88 Generation Students' member tortured by prison authority - Htay Kywe

24 Dec, 2008 (DVB) - One of the detained leaders of the 88 Generation Students, Htay Kywe has been tortured physically and mentally by authorities, according to sources close to Buthidaung prison in northwest Burma.

Htay Kywe was ordered not to be fed regularly and to reduce the amount of food given to him, a prison staff said. He has also been detained in solitary confinement and denied physical exercises on the order of Home Affairs minister Major-General Maung Oo.

The order seems to be placed with the knowledge that Htay Kywe has serious gastric problems and went through a major operation during his first imprisonment, his friends said. There is no proper medical care in Buthidaung and the nearest proper hospital is situated in Arakan state capital Sittwe, they added.

Htay Kywe was arrested on 13 October 2007 for his part in instigating the protests over commodity prices beginning in August that year. He was denied permission to attend his mother Mi Mi Lay’s funeral on 3 December 2007 in Rangoon.

Htay Kywe and other 88 Generation Students including Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi were sentenced to 65 years’ imprisonment in early November and transferred to remote facilities across Burma.

They were jailed for 65 years each – 60 years under the Electronics Law and five for a violation of the corrections department regulations.

Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi were sent to Keng Tung prison in Eastern Shan state, Pyone Cho to Kaw Thaung prison in Tenasserim division, Mya Aye to Loi Kaw in Karenni state, Aung Thu to Putao prison in Kachin state along with activist Bo Bo Win Hlaing and seven others.

Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet

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Political Prisoner Commits Suicide - Maung San

By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News

A Burmese political prisoner, Maung San, committed suicide in Pegu Prison in central Burma on Dec. 19, according to sources in Pegu Division.

Maung San, who was about 35 years old, was serving a two-year prison term.

He committed suicide in a prison restroom, following the refusal of prison authorities to provide proper medical treatment outside the prison. He suffered from intestinal problems and liver disease, sources said.

A source said Maung San’s decision to take his own life stemmed from frustration over medical treatment, and his inability to talk freely with his family.

“He suffered from a serious illness, and he thought it would be better if he died instead of suffered,” said the source.

His family last visited with Maung San on Dec. 13 in Pegu Prison.

“When his family visited him in prison, his health condition was bad,” said the source. “He had asked prison authorities for proper medical treatment, but the authorities refused his request.”

Bo Kyi, joint-secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said “The health condition of political prisoners is worse day by day. We are very concerned that they don’t receive proper medical treatment.”

“By ignoring serious illnesses, the Burmese authorities are conducting murder,” Bo Kyi said.

Sources said that Pegu Prison authorities impose many restrictions in dealing with political prisoners and their families.

In other prison news, in early December, Aung Kyaw Oo, a youth member of the opposition National League for Democracy who is serving a 19-year sentence in Pegu Prison, was savagely beaten and denied medical treatment, according to reports.

When Aung Kyaw Oo’s wife visited the prison on Dec. 3, she was denied permission to see him. She was allowed to visit him on Dec. 13.

On December 22, political prisoner Khin Maung Cho received an additional 5-year prison sentence. He is imprisoned in Yankin Township in Rangoon. He was sentenced under Immigration Act 13/1. On December 8, he was given 19 years imprisonment on a separate charge.

There are more than 2,100 political prisoners in Burma, according to human rights groups.

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Korea Rejects Charge of Rights Abuse in Burma

By WILLIAM BOOT
The Irrawaddy News

BANGKOK — The South Korean government has rejected a complaint that two Korean companies have condoned human rights abuses and failed to meet international standards in Burma in pursuit of gas exploration.

The complaint alleged that industrial conglomerate Daewoo International and government-owned Korea Gas Corporation had failed to comply with guidelines on corporate responsibility and investment laid down by the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD).

The Block A-1 gas field off the northwestern coast of Burma. Daewoo International and the Korea Gas Corporation have a 70 percent stake in three Burmese offshore gas wells including A-1. (Source: The Chosun Ilbo)
South Korea is a member of the OECD, which is made up of the world’s leading industrialized countries.

The allegation was lodged by the U.S.-based group EarthRights International (ERI) and backed by several other organizations including South Korea’s two biggest labor union federations.

Daewoo and Korea Gas are partners in a consortium developing the huge Shwe gas field off the west coast of Burma close to Bangladesh.

ERI contends that “human rights abuses have been perpetrated against local people opposing Daewoo’s Shwe Gas Project.”

It also says Daewoo’s plan to construct a trans-Burma gas pipeline to China from the Shwe field “poses an unreasonably high risk of more serious and widespread human rights and environmental impacts.”

South Korea’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy has rejected the complaint “on all counts,” ERI said on Wednesday.

“Moreover, the [ministry] opined that the general situation in Burma and specifically around the Shwe Project does not merit an investigation or arbitration between the companies and the complainants,” ERI said in a statement. “[It] flies in the face of evidence from groups and communities from within the proposed pipeline area in Burma.”

ERI alleged in its October complaint to the South Korean government that Daewoo and Korea Gas—also known as KOGAS—are in breach of at least six OECD guidelines “by failing to respect human rights, contributing to forced labor, failing to promote sustainable development, failing to disclose information about the project, failing to consult with local populations and by failing to conduct an environmental impact assessment according to international standards.”

ERI says it was only informed of the complaint rejection indirectly and unofficially via a co-complainant in South Korea.

“If Daewoo and KOGAS were to genuinely conform to the (OECD) guidelines, the Shwe Project would have to be postponed, which evidently is against the priorities of both the companies and the ministry,” said Matthew Smith, Burma Project Coordinator at ERI.

“These companies and the Korean government are now on notice that negative social and environmental impacts from this project have begun, and are likely to continue and accelerate if this project moves forward. These companies bear responsibility for these abuses, and the Korean government is failing in its obligations under the OECD guidelines to prevent these harms. The blood of the people of Burma will be on their hands.”

ERI and its supporters complained that Daewoo and Korea Gas are in breach of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Daewoo is the main developer in the Shwe consortium with a 51 percent stake. Korea Gas holds 8.5 percent.

The field has recoverable reserves of at least 6 trillion cubic feet of gas, all of which is being purchased by China.

ERI says its research indicates that the 1,100-mile gas pipeline through Burma will pass through at least 24 townships and close by several large population centers in Arakan State and four other regions including Shan State.

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Political Prisoner Commits Suicide - Maung San

By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News

A Burmese political prisoner, Maung San, committed suicide in Pegu Prison in central Burma on Dec. 19, according to sources in Pegu Division.

Maung San, who was about 35 years old, was serving a two-year prison term.

He committed suicide in a prison restroom, following the refusal of prison authorities to provide proper medical treatment outside the prison. He suffered from intestinal problems and liver disease, sources said.

A source said Maung San’s decision to take his own life stemmed from frustration over medical treatment, and his inability to talk freely with his family.

“He suffered from a serious illness, and he thought it would be better if he died instead of suffered,” said the source.

His family last visited with Maung San on Dec. 13 in Pegu Prison.

“When his family visited him in prison, his health condition was bad,” said the source. “He had asked prison authorities for proper medical treatment, but the authorities refused his request.”

Bo Kyi, joint-secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said “The health condition of political prisoners is worse day by day. We are very concerned that they don’t receive proper medical treatment.”

“By ignoring serious illnesses, the Burmese authorities are conducting murder,” Bo Kyi said.

Sources said that Pegu Prison authorities impose many restrictions in dealing with political prisoners and their families.

In other prison news, in early December, Aung Kyaw Oo, a youth member of the opposition National League for Democracy who is serving a 19-year sentence in Pegu Prison, was savagely beaten and denied medical treatment, according to reports.

When Aung Kyaw Oo’s wife visited the prison on Dec. 3, she was denied permission to see him. She was allowed to visit him on Dec. 13.

On December 22, political prisoner Khin Maung Cho received an additional 5-year prison sentence. He is imprisoned in Yankin Township in Rangoon. He was sentenced under Immigration Act 13/1. On December 8, he was given 19 years imprisonment on a separate charge.

There are more than 2,100 political prisoners in Burma, according to human rights groups.

READ MORE---> Political Prisoner Commits Suicide - Maung San...