EBO “
News Summary:
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activists from pro-democracy parties for
"anti-government" activities
undertaken with funding from dissident expatriates.
The 12 were mostly members of the
opposition National League for Democracy
(NLD), headed by Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, a military
spokesman said at a specially called media
briefing.
"It has been found that some members
of the legally standing political
parties inside the country have been engaged in
anti-government activities
with financial support from dissident
expatriates," Brigadier General Than Tun
told the briefing.
Than Tun said some of those who were
arrested had produced "anti-government
materials".
They included a NLD vice chairman from Kamayut township, Khin Win, and
Shan
National League for Democracy
(SNLD) secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin.
The pamphlets had been found with another
NLD member, Maung Maung Myint.
"Maung Maung
Myint was arrested on February 5 together with around 450
anti-government pamphlets he admitted he had personally
authored," Than Tun
said.
Maung Maung
Myint had also admitted to authoring an anti-government
pamphlet aimed at monks and students, 1,000 copies
of which had been produced
for public distribution, he said.
"They were obviously trying to get
the sympathy of monks as well as the
general public for their cause," he said.
"We will take legal action against
some of the 12 arrested and release
those we deem to be innocent after our
investigation is complete," Than Tun
said, adding "everything will be legal
and above board."
International human rights group such as
Amnesty International "need have
no worries" on that score, he said.
Amnesty returned last week from its first
fact-finding mission to
Than Tun said although it was clear some
members of the opposition parties
were involved in anti-government activities,
"we have not accused the
leadership of either political party of being
directly involved."
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By Amy Kazmin in
Financial Times
The human rights group Amnesty
International on Monday criticised
rulers for operating a Dickensian judicial
system in which suspects are held
incommunicado for weeks before trials and political
prisoners are kept incarcerated
even after completing long prison sentences.
The indictment came as the junta announced
it had arrested 12 political activists
suspected of planning anti-government activities,
such as the distribution of
critical fliers, protests and sabotage.
Those arrested include seven low-level
activists from Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy - which was barred
from taking power after a 1990 election
victory - and Sai Nyunt
Lwin, secretary-general of the Shan National League for
Democracy (SNLD),
which also won seats in the 1990 poll.
In
said the Burmese junta still used laws dating
back to
and charge political activists. These include
a 1908 law on unlawful associations
and the colonial era Official Secrets Act.
Burmese police and prison officials are
still using procedural manuals that date back
to the 19th century, and refuse to let
detainees see a lawyer or their family members
until they are formally charged with a crime, a
process that can take weeks.
"The standard operating procedure is
in fact that anybody who is detained would
not have the right to access a lawyer unless
and until charges have actually been
decided upon," Ms Stubbings
said.
By the time detainees are allowed to see a
lawyer - which may be a little as five
minutes before their trial, one researcher said,
they may have already made
incriminating statements. Amnesty has long accused the
government of routinely
beating and otherwise torturing political prisoners
before and after trials.
"People are extremely
vulnerable," Ms Stubbings said on Monday.
"They can be
held incommunicado - with no one knowing where
they are - under severe duress
and be forced to say any kind of statement,
which would then be used against them
in a court of law."
Political prisoners are also frequently
held in isolation, and denied reading and
writing materials.
Amnesty's identification of
"fundamental problems" of
came after a 10-day fact-finding mission to
researchers have officially visited
The team met ministers, the attorney-general, and mid-level police and prison
officers. They also had private interviews with current
and former political prisoners,
and a "cordial" two-hour meeting
with Ms Suu Kyi.
Ms Suu Kyi's own release from house arrest
last May had raised hopes that
the generals were planning to loosen their
control over the country, but since then,
the junta has lost interest in any
substantive dialogue with her on a political transition.
While the decision to allow the Amnesty
visit surprised some, a Rangoon-based
diplomat said the government may be trying to
improve its image by appearing
more open to public scrutiny.
The diplomat said: "They thought this
would be a public relations positive for them
with very little downside."
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