From: hrcoord@igc.apc.org (Human Rights Coordinator)
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Subject: URGENT ACTION: BURMA
Date: 21 Aug 92 19:05:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700401:000:7106
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Aug 21 12:05:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: URGENT ACTION: BURMA

/* Written 10:32 pm  Aug 20, 1992 by jbinder in cdp:reg.sasia */

URGENT ACTION ALERT
From The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
(IGLHRC) 540 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA  94114 phone: (415)
255 86 80 fax: (415) 255 86 62 email: jbinder@igc.org

August 18, 1992   Contact: Donna Rae Palmer or Julie Dorf,
International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

HIV+ Burmese Women In Thailand Seek Safe Return Home

On June 9th, 1992, approximately 45 Burmese women were seized from
brothels in Ranong province in Thailand and transferred to various
detention centers in Bangkok where their fate is being negotiated
between Thai authorities and Burmese embassy staff.   Some of the
women, including three who were between the ages of 14 and 21,
were found to be HIV+.  Interviews with the young women revealed
that the girls had been lured from their border villages by Thai
nationals and were then forced to live and work as prostitutes in
practically prison-like conditions within Thailand.  Severe human
rights violations have been reported including rapes, torture,
beatings, and food deprivation.

Many of the women indicated that they wished to return to their
villages and to be re-united with their families, but fear for
their lives at the hand of the Burmese military regime.  In April,
it was reported that 25 HIV+ women repatriated from Thailand were
injected with cyanide by members of the internationally despised
military regime which currently holds state power in Burma, the
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).   A variety of
reliable sources from within Thailand and Burma have suggested
that this atrocity was not an isolated incident.

Public attention to the April atrocities led Thai authorities to
declare that they would not repatriate any more HIV+ Burmese
citizens.  However, the Bangkok Post reported on July 31, 1992
that the Burmese Ambassador to Thailand met with Thailand's Prime
Minister's Office officials to discuss the return home of the
Burmese women.  According to the article, Minister Saisuree
Chutikul told press that the Burmese women will be sent home to
Burma and that the Burmese government will look after their
safety.

\"Given the recent cyanide injections and the deplorable human
rights record of the SLORC in general,  it is simply not enough to
trust in the "assurances" of this notorious military regime,"
responded Donna Rae Palmer, Asia Regional Coordinator of the
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC),
"The Thai government should not repatriate any HIV-positive
individuals without reasonable and responsible assurances that
monitoring by international observers is absolutely ensured".

An August 10, 1992 statement released to Asia Watch further
attests to the precarious situation of Burmese women in the
brothels of Ranong.   Interviews revealed that some Burmese women
"who were assumed to have AIDS" were removed from the area and
have since "disappeared".  They quoted as well a Thai government
research report from December 1991 which found that nearly 50% of
200 women from Ranong brothels tested positive for HIV.  Almost
75% of these women were Burmese nationals.  Finally, they noted
that as economic conditions in Burma continue to deteriorate at
the hands of the SLORC, increasing numbers of Burmese women and
children are finding themselves in this dire situation and
impending dilemma regarding their future.

Help Burmese Women Go Home

	Burmese women currently in Thailand wish to return to
their villages and to be re-united with their families but they
fear for their lives at the hand of the Burmese military regime.
An unknown number of women have already been repatriated to Burma.
In April, it was reported that several HIV+ women repatriated from
Thailand were injected with cyanide by members of the
internationally despised military regime which currently holds
state power in Burma (Myanmar), the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC).
	Given the political situation, the deteriorating economic
conditions of the country since 1988 when the military regime took
power, and the human rights record of the SLORC, the returning
women's "safety" is anything but assured. Furthermore, given that
HIV tests are being performed on the Burmese women in Thailand,
most of whom are involuntary participants in the illegal sex-trade
within that country, a request that officials of the government of
Thailand make public to international human rights organizations
their policy on mandatory testing of foreign nationals appears
reasonable.  And in particular, a public explanation of their
future plans to ensure that Burmese nationals found to be HIV+
within Thailand are not repatriated to their home country without
reasonable and responsible assurances that both their lives and
the status of their health will be monitored by international
observers is absolutely essential.
	The SLORC must end its massive build-up of its military
and discontinue its use of this military apparatus against its own
citizens, release all political prisoners immediately and
unconditionally, rescind repressive decrees and negotiate an end
to the fighting with the Democratic Alliance of Burma, the
umbrella organization of the minorities, students and Buddhist
monks in revolt against military rule, and it must immediately
allow for the long-term presence of international monitoring
agencies and non-governmental organizations to ensure the safety
and well-being of all refugees, and all HIV+ Burmese citizens,
whether they are currently within Burma, or in Thailand awaiting a
highly uncertain future.

In order to ensure the safety and well-being of these women, the
International Lesbian & Gay Human Rights Commission is calling for
urgent international protest directed at the following officials:
(write or FAX)

Governor of Ranong Suchart Thmongkol Sala Klang Ranong 85000
THAILAND

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pong Thon Adireksan Saranromya Palace
Bangkok 10200 THAILAND
FAX 662-224-7095
Telex 84791-IMFODET-TH


Thaung, Ambassador and Mr. U Ohn Gyaw, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Embassy of Myanmar 2300 RSS Street N.W.  Washington, D.C. 20008
FAX (202) 332-9046

Ministry of the Interior Asdang Road Bangkok 10200 THAILAND
FAX 662-224-6191 & 662-223-2215

His Royal Highness Bhumibol Abuly Adej The Grand Palace Na Phran
Lan Road Bangkok 10200 THAILAND

Kyaw Min, Ambassador to the U.N., Myanmar 10 East 77th Street New
York, NY 10021
FAX (210 737-2421

Demand an end to the inhumane treatment of these women by both the
Burmese and Thai governments.  Demand the end to murder,
incarceration and torture of people returning to their homes in
Burma. Remind the Thai authorities that they have gone on record
agreeing to not repatriate the Burmese HIV+ people into the hands
of the SLORC.  Demand an end to the exploitation of children and
women and men forced into the sex industry.  Demand HIV prevention
programs and adequate and accessible health care for all,
including refugees from Burma.