The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPPB), based in Mae Sot, Thailand, has released a 124-page report titled, “The Darkness We See: Torture in Burma's Interrogation Centers and Prisons.”

According to human right organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the report's evidence is based on interviews conducted by the AAPPB with 35 former political prisoners. The physical, psychological, and sexual abuse used by jailers is outlined.

The report also details how the hardline rulers combine poor prison conditions with deliberate medical negligence to cause suffering amounting to torture. CSW reported the document concludes that the main aim of Burma’s prisons is to break down everyone whom its rulers consider to be a threat to their power.

Prisoners in Burmese jails describe how they have been electrically shocked all over their bodies, as well as suffering severe beatings and burning with cigarettes and lighters. According to CSW, the report says the beatings are often so severe that prisoners end up dying..

Former prisoners testify to the use of ropes and shackles around the neck or ankles, which are used to keep a prisoner in the same position for up to several months at a time.

CSW reported in a news release that Ko Tate, Secretary of the AAPPB said, “This report is the first to show the shocking full scale of torture in Burma's interrogation centers and prisons. It should eliminate any doubt as to the severity of human rights violations against those suspected of political dissent in Burma.”

Those who are in prison in Burma for political reasons have been arrested simply for expressing their opposition to the ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

CSW reported that Burma's most high-profile political prisoner, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is the world's only Nobel Peace Prize laureate in detention. She led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to victory in the 1990 elections, winning over 80 percent of the seats in the legislature. However, CSW reported, elected Members of Parliament have been denied the right to take their seats, and instead have been jailed or exiled. Hundreds of NLD members are in prison, and most have been tortured.

For the first time, CSW stated, the report spotlights the politicians ultimately responsible for torture in Burma. The Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Defence, and Minister of Foreign Affairs serve on a three-person committee responsible for overseeing the detention of prisoners charged under the junta's State Protection Act, which provides the “legal” basis on which many prisoners are held.

The Military Intelligence Service carries out most of the torture during initial interrogations, CSW reported. Two additional departments, the Bureau of Special Investigations and the Special Investigations Department, also carry out similar torture.

The report follows the Sept. publication of “Threat to the Peace: A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in Burma,” commissioned by former Czech President Vaclav Havel and Nobel Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu. Both reports recommend that the U.N. Security Council should immediately address the ongoing human rights violations in Burma, and call for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's personal involvement.

“The Darkness We See,” CSW commented, is the latest in a long line of reports documenting human rights violations in Burma.

Guy Horton's report “Dying Alive: A Legal Assessment of Human Rights Violations in Burma,” published earlier this year, concentrates on crimes against humanity and attempted genocide against the Karen, Karenni and Shan ethnic groups in eastern Burma. Other reports such as “Licence to Rape, Shattering Silences, System of Impunity and Catwalk to the Barracks,” “provide extensive evidence of the widespread, systematic use of rape against Shan, Karen and Mon women.”

Another report, “My Gun Was As Tall As Me,” published by Human Rights Watch, documents the forced conscription of child soldiers.

CSW reported that the organization’s Honorary President, Baroness Cox, told the House of Lords recently that there is now “a massive collection of authoritative, accurate evidence documenting the atrocities perpetrated by the SPDC.”

Mervyn Thomas, CSW's Chief Executive, said in a news release, “The widespread practice of severe torture on political prisoners by the Burmese military regime is yet another reason for prompt and effective action by the U.N. Security Council. CSW welcomes the publication of this report, and calls on the international community to do much more to help the people of Burma who have suffered for so long under this horrifically repressive regime.”

Source: Christian News Today