Window on Burma #5

[bina@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

BINA  -- The Burma Independent News Agency  -- =20

Window on Burma  #5  =20
=20
[From Mojo, Issue #4 (July 1999), and other sources]


THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS VISITS PRISONS=20

Inside sources tell us that the Pegu detention center, under the command of=
U
Tin Aung, was recently reclassified as a 3rd class (minimum security) jail,=
in
order to be included in the International Red Cross=92 prison visit=
schedule. =20

Sources said that several days before the May 28th IRC visit to Pegu Jail,=
the
local Military Intelligence officers selected three prisoners to be prepared
for interviews with the IRC officials.  Two of them, from Tha Nat Pin=
Township,
had been convicted of =91agricultural=92 crimes, and the third was receiving
medical treatment in the jail hospital.  After intensive training by the MI,
the three were ready to answer all the questions of the IRC.

The IRC delegation worked hard all day on the 28th, and didn't leave the=
jail
for Rangoon until 3:00 am the following morning.  Nevertheless, a witness=
who
saw them leaving said they seem rather unhappy with their visit.

In Rangoon, the IRC delegation visited Insein Jail three times, the last=
time
being on June 4th.  According to inside sources at the Jail, 3700 prisoners
were
transferred from Insein to other locations before the IRC had completed=
their
visits. =20

Despite the good intentions of the IRC staff, SPDC determination to prevent
them from witnessing the true conditions of the prisoners made their=
research
very difficult, and the results were not satisfactory.


THE CHILDREN=92S JAIL IN KALAY

Perhaps the IRC will want to take a peek inside the SPDC=92s Children=92s=
Jail in
Kalay Township, Sagaing Division.  Twenty-six young political prisoners are
languishing here, under the command of Military Intelligence Major Soe=
Myint.=20
Recently admitted were students Kyi Tha Nyein, Aye Aung, Chan Myeit Win, and
Zaw Myo Tun, who were all sentenced to prison terms of twice their ages in
years (for example, a 15-year-old would be sentenced to 30 years detention).=
=20

The children say that their jailer, U Tha Oo, is kindhearted, but Maj. Soe
Myint makes a point of being especially harsh on the inmates. =20

Pagoda-building is a form of merit-making that is popular these days among=
the
SPDC generals, and by which they try to assure their place in Buddhist=
heaven
should they ever have to die.  Therefore, Jail Commander Soe Myint also=
decided
to build a pagoda on top of a mountain near the Kalay Jail.  Unfortunately,=
his
car and driver fell off the mountain while surveying the site. =20

=91The world is indeed impermanent,=92 mused the major (who was not in his=
car at
the time), and decided to improve his behavior.  For example, he allowed the
recently arrested MP from Kalay, Dr. Thein Win, and another detained MP from
Kalay-Wa, to stay at home under military house arrest, rather than be put in
jail. =20

Such actions will surely not go unnoticed.


PRISON LABOR ABUSE

In Tamu Township (Chin State) near the Indian border, Bandu La (=91New=
Life=92), an
SPDC joint venture company, has made a deal with the local jail to have
prisoners work in its rice fields. =20

To save the cost of oxen to pull the plows, the prisoners themselves are
hitched to the yokes.  Three hundred unfortunates are reported to have died=
in
this manner.

When asked why he didn't use oxen for the work, the commander replied that=
if a
bull ox died, he would lose 30,000 kyat, but if a prisoner dies, he only has=
to
sign a piece of paper. =20

Meanwhile, in Pone Taung Pone Nya, near Mon Ywa Township in Mandalay=
Division,
it is said that prisoners are digging a tunnel by hand through the mountain.=
=20
How many have died there is not yet known.


SPDC DETAINS DAW KYU KYU SAN

The military dictatorship=92s unrelenting harassment and imprisonment of the
elected Members of Parliament and NLD party members continues unabated. =20

During the last week of May, NLD member Daw Kyu Kyu San of San Chaung=
Township
was detained by the SPDC at Insein Jail.  Since her husband had been also
detained previously, no one was left at home to care for her aged father. =
=20

When the arresting Military Intelligence officer returned to Daw Kyu Kyu=
San=92s
home to get her belongings, he found that her father had died while sitting=
in
a chair. =20

The MI told Daw Kyu Kyu San that if she would sign a paper saying that the=
rice
distributed to the people at the NLD office was paid for by foreigners, she
would then be released. She refused to cooperate with the MI, however, so=
she
was given only one hour to return home to bury her father.  Neighbors helped
with the funeral arrangements.

U Tin Oo, U Aung Shwe, and Daw Suu attended the traditional food offering to
monks in honor of Daw Kyu Kyu San=92s father on June 5 at Moat Let Saung=
Kone,
Pyi thu Kwet Thit 2.  Standing in his small hut by the foul-smelling canal,=
the
NLD executives deeply felt the painful and hopeless lives of the people of
Rangoon.


SPDC DETAINS MA PO

NLD Youth member Ma Win Win Htay, known to friends as =91Ma Po=92, was=
detained by
the MI during a meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.  The reason for the=
arrest
was that Ma Po had spoken in an angry tone to an SPDC major, who was an
uninvited observer at the meeting.

Ma Po was taken along with Daw Ta Than Nyein and several others to the
SPDC-controlled  Kyun Ga Lay village in Hlae Gu Township, where she was put=
in
a cell with Daw San San, the NLD MP from Say Kan Township. =20

Ma Po=92s mother, who sells ice water at a bus stop in Rangoon, says she is
worried for her daughter.


MP U MIN BOO AND FAMILY ARE MISSING

Member of Parliament U Min Boo and his two sons were arrested by the SPDC in
September of last year.  Nothing has been heard about them since their=
arrest,
and all requests to know their fate have been ignored by the authorities. =
=20


DEATH AT INSEIN JAIL

NLD Youth member Ko Hla Khin, a 43 year-old bachelor who had duties at Shwe=
Pyi
Tha Township, died on May 31st in Insein Jail.  SPDC officials claimed that=
he
hanged himself, although no evidence of suicide was offered.  [See the
following two stories=85]


DETAILS CONCERNING KO HLA KHIN=92S DEATH=20

Ko Hla Khin was arrested by the SPDC=92s Military Intelligence in August=
1998.=20
At the time, he was attempting to join General Secretary Daw Aung San Suu=
Kyi
and the NLD Central Executive Committee in Anyur Su village, where they were
meeting with elected MPs currently under pressure from the SPDC to resign. =
=20

The MI had prohibited any visits to the village, since they saw this meeting=
as
a security threat.  Nevertheless, Ko Hla Khin, together with Ko Khin Kyaw=
and
Daw Naw Ohn Hla, all members of NLD Youth and concerned for the health and
safety of Daw Suu and the CEC members, entered the village anyway.  All=
three
were arrested and taken to Insein Jail.

Ko Khin Kyaw was released by the SPDC in early May, but Ko Hla Khin and Daw=
Naw
Ohn Hla continued to be detained in Insein. Only a few days prior to his=
death,
the International Red Cross had made its first visit to Insein Jail, and had
watched prisoner transfers and observed jail conditions there.  Reports say
that on the 31st of May, shortly before his death, inmates in neighboring=
cells
heard a loud cry of pain, followed by intense sobbing, coming from Ko Hla
Khin=92s cell.  Then all was quiet, they said.

In the nine months since his arrest, Ko Hla Khin had never been tried or
sentenced by any court.

After he died, the SPDC did not inform NLD headquarters nor his family of=
the
situation, preferring to post a message on the Internet claiming that they=
were
not responsible for Ko Hla Khin=92s death.  The public in Burma was notified=
only
after four days, and then only by the foreign radio broadcasting services.=
=20
This information gap allowed the SPDC authorities to completely dispose of=
Ko
Hla Khin=92s body before doctors could examine it to determine the cause of
death.

A traditional alms offering for Ko Hla Khin was given to 15 monks at Chaw=
Tat
Gyi in the early dawn on June 6th.  General Secretary Daw Suu, Chairman U=
Aung
Shwe, Vice Chairman U Tin Oo, Central Committee members U Than Tun and U Soe
Myint, and 300 other people attended the ceremony.  This sad matter was
discussed with the Sayadaw monks.


KO HLA KHIN=92S DUTIES AT THE NLD

Ko Hla Khin had been assigned to NLD Youth after Daw Suu was released from
house arrest in 1995.  He was always steadfast in all his responsibilities,
especially in the midst of the chaos that surrounded the formation of the=
party
organization at Shwe Pyi Tha Township.  He had to deal socially with young=
and
old people alike, and was invariably patient and kind.  He was well loved by
all who knew him.

In 1997, he assumed the role of bodyguard to Vice Chairman U Tin Oo, while=
at
the same time taking the duties of NLD Youth Director for six months. He=
later
took charge of Daw Suu=92s daily house affairs, including the cleanliness of=
the
house its surroundings, the cooking for all those on duty at the house, and=
the
overall security in the area.

While accomplishing all this work, Ko Hla Khin had to bear the burden of his
family=92s opposition to his political activities.  He bravely faced his
difficulties, however, did not falter in his duty, and died doing what he
believed was right.


***********

[WHAT IS =91MOJO=92?  =91Mojo=92 means =91Lightning=92 in Burmese.   =91Mojo=
=92 is an
independent newspaper from the Burmese community in Thailand.  Its primary
content is social, political, and economic news from all over Burma, and its
primary target is the people inside Burma itself. =20

BINA will regularly provide English-language excerpts from =91Mojo=92 to the
BurmaNet.  If you would like to receive a copy of the original=
Burmese-language
=91Mojo=92, please e-mail your postal address to bina@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

=93Dialogue is inevitable. We will not just sit and wait. We will continue=
doing
what has to be done.=94       =20
-- NLD General Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi]
=20


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BINA  -- The Burma Independent News Agency  --  

Window on Burma  #5   
  
[From Mojo, Issue #4 (July 1999), and other sources]


THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS VISITS PRISONS 

Inside sources tell us that the Pegu detention center, under the command of U
Tin Aung, was recently reclassified as a 3rd class (minimum security) jail, in
order to be included in the International Red Cross=92 prison visit
schedule.  

Sources said that several days before the May 28th IRC visit to Pegu Jail, the
local Military Intelligence officers selected three prisoners to be prepared
for interviews with the IRC officials.  Two of them, from Tha Nat Pin
Township,
had been convicted of =91agricultural=92 crimes, and the third was receiving
medical treatment in the jail hospital.  After intensive training by the MI,
the three were ready to answer all the questions of the IRC.

The IRC delegation worked hard all day on the 28th, and didn't leave the jail
for Rangoon until 3:00 am the following morning.  Nevertheless, a witness who
saw them leaving said they seem rather unhappy with their visit.

In Rangoon, the IRC delegation visited Insein Jail three times, the last time
being on June 4th.  According to inside sources at the Jail, 3700 prisoners
were
transferred from Insein to other locations before the IRC had completed their
visits. =20 

Despite the good intentions of the IRC staff, SPDC determination to prevent
them from witnessing the true conditions of the prisoners made their research
very difficult, and the results were not satisfactory.


THE CHILDREN=92S JAIL IN KALAY

Perhaps the IRC will want to take a peek inside the SPDC=92s Children=92s Jail
in Kalay Township, Sagaing Division.  Twenty-six young political prisoners are
languishing here, under the command of Military Intelligence Major Soe Myint. 
Recently admitted were students Kyi Tha Nyein, Aye Aung, Chan Myeit Win, and
Zaw Myo Tun, who were all sentenced to prison terms of twice their ages in
years (for example, a 15-year-old would be sentenced to 30 years detention).  

The children say that their jailer, U Tha Oo, is kindhearted, but Maj. Soe
Myint makes a point of being especially harsh on the inmates.  

Pagoda-building is a form of merit-making that is popular these days among the
SPDC generals, and by which they try to assure their place in Buddhist heaven
should they ever have to die.  Therefore, Jail Commander Soe Myint also
decided
to build a pagoda on top of a mountain near the Kalay Jail.  Unfortunately,
his
car and driver fell off the mountain while surveying the site.  

=91The world is indeed impermanent,=92 mused the major (who was not in his car
at the time), and decided to improve his behavior.  For example, he allowed
the
recently arrested MP from Kalay, Dr. Thein Win, and another detained MP from
Kalay-Wa, to stay at home under military house arrest, rather than be put in
jail.  

Such actions will surely not go unnoticed.


PRISON LABOR ABUSE

In Tamu Township (Chin State) near the Indian border, Bandu La (=91New
Life=92), an SPDC joint venture company, has made a deal with the local
jail to
have prisoners work in its rice fields.  

To save the cost of oxen to pull the plows, the prisoners themselves are
hitched to the yokes.  Three hundred unfortunates are reported to have died in
this manner.

When asked why he didn't use oxen for the work, the commander replied that
if a
bull ox died, he would lose 30,000 kyat, but if a prisoner dies, he only
has to
sign a piece of paper.  

Meanwhile, in Pone Taung Pone Nya, near Mon Ywa Township in Mandalay Division,
it is said that prisoners are digging a tunnel by hand through the mountain. 
How many have died there is not yet known.


SPDC DETAINS DAW KYU KYU SAN

The military dictatorship=92s unrelenting harassment and imprisonment of the
elected Members of Parliament and NLD party members continues unabated.  

During the last week of May, NLD member Daw Kyu Kyu San of San Chaung Township
was detained by the SPDC at Insein Jail.  Since her husband had been also
detained previously, no one was left at home to care for her aged father.  

When the arresting Military Intelligence officer returned to Daw Kyu Kyu
San=92s home to get her belongings, he found that her father had died while
sitting in a chair.  

The MI told Daw Kyu Kyu San that if she would sign a paper saying that the
rice
distributed to the people at the NLD office was paid for by foreigners, she
would then be released. She refused to cooperate with the MI, however, so she
was given only one hour to return home to bury her father.  Neighbors helped
with the funeral arrangements.

U Tin Oo, U Aung Shwe, and Daw Suu attended the traditional food offering to
monks in honor of Daw Kyu Kyu San=92s father on June 5 at Moat Let Saung Kone,
Pyi thu Kwet Thit 2.  Standing in his small hut by the foul-smelling canal,
the
NLD executives deeply felt the painful and hopeless lives of the people of
Rangoon.


SPDC DETAINS MA PO

NLD Youth member Ma Win Win Htay, known to friends as =91Ma Po=92, was
detained
by the MI during a meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.  The reason for the
arrest was that Ma Po had spoken in an angry tone to an SPDC major, who was an
uninvited observer at the meeting.

Ma Po was taken along with Daw Ta Than Nyein and several others to the
SPDC-controlled  Kyun Ga Lay village in Hlae Gu Township, where she was put in
a cell with Daw San San, the NLD MP from Say Kan Township.  

Ma Po=92s mother, who sells ice water at a bus stop in Rangoon, says she is
worried for her daughter.


MP U MIN BOO AND FAMILY ARE MISSING

Member of Parliament U Min Boo and his two sons were arrested by the SPDC in
September of last year.  Nothing has been heard about them since their arrest,
and all requests to know their fate have been ignored by the authorities.  


DEATH AT INSEIN JAIL

NLD Youth member Ko Hla Khin, a 43 year-old bachelor who had duties at Shwe
Pyi
Tha Township, died on May 31st in Insein Jail.  SPDC officials claimed that he
hanged himself, although no evidence of suicide was offered.  [See the
following two stories=85]


DETAILS CONCERNING KO HLA KHIN=92S DEATH 

Ko Hla Khin was arrested by the SPDC=92s Military Intelligence in August
1998. 
At the time, he was attempting to join General Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and the NLD Central Executive Committee in Anyur Su village, where they were
meeting with elected MPs currently under pressure from the SPDC to resign.  

The MI had prohibited any visits to the village, since they saw this
meeting as
a security threat.  Nevertheless, Ko Hla Khin, together with Ko Khin Kyaw and
Daw Naw Ohn Hla, all members of NLD Youth and concerned for the health and
safety of Daw Suu and the CEC members, entered the village anyway.  All three
were arrested and taken to Insein Jail.

Ko Khin Kyaw was released by the SPDC in early May, but Ko Hla Khin and Daw
Naw
Ohn Hla continued to be detained in Insein. Only a few days prior to his
death,
the International Red Cross had made its first visit to Insein Jail, and had
watched prisoner transfers and observed jail conditions there.  Reports say
that on the 31st of May, shortly before his death, inmates in neighboring
cells
heard a loud cry of pain, followed by intense sobbing, coming from Ko Hla
Khin=92s cell.  Then all was quiet, they said.

In the nine months since his arrest, Ko Hla Khin had never been tried or
sentenced by any court.

After he died, the SPDC did not inform NLD headquarters nor his family of the
situation, preferring to post a message on the Internet claiming that they
were
not responsible for Ko Hla Khin=92s death.  The public in Burma was notified
only after four days, and then only by the foreign radio broadcasting
services.  This information gap allowed the SPDC authorities to completely
dispose of Ko Hla Khin=92s body before doctors could examine it to determine
the cause of death.

A traditional alms offering for Ko Hla Khin was given to 15 monks at Chaw Tat
Gyi in the early dawn on June 6th.  General Secretary Daw Suu, Chairman U Aung
Shwe, Vice Chairman U Tin Oo, Central Committee members U Than Tun and U Soe
Myint, and 300 other people attended the ceremony.  This sad matter was
discussed with the Sayadaw monks.


KO HLA KHIN=92S DUTIES AT THE NLD

Ko Hla Khin had been assigned to NLD Youth after Daw Suu was released from
house arrest in 1995.  He was always steadfast in all his responsibilities,
especially in the midst of the chaos that surrounded the formation of the
party
organization at Shwe Pyi Tha Township.  He had to deal socially with young and
old people alike, and was invariably patient and kind.  He was well loved by
all who knew him.

In 1997, he assumed the role of bodyguard to Vice Chairman U Tin Oo, while at
the same time taking the duties of NLD Youth Director for six months. He later
took charge of Daw Suu=92s daily house affairs, including the cleanliness of
the house its surroundings, the cooking for all those on duty at the house,
and
the overall security in the area.

While accomplishing all this work, Ko Hla Khin had to bear the burden of his
family=92s opposition to his political activities.  He bravely faced his
difficulties, however, did not falter in his duty, and died doing what he
believed was right.


***********

[WHAT IS =91MOJO=92?  =91Mojo=92 means =91Lightning=92 in Burmese.nbsp=
;  =91Mojo=92 is an independent newspaper from the Burmese community in
Thailand.  Its primary content is social, political, and economic news from
all
over Burma, and its primary target is the people inside Burma itself.  

BINA will regularly provide English-language excerpts from =91Mojo=92 to the
BurmaNet.  If you would like to receive a copy of the original
Burmese-language
=91Mojo=92, please e-mail your postal address to bina@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

=93Dialogue is inevitable. We will not just sit and wait. We will continue
doing what has to be done.=94        
-- NLD General Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi]
 

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