EBO
News Summary:
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1.
2. Two witnesses to
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By Elaine Lies
to the concerns it raised over detained
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
that it had no choice but to maintain its
freeze on fresh aid.
considering further punitive measures unless she was
freed.
Foreign Minister Yoriko
Kawaguchi was quoted by a Foreign Ministry official as telling
Khin Maung Win, a top aide to
explanation of Suu Kyi's situation was
"completely unacceptable."
"We cannot continue as if nothing has
happened," she was quoted as saying in
a meeting in
but to put off new aid."
Khin Maung Win responded by saying he
would convey
of his nation, which the ministry official
said could be interpreted as meaning Than Shwe.
League for Democracy (NLD) be swiftly
freed, along with allowing the opposition
group -- which won a landslide election victory
in 1990 but has never been allowed
to govern -- to freely engage in political
activities.
She said
Khin Maung Win brought with him to
one from Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last month, but the Foreign
Ministry official said it appeared shed no new light on Suu Kyi's situation.
Khin Maung Win showed
in captivity and added that she had been
moved since June 10, when United Nations
envoy Razali Ismail met her and described her
conditions as "deplorable".
But he did not give any details on where
she was currently being held.
at least be able to meet people regularly.
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Two witnesses to Myanmar violence
seek UN protection in Bangkok
the May 30 riots that triggered opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi's detention
are seeking UN protection after fleeing to
The two men, both members of Aung San Suu
Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD), had planned to publicly
reveal their account of the violence
but the press conferences were cancelled due
to fears they would be arrested.
After testifying before the Senate Foreign
Affairs Committee they instead
went directly to the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) office in
"Naturally they entered into
automatically be charged with illegal entry into
could be deported back into
"They are witnesses to Black Friday
so if they were handed over to
their lives would be in extreme danger. So
there is more than enough grounds
for them to be protected by the UNHCR."
The UNHCR, which has a policy of
confidentiality, was not able to comment
on the application by the pair.
In the first direct account of the
violence to emerge since May 30, the two
men said in sworn affidavits that they
witnessed a brutal attack on Aung San
Suu Kyi's convoy as she carried out a
political tour of northern
They said the attackers used rods to smash
their way into Aung San Suu
Kyi's car and that she only escaped a
beating because she did not emerge from
the vehicle, which was later able to speed
off.
NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo who was
travelling in another vehicle was wounded
on the head, and women in a third vehicle
were dragged out, stripped and
bashed, said NLD youth wing member Wunna Maung.
"I saw the attackers jump onto them
and wrapped the hair around their heads
and pounded the heads against the stone
surface of the road, with all their
force," he said.
"From my mind, I still cannot get rid
of the sight of people, covered in
blood, being beaten mercilessly and
inhumanly."
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Euro-Burma Office
Square Gutenberg 11/2
1000
tel: 32 2 280 0691/280 2452
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32 2 280 0310
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