UN Human Rights Envoy Back in Burma but Leaves Early After Finding Bug

by Ma Nguyen Tong

28-3-2003

The United Nations special human rights envoy for Burma, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, returned to Burma during the latter half of March 2003 and started a week-long visit to the country. Mr Pinheiro met officials from the Burmese military government for discussions on the human rights situation. He is also visited prisons, but decided to leave Burma early after finding a hidden microphone in a room where he was meeting political prisoners. He also raised the issue of abuses such as systematic gang rape against ethnic minorities. Mr Pinheiro said he was 'very frustrated' by the country's handling of political prisoners.

Mr Pinheiro had proposed an independent inquiry into the reports. Mr Pinheiro's recent report on Burma--in which he appealed to the international community not to isolate the military regime--provoked widespread criticism.

Mr Pinheiro left Rangoon on March 24, two days ahead of schedule. Mr Pinheiro found the microphone two days earlier, while talking to prisoners inside Insien jail on the outskirts of Rangoon. This incident was very embarrassing for the Burmese military authorities, who had promised the envoy he could go anywhere he wanted and interview anyone he chose in absolute privacy. Burma already faced international criticism for its poor human rights record.

Repeated visits

Mr Pinheiro was visiting Rangoon for his fifth visit to monitor the condition of the country's political prisoners. He was due to deliver a report on the situation to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva at the end of March.

When he found the microphone--said to be of a technology dating back to World War II and placed under a table--Mr Pinheiro walked out of the prison and immediately lodged an official protest with the Burmese authorities, a UN official said.

"Under these circumstances he felt obliged to interrupt his mission," the UN statement said.

UN sources said that Mr Pinheiro was upset and furious at the discovery, but still hoped to return to Rangoon in May to complete his investigation.

It was no surprise that the prison authorities have been listening in to Mr Pinheiro's private interviews. The Burmese authorities routinely bug conversations between prisoners and their families, and even their legal representatives, according to lawyers in Rangoon.

Lack of progress

Despite repeated visits to Burma, Mr Pinheiro had been unable to persuade the ruling military junta to make any meaningful gestures of reform. Expectations were raised briefly in 2002, when the authorities released opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. In fact, after his last visit to Burma, Mr Pinheiro praised the prison authorities for their co-operation, and said he had been able to interview all the political prisoners he wanted to without prior notification.

But any glimmer of hope from this latest visit had now been dashed. One result of Mr Pinheiro's premature departure would be to bring forward a visit by UN special envoy Razali Ismail, who had been trying to return to Rangoon for several weeks. Mr Razali had found the regime less than anxious to accept him. However, Burma's ruling generals would now have to show their willingness to co-operate with the UN.

UN rights envoy criticises Burma

Mr Pinheiro said he is "very frustrated" by the country's handling of political prisoners. On march 26 Mr Pinheiro, now in Bangkok, reiterated a UN demand that Burma's ruling military junta release all its estimated 1,200 political prisoners.

"It is of essential importance that all the prisoners are released, so that they can participate in political transition," he said. Burma had released about 600 prisoners in small batches since October 2000, after starting a reconciliation process with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

"It is unacceptable releasing prisoners drop by drop, because this is a cruelty for the prisoners, some of whom are very old," Mr Pinheiro said. Mr Pinheiro also expressed his disappointment at the slow pace of the reconciliation process.

"I didn't see any progress," he said. "We are in a very delicate position."

He added that the international community must do all it can so the situation could be overcome as soon as possible.

Mr Pinheiro said that most of the other conversations he had with prisoners during his visit were conducted in unexpected places which could not have been prepared for bugging in advance.

"I think most of the work we have done in the past was not affected by the same tactic," he said.

Critics have often labelled Mr Pinheiro as being "soft" in his dealings with Burma's military rulers. But he insisted that his approach was similar to that of another UN envoy, Razali Ismail - to press for international dialogue, the release of political prisoners and the formation of a roadmap for political transition, democratisation and free elections.