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NEWS - Forced labour endemic in Mya



Forced labour endemic in Myanmar and resistance brutally punished: ILO

       Wed 19 Aug 98 - 15:46 GMT 

       GENEVA, Aug 19 (AFP) - Forced labour of women, children and old
people is pervasive in Myanmar and those who resist are often
       tortured, raped and murdered, the International Labour
Organization said.

       An ILO-appointed commission of inquiry in a report issued
Wednesday charged that the government, and particularly the military,
       "treat the civilian population as an unlimited pool of unpaid
forced labourers and servants at their disposal."

       These actions are part of a political system "built on the use of
force and intimidation to deny the people of Myanmar democracy and
       the rule of law," it said.

       The commission was appointed in March 1997 to examine Myanmar's
observance of the 1930 Forced Labour Convention following
       complaints lodged by delegates at an ILO conference in June 1996.

       The commission said its report "reveals a saga of untold misery
and suffering, oppression and exploitation of large sections of the
       population...by the government, military and other public
officers."

       The report, compiled with the help of non-governmental
organizations and 250 witness accounts, stated there was "abundant
       evidence" showing the "pervasive" use of forced labour,
particularly by women, children, the eldery and those unfit for work,
which
       was almost never compensated.

       Compulsory labour was rife in such activities as portering,
construction, servicing of military camps, agriculture, logging,
construction
       and maintenance of roads and other infrastructure.

       For example, the commission said porters were often sent ahead in
particularly dangerous situations as in suspected minefields,
       and many were killed or injured this way.

       Porters were rarely given medical treatment, and some sick or
injured were left behind in the jungle.

       Similarly, on road building projects, injuries were rarely
treated and deaths from sickness and work accidents were frequent on the
       job.

       The commission said victims were often extorted for money in
exchange for a "temporary alleviation of the burden."

       Those "unwilling, slow, or unable to comply with a demand for
forced labour" were often hit with reprisals including "physical abuse,
       beatings, torture rape and murder," the commission said.

       The commission urged the authorities to end forced labour and to
conduct thorough investigations, prosecute and adequately punish
       those found guilty.

       The Myanmar government refused to allow commission members to
visit the country.

       It said much of the criticism related to forced labour in Myanmar
was "unfortunately based on biased and specious allegations made
       by expatriates living outside Myanmar...who wish to denigrate the
Myanmar authorities for their own ends," according to the
       commission.

                                                                                        
©AFP 1998