Date: 9 November 2004

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), a Thai-
Burma based organization, will soon publish a report
named "Burma: A Land Where Buddhist Monks Are Disrobed and
Detained in Dungeons" that describes the arrest of Buddhist monks
by the military regime in Burma.
It is estimated that there are approximately 300 monks and
novices in Burma's prisons, whereas the number of political
prisoners lingers at about 1400 to date.
The report reveals stories of arbitrary arrests of Buddhist monks
by the successive military regimes. Moreover, it includes firsthand
accounts of monks who have been tortured by the authorities
concerned at interrogation centers, prisons and labor camps; also
partial lists of monks that have died in prison and labor camps, and
monks who are currently detained in prison.
The report also includes background history and photos of 26
monks (of which 25 are novices) from Tipitaka Mahar
Ghandaryone monastery who were arrested in November 2003
and sentenced to 18 years in prison because they refused a meal
offered by the military regime.
Concerning the release of the report, Secretary of the Association
Tate Naing said," In Burma, because there are no human rights or
democracy, even Buddhist monks have been restrained by the
military regime under several orders and decrees. Thus we want
the Burmese people as well as the international community to
know that monks are also subject to arbitrary arrest for peacefully
expressing one's own desire; this is why we publish the report.

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)

To know more details, please contact:

Tate Naing: (66) 1 287 8751
Bo Kyi: (66) 1 324 8935