MYANMAR

CASE N° MYN/01 - Ohn Kyaing CASE N° MYN/04 - Khin Maung Swe CASE N°/MYN/09 - Sein Hla Oo CASE N° MYN/36 - Myint Naing CASE N° MYN/60 - Zaw Myint Maung CASE N° MYN/64 - David Hla Myint CASE N° MYN/68 - Aung Khin Sint CASE N° MYN/71 - Kyi Myint CASE N° MYN/84 - Soe Thein CASE N° MYN/85 - Khun Myint Htun CASE N° MYN/86 - Aye San CASE N° MYN/87 - Do Htaung CASE N° MYN/88 - Chit Htwe CASE N° MYN/89 - Myo Nyunt CASE N° MYN/100 - Hla Myint CASE N° MYN/101 - Saw Oo Reh CASE N° MYN/102 - Hla Min CASE N° MYN/104 - Kyaw Khin CASE N° MYN/105 - Kyin Thein CASE N° MYN/108 - Min Swe	CASE N° MYN/109 - Than Aung CASE N° MYN/110 - Tin Min Htut CASE N° MYN/113 - Aye Than CASE N° MYN/114 - Ohn Naing CASE N° MYN/115 - Thein Zan CASE N° MYN/116 - Nyunt Hlaing CASE N° MYN/118 - Than Nyein CASE N° MYN/119 - May Win Myint CASE N° MYN/120 - San San CASE N° MYN/122 - Min Soe Lin CASE N° MYN/123 - Nan Khin Htwe Myint CASE N° MYN/124 - Ohn Maung CASE N° MYN/133 - Yaw Hsi CASE N° MYN/134 - Min Kyi Win CASE N° MYN/135 - Nai Tun Thein CASE N° MYN/136 - Saw Mra Aung CASE N° MYN/137 - Khin Maung Kyi CASE N° MYN/138 - Toe Po CASE N° MYN/139 - Soe Myint
CASE N° MYN/10 - Win Hlaing* CASE N° MYN/13 - Naing Naing* CASE N° MYN/26 - Hla Tun* CASE N° MYN/28 - Tin Aung Aung* CASE N° MYN/41 - Zaw Myint* CASE N° MYN/42 - Mya Win* CASE N° MYN/73 - Fazal Ahmed* CASE N° MYN/103 - Tin Aung* CASE N° MYN/106 - Kyaw Tin* CASE N° MYN/107 - San Myint*	CASE N° MYN/111 - Saw Lwin* CASE N° MYN/112 - Hla Win* CASE N° MYN/117 - Kyaw Myint* CASE N° MYN/121 - Tin Oo* CASE N° MYN/125 - Mahn Kyaw Ni* CASE N° MYN/126 - Tun Win* CASE N° MYN/127 - Bo Htway* CASE N° MYN/128 - Tha Aung* CASE N° MYN/130 - Tin Win*
Parliamentarians deceased:
CASE N° MYN/53 - Hla Than CASE N° MYN/55 - Tin Maung Win CASE N° MYN/66 - Win Ko CASE N° MYN/67 - Hla Pe	CASE N° MYN/72 - Saw Win CASE N° MYN/83 - Kyaw Min CASE N° MYN/131 - Hla Khin CASE N° MYN/132 - Aung Min

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 167th session (Jakarta, 21 October 2000)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the outline of the case of the above-mentioned elected members of the Pyithu Hluttaw (People's Assembly) of the Union of Myanmar, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/167/12(c)­R.1), and to the relevant resolution adopted at its 166th session (May 2000),

Taking account of information provided by representatives of the sources at the hearing held on the occasion of the 104th Conference (October 2000),

Recalling that on 27 May 1990 a national election called by the then State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) was held to constitute a new Parliament (Pyithu Hluttaw); that, however, the military authorities have prevented it from convening, setting up instead a National Convention to draft a constitution,

Recalling that, under severe pressure from the then State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), the National League for Democracy, which had won 392 of the 485 seats, took part in the initial work of the National Convention, but withdrew in November 1995, thus severing whatever link there might have been between the National Convention and the popular will as expressed in the 1990 elections,

Recalling that, since 1990, the SLORC and subsequently the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) not only systematically impeded the functioning of the National League for Democracy, but eliminated from the political process the MPs elected in 1990, first by invalidating election results, dismissing them from Parliament and banning them from future elections, then by forcing them to resign, orchestrating no-confidence motions against them and finally by arresting, detaining and sentencing them under laws (such as the Emergency Provision Act, State Protection Act, Official Secrets Act, Printers and Publishers Registration Act, Unlawful Associations Act, etc.) considered by the appropriate United Nations human rights bodies to be in breach of international civil and political rights standards,

Considering that more than 50 MPs-elect are currently in jail and that approximately 200 MPs elect are held in what the authorities refer to as “guesthouses”; that MPs-elect continue to be arrested: on 24 March 2000, U Aya Tha Aung was arrested and sentenced to 21 years' imprisonment; in August and September 2000, respectively U Tin Oo, the NLD's Executive Chairman and U Saw Naing Naing were arrested following an attempt by the NLD Secretary General, Aung San Suu Kyi, and U Tin Oo, to attend party meetings outside Yangon,

Considering that conditions of detention in Myanmar are reported to be harsh and to include cruel disciplinary practices and torture, lack of proper medical care and insufficient food, in addition to forced labour; under such conditions, Kyaw Min died on 1 July 1999 of hepatitis contracted in prison, Tin Maung Win on 18 January 1991, Khin Maung Gyi on 8 February 1991, Hla Than on 2 August 1996 and Saw Win on 7 August 1998; also considering in this connection that, according to Amnesty International, U Soe Thein, who has been detained since 1996 under the State Protection Law, may be seriously ill with stomach and heart disease,

Recalling that, in May 1998, the National League for Democracy and other parties requested the ruling SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) to convene Parliament and, their request being disregarded, established on 1 September 1998 the Committee Representing the People's Parliament (CRPP), temporarily to represent Members of Parliament elected in 1990 and prevented by the authorities from exercising the mandate conferred on them by the people of Myanmar in 1990; it decided on 16 September 2000 to draft a national Constitution, notwithstanding the SPDC law X/96 which punishes anyone drafting a constitution without its approval with imprisonment of up to 20 years,

Considering that over 2,000 MPs from 89 parliaments around the world have signed the “Declaration of Support and Solidarity with the Democratically Elected Parliamentarians of Burma”,

Bearing in mind the consistent appeals made by the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in their resolutions on the human rights situation in Myanmar to the authorities of Myanmar, urging them to “take urgent and meaningful measures to ensure the establishment of democracy in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in the democratic elections held in 1990 and, to this end, to engage immediately and unconditionally in a substantive dialogue with the leaders of political parties and the ethnic minorities ... to accelerate the process of transition to democracy, in particular through the transfer of power to democratically elected representatives and to release immediately and unconditionally those detained for political reasons”,

1. Regrets that the authorities have replied neither to its requests for information nor to the repeated wish of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to send a mission to Myanmar, thereby disregarding the various opportunities offered to enter into a dialogue towards a settlement of the situation of the MPs-elect concerned;
2. Reaffirms its indignation that the authorities of the Union of Myanmar continue to ignore the outcome of the election of 27 May 1990; reiterates in this respect that the National Convention convened by the authorities in 1993 is designed to prolong and legitimise military rule against the will of the people as expressed in the 1990 elections, and reaffirms that the refusal of the authorities to convene the Parliament elected in 1990 constitutes a violation of the principle established in Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that “the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government”;
3. Considers consequently that in setting up the “Committee Representing the People's Parliament” and in drafting a national constitution, the MPs-elect are merely giving effect to this principle;
4. Is outraged at the continuing harassment, arrests and sentencing of MPs-elect, and strongly urges the authorities to release immediately and unconditionally all detained MPs-elect, including U Aye Tha Aung, U Saw Naing Naing and U Soe Thein, to respect the freedom of their movement and right to assembly and to put an immediate end to all practices aimed at preventing the MPs-elect from engaging in their legitimate political activity;
5. Calls again on its member parliaments to press for the respect of democratic principles in Myanmar and to show their solidarity with their elected colleagues from the Pyithu Hluttaw by whatever means they deem appropriate, in particular by supporting the “Committee Representing the People's Parliament”, by forming parliamentary caucuses to promote awareness of the situation of their colleagues in Myanmar among fellow MPs and to make appropriate Myanmar-related policy recommendations to their governments; invites member Parliaments to inform it of any steps they may take to that end;
6. Applauds the members of Parliament who have signed the “Declaration of Support and Solidarity with the Democratically Elected Parliamentarians of Burma”;
7. Requests the Secretary General once again to ask the authorities of Myanmar for information concerning the situation of each one of the parliamentarians-elect named in this resolution;
8. Urges the Myanmar authorities to pay heed to the call of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for an immediate end to all breaches of the human rights of the MPs-elect, which, apart from being wholly unacceptable, tarnish the country's international image;
9. Reaffirms that the Inter-Parliamentary Union is ready to send a mission to Myanmar to conduct a dialogue both with the authorities of that country and with the parliamentarians-elect for the sake of progress towards a satisfactory settlement of this case;
10. Requests the Secretary General again to convey this resolution to the authorities of Myanmar together with the invitation of the Committee to send a representative, for the purpose of dialogue, to its next session (January 2001);
11. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (April 2001).

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