E/CN.4/1991/17
page 37
117. On 5 March 1990, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to
the Government of Myanmar referring to his appeal of 16 February 1990, and
adding that he had subsequently received information concerning seven
other politicians, most of whom were affiliated to the National League
for Democracy, and who were reportedly arrested in Yangon on 8 and
11 February 1990. Their names were reported as follows: U Thein Han,
U Ne Oo, Dr. Maung Zaw, U Kyaw Min, U Zaw Pe Win (Chairman of the Burma
United Democratic Party), U Sein Hla Oo and Dr. Khin Tun. Fears were
expressed that these persons were in danger of being tortured or ill-treated,
since according to testimonies other persons arrested on political grounds by
government security forces have allegedly been tortured or ill-treated.
118. On 11 October 1990 the Government of Myanmar provided the Special
Rapporteur with detailed information concerning the charges filed against the
persons mentioned in the urgent appeals dated 16 February and 5 March 1990,
some of whom were convicted and sentenced and others released. In one of the
cases, that of U Ne Oo, there was no record in the list of detainees under
that name. It was stated that, in the light of the information referred to
above, "it is obvious that there is discrepancy between the allegations
concerning those individuals and what happened actually. Should an action be
taken against any of them, it was only in the due process of the existing law
and there was absolutely no ill-treatment nor any form of torture towards
them".
119. On 28 May 1990, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the
Government of Myanmar concerning U Nay Min (A) U Win Shwe, regarding whom an
urgent appeal was sent to the Government on 23 December 1988. Replies to that
appeal were sent by the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations
Office at Geneva on 13 February and 1 March 1989. According to a recent
report U Nay Min, who was currently serving a sentence of 14 years' hard
labour, has developed an acute heart condition, allegedly as a result of
severe torture by electric shocks. It has been alleged that he was being held
in a cold damp cell and that he has been denied the proper medical treatment
for his heart condition.
120. On 9 July 1990 the Government of Myanmar informed the Special Rapporteur
that U Nay Min (A) U Win Shwe was "in normal good health and serving the
sentence passed by the competent court of laws for violation of existing
laws". It again denied the allegation that his health condition was very poor
due to torture and the harsh conditions of his imprisonment. It added that,
even if a prisoner were to develop serious health conditions, it was most
unlikely that the case would go unnoticed and unrecorded or the prisoner left
without proper and adequate treatment. In cases where a prisoner's health
condition required a specialist's consultation and treatment, the prison
authorities arranged for such a treatment to be given.
121. On 25 September 1990 the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the
Government of Myanmar concerning six leading members of the National League
for Democracy (NLD) as follows: Kyi Maung (Acting Chairman of the party) and
Chit Kaing (Party Secretary), both in their seventies, were said to have been
arrested on 6 September 1990 for allegedly having handed over classified
documents to unauthorized persons. Ohn Kyaing, Thein Dan, Ye Myint Aung and
Sein Hla Aung were said to have been arrested on 8 August 1990 in Mandalay for
allegedly sending out false news. It was further alleged that persons
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