Summary
"The Burmese regime has changed the words and the people it uses, but it has not changed its policy," one exiled Burmese human rights activist told us in Thailand. "The situation has got much worse in recent years. But I cannot talk about it – there are many police around. You understand?" said a Burmese tour guide in a town across the border in Burma.
"We live in fear. We are afraid of the SPDC and the DKBA," said an internally displaced Karen in a temporary settlement in the jungle on the Burma side of the Thai-Burmese border.
From each of these statements, and the evidence documented in this report, it is clear that little has changed in Burma in 2004, despite the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)'s attempts to create the impression of change: the ceasefire talks with the Karen National Union (KNU), the National Convention and so-called "roadmap to democracy", and the recent release of 9,000 prisoners. The National Convention, which will reconvene in February after a recess, consists of delegates hand-picked by the SPDC, with no mandate from the people. It is likely that many delegates attend out of fear, because to refuse could result in serious consequences. The ceasefire talks between the SPDC and the KNU have so far failed to deliver a significant improvement in the situation, although there does appear to have been a decrease in military hostilities in some areas of Karen State. In other areas of Karen State, however, particularly on the Karen-Karenni border, thousands have been newly displaced this year as a result of the Burma Army's activities. The SPDC made 13 demands of the KNU, including an end to recruitment and training of Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) troops, as well as insisting on no contact with democratic parties or non-ceasefire groups, but has not conceded to any of the KNU's requests. The gross human rights violations, documented in so many reports by CSW and other organisations over many years, continue: forced relocation, forced labour, torture, beatings, rape, religious persecution, the use of human minesweepers, child soldiers, destruction of villages, crops and livestock, and killings of innocent civilians. These amount to crimes against humanity and, for the Karen, Karenni and Shan, genocide. Of the 9,000 prisoners recently released, only 40 were political prisoners. The vast majority of those released had only a few more months of their sentences to serve, and most of these were for petty crimes. The general belief among the resistance movements is that they have been released in order to make room in Burma's over-crowded jails for those delegates who do not vote in line with the regime at the National Convention. It is worth noting that the new Prime Minister of Burma, Lt General Soe Win, who replaced General Khin Nyunt when he was deposed in October in an internal coup, is widely believed to have been the architect of the attack on democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her convoy in Depayin on May 30, 2003.
The CSW/HART team visited Karen internally displaced people (IDPs) in two locations inside Burma, and Karen and Karenni refugees in Thailand. We also held in-depth discussions with the leaders of the Restoration Council for Shan State (RCSS), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the Karen National Union (KNU), the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), as well as the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO) and several humanitarian relief and development and human rights advocacy Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). We remain convinced of the need to strengthen international sanctions against Burma, and to put pressure on China, India, Japan and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to use their influence with the Burmese junta. Our visit coincided with the ASEAN leaders' summit in Laos, and we were disappointed that, reportedly as a result of pressure from Thailand, ASEAN chose not to address the continuing humanitarian and human rights crisis in Burma. We express concern at what appears to be India's apparently more conciliatory policy towards the Burmese junta, demonstrated by Senior General Than Shwe's visit to India, the denial of a visa to the Prime Minister of the exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), Dr Sein Win, and reports of joint military operations between the Burma Army and the Indian Army to crack down on ethnic "insurgents" on both sides of the India-Burma border.
We believe the systematic human rights violations in Karen, Karenni and Shan areas amount to genocide under the definitions of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, crimes against humanity as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and violations of Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions which protects civilians taking no active part in hostilities in situations of internal armed conflict. We therefore urge the international community to investigate reports of genocide and crimes against humanity and prepare to take the necessary action following such an investigation.
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