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Torture and illegal detention rampa
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Oral Intervention made by Ms.Thin Thin Aung
Item 11(a) Torture and Detention
Catholic Institute for International Relations
57th Session of the UNCHR
Geneva, Switzerland.
Mr. Chairman,
I am speaking here on behalf of the Burmese people who are living under
the most repressive regime in the world. I am here to specifically speak
Burma?s International obligations with regard to torture and detention.
In Burma, political activists, members of ethnic groups and student
activists who have been at the forefront of the pro-democracy movement
are the main victims of torture and illegal detention in Burma.
Over 1,500 people still remain imprisoned for political reasons. At
least 34 Members of Parliament who were elected in the 1990 general
elections still remain in prison and 36 MPs have been detained without
trial in so-called ?government guesthouses? since 1996.
Mr. Chairman,
Human rights violations in Burma have been well documented by
international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch, the ILO and Burmese human rights organizations.
Torture has become an institution in the country. The security forces
continue to use torture to extract information, punish, humiliate and
control the people. The torture techniques commonly used by the junta?s
security forces include: beatings rigorous enough to cause permanent
injury, rolling an iron bar up and down the shins until the skin peels
off, which is called ?The Iron Road?; suspending victims from the
ceiling and spinning them around while being beaten is called ?The
Helicopter?; and ?Teik Peik? which involves the victims spending weeks
or months in tiny brick cells with little air or light, and being forced
to maintain difficult positions for prolonged periods, which is called
?The Ponsan?.
Moreover, political prisoners are denied adequate food, medical care and
sanitation and they get seriously ill because of the harsh prison
condition. Although the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
has been conducting prison visits since May 1999, prison conditions are
still extremely poor.
Even though every one of the political prisoners in Burma deserves equal
urgent attention, I here want to draw your attention to some individual
cases which need immediate care. One of them is Min Ko Naing, a student
leader who was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in 1989 for his
peaceful political activities for democracy and human rights. He is the
political prisoner who has been detained for the longest period of time
in Burma. For most of his imprisonment, he has been held in complete
solitary confinement.
He is currently held at Sittwe (Sittway) Prison in Rakhine State. He has
been seriously tortured and ill-treated in detention. His health
condition is deteriorating day by day and if urgent medical care is not
given, he could soon be paralyzed. He is suffering from the physical and
emotional effects of torture and solitary confinement. One prisoner who
was released in December last year from the same prison described his
condition in these words: ?He has to totally depend on the iron railings
in the prison to walk even a few steps and he is suffering from severe
pains of his lower body due to various ways of torture?.
Another prisoner of conscience who needs urgent medical care is U Tin
Htun, who is serving a 20 years sentence at Thayet Prison in Upper Burma
on charges of possessing and distributing illegal political journals and
having contact with exiled opposition groups. He is suffering from
hypertension, heart disease and mental health problems, yet he is
receiving no medical treatment.
Mr. Chairman,
As you all know, our most respected leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi continues to remain under illegal detention and is
denied elementary human rights.
In conclusion, I would like to state that torture and illegal detention
continue to occur throughout Burma and the ruling military junta
continues to violate international human rights standards with impunity.
On behalf of the people of Burma, I would like to appeal to the UN
Commission on Human Rights to take urgent action for the release of all
political prisoners, an end to illegal detention and a halt to all the
human rights violations in Burma.
Thank you.
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<font color="#000099"><font size=+1>Oral Intervention made by Ms.Thin
Thin Aung</font></font>
<br><font color="#000099"><font size=+1>Item 11(a) Torture and Detention</font></font>
<br><font color="#000099"><font size=+1>Catholic Institute for International
Relations</font></font>
<br><font color="#000099"><font size=+1>57th Session of the UNCHR</font></font>
<br><font color="#000099"><font size=+1>Geneva, Switzerland.</font></font>
<p><font color="#FF0000"><font size=+1>Mr. Chairman,</font></font>
<p><font size=+1>I am speaking here on behalf of the Burmese people who
are living under the most repressive regime in the world. I am here to
specifically speak Burma?s International obligations with regard to torture
and detention.</font>
<p><font size=+1> In Burma, political activists, members of ethnic
groups and student activists who have been at the forefront of the pro-democracy
movement are the main victims of torture and illegal detention in Burma.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Over 1,500 people still remain imprisoned for political
reasons. At least 34 Members of Parliament who were elected in the 1990
general elections still remain in prison and 36 MPs have been detained
without trial in so-called ?government guesthouses? since 1996.</font>
<p><font color="#FF0000"><font size=+1>Mr. Chairman,</font></font>
<p><font size=+1>Human rights violations in Burma have been well documented
by international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch, the ILO and Burmese human rights organizations.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Torture has become an institution in the country. The
security forces continue to use torture to extract information, punish,
humiliate and control the people. The torture techniques commonly used
by the junta?s security forces include: beatings rigorous enough to cause
permanent injury, rolling an iron bar up and down the shins until the skin
peels off, which is called ?The Iron Road?; suspending victims from the
ceiling and spinning them around while being beaten is called ?The Helicopter?;
and ?Teik Peik? which involves the victims spending weeks or months in
tiny brick cells with little air or light, and being forced to maintain
difficult positions for prolonged periods, which is called ?The Ponsan?.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Moreover, political prisoners are denied adequate food,
medical care and sanitation and they get seriously ill because of the harsh
prison condition. Although the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) has been conducting prison visits since May 1999, prison conditions
are still extremely poor.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Even though every one of the political prisoners in Burma
deserves equal urgent attention, I here want to draw your attention to
some individual cases which need immediate care. One of them is Min Ko
Naing, a student leader who was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in 1989
for his peaceful political activities for democracy and human rights. He
is the political prisoner who has been detained for the longest period
of time in Burma. For most of his imprisonment, he has been held in complete
solitary confinement.</font>
<p><font size=+1>He is currently held at Sittwe (Sittway) Prison in Rakhine
State. He has been seriously tortured and ill-treated in detention. His
health condition is deteriorating day by day and if urgent medical care
is not given, he could soon be paralyzed. He is suffering from the physical
and emotional effects of torture and solitary confinement. One prisoner
who was released in December last year from the same prison described his
condition in these words: ?He has to totally depend on the iron railings
in the prison to walk even a few steps and he is suffering from severe
pains of his lower body due to various ways of torture?.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Another prisoner of conscience who needs urgent medical
care is U Tin Htun, who is serving a 20 years sentence at Thayet Prison
in Upper Burma on charges of possessing and distributing illegal political
journals and having contact with exiled opposition groups. He is suffering
from hypertension, heart disease and mental health problems, yet he is
receiving no medical treatment.</font>
<p><font color="#FF0000"><font size=+1>Mr. Chairman,</font></font>
<p><font size=+1>As you all know, our most respected leader and Nobel Peace
Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi continues to remain under illegal detention
and is denied elementary human rights.</font>
<p><font size=+1>In conclusion, I would like to state that torture and
illegal detention continue to occur throughout Burma and the ruling military
junta continues to violate international human rights standards with impunity.
On behalf of the people of Burma, I would like to appeal to the UN Commission
on Human Rights to take urgent action for the release of all political
prisoners, an end to illegal detention and a halt to all the human rights
violations in Burma.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Thank you.</font>
<p><font size=+1> </font></html>
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