Trade Unionists Continued Imprisonment by Burmese Dictatorship

The World Movement for Democracy has received the following alert from contacts at the Solidarity Center in Thailand in support of two members of the Federation of Trade Unions -- Burma (FTUB), who have been imprisoned for two years by the Burmese dictatorship.

Myo Aung Thant and Khin Kyaw are trade unionists dedicated to the cause of the restoration of the rights of workers to associate and organize in Burma. The information below provided by FTUB details the events that took place leading to their arrest, as well as their present condition.

As always, we welcome your comments and any additional information you might have. Please send your comments to world@ned.org.

Myo Aung Thant was a member of the All Burma Petro-Chemical Corporation Union when he was arrested on June 13, 1997 at Mingaladon Airport in Rangoon after returning from a FTUB meeting in Thailand. He has been a Central Executive Committee member of the Federation of Trade Unions -- Burma (FTUB) since 1995.

The State Law & Order Restoration Council (SLORC) detained Mr. Thant for operating a non-registered satellite phone which he used to relay information to the FTUB and other democracy movement organizations in exile that are considered illegal organizations by Burma's military junta. At a press conference shortly after his detention General Khin Nyunt, the head of SLORC Military Intelligence, accused Mr. Thant of "terrorist activities." General Khin Nyunt also accused him of maintaining contacts with the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party that won the 1990 elections and is led by 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite the fact that Burma has ratified ILO Convention 87, guaranteeing the right to Freedom of Association, Myo Aung Thant was also accused of recruiting new members for unions. Among the other "harmful" actions he was accused of were assisting international trade unionists during visits to Rangoon, writing reports on the plight of "low-income earners" and "grievances and complaints on the high cost of living", as well as arranging for a video to be made of Aung San Suu Kyi.

On August 15, 1997, after a show trial during which he was denied his own lawyer, he was jailed for life on a charge of treason, plus 7 years. The SLORC provided him with a government lawyer, but the lawyer was unwilling to provide a defense at the trial because it was clear that the verdict was a foregone conclusion.

SLORC's special military court, which handed down the sentence, used a confession from Myo Aung Thant extracted with physical torture and psychological abuse. His face, in a photo taken while in detention (that appeared in the government-controlled newspaper), showed signs of swelling consistent with physical beatings. His trial lasted just three days and merely confirmed SLORC's predetermined conclusion of Mr. Thant's guilt.

Myo Aung Thant was held in Insein prison, on the outskirts of Rangoon, until late 1998, when he was moved to the remote jail in Myitkyina, Kachin state, in the far north of Burma. While he was in Insein, his brothers were usually able to visit him once a month, but since the time he was moved to remote Kachin state, they have not been able to visit more than once every three months because of the cost of traveling there.

Aye Ma Gyi, the wife of Myo Aung Thant, was also detained by the military at the time of his arrest. She was tried and convicted by the same military court as an accomplice to her husband and sentenced to 10 years in jail. She is currently imprisoned in Insein jail. In the June 27 press conference, she was accused of assisting her husband in his activities, and also providing lists of fax numbers of Burmese government ministries to exiled groups. The couple has two young daughters who are now living with relatives in Burma.

Khin Kyaw was a radio officer for the state-owned Myanmar Five Star Shipping Enterprise Co. In 1988, during the popular uprising for democracy in Rangoon, Kyaw was elected President of the newly organized All Burma Workers Union at the trade union conference held at Htan Ta Bin High School. As a result of his participation in the Burmese labor movement, he was forced to resign from his job with the Myanmar Five Star Shipping Enterprise in1989. Confirming what is a clear violation of Burma's international commitments under ILO Convention 87, General Khin Nyunt stated in the June 27th press conference that this firing was connected to Khin Kyaw's union activities.

He was arrested during the first week of June 1997, but the SLORC released no news about him other than what was revealed at the June 27th press conference. For almost a year after his detention, the SLORC did not announce his whereabouts. To this time, the SLORC has never stated what specific charges Khin Kyaw is being held under. In fact, his real offense was collaborating with Myo Aung Thant in the storage and operation of the non-registered satellite phone.

Khin Kyaw is still a member of the Seafarers Union of Burma (SUB), which is internationally recognized and an affiliate of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF). He is a long-time trade union leader who played a key role in organizing former trade union members during 1988 and afterwards.

Despite the fact that the criminal charges against Khin Kyaw were never made public and there was no announcement of a trial being held, he is now serving a 17-year prison sentence. Judging from past SLORC practice, the FTUB and other observers believe that he has probably been charged with treason Section 5 of the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act. Khin Kyaw has been imprisoned in Thayarwaddy prison, a city in Pegu division located between the cities of Rangoon and Mandalay. In August 1999, it was learned that he may have been moved to the Mingladon Military Intelligence Headquarters Camp for interrogation. There is speculation that this action may have been taken as a reaction to the ILO's actions on Burma and the higher profile of Burma labor issues in the international community.

As a result of physical beatings suffered in the early 1990s in connection with a misdemeanor charge (for which he was later acquitted), U Khin Kyaw has lost almost all of his teeth. He is reportedly in poor health and may suffer from partial paralysis. His wife still lives in Rangoon, but she has been intimidated by Military Intelligence Services (MIS) not to speak out about her husband's case. The couple has three grown children still residing in Burma.

What you can do:
The following actions are recommended to you and your colleagues:

1. Write letters to Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the SPDC, in Rangoon. The address is:
Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman
State Peace and Development Council
192 Kaba Aye Pagoda Road
Rangoon, Union of Burma
2. Seek interventions on those cases by foreign embassies based in Rangoon, such as the embassies of the United States, the European Union and the Asian countries (for example Japan). The demand is immediate release and an end to human rights abuses.

For More Information Please Contact:
The Federation of Trade Unions -- Burma
815 15th Street, NW
Suite 910
Washington, DC 20005 USA
fax (202) 393-7343
fax 61-2-9264-7693
For further reading the following web sites are recommended:
Free Burma Coalition, www.freeburmacoalition.org
Amnesty International's 1998 Report: Myanmar, www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/ar98/asa16.htm
Human Rights Watch World Report 1998, www.hrw.org/hrw/worldreport/Asia-01.htm
U.S. Department of State, Burma Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997, www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1997_hrp_report/burma.html