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September Burma justice news: Rakhine, former child soldier faces jail, land rights, ten year anniversary of Saffron Revolution, and more.

October 10, 2017/in Justice Newsletters

Seeking Justice in Burma September 2017 Crisis in Rakhine Since the beginning of the latest military „clearance‟ operations in northern Rakhine State, news from Burma has been dominated by allegations of grave human rights violations against the local Muslim community by the Burmese military. The UN human rights chief has called the operations a “textbook […]

Opinion: Without justice, the innocent will continue to be killed in Burma

October 3, 2017/in News

28 SEPTEMBER 2017 Veronica Collins, ND-Burma Abuses reportedly being carried out in Rakhine are the same as have been documented across the country – especially in ethnic nationality areas – since 2004, writes Veronica Collins of the Network for Human Rights Documentation in Burma. At a recent democracy forum held in Burma’s capital Nay Pyi […]

September Burma justice news: Rakhine, former child soldier faces jail, land rights, ten year anniversary of Saffron Revolution, and more.

October 10, 2017/in Justice Newsletters

Opinion: Without justice, the innocent will continue to be killed in Burma

October 3, 2017/in News

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September Burma justice news: Rakhine, former child soldier faces jail, land rights, ten year anniversary of Saffron Revolution, and more.

October 10, 2017/in Justice Newsletters

Seeking Justice in Burma

September 2017

Crisis in Rakhine

Since the beginning of the latest military „clearance‟ operations in northern Rakhine State, news from Burma has been dominated by allegations of grave human rights violations against the local Muslim community by the Burmese military.

The UN human rights chief has called the operations a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and Human Rights Watch believes the military’s actions amount to “crimes against humanity”.

The Rohingya insurgent group ARSA has also allegedly murdered civilians.

Since ND-Burma began documenting human rights abuses in 2004, we have recorded some 6,000 violations such as the ones reportedly being carried out in northern Rakhine. ND-Burma condemns in the strongest terms any human rights abuses being carried out by government security forces and insurgents.

As long as the government blocks access to international investigators and the media it will be impossible to verify these allegations. ND-Burma therefore urges the government to allow access to the UN fact finding mission as well as the media. The recent government sponsored visit of foreign diplomats and UN officials is a positive start.

Those that have committed human rights abuses must be held accountable. As the current crisis has shown, as long as there is impunity for abuses, they will continue. Indeed, former UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Tomas Quintana explicitly linked the current crisis with Burma‟s decision not to pursue transitional justice as part of its democratisation process.

Military withdraws case against journalists;

Former child soldier faces jail for radio interview

The beginning of the month saw some good news with the military withdrawing criminal complaints against six journalists under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Association Act. The journalists had been arrested along with two others in June after attending a drug burning organised by the Ta‟ang National Liberation Army. The case was roundly condemned as an attempt to punish journalists for “simply doing their job”.

A former child soldier who spoke about his experience on the radio has not been so lucky and remains in custody under section 505(b) of the Penal Code, which has him accused of “intent to cause … fear or alarm to the public”. His sister has said she believes that with the military as the complainant in the case, “only one outcome is possible”.

NLD vows to deliver constitutional reform as monks reiterate calls for change

The NLD has reaffirmed its commitment to changing the country‟s 2008 Constitution at an event celebrating its 29th anniversary. The statement came a few days after monks reiterated calls for constitutional change at an event to mark the anniversary of the Saffron revolution

Confiscated land returned to farmers in Magway;

FIDH report warns of potential “land conflict epidemic”

More good news on land returns as 2,600 acres of land confiscated by the government in 2000 was given back to some 300 farmers in Magway region.

Less good news in a report published by FIDH, which examined human rights violations committed at the Mandalay Myotha industrial Park. The report found that authorities tasked with calculating how much land had been seized from locals frequently under-calculated by some 75-90% and demanded bribes to measure the land accurately. The report warned of a “land conflict epidemic” if land rights legislation was not amended.

ND-Burma legal advisor calls for justice for democracy fighters on ten year anniversary of Saffron Revolution

In an article for Oxford University’s Tea Circle blog to mark the ten year anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, ND-Burma‟s legal advisor Aileen Thomson called on the Burmese government to deliver social justice to those who have fought for democracy:

“Thousands of people throughout Myanmar made incredible sacrifices to move the country towards democracy. […] For that, they have suffered imprisonment, exile, stigmatization, unemployment and have been left otherwise unable to fully participate in their society and enjoy the gains of their struggle. Now that the leaders of that movement have power, now that the country is, in fact, moving slowly towards democracy, those who helped make that happen should be able to enjoy the benefits as well.”

Family of Japanese journalist murdered in 2007 continue to demand answers

The family of a Japanese journalist shot by the military during the 2007 Saffron Revolution are continuing to demand the Burmese government open an investigation into his death. In a letter sent to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the ten year anniversary of Kenji Nagai‟s death, his sister asked for government acknowledgement that he was killed by soldiers, as well as the return of the camera he was holding when he was shot. The military continues to deny he was shot at point blank range, despite the existence of a Pulitzer prize winning photo showing a soldier pointing a rifle directly at him as he lies dying on the floor.

Opinion: Without justice, the innocent will continue to be killed in Burma

October 3, 2017/in News

28 SEPTEMBER 2017

Veronica Collins, ND-Burma

Abuses reportedly being carried out in Rakhine are the same as have been documented across the country – especially in ethnic nationality areas – since 2004, writes Veronica Collins of the Network for Human Rights Documentation in Burma.

At a recent democracy forum held in Burma’s capital Nay Pyi Taw, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was clear about who she believes is to blame for the country’s problems. “The victims of the past, those who can’t shatter the shackles of the past, have caused a lot of hindrances in the democratic transition,” she told those assembled.

The Nobel Laureate’s comments came before the current crisis in Rakhine, where the Burmese military has been accused of a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” by the UN, resulting in the most rapid outflow of refugees since the Rwandan genocide in 1991. Those fleeing the violence arrive in Bangladesh with testimonies of horrific human rights violations, bullet wounds and marks of sexual violence.

It seems it is not victims, but the military that is a ‘hindrance’ on Burma’s path to democracy.

For the last 13 years, the Network for Human Rights Documentation (ND-Burma) has been recording human rights violations and fighting for justice for victims. The abuses reportedly being carried out in Rakhine are the same we have been documenting across the country – especially in ethnic nationality areas – since 2004. Though some violations are committed by ethnic armed organizations, the large majority are carried out by government security forces.

As the world’s attention is on Rakhine, the military has in fact renewed offensives in ethnic nationality areas on the other side of the country. As always, these have been accompanied by allegations of rights violations against civilians.

Indeed, ND-Burma’s documentation suggests that the military has not been restrained by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. Over the course of 2016 – the NLD’s first year in office – ND-Burma recorded almost double the number of human rights violations than in the previous year. As in Rakhine, denial of wrongdoing and impunity for abuses continue to be the norm.

A refusal to examine the country’s bloody past has resulted in the military carrying on with business as usual. ND-Burma believes the only way to stop the cycle of violence is to deliver justice for Burma’s many victims of human rights violations. Those that have committed grave human rights violations need to be held accountable and victims be given the support they need to rebuild their lives.

Currently, impunity and illiberalism is coded into the country’s institutions and laws. The military is not under civilian control and the Constitution it drafted in 2008 provides soldiers de facto immunity from prosecution. 25% of seats in the parliament are reserved for the military and three important ministries continue to be under their control.

When the NLD took office only last year, hope was sky high, both at home and abroad. The Dalai Lama spoke of a “historic milestone for Myanmar,” and “the immense goodwill and worldwide support for this flowering of democracy.” Having refused to investigate the military’s past abuses against civilians, this hope has quickly evaporated.

As a start, Burma needs to give unfettered access to the UN Fact Finding mission to investigate allegations of grave human rights abuses across the country. Most victims ND-Burma interviews say they want nothing more than an end to conflict and guarantees that no one will ever face these abuses again. This will require institutional reform and a drastic recalibration of the military’s role in Burmese politics.

In a case recorded by ND-Burma in 2010, a monk was arrested and tortured by the military for carrying out political activities in support of the NLD. When he refused to speak, the soldiers beating him said “we have the right to kill you, we will not be punished and nobody can take us to court because we are the state caretakers.”

If this attitude is ever to change, Burma will need to start talking about justice.

The Network for Human Rights Documentation (ND-Burma) is a 13-member organization whose members represent a range of ethnic nationalities, women and the LGBTI community. We have been documenting human rights abuses and fighting for justice for victims since 2004.

http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org

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ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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