Appendix 3

Where, when, and why were you arrested?
We were arrested on May 19th, 1989. We were detained under section 5(j) of the 1950 Emergency Provision Act. However, during the interrogation, we were accused of having arms training. I worked for the National League for Democracy (NLD). We usually went to villages to organize the local people. The authorities didn’t like our activities, so they accused us of arms training (in a village).

Which villages did you go to?
We lived in Ingapu Township (in Irrawaddy Division). However we went to Tha Pyay Kwin village, Myan Aung Township for organizing.

When did you get arrested?
My father was the leader in the organizing tour. So, the authorities came to my father on May 17, 1989. However, he was not at home. He had gone to surrounding villages, as he was in the logging business. The authorities arrested me because they didn’t find my father. They also said that he would come if they took me. I was the scapegoat.
In the interrogation center, they asked me about the other persons in the organizing trip. I told them exactly that there were nine people, including me. They chased after them but my father escaped. Three women and two men were arrested, and the rest ran away to join the activists in the border area.

How many days did you have to stay there?
We were put in the detention center of the Ingapu township police department for one day. Then, they took us to Bassein (the capital of Irrawaddy Division). We had to stay in Ah Tell Gyi, a military camp, for one day. We didn’t receive any meals there. The next day, we were taken in a car. We didn’t know where we were going. Later, in the car, the military intelligence men put hoods on our heads. We reached an interrogation center. We later learned that it was located in the compound of Northwestern military command.
When the car stopped, we were asked to get out of the car. We didn’t know how and where to go. A soldier came to me and pulled my hand. He told me to follow him. On the way, he explained to me about the conditions of the way (because I couldn’t see anything.) Sometimes, he told me to walk slowly. Finally, he put me into a room.
One of the detainees was only 14. She asked us where we were. She was very afraid of being detained, as she was so young. She also heard that female activists were raped after (authorities) cracked down on the 1988 people’s demonstrations. It made her more frightened. She cried loudly. She was next to my dark cell.
After three hour, the officers from military intelligence unit came to us. They took us one by one and didn’t say where we were going. They covered my eyes using a piece of cloth.
Finally, we reached a room. They started their interrogation. I only explained to them about our organizing trip. I was told that I had to confess. Then they returned me to the cell.
I felt uncomfortable at that time. The cell was very dark, and I couldn’t see anything. I touched around the cell and got a rope and a cup. I just sat in the dark.
After about three hours, we were taken out again one by one to give confessions. There was a female judge (in the room). She told us to explain where we went and what we did. We again told everything we had done on the trip. At 10:00 p.m. we were all sent to the prison.

Did you receive a prison sentence at that time?
No, not yet. The detention period took six months in Bassein prison. When we reached the prison, there was no specific space for female prisoners. It was still under construction. There were over 100 prisoners in a small hall. All of us were put into that hall. The rest of prisoners were not allowed to talk to us or help us because we were activists. Three of us didn’t know anything about the new place and we just slept on the floor.

Was the floor wooden?
No, it was concrete. We had to sleep on it without any blankets. We had no extra clothes.
In prison, the other prisoners were interested in us because we were activists. They secretly talked to us and helped us. We were allowed to have showers.

What happened next?
In the first two months, there was no trial and no contact with our families or anyone outside prison. However, the intelligence men frequently came for interrogation.
After two months, we were sent to the court. On that day, some prison officials said, “Hey, you all are going to be free today.” We also thought that we were about to be free. Finally, we were sued at the court and sent back into the prison.

You didn’t receive a prison sentence, did you?
I sure did. After six months (in prison), we received two imprisonments each. The 14 year old girl was sentenced to three years imprisonment. She was sent to a shelter for women. I think it’s in Ka-ba-aye, Rangoon. After one year in the shelter, her parents could take her back home if they vouched for her future activities.
Two other men received three year imprisonments each. There was a boy in our case. He was sent to Nghet-all-san, a shelter for juveniles. However, his experience was different from the girl’s. His parents were allowed to take him back after two years in the shelter.
We had to stay in prison exactly two years. We received only about ten day’s parole.

Tell us about the food in prison, please.
We received rice soup if we got up early morning at 5:00 a.m. to queue. At 11:00 a.m. there was lunch, consisting of pea soup (much water and not much pea) and fish paste. There was sand in the fish paste. In the evening, we received (rice and) Ta-la-paw soup. It contained a kind of vegetable planted in the prison compound. Of course, it was our dinner.

Did you have anything for menstruation? What was your experience?
I had many difficulties in that period. I was not allowed to get anything. Therefore, I had to deal with senior criminals. I asked them to order the material I wanted, and I would give the money back later. They got anything they wanted through the prison staff or other criminals who went to the court. In this way, we received the cotton pads indirectly.
However, we had problems getting enough water. We received only three bowls of water. The water was not from a pipe. Male prisoners had to carry the water and pour into the tank in female ward. We received three bowls in summer and about seven bowls in the rainy season.

How many times you did you have to go to the court? Did a lawyer or plaintiffs go there?
I had to go to the court every two weeks. There were about five people from the village who went on our party organizing tour. They were prosecution witnesses in the court. We didn’t have the chance to have any witnesses in the court. NLD did manage to have a lawyer for us. In the trial, our lawyer asked us about what we did. His pleading clearly showed that we hadn’t committed any crime and were not guilty in that case. However, the military intelligence men got the prison sentence to us.
After six months exactly, the judge sentenced us to our imprisonments. We didn’t agree (with the decision) because we received two years imprisonment each. However, the judge later let us know that the military intelligence forced him to give us imprisonments. He also wanted us to understand his condition. What could we do?

Anything else you want to add about you experience in prison?
There was not enough medical care. One of us got a tumor in her breast in prison. She wanted to get treatment because of the pain. We wanted to report it to her parents but the authority didn’t allow us to do so. During the family visits, she didn’t talk about it to her parents.
The prison authorities told her to deal with prison doctor. She did not dare to deal with that doctor because he was reportedly a womanizer. We encouraged her to deal with him. We also got permission from the authority to go with her. Then two of us went with her. The doctor stayed in the male prisoners ward. The doctor said that he needed to touch (the breast). We also agreed with him because it’s his duty. Finally, he said that she needed to massage using warm water to recover. He didn’t give any medicine. We had to ask our families for the medicines we wanted to take. We had to deal with other criminals to get it because it’s easy for them. They could bribe the prison authorities to do things in prison. The authorities didn’t take our bribes and we were not allowed to buy enough medicine.
If we had any disease, they gave us Clorophinicol. Whatever disease or pain you had, they gave only Clorophinicol. They didn’t care whether you had a serious illness or not. It’s a terrible condition in prison. The prisoners should receive enough medicine and treatment.
In addition, we were not allowed to read any books. The prison authorities yelled at us because we requested them to have reading access. They said, “Why do you ask for reading material? Don’t read!”

Was the girl above mentioned your friend? Did she recover when she bought and used the medicine?
She’s my college friend. She recovered but the pain didn’t disappear. She had proper treatment when she was released.
At first, there were three women, including me, in my case. Later, one more woman was arrested. So, there were a total of four women in my case. We stayed together. Later on, more women came in the prison because they had some activities on the Martyr’s Day, July 19th. They laid wreaths on that day and were arrested. Therefore, there were 14 political prisoners total, including us, in our room.
We sometimes had secret ceremonies in prison. When the prison authorities became aware of it, they put us in solitary confinement. They exploited us when we received anything from family visits. If we complained about their exploitation and small amount of water and food we received, we were put in the solitary confinement. We had that sort of experience several times.

Did you experience beatings in prison or interrogation center?
No, I didn’t experience myself. However, one of us had that experience.

Was that person female?
Yes, she was. She ran away to her relatives to Bogalay Township, Irrawaddy Division, when we were arrested. MI also knew where she went. Finally, she was arrested there. She was beaten. She is an ethnic woman. She is Karen. MI tortured her brutally. As a result, she lost hearing in one ear until she was released. Her physical condition was terrible when she came to us. Her face was very swollen because of the beating she received.