CSW, CHRO In Major Push for Ethnic Rights in Burma

By Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Chin Human Rights Organization | March 22, 2013

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) today called on the international community to push ethnic and religious minority rights higher up the reforms agenda for Burma, while wrapping up a week of advocacy in both Brussels and Washington DC.

On Tuesday this week, representatives from CSW, CHRO, Human Rights Watch, and the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand testified at a hearing on Burma at the Subcommittee on Human Rights at the European Parliament in Brussels, which focused on the situation in ethnic

Myanmar: Authorities Must Protect Communities at Risk of Violence

By Amnesty International | March 21, 2013

Violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmar that reportedly left several people dead demonstrates an urgent need for Myanmar authorities to protect people at risk, Amnesty International said.

On Wednesday 20 March, violent clashes broke out between Muslim and Buddhist communities in Meiktila, a town in Myanmar’s Mandalay Division, following a dispute at a Muslim-owned gold shop.

According to local sources, several people have been killed. There was also widespread damage to property in the town, including the destruction of mosques and a government building.

Tensions between Muslim and Buddhists have been heightened in certain parts of Myanmar, such as in Rakhine state where violence

11-17 March: Letpadaung Report Does Not Address Concerns, Places Security Forces Above the Law

March 18, 2013

This week the much anticipated report of the Letpadaung investigation commission, appointed by President Thein Sein and chaired by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was finally released. The report acknowledges that the mine lacks strong environmental protection measures and would not create more jobs for local people. It also recognizes that farmers were forcibly evicted from their land to make way for the project. However the report says the copper mine project “should not be unilaterally stopped.” This recommendation deeply disappointed local farmers and activists who angrily rejected the commission’s report while the Wanbao Company welcomed it.

After the release of the report, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visited the villages affected by the project to explain the findings of the commission. She called for the communities to stop opposing the project and accept compensation for their lost land. “We have asked the company to first give jobs to our people and second to maintain a healthy

4-10 March: Rampant Land Confiscation Requires Further Attention and Action from Parliamentary Committee

March 12, 2013

This past week the parliamentary Farmland Investigation Commission submitted its report on land confiscation to the parliament. The report finds that the military have taken almost 250,000 acres of land from villagers. The commission stated that they had spoken to military leaders about the confiscation, “Vice Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing […] confirmed to me that the army will return seized farmlands that are away from its bases, and they are also thinking about providing farmers with compensation.”

The investigation is a step in the right direction but there still exist very large problems

Burma’s Facade: An Update on Conflicts, Displacement & Human Rights Violations

By Altsean-Burma | March 12, 2013

This briefer, which covers the period from October 2012 to March 2013, includes the following developments:

• Regime authorities continue to commit serious human rights violations against Rohingya in Arakan State, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, torture, the rape of women, and restrictions on religious freedom. The regime also tightens restrictions on freedom of movement, and refuses to consider citizenship rights for Rohingya
• From December, the regime dramatically intensifies military offensives against the Kachin Independence Army. The Tatmadaw uses fighter jets, helicopters, artillery, mortars, and cluster bombs during military operations. Tatmadaw attacks

Same Constitution, Same Problems

By Burma Partnership | February 18, 2013

The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, finished his 7th visit to Burma on Saturday and his report highlights the grave human rights concerns in Burma today. The escalation of conflict in Kachin State, communal violence in Arakan State, the continuing detention and torture of political prisoners, land confiscation due to development projects, restrictions on freedom of association and assembly are among the poor human rights conditions stated in his report. The scale of such human rights violations, in spite of the reforms initiated by the government, emphasizes the necessity of the role of the Special Rapporteur.

Many of the human rights violations that Quintana reported have a direct obstacle in the path of correcting these abuses: the 2008 Constitution. The 2008 Constitution was written by the military without Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy or genuine representation from Burma’s ethnic areas. It was described by the 88 Generation

Campaigns: Crimes Against Humanity

Organizations

Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma)
Women’s League of Burma (WLB)
Burma Lawyers Council (BLC)
BLC Blog: Criminal Accountability
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Altsean-Burma: Criminal Accountability
Burma Campaign UK
US Campaign for Burma
Nobel Women’s Initiative
Global Justice Center

The military regime’s oppression extends beyond those who oppose it politically, reaching into all corners of Burma. Decades of military dictatorship have wreaked havoc on the country, and ethnic people—especially those in resource-rich areas and areas of armed conflict—have paid the highest price. In the past 13 years, over 3,500 ethnic villages have been destroyed in Burma.

Burma’s community organizations, international organizations and the United Nations have compiled extensive documentation providing evidence of the severity of the junta’s crimes, including forced relocation, forced labor, sexual violence, extrajudicial killings,