Renewed Crackdown By Junta On Opposition
Posted 1st Novembe 2000

The military rulers of Burma are clearly renewing their efforts to destroy the National League of Democracy (NLD), which was overwhelmingly elected to rule the country ten years ago, but never allowed to govern. The generals seem to be gaining confidence, believing that they can increase oppression without any consequences for their growing international relations, especially in the ASEAN. The following actions give evidence of a new crackdown:

(1) Almost every leader of the National League of Democracy is currently either in prison, in 'military guesthouses' or under some form of house arrest. This includes party leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under de facto house arrest since she attempted to travel to Mandalay to meet with party members on September 22, and deputy chairman U Tin Oo, who remains a political prisoner at Ye Mon prison north of the capital Yangon. AFP news agency recently reported that a junta spokesperson admitted: "The NLD central executive committee members are being requested to stay with their families at their respective residences for the time being", and that NLD deputy leader Tin Oo remains at "one of the government guest houses."

(2) The party is being evicted from its headquarters. The landlady claims there has been no pressure on her for this purpose, but she was recently jailed by the junta for a short period for failing to stop the NLD using loudspeakers at one of their meetings.

(3) More than 100 party supporters - who had gathered at the railway station where Suu Kyi was stopped as she tried to leave the capital - were taken to Yangon's Insein prison. Their safety and legal standing are currently unknown.

(4) Strong threats have been issued in junta-run media, claiming that the NLD is not legal, that its leaders may be arrested for high treason at any time, and that diplomats who visit NLD members may be removed from the country.

(5) Unconfirmed reports indicate that a number of recently re-opened universities have been closed or suspended again to prevent any political dissent from students. Students are an important part of most democratic uprisings, so closing universities, or allowing them to open only sporadically is an effective method of preventing opposition.

BACKGROUND
The military junta of Burma (who have re-named the country 'Myanmar' to suppress ethnic minorities), has exercised a grip on power since 1962 and brutally put down a pro-democracy uprising in 1988 which brought Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to the fore of the democracy movement. Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide electoral victory against the military in 1990, but were never allowed to govern. Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest until 1995, and has had her movements severely restricted since then. Since her attempts to leave the capital (Yangon) in August and September, she has been confined to her home and detained incommunicado (except for the recent meetings with a UN official). The other leaders remain detained incommunicado or in prison.

RESPONSE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
The British and US governments have made very strong statements against this new wave of repression, and the US seems likely to raise the issue with the UN Security Council. The UN Secretary General's representative for Burma recently visited the country and was allowed to see Suu Kyi but no other NLD leaders, who were detained incommunicado (his report is yet to be released). Another UN Special Rapporteur, Rajsoomer Lallah, has recently highlighted systematic human rights abuses including murder, rape, torture and forcible relocation of ethnic tribsespeople as being part of the government's counter-insurgency strategy in areas bordering on Thailand. The European Union has extended its sanctions on Burma, and cancelled a recent diplomatic visit to Yangon in protest of the crackdown.

RESPONSE OF THE ASEAN
But the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the organisation which has potentially the greatest influence on the military dictators hungry for international recognition and trade, has remained stubbornly silent. ASEAN information ministers recognise that the organisation is getting a bad reputation, but believe the answer is better advertising, not taking action on human rights problems among its members. The official line of Secretary General Rodolfo Severino and the current chair nation Vietnam is that ASEAN should 'not intervene in internal affairs'. However, a minister from Thailand (a vital ASEAN member nation) Supatra Masdit, stated that she supported external mediation in Burma and said the issue should be discussed at Foreign Ministry level. This indicates that there is dissent within ASEAN, with some members believing that ignoring the latest crackdown on the NLD is destroying any credibility the organisation had built up. Burma (Myanmar) has been admitted as a member of ASEAN, under the pretext that 'engagement' with the dictatorship could lead to democratic and economic reform of the troubled nation.

SEND LETTERS TO Secretary-General of ASEAN, Mr. Rodolfo C. Severino, Jr., ASEAN Secretary-General, ASEAN Secretariat, 70A Jl. Singamangaraja, Jakarta 12110 Indonesia. Email Fax: (62-21) 739 8234, 724 3504 (Please try to send as a fax if possible).