Tue Mar 17, 2009 4:52pm IST
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA (Reuters) - A United Nations investigator called on Myanmar's ruling junta on Tuesday to release more than 2,100 political prisoners and allow them to participate in an election set for 2010.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, also urged the military to halt its use of civilians in forced labour, including as "human minesweepers."
"I call for the progressive release of all prisoners of conscience when we know that more than 2,100 are still in detention, either under house arrest or in remote prisons," Quintana told the U.N. Human Rights Council.
"The prisoners of conscience should be released long before the elections in order for them to participate, either by casting their votes or even running as candidates," he said.
Authorities should also carry out an impartial review of the detention of opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose latest house arrest began in 2003, Quintana added.
'NO PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE'
Wunna Maung Win, Myanmar's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, said: "There are no prisoners of conscience in Myanmar. In fact these are only individuals who are serving the prison terms for breaking existing laws of Myanmar. He told the council the prisoners were entitled to lodge appeals.
The military, which has ruled the former Burma in various guises since 1962, has promised an election in 2010 as part of what it calls a "roadmap to democracy".
Western governments have criticised the poll as a sham aimed at entrenching military rule.
Myanmar is reviewing 380 domestic laws to ensure conformity with its new constitution and international human rights standards, the ambassador said.
Quintana, an Argentinian lawyer, visited Myanmar twice in the past six months, most recently in February.
He welcomed as "positive signs" the release of some political prisoners, including 29 last month. But he noted some 400 political prisoners had been given "harsh sentences" ranging from 24 to 65 years in recent months, including the popular comedian and activist Zarganar.
"Many prisoners of conscience have been sentenced in closed-door hearings within prison compounds, without legal representations, without the presence or knowledge of their family members and without proof of evidence or with flawed evidence," Quintana said in his annual report to the council.
Some political prisoners were in dire health and he had also received reports that some had died due to lack of medical care.
Quintana visited Insein and Hpa-An prisons where he "interviewed inmates who had been porters, without remuneration, for the military in Kayin state and had tried to run away because of the harshness of the work."
Some 30 to 40 prisoners in Insein prison were shackled, in violation of U.N. standards, and some had been beaten, the envoy said, also raising concerns about anti-personnel landmines along Myanmar's borders he said posed a serious threat to villagers.
"Particularly worrying is the reported practice of human minesweepers, whereby civilians are forced by the military to clear brush in suspected mined areas or to serve as porters for the military in areas where there is a mine hazard," he said.
Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-38549520090317?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true
Comments
Post a Comment