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AAPP (2010) The Role of Political Prisoners in the National Reconciliation Process

March 13, 2010/in ND-Burma's Reports

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AND POLITICAL PRISONERS A genuine, inclusive process of national reconciliation is urgently needed to resolve the current conflicts and make progress towards peace and democracy. Political prisoners represent the struggle for democracy, human rights, equality and self-determination. A crucial first step in a national reconciliation process is official recognition of ALL Burma’s 2,100 plus […]

ND-Burma quarterly Human Rights violations update (July – September, 2009)

November 9, 2009/in ND-Burma's Reports, Periodic Report

Quarterly Report about the Human Rights situation in Burma from ND-Burma bulletins (1st July – 30th September 2009) This report details; The number of bulletins ND Burma has received during this period. The type of information sent by organizations (to avoid creating an overlap of bulletins among ND Burma members) The type of violations, committed […]

AAPP (2010) The Role of Political Prisoners in the National Reconciliation Process

March 13, 2010/in ND-Burma's Reports

ND-Burma quarterly Human Rights violations update (July – September, 2009)

November 9, 2009/in ND-Burma's Reports, Periodic Report

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AND POLITICAL PRISONERS

A genuine, inclusive process of national reconciliation is urgently needed to resolve the current conflicts and make progress towards peace and democracy. Political prisoners represent the struggle for democracy, human rights, equality and self-determination. A crucial first step in a
national reconciliation process is official recognition of ALL Burma’s 2,100 plus political prisoners, accompanied by their unconditional release. This is an essential part of trust-building between the military rulers, democratic forces, and wider society. In order for progress towards genuine national reconciliation and democratic transition to be sustainable, ordinary people across Burma must believe in the process. While activists remain in prison or continue to be arrested for voicing their political dissent, the people of Burma will have no trust in any political process proposed by the SPDC. There can be no national reconciliation or democratic transition in Burma, as long as there are political prisoners.
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Quarterly Report about the Human Rights situation in Burma from ND-Burma bulletins (1st July – 30th September 2009)

This report details;

The number of bulletins ND Burma has received during this period.
The type of information sent by organizations (to avoid creating an overlap of bulletins among ND Burma members)
The type of violations, committed by SPDC troops during this period.
The place where the violations occurred.
The dates when violations are occurring.
Information that may support an advocacy purpose (e.g. analyzing ND-Burma bulletins to look at the type and extent of taxation in Burma.)

Note: Please see the HTML file which is a summary report of ND-Burma bulletins. ND-Burma public bulletins also can be viewed on the ND-Burma website and Martus search engine.

From 1st July through to 30th September, ND-Burma collected 89 cases of Human Rights violations committed by the SPDC and inputted them into Martus software. The violations recorded contained the following categories;

Arbitrary/ illegal arrest/ detention (12 cases)
Arbitrary Taxation (38 cases)
Confiscation/ destruction of property (9 cases)
Disappearances (1 case)
Forced labor (15 cases)
Forced Prostitution (2 cases)
Forced Relocation (2 cases)
Human Trafficking (11 cases)
Killings (4 cases)
Obstruction of freedom of movement (10 cases)
Obstruction of freedom of expression/ Assembly (9 cases)
Other sexual violence (6 cases)
Rape (7 cases)
Torture, Inhumane or degrading treatment(14 cases)
Use of Child Soldiers (5 cases)

These violations occurred in Rangoon division, Mandalay division, Magwey division, Irrawaddy division, Pegu division , Tenasserim division, Karen state, Kayah (Karenni) state, Kachin state, Rakhaing (Arakan) state, Mon state and Chin state.

Note: One bulletin may include more than one category. The information documented by ND-Burma does not cover the whole Human Rights situation in Burma. Arbitrary Taxation is the most recorded violation, this is in part due to the fact that ND-Burma is currently focusing on collecting these violations for a report.

Graph 1, ND-Burma Quarterly Report, July-September, 2009

Number of Human Rights violations by State and Division

States and Divi- sions	Arbi- trary Arrest/ Deten- tion	Arbi- trary Taxa- tion	Confis- cation/ Destruc- tion of Property	Disapp- earance	Forced Labour	Forced Prosti-tution	Forced Relo- cation	Human Traffic- king	Killings	Obstruc- tion of Freedom of Move- ment	Obstruc- tion of Free- dom of Expres- sion/ Assem- bly	Other Sexual Viol- ence	Rape	Torture, Inhu- mane or degra- ding treat- ment	Use of Child Soldier
Ran- goon Division	6			1						5	4			1	2
Man- dalay Division								1				1	1		2
Pegu Division	1													3
Magway Division	2								1	1	1			3
Irra- waddy Division	1									1	1
Tena- sserim Division		13	4		6		1				2			4
Mon State	1	13	2		4					1			1	3
Karen State		3							2				1	2
Kayah (Karenni State)	2		2							1	1
Kachin State		6			1									1
Chin State		1			1									1	1
Rakhaing (Arakan) State		6	1		1		1			1

Graph 2, ND-Burma Quarterly Report, July-Sept, 2009

The following example of Human Rights violation is taken from an interview with a witness, recorded on the ND-Burma database.

[blockquote]During an SPDC offensive against the Mon insurgent group, Rehmonnya, several women in Magyi village, Ye township were raped by soldiers. The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), a ND-Burma member organization, field worker was able to interview a person who witnessed the assaults on August 8th 2009.

“At about 11:00 am on August 8, when I went to the southern part of the sea to find some turtle eggs, I saw 3 young girls raped by 5 soldiers on a farm. The 3 young girls screamed for help, but no one was around. The 3 girls are around 20 to 25 [years old]. One girl was [gang] raped by 3 soldiers and the other 2 were raped once. I needed to hide in a bush because I had to make sure the soldiers did not see me. If they had seen me – I strongly can say they would have shot me. When they finished raping the girls the soldiers left. I think those solders were from the Navy troops that are based in A Daik village, Yebyu Township”.

Note: Mawyawaddy Navy Headquarter is operated by Major Khin Maung Oo. This incident occurred at a time when the navy troop was temporarily based near Magyi village, Khawza sub-township, Southern part of Ye township, Mon State. [/blockquote]

	Arbitrary/Illegal Arrest/Detention	Arbitrary Taxation	Confiscation/Destruction of Property	Disappearance	Forced Labor	Forced Prostitution	Forced Relocation	Human Trafficking	Killings	Obstruction of Freedom of Movement	Obstruction of Freedom of Expression/ Assembly	Other Sexual Violence	Rape	Torture, Inhumane or degrading treatment	Use of Child Soldiers
Rangoon Division	6			1						5	4			1	2
Mandalay Divison								1				1	1		2
Pegu Division	1													3
Magwey Division	2								1	1	1			3
Irrawaddy Division	1									1	1
Tenasserim Division		13	4		6		1				2			4
Mon State	1	13	2		4					1			1	3
Karen State		3							2				1	2
Kayah (Karenni) State	2		2							1	1
Kachin State		6			1									1
Chin State		1			1									1	1
Rakhaing (Arakan) State		6	1		1		1			1

When did the violations occur?

No	Month	Year	Bulletin (s)
1	Jan, Feb, Apr, May, June, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.	2009	59
2	Jan, Feb, May, June, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.	2008	22
3	Jan, Mar, May, Dec.	2007	6
4	Nov.	2006	1
5	Jan.	2004	1
	Total Bulletins		89

Source. All the organizations that created the bulletins for this period used their own sources (primary sources, i.e. they interviewed victims and witnesses) and secondary sources as Narinjara, DVB, Kaladan News, RFA , Khonumthung News and Yoma 3.