This book is dedicated to the countless citizens of Burma
who have sacrificed their homes, their freedom, and their lives to lifting the veil of terror that shrouds the truth in Burma today.

First Edition: 1,000 copies, October 2001

Published by Human Rights Documentation Unit (NCGUB)

With generous support from:

The Norwegian Burma Council
The Euro-Burma Office and The Burma Fund

Printed at Government Printing Office
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma

Copies of supporting documents on human rights violations are
available on paper or CD ROM.

For further information, please contact:

U Thein Oo (Coordinator)

HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTATION UNIT (HRDU)
P.O. Box 14, Ngam Wong Wan Post Office
Nonthaburi 11001, Thailand
E-mail: hrdu@ksc.th.com
E-mail: kyaw@ksc15.th.com

or

NCGUB INFORMATION OFFICE
815, Fifteenth, NW. Suite 910
Washington, DC. 20005.
Tel: (202) 393-7342, (202) 393-4312
Fax: (202) 393-7343
E-mail: ncgub@igc.apc.org

Views expressed in this book are not necessarily those of
the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma

H.E. Dr. Sein Win
Prime Minister
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma

The military takeover in 1962 ended civilian rule and ushered in an era of military regimes in Burma. Together with authoritarian rule came forced labor practices, torture, extrajudicial killings, and other forms of human rights violations. Before 1988, these abuses went unreported, mainly because the country was kept isolated by successive xenophobic regimes. But, things changed after 1988, when the military brutally reacted and gunned down hundreds of protestors on the streets to counter massive nationwide protests for democratic reforms. Burma has been in the news since then, and all for the wrong reasons.

The most glaring example has been the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) unprecedented call on governments to review their relations with the Burmese military junta for doing "too little, too late" to end its forced labor practices in the country. On behalf of the democracy movement we have expressed our support for the ILO. The generals have for far too long been acting with impunity and it is about time they are held responsible for their crimes.

The 2000-01 Human Rights Yearbook has, therefore, given greater focus on forced labor issues to show that not all is well in Burma yet. If forced labor practices in Burma are to end with the help of the international community, the generals must be made aware that their crimes are known to the world and that they will be held responsible for them.

Having said that, we do not see the generals giving up the fight easily. The military has for decades been using forced labor to work on military projects and to carry arms, ammunition, and military supplies to frontline areas. If the generals are willing, forced labor practices could easily end in Burma, but there are no signs of that today. There have been reports of the generals taking systematic steps to fend off ILO action against them.

With that backdrop in mind, it becomes apparent that international efforts to end forced labor practices in Burma will not be an easy task. Today, Burma unwittingly has become a test case to see how far the international community is willing to go to end human rights abuses in the world. The suffering of the people in Burma and elsewhere can only end when there is global resolve to do so.