Letters To A Dictator
Tuesday 15 July, 1997
ABSDF Book Launch: Letters To A Dictator
Press Release
Historical Letters Reveal SLORC's Brutal Tactics of Repression Against the NLD
A collection of 33 official letters from the National League for Democracy (NLD) to the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to be published this month, reveals the range of brutal tactics used by the SLORC to suppress NLD members and Burma's e lected government.
The letters are contained in a new book entitled 'Letters to a Dictator' which is being published by the All Burma Students' Democratic Front. The letters are a rare and important record of recent political events in Burma, and were distributed as an int ernal NLD document with a brief introduction by NLD General Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The original document containing the 33 letters was smuggled across the border into Thailand at great risk to the carrier.
The letters cover the issue of a face to face dialogue to solve the country's problems, a move which was recently publicly supported by the Asean nations which are to accept Burma as a member later this month.
Other issues raised in the letters include the attack on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's motorcade in November last year, the convening of the Pyithu Hluttaw or parliament, the National Convention and the Constitution.
The letters clearly demonstrate how the SLORC's campaign of repression against the NLD has been carried out with a total disregard for the junta's own laws, and expose the hypocrisy of the SLORC's claim to be maintaining law and order and bringing peace a nd development to the country.
Examples of repression and human rights violations against the NLD contained in the letters include: closing offices and dismantling party signs; public death threats against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and physical attacks on party leaders; forcing members to r esign from the party; illegally detaining and interrogating members and officials; fabricating charges and interfering in the due process of law; restricting the movement of party members; blackmailing the families of party members; forcibly conscripting party officials as porters for the military; and forcibly evicting members from their homes.
The letters, written between 1 December 1995 and 4 March 1997, were sent by NLD Chairman U Aung Shwe to the SLORC's Senior General Than Shwe. There was no formal response by the SLORC to any of the correspondence nor was any action taken against those re sponsible for the many criminal acts of repression.
For further information call 01 654 4984.
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EXTRACTS FROM 'LETTERS TO A DICTATOR'DIALOGUE
Letter 1, page 15
6. Because the State Law and Order Restoration Council does not co-operate or communicate with political parties in Burma, the NLD is concerned about unity in the country and the fact that the SLORC and the democratic forces are travelling down separate p aths. In every democratic country, governments and political parties co-operate for the benefit of their people and nation. Without such co-operation it would be very difficult for any achievements to be made. Therefore, the NLD would like to propose th at an open dialogue be held for the benefit of the country, without preconditions or limitations on which groups can attend.Letter 2, page 18
6. The NLD has always welcomed any gesture from the SLORC towards a substantial dialogue based on our principles of 'openness and sincerity, and mutual respect', 'national reconciliation' and 'unity without animosity'.Letter 14, page 81
20. The important point is that the NLD has repeatedly written to the SLORC asking for a dialogue. The party has done this because it believes that the only way to solve the current problems, including those of the National Convention, is through a subst antial dialogue. We strongly believe that there is no other way.PARLIAMENT AND ELECTIONS
Letter 3, page 23
16. In the 97th press conference SLORC made it clear that it will carry out its duties in accordance with the laws, orders, and notifications that they have issued. We would therefore like to point out that the convening of the Hluttaw must be carried out at the earliest possible time to ensure the restoration of law and order.Letter 12, page 62
12. On 10 July 1991, the SLORC issued Order 4/91 which imposed seven new national directives regarding 'law and order' during elections [and] 20 new ethical standards which all candidates were required to follow. Under this retrospective law issued a yea r after the 1990 election, elected representatives of the NLD were forced to resign for actions they had allegedly committed a year earlier...on 19 May 1996 the authorities began to detain elected representatives of the NLD who had not transgressed any election laws or retrospective amendments. According to a partial list the NLD has compiled, a total of 238 representatives throughout the c ountry have been arrested.
CONSTITUTION
Letter 10, page 54
(c) In the statement read by Colonel Kyaw Win, the SLORC stated that the NLD could only write a Constitution in the jungle. This is totally irresponsible and can be seen as an abrogation of the SLORC's objectives of the cohesion of the Union, national un ity, and the perpetuation of State power. When the citizens of a country are told by their government to go underground and abandon the law, such comments are contrary to the unity of a nation.ATTACK ON DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI'S MOTORCADE
Letter 22, pages 114-115
8. It is obvious that the attacks were premeditated and that the aim was to assassinate leaders of the NLD. The authorities encouraged this act of anarchism by deliberately ignoring the attacks which were carried out on unarmed NLD leaders who had no ult erior motives.9. We deplore these acts in the strongest possible terms. We also urge you to form an independent commission, that has mutual consent and is comprised of respected members of our communities, to investigate these incidents and publicly announce their fin dings to the entire nation as soon as possible. We do this with the hope that these kinds of attacks will not happen again.
Letter 27, page 127
9. Among the duties of the police is to investigate crimes and charge criminals in accordance with the law. They are also responsible for arresting suspects with sufficient proof of wrongdoing. We are surprised to have learned that the police, who have been able to investigate and solve petty crimes, have not been able to find those responsible for the potentially fatal attack which occurred on a busy street in broad daylight. The duty of the police is to find the real criminals.INTIMIDATION AND REPRESSION
Letter 7, page 44
(i) If NLD members had decided to walk to the lake and free the fish, the authorities planned to disrupt the ceremony with Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) members armed with stones and batons....Letter 15, page 85
9. (a) ...The authorities in Maubin told NLD members that the party was going to collapse because they were facing many hardships, and that they should quit the NLD now because people listed as party members were likely to be arrested once it was disbande d. The authorities not only forced NLD members to leave the party, but also made and distributed fake NLD resignation forms.Letter 20, page 99
1. The authorities have carried out repeated raids of homes belonging to members of the National League for Democracy, which is a legal political party, under the pretext of questioning people and inspecting premises. These raids have occurred late at ni ght and in the early hours of the morning.Letter 21, page 105
II(e) The SLORC claims to be working for the advancement of a multi-party democracy, and consequently it is imperative that democratic rights are allowed to exist. The posting of signs is an essential function of a political party and preventing a party from exercising such a right is akin to severing its lifeline. We would like to remind you that the forced dismantling of signs is contradictory to the SLORC's objective of the 'advancement of multi-party democracy'.page 107
IV(c) The authorities also forced U Aung Kyaung to resign as a Member of Parliament and as a member of the NLD by threatening to dismiss his daughter from her job. Once again, this was an immoral act.Letter 28, pages 131-132
'[The Minister for Rail Transportation] U Win Sein tried to win the trust of the people by encouraging them to turn against Aung San Suu Kyi, telling them lies about her personal life... ..U Win Sein then shouted to the villagers three times, "That's why we must get rid of her! We must exterminate her!" He asked the audience if they knew the meaning of the phrase "exterminate her", and he said it meant to kill her.'Letter 29, page 134
'While two of the robbers were pulling my things back, the leader of the group was threatening me....I shouted at them saying, "Who are you people? Are you terrorising me, robbing me like this in public? Are you [the SLORC's] hitmen?"...Then the leader pulled out a jagged eight-inch knife. I said to him, "Come on, strike me. Weapons don't show courage. Come on, go ahead." 'Letter 31, page 141
(c) On 30 December 1996 the Danupyhu Court ordered Ko Than Htut, leader of the Danuphyu NLD Youth Organising Committee, not to travel out of the township for one year, under the 1961 Habitual Criminal Restriction Act. The NLD believes the court decision is offensive and inconsistent with existing laws. The authorities are treating NLD members as if they were thugs, repeat offenders or vagrants waiting for a chance to commit crimes. We also consider the decision immoral as it degrades the dignity of the person concerned.Letter 33, page 148
[Appendix A]
At the base, the Commander of Infantry 56, Lieutenant Colonel Ko Ko, met each of the NLD members individually and forced them to resign from the party. He used various threats to intimidate the members into resigning.In one of the threats he said, "You must resign from the NLD, otherwise your life may be in danger."...
..He told them, "You are our prey. We are making noises because we don't want to waste our time hiding in wait. All we've got to do is shoot. You'll only get one chance to decide, not two. You must realise that the army is ruling the country. You mu st do what you are told to do. We are determined to weed out any obstacles."
page 152-153
[Appendix C]
'The NLD has learned that members have been taken to be used as porters for military operations...[and that NLD member] U Saw Htun Nwe, a Karen national, died of fatigue as a result of his age...Until now the NLD has not received any information regarding the rest of the officials [and] does not know if its members are wounded or healthy, dead or alive. The NLD considers this act of forced conscription as absolutely barbaric.'Page 162-163
[Appendix I]
'The Pantanaw Township LORC summoned officials from all departments of the town and asked them if Dr. Tin Min Htut had violated any law. When [they] could not find fault with him the town's police chief ordered...his men to find anything that could incri minate the NLD representative.....when the police searched Dr. Tin Min Htut's house they found two Singaporean coins in a small toy cup [his] son was playing with. Dr Tin Min Htut was then arrested for illegal possession of a foreign currency.'
