September 10, 2001

The Japanese government ceased giving financial support to Burma, after its military government brutally seized power in 1988. However, the Japanese government has restored this support to Burma, which raises concerns over the promotion of democracy in a country still ruled by the military junta.

We want to give a brief report on how the Burmese military government, which has the respect of the Japanese government, hides its human rights abuses.

Since 1991, The Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly has reported on human rights abuses in Burma to its governing body every year. As a member country of the United Nations, the Japanese government would know about these reports.

The Burmese military government has allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit its prisons since 1999. During the last three years, ICRC was reportedly able to visit each prison in Burma and revisited some prisons. However, a high rate of prisoner deaths, including those of political prisoners, continues to highlight inhumane treatment by the junta. Whenever the political prisoner issue is raised, the junta mentions that the ICRC is allowed to visit the prisons and their conditions are good. The ICRC's visits to the prisons have resulted in a slight improvement in the condition of political prisoners, but it's only for the benefit of the junta. It's clear that the junta is misusing the ICRC to protect itself from international criticism on the issue of human rights abuses regarding political prisoners.

The Burmese military government said that it can create peace within its boundaries and it has now secured cease-fire agreements with almost all armed ethnic groups. Yet amazingly, it continues to build its armed forces for no apparent reason. For decades, the armed forces, which have about 500,000 members and getting bigger, have oppressed and forced the people of Burma to work in construction projects and military operations.

The forced labor issue has been reduced slightly by continued pressure from the International Labor Organization and its criticism of the junta. However, the projects and military operations are still active but the junta now uses more criminals than ordinary civilians.

Burmese military leaders have founded a Human Rights Committee and have undergone human rights training courses and workshops for over a year. They do not use this knowledge in practice and the people are still facing the same human rights abuses every day.

U Win Lwin, one of the Committee members and an adviser to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, recently spoke at a General Administrative Department meeting for township level officials. He said that Human Rights are the rights of humans, and we will work on it slowly according to our condition and culture. It is clear that the committee's human rights activities are only undertaken to prolong the rule of the junta and to trick the people and the international community.

The people's representatives who were elected in the junta-sponsored election in 1990 have been imprisoned and tortured instead of taking their rightful place in parliament. More than 2000 activists have been imprisoned for their democracy and human rights activities. Some have already completed their prison term but the junta has kept them in prison. Some 170 political prisoners have been released since talks began, last October, between the junta and Burmese Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, currently under house arrest.

Most were released from the military camps or so called 'government guesthouses.' Others were released as their prison term had finished. Very few were given freedom before their release date. It is clear that the junta is still maintaining an inflexible policy despite talking to the leader of the National League for the Democracy, which won a landslide victory in the 1990 election.

During the Second World War the Japanese government proclaimed, "All Asians are equal." However, Burmese people, along with many other Asians, were tortured and treated inhumanely during this time. The Burmese people now face the threats, tricks and oppression of a junta, which plans to rule the country indefinitely.

The financial support offered by the Japanese government will only strengthen the military dictatorship, which continues to violate human rights. Therefore we strongly denounce the current democratic Japanese government for encouraging the Burmese junta's oppression of the people.

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)