UN Investigator Visits Myanmar Prison
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- A U.N. human rights investigator visited Myanmar's notorious Insein Prison on Thursday, a day after the ruling junta defied global calls to halt its crackdown by arresting three more anti-government activists.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was sent by the U.N. to investigate allegations of widespread abuse during the junta's bloody September crackdown on pro-democracy protests. His five-day mission, which ends Thursday, was aimed at determining the numbers of people detained and killed by the regime.
The military government has said 10 people were killed when troops opened fire on crowds of peaceful protesters in late September. Diplomats and dissidents, however, say the death toll was much higher.
The government has acknowledged detaining almost 3,000 people but says it has released most of them. Many prominent political activists, however, remain in custody. Pinheiro said he was determined to gain access to prisons and other sites to assess allegations of abuse.
Reporters who followed Pinheiro's convoy Thursday saw him enter the Insein Prison compound but could not accompany him further to see if he was given access to prisoners.
The prison, which is in Yangon, has held numerous political prisoners over the years, and many former inmates describe torture, abysmal conditions and long stretches in solitary confinement.
Pinheiro already visited the prison Monday for about two hours, but spoke only to officials.
But Pinheiro told diplomats Wednesday afternoon that the junta had given him assurances he could interview detainees at the prison before leaving, according to one of the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.
Pinheiro's trip has otherwise been dominated by meetings with junta officials. He has been given access to several detention centers in Yangon, but was not allowed to meet any prisoners.
Despite worldwide criticism, the junta continued its crackdown on suspected protesters during Pinheiro's visit.
The latest to be nabbed were three people handing out anti-regime pamphlets at a fruit and vegetable market in Yangon on Wednesday, witnesses said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals from the government.
The incident followed earlier arrests of two prominent dissidents.
Su Su Nway, a prominent female activist who has been on the run for more than two months, was arrested Tuesday in Yangon as she tried to place a leaflet near a hotel where Pinheiro was staying, exiled Myanmar dissidents in Thailand said.
U Gambira, a Buddhist monk who helped spearhead the pro-democracy demonstrations in Yangon, was arrested several days ago, said Stanley Aung of the Thailand-based dissident group National League for Democracy-Liberated Area.
Monks inspired and led the movement until it was brutally crushed in September. The authorities began their crackdown by raiding several monasteries in Yangon in the middle of the night and hauling monks away.
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