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.