Faking Political Asylum Is A Crime (r)

[hag2@xxxxxxxxxxx]

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumps, even
though checkered by failure, then to rank with those poor spirits who
neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight
that knows not victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt, 26 th U.S. President

Dear Netters,
I help Burmese citizens including Burmese refugees and Burmese who came
here with legal documents.  I am expecting that some day some of the thugs
of NCGUb and FTUB will attack our organization and me.  I am clean and I
will continue to help my people.  I will not stop helping to those who need
help.  We collect the membership fee from our members.  Monthly fee is $10
dollars.  We also write recomandation letters to our members who apply for
asylum.  Our recomandation letter is free.  As Burmese saying goes " don't
waste your time and look at it, every times when the dogs barks".  I think
it is enough.

Stand firmly

Htun Aung Gyaw

At 08:50 PM 9/27/98, you wrote:
>Dear Myo Thant and others,
>    I do not understand how anyone can view people in the pro-democracy 
>movement as a priviledged group.  I have never nor has anyone who deeply 
>cares about the democracy in Burma stood for priviledge.  The notion of 
>priviledge is antithetical to the democratic principles which I would 
>defend with my life.
>  
>    Let me clarify my position more.  I never said that political asylum 
>status should be reserved for students--I stated that political aslyum 
>status should be granted to those who desperately need status in a third 
>country. This includes all people (students and civilians) who have 
>participated in the democracy movement. 
>
>    Let me also remind everyone that faking political asylum is also 
>perjury.  The Immigration and Naturalization Service defines political 
>asylum status very specifically.  Let me quote Basis for Eligibility 
>(page 2) on INS' Form I-589 Application for Asylum and for Withholding 
>of Deportation:
>
>"In your application, you should clearly detail any of your experiences, 
>or those of family members which you believe illustrate why you have a 
>well founded fear of persecution.
>
>You may also include background material such as newspaper articles, 
>affadavits of witness or experts, periodicals, journals, books, 
>photographs, official documents, other personal statements, or evidence 
>regarding incidents that have occurred to others.  However, you must 
>establish why those incidents, or other general evidence are relevant to 
>your specific circumstances and why you have a well-founded fear of 
>persecution."
>
>Thus, simply living under the Burmese military regime is not enough for 
>anyone to get political asylum.  You must be personally subject to 
>persecution in your homeland.  The questions on Form I-589 ask for very 
>specific evidence of the applicant's experiences.  Some of these 
>questions are the following:
>
>Have you or any member of your family ever belonged to or been 
>associated with any organizations or groups in your home country (i.e., 
>a political party, student group, union, religious organization, 
>military or para-military group, civil patrol, guerilla organization, 
>ethnic group, human rights group or the press)(page3)?
>
>Have you or any member of your family, ever been Arrested, Detained, or 
>Interrogated (page 3)?
>
>Why do you think would happen to you if you returned to the country from 
>which you are claiming persecution (page 4)?
>
>    On the last page of the Form I-589, the applicant must sign the 
>application and certify the following statement:  "I certify, under the 
>penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America, that 
>this application and the evidence submitted with it is all true and 
>correct.  Title 18, United States Code, Section 1546, provides in part:  
>Whoever knowingly makes under oath, or a permitted under penalty of 
>perjury under Section 1746 of Title 28, United States Code, knowingly 
>subscribes as true, any false statement with respect to a material fact 
>in any application, affidavit, or other document required by the 
>immigrations laws or regulations perscribed thereunder, or knowingly 
>presents any such application, affidavit, or other document containing 
>any such false statement--shall be fined in accordance with this title 
>or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.  I authorize the 
>release of any information from my record which the Immigration and 
>Naturalization Service needs to determine eligibility for the benefit I 
>am seeking."
>
>   In short, this means that anyone who falsifies their personal 
>experiences of persecution in their application for political asylum has 
>committed perjury. This application includes any materials like Htun 
>Aung Kyaw's recommendation letters which falsifies the applicant's 
>experiences persecution.  
>
>   Are you and the others who support Htun Aung Kyaw supporting perjury?  
>Perjury is a federal offense in the United States and as Form I-589 
>atates perjury is subject to fine and/or five years in jail.  
>
>   The US Immigration and Naturalization Service asks such specific 
>questions on the applicant's experience of persecution and has included 
>the statement on perjury because political asylum is reserved for those 
>people who truly cannot return to their country.  Unlike the people who 
>come here with work permits or by other legal means, refugees and 
>displaced persons cannot return to Burma unless they wish to face 
>imprisonment, torture, and possibly death by the military regime.  A 
>person who comes here legally can return safely to Burma after their 
>visa or work permit has expired.
>
>   Despite your feelings on this issue, I intend to investigate these 
>charges of perjury and falsifying political asylum applications by Htun 
>Aung Kyaw.  I have contacted colleagues of mine who are lawyers and we 
>are going to bring these charges to Janet Reno, Attorney General of the 
>United States.  We intend to investigate and prosecute those who have 
>committed perjury under the full extent of the law.  I hope that none of 
>you who have defended Htun Aung Kyaw have contributed to his criminal 
>activities or had him write false recommendation letters for you.
>
>    If anyone has information regarding Htun Aung Kyaw's criminal 
>activities, please contact me.
>
>Than Win (Htoo Gyi)
>
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