A posted message in SCB (r)

[OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx]

What is ABSDF? It is not the friend of SPDC and it won't mention any good news
of SPDC. It is no need to blame for this because it is doing its work but one
thing to consider is how much accurate its news are? 50% or 25% or less?


In a message dated 98-07-17 00:54:09 EDT, khin_s_w@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx write:

<<
              BURMA POLITICAL PRISONER DEVELOPS PSYCHOLOGICAL
                          PROBLEMS AFTER BEATINGS
 
 According to sources in Rangoon, a political prisoner who was
 released last month from Taungoo Prison north of the capital, has
 developed psychological problems due to severe beatings while in
 prison.
 
 Aung Khaing, 38, a graduate of Rangoon Institute of Technology
 (RIT), was severely beaten on his head by prison warders in March
 1996 for refusing to go into his cell. At the time of the
 beating, Aung Khaing was suffering from dysentery and asked for a
 cup of rice porridge. Prison authorities repeatedly refused his
 request. Later, Aung Khaing tried to get some porridge himself
 but he was accused of inciting a political movement in prison and
 was again severely beaten.
 
 The incidents took place after Aung Khaing was transferred in
 February 1995 from Insein Prison in Rangoon to Taungoo Prison,
 which is situated in Pegu Division.
 
 Aung Khaing developed psychological problems after the beatings
 and his family requested the prison authorities that he be
 allowed to see a psychiatrist. The authorities however, refused
 their request and as a result Aung Khaing had to spend the
 remainder of his sentence in prison without proper medical
 assistance.
 
 Worse still, the authorities later put him in a solitary
 confinement cell that was designated for leper prisoners until
 his release in June 1998.
 
 Aung Khaing, a resident of Prone Township who has a degree in
 Petroleum Engineering from RIT, was arrested in November 1990 for
 his role in the pro-democracy movement and sentenced to 15 years
 imprisonment. His sentence was commuted to ten years shortly
 after General Than Shwe was installed in 1992 as head of the then
 State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).
 
 Torture and severe beatings in prisons and interrogation centres
 in Burma are very common, and there are a number of former
 political prisoners who still suffer from mental disorders as a
 result. For instance, another former RIT student, Win Thein, was
 arrested in December 1991 and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
 As a result of torture during his interrogation, he developed
 psychological difficulties by the time he was sent to Insein
 Prison. Despite his problems, he had to spend two years in prison
 before he could get proper medical assistance after his release
 in March 1993.
 
 All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF)
 
 For more information please contact 01-654 4984, 01-253 9082.
 
  >>