Denial
of the Living Hell of Burma
Happening
in Burma today is a story of betrayal, failure, indifference, hatred, war, crimes
against humanity, genocide, international silence and denial. When
extermination camps were uncovered in Europe over five decades ago, the world
promised the un-measureable acts of horror would never again be allowed to
happen again. The term ‘bystander nations’ was originally used to describe the
lack of response by Allied governments to early knowledge about the unfolding
destruction of European Jews, the reluctance to believe allegations of genocide
and their refusal to adopt policies to act. Genocide in Burma is a reality. The
rulers committing genocidal acts are charming the world getting away with
murder. Why?
There
is a long history of bystander nations’ selective refusal to act. Global
awareness of the prevalence of genocide and ethnic cleansing were heightened by
a 1993 massacre in Rwanda where UN Force Commander-Lieutenant General Romeo D’Allaire
and a small band of UN peacekeepers were abandoned by the world’s major powers.
D’Allaire’s desperate calls to the UN for help were ignored, a failure of
humanity to act. Linda Melvern (1998) drew attention to the complicity of
western nations through the United Nations failure to intervene in the Rwandan
genocide. She points out that genocide was planned without secrecy and after
months of careful preparation, still international community held back. The International
Monetary Fund, the World Bank, foreign countries continued to invest money into
the economy, engaged in trade negotiations with Rwandan authorities,
contributing directly to the conditions which made the genocide possible. Why
did individual nations turn their backs?
Why did they deny the reality?
In
Burma, a similar pattern of official denial and international silence
concerning genocide and crimes against humanity being committed by the military
regime against civilians is unfolding. Former General Thein Sein, now President
Thein Sein, is welcomed and pampered around the world, applauded for
transforming Burma from a military dictatorship into a democratic nation. The
World Bank, foreign investors, governments, and technical experts complicit in
this denial, profit at the expense of the survival of citizens of Burma. The
remote border regions of Burma, home to the ethnic groups, and 55% of the lucrative
natural resources of Burma, are the sites of decades of genocidal conflicts
between the Burmese army and armed ethnic nationality groups. Despite decades of documentation concerning
crimes against humanity in Burma, why is there no action?
The
mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation
in Burma was established in 1992. Each year since, the Special Rapporteur has
reported serious violations of human rights of citizens, denounced
the ruling military regime for failing to cooperate with the international
community and to take serious steps to end the ongoing grave violations of
international law. The regime has consistently denied these allegations and continues to
act with humanity. The 2008 Constitution drafted by former General Thein Sein,
now President Thein Sein, carefully included a clause which protected current
and former military rulers from being held accountable for crimes committed
against the citizens. Foreign governments have supported these crimes through
denial.
Crimes in Burma, a 2010 report by the International Human Rights
Clinic Harvard Law School was commissioned by four people, each of whom had
dealt directly with severe human rights abuses in the international system and
have witnessed the painful consequences of inaction, commissioned a study into
the grave human rights situation in Burma. “We have seen how severe human
rights abuses are not simply condemnable acts but require concerted efforts to
achieve some semblance of accountability and justice”. The report, to evaluate the extent to which
UN institutions have knowledge of reported abuses occurring in the country that
may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity against humanity found UN
bodies had consistently acknowledged abuses and used legal terms associated with
these international crimes. Violations were
widespread, systematic, and part of a state policy.
The
commissioners asked the UN Security Council urgently to establish a Commission
of Inquiry to investigate and report on crimes against humanity and war crimes
in Burma. “If the international community and the UN Security Council fail to
take action”, the grave humanitarian situation in eastern Burma and elsewhere
in the country will continue unchecked and perpetrators of serious human rights
and humanitarian violations will remain unaccountable. “A culture of impunity
will persist that is highly conducive to the continuance and escalation of
violations”. “The world cannot wait while the military regime continues its
atrocities against the people of Burma”.
Sixteen
countries supported a proposed UN Commission of inquiry into serious violations
of international humanitarian law by all parties to Burma’s internal armed
conflicts. No country took leadership at the UN to make it a reality. Foreign ‘bystander
nations’ did not deny the violations but expressed their optimism about
government reforms despite abundant evidence about continuing systematic
repression. This rationalisation of
violations institutionalised in international bodies such as the United Nations
is described by Leo Kuper (1991, Genocide:
A Critical Bibliographical Review) as “the technology of denial developed
by member states of the United Nations as they shield offending governments”.
In their
independent research 2010 report, Crimes
Against Humanity in Western Burma: The Situation of the Rohingyas, the
Irish Centre for Human Rights, concluded that there is “a reliable body of
evidence of acts constituting a widespread or systematic attack against
Rohingya civilian population in North Arakan State. These appear to satisfy the
requirements under international law and confirm the perpetration of crimes
against humanity”. The report warned that failure to deal with the root causes
of the dire situation of the Rohingyas would lead to a bleak future for the
minority. “People committing, allowing, aiding, and abetting these crimes must
be held accountable. The international community has a responsibility to
protect the Rohingyas, to respond to allegations of crimes against humanity and
ensure that violations and impunity do not persist for another generation”.
Tomas Ojea
Quintana, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Burma (March 2013) condemned widespread and systematic human rights
violations being committed against Rohingya in Arakan State. “There continues
to be absolutely no accountability for what is occurring there”. He detailed severe violations and abuses of
international human rights including: detention of over 250 prisoners of
conscience and ongoing torture in places of detention; ongoing arrest and detention of peaceful
protesters; misuse of defamation laws to enforce censorship and heavy
censorship of public broadcasting; increasing violations of land and housing
rights; the judiciary’s lack of independence from the executive branch; ongoing
conflict in ethnic border areas with increased troop presence in various states
has increased human rights violation in Kachin and northern Shan States with
ongoing attacks against civilian populations, extrajudicial killings, sexual
violence and rape, forced labour, portering, arbitrary arrests and detention,
and torture.
The UN Human
Rights Council adopted March 2013 a resolution on the human rights situation in
Burma. The resolution urged the regime to conduct a full and transparent, and
independent investigation into all reports of violations of international human
rights violations and international humanitarian law.
The Burmese
government refuted the report (Observations
by Myanmar on the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Myanmar) in classic denial approach. The Myanmar delegation
pressed for a new rapporteur, one more favourable to Burma.
Each year since
1992 this dance has occurred between the UN and the military regime of Burma.
Prisoners of conscience: “Nobody is arrested on political grounds.
Maintenance of law and order is a key responsibility of the government. Legal
action is taken against those who violated the laws”.
In the upside
down world of Burma, there are no prisoners of conscience only those who
disobey the many laws of the nation which are designed to silence defenders of
freedom and challenge the authority of the rulers. Human rights defenders are criminalised.
Conditions of detention and treatment of prisoners: “Necessary measures are already in place,
an investigation took place. Allegations that Muslim prisoners detained in
Buthidaung Prison after violence in 2012 were tortured and beaten to death.
“The authorities have examined these allegations. After verification, they
found the allegations were baseless”.
Death may occur
in prison but allegations of torture are unfounded as prison authorities would
not do this.
Conflict and Situation of ethnic minorities: “Allegations of attack against civilian
population and other forms of human rights violations are unfounded. The Report
has omitted the destructive, terrorist acts committed by the KIA in Kachin
State. It is an undeniable fact that the KIA has committed terrorist acts there.
These terrorist acts are too obvious to ignore”.
Attacks against
civilian populations are unfounded as the people attacked were really
terrorists.
Situation in Rakhaine State: “Allegations of
harassment, arbitrary arrest, arbitrary restriction of movement, destruction of places of worship and
restrictions thereon were unfounded. They do not match with the real situation
on the ground”.
Total denial of
the violent acts.
Citizenship Act
The Special
Rapporteur’s recommendation to amend the 1982 Myanmar Citizenship Act is
unacceptable. No country is obligated to get citizenship to everybody who is
living there. The 1982 Myanmar Citizenship Act does not target any particular
group. People living legally in Myanmar for three successive generations are
eligible to apply for the naturalised citizenship. Therefore, we see no reason
whatsoever to review or amend the Act”.
Total denial of
existence of Rohingya.
Constitution:
“Time is not ripe to consider the amendment of our
constitutional provisions”.
Prisoner of Conscience
“We cannot
agree to the Special Rapporteur’s observation that Dr Tun Aung is a prisoner of
conscience. He was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment after having been found
guilty of charges such as the instigation and incitement to cause racial
discord, the falsification of national registration certificate etc”.
Dr Tun Aung, a
retired medical doctor, Rohingya Muslim community leader, was tortured, denied
medical treatment, a lawyer, held incommunicado in Sittwe Prison, having done
the exact opposite of what he was charged for, inciting communal violence. On 8
June 2012, the Burmese authorities asked Dr Tun Aung to aid the police in
stopping ethnic violence starting. Dr Tun Aung actively tried to calm an
agitated crowd. He then sought refuge in the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR) where 157 staff of the UNHCR and several members of his family
were sheltered. The same police who asked him to restore calm came to take him to
the headquarters of the special border security force, who tortured him, then
sent him to Sittwe prison, where his family could not visit due to travel
restrictions on Rohingya. He was charged with having 6 yuan foreign currency and
an out of date sim card from Bangladesh. He had no lawyer, no family members.
The only witnesses were police and security authorities. He has since been
sentenced to an extra 6 years in prison. The prosecution charged that his sentence
was too lenient. He has been denied the urgent medical care that he needs.
The Burmese
regime finally submitted a report on the violence against Rohingya in Arakan
State. They accused the UNHCR of harbouring a ‘Bengali’ Doctor who had incited
violence. Dr Tun Aung is a Rohingya, a long time respected leader and medical
doctor. As a member of the Hobart, Tasmania, Amnesty International Group, I and
my Amnesty friends write to Senator Bob Carr, the Foreign Minister of Australia
and to U Soe Thane, chairman of the Committee for Scrutinizing the Remaining
Prisoners of Conscience, in the Ministry of President Thein Sein’s office, for
the immediate unconditional release of Dr Tun Aung. Minister Bob Carr met with
U Soe Thane on his recent visit to Burma. Did they discuss Dr Tun Aung?
The reports continue. All You Can Do Is Pray: Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of
Rohingya Muslims in Burma’s Arakan State, the Human Rights Watch 2013. Endemic
discrimination against the 800, 000 stateless Rohingya Muslim in Arakan State
continues after convulsions of violence in June and October 2012. Homes,
businesses, mosques, Islamic education centres were destroyed, men, women, and
children murdered, stoked by hate campaigns sponsored by Buddhist monks and
other groups. Security forces, police, soldiers tended to either ignore
violence against Rohingya, were active in violence, with government officials
complicit. There are ongoing allegations
of harassment, detentions, sexual violence and rape, arbitrary restriction of
movement, and destruction of places of worship. At least 120,000 Rohingya are
internally displaced from their homes and interred in camps denied movement and
inadequate food and shelter. Access by international organisations to all of these
camps has been denied by security forces. President Thein Sein took no serious
steps to hold accountable those responsible for these attacks or to prevent
further acts of violence.
Genocide
Dr
Gregory Stanton, president of Genocide Watch, the International Alliance to End
Genocide, describes genocide as a process that develops in eight stages
(classification, symbolisation, dehumanisation, organisation, polarisation,
preparation, extermination, denial). These stages are predictable but not
inexorable. At each stage preventative measures can stop it. The process is not
linear. Logically later stages are preceded by earlier stages, but all stages
continue to operate throughout the process. Listed as crimes against humanity
the military regime is committing against the Rohingya are: denial of
citizenship, imprisonment in displaced person camps; widespread murder of
civilians; denial of the right to travel; denial of education rights of
children; denial of food and medicines. Burma remains at stage 7 the process of
extermination due to ongoing wars against minorities, especially Karen, Shan, and
Kachin.
In
every research study mentioned, authors have stated that measures should be
urgently taken to prevent further crimes against the population. Genocide Watch
has stated that preventative measures are available. All studies reveal that if
measures are not taken to stop criminal actions, the regime will act with
impunity. There has been no international response to these appeals. There has
been no Burmese military response and no person held accountable for these
crimes. Atrocities are being committed. Children, women, and men are suffering.
Adama
Dieng, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide voiced
deep concern at reports of increased violence between Muslim and Buddhist
communities in central Burma (29 March 2013). Given the convulsions of violence
in June and October 2012, he called upon government leaders in Burma to
urgently put in place measures to address the immediate consequences of the
current violence and also the root causes of the problem to prevent further
escalation of violence. “Failing to do so can have serious future consequences
which the international community has solemnly promised to prevent”. Dieng
urged the Government to clearly demonstrate “that it is serious about holding
accountable those responsible for the past and present violence, regardless of
their religious or ethnic affiliations”. The government “must also take
measures to protect populations at risk”. Noting that that the State has the
primary responsibility to protect its population, Mr. Dieng called on the
Government to address the situation as a matter of urgency, develop a
comprehensive national strategy that upholds international human rights
standards and promotes reconciliation and tolerance among Buddhist and Muslim
communities in the country.
Where
is the outrage? Why has the international community not held the Burmese
military accountable for their crimes?
Why
does the Australian Government supportive of the Burmese semi-civilian
government? Why does the Australian Government not speak out against the
continuing human rights abuses against civilians of Burma? It is time to take a
sober analysis of what is really happening in Burma.
Australia
was the first western nation to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on
Development with the Myanmar Government in January 2013. It is the second
largest bilateral aid donor to Burma. Australia encourages increased trade and
investment links with Burma, appointed a Trade Commissioner and opened an
Austrade office in Rangoon in May 2013.
Closer bilateral relations have led to significant increases in senior
visits between Burma and Australia.
Foreign Government Language of Denial
Speaking
from Burma, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Honourable
Bob Carr, was interviewed by ABC AM, 10 July 2013. Senator Carr raised the
plight of Rohingyas during meetings with President U Thein Sein, Foreign
Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin, and Ministers U Aung Min and U Soe Thane who
“pointed to efforts they had made to bring communities together and promote
tolerance”. (What efforts? None visible,
but stay out of a cultural situation you know nothing about). Carr refused to
criticise political leadership for lack of strong action concerning violence
against Rohingyas. He emphasised how
difficult the “problem” was as explained by the minister for reconciliation
“we’ve got 11 armed ethnic groups and we’ve got 135 recognised ethnic groups
going back to before colonial times”. (Classic
military response to claim ancient history, no one outside could understand. No
mention that the regime created a nation of 135 artificial races denied one the
rohingya, not a country of citizens).
Already
the second largest contributor of aid to Burma, Senator Carr committed an
additional $3.2 million not contingent on any action to be taken by the
government towards resolving the Rohingya crisis. “We go on giving aid while,
with the credibility that gives us and being seen as something of a champion of
Myanmar, we will continue to press with the government and with opposition
leadership the plight of the Rohingya”. (What happens when the state which
should protect its citizens and therefore be the vehicle of international aid
is actually the perpetrator of crimes against the very people it is supposed to
protect? The Burmese regime has denied access to people in internally displaced
camps and in Arakan State has forced Rohingya to pay for the donated food.
There are still members of international non-governmental aid organisations in
prison). Public condemnation of the
regime practices and calls for changes are required not quiet support.
International news headlines focussed on
“ethnic and sectarian tensions in Rakhaine and not about the fact that the
government has concluded peace agreements, ceasefires with 11 armed ethnic
groups, which is an awe inspiring achievement, one that the country can truly
be proud of”. The regime of Burma, culpable for crimes against humanity and
genocide, should be held accountable not courted. Ethnic and sectarian tensions
are words to deny the truth of genocide, to slide over the culpability of state
actions.
The
Australian government “a champion of Myanmar” is no friend of the people of
Burma. The Australian Government needs to publicly denounce the actions of the
Government of Burma and call for an international inquiry into crimes against
humanity. Disorder and violence are institutionalised and normalised in Burma.
The culture of denial encourages turning collective blind-eyes, leaving abuses
unexamined and normalised as part of every-day life. The Australian Government
knows atrocities committed by the regime. It is time to speak the truth, deny
support for the regime, and support the people of Burma. Or do they just want
to be another bystander nation?
