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Burma's
War on its own People
Written by Rene Wadlow
Wednesday, 07 December 2005
"We are faced with a
country which is at war with its own people." - Justice
Rajsoomer Lallah,
Former UN Commission on Human Rights - Special Rapporteur on
Myanmar
The recent plea for UN Security
Council Action on Burma from former Czech President Vaclav Havel
and the retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has led
to strong reactions from the Myanmar (Burma) military-led government.
The Burmese government has wildly lashed out at everyone it considers
to be a part of the opposition both in the country and in foreign
governments and NGOs. The plea for action was accompanied by
massive reports of slave labor, systematic rape, the conscription
of child soldiers and the massive, deliberate destruction of
villages, food sources and medical services, especially against
ethnic minorities. Recent interviews have been carried out among
the thousands of refugees who have fled to Thailand and a smaller
number to Bangladesh.
Most of this information has
been available from United Nations sources for over a decade.
The UN Commission on Human Rights appointed Professor Yozo Yokota,
a highly competent Japanese law professor as Special Rapporteur.
He made his first report in 1993 after interviewing people both
in Burma and in the frontier area of Thailand. He continued year
after year to present a sad picture of repression against individual
democrats and reformers and the brutal repression of the ethnic
minorities. (I will follow a usual practice of calling the majority
population -Burmans - about 60 percent of the population, the
non-Burman - Mon, Kachen, Karen, Shan etc - ethnic minorities
- about 40 percent - without going into detail as to what is
an ethnic group. All the citizens of Myanmar are Burmese. While
the name of the country was changed by the military, they did
not change the name of the people living there.)
In addition to the yearly reports
of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, the International Labor
Office (ILO) investigated and then acted upon the finding concerning
forced labor, especially forced labor imposed by the military
on the ethnic minorities to set up military camps, to carry supplies,
often to walk in front of the troops to set off any land mines
planted. The minority women are often forced to be sexual partners
to the soldiers - usually the officers. The ILO has a convention
on forced labor which Burma had ratified in 1955 during the Cold
War days when the only forced labor mentioned was that of the
gulag camps of the Soviet Union. The ILO committee has pointed
out that not only does forced labor continue but that no soldier
has been arrested, tried or convicted for his involvement in
this form of human rights violation.
Faced with the fact that the
human rights situation showed no signs of improving and that
the steady flow of refugees to Thailand and Bangladesh threatened
regional stability, the UN Secretary General appointed a Special
Envoy to facilitate any efforts which the government might take
toward a more open society. Unfortunately, the Special Envoy
has had little positive movement to encourage beyond a few very
imprecise statements on the "road to democracy". When
in May 2002, the military government released the opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, its official spokesman
Lt. Col. Hla Min said " We shall recommit ourselves to allowing
all of our citizens to participate freely in the life of our
political process, while giving priority to national unity, peace
and stability of the country and the region." Peace and
stability required a quick end to Aung San Suu Kyi's ability
to leave her home and to the arrest of some of her supporters.
But the priority of 'national
unity' is the military government's prime argument for its repressive
measures arguing that the country would "fall apart"
without the junta's control. The soldiers-in-power probably believe
their own statements that national security takes precedence
over all other obligations and that repression and a 'divide
and rule' policy is the only way to prevent the ethnic minorities
from breaking up the country into dozens of small states, opening
the door to Thai, Chinese, Indian and Bangladesh influence. The
military, however, have spent the last 43 years refusing to discuss
seriously with the minorities to see if the military nightmare
had any grounds in reality.
In 1962, U Nu, the last freely
elected Prime Minister, invited all ethnic leaders to Rangoon
to enter into talks to find lasting solutions to the political
causes of disunity and political unrest which had begun at independence
in 1948. The minority leaders accepted the invitation, but before
the talks ended, General Ne Win and the military seized power,
jailed the participants and destroyed any chance for a peaceful
outcome.
Shortly after the partial change
of military leaders in 1988, the younger officers in power, who
had fought against the minority insurgencies, adopted a new strategy
- no doubt inspired by movies of Mafia bosses. The 'deal' proposed
to the militarized insurgency leaders was that they could keep
their weapons, have a certain control over their own areas, halt
their wars against the military, and divide the income from the
export of drugs, gems, wood and the import of goods without custom
duties between themselves and the military.
Fourteen groups accepted and
technically stopped their wars; five minorities continue their
struggle with no end in sight. Since the 'deal' allows certain
military officers to make large amounts of illegal money, the
only disputes within the system is over who gets what 'cut'.
The minority military also have ruthless and unchecked control
of the areas allotted to them .Some groups such as the Wa, after
the cease-fire turned their energies to expanding opium production
and fought against the armed forces of Khun Sa, the Shan opium
leader and chief rival. The Wa have now added to the opium trade
the production of methamphetamine pills for Burmese youth and
that of Yunnan and other border areas of China.
While it's important to be critical
of the Myanmar military government and their repressive policies,
we should not idealize the military forces of the ethnic insurgencies.
In 1992-1993, I was involved in getting the National Council
of the Union of Burma created by the insurgencies and the democratic
Burman who had taken refuge in the ethnic minority zones to sign
the Geneva conventions of August 12, 1949 and the additional
protocols which provide the basic rules of international humanitarian
law in armed conflict. The Union President, General Saw Bo Mya
of the Karen National Union and the three Vice Presidents signed
in January 1993. While the signature is symbolic - only governments
may sign the Geneva conventions, the signature was widely noted
and led the Myanmar government to sign the Conventions which
they had always refused to do until then. The signature led to
a mutual release of war prisoners - but not to an exchange since
the two sides in the conflict refused direct contact at that
time.
Prior to the signature, I had
discussed with officials of the International Committee of the
Red Cross and reviewed what was known of battle conditions in
Burma where humanitarian law was largely unknown.
Today, there is still irregular
fighting between the army and the ethnic insurgencies, fighting
which gives a pretext to destroy villages along the frontier,
to push the population into Thailand and to sell the best hardwood
trees to Thai merchants - usually acting on behalf of the Thai
military. The population under the control of the ethnic military
is torn between a small group who benefit from the drug and gem
trade and the larger group whose low standard of living has further
declined as the government, under the pretext of local autonomy,
has withdrawn educational and medical services. There was never
a structured development policy for the frontier areas so that
the few teachers or nurses were the only sign that the area was
part of the State.
Burma faces two basic and related
issues: the installation of democratic government and a constitutional
system which allows autonomy to the minority peoples. Both tasks
are difficult. There is little democratic tradition or ethos
upon which to structure a democratic government. While a federal
system would be the most suited for a pluriethnic state, there
has been little coordinated political pressure for a federal
system. There is little pluriethnic leadership and little 'national
vision'. What leadership exists both in the military and the
insurgencies is often motivated by personal and clanic interests,
and leaders recruit allies similarly motivated. Only peace will
allow new leadership to emerge with broader motivations and allow
all citizens to participate freely in a renewed political process.
Rene Wadlow is editor of the
online journal of world politics www.transnational-perspectives.org
and an NGO representative to the UN, Geneva. Formerly, he was
professor and Director of Research of the Graduate Institute
of Development Studies, University of Geneva. Photo from Burma.indymedia.org
In the next article, I will look
at some of the possibilities through UN action for positive changes.
For an introduction to the role
of the military in Burma see this article http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/658/
For an extensive look at the
ethnic insurgencies see Martin Smith Burma: Insurgency and the
Politics of Ethnicity (London: ZED Books, 1991, 492pp.). There
is a second, updated edition from 1999.
For a more personal and artistic
view of the minority areas see the report of an American painter
and pro-democracy activist Edith Mirante Burmese Looking Glass
(New York: Grove Press, 1993, 333pp.).
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Articles Archive Written by Rene Wadlow Wednesday, 07 December 2005 "We are faced with a
country which is at war with its own people." - Justice
Rajsoomer Lallah, The recent plea for UN Security Council Action on Burma from former Czech President Vaclav Havel and the retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has led to strong reactions from the Myanmar (Burma) military-led government. The Burmese government has wildly lashed out at everyone it considers to be a part of the opposition both in the country and in foreign governments and NGOs. The plea for action was accompanied by massive reports of slave labor, systematic rape, the conscription of child soldiers and the massive, deliberate destruction of villages, food sources and medical services, especially against ethnic minorities. Recent interviews have been carried out among the thousands of refugees who have fled to Thailand and a smaller number to Bangladesh. Most of this information has been available from United Nations sources for over a decade. The UN Commission on Human Rights appointed Professor Yozo Yokota, a highly competent Japanese law professor as Special Rapporteur. He made his first report in 1993 after interviewing people both in Burma and in the frontier area of Thailand. He continued year after year to present a sad picture of repression against individual democrats and reformers and the brutal repression of the ethnic minorities. (I will follow a usual practice of calling the majority population -Burmans - about 60 percent of the population, the non-Burman - Mon, Kachen, Karen, Shan etc - ethnic minorities - about 40 percent - without going into detail as to what is an ethnic group. All the citizens of Myanmar are Burmese. While the name of the country was changed by the military, they did not change the name of the people living there.) In addition to the yearly reports of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, the International Labor Office (ILO) investigated and then acted upon the finding concerning forced labor, especially forced labor imposed by the military on the ethnic minorities to set up military camps, to carry supplies, often to walk in front of the troops to set off any land mines planted. The minority women are often forced to be sexual partners to the soldiers - usually the officers. The ILO has a convention on forced labor which Burma had ratified in 1955 during the Cold War days when the only forced labor mentioned was that of the gulag camps of the Soviet Union. The ILO committee has pointed out that not only does forced labor continue but that no soldier has been arrested, tried or convicted for his involvement in this form of human rights violation. Faced with the fact that the human rights situation showed no signs of improving and that the steady flow of refugees to Thailand and Bangladesh threatened regional stability, the UN Secretary General appointed a Special Envoy to facilitate any efforts which the government might take toward a more open society. Unfortunately, the Special Envoy has had little positive movement to encourage beyond a few very imprecise statements on the "road to democracy". When in May 2002, the military government released the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, its official spokesman Lt. Col. Hla Min said " We shall recommit ourselves to allowing all of our citizens to participate freely in the life of our political process, while giving priority to national unity, peace and stability of the country and the region." Peace and stability required a quick end to Aung San Suu Kyi's ability to leave her home and to the arrest of some of her supporters. But the priority of 'national unity' is the military government's prime argument for its repressive measures arguing that the country would "fall apart" without the junta's control. The soldiers-in-power probably believe their own statements that national security takes precedence over all other obligations and that repression and a 'divide and rule' policy is the only way to prevent the ethnic minorities from breaking up the country into dozens of small states, opening the door to Thai, Chinese, Indian and Bangladesh influence. The military, however, have spent the last 43 years refusing to discuss seriously with the minorities to see if the military nightmare had any grounds in reality. In 1962, U Nu, the last freely elected Prime Minister, invited all ethnic leaders to Rangoon to enter into talks to find lasting solutions to the political causes of disunity and political unrest which had begun at independence in 1948. The minority leaders accepted the invitation, but before the talks ended, General Ne Win and the military seized power, jailed the participants and destroyed any chance for a peaceful outcome. Shortly after the partial change of military leaders in 1988, the younger officers in power, who had fought against the minority insurgencies, adopted a new strategy - no doubt inspired by movies of Mafia bosses. The 'deal' proposed to the militarized insurgency leaders was that they could keep their weapons, have a certain control over their own areas, halt their wars against the military, and divide the income from the export of drugs, gems, wood and the import of goods without custom duties between themselves and the military. Fourteen groups accepted and technically stopped their wars; five minorities continue their struggle with no end in sight. Since the 'deal' allows certain military officers to make large amounts of illegal money, the only disputes within the system is over who gets what 'cut'. The minority military also have ruthless and unchecked control of the areas allotted to them .Some groups such as the Wa, after the cease-fire turned their energies to expanding opium production and fought against the armed forces of Khun Sa, the Shan opium leader and chief rival. The Wa have now added to the opium trade the production of methamphetamine pills for Burmese youth and that of Yunnan and other border areas of China. While it's important to be critical of the Myanmar military government and their repressive policies, we should not idealize the military forces of the ethnic insurgencies. In 1992-1993, I was involved in getting the National Council of the Union of Burma created by the insurgencies and the democratic Burman who had taken refuge in the ethnic minority zones to sign the Geneva conventions of August 12, 1949 and the additional protocols which provide the basic rules of international humanitarian law in armed conflict. The Union President, General Saw Bo Mya of the Karen National Union and the three Vice Presidents signed in January 1993. While the signature is symbolic - only governments may sign the Geneva conventions, the signature was widely noted and led the Myanmar government to sign the Conventions which they had always refused to do until then. The signature led to a mutual release of war prisoners - but not to an exchange since the two sides in the conflict refused direct contact at that time. Prior to the signature, I had discussed with officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross and reviewed what was known of battle conditions in Burma where humanitarian law was largely unknown. Today, there is still irregular fighting between the army and the ethnic insurgencies, fighting which gives a pretext to destroy villages along the frontier, to push the population into Thailand and to sell the best hardwood trees to Thai merchants - usually acting on behalf of the Thai military. The population under the control of the ethnic military is torn between a small group who benefit from the drug and gem trade and the larger group whose low standard of living has further declined as the government, under the pretext of local autonomy, has withdrawn educational and medical services. There was never a structured development policy for the frontier areas so that the few teachers or nurses were the only sign that the area was part of the State. Burma faces two basic and related issues: the installation of democratic government and a constitutional system which allows autonomy to the minority peoples. Both tasks are difficult. There is little democratic tradition or ethos upon which to structure a democratic government. While a federal system would be the most suited for a pluriethnic state, there has been little coordinated political pressure for a federal system. There is little pluriethnic leadership and little 'national vision'. What leadership exists both in the military and the insurgencies is often motivated by personal and clanic interests, and leaders recruit allies similarly motivated. Only peace will allow new leadership to emerge with broader motivations and allow all citizens to participate freely in a renewed political process. Rene Wadlow is editor of the online journal of world politics www.transnational-perspectives.org and an NGO representative to the UN, Geneva. Formerly, he was professor and Director of Research of the Graduate Institute of Development Studies, University of Geneva. Photo from Burma.indymedia.org In the next article, I will look at some of the possibilities through UN action for positive changes. For an introduction to the role of the military in Burma see this article http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/658/ For an extensive look at the ethnic insurgencies see Martin Smith Burma: Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity (London: ZED Books, 1991, 492pp.). There is a second, updated edition from 1999. For a more personal and artistic view of the minority areas see the report of an American painter and pro-democracy activist Edith Mirante Burmese Looking Glass (New York: Grove Press, 1993, 333pp.). Home Page | AWC Goals | AWC Branches | Archives Resolution 2010 | Human Manifesto | AWC History United Nations | AWC Staff | Join Online Today | Worldometers Contact Us |