18 activists will be deported

[kyawkyaw@xxxxxxx]

18 activists to be deporte  from Myanmar

                  Their crime: Handing out
                  pro-democracy leaflets 

                  August 14, 1998
                  Web posted at: 9:47 a.m. EDT (1347 GMT) 

                  YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Eighteen
                  international activists arrested last week for
                  handing out pro-democracy leaflets in
                  Myanmar were sentenced to five years hard
                  labor Friday after pleading guilty to violating
                  sedition laws but will be deported by Saturday
                  morning. 

                  Moments after a judge sentenced the activists
                  to prison, an official from the Ministry of
                  Home Affairs read an order reducing the
                  sentences and saying the activists would be deported 
    on condition they do not	 violate Myanmar laws again. 

                  The six Americans, three Malaysians, three Indonesians,
three Thais, two
                  Filipinos and one Australian had been questioned for six
days after being
                  charged with violating the 1950 Emergency Provision Act. 

                  The sweeping law allows authorities to
                  hand out maximum 20-year prison
                  sentences for attempting to incite unrest
                  or disrupt the peace and stability of the
                  state. 

                  A U.S. diplomat who visited the
                  American activists Thursday said
                  embassies were not informed of the trial until Friday
morning. 

                  Before the verdict was read, the defendants and
international diplomats who
                  attended the trial appeared relaxed and jovial as the
judge read out the charges
                  and asked for pleas from the accused after listening to
testimony for most of
                  the day from nine prosecution witnesses. 

                  Various diplomats had asked during
                   the day to consult with the
                   defendants, but were denied
                   permission. A single judge, Khang
                   Gyi, presided. There was no jury. The
                   trial was open to diplomats and
                   journalists. 

                   The activists were detained Sunday,
                   the day after the 10th anniversary of
                   a failed nationwide democracy
                  uprising, for handing out small cards
                  to Myanmar citizens telling them the outside world
supported their struggle and
                  to not give up. 

                  Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. 

                  The detention of the activists has sparked an
international campaign and led
                  the United States to urge their release. It has also
focused world attention on
                  the campaign by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for
democracy and
                  human rights in the country.