LIB
202 seized a villager from Pa-loo village, Doo-pla-ya District, Karen State and
took him to the area of Zheh-Kyune-taung and Ta-bloh-ko-kee. (Source: KIC)
In September 2000, 2 villagers from Do May village, Demawso
Township, Karenni State were unable to perform their forced labor duty, or give
the fines for their absence. So LIB 102 arrested the men and detained them for a
week until they were able to pay 20,000 kyats each. (Source: DVB)
On September 1, 2000, 3 members of USDA and 2 policeman, led
by U Kan Nyunt, one of the USDA authorities, arrested 3 villagers from Murng
Phong and extorted 5,000 baht from each of them. The 3 villagers, Zaai Non, aged
23, Zaai Seng, aged 23 and Zaai Leo, aged 23, were arrested at a motorcycle taxi
station in Murng Phong village where they worked. They were detained at the USDA
office in the town. Though all 3 of them worked as motorcycle taxi drivers, they
were arrested on a charge of dealing in methamphetamines and were told to pay
30,000 baht each for their release. The parents and relatives of the 3 men tried
in vain to plead for their release, stressing that their sons were innocent and
that there was no evidence against them. The USDA members insisted that they
knew the 3 men were involved in drug trafficking and that was evidence enough to
arrest them and put them in jail, and kept demanding the money. The villagers on
their part kept pleading until the USDA members agreed to accept 5,000 baht for
the release of each of them, and the matter was thus settled. (Source: SHRF)
On September, 1, 2000, four Muslim elders of Daing Win Gwan
Block village, Moulmein township, Mon State where a primary school was situated,
put up an application requesting the high authorities to spare the Muslim
students from learning Buddhism in the school, were arrested and as of October 9
2000 were still under custody. The four village elders, were U Ismail, U Yacoob,
U Than Tun and Daw Mariam. (Source: ARNO, MICB)
On September 2 2000, a unit of troops from LIB 428 reached
Htee Kludaw, No. 1 district, Karenni State and arrested a pastor named Saw Reh
with the accusation of having contact with the Karenni armed group. (Source:
KNAHR)
On September 2 2000, Kabawhtar villager Saw Say Lar, age 35,
was arrested by troops from LIB 101 led by Maj. Tint Lwin. He was arrested at
Kawbawdeh village while on his way to Mawchi in order to purchase goods. He was
ordered to stay with the troops for interrogation, then released on September 5,
after staying with the troops for three days. (Source: KNAHR)
On September 12, 2000, in Nyaung-lay-bin District, Karen
State, Saw Pa Dah from the DKBA seized Kaw-tha-say villagers: (1) Saw Shwe and
Po Htoo Meh, son of Saw Tha Maung; (2) Ta Eh, son of Maung Tha and (3) Naw Hsa
Pleh, daughter of Saw Baw. The troops took them to Klaw-maw military camp by
force. (Source: KIC)
On September 13 2000, SPDC authorities arrested four Burmese
Muslims from inside a mosque in Irrawaddy division. The authorities led by
military officer Lt. Hla Aung and Mau Bin police station chief U Ba Kyaing
arrested the four Muslims without any reason and sent them directly to the
Rangoon Insein Jail. The four Burmese Muslims were U Mohammad Kasim (45 years),
U Mya Win (41 years), U Hal Pe (38 years) and U Hla Thein (40 years)of Mau Bin
Myo, Irrawaddy Division. (Source: MICB)
In the second week of September 2000, Saya Yaung Win and Yant
Tat from MIS No.(10) and an ex-police entered Nazir Para (village) of Akyab (Sittwe)
city, Arakan State under the pretext of checking the guest list. They asked the
residents to get out of their houses and started checking the family members one
house after another. When a member of the family was absent or a guest was found
present in a house the head of the family was arrested and tortured. During the
course of checking some of the unmarried young girls were dishonored. The
arrested persons were later released on bribery. (Source: ARNO)
On September 23, 2000, SPDC authorities arrested two Muslim
men in Pegu division. SPDC Pegu division Regional Battalion Commander Col. Khin
Win and USDA officer, U Sein Min arrested the two Muslims on the allegation that
they criticized the two junta’s higher officers extorting money and
brutalizing the civilians in the region. Later, the officers handed over them to
the notorious MI in Pegu city who put them into Pegu jail.
(Source: MICB)
On October 16
2000,
villagers Pray Reh, age 25 years old, and Law Reh, age 24 years old, from Daw
Sophya village, Karenni State were arrested by troops of LIB 337 while picking
groundnuts in their field. They were accused of being rebels and tortured by the
troops. The troops tied their hands, brought them to the military base and
forced them to carry a sack of rice to Bawlake and back to their base. The
troops took 2 knives, 2 swords and one watch and then freed them. (Source: KNAHR)
On October 28 2000, four students from Tavoy State High
School No.4 were taken in for questioning by the MI. The four students, who had
recently been expelled, entered the school on October 26, shouted their
dissatisfaction and staged protest. Other students joined them and shouted
anti-government slogans, yet the headmaster, U Saw Shein, and the teachers were
able to control the situation. The MI found out about the matter and questioned
the headmaster, teachers, and responsible parents on October 28. One student was
detained at Wekyin police station in Tavoy. The remaining three are being
interrogated at the MI Unit-19 camp. The four arrested students are Kyaw Lin and
Thet Zaw Htay, both 8th standard students, and Saw Nge Nge and Thet Naing Win,
both 9th standard students. No details have been received on why they were
expelled and why they came back to school to stage the protest. (Source: DVB)
On November 10, 2000, troops from SPDC IB 124 came to
Kaw-law-kah village, Toun-goo District, Karen state and arrested and tied up (1)
Ka Chai Pah (M) (2) Moo Ler Pah (M) (3) Saw Gay Tha (M) (4) Maung Poo Nyo (M)
and (5) Saw Kler Per (M). The troops later to them away looted possessions worth
10,000 kyats from Per-kaw-doe villagers.
(Source: KIC)
On December 11, 2000, SPDC troops from LIB 315 led by Captain
Win Shwe captured and jailed an innocent civilian named Sai Kae Sa, age 25, son
of Loong Zarm and Nai Parng, who lived in Wan Ho Pung village, Nong Kaw tract,
Lai Kha township. After that, they sent a message to his family that if they
wished to see him released, they would exchange him for 25,000 kyat. (Source:
Freedom News)
Arbirary seizure of villagers
On June 16, 2000, a military column from SPDC IB 232, seized
and took away Saw Lu Lu, from Pwee-kee village, Toun-goo District, Karen State.
(Source: KIC)
On July 3 2000, SPDC troops from LIB 207 entered May Du Nwe
Kee area, Papun District, Karen State and captured and took Naw Yaw, age 33, Naw
Nee Aye, age 12, Naw Balay, age 2, Naw Paw, age 22, Naw Paw Day, age 10, and Naw
Day, age 6. (Source: KWO)
On July 7, 2000, in Doo-pla-ya District, Karen State, troops
from SPDC IB 709 captured and took away Ler-dwer villagers Mauk Shway, Par Ta
Kweh, Par Taw, Tar Too, Par Nay, Naing Par Nyo, Par Cha Meh and Par Day Thu. As
of August 15, 2000 the villagers had not been released. (Source: KIC)
On July 8, 2000, IB 372, which had been operating in Tat Moo,
Kawut Hta and Ta Nay Ler Hko villages, captured villager Hset Than Shwe and his
family. The troops had ordered them to go and get an automatic rifle, and when
the family failed to get such a weapon, they captured the family and did not
allow them anything to eat and confined the family head Hset Than Shwe. (Source:
TIR)
On September 21, 2000, troops from SPDC IB 20 came into
Ko-khor-doe village, Toun-goo District, Karen State and took two villagers
hostage without reason. The villagers were, Saw Pah Hot M, 17, son of Saw Tha
Kway and Saw Hser Gay, M, 20, son of Saw Ah Koe. (Source: KIC)
On October 20, 2000, company commander Bo Tin Hla from SPDC
" Bala " guerilla unit forced 10 villagers from Pa-ya-gon, Ta-laing-aing,
Gwa-aing and Hle-lan-koo villages in Tan-ta-bin township, Toun-goo District,
Karen State to go along with their army column. (Source: KIC)
On November 21, 2000, thirty SPDC troops from IB 98, led by
Lieutenant Maung Htway, came to Tar-hu-lo village, Pa-pun District and forcibly
took villagers Pee Mar Lweh, 75, Saw Ler Heh, 23, and Naw Than Tin, 20, to
Martaw village, and extorted 150,000 kyat. (Source: KIC)
On December 3 2000, a combined troop of SPDC LIB 246 and DKBA
soldiers entered Mee Yah Tah village and Tee Plaw Kee village, Mone Township.
They shot into the village and captured Saw Eh Gaw Paw and Saya Daw Hmen’s
family. (Source: KWO)
On December 5, 2000, troops led by Lieutenant Tin Myint from
SPDC LIB 341, came to Kyo-ko-doe village, Dweh-lo Township, Pa-pun District,
Karen State and seized and took away 8 villagers.(Source: KIC)
3.13 Reported incidents of Enforced Disappearances in 2000
In January 2000, a well-armed combined column from the Loikaw
based LIB 216 and Nwalavoe based IB 54, arrested 17 innocent villagers of six
different villages in Loikaw Township, Karenni State. The SPDC troops accused
the villagers of having contact with rebels, illegal according to the military
junta Act 17/1. As of April 2000,the whereabouts of these villagers remained
unknown. The arrested villagers were;
- Meo Reh, Sei Reh, Her Reh, Kaw Reh, Pah ki and Mah Reh from
Nawn Lon village
- Ai Ko and Kei Reh from Payapyu village
- Mya Thu from Linphon village
- Tin Hla and Myo Min from Wamphan village
- Kan Oo, Pru Hah, Maw Reh, Bew Reh, and Hla Raw from Kunnah
village
- Aung Lwin from Wam Ngaw village. (Source: KNAHR)
On January 17 2000, a column of troops from LIB 516, entered
Pahoe village, Lopwa Koe District, Karenni State and arrested 24 people of four
families. These innocent villagers were accused of supporting the Karenni troops
and then forced to accompany the troops. No one knew where the villagers were
taken to. The arrested people were; Saw Kolay May, Naw Htoo Ler, Kwar Mu Htoo,
Naw Sheku Htoo, Naw Pupu, Daw Ei Paw, Wah Mu Htoo, Nae Neh, Lay Lay, Oo Nu, Tae
Htoo, Klar Htoo, Nae Gyi Kar, Kat Nemu, Nae Lo Htoo, Mu Mwepaw, Saw Tee Mu, Ko
Ro, Nae Kae El and her newborn child, Saw Poe Htoo, Naw Tae Paw, Naw Mutu, Saw
Mler Htoo and Hser Say Htoo. (Source: KNAHR)
On January 19 2000, a company of troops from LIB 516 entered
Sakwe Thedoh village, Lopwakoe province, Karenni State and arrested five
villagers. As of April 2000, their whereabouts remained unknown.
(Source: KNAHR)
On February 10 2000, Eight residents of Prusoe city, Karreni
State were arrested by troops from LIB No. 531. They were accused of being
involved in tax collection for Karenni troops. As of April 2000, all but Kan
Min, age 38, had been released. There was no information on his whereabouts.
(Source: KNAHR)
On February 25 2000, a combined patrol of troops from IB 332
and IB 102 led by Maj. Nyan Myint captured, interrogated and tortured 7 innocent
villagers from Wan Kun Moung, Wan Nong tract, Mong Nai Township, Shan State. The
troops accused the villagers of sympathizing with a Shan resistance group. On
February 28, at 11 AM, the villagers were sent to Nam Sarng. As of the end of
March 2000, the fate of the villagers remained unknown. The victims were:
- Kar-wi (m), age 35
- Hsaw Nan Ta, (m), age 45
- Aw Htamma, (m), age 20
- Saw Nanda (m), age 35
- Kung Ma Put (m), age 45
- Loong Ta Pang (m), age 50
- Loong Ta Phi (m), age 46 (Source: SSANews)
On March 11 2000, at 8 AM, 28 SPDC troops on patrol from
Laikha Township captured 4 innocent villagers in their paddy fields at Pang Oo
Sae tract, Laikha township, Shan State. The victims were tied up and beaten with
rifle butts and sticks. They were then tied up in pairs until March 12, when
they were forced to follow the troops as porters to carry rice. The 4 victims
were:
- Loong Phit, age 48, whose arm was broken due to the beating
- Aw Ta, age 25
- Sarng Loo, age 18
- Sarng Lu, age 35
As of the end of April 2000, no news had been received of
their whereabouts after they were taken as porters. (Source: SSANews)
On April 1 2000, Mr. Abdur Rahman of Kaw Kyaik village, Pa-an
Township, Karen State was arrested and later disappeared. He had been appealing
to higher authorities of the SPDC to spare their mosque from destruction. Kaw
Kyaik village consists of about 80 Muslim houses, a mosque and about 300
non-Muslim houses. Local DKBA authorities had ordered the destruction of the
mosque. Moreover, the authorities in that area have been seizing much of the
Muslim land and selling it off. (Source: MICB)
On April 6 2000, about 170 soldiers of LIB Nos 531, 250, and
IB Nos. 54 and 72, went to Htee Thaw Tanee and Phukraku villages, Karenni State
and arrested two village heads and one villager. They were brought to Prusoe
City by the troops, but their subsequent whereabouts remained unknown as of
April 2000. (Source: KNAHR)
On April 10 2000, a group of SPDC troops arrested a civilian
with an accusation that he had contact with the insurgents and sent him to the
Papun SPDC court where he was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard
labour. The SPDC troops were from IB 19 who were led by Lt. Win Oo. According to
a relative, the accused, Ko Than Hlaing was them sent to the Rangoon-Insein
jail. However, his present whereabouts is unknown to his family since then. Ko
Than Hlaing was from Kadinettee village, Papun township, Karen state. (Source:
MICB)
On April 18 2000 the military seized and carried away (1)
Serajul Haque s/o of Abdul Ghani (2) Rashid s/o Kaseim (3) Rafique s/o Lukman
Hakim, all of them Sandama, a large Rohingya village near Akyab (Sittwe) in
Arakan State. Their whereabouts is still not known. In addition, the SPDC forces
are now hunting 15 other villagers, including religious leaders, who have gone
into hiding to escape arrest and torture. (Source: ARNO)
On May 22 2000, SPDC military intelligence officers arrested
U Tun Sein (40 years) and U Do wa (35 years) of house No.341, near main mosque
of Mandalay, accusing them of having contact with the NLD. According to a
trader, their whereabouts are still unknown. (Source: MICB)
On May 26 2000, SPDC military intelligence (MI-25) officers
arrested U Than Tun (40 years) of Shwe Gu town, Sagaing division. According to a
trader, he was accused of being in contact with the NLD. His whereabouts remain
unknown. (Source: MICB)
On May 26 2000 ,a column of SPDC troops from Strategic Column
(2) under the command of No. 8 Strategic Administrated Command, led by Maj. Soe
Thet, arrested the chairman of Mayan village, Yebyu Township, Mon State under
the accusation that he was a rebel-supporter. He was arrested following an event
where the SPDC troops were ambushed by Mon troops near Mayan village. As of the
end of June 2000, he had not released and had disappeared. (Source: HURFOM)
On May 30, 2000, SPDC troops from LIB 273 led by battalion
commander Col. Htin Kyaw, entered Sinswe village, Yebyu Township, Mon State and
arrested two men, accusing them of being rebel-supporters. According to
villagers, these two men were innocent farmers who had no background or
relationship with the Mon rebel group. The two men were Nai Krot (28 years old)
and Mehm Kun Blai (18 years) who were born in Sinswe and helped their families
in their paddy farms. After the arrest, the soldiers tortured these two men to
get them to admit that they were rebel soldiers. Then the soldiers took them
away to another village, even though they were in severe pain from the torture.
As of the end of June 2000, those two men had not been released and they were
feared to have been killed. (Source: HURFOM)
On May 30 2000, some SPDC military Intelligence (MI-25)
officers arrested two Muslims in Myitkyina, Kachin state. According to a Kachin
trade, the officers arrested (1) U Salim (32 years) and (2) U Muatafa (30 years)
of Myo Ma (village) Block No.5, accusing them of having contact with NLD. The
whereabouts of these two are still unknown. (Source: MICB)
On June 1 2000, SPDC officers of the MI-25 arrested three
Muslims from Taunggyi, Shan state of Burma accusing them of having made contact
with anti-S:DC groups. According to a Buddhist trader from Taunggyi, the three
Muslims, (1) U Than Tun (40 years), (2) U Zaw Oo (28 years) (3) Ko Thaa Thaa (26
years) were living in Taunggyi, near main Taunggyi mosque. Their whereabouts
remain still unknown. (Source: MICB)
On June 5 2000, SPDC MI officers arrested Ko Tun, a medicine
store owner in Myittila town, Mandalay division. According to a neighbor, the
officers seized about 100,000 kyats worth of medicines from the shop of Ko Tun
who was accused of having contact with NLD. His whereabouts remained unknown as
of October 2000. (Source: MICB)
On July 30 2000, SPDC MI officers arrested three Muslims with
1.8 million kyats in Rangoon who disappeared since then. According to a
relative, the three Muslims were coming from Bassein (Pathin) by steamer to
Rangoon for shopping who were arrested at 10 AM, at the Kili jetty in Rangoon.
They were arrested by the MI officers led by sergeant Aung Khaing and the
whereabouts of them remain unknown. The three Muslims, U Win Aye (28 years), U
Amin (30 years), and U Ya Sin (40 years) were from Pali Gyi (village), Bassein,
Irrawaddy division. (Source: MICB)
On August 5 2000, SPDC officers looted 1.1 million kyats from
two Burmese Muslim merchants in Pegu division. The officers led by Lt. Thant Zin,
who looted the money from the Muslim merchants handed over the merchants again
to the Military Intelligence of Pegu Myo. The two Muslims, since then,
disappeared. The two Muslim merchants were Ko Tun Aung Lat (28 years) and Ko Win
Hlaing (32 years) from Nat sin Gong street, Ben Hlaing Village, Thaton township,
Mon state. (Source: MICB)
On September 16 2000, SPDC authorities arrested two Burmese
Muslims who disappeared since then in Pegu division. The authorities led by MI
officer U Win Lwin and Pegu main police station officer, U Hla Khin accused them
of having close contact with the NLD. According to relative, the two Burmese
Muslims were U Thaung Tun (47 years) and U Hla Aung (45 years) of Yadana street,
Paligyi (main mosque) black village, Taung Ngo Myo, Pegu division. (Source: MICB)
On September 22 2000, Burmese junta’s authorities arrested
two Burmese Muslims who have since disappeared in Mon State. The authorities led
by police intelligence officers of Moulmein, Mon state arrested the two Burmese
Muslims without giving any reasons. The intelligence officers were led by U Hla
Aung and sergeant Win Hlaing. When the families of the two men traced the
whereabouts of the two Muslims, the police authorities said that they had handed
over the two Muslims to the military intelligence No.5 of Moulmein Myo, Mon
state of Burma. The two Burmese Muslims were U Mahamood (29 years) and U Kadir
(25 years) of Hlaing Tha Ya street, Daing Win Gwin Block (8), Moulmein Myo, Mon
state. (Source: MICB)
On September 23 2000, Burmese Junta’s authorities arrested
the leading Imam of the mosque and its caretaker in Kachin state of Burma. The
authorities led by Ban Maw main police station. chief, U Tun Aung Lin arrested
the two Muslim religions persons on the allegation that they had connection with
the NLD. The leading Imam of the mosque was Imam Saya Sadi (48 years) and the
caretaker, U Ya Sin (42 year) of Pari street, Block No. 8, Ban Maw Myo, Kachin
state. The whereabouts of he two religious personalities remain unknown since
then. (Source: MICB)
On October 4 2000, a group of military officers arrested two
Burmese Muslim cattle traders in Karen state of Burma. The officers led by Major
Thet Naung and sergeant Aung Thinn of Battalion No. 208found 500,000 kyats in
the Muslims’ possession and brought them to Dowlant military camp in Kawkareik
township of Karen state and later the two Muslim traders disappeared. The two
Muslim traders were U RAhman (37 years) and U Khalid (40 years) of Khaya
village, Kawkareik township, Karen state. (Source: MICB)
On October 6 2000, Burmese military authorities arrested
three young Burmese Muslim religious scholars who disappeared in Tenessarim
Division. The authorities were led by Lt. Aung Moe of Company No.4, Battalion
No. 81. The three young Burmese Muslim religious scholars were U Amin (23
years), U Zaw Win Han (20 years) and U Yi Lwin (21 years) of Than Pyu Ywa Lay
village, Ye township, Tenassarim division. (Source: MICB)
On December 16 2000, SPDC troops from the 99th Brigade
abducted a villager named Sai Korn Pung Nya, age 25, son of Loong Nu and Nai
Yaen from Wan Kong Hoong, Parng Sarng tract, Lai Kha township, who was hired as
a gardener near Wan Kong Hoong village. He disappeared after the capture. As of
March 2001, it was still unknown whether he is alive or dead. (Source: Freedom
News)
On December 17 2000, SPDC troops from the 99th Brigade seized
an innocent villager named Sai Sarng Orn. He was dragged with the SPDC troops to
Haam Ngai base, Murng Kerng Township, Shan State. After knowing the news the
relatives of the captured villager headed to Haam Ngai base for information. The
SPDC told them that he had been recently released, but as of the end of March
2001, he had not returned home. The villagers believed he was probably murdered
by SPDC. (Source: Freedom News)
3.14 Arrest of Monks
In early January 2000, Burmese police and military
intelligence officers raided a monastery in the border town of Tachilek and
arrested a group of monks. It was not known exactly how many were arrested, but
sources said that more than a dozen young monks from the Aung Daw Moo Monastery
were disrobed and subsequently taken to a prison in the Shan State town of
Kengtung. The sources also revealed that about 20 automatic rifles were seized
at the monastery, where many of the monks are ethnic Arakanese from Arakan
State. The state-run media did not report the crackdown. However, a source close
to the authorities reported that the monks received six-month sentences. Two
senior monks from the temple were still at large, according to the source.
(Source: Irrawaddy)
On the night of March 4 2000, personnel belonging to the
Western Area Command No.14 arrested two Buddhist monks for alleged possession of
sophisticated pistols and anti-SLORC propaganda leaflets. The two monks were
taken to the Tactical Operation Command headquarters where they were disrobed
and tortured. Later the SPDC authorities alleged them as the members of the
armed opposition group. (Source: ARNO)
On May 12 2000, Capt Nyunt Maung and party from MI-19 in
Mergui District arrested 10 monks for their refusal to beg for alms and to give
religious sermons outside their monasteries. Those arrested were from
Kanbwayathti Yadanabommi Pariyatti Sartintaik and Naukleyathti Wettaikkyaung
Sartintaik in Mergui. Earlier 19 monks had been detained after the start of the
monks’ protests on May 9. (Source: DVB)
The following NLD members were arrested on 29 April, 2000 by
the police in Taung Twin Gyi township, Magwe Division. They were sentenced
to long term imprisonment on 10 May, 2000. They were seriously beaten during
interrogation in the MI interrogation center. They are:
Appendix # 1
They were all sentenced under 234/ 2000, 5J, and given prison terms of 7 years
including
 |
They were all sentenced under 234/ 2000, 5J, and given prison
terms of 7 years including hard labor. Their prosecutor was Myint Lwin, the
chief of Taung Twin Gyee police station. They were charged with giving
subversive public speeches, intentionally trying to destabilize the State Law
and Order, and with poisoning the peoples’ minds in order to destroy their
moral principles. They were sent to Thayet prison on May 11,2000 with the
following 25 detainees, all from Taung Twin Gyee township, who were
questioned at No 103 Lib-Infantry Battallion and were detained
because of the political reasons. It is not yet clear what charges are
against them, or whether they are under trial or not. They are:
The above 25 detainees were released 2 months later, in July
2000. (Source: AAPP)
Appendix # 2
 |
Persons arrested on September 21 2000, at Rangoon Central
Railway Station
Appendix # 3
Civilians from Thantlang area, Chin State currently serving hard labour prison
terms for "unlawful association"
(Note: The following list is from just one area in Chin State)
The following civilians, most of them are from Thantlang area, Chin State were
accused of supporting Chin National Front and are now serving sentences with
hard labour. They were arrested, tortured and sentence to long term imprisonment
by the Burmese in 1998 and 1999. The Burmese military charged them with
the" Unlawful Association Acts". (Source: CHRO - Dec/00)
 |
 |
Appendix # 4
Partial list of students and youth punished with the death
sentence by military tribunals because of activities for Democracy and
human rights
 |
Appendix # 5
Partial list of students and youth punished with the death sentence by
military tribunals because of activities for Democracy and human rights
 |
Appendix # 6
Some of the political prisoners who remain imprisoned after
the completion of their prison term.
1.Min Ko Naing {Conqueror of king}
2. Ko Ko Gyi.
3. Zaw Min (a) Arebye
4. Thet Htun
5. Myat San
6. Zaya
7. Thaung Htaik (or) Hmone Gyi
8. Yin Htwe (or) Pyaung Gyi
9. Htay Kywe
10. Maung Hmaine (or) Min Hlaing
11. Khin Maung Ye (or) Tin Aye
12. Bo Bo Han
13. Ba Htoo Maung
14. Dr. Zaw Min
15. Zaw Zaw Aung
16.KoTinAye Kyu
17. Soe Moe Hlaing (or) Mae Gyi
18. U Htay Thein
19. Ko Myint San (Source: AAPP, March 2000)
|