From: tun@PHY.UCSF.EDU
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
Subject: burma: It's TIme for Tough Sanctions
Date: 17 Apr 92 04:49:38 GMT

This is from San Francisco Chronicle Wed, Apr, 1992 page A21

OPEN FORUM: Its Time for Tough Sanctions Against Grim Burma Junta

                           by

                      Cesar A. Chelala

       Dr. Cesar A. Chelala is an international medical consultant and a
       member of  the board of directors of Physicians for Human Rights. He
       lives in New York.


DEMAND for a congressional resolution to end U.S trade with Burma
and for an international arms embargo against that country
underscores the recognition of brutal human rights abuses by its
military regime.

The motion, sponsored by Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y.,
Paul Simon, D-Ill., and Jesse Helms, R-N.C., together with similar
actions by other countries, offers the only hope to end what is by
now a most desperate situation for the Burmese people.

In 1962, a military coup d'etat ended Burma's 14 year post-colonial
life as a democracy. The leaders of the coup arrested then-Prime
Minister U Nu, suspended the constitution, installed General Ne Win
with wide-ranging powers and introduced the so-called "Burmese
Way to Socialism."

For the next 26 years, rather than leading  to an improvement in the
quality of life for the Burmese people, the regime under Ne Win
transformed a land rich in natural resources into one of the poorest
countries in the world.

Even worse, it led to the killing and persecution of hundreds of
thousands of people and has now the potential to ignite a regional
conflict with neighboring countries.

Dissatisfaction with the military rule culminated on March 12, 1988,
with massive anti-governmental demonstrations that continued for
the next several months. The demonstrations were broken by riot
police, who reportedly beat 100 students to death. On July 23 of that
same year, Ne Win unexpectedly resigned, but left Sein Lwin
(dubbed "the Butcher") as his successor.

Later that year, on August, close to 100,000 people held a strike in
the streets of Rangoon, the capital city, joined by thousands more
across the country.

According to Asia Watch, more than 1,000 people, including women
and children, were kill - many of them shot in the back or bayoneted.
When doctors and nurses from Rangoon General Hospital refused to
hand over to the police fleeing demonstrators, they were shot.

Although the National League for Democracy, under the leadership of
Aung San Suu Kyi, won a clear-cut victory in the elections of May
1990 (and later received a Nobel Peace Prize, the military
government has refused to transfer power and has kept her under
house arrest.

During 1991, Physicians for Human Rights gathered information
indicating that Burmese security forces have consistently violated
internationally accepted principles of medical neutrality.

During periods of unrest, hospitals were surrounded by military
troops, which stopped the free flow of patients and medical
personnel, and government troops obstructed medical care for
injured demonstrators

In addition, health-care personnel have become targets of the
government's crackdown. Health workers in border areas have been
detained for rendering medical care and medical personnel were shot
and wounded during demonstrations.

The military regime has continued the persecution of different ethnic
groups, especially in border areas, and denied civilians in those areas
the most basic health care. As a result, few children are vaccinated
and infant and perinatal mortality rates have remained consistently
high.

Those high rates, however are not limited to border areas A national
infant mortality survey indicates rates of 98 per 1,000 live births for
1991, a surprising increase over official figures of 44 per 1,000 live
births in 1990. Often undernourished children die as a result of
common diarrheal diseases, a major killer during the hot wet season.

The so-called expanded program on immunization has a coverage of
only 50 percent nationwide, with even lower rates in specific areas.

Religious persecution has driven 200,000 Rohingya Muslims into
Bangladesh and strained relations not only with that country but
with Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, as well.

Mostafizur Rahman, Bangladesh foreign minister, declared recently
that Bangladesh is ready to face war to stop that persecution, and
Malaysia's Premier Mahatir Mohamad warned that the Rohingya
issue should be immediately resolved.

Thailand's relations with Burma have also turned sour, and by mid-
March Thai jet fighters were ordered to shoot Burmese aircraft in
pursuit of Karen ethnic guerrillas within Thai territory.

As an added source of instability, the regime in Burma has been able
to buy arms from China (reportedly for over $1.2 billion), Yugoslavia
and Poland, which only facilitated its grip on power. Only sustained
international resolve can revert this situation.

An international arms embargo and the end of trade with Burma - as
proposed by Senators Simon, Moynihan and Helms - could weaken the
junta and expedite its downfall.

These actions should be accompanied by a strong condemnation by
the U.N. Security Council.

Having become a menace to peace in the region, the Burma junta
cannot claim interference ,in its international affairs. An unequivocal
message would thus be sent to the suffering Burmese people: that
they still count to the rest of the world.