Preliminary key findings of joint FIDH-ITUC mission on Burma
23 Oct '07
3 min read
After the September crackdown on peaceful protests in Burma, the International Trade Unions Confederation (ITUC) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) decided to send a joint international fact-finding mission on the Thai border with Burma to collect first-hand information on the wave of repression.
The objective was also to discuss with Burmese pro-democracy and human rights groups about possible international strategies to contribute to the democratization of the country.
The mission, composed of four members from Australia, Belgium, and Thailand, stayed in Bangkok and on the Thai-Burma border from October 13 to 21. The mission did not travel to Rangoon or central Burma as the risks involved for the people interviewed would have been too high.
"We interviewed 13 persons who participated in the protests in Burma and subsequently had to flee to Thailand. They could not live safely anymore in Burma as they had been followed, their homes raided, and their pictures distributed", said Alison Tate, mission delegate representing ITUC.
"While no accurate and verifiable number of deaths or wounded can be given at this stage, we can assert that the repression was brutal and systematic. Most of the participants witnessed people being shot dead, as well as persons beaten to death", said Gaëtan Vanloqueren, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) mission member and Actions Birmanie spokesperson. It is the first time that the monks have been a direct target of repression.
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