Yangon - The reported death by torture of a Myanmar
dissident for the opposition party could not be confirmed in Yangon
Thursday, testimony to the regime's complete clampdown on the
information flow since its brutal crackdown on dissent last month.
According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners (AAPP), Win Shwe, a member of the opposition
National League for Democracy (NLD) died as a result of torture
sustained at the Plate Myot Police Center near Mandalay.
The NLD is led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned
Nobel peace prize laureate. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest in
near complete isolation since May 2003, and has spent about 12 of
the past 18 years in confinement.
Win Shwe, 42, was reportedly arrested on September 26 for
supporting monk-led demonstrations in the central city of Mandalay.
His family were recently informed of his death while under
interrogation but have not been given his body, according to the AAPP.
'We can't confirm the report because we now have no contact with
the districts,' said U Lwin, a spokesman for the NLD headquarters in
Yangon.
Although the security situation has eased somewhat in Yangon since
the brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrations last month, there are
still reports of arrests at night of dissidents and of torture in the
jails. Phone and internet connections are tenuous and constantly
monitored.
The real death toll from last month's democracy route remains a
mystery and is likely to never be disclosed.
There has been no independent investigation into the incident. The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which used to have
access to political prisoners in Myanmar, has been inactive in the
country for months after relations soured with the junta.
Authorities claims that only 10 people died when riot police and
soldiers attacked monks and laymen on September 26 to 27, beating
them with batons and firing on crowds to put an end to weeks of
peaceful anti-inflation marches that peaked at 100,000 people on
September 24 to 25.
Other sources within the country suspect the real death toll was
closer to 200.
'Many dead bodies and injured persons were cremated or placed in
the river,' said the AAPP. 'Some dead bodies of monks have appeared
in the Pazundaung River in Rangoon in the past few days. In addition,
many of those who have been arrested have been tortured during
interrogation.'
Western governments continue to express concerns about the ongoing
reports of torture and deaths of detainees, with little impact on the
regime.
'The United States is deeply troubled by reports of the death of
Burmese dissident Win Shwe during interrogation by Burmese
authorities,' said US government spokesman Sean McCormack in
Washington.
'We renew our calls on the regime to release all political
prisoners and, until they are released, to allow access by
international humanitarian organizations to all detainees,' said
McCormack.
Meanwhile, in New York, Human Rights Watch called for an
international embargo on arms sales to Myanmar.
'It's time for the Security Council to end all sales and transfers
of arms to a government that uses repression and fear to hang onto
power,' said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
'Instead of continuing to protect Burma's abusive generals, China and
Russia should join other Security Council members to cut off the
instruments of repression.'
The group cited India for selling Burma aircraft and other
military equipment, including plans to supply helicopters that could
be used against political demonstrations or rural villages.
China has also supplied arms, including helicopters that have been
photographed supporting operations in areas where war crimes against
civilians and ethnic minorities have been documented, Human Rights
Watch said.
North and South Korea and Israel have also sold weapons to the
military government in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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