Myanmar Deports 18 Activists, Including 6 Americans

Eighteen foreign activists, including six Americans, were ordered deported Friday after being sentenced to five years of hard labor for handing out pro-democracy leaflets.

Moments after a judge sentenced the activists to hard labor, an official from the Ministry of Home Affairs read an order suspending the sentences and saying the activists would be deported today from Myanmar, formerly Burma.

The defendants appeared solemn when the judge read the original sentence, which set off murmurs among diplomatic observers surprised at its severity. But after the deportation order was announced, the detainees jumped to their feet, embraced one another and shook hands.

They were embraced by diplomats from their respective countries who attended the trial in a small, concrete courthouse outside the walls of Insein Prison, north of Yangon.

“We are thrilled. We are excited,” Callie Keegan, mother of one of the detainees, Michele Keegan, 19, said from her home in Hamilton Township, N.J. “I’m just going to grab her and hold her forever” when she returns.

In Portsmouth, N.H., there also was rejoicing at the home of college student Anjanette Hamilton. “We were in tears, and now we’re jumping up and down with joy,” said Jan Collier, Hamilton’s aunt.

The reaction was more somber in Washington.

“While we’re pleased that these American citizens will be returning to the United States, this episode is a reminder that there is an absence of protection of human rights in Burma and a failure of the Burmese government to allow freedom of expression,” said White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry.

The 18 detainees left Yangon by plane today and arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, where many were greeted by weeping relatives.

The other Americans are Nisha Marie Anand, 21, of Atlanta; Joel Edward Greer, 34, of New York; Tyler Richard Gianni, 28, of Virginia; and Sapna Chatpan, 21. The hometowns of Greer, Gianni and Chatpan were not available.

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The six Americans, three Malaysians, three Indonesians, three Thais, two Filipinos and one Australian were charged--after six days of questioning and investigation--with violating the 1950 Emergency Provision Act.

The sweeping law allows for maximum 20-year jail terms for inciting unrest and disturbing the peace and tranquillity of the state.

If any of the activists broke Myanmar’s laws again, they would serve the 5-year prison term in addition to any other sentence.

Some observers said the authorities’ actions avoided worsening relations with the international community, while discouraging foreign activists from coming to Myanmar and inciting revolt.

There was a single judge but no jury at the seven-hour trial.

The activists were detained Sunday, the day after the 10th anniversary of a failed nationwide democracy uprising, for handing out small cards to Myanmar citizens telling them the outside world supported their struggle and not to give up.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military in various guises since 1962. More than 3,000 demonstrators were gunned down during the 1988 uprising. Diplomats who had visited the activists before the trial had described them as cheerful and well-fed.