[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

The Nation : Burma to file charges



The Nation
August 11, 1998

Burma to file charges against 18 foreigners

BURMA will issue criminal charges against 18 foreign activists, including
three Thais, who were arrested on Sunday after handing pro-democracy
leaflets and haul them to court, the country's military junta said Monday. 

''After further investigation...[there action] was premeditated,'' the
junta said in a statement. 

''Action will be taken against them according to the law. They will be
charged and tried.'' 

Meanwhile, a Burmese government spokesman said that the group had breached
the Emergency Provisions Act of 1950, the 1962 Printing and Publications
Act and a law prohibiting ''statements conducive to public mischief''. 

Monday's negotiations with authorities have so far failed to secure their
freedom or deportation. 

The same spokesman argued earlier that the 18, comprising three Thais, six
Americans, three Malaysians, three Indonesians, two Filipinos and an
Australian, were being held for questioning. 

He declined to say if they would be charged or deported. ''At the moment, I
can't say the extent of legal action that will be taken against them.'' 

Several Thai and foreign non-governmental organisations Monday issued
statements condemning the arrests and demanding an immediate and
unconditional release. 

They said the group posed no threat to the country's security. 

Songsan Udomsilp, chairman of Amnesty International Thailand, said in a
statement that the group should be released in line with the principles of
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which ensures the
right to freedom of speech and expression without interference. 

The amnesty group submitted its demand to the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok
Monday and called on the Thai government to intervene. 

Alternative Asean for Burma (Altsean-Burma) Monday listed the names of
those detained, which include lawyers, academics, business people and
students. 

Altsean-Burma's Debbie Stothard said she was concerned about some of the
activists because they had medical problems and would require proper
attention. 

Debbie said the activists had gone to Burma to commemorate Saturday's
anniversary with a ''message of goodwill''. 

''They were well aware they might be arrested but arrest was a goal,'' said
Stothard. 

Stothard said the activists had operated in small groups to avoid violating
illegal assembly laws. She refused to confirm or deny that all activists
sent to Burma had been arrested. 

The detainees suffer health concerns ranging from asthma, migraines and
allergies to bee stings and penicillin to hearing problems and intolerance
to dairy products. 

The Coordinating Committee of Human Rights Organisation of Thailand
(CCHROT) Monday also spoke out against the arrests. 

CCHROT said 50 years ago, the government of Burma had voted in the United
Nations General Assembly to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. 

''Today the military government violates nearly every article in the
declaration, including Article 19,'' a statement said. 

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said Thailand would ask Burma to
reach a compromise over the arrest of the three Thais. 

Thai Ambassador to Rangoon Pensak Chalarak has contacted the Burmese
authorities to learn about the charges being faced by the activists, Surin
said. 

The minister warned that even though some activities in one's own country
may be seen as democratic, they could possibly be considered an offence or
interference in other countries. 

''We are negotiating the issue with Burma's deputy foreign minister [U Khin
Muang Win] for a compromise on the apprehension of the Thais. We expect
some compromise,'' Surin said. 

Surin added that usually representatives of non-governmental organisations
had special visas but the group had entered Burma on tourist visas. 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kobsak Chutikul said the ministry hoped that the
Burmese government would adopt the internationally-accepted practice and
deport the 18 activists. 

''The Thai practice is those who enter the country illegally are deported
to their place of origin,'' Kobsak said. He argued that the group had only
distributed a ''goodwill message'' not leaflets as claimed by the junta. 

Pensak has already requested the Burmese Foreign Ministry allow him to
visit the Thai nationals, Kobsak said, adding that the 18 were being
detained at Police Department's guest houses. 

The guest houses are generally more comfortable than Burmese jails and
prisons. 

A British-Australian national was freed last week three months into a
five-year term in the notorious Insein Prison, where hundreds of political
prisoners are kept, for handing out leaflets on behalf of a rebel group. 

Kobsak quoted Pensak as saying that the Burmese government was listening to
the international outcry against the arrests. He noted that Burmese Foreign
Minister U Ong Gyaw, at an annual Asean meeting, had said that his
country's ultimate goal was to respect human rights and democracy. 

Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra said had he been informed by
the group, with which he was familiar, that they were heading for Burma he
would have stopped them because political movement in a neighbouring
country was not right. 



The Nation, Agencies