Web pages about "Myanmar"

Harsh sentences for Myanmar dissidents

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:27:23 +0000

Fourteen dissidents, who took part in the 2007 anti-government demonstrations in Myanmar, were sentenced to 65 years' imprisonment each on Tuesday 11 November. The sentences were handed down at a closed-door hearing in Yangon's Insein prison. On the same day the authorities sentenced another 27 people for their protest activities.

Three of those sentenced are Min Zeya, Kyaw Min Yu (also known as Ko Jimmy), and Ko Jimmy's wife, Nilar Thein. They are prominent 88 Generation Students group leaders - former student activists who spearheaded the pro-democracy uprising in Myanmar 20 years ago.

They were sentenced for their involvement in the 2007 demonstrations, popularly known as the "Saffron Revolution". These protests began on 19 August 2007 as small-scale marches against sudden state-imposed fuel price rises, but quickly grew in size and significance. Later tens of thousands of protesters added calls for the release of all political prisoners and demanded an end to the long-standing political impasse through a process of national reconciliation. The authorities brought the protests to an end with a violent crackdown in late September 2007.

"In the midst of its so-called 'Roadmap to Democracy', the government of Myanmar reveals its true intentions by sentencing these dissidents for nothing more than peacefully expressing their views during last year's demonstrations," said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher.

The sentences are a clear example that Myanmar's military government is ignoring calls by the international community to clean up its human rights record. They also belie the government’s claims that its new constitution and plans for elections in 2010 are genuine efforts toward increasing political participation.

The other dissidents sentenced for their involvement in the "Saffron Revolution" are Mie Mie, Zaw Zaw Min, Than Tin (also known as Kyi Than), Zayya (also known as Kalama), Ant Bwe Kyaw, Kyaw Kyaw Htwe (also known as Marky), Pannate Tun, Thet Zaw, Mar Mar Oo, Sandar Min (also known as Shwe), and Thet Thet Aung.

Also sentenced on 11 November was labour activist Su Su Nway, who was sentenced to 12 years and six months’ imprisonment for her role in last year’s demonstrations. The day before, blogger Nay Phone Latt, received a jail term of 20 years and six months for, among other offences, showing disrespect for Senior General Than Shwe in his blog.

More than 2,100 political prisoners are currently behind bars in Myanmar. At least another 23 members of the 88 Generation Students group are on trial in Myanmar, including prominent dissidents Min Ko Naing, Htay Kywe, and Ko Ko Gyi. They are expected to be sentenced soon.

"These sentences and the ongoing trials should disabuse anyone of the notion that the Myanmar government has any intention of honouring its assurances to the United Nations that it would improve its human rights record and increase political participation. It knows only repression," said Benjamin Zawacki.

Min Zeya
A leading activist in the 88 Generation Students group, 40-year-old Min Zeya was arrested along with 12 other activists on 21 August 2007 after organising the first protests against the fuel price increases. Min Zeya was chairperson of the All Burma Students' Union Reconstruction Committee which was founded after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. He was arrested in August 1989 and later sentenced to eight years' imprisonment after being accused of leading an underground network. After his release in October 1995, he was detained on three other occasions before he was again re-arrested in August 2007.

Kyaw Min Yu
Also known as Ko Jimmy, Kyaw Min Yu was arrested together with Min Zeya on 21 August for his role in the fuel price protests. He had been previously imprisoned between early 1990 and July 2005 for his pro-democracy activities. The 39-year-old served two separate sentences during this time; he was given a second sentence after he was accused of involvement in plans to distribute news from overseas broadcasts within Insein Prison, and to contact the United Nations Human Rights Commission about conditions in the prison. He was tortured during his imprisonment.

Nilar Thein
Along with her husband Kyaw Min Yu, 36-year-old Nilar Thein is a leading activist in the 88 Generation Students group. Nilar Thein had been previously detained for two months in 1991. In December 1996 she was again arrested for participating in student demonstrations in Yangon. She was later sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.

Mie Mie
A high school student when she took part in the 1988 uprising, 38-year-old Mie Mie was arrested on 13 October 2007 as the authorities searched for the organisers of the major anti-government protests. She was forced into hiding after leading a women's movement march together with Nilar Thein on 22 August 2007, one day after 13 leaders of the 88 Generation Students group were arrested for their role in the protests. Whilst in hiding, she continued to support the protesters through solidarity appeals and interviews with international media.

Mie Mie was detained for four months in 1989 because of her political activities. During the student demonstrations in 1996, she was arrested and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. She has not received adequate treatment for her health problems in detention.

Thet Thet Aung
A member of the 88 Generation Students group, 31-year-old Thet Thet Aung was arrested on 19 October 2007. Her mother and mother-in-law were arbitrarily detained by the authorities, seemingly to intimidate and pressure Thet Thet Aung to turn herself in.

Nay Phone Latt
The owner of two internet cafés in Yangon, Nay Phone Latt was arrested in Yangon on 29 January 2008 in possession of a video that was banned by the military government. The 28-year-old also kept a blog (http://www.nayphonelatt.net/) in which he wrote about the difficulties that young Burmese people faced in the aftermath of the September 2007 protests.

Su Su Nway
A member of the youth wing of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), Su Su Nway was arrested on 13 November 2007, during a UN visit to Myanmar to investigate the September 2007 crackdown. The 36-year-old was arrested after attempting to put up leaflets near the hotel where a UN investigator was staying.

Su Su Nway had previously been imprisoned after successfully taking legal action against village authorities over their use of forced labour. The officials concerned received prison terms, following which Su Su Nway was charged with criminal intimidation and sentenced to 18 months in jail in October 2005. She was later released in June 2006. She suffers from a long-term heart condition and has not received adequate treatment for her health problems while in detention.

Myanmar: Harsh sentences for 14 dissidents reveal government’s true intentions

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:48:42 +0000

Today’s sentencing of at least 14 dissidents who took part in the 2007 anti-government demonstrations to 65 years’ imprisonment each is a powerful reminder that Myanmar’s military government is ignoring calls by the international community to clean up its human rights record, Amnesty International said.

“In the midst of its so-called 'Roadmap to Democracy', the government of Myanmar reveals its true intentions by sentencing these dissidents for nothing more than peacefully expressing their views during last year’s demonstrations,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher.

Three of those sentenced are Min Zeya, Kyaw Min Yu (also known as Ko Jimmy), and Ko Jimmy’s wife, Nilar Thein. They are prominent 88 Generation Students group leaders - former student activists who spearheaded the pro-democracy uprising in Myanmar 20 years ago.

The sentences against them were related to their involvement in the 2007 demonstrations, popularly known as the 'Saffron Revolution'. Additional charges against them remain outstanding.

Another person sentenced today was Myanmar blogger Nay Phone Latt, given 20 years and six months in prison for, among other offences, disrespecting Senior General Than Shwe in his blog. More than 2,100 political prisoners are currently behind bars in Myanmar.

“Even as the government continues to claim that its new constitution and plans for elections in 2010 are genuine efforts toward increasing political participation, this sentencing sends a clear signal that it will not tolerate views contrary to its own by handing down such severe sentences,” said Benjamin Zawacki.

“These sentences and the ongoing trials should disabuse anyone of the notion that the Myanmar government has any intention of honouring its assurances to the United Nations that it would improve its human rights record and increase political participation. It knows only repression,” said Benjamin Zawacki.

Background
The 14 dissidents known to have been sentenced today are: Min Zeya, Kyaw Min Yu (also known as Ko Jimmy), Nilar Thein, Mie Mie, Zaw Zaw Min, Than Tin (also known as Kyi Than), Zayya (also known as Kalama), Ant Bwe Kyaw, Kyaw Kyaw Htwe (also known as Marky), Pannate Tun, Thet Zaw, Mar Mar Oo, Sandar Min (also known as Shwe), and Thet Thet Aung.

In addition, labour activist Su Su Nway was sentenced to 12 years and six months.

At least another 23 members of the 88 Generation Students group are on trial in Myanmar, including prominent dissidents Min Ko Naing, Htay Kywe, and Ko Ko Gyi, and it is expected that they will also be given additional sentences soon.

Released prisoner rearrested in Myanmar

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:35:32 +0000

Amnesty International confirmed on Friday that one of the seven prisoners of conscience freed this week, U Win Htein, was re-arrested a few hours after his release. He was released from Kathar prison in Sagaing Division in north-western Myanmar on Tuesday.

U Win Htein was picked up by police officers in a guest house in the town of Kathar where he was staying for the night before catching a boat to Mandalay the following morning to meet his wife.

U Win Htein is now back in Kathar prison. It is not known why he was re-arrested or how much longer he will remain imprisoned.

Amnesty International has said that the re-arrest of U Win Htein illustrates that there is no policy change by the Myanmar government to free political prisoners.

Myanmar activist at risk of torture

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:06:33 +0000

An anti-government activist leader in Myanmar remains at risk of torture following her arrest last Wednesday.

Nilar Thein went into hiding more than a year ago after leading some of the initial anti-government protests in August 2007. She was taken to Aung Tha Pyay Detention Centre in Yangon (Rangoon, Myanmar’s largest city) for interrogation after her arrest and is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

Nilar Thein was arrested on her way to visit the mother of Ant Bwe Kyaw, another detained activist, in a suburb of north eastern Yangon. Ant Bwe Kyaw and Kyaw Min Yu, Nilar Thein’s husband (also known as Ko Jimmy), were among 13 anti-government activist leaders from the "88 Generation Students Group" who were arrested on 22 August 2007.

A total of 35 activists from the “88 Generation Students Group” appeared before a court inside Yangon’s Insein prison on 9 September to face a range of politically-motivated charges. Several of the charges they are facing are made under vaguely-worded security laws routinely used to criminalise peaceful political dissent.

The "88 Generation Students Group" is made up of anti-government activists who took part in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising against the then 26 years of military rule.

The day after the 13 anti-government activist leaders of the group were arrested on 22 August 2007, Nilar Thein led around 500 people in a demonstration in Yangon. The demonstration demanded the release of fellow activists and continued the protest against the sudden increase in fuel prices that had been imposed by the state on 15 August 2007.

When authorities began a hunt for the leaders of the protests, Nilar Thein went into hiding. After considering the unhealthy and dangerous conditions of living in hiding, she decided to leave her baby daughter behind in the care of her family.

Rumours began to circulate three weeks after her husband's arrest on 22 August 2007 that he had died in police custody. The rumours turned out to be false and are believed to have been planted by the government to bring Nilar Thein out of hiding.

Whilst in hiding, Nilar Thein continued to appeal to the international community to take action in resolving the grave human rights situation and the abuses that women suffer under the military regime in Myanmar.

A year after the violent crackdown on anti-government protests of September 2007, the military leaders in Myanmar are showing no signs that they will relent in their efforts to silence all political dissent. Nearly 300 individuals have been arrested for their peaceful political activities so far in 2008.

Nilar Thein has been imprisoned twice before for her pro-democracy activities. She was detained for two months in 1991. She was arrested in December 1996 for participating in the student demonstrations in Yangon that of that year. She was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and was released in 2005.

Amnesty International is urgently calling on the government of Myanmar to stop making further arrests and to release all those detained or imprisoned merely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, including both long-term and recent prisoners of conscience.

No moving backwards for Myanmar

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:08:22 +0000

By Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Researcher on Myanmar

"We must move forward, forward in Myanmar. There is no backwards for us." These words were spoken to me by a participant in the "8888" uprising in Myanmar who was forced to flee his country. Twenty years after the brief flowering of people power in Myanmar, however, little has improved for the millions of people still suffering under repressive rule.

If the future is to be better, the UN Security Council and Myanmar’s Asian neighbours must cease turning a blind eye to human rights violations in Myanmar and begin to take bold and effective measures toward stopping them.

On 8 August 1988, students took to the streets in Yangon (then still Rangoon) to demand democracy and human rights from their government. Over the next six weeks, the demonstrations grew in number and popular support and spread across the country, before the security forces moved in and violently suppressed the uprising. They killed more than 3,000 people and caused the enforced disappearance of an unknown number of others.

The massacre so shocked the world that many people both inside and outside the country believed that it marked "the end" in Myanmar; human rights violations on such an egregious scale would no longer be tolerated by the international community. Sadly for the people of Myanmar, however, they were wrong.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the main opposition party, Nobel Peace laureate, and icon of the Burmese human rights movement, has been under some form of detention for nearly 13 of the last 19 years. U Win Tin, a senior member of her party and 78 years-old, has been imprisoned for all of those 19 years, the longest-serving prisoner of conscience in Myanmar. Thousands of other political prisoners have been detained since 1988; 137 have died in custody, some from torture or lack of medical attention.

More than 2,000 people are now behind bars, more than a third of whom the government detained during its violent crackdown on the monk-led demonstrations last fall — the third major demonstration since 8888 through which the Burmese have tried, against ruthless and heart-rending odds, to demand their rights. Just days after the crackdown, monks and dissidents on the Thai-Myanmar border told me harrowing accounts of the recent violence and their narrow escape from the country.

Outside of the cities — and the international spotlight — the Myanmar army has continued to wage war over the past twenty years against the country’s ethnic minorities as well, among them the Karen. Campaigns against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) have been relentless since the early 1990s. Three years ago the army commenced another major offensive against the Karen, which continues to this day, though this time the army is actively avoiding the KNLA and instead targeting defenseless villagers.

On a widespread and systematic basis, the army is perpetrating a catalogue of serious human rights violations against the Karen, including extrajudicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, forced labour, crop destruction and confiscation, restrictions on movement, arbitrary levies and fines and anti-personnel land mines.

Another effect of both the 8888 uprising and the ethnic persecution is that hundreds of thousands of people in the past two decades have been forced to flee their homes to seek shelter elsewhere in Myanmar or in neighbouring countries. No fewer than half a million people in a nation of approximately 51 million are internally displaced within Myanmar. As I have witnessed myself, most live in deplorable conditions and constant fear, wondering if the world even knows about them.

Just under half that number are officially recognized as refugees in the surrounding countries, though several times more are not officially recognized and thus have even fewer rights. Many refugees have become some of the world’s most committed and courageous human rights activists — members of Myanmar’s "88 Generation" — as another entire generation of children has been born in exile.

Three months ago, the government wilfully neglected its people when Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar. Relief workers, diplomats, journalists, and Burmese survivors told me again and again with horror and disbelief how the government violated its own citizens’ human rights to food, shelter, health, and to life itself on a massive scale.

The government refused to deploy its own much-touted army of 400,000 soldiers to the affected areas and rejected international assistance. Instead, the authorities saw fit to frog-march traumatized, bereaved, and hungry people to "vote" for a new constitution that both fails to protect human rights and codifies impunity for officials who violate them.

The exodus of refugees from Myanmar and the government’s response to the cyclone have generated the kind of human suffering that the UN system was designed to address. The UN has sent numerous official and unofficial missions to Myanmar since 1988 — with two more taking place this month — and has a large humanitarian presence there now, but with little or no impact on human rights.

But the one UN body with real power, the Security Council, has been unable or unwilling to take effective action. It has neither visited Myanmar to obtain first-hand information on the situation on the ground nor imposed a comprehensive mandatory arms embargo on the country. The only resolution condemning Myanmar’s human rights record was vetoed in January 2007 by permanent members China and Russia, while Indonesia, a non-permanent member at the time, abstained.

Since then, the Council has managed only two Presidential Statements on Myanmar, one in October 2007 that "strongly deplored" last fall’s crackdown, and another in May 2008 that "underlin[ed] the need" for Myanmar to ensure inclusiveness and credibility in its constitutional referendum later that month. Stronger language was objected to by, among others, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

While ASEAN’s statements critical of the crackdown last fall and the continued detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi have been welcome, the organization—and its member countries—have been inexcusably forgiving of Myanmar’s human rights record over the past twenty years. India, a powerful neighbouring state and the world’s largest democracy, has also been disturbingly compliant.

Just as with the 8888 uprising, many people hope that the government’s response to Cyclone Nargis signals the "the end" of such enormous human rights violations in Myanmar. Whether it really does this time, however, depends not only on the Burmese — whose "88 Generation" continues to courageously lead the way — but on the political will of the UN Security Council and Myanmar’s Asian neighbours as well. Twenty years is a long time, but it is not too late.

This article originally appeared in the Bangkok Post in Thailand on 8 August 2008.

Myanmar: Twenty years on, more than 2,000 political prisoners

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:52:08 +0000

Twenty years after the start of pro-democracy demonstrations in Myanmar that were violently repressed, the United Nations (UN) should take stronger measures to obtain the release of U Win Tin and other prisoners of conscience detained since that day, Amnesty International said today.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor, Ibrahim Gambari, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Thomas Ojea Quintana, are visiting Myanmar this month.

On 8 August 1988 -- 8.8.88 -- demonstrations led by students calling for democracy began in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) and quickly spread to other cities, growing in number and popular support over the next six weeks. Government security forces then violently stepped in and killed an estimated 3,000 people. Thousands more were imprisoned or subjected to enforced disappearance, their fate and whereabouts unknown.

Since then, despite UN engagement on Myanmar, including through General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions and some 35 official missions by the Special Advisor, Special Rapporteur and their predecessors, some 2,050 political prisoners remain incarcerated in Myanmar. Around 900 people have been imprisoned in the past ten months.

“Despite countless claims by the government of Myanmar that it is moving toward allowing broader political participation, U Win Tin was detained not long after the 1988 demonstrations, and remains in prison along with thousands of others,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar Researcher.

“Nothing speaks louder of the government’s poor faith than the fact that there are more long-standing political prisoners in Myanmar now than at any other time since those protests.”

“While U Win Tin is the longest-serving prisoner of conscience in Myanmar, he is far from alone”, said Zawacki.

“He has been joined by thousands of others since 1988, roughly 900 in just the past ten months. The UN should no longer accept the government’s hollow assurances but hold Myanmar firmly to its word.”

Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience. In particular, it urges the UN to press for the release of the following 20 people:

U Win Tin (male), 78, a journalist, prominent dissident and senior official in the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has been in prison since 1989. He suffers from multiple health problems, and is scheduled to be released in 2009.
Win Htein (m), 66, a senior assistant to NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was imprisoned in 1996 for, among other offences, organizing farmers and NLD members to collect agricultural statistics. He is being held in solitary confinement and suffers from numerous health problems, including hypertension and heart disease.
Dr. Daw May Win Myint (female), 58, an MP-elect, and Dr. Than Nyein (m), 71, a senior NLD member and MP-elect, were imprisoned in 1997 for organizing an NLD meeting. Their original sentences have been repeatedly extended since 2004 and they suffer from poor health.
Aung Tun (m), 41, a prominent member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (Lower Burma), was imprisoned in 1998 on a 17-year sentence for “collaborating with terrorist groups” and writing a history of the student movement in Myanmar. He suffers from severe asthma and tuberculosis, and has been held incommunicado for prolonged periods.
Myo Min Zaw (m), 31, and Ko Aye Aung (m), 33, students, were imprisoned in 1998 for their roles in student demonstrations calling for improvements to education and for the 1990 election results to be honoured. They are serving 52-year and 45-year sentences, respectively, in very remote prisons and are suffering from health problems.
Ma Khin Khin Leh (f), 42, a teacher, was imprisoned on a life sentence in 1999 after the authorities could not locate her politically-active husband. She suffers from an unspecified lung problem and from rheumatoid arthritis.
Khaing Kaung San (m), 37, a political dissident working with ethnic Arakanese welfare organizations, was imprisoned in 2000 after being forcibly returned from Thailand where he sought -- and was granted -- political asylum.
Saw Naing Naing (m), 66, an MP-elect and a former prisoner of conscience between 1990 and 1999, and Soe Han (m), 65, a lawyer, were imprisoned in 2000 for 21 years for writing a statement that urged the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Saw Naing Naing is reportedly being held with criminal prisoners on death row.
U Khun Htun O (m), 65, the most senior political representative of the Shan ethnic minority, was imprisoned in 2005 for taking part in a private discussion of official plans for political transition. He is serving a 93-year sentence and suffers from poor health.
Min Ko Naing (m), 45, a prominent leader of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, a former prisoner of conscience between 1989 and 2004, and a founder of the 88 Generation Students Group, was imprisoned in August 2007 for taking part in protests. He has been denied medical care for numerous ailments.
U Ohn Than (m), 61, an activist, was imprisoned on a life sentence in August 2007 after demonstrating in front of the US embassy in Yangon. He is being held far away from his family and is reported to be suffering from an advanced stage of cerebral malaria.
Hla Myo Naung (m), 40, a leading member of the 88 Generation Students Group, was imprisoned in October 2007 as he emerged from hiding to seek treatment for a ruptured cornea. He is reportedly at serious risk of going blind due to a lack of proper treatment.
Thin Thin Aye (Mie Mie) (f), 38, and Htay Kywe (m), 40, leading members of the 88 Generation Students Group, and Zaw Htet Ko Ko (m), 27, a young member of the 88 Generation Students Group, were imprisoned in October 2007 during the post-crackdown man-hunt. Mie Mie has suffered from a heart condition whilst in detention, and was denied medical attention for a period. Zaw Htet Ko Ko has been denied medical treatment for a tonsil problem.
U Gambira (m), 29, a monk and co-founder of the All Burma Monks Alliance during the September 2007 protests, was imprisoned in November 2007 after his family members were detained as “hostages” in an attempt to force him out of hiding. He has been tortured and stripped of his robes in prison, and was transferred to solitary confinement in March 2008.
Myo Yang Naung Thein (m), 34, a member of the 88 Generation Students Group, was imprisoned in December 2007 because of his links to activists who filmed the September 2007 protests. The lower part of his body has since become paralyzed, possibly as a result of torture during interrogation, but he has been denied specialist medical treatment for a prolonged period.

These 20 prisoners of conscience, imprisoned between 1989 and 2007, are emblematic of the continued political repression carried out by the government of Myanmar in the 20 years since the pro-democracy demonstrations.

Myanmar ethnic group faces crimes against humanity

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:06:20 +0000

For over two years the Myanmar army has been waging a military offensive against ethnic Karen civilians in the eastern parts of the country. The ongoing offensive includes widespread and systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, according to a new Amnesty International report. The report describes these violations as crimes against humanity.

The report, Crimes against humanity in eastern Myanmar, says that nearly 150,000 people have been internally displaced in Kayin State and the eastern Bago Division. Many have also been subjected to unlawful killings; enforced disappearances; the imposition of forced labour, as well as the destruction of villages, crops and food-stocks and other forms of collective punishment.

Such violations have been directed at civilians, simply on account of their Karen ethnicity or location in Karen majority areas, or in retribution for activities by the Karen National Liberation Army.

Amnesty International has said that it is concerned that the violations are the result of official State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, the Myanmar government) and tatmadaw policy. The organization has called for an immediate halt to all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by government forces and aligned militias and for UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive mandatory arms embargo on Myanmar.

See also:
Myanmar government puts cyclone survivors at increased risk (Report, 5 June 2008)

Myanmar: Cyclone survivors at increased risk because of Myanmar government’s actions

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:38:02 +0000

Myanmar’s government is stepping up efforts to force survivors of Cyclone Nargis out of emergency shelters and is keeping aid from reaching them, according to new research published by Amnesty International today. The government’s actions place tens of thousands of already vulnerable survivors at increased risk of death, disease and hunger.

On 20 May, Myanmar’s government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), announced an end to the rescue and relief phase of the disaster response and the beginning of the reconstruction phase. Since then, the SPDC has launched a campaign to force homeless cyclone survivors out of government and unofficial resettlement camps.

The authorities have targeted schools and monasteries, as both were used as polling stations for the delayed May constitutional referendum, and because the school term began on 2 June.

Most of the displaced survivors cannot return to their original homes as large swathes of the Irrawaddy delta, which bore the brunt of the cyclone, remain largely uninhabitable.

“After surviving the cyclone’s fury, thousands of cyclone survivors are now suffering at the hands of the SPDC,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher.

Drawing on a wide range of sources, including eye witness accounts and interviews with people with first-hand information from cyclone-hit areas, Amnesty International’s findings underscore the urgent need for the SPDC as well as international donors to adopt human rights standards as safeguards in the disaster response.

Amnesty International is also concerned about aid delivery. On 16 May, the SPDC mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar pledged to “conduct investigation into the cases [of misappropriation of aid] to expose the offenders and take punitive action against them in accordance with the law.” Amnesty International welcomes such steps and calls on the SPDC to strictly monitor the distribution of aid by its officials and to investigate any allegations of theft, abuse of power or other diversion of aid.

“Given the SPDC’s long track record of abuses, humanitarian agencies should be especially alert to SPDC diverting or obstructing their aid,” said Zawacki, who has been in the region for the past month gathering information from the affected areas.

Amnesty International has confirmed more than 30 instances and accounts of people being forcibly removed from emergency shelters in monasteries, schools and other places.

In the last two weeks, the relocation campaign has become more systematic and widespread. The authorities have forcibly relocated people out of Maungmya, Maubin, Pyapon, and Labutta, where they had been originally displaced, further south back to their original villages.

Of the 45 camps that existed in Pyapon, by 28 May only three remained. On 23 May authorities in Yangon forcibly removed more than 3,000 cyclone survivors from an official camp in Shwebaukan in North Dagon Myo Thit, and from an unofficial camp in State High School No. 2 in Dala township.

Abuses also include confiscation and misuse of aid. Amnesty International has received over 40 reports or accounts of aid being confiscated by government officials, diverted or withheld instead of being handed to cyclone survivors.

Despite statements against such conduct by senior SPDC leadership, local officials can act with impunity. For example, Amnesty International received eyewitness testimony that on 26 May, at the Pan Hlaing bridge in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar township, Police Major U Luu Win stopped 48 trucks carrying supplies from private Myanmar donors. As of 1 June, the police had not released the trucks.

Background
Cyclone Nargis, devastated the Irrawaddy delta on 2 and 3 May 2008, killing tens of thousands of people. More than 130,000 people are believed to be dead or missing and 2.4 million have been seriously affected, many left without essential food, shelter or healthcare. A month after the cyclone, the United Nations announced that it has only been able to provide aid to 40 per cent of the survivors.

The crisis in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis is occurring against a backdrop of grave and longstanding human rights violations. The SPDC currently holds over 1,850 political prisoners in poor conditions. Nearly all key political activists languish behind bars or in hiding. Critics of government policy are routinely harassed, threatened and arrested. For over two years in eastern Myanmar, the army has waged a continuous offensive targeting ethnic Karen civilians in which it has engaged in widespread torture, forced labour, and forcible displacement. Read more on this in the report Crimes against humanity in eastern Myanmar.

Myanmar Briefing: Human rights concerns a month after Cyclone Nargis

For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org

Myanmar government puts cyclone survivors at increased risk

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:05:23 +0000

Myanmar's government is keeping aid from reaching survivors of Cyclone Nargis and stepping up efforts to force them out of emergency shelters, according to new research published by Amnesty International. The government's actions place tens of thousands of already vulnerable survivors at increased risk of death, disease and hunger.

On 20 May, Myanmar’s government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), announced an end to the rescue and relief phase of the disaster response and the beginning of the reconstruction phase. Since then, the SPDC has launched a campaign to force homeless cyclone survivors out of government and unofficial resettlement camps.

The authorities have targeted schools and monasteries, as both were used as polling stations for the delayed May constitutional referendum, and because the school term began on 2 June.

Most of the displaced survivors cannot return to their original homes as large swathes of the Irrawaddy delta, which bore the brunt of the cyclone, remain largely uninhabitable.

"After surviving the cyclone's fury, thousands of cyclone survivors are now suffering at the hands of the SPDC," said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher.

Amnesty International’s findings, which include eyewitness accounts and interviews with people with first-hand information from cyclone-hit areas, highlight the urgent need for the SPDC and international donors to adopt human rights standards as safeguards in the disaster response.

Amnesty International is also concerned about aid delivery. On 16 May, the SPDC mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar pledged to "conduct investigation into the cases [of misappropriation of aid] to expose the offenders and take punitive action against them in accordance with the law." Amnesty International has welcomed such steps and calls on the SPDC to strictly monitor the distribution of aid by its officials and to investigate any allegations of theft, abuse of power or other diversion of aid.

"Given the SPDC’s long track record of abuses, humanitarian agencies should be especially alert to the SPDC diverting or obstructing their aid," said Zawacki, who has been in the region for the past month gathering information from the affected areas.

Amnesty International has confirmed more than 30 instances and accounts of people being forcibly removed from emergency shelters in monasteries, schools and other places.

In the last two weeks, the relocation campaign has become more systematic and widespread. The authorities have forcibly relocated people out of Maungmya, Maubin, Pyapon, and Labutta, where they had been originally displaced, back to their original villages.

Of the 45 camps that existed in Pyapon, by 28 May only three remained. On 23 May, authorities in Yangon forcibly removed more than 3,000 cyclone survivors from an official camp in Shwebaukan in North Dagon Myo Thit, and from an unofficial camp in State High School No. 2 in Dala township.

Abuses also include confiscation and misuse of aid. Amnesty International has received over 40 reports or accounts of aid being confiscated by government officials, diverted or withheld instead of being handed to cyclone survivors.

Despite statements against such conduct by senior SPDC leadership, local officials can act with impunity. For example, Amnesty International received eyewitness testimony that on 26 May, at the Pan Hlaing bridge in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar township, Police Major U Luu Win stopped 48 trucks carrying supplies from private Myanmar donors. As of 1 June, the police had not released the trucks.

See also:
Myanmar ethnic group faces crimes against humanity (Report, 5 June 2008)

Asian leaders urged to take further action on Myanmar

Mon, 19 May 2008 17:09:23 +0000

Amnesty International has called on Asian leaders to take urgent action to prevent further human rights violations in Myanmar.

In an open letter to ASEAN member states, the organization's Secretary General, Irene Khan, warned that without immediate action by ASEAN leaders, the humanitarian disaster created by Cyclone Nargis and the deliberate obstruction to aid by the Myanmar authorities will result in further massive human rights violations, putting at risk the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of people.