 Burma
Crimes Against Humanity in Burma
The Current Crisis in Burma
China and Burma
Links to HRF Actions on Burma
Historical Overview
Urge Burma's Neighbors to Keep the Pressure On
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Burma’s armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, were officially formed in 1948, upon Burma’s independence from Britain, to counter the double threat of a Communist insurgency and ethnic resistance. The army was initially seen as instrumental in holding the country together during a period of great internal strife, and consequently gained high status in the eyes of many of Burma’s people. In 1962, the Tatmadaw, under the control of General Ne Win, took control of the government through a coup. At that point, the armed forces numbered approximately 100,000; they have more than quadrupled in the past forty years.[1]
Since 1962 the country has been ruled by different generals brought to power by successive coups. Throughout these years, the military has never lost its monopoly over the state. Today, the country is run by a military junta led by General Than Shwe, who is the current Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, SPDC, (formerly the State Law and Order Restoration Council - SLORC) and the Commander in Chief of the Defense Services. The Tatmadaw and the SPDC share the primary goal of maintaining civilian control and quashing internal opposition and toward that end have turned the armed forces against the civilian population whenever necessary.
In the late 1980s, the army countered pro-democracy demonstrations with force, resulting in the brutal massacre of over 3,000 protestors and opposition figures and the arrest of thousands more.[2] The following year, the junta changed the name of the country from Burma to “the Union of Myanmar”. Facing pressure from their population and the international community, the ruling junta agreed to hold national elections in 1990. The National League for Democracy, NLD, lead by Nobel Price winner Aung San Suu Kyi, won by an overwhelming margin, taking 60% of the vote and 80% of parliamentary seats.[3] The military junta, however, refused to acknowledge the outcome of the election and annulled the results. Subsequent protests resulted in the arrest, torture and killing of hundreds of political opposition supporters, while their leader, Suu Kyi, was placed under house arrest where she has spent 12 of the last 18 years. Since then the human rights situation in the country has grown increasingly worse.
In 1992, the military junta unveiled plans to elaborate a new constitution for the country. After 15 years of stalled political process, guidelines for a new constitution were published in the summer of 2007. These guidelines include many provisions maintaining a decisive role for the military in any future political framework.
In September 2007, Transparency International also released a report identifying Burma as one of the world’s most corrupt countries in the world, second only to Somalia.[4]
Crimes Against Humanity in Burma
 Rights groups and the United Nations have documented widespread and systematic human rights abuses by the Burmese junta against its own population since it seized power decades ago. Those violations include the following crimes against humanity:
- Forced displacement of ethnic minorities: An estimate 2 million people of Burmese origin are living outside of Burma, having fled political repression, violence, and forced displacement by the junta.[5] Of those, several hundred thousands still live in refugee camps, in the jungle or are waiting to receive asylum in Thailand, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh. Over 500,000 estimated internally displaced persons (IDP’s) are currently within Burma’s borders.[6]
- Forced Labor: Exploiting displaced and relocated people, the military junta has used and continues to use forced labor for its “state-sponsored” infrastructure and building projects. The junta has been condemned many times for these practices by the International Labor Organization.
- Recruitment of child soldiers: Rights groups estimate that the Burmese army currently includes as many as 70,000 forcibly conscripted children under the age of 18 (sometimes as young as 11). Burma is the country with the highest number of child soldiers in the world.[7]
- Rape as a State Policy: Rights groups have documented and accused the military of the systematic use of rape as a tool used to intimidate and instill fear in ethnic minority groups and anti-government supporters.[8]
- Enforced disappearances, Extrajudicial killings and Custodial Killings: The Assistance Association of Parents of Political Prisoners of Burma has documented 127 known murders of political prisoners since 1988. 15 of them were known to have been killed while in military custody.[9]
- Torture: The use of torture in interrogation centers and prisons in Burma has been extensively documented, including beatings, “motorcycling” (where prisoners are forced to assume unnatural positions, as if riding a motorcycle, for hours), forced kneeling on broken glass, and hanging by the arms or feet.[10]
In addition, the military junta has imposed stringent restricting on the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly of the Burmese population and has denied the exercise of most basic political and civil rights. For example, the possession of an unregistered fax machine is punishable by a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
For complete reports on the mass atrocities unfolding in Burma see:
The Current Crisis in Burma
In August of 2007, the Burmese military government raised fuel prices exponentially on an already impoverished population. Buddhist monks, highly respected in this primarily Buddhist nation, decided to protest the social injustice. After the army beat several monks during protests, thereby causing great offense, more than a 100,000 people took to the streets on September 24 to protest the abuses of the regime and to demand a democratization process. This was the largest single demonstration in Burma in the last 20 years. In the following days, the junta ordered a curfew and answered the protests with indiscriminate force, firing randomly into the crowd, beating demonstrators and arresting civilian and monks en masse. Ten people, including a foreign journalist, are alleged to have been killed within the first 48 hours following the initial demonstration, but other governments and NGOs believe the numbers may be exponentially higher.[11] On September 26th 2007, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on the crisis in Burma, urged the junta to exercise restraint, and dispatched Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari to the region immediately. The next day, ASEAN countries issued a statement expressing their “revulsion” over the use of “violent force” by the Burmese authorities and calling for the release of all political prisoners and a peaceful transition to democracy.[12]
China and Burma
Burma’s rich oil, gas, timber and other natural resources reserves have made it a prime trade partner for China. Burma further offers China strategic direct access to the Bay of Bengal, outside of the traditional Indian routes, necessary to expand its navy and secure transport of its energy imports from Africa and the Middle East. Having faced growing international isolation since 1988 as a result of its violent crackdowns of the country’s democratic movement, the Burmese government has been increasingly dependent on China for financial support, interest free loans and military supplies. China is Burma’s most important commercial partner.
China has justified its trade with Burma on the basis of its policy of non-interference in internal affairs. It also has shielded the military regime from investigation, scrutiny and sanctions in order to secure its natural resources and economic interests. For example in January 2007, China vetoed (together with Russia) a Security Council resolution condemning the junta and calling for a democratic process.[13] On 26 September of 2007, China similarly blocked a statement from the Security Council condemning the violent repression of the demonstration and calling for sanctions against the junta.[14] The final statement accepted by China was limited to a call for restraint.
As Burma’s most important trading partner, China can exert unequalled pressure on the military junta to stop once and for all its abuses and commit immediately to a meaningful democratization process. In the past, the government of China may have been able to avoid addressing the gross wrongdoings of its trade and investment partners, but no longer. The SPDC’s repressive regime has caused millions to flee the country, creating political and economic instability throughout the region. Any resurgence of violence in Myanmar is not simply an internal affair; it is a matter of concern for the world community, and is properly addressed by the Security Council. As a Security Council Member, China must utilize its privileged relationship with the SPDC to demand an end to this violence and create the necessary conditions for long-term stability in the country and in the region. Only by doing so will China assume its status as a responsible member of the international community.
Links to HRF Actions on Burma:
Burma statement
Letter to China
Hear Betsy Apple on KPFA’s Flashpoints
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