Senator John McCain (R-AZ) says report showstorture in Southeast Asian country is “statepolicy of Burma’s junta." For Immediate Release December 1, 2005 Contacts: Thailand: Ko Tate (66) 1 287-8751, Bo Kyi (66) 1 324-8935 Tokyo: Phone Myint Htun (81) 90 4221 1988 Washington, DC: Aung Din (202) 223-0300 (December1st, 2005; Bangkok, Tokyo, and Washington,DC) An Asian-based human rightsgroup today released an authoritativereport detailing the brutal andsystematic torture of politicalprisoners that for the first timespecifically names those directlyresponsible in Burma’s military regime, as well was reveals the“shocking” scale and severityof the practice.
The 124 page report by the AssistanceAssociation for Political Prisoners(AAPPB), “The Darkness We See:Torture in Burma’s InterrogationCenters and Prisons” is releasedon the heels of an international push led by former Czech PresidentVaclav Havel and South Africa’s1984 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Desmond Tutu to placeBurma on the UN Security Council agenda.
The effort has gained support after Burma’smilitary regime has refused to implementa total of 27 UN General Assembly andUN Commission on Human Rights resolutionscalling for change. The European Parliamentendorsed UN Security Council action two weeks ago, while U.S. President GeorgeW. Bush pointedly raised Burma on hisrecent trip to Asia.
Reacting to the report,Senator John McCain, whose essay “Torture’sTerrible Toll” appeared on the cover ofNewsweek Magazine in late November, said“My heart goes out to those sufferingfor their belief in human rights and democracy.This report demonstrates that tortureof political prisoners is a state policyof Burma’s junta. All Americans, whostand by the Burmese people in their aspirationsfor freedom, should be outraged.” McCain went on to say that the report “Illustratesin painstaking detail yet one more reasonwhy United Nations Security Council action is long overdue. Those who care abouthuman rights and human decency shouldpress the Security Council to take upthe issue of Burma immediately.”
The evidence in the report is based oninterviews with thirty-five former politicalprisoners conducted by AAPP. The reportis divided into sections detailing thevarious forms of physical, psychological,and sexual abuse used by the junta.The report also explains how deliberatelypoor prison conditions combined with purposefulmedical negligence are encouraged andperpetrated by the junta to cause an aggravateddegree of suffering tantamount to torture.
It concludes that Burma’s prisons havebecome institutions whose primary functionis to deliberately and systematicallyshatter the identity of political activistsand other civilians deemed threateningby the junta. Tactics currently beingused on political prisoners include:
–Severe beatings, often resulting inloss of consciousness and sometimes death –Electrocution to all parts of the bodyincluding genitals -Rubbing iron rods on shins of prisonersuntil flesh is ripped off, a tactic knownin Burma as the “iron road” –Burning with cigarettes and lighters –Pro-longed restriction of movements,for up to several months, using rope andshackles around the neck and ankles –Repeatedly striking the same area of a person’s body every second for severalhours, a tactic known in Burma as “tick-tocktorture” Said Ko Tate, Secretary of the AAPP: “Thisreport is the first to show the shockingfull scale of torture in Burma´s interrogationcenters and prisons. It should eliminateany doubt as to the severity of human rights violations against those suspectedof political dissent in Burma.” Most political prisoners in Burma are arrested for publicly expressing or otherwiseindicating opposition to the ruling militaryjunta. Burma´s most high-profile politicalprisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi, is the world´s only Nobel Peace Prize recipient in detention.Hundreds of members of her political party,the National League for Democracy, areheld in prison. Most have been tortured.
The report reveals for the first timethe chain of command and individuals responsiblefor torture in Burma. The Minister ofHome Affairs, Minister of Defense, andMinister of Foreign Affairs all serveon a three-person committee responsiblefor overseeing the detention of prisonerscharged under section 10 (A) and (B) ofthe junta’s State Protection Act, whichprovides the “legal” basis for which manyprisoners are held. In that capacity,these individuals are directly responsiblefor torture in Burma, in addition to thoseserving under them.
Torture carried out during initial interrogationsis carried out mainly by the MilitaryIntelligence Service, which is under theDirectorate of Defense Services Intelligence,organized under the Minister of Defense. Interrogation is additionally conductedby the Bureau of Special Investigations, and the Special Investigations Department(also known as the Special Branch, partof the Burma Police Force), that reportto the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The report recommends that the UN SecurityCouncil should immediately take up issueof Burma, and calls for UN Secretary GeneralKofi Annan’s personal involvement. “Weare pleading for the United Nations totake meaningful action,” added Ko Tate,“If not now, when?” The UK, Burma’s formercolonial power, serves as the chair ofthe UN Security Council in December.