A Stitch in Haste

It is a crime to complain to the outside world about Burma's military junta, punishable by prison or even death:

A [Burma] court has sentenced a lawyer to seven years in prison for advising a group of farmers to file grievances with the International Labor Organization, the world labor body said.

A court in Daik-U, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the capital [Rangoon], sentenced Aye Myint on Oct. 31 for "spreading false information," according to an ILO statement received Wednesday.

The statement said Aye Myint was charged because he advised farmers whose land was confiscated by authorities to report the matter to the ILO liaison officer in [Rangoon], Richard Horsey.

[Burma's] junta recently said it would withdraw from the ILO to protest the agency's criticism of the country.

Aye Myint has been jailed before. He was given a death sentence for treason in 2003 because of his alleged contacts with Horsey, but was released in January 2005 following international pressure.

Of course, if this had happened in China (and it does), some apologists would say it was no big deal.

I guess all it takes to make violating human rights a "relative concept" is a nuclear arsenal and some "neat-o" skyscrapers.