| 9th
December, 2005
JEREMY
REYNOLDS
Assist
News
A new report has been released documenting for the
first time the extent of torture in Burma's jails, and revealing
those responsible for torture.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPPB),
based in Mae Sot, Thailand, has released a 124-page report
titled, The Darkness We See: Torture in Burma's Interrogation
Centers and Prisons.
According to human right organization Christian Solidarity
Worldwide (CSW), the report's evidence is based on interviews
conducted by the AAPPB with 35 former political prisoners.
The physical, psychological, and sexual abuse used by jailers
is outlined.
The report also details how the hardline rulers combine poor
prison conditions with deliberate medical negligence to cause
suffering amounting to torture. CSW reports that the document
concludes that the main aim of Burma’s prisons is to
break down everyone whom its rulers consider to be a threat
to their power.
Prisoners in Burmese jails describe how they have been electrically
shocked all over their bodies, as well as suffering severe
beatings and burning with cigarettes and lighters. According
to CSW, the report says the beatings are often so severe that
prisoners end up dying..
Former prisoners testify to the use of ropes and shackles
around the neck or ankles, which are used to keep a prisoner
in the same position for up to several months at a time.
CSW reports in a news release that Ko Tate, Secretary of the
AAPPB said: “This report is the first to show the shocking
full scale of torture in Burma's interrogation centers and
prisons. It should eliminate any doubt as to the severity
of human rights violations against those suspected of political
dissent in Burma.”
Those who are in prison in Burma for political reasons have
been arrested simply for expressing their opposition to the
ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC).
CSW reports that Burma's most high-profile political prisoner,
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is the world's only Nobel Peace Prize
laureate in detention. She led the National League for Democracy
(NLD) to victory in the 1990 elections, winning over 80 percent
of the seats in the legislature. However, CSW reported, elected
Members of Parliament have been denied the right to take their
seats, and instead have been jailed or exiled. Hundreds of
NLD members are in prison, and most have been tortured.
For the first time, CSW states, the report spotlights the
politicians ultimately responsible for torture in Burma. The
Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Defence, and Minister
of Foreign Affairs serve on a three-person committee responsible
for overseeing the detention of prisoners charged under the
junta's State Protection Act, which provides the “legal”
basis on which many prisoners are held.
The Military Intelligence Service carries out most of the
torture during initial interrogations, CSW reports. Two additional
departments, the Bureau of Special Investigations and the
Special Investigations Department, also carry out similar
torture.
The report follows the September publication of Threat
to the Peace: A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in
Burma commissioned by former Czech President Vaclav Havel
and Nobel Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu. Both reports recommend
that the U.N. Security Council should immediately address
the ongoing human rights violations in Burma, and call for
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's personal involvement.
The Darkness We See, CSW comments, is the latest
in a long line of reports documenting human rights violations
in Burma.
Guy Horton's report Dying Alive: A Legal Assessment of
Human Rights Violations in Burma published earlier this
year, concentrates on crimes against humanity and attempted
genocide against the Karen, Karenni and Shan ethnic groups
in eastern Burma. Other reports such as Licence to Rape,
Shattering Silences, System of Impunity and Catwalk to the
Barracks, “provide extensive evidence of the widespread,
systematic use of rape against Shan, Karen and Mon women.”
Another report, My Gun Was As Tall As Me, published
by Human Rights Watch, documents the forced conscription of
child soldiers.
CSW report that the organization’s Honorary President,
Baroness Cox, told the House of Lords recently that there
is now “a massive collection of authoritative, accurate
evidence documenting the atrocities perpetrated by the SPDC".
Mervyn Thomas, CSW's Chief Executive, said in a news release:
“The widespread practice of severe torture on political
prisoners by the Burmese military regime is yet another reason
for prompt and effective action by the U.N. Security Council.
CSW welcomes the publication of this report, and calls on
the international community to do much more to help the people
of Burma who have suffered for so long under this horrifically
repressive regime.”
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