Military

DATE=4/3/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=BURMA / HUMAN RIGHTS (L-O)

NUMBER=2-301724

BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN

DATELINE=GENEVA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A U-N human rights expert is calling for the unconditional release of more than one-thousand political prisoners being held by the governing military junta in Burma. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports that in a report submitted to the U-N Human Rights Commission, the investigator acknowledges human rights have improved somewhat in Burma, but he says the progress has been very limited.

TEXT: U-N Special Investigator Paulo Sergio Pinheiro says the conditions of Burma's political prisoners have improved slightly. He says physical punishment, such as beatings, has stopped.

But Mr. Pinheiro says, the improvements are not widespread. According to the investigator, political prisoners in Burma continue to be worse off than criminal offenders.

/// PINHEIRO ACT ///

Prison is hell. Political prisoners live in hell, especially very old prisoners. This is something unacceptable. It is a torture to be enclosed in small spaces with very poor food, with very difficult access to medicine. I may assure you that my patience has arrived to the limit.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Pinheiro is calling for Burma's government to issue a general amnesty. He says there cannot be any reconciliation or credible political transition in Burma until all its political prisoners are freed.

/// OPT TO END /// Mr. Pinheiro devotes part of his report to allegations of rape in Burma's Shan State, allegations that have been supported by a women's group in Shan. The group, called the Shan Women's Action Network, accuses the Burmese military of systematically raping Shan women.

A member of the Action Network, Charm Tong, was at the briefing Mr. Pinheiro gave in Geneva. She expressed concerns about the problems investigators can pose for the women of Shan State. Earlier this year, she said, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Amnesty International came to investigate the rape allegations, but she said Shan villagers were threatened with torture by the military if they spoke to them. Human rights investigators, Ms. Tong says, must be aware that the women of Shan cannot speak freely.

/// TONG ACT///

At this time in Burma and under this government, Burmese military regime, we are afraid that the security for the rape survivors, the women and the witnesses will be very difficult to ensure their safety since the military have the power.

/// END ACT ///

U-N expert Pinheiro says he hopes to visit Shan State in a future trip to Burma. But he says that if it appears unlikely that he will get the necessary guarantees from the government to ensure the safety of the Shan people, he will cancel the investigation. (SIGNED)

NEB/LS/KL/RAE