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1. WE, the participants of the Alternative ASEAN Meeting,
representing 46 organisations from 20 countries, declare that we
adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to human
rights’ universality, indivisibility, interdependence, and
interrelatedness. Thus, our support for human rights, democracy
and peace in Burma is also support for human rights, democracy
and peace in our communities
2. We hold that the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC)’s persistence in its illegitimate authority has
resulted in unabated violations of human rights, and an absence
of peace, democracy, rule of law, and development for all the
ethnic nationalities of Burma.
A. VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN AND PEOPLE’S RIGHTS
• Recruitment of child soldiers into the military
service;
• The perpetuation of the crisis of internally displaced
people and refugees along Burma’s borders through attacks,
human rights violations and other forms of intimidation, as well
as the orchestration of forced repatriations;
• The abduction of people to be used as porters and human
mine-sweepers for military activities;
• Rapes and sexual assaults perpetrated by military
personnel, with the sanction of their commanding officers upon
men, women and children;
• Tortures, beatings, and other forms of cruel and degrading
punishments inflicted by military personnel with the sanction of
their commanding officers upon men, women and children;
• Deliberate harassment and persecution of supporters of the
movement for human rights and democracy through illegal arrests,
detentions, torture, perversions of justice and impositions of
lengthy jail terms on activists, particularly those belonging to
the National League for Democracy;
• Widespread censorship and the imposition of onerous
penalties on those seeking to legitimately disseminate
information of national and international significance in Burma;
• Maintenance of extremely oppressive conditions and
practices in prisons and camps where political prisoners are
detained;
• The public and secret murders of men, women and children
committed by military personnel acting under orders of their
leadership;
• The destruction of sources of food and livelihood,
including domestic food crops, to intimidate, harass and force
the relocation of communities, particularly those belonging to
ethnic nationalities in the border areas and members of religious
minorities;
• The statelessness imposed by the SLORC upon a significant
proportion of the peoples of Burma through military harassments
and the denial of their rights to citizenship;
• The obstructions maintained by the SLORC to prevent
international humanitarian agencies, including the UN Special
Rapporteur on Burma, International Committee of the Red Cross and
the UNHCR, from freely engaging in legitimate fact-finding,
monitoring and relief work, and
• Refusal to respond to the needs of migrant workers exposed
to exploitative conditions in countries where they have sought
work and refuge.
B. DEVELOPMENT AGGRESSION
• Widespread use of forced labour for so-called
development projects;
• Use of quotas and coercive mechanisms to deny access to
equal opportunities to education and employment to a range of
people on the basis of gender, religion, ethnicity and political
beliefs;
• The diversion of funds away from public education, which
has contributed to plummeting literacy rates amongst children in
Burma;
• The forced relocations of communities in central Burma to
make way for so-called development and/or to undermine support
for the democracy movement;
• Joint ventures entered into by multinational companies
with the SLORC and their associates which wantonly exploit and in
some cases, violate the rights of people for profit, while
providing the junta with the means to continue its aggression;
• The diversion of funds away from public health, which has
contributed to the tragic growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Burma;
• The maintenance of conditions which make many communities
vulnerable to the trafficking of women and children, and
• Projects and practices which pose a severe danger to the
ecological stability of the country, including the unsustainable
exploitation of Burma’s waterways and marine and forest
resources in return for foreign exchange, and the ensuing human
costs of such short-sighted endeavours aimed at extracting
short-term maximum profit.
C. ABSENCE OF THE RULE OF LAW
The manipulation and perversion of the judicial system and other
mechanisms which are meant to uphold justice and provide legal
redress;
Promulgation of laws and regulations to threaten and inhibit
people from engaging in legitimate and peaceful actions to effect
positive change in Burma;
The manipulation of the process of formulating a new Constitution
in Burma, including the harassment and unreasonable pressure
calculated to deny democratic forces their rightful influence and
input into such deliberations;
The maintenance of conditions which prolong the continuing
illicit production and trafficking of heroin, opium and
amphetamines, and
The SLORC’s refusal to recognise the outcome of the 1990
elections which it conducted and which saw the National League
for Democracy win 82% of the seats.
3. ASEAN AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
a. Therefore, in the interests of long-term stability and
prosperity in the region in general, and the upliftment of the
peoples of Burma in particular, we call upon the member
governments of ASEAN and the international community to discard
the policy of “constructive engagement” which has
brought untold injustice and suffering upon the peoples of Burma.
WE STRONGLY URGE the member states of ASEAN and the international
community to adopt this Alternative ASEAN Policy on Burma which
contains the following principles:
i. Uphold the democratic will of the peoples of Burma;
ii. Promote and defend the human and people’s rights of the
peoples of Burma;
iii. Pursue the development agenda of the peoples of Burma, and
iv. Establish people to people solidarity between the peoples of
Burma and the peoples of
ASEAN.
b. WE OPPOSE ASEAN membership for the SLORC on the grounds that:
i. The SLORC is not the legitimate government of that country
ii. ASEAN membership would provide the SLORC with a de facto
licence to continue its attacks on the peoples of Burma, and
iii. The SLORC’s activities are a direct contradiction to
the aims and objectives of ASEAN
c. WE CALL UPON members of the United Nations, European Union,
the ASEAN Regional Forum and other governments who have dealings
with ASEAN and its individual members, to exert their good
offices to encourage a positive change in ASEAN’s approach
to the crisis in Burma. WE BELIEVE that change is possible, with
sufficient support and a willingness to dialogue in the spirit of
international co-operation and goodwill
d. Furthermore, we also urge the United Nations to implement with
determination its resolutions on Burma, and KEEP BURMA’S
SEAT VACANT until a democratically elected government has been
formed.
e. Consequently, ASEAN and other governments as well as
international institutions must not give any semblance of
legitimacy to the SLORC. We advocate an arms embargo, economic
sanctions and an investigation of the SLORC’s involvement in
drug trafficking.
f. It is only in the judicious and determined implementation of
the Alternative ASEAN Policy on Burma will there be justice,
peace, democracy, rule of law and development for the peoples of
Burma.
g. We call on the peoples of ASEAN and the world to support,
encourage and facilitate the restoration of human rights,
democracy and ultimately, peace, to Burma.
h. TO THIS END, we urge the aforementioned groups and individual
countries to prioritise:
i. the flow of information and resources;
ii. the free movement of activists in their work;
iii. commitment to the implementation of cross-border relief work
and humanitarian assistance, and
iv. application the principles contained in the relevant ILO
International Labour Standards and Conventions, as well as the
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, in their dealings
with Burma’s migrant workers.
CALL TO ACTION
4. FURTHER, WE URGE the citizens of the world to:
• boycott the SLORC’s Visit Myanmar campaign, by
postponing plans to visit the country, further that they
communicate the grounds for their decision to representatives of
the SLORC and their local travel industry;
• support the efforts of peoples’ organisations in the
international community to implement selective buying campaigns
and to seek legal action to hold foreign investors accountable
for their complicity in the abuses taking place in Burma.
5. WE, THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE ALTERNATIVE ASEAN MEETING ON
BURMA, RE-AFFIRM OUR COMMITMENT to support the movement for human
rights and democracy in Burma. through the formation of the
Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma. WE WILL ENGAGE in activities
on the local, national and regional levels to raise awareness of
and mobilise support for our 48 million neighbours in Burma.
6. THEREFORE, WE CALL UPON our home governments and other members
of the international community to support us in our endeavours
and allow us to freely engage in legitimate activities which are
informed by the universal values for human rights, democracy and
peace, held dearly by all peoples of the world.
7. WE AFFIRM THIS DECLARATION ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1996, AT
THE CONCLUSION OF THE ALTERNATIVE ASEAN MEETING ON BURMA,
CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY, BANGKOK, THAILAND.
ENDORSEMENTS AS AT 30 OCTOBER 1996
PARTICIPANTS OF ALTERNATIVE ASEAN MEETING ON BURMA:
Burma
All Burma Basic Education Students Union, All Burma Students
Democratic Front, Burmese Women’s Union, Federation of Trade
Unions - Burma, Karen National Union, Karenni National Peoples
Party, Mon Information Service, National Council of the Union of
Burma, Overseas Karen Refugees Social Organisation, Overseas Mon
National Students’ Organization, Overseas National Students
Organisation Burma, Seafarers’ Union of Burma, SURA/Shan
News
Cambodia
Buddhist Liberal Democratic Organisation, Khmer Institute
for Democracy, Khmer Journalists Association, Mr. Kem Sohka, MP,
Chairperson, Human Rights Committee, National Assembly
Hong Kong
Asian Human Rights Commission, Asian Legal Resource Centre,
Documentation for Actions Groups in Asia
Indonesia
Independent Committee for Election Monitoring (KIPP), Indonesian
Legal Aid Foundation
Japan
Burma Civilian Forum
Malaysia
ABIM - Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, Burma Solidarity Group
Malaysia, Democratic Action Party, Dr Tan Seng Giaw, MP, JUST
World Trust
Netherlands
Burma Center Netherlands
Norway
Norwegian Burma Council
Philippines
Initiatives for International Dialogue, Philippine Alliance of
Human Rights Advocates
Singapore
Ms Lilian Wong, Singapore Democratic Party
Taiwan
Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan
Thailand
Amnesty International, Asian Cultural Forum on Development, Asian
Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Burma
Issues, Burmese Border Consortium, Christians Concerned for
Burma, Coordinating Committee for Human Rights Organisations of
Thailand, Earthrights International, ECPAT, Global Alliance
Against Traffic in Women, Images Asia, Southeast Asia Information
Network, Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma, Tourism
Investigation & Monitoring Team
UK
Ms Danielle Sepulveda, Refugee Studies Programme, Oxford
University
ALSO SUPPORTED BY:
Australia
Australian Council of Trade Unions, Dr U Ne Oo, T. Edmond
France
Francis Deschamps, Digipresse
Hong Kong
Sanjeewa Liyanage, Bo Hallengren, Mark Daly
Lao PDR
Mr David Vang
Malaysia
ALIRAN, ASA Media Centre, APCET Host Committee, CENPEACE - Centre
for Peace Initiatives, COAC - Centre for Orang Asli Concerns,
Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth, Democratic Action Party
WANITA, IDEAL, INSAN, KOMAS, MINSOC, Ms Carol Yong, Persatuan
Sahabat Wanita (Friends of Women), Malaysia Selangor Chinese
Assembly Hall Youth, SUARAM, TENAGANITA, Youth Centre
Norway
Ms Helene Stoversten
USA
Columban Fathers’ Justice & Peace Office, Council on
International Educational Exchange, Free Burma - No Petro-Dollars
for SLORC, Free Burma Coalition (Ohio University Chapter),
International Labor Rights Funds, Noelle M Dames, Council on
International Educational Exchange, Timothy Patrick, Alicia
Guzman
Students
Still Behind Bars in Burma
by Documentation for Action Groups in Asia
(DAGA)
In the midst of the repression and resulting turmoil that
spread through Burma in 1988 with the violent birth of
the military-led State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) government on Sept. 18 of that year, thousands of
students who had demonstrated for democracy and against
the government of Ne Win and his Burma Socialist Program
Party (BSPP) since March of that year and who now opposed
SLORC fled from Burma’s capital of Rangoon, from
Mandalay and other communities, for Burma’s borders.
Some students, however, chose to remain in Rangoon and
other SLORC-controlled areas to work openly and
peacefully for change. These students, however, were
later arrested.
During a trip to Burma in October 1996, a source in
Rangoon provided the information below about the lives of
some of these students who remained in Rangoon and other
areas. According to the source, SLORC claims that there
are no longer any students imprisoned in Burma who were
connected with the protests of 1988. The source says,
however, that 250 students from this era of struggle are
still denied their freedom in prison.
Zaw Zaw Aung
Zaw Zaw Aung, a third-year history student at Rangoon
University, was the co-chairman of the All-Burma Students
Union (known also by its Burmese abbreviation ba ka tha)
in 1988 when he was first arrested for two months after
the demonstrations and violence in Rangoon in March 1988.
He was tortured while in prison - injuries from which he
has not completely recovered. The method of torture
included kneeling down and walking on broken glass while
being hit and kicked by the guards. He was also
psychologically tortured through sleep deprivation.
In 1989, the All-Burma Students Union held its second
assembly at Mandalay University. Zaw Zaw Aung was among
the seven students who were re-elected to their posts in
the organization. At the assembly, the students decided
to negotiate with SLORC, but the government subsequently
arrested all seven student leaders. In the case of Zaw
Zaw Aung, this occurred on June 27, 1989. On Nov. 6,
1989, Zaw Zaw Aung was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Between the time of his arrest and his trial, he was kept
in a military intelligence prison; his parents were not
allowed to see him. After being sentenced, he was moved
to Insein Prison where he was kept in an 8-foot cell with
four or five other prisoners. He was only allowed out of
his cell for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in
the afternoon for a bath. The remainder of the day he was
confined to his cell. In the past, the prisoners used to
receive 4 ounces of meat once a week, but now they do not
receive even this. Because the food served twice a day at
the prison was bad, his parents would bring him food, but
he did not receive it all the time. At night, he slept on
the floor. About 2,000 prisoners united and protested
against the poor conditions in the prison in 1991. In
response, the authorities transferred the leaders of the
protest to different prisons in November of that year.
Zaw Zaw Aung was transferred to Phayarwaddy Prison, 78
miles north of Rangoon, where he shares a cell with Dr.
Aya Chang, a history professor. Before the transfer, he
was beaten by the guards. In the past, his parents were
able to provide medicine for their son, but this has now
been banned.
Ming Ko Naning With Zaw Zaw Aung, Ming Ko
Naning was the co-chairman of the All-Burma Students
Union in 1988. He is now held in solitary confinement in
Insein Prison. His health and his memory are not good,
and the treatment he receives from the doctors is poor.
There is no proper sunlight in his cell, and he is only
allowed outside his cell 30 minutes a day.
In July 1996, he contracted dysentery. He called the
doctor at 10:00 a.m., but the doctor did not arrive until
4:00 p.m. Ming Ko Naning asked that someone be with him
24 hours a day. The doctor agreed, but this arrangement
was never implemented. In addition, he was only given
medicine for his condition once. He was told that there
was no more medicine. Some believe that the authorities
want Ming Ko Naning to die.
Maung Khin Swe
Maung Khin Swe was transferred from Insein Prison in
November 1991 to Thayad Prison, a prison meant for
criminals. Recently he was stoned by the criminal inmates
and killed.
Zarni (alias Maung Maung Nyunt)
During the transfer of students from Insein Prison in
November 1991, he became totally paralyzed and remains in
this condition.
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Posted on 2001-08-13
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