Imphal, April 29 2010: Myanmarese pro-Democracy activists, taking asylum in Manipur, have embarked on a 'covert' health mission providing succour to hundreds of their compatriots.

These activists, who fled Myanmar and have been staying in Manipur since the Military Junta massacred thousands of demonstrators in August, 1988, said that they have taken up the mission as the Military Junta has ignored health care of the Myanmarese citizens in their country.

Talking to this reporter on Thursday, president of Burma Solidarity Organisation (BSO) U Thura said , ''A large number of Myanmarese citizens die due to different epidemics including HIV and Aids and the Junta is not taking up specific health programmes to combat them.

"We cannot remain silent when our fellow citizens become victims of total neglect of the dictatorial regime,", added Thura, who himself is a veterinary doctor.

He disclosed that under the aegis of National Council of Union of Burma (NCUB), various training camps for the community health workers have been organized covertly in Manipur and the trainees come from different parts of Myanmar including Arakan province, Kabow valley and Naga hill tracts, where large number of people are caught in the grip of various epidemics.

The trainers and experts including doctors from National Health and Education Committee (NHEC), a unit of NCUB, also distributes the required medicines to the trainees at the end of such camps after the programme, Thura further informed, that they have been organising such camps at least once or twice every year since the last 15 years.

Thura, who is in charge of the activists taking asylum in 'Western Burma Border' areas including Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, disclosed that some NGOs in Manipur have also been helping them in the health mission by way of providing necessary support during HIV/AIDS awareness programmes.

He said that though the HIV/AIDS prevalence in Myanmar is very high, the Military Junta has been hiding the exact figure of people exact figure of people living with the disease while submitting the country's reports to WHO and other International health organisations.

Informing that a huge amount of money is incurred in organising such health camps, Thura disclosed a worldwide monetary donation campaign amongst the constituent units of NCUB will be carried out very soon.

Under NHEC, the BSO has also been providing study materials to Myanmarese school children in Manipur, he added.

Around ten thousand Myanmarese Nationals escaped and scattered across the world after the Military Junta launched a bloody crackdown on pro-Democracy activists in 1988 .

Since Manipur shares over 300 km porous border with Burma, around 300 of them moved in to seek asylum.

As the Government has also given refugee status to them, the pro-Democracy activists are living freely in different parts of Manipur.

Other fleeing Myanmarese Nationals are also reportedly staying in Thailand, Norway and the US.

But they are linked together in the campaign for restoration of democracy in their country.

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