HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES CONTINUE TO RIS

[lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Media Release
September 17, 1998


     Human Rights Abuses Continue to Rise 10 Years After Bloody Coup

Human rights violations carried out by Burma's military
authorities continued to rise throughout 1997-98, according to
the annual Burma Human Rights Yearbook launched today.

The 700-page yearbook, launched by the National Coalition
Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), shows increases in
1997-98 in all human rights abuses including extra-judicial
killings, forced relocation, forced labour and arbitrary
detention, and in particular increased repression of members of
the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The launch of the book coincides with the tenth anniversary of
the September 18, 1988 military coup which brought to power the
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), since renamed
the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). 

NCGUB Justice Minister and Coordinator of the NCGUB's Human
Rights Documentation Unit, U Thein Oo, says the heightened
repression of NLD officials and Members of Parliament includes
arbitrary detention and restrictions on freedoms of speech,
movement, and assembly.

"Since the yearbook was compiled, the military has dramatically
escalated its repression of NLD members and we are now
experiencing the biggest crackdown on pro-democracy supporters
since the SLORC/SPDC seized power ten years ago," U Thein Oo
said.

"Since May the military has detained more than 1,200
pro-democracy supporters across the nation. Some 783 of them are
from the NLD and of those 196 are NLD Members of Parliament."

In 1997-98 some of the major human rights abuses included attacks
by the SLORC/SPDC-allied Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) on
refugee camps inside Thailand; military offensives against the
Karen National Union (KNU) in which Karen, Mon and Tavoyan
villagers were subject to forced porterage, torture, rape and
summary executions; and the forced relocation of villages in
Karenni and Shan States.

One of the most disturbing developments has been the sharp
increase in extrajudicial killings in Shan State. In 1997
soldiers killed some 664 people who had been forcibly relocated
within the state. However, these are only documented cases and
the real number is probably much higher.

"Many of these people were killed trying to return to their
former homes to search for food. The soldiers shot or beat many
of them to death, while others were raped and some beheaded. One
day in June 1997, 56 villagers who had returned to their former
homes to collect food were massacred by soldiers on their way
back to the relocation site," U Thein Oo said.

The Human Rights Yearbook is being launched at 11 am at the
Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT). 

For further information call 01 814 9943, 01 253 9082.