The United Nations special envoy on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is expected to arrive in Rangoon in the next few days for another round of talks with the country's military regime. If his visit is to have any meaning, he must move beyond the U.N.'s traditional diplomatic niceties and make concrete demands for change.
Since 1990, U.N. envoys have made 37 visits to Burma. The Human Rights Council and General Assembly between them have passed more than 30 resolutions, and the Security Council has made two Presidential Statements. All of this has had little effect. Vague requests to the junta to engage in dialogue with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, made without any deadline, have led nowhere. She remains under house arrest, just as she has been for 12 years.
So rather than more of the same, the U.N. must present the regime with specific benchmarks for progress, accompanied by deadlines. The first benchmark should be the release of political prisoners, who currently number over 2,000. Many are in extremely poor health due to bad prison conditions, mistreatment, torture and the denial of medical care. Mr. Gambari should insist that the junta release political prisoners before U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's visit to Burma in December. And Mr. Ban should be willing to cancel his trip if the junta doesn't comply.
Another important benchmark would be immediately ending the military offensive against civilians in eastern Burma, which has destroyed 3,200 villages and displaced more than a million people since 1996. The junta has destroyed twice as many ethnic villages as has the Sudanese regime in Darfur. Burma has the highest number of forcibly conscripted child soldiers in the world.
Setting such benchmarks with realistic deadlines would enable Mr. Gambari to evaluate the progress he is or isn't making. If the junta complies, so much the better. But if it misses the benchmarks, that would clearly signal the need for international action.
The international community could impose several powerful sanctions for failure to meet these benchmarks. One would be revoking the junta's credentials to represent Burma in world bodies like the U.N. The junta is an illegitimate government, having overwhelmingly lost elections in 1990 and proven itself negligent in its handling of Cyclone Nargis. According to the U.N., more than a million cyclone victims have still not received help. The U.N. also says the regime has been stealing millions of dollars of aid money through its below-market fixed exchange rates. The junta is unfit to govern, and there is a legitimate alternative in the form of the leaders elected in 1990 now living as a government in exile.
Beyond that, a universal arms embargo should be imposed through the Security Council -- and maximum pressure placed on China and Russia not to use their veto. Major financial centers such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as the European Union, should impose carefully targeted financial sanctions against the ruling generals' personal assets. And the international community should call the generals by name for what they are: criminals. The prosecution of Sudan's leader Omar al-Bashir and the capture of Radovan Karadzic have set a precedent. Burma's generals should be brought to account in the International Criminal Court or through another jurisdiction.
The U.N.'s credibility is on the line to an unusual degree in Burma, given the obvious illegitimacy of the regime and the obvious harm it's doing to its people. Mr. Gambari owes it both to the Burmese people and to the U.N. to try a different, and hopefully more productive, approach on this trip.
Saturday, 16 August 2008
Friday, 15 August 2008
BURMA: A LAND OF FEAR
Burma is ruled by an illegitimate military dictatorship - one of the most tyrannical the modern era has seen. A regime that refuses any democratisation of the political system, that systematically violates the most fundamental human rights, and that oppresses and exploits its population. It is a regime engaged in the perpetuation of relentless misery. Burma has been ruled by dictatorship since 1962. The regime that rules Burma today, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) came to power in 1988 following the brutal repression of a popular uprising. In response to hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets calling for democracy, the military opened fire, killing thousands. While the exact number will never be known, it is estimated that as many as 5,000 people were killed. Following international pressure the regime held an election in 1990; Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won an overwhelming 82% of the seats. However, the regime never honoured the result, disregarding the vote and strengthened its grip on power.
Today, two decades later, the people of Burma still strive for democracy. In September 2007 monks led a peaceful popular uprising across the country; thousands of civilians took to the streets calling for change. The regime responded with bullets, killing dozens, possibly hundreds and arresting thousands. In May 2008 the brutality of the regime was demonstrated once more as they blocked international aid from reaching the 2.4 million survivors of Cyclone Nargis.
Today Burma is ruled by a regime that:
Rules through fear. The regime uses rape as a weapon of war against ethnic women and children.
Prioritises guns over human development. Burma is the only country in Asia whose defence budget is greater than that of health and education combined.
Has no respect for Human Rights. Severe human rights abuses are routinely committed by the Burmese regime, including murder, torture, rape, detention without trial and massive forced relocations.
Arrests and tortures its critics. Today there are nearly 2,000 political prisoners in Burma. Many are routinely tortured. Burma’s democracy leader, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been under arrest for over 12 years.
Systematically uses forced labour. Men, women and children are routinely forced to work for the army and in construction projects – often imposed with the threat of physical abuse, beatings, torture, rape and murder.
Uses more child soldiers than any other country in the world. There are at least 70,000 child soldiers today in Burma.
Terrorises its own people. The regime’s campaign of terror against any opposition and minority groups has created an estimated one and a half million internally displaced people.
Pursues policies of Ethnic Cleansing. Over the past twelve years, 3,000 villages have been destroyed in Eastern Burma by the ruling military regime.
Today, two decades later, the people of Burma still strive for democracy. In September 2007 monks led a peaceful popular uprising across the country; thousands of civilians took to the streets calling for change. The regime responded with bullets, killing dozens, possibly hundreds and arresting thousands. In May 2008 the brutality of the regime was demonstrated once more as they blocked international aid from reaching the 2.4 million survivors of Cyclone Nargis.
Today Burma is ruled by a regime that:
Rules through fear. The regime uses rape as a weapon of war against ethnic women and children.
Prioritises guns over human development. Burma is the only country in Asia whose defence budget is greater than that of health and education combined.
Has no respect for Human Rights. Severe human rights abuses are routinely committed by the Burmese regime, including murder, torture, rape, detention without trial and massive forced relocations.
Arrests and tortures its critics. Today there are nearly 2,000 political prisoners in Burma. Many are routinely tortured. Burma’s democracy leader, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been under arrest for over 12 years.
Systematically uses forced labour. Men, women and children are routinely forced to work for the army and in construction projects – often imposed with the threat of physical abuse, beatings, torture, rape and murder.
Uses more child soldiers than any other country in the world. There are at least 70,000 child soldiers today in Burma.
Terrorises its own people. The regime’s campaign of terror against any opposition and minority groups has created an estimated one and a half million internally displaced people.
Pursues policies of Ethnic Cleansing. Over the past twelve years, 3,000 villages have been destroyed in Eastern Burma by the ruling military regime.
BURMA RIPOFF
The United Nations on Thursday finally acknowledged that over the past three months some $1.56 million in aid for the victims of Cyclone Nargis has been lost to "odd" Burmese foreign exchange regulations.
"The loss in value due to foreign exchange for the Cyclone Nargis international humanitarian aid during the last three months has been about $1.56 million," said Daniel Baker, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Burma.
"We are not getting the full value of dollars donated for emergency relief, and donors are extremely worried and keen to see that this issue is resolved," said Baker, in the latest UN update on relief efforts for Cyclone Nargis.
UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes had raised concerns about the loss during his first visit to the country last month.
Under Burma's foreign exchange controls, all foreign agencies must convert their dollars in to Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs) at government banks before making local purchases.
A sharp devaluation of the FECs against the dollar between May to July meant the UN and various non-governmental organizations providing relief to victims of Cyclone Nargis, were losing up to 20 to 25 per cent on the FEC exchange rate.
The Burmese military government has apparently refused to drop its foreign exchange requirements, which have been in place for decades, but recommended that UN agencies and NGOs make direct dollar transfers when making purchases in the country, as a means of skirting the FEC use.
The FEC system was put in place to assure that official transactions put dollars in the state banking system and got them out of the ubiquitous black market.
Attracting international aid for the relief effort for Cyclone Nargis, which smashed into central Burma on May 2-3 leaving about 140,000 people dead or missing, has already been complicated by the government's initial reluctance to allow supplies in to the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta and its refusal to grant visas to foreign aid workers.
The refusal to lift its foreign exchange requirements of monetary aid was deemed another barrier to donations for the Cyclone Nargis effort.
The UN had made flash appeals for approximately $500 million in emergency aid for the cyclone's victims.
The country has been cut off from aid from multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and Asian Developemnt Bank and from bilateral aid from most western countries since 1988, when the army cracked down on a pro-democracy movement, killing an estimated 3,000 people.
"The loss in value due to foreign exchange for the Cyclone Nargis international humanitarian aid during the last three months has been about $1.56 million," said Daniel Baker, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Burma.
"We are not getting the full value of dollars donated for emergency relief, and donors are extremely worried and keen to see that this issue is resolved," said Baker, in the latest UN update on relief efforts for Cyclone Nargis.
UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes had raised concerns about the loss during his first visit to the country last month.
Under Burma's foreign exchange controls, all foreign agencies must convert their dollars in to Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs) at government banks before making local purchases.
A sharp devaluation of the FECs against the dollar between May to July meant the UN and various non-governmental organizations providing relief to victims of Cyclone Nargis, were losing up to 20 to 25 per cent on the FEC exchange rate.
The Burmese military government has apparently refused to drop its foreign exchange requirements, which have been in place for decades, but recommended that UN agencies and NGOs make direct dollar transfers when making purchases in the country, as a means of skirting the FEC use.
The FEC system was put in place to assure that official transactions put dollars in the state banking system and got them out of the ubiquitous black market.
Attracting international aid for the relief effort for Cyclone Nargis, which smashed into central Burma on May 2-3 leaving about 140,000 people dead or missing, has already been complicated by the government's initial reluctance to allow supplies in to the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta and its refusal to grant visas to foreign aid workers.
The refusal to lift its foreign exchange requirements of monetary aid was deemed another barrier to donations for the Cyclone Nargis effort.
The UN had made flash appeals for approximately $500 million in emergency aid for the cyclone's victims.
The country has been cut off from aid from multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and Asian Developemnt Bank and from bilateral aid from most western countries since 1988, when the army cracked down on a pro-democracy movement, killing an estimated 3,000 people.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Myanmar gem merchants dismiss US embargo threat
Thousands of sapphires, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, jade and other gems glitter in long glass display cases as merchants haggle with professional buyers — most of them foreigners — and tourists.
Business is good here at the sales center of the Myanmar Gems Museum, despite legislation signed by President Bush last month to ban the import of rubies and jade into America. Yangon gem sellers dismissed the sanction against their government as a symbolic gesture unlikely to have much impact on their lucrative trade.
"Our buyers are almost all from China, Russia, the Gulf, Thailand, India and the European Union, and we can barely keep up with their demand," said Theta Mar of Mandalar Jewelry, a store in the museum gem shop, where prices range from a few hundred dollars to about $18,000 for the best rubies.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, produces up to 90 percent of the world's rubies and is a top international supplier of other gems and jade. The government-controlled sector, often criticized for harsh working conditions and poor environmental controls, is a major source of export revenue for the military.
No recent or reliable official statistics on the gemstone trade are publicly available, but analysts and human rights groups say it likely brings the military regime between $300 million and $400 million a year.
The embargo on gems is the latest U.S. move to apply financial pressure on the junta. Many Western nations have instituted economic and political sanctions against the military government, which seized power in 1988, violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations by monks last September and hindered foreign aid after a devastating cyclone in May.
The U.S. bill bans all import of gems from Myanmar. U.S. officials say Myanmar had been evading earlier gem-targeting sanctions by laundering the stones in third countries before they were shipped to the United States.
The United States also has been trying to persuade the U.N. Security Council to consider introducing international sanctions, and has demanded that the junta release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.
Exiled Myanmar pro-democracy activists hailed the new U.S. measure.
"This legislation sends a strong signal to Burma's military regime that the United States stands firmly on the side of my country's democracy movement," said Aung Din, co-founder of the Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma, which lobbies for political change.
However, the junta has not issued an official response. And local officials have privately told foreign diplomats the embargo will have no effect on the sector's foreign sales unless the wider international community joins in.
Such a move seems unlikely anytime soon. Although the European Union has edged closer to the punitive U.S. position toward Myanmar's military rulers, Yangon's regional trading partners — China, India and members of the Association of Southeast Asian States — have argued that engaging the junta will be more productive in the long run than isolating it through sanctions.
Foreign diplomats also have pointed out that sanctions would primarily impact disadvantaged minorities, who live in many of the gem mining areas of Myanmar.
So the gem trade continues to thrive. Myanmar's rubies, and particularly the rare "Pigeon Blood" stones, are highly prized on international markets because of their unique deep color. The country's precious jadeite deposits produce the dark green "Imperial Jade" that is sought-after in China and other countries in the region.
The junta holds regular gem auctions for foreign merchants during which it sells thousands of lots of valuable stones, which are said to generate upward of $100 million in foreign currency per sale. The last such event, held in November, drew more than 3,600 foreign buyers.
"We are not concerned (by the U.S. embargo)," Myint Myint Cho of the Min Thiha Jewelry Shop in downtown Yangon told a reporter. "We are not thinking of it at all."
Business is good here at the sales center of the Myanmar Gems Museum, despite legislation signed by President Bush last month to ban the import of rubies and jade into America. Yangon gem sellers dismissed the sanction against their government as a symbolic gesture unlikely to have much impact on their lucrative trade.
"Our buyers are almost all from China, Russia, the Gulf, Thailand, India and the European Union, and we can barely keep up with their demand," said Theta Mar of Mandalar Jewelry, a store in the museum gem shop, where prices range from a few hundred dollars to about $18,000 for the best rubies.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, produces up to 90 percent of the world's rubies and is a top international supplier of other gems and jade. The government-controlled sector, often criticized for harsh working conditions and poor environmental controls, is a major source of export revenue for the military.
No recent or reliable official statistics on the gemstone trade are publicly available, but analysts and human rights groups say it likely brings the military regime between $300 million and $400 million a year.
The embargo on gems is the latest U.S. move to apply financial pressure on the junta. Many Western nations have instituted economic and political sanctions against the military government, which seized power in 1988, violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations by monks last September and hindered foreign aid after a devastating cyclone in May.
The U.S. bill bans all import of gems from Myanmar. U.S. officials say Myanmar had been evading earlier gem-targeting sanctions by laundering the stones in third countries before they were shipped to the United States.
The United States also has been trying to persuade the U.N. Security Council to consider introducing international sanctions, and has demanded that the junta release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.
Exiled Myanmar pro-democracy activists hailed the new U.S. measure.
"This legislation sends a strong signal to Burma's military regime that the United States stands firmly on the side of my country's democracy movement," said Aung Din, co-founder of the Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma, which lobbies for political change.
However, the junta has not issued an official response. And local officials have privately told foreign diplomats the embargo will have no effect on the sector's foreign sales unless the wider international community joins in.
Such a move seems unlikely anytime soon. Although the European Union has edged closer to the punitive U.S. position toward Myanmar's military rulers, Yangon's regional trading partners — China, India and members of the Association of Southeast Asian States — have argued that engaging the junta will be more productive in the long run than isolating it through sanctions.
Foreign diplomats also have pointed out that sanctions would primarily impact disadvantaged minorities, who live in many of the gem mining areas of Myanmar.
So the gem trade continues to thrive. Myanmar's rubies, and particularly the rare "Pigeon Blood" stones, are highly prized on international markets because of their unique deep color. The country's precious jadeite deposits produce the dark green "Imperial Jade" that is sought-after in China and other countries in the region.
The junta holds regular gem auctions for foreign merchants during which it sells thousands of lots of valuable stones, which are said to generate upward of $100 million in foreign currency per sale. The last such event, held in November, drew more than 3,600 foreign buyers.
"We are not concerned (by the U.S. embargo)," Myint Myint Cho of the Min Thiha Jewelry Shop in downtown Yangon told a reporter. "We are not thinking of it at all."
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Myanmar police arrest opposition party executive
Police in Myanmar's western Rakhine state arrested a member of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party Tuesday, a party official said.
"Nyi Pu was taken from his home early Tuesday morning," said Thein Naing, a senior official of the National League of Democracy in Rakhine.
"Police said they want to question him but it is not clear what they want to know," he said.
Police could not be contacted for more information on the arrest, because it was unclear exactly which officers detained Nyi Pu and where he was being held. Myanmar police also do not usually release statements.
Nyi Pu's arrest came four days after the anniversary of 1988 pro-democracy protests that were violently suppressed by the military. The only public demonstration known to have taken place in Myanmar to mark the occasion Friday took place in Rakhine.
Nyi Pu is the chairman of the Taunggok branch of the NLD party. Authorities detained 48 demonstrators who took part in Friday's peaceful march through the township, but released all but five the same day.
Taunggok and other parts of Rakhine state are hotbeds of anti-government sentiment. Buddhist monks in the area joined pro-democracy rallies that swelled into nationwide protests last September.
At least 31 people were killed in the country's largest city, Yangon, when the military crushed last year's protests, sparking global outrage. Rakhine has hosted some of the bigger pro-democracy protests held in Myanmar in the past year, while most of the country remains subdued.
Authorities also arrested prominent human rights activist Myint Aye, who has been arrested and imprisoned at least five times in the past 20 years.
No reason was given for the arrest on Friday.
The Aug. 8, 1988 protests brought down longtime dictator Ne Win, but a new group of generals replaced him and brutally crushed demonstrations in September, killing an estimated 3,000 people.
The protests propelled Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, into the political limelight, and led to the founding of her National League for Democracy to challenge army rule.
Elections were held in 1990, but the military refused to recognize the NLD's landslide victory. Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has spent more than 12 of the past 19 years in detention and is currently under house arrest in Yangon.
Police in Myanmar's western Rakhine state arrested a member of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party Tuesday, a party official said.
"Nyi Pu was taken from his home early Tuesday morning," said Thein Naing, a senior official of the National League of Democracy in Rakhine.
"Police said they want to question him but it is not clear what they want to know," he said.
Police could not be contacted for more information on the arrest, because it was unclear exactly which officers detained Nyi Pu and where he was being held. Myanmar police also do not usually release statements.
Nyi Pu's arrest came four days after the anniversary of 1988 pro-democracy protests that were violently suppressed by the military. The only public demonstration known to have taken place in Myanmar to mark the occasion Friday took place in Rakhine.
Nyi Pu is the chairman of the Taunggok branch of the NLD party. Authorities detained 48 demonstrators who took part in Friday's peaceful march through the township, but released all but five the same day.
Taunggok and other parts of Rakhine state are hotbeds of anti-government sentiment. Buddhist monks in the area joined pro-democracy rallies that swelled into nationwide protests last September.
At least 31 people were killed in the country's largest city, Yangon, when the military crushed last year's protests, sparking global outrage. Rakhine has hosted some of the bigger pro-democracy protests held in Myanmar in the past year, while most of the country remains subdued.
Authorities also arrested prominent human rights activist Myint Aye, who has been arrested and imprisoned at least five times in the past 20 years.
No reason was given for the arrest on Friday.
The Aug. 8, 1988 protests brought down longtime dictator Ne Win, but a new group of generals replaced him and brutally crushed demonstrations in September, killing an estimated 3,000 people.
The protests propelled Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, into the political limelight, and led to the founding of her National League for Democracy to challenge army rule.
Elections were held in 1990, but the military refused to recognize the NLD's landslide victory. Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has spent more than 12 of the past 19 years in detention and is currently under house arrest in Yangon.
Monday, 11 August 2008
Burma's detained pro democracy leader granted meeting with lawyer
Burma's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed a rare meeting with her lawyer to discuss her ongoing house arrest.A spokesman for her party says, this is the first time such meeting since 2004.The surprise meeting at her home comes a day after the new UN human rights envoy for Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana left the country after his first visit.Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the last 19 years.
Burma Releases Dissidents Arrested During Protest
Burma's opposition says the military government has released 43 of 48 activists detained Friday for a protest marking the 20th anniversary of the August 8, 1988 democracy uprising.Thein Naing, a member of the National League for Democracy in the northwest state of Rakhine, told reporters Saturday that the dissidents were detained while peacefully marching in the town of Taunggok.He said there was no word on five others, but he hoped the government would release them quickly.President George Bush met Thursday with Burmese activists and refugees in Thailand. A State Department spokesman, Gonzalo Gallegos, said the president reiterated the U.S. commitment to support Burmese efforts to achieve democracy in their country.
Protesters commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Burmese pro-democracy uprising, in front of the Chinese Consulate in Manila's financial district of Makati, Philippines, 08 Aug 2008Demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the uprising were held outside the country Friday. Rallies were held in Manila, Bangkok and at a Burmese refugee camp visited by Laura Bush on Thursday.Armed guards were posted at several important sites in Rangoon, including the famed Shwedagon pagoda, Burma's holiest shrine. Security has tightened in Burma since the military's harsh crackdown on protests last year in which 31 people were killed.Millions of Burmese took to the streets in 1988 to protest the ruling military, which had been in power since 1962. The uprising brought down longtime military ruler Ne Win, but the military eventually regained control after a bloody crackdown that left an estimated 3,000 people dead.
Burma's opposition says the military government has released 43 of 48 activists detained Friday for a protest marking the 20th anniversary of the August 8, 1988 democracy uprising.Thein Naing, a member of the National League for Democracy in the northwest state of Rakhine, told reporters Saturday that the dissidents were detained while peacefully marching in the town of Taunggok.He said there was no word on five others, but he hoped the government would release them quickly.President George Bush met Thursday with Burmese activists and refugees in Thailand. A State Department spokesman, Gonzalo Gallegos, said the president reiterated the U.S. commitment to support Burmese efforts to achieve democracy in their country.
Protesters commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Burmese pro-democracy uprising, in front of the Chinese Consulate in Manila's financial district of Makati, Philippines, 08 Aug 2008Demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the uprising were held outside the country Friday. Rallies were held in Manila, Bangkok and at a Burmese refugee camp visited by Laura Bush on Thursday.Armed guards were posted at several important sites in Rangoon, including the famed Shwedagon pagoda, Burma's holiest shrine. Security has tightened in Burma since the military's harsh crackdown on protests last year in which 31 people were killed.Millions of Burmese took to the streets in 1988 to protest the ruling military, which had been in power since 1962. The uprising brought down longtime military ruler Ne Win, but the military eventually regained control after a bloody crackdown that left an estimated 3,000 people dead.
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