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Myanmar "shocked" by rights abuses



Myanmar "shocked" by rights abuses in US
Mon 17 Aug 98 - 11:10 GMT 

YANGON, Aug 17 (AFP) - Myanmar's junta Monday said there were "shocking"
human rights abuses in the United States, in a stern rebuttal of criticism
by Washington over the detention of foreign pro-democracy activists in
Yangon.

Myanmar admired some of the human rights conditions in the US but an
obsession with individual freedoms to the detriment of the communal good
was also dangerous, a junta spokesman said in a statement.



"The Myanmar government and her people do admire the rights the American
citizens enjoy and one day when her basic requirements are fulfilled
Myanmar might emulate some of the rights the American people are enjoying,"
he added.



"But at this moment the Myanmar government, as well as the people of
Myanmar, are quietly concerned that in the United States the basic
universal human rights such as security of citizens, property and lives
have been overshadowed and sidetracked by other individual rights.



"Myanmar and many other countries in the world are shocked by the
increasing violence in the US, and last March's schoolyard shooting at
Arkansas by two boys and last month's unfortunate incident of the murder of
the two police officers at the Capitol Hill are a few of the shocking
examples of the absence of basic human rights in the United States, not
Myanmar as has been accused by the US government."



Washington has repeatedly accused Myanmar's junta of human rights abuses
and last week condemned the detention of six US nationals among a group of
18 foreign activists accused of attempting to incite unrest by handing out
leaflets in Yangon promoting human rights and democracy.



The activists, who included Thais, Filipinos, Indoensians, Malasyaians and
an Australian, were detained for six days before being expelled from the
country Saturday.



The junta spokesman queried how the United States would respond if "a
number of foreign citizens were caught handing out leaflets in Washington
DC in an attempt to destablise the US government.



"Particularly in the light of recent outrages in East Africa, we wonder how
the US government will deal with such foreign citizens," he added,
referring to last week's bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.