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Ethnic groups meet UN special envoy
Ethnic groups meet UN special envoy, claim lack of political freedom
Text of report by Democratic Voice of Burma on 13 October 2001
| KMA | We heard that Mr Pinheiro met with five nationality groups including yours. Could you tell us about that meeting? |
| UKTO | Frankly speaking, it is quite demoralizing. Nothing has improved. His report was a little optimistic because he did not get his facts right. The nationality parties such as the Arakan, Mon, Chin, and Karen were unable to engage in party activities and he had to be told. We told him that we wanted to participate in party activities in a similar manner to the NLD [National League for Democracy]. |
| KMA | What did Mr Pinheiro tell the five nationality parties? |
| UKTO | Well, he understood the five parties were unable to do any party activities so he told us why we did not pursue further. We told him we were unable to contact the township, district, state, and division authorities. He did not seem to know the facts. |
| KMA | In his report he said that the human rights situation has improved. He wrote it in a positive light. |
| UKTO | He said something like cautious optimism. He even asked where is the optimism? We gave him a diplomatic reply but in real terms the situation is not favourable. |
| KMA | What was his impression after meeting with you and the nationalities? |
| UKTO | Well, he will have to rewrite his report. He will have to write that the nationality parties have no freedom of movement to do any political activity. |
| KMA | Did you discuss other things? |
| UKTO | He asked whether there were any arrests and I frankly said no since the climate has improved regarding the political process [preceding two words in English] and that there have been no arrests. He inquired whether there was any detention recently and I simply replied no. He asked why and I said it might be because of the good political climate. |
| KMA | In yesterday's news he also met with the USDA [Union Solidarity and Development Association] group. Did he tell you anything about that? |
| UKTO | Well, he met with one Kayah group, two Karen groups, and one Mon group. The two Karen groups could be Phado Aung San's and Saw Thamu He's groups. He said he met with the cease-fire groups. He also said he met with S-1 [SPDC Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt] as well. |
| KMA | Did he give a rough explanation about his meeting with S-1? |
| UKTO | No, he did not. He just informed us about his meeting. |
| KMA | Can you tell us how long you were able to talk with Mr Pinheiro? Whether you were able to present your views fully and how much time was allocated? |
| UKTO | He talked with us for about one and half hours. We all tackled him with questions. He even asked whether Mr Razali knows about all this and we said yes, we told him so. We explained to him the difficulties of ethnic people, even to travel to the districts. We also told him about the lack of political activity, freedom of association, freedom of organization, and freedom of assembly and gathering. We said these should be allowed because once the political process changes, we want to be ready. We had to explain it to him. He thought we had already started the dialogue process. He said that only the NLD is active then and we told him that NLD and USDA are engaging in the activities. The Shan party, being a legitimate party, was active for a while. There wasn't much pressure though. It was worse for the other groups. The UNLD [United Nationalities League for Democracy] won over 40 seats, including those from the Mon, Arakan, and Chin groups. |
| KMA | I believe Mr Pinheiro has asked permission to visit the jails. |
| UKTO | Yes, he has and I think he will visit Insein Central Jail. |
| KMA | What is your opinion of his itinerary and what you discussed? |
| UKTO | Since he is staying a little longer than the last time and if his visit is more thorough, then I think he will be able to know 50 per cent of the actual news. It will be different from his first visit because I have read his report. |
UKTO = U Khun Tun Oo
KMA = Ko Moe Aye
Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 13 Oct 2001
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