BBC News Online: World: Asia-Pacific

Burma accused of murder

UN special investigator Rajsoomer Lallah said he had received reports of massacres in which more than 100 minority people had been killed this year.

Mr Lallah was not allowed to visit Burma, also known as Myanmar, but collected information for his report in other countries.

He said the most frequent human rights violations involved extortion, rape, torture and forced labour, along with some summary executions and forced relocation of minorities.

Jail

Mr Lallah also noted government attempts to destroy the opposition National League of Democracy (NLD).

The NLD, headed by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won Burma's elections in 1990, but the military refused to hand over power.

Mr Lallah said NLD members and sympathisers were subject to intimidation, arbitrary arrest and detention under "an arsenal of laws".

"Torture or other forms of inhuman treatment of political detainees are believed to be routine, especially during initial interrogation," he added.

Many prisoners lacked medical attention, were fed inadequate diets and kept "in tiny cells meant for dogs".

Cases documented by Mr Lallah include: -

• one man jailed for seven years for displaying a poster calling for political dialogue

• another jailed for two years for allegedly tuning his radio to Voice of America

• a journalist sentenced to ten years jail for passing information to foreign reporters

The report also drew attention to the plight of children in Burma, where unofficial reports put the number of child soldiers at 50,000, the highest of any country.

"Violence against children is reportedly on the increase, especially in rural ethnic minority areas," Mr Lallah said.

"[We] continue to receive information on incidents of wilful killing, torture, trafficking and forced labour of children."