Press Release: Terry Evans
27 January
Reports of arrest and torture continue in Burma long after the initial crackdown on protesting Buddhist monks last
September. A recent report by Amnesty International has highlighted the arrests of ninety-six activists since the last
visit of the UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari in November. The ongoing arrests are taking place in spite of the junta's
pledge to the UN that the crackdown would stop.
The ruling generals have been particularly aggressive in targeting those who have provided the outside world with
evidence of their brutal treatment of Buddhists monks and pro-democracy activists. For decades the military regime had
maintained a tight control on media in Burma; however, technically savvy young Burmese bloggers have outwitted the
ageing military rulers, and now the junta is exacting a heavy price. The continuing arrests “clearly show that the
government’s chief priority is to silence its citizens who would hold them to account”, Amnesty said.
ENDS