NEWS - Myanmar Says Allegations of (r)

[jack4@xxxxxxxx]

Subject: RE: NEWS - Myanmar Says Allegations of Forced Labor Are a

I don't understand why the SPDC is still thinking the Burmese people as ones
to work for the country while the public has nothing to eat, no job and no
freedom to economy.

Also, is it an all-clear situation for an accusation by the ILO-like big
organizations and the Burmese opposition itself that a Gen. says "no" to
them. Maybe we need a suitably-enough pressure against the denial so that
they know a sense of responsibility.

Thanks

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"In our efforts to improve our infrastructure, the
building of roads, bridges, rail
networks, dams and reservoirs had been undertaken, and
realizing the benefits to
the community, people have voluntarily contributed
labor," Khin Nyunt said.

"In Myanmar thinking, contribution of labor not only
brings immediate material
benefit in the present life, but also merit for future
life cycles," he said.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a predominantly Buddhist
nation, and many
Buddhists believe in reincarnation.

International labor unions and human rights groups have
criticized ASEAN for
holding its meeting in Myanmar. The United Nations,
Amnesty International and
Human Rights Watch accuse the military government of
using forced labor for
infrastructure projects.

"ASEAN government ministers are meeting to discuss labor
issues in a country
where thousands of people are routinely seized and forced
to work against their will
and trade unionists are jailed," Amnesty International,
the London-based human
rights group, said in a news release.

"The time has come for ASEAN to live up to the promise it
made when admitting
Myanmar in 1997 to lead efforts for change in that
country," it said.

Khin Nyunt said that because most ethnic insurgencies had
ended, so had the

practice of forced labor, and that soldiers were now
doing most of the construction
work.

ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
consists of Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Thailand,
Singapore and Vietnam.

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