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Myanmar Finds Crimes to Fit Harsh Punishments

By THOMAS FULLER
Published: November 15, 2008

BANGKOK — The 65-year prison sentences handed down last week to antigovernment demonstrators in Myanmar are only the beginning of an expected series of verdicts against hundreds of political prisoners, according to exile groups tracking the trials.

Of the 1,037 people arrested for political activities over the past 15 months, about three-quarters have yet to go before a judge or complete their trials, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a group based in Thailand.

Among those awaiting verdicts are protesters arrested for their involvement in the demonstrations of September 2007 that were led by Buddhist monks, including U Gambira, a monk who may face up to 50 years in prison. Zarganar, one of the country’s best-known comedians, who supplied the monks with food, water and other supplies, is still in detention as well. He also faces up to 50 years in prison.

In a country where owning an unauthorized cellphone or distributing a homemade video without government clearance can land you in prison, judges are using a raft of laws to justify harsh sentences.

The government of Myanmar, the former Burma, is resorting to laws covering the use of personal electronics because such infractions are easy to prove, said Sean Turnell, an expert on Burmese politics with Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. In the past, the government relied more heavily on laws dating to the British colonial days involving charges like treason or sedition.

Now, Zarganar has been charged with, among other offenses, violation of the Electronic Transactions Law, which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years for using technology like the Internet to distribute information “detrimental to the interest of or that lowers the dignity of any organization or any person.”

The government has also charged many protesters with violating the Video Act, which carries a three-year prison sentence for “copying, distributing, hiring or exhibiting videotape that has no video censor certificate.”

Mr. Turnell says the use of these laws against protesters also seems to confirm the degree to which the governing generals were alarmed by the protesters’ use of the Internet and satellite phones, which are banned in the country, to circulate images of the protest around the globe.

“They were really spooked by the method of protest as much as the protest itself,” he said.

With a government as secretive as Myanmar’s — the trials of protesters are being held inside a prison without defense lawyers or family present — it is impossible to know with certainty why judges have handed down such unusually long prison sentences.

It is also unclear why the government waited until a few months ago to begin the trials.

Aung Din, a former political prisoner in Myanmar who is now executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma in Washington, an advocacy group, said the government was trying to eliminate all potential opposition before a new constitution takes effect in 2010.


But the government may also be concerned about more immediate problems.

Revenue from the natural gas that Myanmar sells to Thailand is falling fast, in line with global oil and gas prices. That will reduce the amount of foreign currency the generals have and will hurt their ability to buy military equipment or push ahead with the continuing construction of their new capital, Naypyidaw.

Analysts theorize that the harsh prison sentences may reflect a defensive crouch on the part of the generals in light of these unfavorable economic conditions.

The 14 activists who received 65-year sentences last week were arrested in August 2007 as they marched in the street protesting high fuel prices, in a demonstration that preceded the protests led by monks. But many are still awaiting judgment on a number of additional charges, including violation of the Printers and Publishers Registration Act, which requires that the government approve all books, magazines and songs before publication. “We think they will receive a total of at least 150 years in prison each,” Mr. Aung Din said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/wo...0Fuller&st=cse