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Reuters British diplomat sees woman



Reply-To: "koko" <koko@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Reuters British diplomat sees woman in Myanmar jail 

FOCUS-British diplomat sees woman in Myanmar jail
07:18 a.m. Sep 13, 1999 Eastern
By David Brunnstrom

BANGKOK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government allowed a British
consular official to see a 28-year-old British woman in Yangon's notorious
Insein Jail on Monday, a week after she was detained for a pro-democracy
protest.

The British embassy said Londoner Rachel Goldwyn, arrested on September 7
after tying herself to a lamp-post in central Yangon and shouting
pro-democracy slogans, was ``in good spirits.''

``She's being treated well and has access to a doctor,'' said a British
embassy spokesperson.

The authorities had still given no indication whether she would be charged
and British ambassador John Jenkins had requested a meeting with Deputy
Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win, the official said.

The embassy also said the government had agreed to let British and
Australian officials visit a dual national jailed for 17-years for illegal
entry and carrying pro-democracy leaflets.

It said they expected to see James Mawdsley, 26, from Lancashire, in jail in
the town of Kengtung on Wednesday. Mawdsley has been held in the remote
northeastern town for the past two weeks.

The British consul was denied access to Mawdsley after travelling to see him
the weekend after he was jailed.

``We are very pleased access has now been granted,'' said Australian
ambassador Lyndall McClean.

What representations the embassies made would depend on what the activists
wanted them to do, the British official said. ``In these situations all the
major decisions are up to the persons themselves, so it wouldn't be up to us
to push for deportation.''

It was Mawdsley's third arrest in Myanmar for pro-democracy activism. Last
year he was sentenced to five years for illegal entry but freed after 99
days following appeals by the embassies and his parents and a promise he
would not return.

The government has said it could not be lenient this time.

While it has not yet announced any charge against Goldwyn, it has said she
was detained for breaching national security laws.

On Monday, the government's daily information sheet quoted a letter from
Kyaw Kyaw Win, whom it described as a Myanmar historian, on the two Britons
in response to one published in the Times newspaper.

He described them as ``criminal mercenaries'' and said Goldwyn ``entered the
country under false pretences bent on sedition and must face the
consequences of her illegal actions.''

Before leaving England, Goldwyn left a letter for her parents saying she
expected to be back in about two weeks as she would be deported. But the
British Broadcasting Corporation quoted friends as saying she feared rape
and torture in jail.

On Friday, authorities freed two Australian men who had served a few months
of 10-year sentences, one for a narcotics offence and another for failing to
declare gemstones.

Myanmar's military does not tolerate dissent and has been widely criticised
for rights abuses since taking direct power in 1988 by killing thousands to
crush a pro-democracy uprising. It then ignored the last general election in
1990 when the opposition National League for Democracy won by a landslide.

Diplomats estimate authorities have arrested more than 100 activists in
Yangon and others in the provinces over the past month to prevent an
uprising dissidents called for last week.

Dissidents put the number of arrests at about 500 while the government has
reported fewer than 40.