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Let's Fight Against The Unjust |
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A man has the freedom to be alive, to create and to move according to his or her age and intelligence. It's the law of human nature, in other words it is called "just." If this idea of what is "just" is destroyed, it becomes "unjust." Throughout the world, governments were founded to judge something fair or unfair and to protect the people from the unjust. Later, law and precedent appeared. However, governments have different policies and concepts of good will. Therefore, each government rules people differently. Depending on the government, people experience poverty, wealth, harassment, racial discrimination and other abuses. Because of this, the United Nations formed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for countries and people of every religion. Almost all countries accepted it. Our country also agreed and signed this declaration. But, most people in Burma are not even aware of the term 'human rights', let alone its definition, because the military government has banned this concept in all of its shapes and forms. Why? Because the government ruling our country is a military dictatorship. According to the structure of this dictatorship, the people are mistreated for the sake of the junta's desire to stay in power forever. Progressive thinkers and those who question the authorities are treated as the enemy. Information flow has been totally controlled. We have been living in the dark without basic human rights for years. The military authorities do not respect the rule of law, however, we have become familiar with the orders created by the junta. I want to mention my experience of the junta's harassment, torture and hate towards ethnic people. An ugly evening in October 1991:There was a great silence as usual because it was sleeping time in Insein prison. It was 9:30 p.m. Later, I heard some noise (but not clearly). The noises were getting closer and closer. It was the disgraceful orders and beating sound of the prison authorities. Terrible! Although I didn't see the incident I understood what was happening. Some newcomers were put in a room very close to mine. I heard the door close. The prison authorities then said to the leaders of the senior criminals, "they are the rebels. Don't be soft on them. Teach them how to behave in this prison. Until they understand the prison rules, beat them to death. We will take responsibility for everything." (Some senior criminals are asked to deal harshly with other criminals and political prisoners). The sound of beating, shouting, crying and requests for mercy followed till 1:00 a.m. After teaching the newcomers the prison way of life, while beating them, a senior criminal ordered everyone to sleep. There was a moment's silence but it didn't take long. The newcomers murmured as they felt pain and could not sleep. The senior criminals then began beating them harder than before. Finally everything was quiet. We heard every event of that night. We became angry and sobbed while looking at each other in our room. We could guess their condition well. They were beaten all the way to prison and then, when they arrived, they were beaten for more than 4 hours. We felt sympathy for them. The next morning, we approached them to talk and encourage them but they did not reply, as they were now very afraid of everything. They moved slowly and painfully, inch by inch, and talked very weakly. We tried our best to help the 63 newcomers. The prison meals were never enough and always of poor quality so we collected dishes from our families for them. They voraciously devoured this first meal, as they had not eaten for days. Some had been without food for so long they were unable to eat. We also shared some medicine, which we had kept secretly. We cleaned their wounds and washed their clothes. In response to our kindness, they began to trust us and explained the condition they experienced: According to them, the Tatmadaw (armed forces), in 1991, seized some arms near the Htaw Pi and U Ni Suu villages in Pantanaw Township, Irrawaddy Division. The Tatmadaw then forcefully raided these villages using helicopters. Villagers, animals and houses were killed or destroyed. Moreover, the Tatmadaw arrested any ethnic Karen men in sight. Over 200 Karen were shot dead in front of the other villagers. Some 500 Karen were arrested and tortured during interrogation that lasted over a month. Later, they were sent to Basseim and Henzada prisons. About 250 were sent to Insein prison, among them 63 were placed in our building. They told us that, after their arrest, they did not receive any food for about one week. Their legs were locked in stocks and their hands were tied behind their backs with ropes. After one week, the stocks were removed from their legs but their hands remained tied behind their backs. They had to feed each other backwards when they ate their meal. Some put their plate on the floor and ate the meal like an animal. They received only four or five spoonfuls of rice with a soup made of both edible and inedible unwashed vegetables. It was full of uncut rice and sand, which was intentionally mixed in it.Beating, punching and burning with cigarette butts was an everyday experience. When I saw them in Insein prison, their hands were full of terrible wounds. All of them were in bad health, as they could not get regular meals. Some were very old and became extremely sick as a result of the torture. They had explained that they were not involved with the arms seized by the military authorities. However, they were all sentenced to either death, life or at least 15 years imprisonment. Saw Pway Pwar, a Karen boy, was not even 15 years old, yet he was sentenced to 20 years. He was only in grade five, in middle school, and he didn't know why he was arrested. An elder explained to him that he was given a 20-year jail term. His parents were killed in front of him and he had no idea where his siblings were. Another Karen man explained, in tears, that after his wife and eldest daughter were arrested, his son was beaten and shot to death in front of the villagers. His 7-year old daughter was left there crying. There was no shelter for her as the helicopter destroyed their house, and all of her relatives were killed or arrested. He was very worried for her. At the prison gate, the prison officer in charge, U Hla Myint, used his military boots to beat Saw Lar Bwet Say, a former judge of Bogale township, without reason. A 68-year-old Karen man could not move his hands as a result of having them tied behind his back for a long time. We requested the responsible persons in prison to provide medical treatment but there was no reply. The new comers were given two aspirin tablets for whatever sickness they had. Most of the 63 Karen, imprisoned beside our room, were not involved with the arms seized near their villages. Over one dozen of them were just 14 or 15. About ten were over 60 years old. The authorities beat them before jamming them into a truck bound for the prison where we were held. They had no family visits as their family members were all killed or put in other prisons. Therefore, they had no contact with the outside community and their situation was hopeless. They felt uneasy and nervous for days. They seemed disheartened and some could not eat, they just cried. Family members (brothers, fathers and sons) were put in different rooms. The authorities didn't allow them to appeal the sentence and U Saw Tun, one of the prison officials, said the prisoners must be regarded as rebels. I felt very sorry for them. This story is not an isolated incident and I remember when 20 Karen were imprisoned in 1983. These men are still in prison even though their prison periods have been completed. Moreover, there have been three amnesties to all prisoners during that period. Ten were with me when I was moved to Thayet prison. Among these men, Saw Tin Myint reportedly passed away very recently on Aug 1, 2001 in Thayet. The 18-years of terrible prison conditions killed him. Look at these events! How can we believe the current military regime when they say that they are emphasizing national reconciliation and the non-disintegration of national solidarity? Some people were arrested for possessing guns. Later, all of the Karen villagers near that place were arrested, tortured or killed. Is this the building of national solidarity? Are we going to just sit and watch this unjust treatment? We all have the responsibility of coming out of the dark into the light. We are forced to live in the places we are asked, work in the way we are ordered, no complaints - just accept everything. Not only the activists, but also the innocent people are forced to live under the total control of the military authorities. We need to fight against these kinds of human rights violations. As for me, I've already made up my mind to participate for freedom out of the darkness. . |
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