Arrest of officials 'won't affect' Thai-Myanmar ties

Arrest of officials 'won't affect' Thai-Myanmar ties

BANGKOK (AP): A Myanmar government spokesman professed bewilderment on Wednesday at charges by an international press freedom group that the country's military regime detains journalists in brutal conditions and tightly restricts freedom of information.

In a report issued on Tuesday, the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders described Myanmar as "the largest prison for journalists in Asia."

It urged that international sanctions be maintained against the military government until 18 jailed journalists are released and censorship is eliminated.

The United States and European Union countries limit diplomatic and business contacts with the regime in disapproval of its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a democratically-elected government.

"Torture is still commonplace in prisons and detention centers, and some journalists suffer from serious mental disorders resulting from long periods of isolation," said the report. "Censorship, threats and arrests are still the routine for journalists working for the few private media in the country, and for political activists who speak out against the situation in Burma."

Reporters Without Borders said that government control of information is near-total, with major media controlled by the military and their families and rigorous censorship applied to the few independent private journals. Censors closely scrutinize any articles using words such as "democracy," "corruption" or "education," it said.

Asked for comment, the Myanmar government spokesman said the government was "confused" by the charges because last year the group "stated that 24 professional writers were behind bars but this time it is 18."

In a faxed statement, the spokesman said "there are 84 journals and 141 magazines published by the private sector regularly with over 400 professional writers actively pursuing their profession."

"Constructive criticism is welcomed and there are foreign and local organizations in the country exchanging views with government officials and also providing suggestions and advice on a regular basis which has been appreciated by the government," the spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity.

Commenting on the charge that "Torture is still commonplace in prisons and detention centers," the spokesman said the government is working "very closely and in full cooperation with the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) which has been visiting the correctional facilities in the country."

"It is about time the critics drop the unsubstantiated allegations of torture in the detention centers in Myanmar," he said.

The press group's report, however, said that Red Cross personnel do not have access to all of the country's 36 prisons and that three years after ICRC inspections resumed, "food, health care and sanitary conditions have not changed significantly." The ICRC had for several years suspended its prison inspections because of restrictions imposed by the government.