Welcome to Aiya Burma Fund

Aiya Burma Fund is run by Myat Thu, a Burmese student activist who has been working towards change in Burma since 1988. He has spent most of his life working with volunteers from Burma. After the devastating Cyclone Nargis hit Burma in May 2008, he directed his efforts to helping Burmese cyclone victims due to the delay and failure of international aid to reach the victims. Aiya Burma Fund has been providing aid inside Burma in various ways.

Aiya Burma Fund was founded to support the needs of the people of Burma, who are being isolated and oppressed by the narrow minded Burmese military leaders. There is a serious lack of freedom under the military oppression. Aiya is always ready to support the people of Burma whenever needed.

 

Burma freedom is ‘worst of the worst’

January 13th, 2010 Posted in News | 2 Comments »

Jan 13, 2010 (DVB)–A Washington-based NGO has labeled Burma one of the worst countries in the world for ‘freedom’ in an annual report, released yesterday.

Burma ranks alongside nine other countries in the “worst of the worst” category in Freedom House’s ‘Freedom in the World 2010’ report, which includes Libya, Tibet, China, Eritrea, North Korea and Equatorial Guinea. The organization, funded largely by the US government and the conservative Bradley Foundation, has been producing the report for nearly forty years, which “examines the ability of individuals to exercise their political and civil rights in 194 countries and 14 territories around the world.” Determinants of ‘freedom’ include whether “people’s political choices are free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group”. It also includes a base alignment system, with countries ranked either ‘free’, ‘partially free’ or ‘not free’. This is based on a score system for civil liberties and political freedom, with seven being the lowest and one the highest. Burma predictably scores seven on both counts. This will make worrying reading for the international observers who will be closely monitoring the planned elections this year. Critics of the ruling junta have already labeled them a sham that will enable the military to retain power. “This report reflects the actual situation in Burma,” said Soe Aung, foreign affairs spokesperson of the Thailand-based Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB). “Moreover, some international and local groups tend to overlook the real situation in predicting that the elections in Burma will bring an opening for a change. The lives of the people [in Burma] should not be gambled at all.” In terms of population, China’s inclusion in the ‘not free’ category made it the largest of the three groupings. Freedom House emphasizes in its methodology that it “does not maintain a culture-bound view of freedom”, whilst noting that “American leadership in international affairs is essential to the cause of human rights and freedom”. Overall the report finds that there has been a “freedom recession” and an “authoritarian resurgence” in the last year. Reporting by Joseph Allchin

From Democratic Voice of Burma http://english.dvb.no

Two Receive Death Sentence for Information Leak

January 8th, 2010 Posted in News | No Comments »

By THE IRRAWADDY Thursday, January 7, 2010

A former military officer and a foreign affairs official were sentenced to death and another foreign affairs official was sentenced to long-term imprisonment on Thursday in a special court of the Rangoon Northern District held in Insein Prison, according to Insein prison sources.

Win Naing Kyaw, a former personal staff officer assigned to the State Peace and Development Council’s Secretary-2, the late Lt-Gen Tin Oo, was sentenced to death under the State Emergency Act III for leaking military secrets to the exiled media.

Win Naing Kyaw.

Win Naing Kyaw also received a 20-year sentence for violation of the Electronic Act and holding illegal foreign currency. The Electronic Act prohibits sending information, photos or video damaging to the regime abroad via the Internet.

Thura Kyaw, aka Aung Aung, of the ministry of foreign affairs office was also sentenced to death under the state emergency act.

Pyan Sein of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a 15-year sentence for violation of the Electronic Act.

The three were arrested after information and photos about Gen Shwe Mann’s trip to North Korea were leaked to exiled news media last year. The trip involved procuring military arms, tunnel building and other matters.

Dozens of officials in the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Col Kyaw Kyaw Win, who was director general of the State Peace and Development Council, were also arrested, military sources said. The status of their cases is not known.

After the information leak, the junta made a significant reshuffle at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that affected more than 70 positions, including two directors, four deputy directors and eight assistant directors. It is not known if the reshuffle was directly a result of the information leak.

Yin Yin Oo, a sister of former deputy minister Kyaw Thu, who was the director of the ministry’s influential political department, was transferred to Saudi Arabia to a counselor post.

Song for Burma

January 3rd, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Song for Burma by Saw Richard on Youtube

Junta hikes salaries ahead of election

January 3rd, 2010 Posted in News | No Comments »

dpa (Deutsche Presse-Agentur)

RANGOON (DPA) - – Burma’s junta raised the salaries of civil servants and military staff Jan 1, ahead of a general election planned this year, official sources confirmed Sunday.

‘We have obtained information for the raise of our salaries from Nay Pyi Taw (the military’s capital) and I think we can draw the new salary at the end of January,’ a senior official who requested anonymity told DPA.

For most civil servants, special increments of 20,000 kyats (about $20) will be added to their monthly salaries.

‘The increment is not included for the ranks of deputy director general or above who get salary about 160,000 kyats (about $160) per month,’ the source said.

The average monthly salary for low-ranking civil servants was previously 35,000 kyats ($35), but under the new salary scale will be increased to 55,000 kyats, a 57 percent jump.

Salaries of military staff have been increased at an increment slightly higher than that of civil servants, but details were not available.

The salary rises are expected to lead to inflation, observers said.

For instance, Myanmar Post and Telecommunication Enterprise has already doubled the call charge of mobile phones from 25 kyats to 50 kyats per minute, effective Jan 1.

Burma has been under military dictatorship since 1962. The ruling junta, widely condemned for its poor human rights record and refusal to release more than 2,000 political prisoners including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has announced plans to hold a general election some time in 2010.

The Burmese Soldiers Resign from Army

January 2nd, 2010 Posted in News | 1 Comment »

BBC: 29 December 2009

Many Pegu based Burmese Army Brigade 77’s officers and soldiers sent resignation letters and are blocked by the intelligent and other troops.

A relative of a sergeant told BBC that extended army unit for a battalion should be founded with 250 soldiers and now about 150 of each battalion sent resignation letters.

According to a brother of a soldier, the main reason for resignation is having low salary.

The army family members said that army resigning soldiers are not only from those extended units but also spreading to the other forces in Burmese Army.

Although the generals keep saying that Burmese Army is built on a unity, it is said that the higher ranking officers get more benefits and the lower ranking soldiers are getting poor. So, some soldiers want to resign and some revolt inside Burmese Army.

The soldiers from Burmese Army Brigade 77 refused orders and revolt against the leadership and they were barred to go outside Since 24 December 2009 but the soldiers still stand against the Burmese Army leaders.

Translated by Aiya

Burma’s Independence Day

January 1st, 2010 Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »
Editorial
VOA
December 31, 2009

The following is an editorial reflecting the Views of US Government.On the anniversary of Burma’s independence, the United States reiterates its call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

January 4, 2010, marks the sixty-second anniversary of Burma’s independence from British rule. The United States has expressed its warmest wishes to the people of Burma on this occasion and its hope that they will enjoy a better future.

As Department of State Spokesman Ian Kelly stated on December 30, “We support the peaceful efforts of people everywhere to exercise freely their universal human rights, and we look forward to the day when Burma’s citizens will be able to do so. We hope that day will come soon.”

Unfortunately, for most of the years since independence, the aspirations of Burma’s citizens for freedom and democracy have been frustrated by military rule. The country possesses a rich history, a wealth of natural resources, and a talented, resilient populace. Burma could one day be a leader among Southeast Asian nations.

However, the path the Burmese government has chosen has caused suffering and impoverished the nation. It has also estranged Burma from the community of nations.

That does not need to be the future course. Burma’s generals can choose to mark this year’s Independence Day by embracing a more democratic and prosperous future for their country and their people.

Sixty-two years ago the Burmese people secured their independence. Today, the people of Burma should again be able to determine their own future. On the anniversary of Burma’s independence, the United States reiterates its call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and the initiation of meaningful dialogue among the government, democratic groups, and ethnic minorities. The United States is prepared to support and facilitate that process.

As President Obama stated recently, a better relationship with the United States — and indeed with much of the world — is possible if Burma moves in the direction of democratic reform. For its part, the United States stands ready to improve relations based on reciprocal and concrete efforts by the Burmese government.

Living Poor on Soldiers’ Pay

January 1st, 2010 Posted in Article | No Comments »

By KYI WAI

RANGOON — Sgt Aung walks through Mingladon market, searching for ammunition to restock his cartridge magazine, which he sold when he needed some extra money to support his family.

He quickly found several shops in the military equipment area, selling all types of military hardware: uniforms, field equipment, cartridges, magazines and various brands of weapons.

An army parade during Burma’s Armed Forces Day in the administrative capital Naypyidaw on March 27, 2009. (Photo: Getty Images)

Similar shops can be found in many markets around military installations in Rangoon, such as Htauk Kyant, Hlegu and Hmaw Bi markets.

Most of the shops rely on poor soldiers, who are often forced to sell their army-issued property  when they need money and then must repurchase it when they have funds.

Sgt Aung (not his real name) sold his cartridges six months ago for 8,000 kyat (US $7) when he needed money. They cost 15,000 kyat to buy back now, but the shop owner offered a 2,500 kyat discount. Still, Sgt Aung is put off by the price.

He earns 35,000 kyat ($32) a month. He decides to walk around the market and think about it. Finally, he decides he can’t afford to replace the cartridges.If he has an inspection and is found out, he could be suspended from duty or imprisoned.

“The poverty of soldiers isn’t even comparable to civilians,” he said. “We suffer from scarcity not only on the front line, but also in rear-base areas. We see almost no money.”

As a sergeant in the Burmese army, he could earn an extra 5,000 kyat a month if he serves in a high-risk area.

However, his pay is never enough to meet the needs of his four family members, Aung said.

Since 2007, he has been indebted. His wife and children try to cut back on everything, but he still can’t afford to buy even the cheapest toothpaste or tooth brushes.

The economic strain is showing. Sgt Aung is haggard, weary and his cheek bones sharply outline his face. His uniform is faded. He said he can’t recall how many times he has repaired family members’ flip-flops.

A lance corporal also shared his story with The Irrawaddy.

“I earn less than 40,000 kyat (US $37) a month including regular salary, hazardous duty pay and other assistance. My family can’t survive on my salary. We have no more possessions to sell. I can’t even provide school fees for my children, and my wife sends them to her relatives for schooling,” he said.

The army provides 3,000 ($2.70) kyat for each dependent child to help with school fees, but it’s still insufficient to pay expanses, he said.

Soldiers are not allowed to work outside the military, but if their wives can work, many find it almost possible to stay even financially. However, he said the army sometimes demands full-time labor from family members on army farms and other production facilities.

“The family members of army men are like slaves,” he said. “Not only do we soldiers serve, but our family members are often required to work for the army too.”

Some servicemen receive an extra benefit when officers allow a few family members to start small businesses within an army unit’s area, such as snack or tea shops while others sell groceries or illegal liquor.

Some families breed poultry and pigs for extra income, and some earn money with illegal or underground businesses such as selling illegal lottery tickets or betting on soccer matches. Some soldiers run short-haul, motorcycle-taxi services.

A private in a battalion in Mingladon Township said, “You can buy illegal lottery tickets in our unit. Some army families just keep books for the tickets. If you want to bet on a soccer match, they will help you to access outside book makers.”

Since April 1, 2006, a private earns 16,000 kyat ($14) a month; a major-general earns 800,000 kyat ($$750) a month. The army pays 5,000 kyat a month for hazardous duty pay for the ranks of private through colonel.

“The salary gap between the generals and ordinary soldiers is very large, and the privileges are also very different. The generals earn 1 million kyat extra a month for state defense and administration fees,” said a colonel who asked for anonymity.

Since 1988, the regime has raised the salary scale four times for public employees and military servicemen, in order to cope with inflation and raising commodity prices.

Sometimes the government or army officers order an army unit to be self-reliant. A soldier said a military commander in northern Shan State ordered the units under his command to find operational cost on their own, and the army units cut and sold timber in the area.

“It was not only our unit, but almost all army units in that area that cut and sold logs,” he said.

Nowadays, many servicemen are given oral orders by officers to try to find girls to marry from well-off families, who can help support an army man’s family.

A captain said, “For army officers, it’s an unwritten law that we should marry a rich lady or an educated lady.”

Typically, the army will summarily dismiss soldiers infected with AIDS/HIV, Hepatitis B or those who sustain physical disabilities, sources said.

A medic said there are many cases of suicide if a soldier contracts AIDS/HIV or Hepatitis B, because they can’t face returning to their native region.

“If the infected person is an officer, he may be transferred to a civil administration post, but if the patient is a non-commissioned soldier, he is kicked out. For those who are injured in a fighting, they are treated at a national rehabilitation hospital and then asked to retire,” the medic said.

A veteran who lost a limb said: “If they can still walk, the veterans may try to sell books and magazines on the street. They sell things in market. If the veterans can’t walk, they knit rattan furniture and some work as carpenters. Some go out to the streets as beggars. The veterans get no assistance anymore from the government, and they are not even recognized as army veterans. They say we disgrace the pride of the Tatmadaw.”

A veteran who is now surviving by begging in Insein Township said military officials told him not to beg while wearing any military clothing and not to say he was a veteran. He was then ordered not to beg in a public park.

Ironically, a lance-corporal from a Than-Lyin-based battalion said, “We would be better off if I resigned from the army and begged on the street. I could earn more money.”

Pay scale for army servicemen (April 1, 2006):

1. private: 16,000 kyat basic pay. after two years, 21,000 kyats
2. lance-corporal: 22,000 kyat; after several years, 27,000 kyat.
3. corporal: 28,000 kyat; after several years, 33,000 kyat
4. sergeant: 34,000 kyat; after several years, 39,000 kyat
5. company sergeant: 40,000 kyat; after several years, 45,000 kyat
6. warrant officer II: 46,000 kyat; after several years, 51,000 kyat
7. warrant officer I: 52,000 kyat; after several years, 57,000 kyat
8. second lieutenant:100,000 kyat
9. lieutenant: 120,000 kyat.
10. captain: 130,000 kyat; after two years, 140,000 kyat
11. major: 150,000 kyat; after several years, 160,000 kyat
12. lieutenant colonel: 170,000 kyat; after several years, 180,000 kyat
13. colonel: 190,000 kyat; after several years, 200,000 kyat
14. brigadier general: 300,000 kyat
15. major-general: 400,000 kyat
16. lieutenant-general: 600,000 kyats
17. general: 800,000 kyat
18. vice-senior general : 1,000,000 kyat
19. senior-general: 1,200,000 kyat

Source: www.irrawaddymedia.com

Junta Buys 230 Military Aircraft in 21 Years

December 27th, 2009 Posted in Article | 4 Comments »
By WAI MOE Saturday, December 26, 2009

With its recent purchase of 20 MiG-29 fighter jets, Burma’s military junta has acquired a total of 230 military aircraft since seizing power in a bloody coup in 1988—nearly 100 more than the regime of former dictator Ne Win.

In his book “Building the Tatmadaw,” Burmese military expert Maung Aung Myoe writes that the junta procured 210 aircraft for the Tatamdaw-Lay [air force] between 1988 and 2006, supplied by China, Poland, Russia and the former Yugoslavia.

A Russian-made MiG-29 jet fighter takes off from Mingaladon Air Force Base in Rangoon in 2008. (Photo: Andy Davey)

By comparison, from 1962 to 1988—the 26-year period that Burma was ruled by Ne Win’s Burmese Social Programme Party—the air force acquired 131 military aircraft.With the 20 MiG-29s it recently bought from Russia for US $570 million, Burma appears to be continuing its ongoing efforts to close the gap with its much better-equipped neighbors.

In 2001, the regime purchased 12 MiG-29s after a border clash with Thailand in which the Thai military forced Burmese troops from border strongholds using US-made F-16 fighter jets.

Thailand’s air force currently has an estimated 315 aircraft, including 184 combat aircraft. It has also ordered more advanced 12 JAS 39 Gripen aircraft from Sweden.

Another Southeast Asian nation, Vietnam, recently signed a billion-dollar deal with Russia for the purchase of Sukhoi Su-30MK2s and a submarine.

Bangladesh, a neighbor that has tension with Burma over a territorial dispute in the Bay of Bengal, is estimated to have more than 200 military aircraft, including MiG-29 SEs.

Burma’s latest batch of MiG-29s from Russia were purchased after the regime rejected an offer of a special price on J-10 fighter jets from its close ally, China.

Lt-Gen Myat Hein, commander in chief of Burma’s air force, (left) meets Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on November 6, 2009. (Photo: Getty Images)

According to Burmese military sources, the commander in chief of Burma’s air force, Lt-Gen Myat Hein, traveled to China in November to discuss upgrades of Chinese-made military aircraft already owned by Burma and to look into the possibility of making future purchases.However, the junta finally decided to buy the Russian planes, despite concerns about their reliability after frequent reports of MiG-29s being grounded in Russia and other countries.

A fourth-generation military aircraft, the MiG-29 was first produced in the Soviet Union in 1983.

The cost of the jets was also no deterrent, despite the fact that Burma remains one of the world’s poorest countries. Around a third of the country’s population live under the international poverty line, earning less than a dollar a day, according to UN figures.

But even with its ruling generals sparing no expense in their pursuit of a more powerful air force, Burma is likely to remain behind its neighbors.

“Compared with the air forces of neighboring countries, particularly Thailand’s, the Tatmadaw-Lay’s air power is relatively low,” wrote Maung Aung Myoe in his book.

“Although it has acquired advanced aircraft such as the MiG-29, it has problems with operational capability, in addition to lacking qualified pilots.”

Resource from www.irrawaddymedia.com

Woman Political Prisoner Dies in Insein Prison

December 27th, 2009 Posted in News | No Comments »

Thursday, 24 December 2009 21:34 Khaing Suu

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A woman prisoner died of cardiac arrest in Insein prison hospital yesterday, family sources said.

Tin Tin Htwe (38) mother of three children, was recently shifted back to Insein prison from Tharyarwaddy prison. She died yesterday early morning.

The source said the body is being kept at the Ye Way cemetery mortuary and the funeral service will be at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

The prison authorities gave necessary assistance to the bereaved family, which organized the funeral service, sources said.

She was suffering from heart disease and hypertension.

The duty officer in Insein prison did not answer queries on Tin Tin Htwe’s death, when contacted over telephone but responded to her family.

She was transferred to Tharyawaddy prison from Insein prison in December 2008. She was recently moved back to Insein prison.

She participated in the saffron revolution in Rangoon and was arrested on 26 September 2007 along with 14 other political activists. After which she was released on bail.

But the bail was withdrawn on 16 November 2008 and she was charged with cases under section 332 (obstructing public servants from discharging their duty) and under section 294 (committing obscene acts in public places) of the Penal Code on 24 November 2008 and sentenced to three years and three months in prison with hard labour.

She is survived by a son and two daughters besides her mother.

The Thailand based Association of Assistance for Political Prisoners-Burma AAPP-B said that three political prisoners including Tin Tin Htwe have died in prison so far this year due to inadequate healthcare facilities provided in Burmese prisons.

According to AAPP-B statistics, a total of 143 political prisoners have died so far in various prisons since 1988.

(Edited by Ko Wild)

BURMA- LAND OF TRAGEDY, TURMOIL, AND TYRANNY

October 13th, 2009 Posted in Article | 16 Comments »

BY SAW RICHARD

Burma is a multiethnic country of about 54 million people which borders India to its west, China to its north, and Thailand lies on its eastern side. Although Burma has different kinds of natural resources such as, natural gas, oil, abundant fertile farming and fishing areas, and hardwood forests, decades of ruthless military rule transformed the country from being one of the richest in the region during the 1950s and early 1960s, into one of the poorest in the world. Thus, ironic as it may seem, that a land endowed with much natural wealth, is also a land of abject poverty, appalling health, atrocious human rights abuses, fear, quiet despair, and silent suffering. And the suffering increases every year with more people afflicted with contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS virus, malnutrition and stunting in children, and yet the military has managed to stay in power for the last 46 years despite its atrocious reputation as being one of the most repressive regimes on the planet.

While much of the world’s media attention was on the opening ceremony of the Olympics in China this 8 August 2008 which took centre stage in global affairs, the people of Burma, apart from the military junta and their followers, remembered 8 August as the date of the massacre of unarmed students and civilians in Rangoon, Burma, in 1988, who were calling for an end to military rule and the restoration of democracy in the country. During this intense and critical period of unrest, the military was caught unawares and desperately sought China’s help to crush the uprising of a whole nation that was against it. China obliged with massive arms supplies to the military junta, and one month later, in September 1988, the generals unleashed a reign of terror. Although Burma has been under military rule since 1962, after the brutal crushing of the spontaneous uprising of the people in 1988, the oppression of the peoples of Burma by the military junta intensified with ferocity resulting in atrocities committed by soldiers against their own country-men, women, and even children. It is well known that the military pressgangs children to serve in the army, and these child soldiers, brutalized by senior commanders, more than often turn to violence to vent their own grief of loss, which is their own childhood. Thus, child soldiers who are victims of the state also create more victims when acts of atrocities are committed by them as a service to the very state that abuses them. For example, according to Earth Rights International, in the summer of 2005, young soldiers [more than likely child soldiers] from pipeline battalion 409 came across a young girl and her older sister bathing in a stream. They captured the girl as her sister ran away to find help; the girl, only six or seven years old, was raped so violently that she required medical attention for a torn vagina. Hence, this vicious cycle of victims of victims in the form of children abusing other children leaves a scar on the individual psyche of each child. This then is the measure of what the junta is willing to do at any given time or period, and at any cost, in order to stay in power. And as such, it is in particular, the predicament of children in Burma, who are suffering under military rule.

Space, place, and displacement under military rule

The junta has since 1988, displaced over a million citizens internally who have fled into remote dense jungle areas to avoid the cruelties of the junta: forced labour, being used as human mine sweepers and as porters for soldiers in conflict zones, rape, torture, and summary executions. And as a result of continued military offences launched in areas where ethnic nationalities are the majority, thousands of ethnic peoples have had to flee to refugee camps mainly along the Thai-Burma border regions.

In other areas of the country, ethnic Burman people are also suffering; dispossessed of their homelands forcibly by the junta to make way for the junta’s economic projects such as, holiday resorts in the ancient city of Pagan in central Burma, and for a natural gas pipeline in southern Burma that was constructed and financed, and still continues to be operated by oil companies: Total of France, and Chevron of USA, which are so called western democratic countries. During the early preparatory stages for the pipeline construction, the military conducted offences and forcibly relocated villages to ensure that the anticipated pipeline route was secured. Consequently, thousands of villagers were sent to locations without any existing facilities such as, clean water supply, access to medical care, and education needs for the children. These villagers were ordered to re-establish themselves without any assistance from the authorities nor were they given any building materials for rebuilding livable places.

The displacement of such large number of people from their normal and natural way of life has serious ramifications. It is in effect, the total opposite to what Robert Sack in his A Geographical Guide to the Real and the Good writes: “We should create places that expand our awareness of reality…create places that increase…variety and complexity of reality…in doing so,…creating better places and a better world, and would be moving in a moral direction. Instead, the junta has decreed that the “State” which is the military junta, is the owner of all the land, and natural resources… and the State shall enact necessary law… for extraction and utilisation of State owned natural resources. Hence, citizens have no legal status for ownership of neither property nor land rights for livelihood in many respects in Burma under military dictatorship. The junta can arbitrarily confiscate any property and/or, conscript any person in order to sustain its stranglehold on and to remain in power indefinitely. Not only has the military taken large areas of people’s living places and forcibly displaced these people, the military also wants to control that which is known as the space within the individual or inner self of a human being through unrelenting psychological and physical abuses committed on the vast majority of the people including a large proportion of its own soldiers. Low rank soldiers are cajoled, coerced, and encouraged to commit all kinds of human rights abuses on civilians especially in rural or country areas where ethnic peoples are the majority.

Cruelty - the core of military power in Burma

The recent devastation caused by cyclone Nargis in April 2008, killed more than 100,000 people in the delta regions, and over a million people were made homeless. The military junta’s response was appalling. It did not allow immediate relief aid and aid workers to enter the country, despite the loss of tens of thousands of lives and the hundreds of villages that were wiped out during the cyclone. This callous and uncaring behavior of the junta exacerbated the situation, and caused even more suffering for the survivors of the disaster.

Hence, it further exposed the military junta’s brutal and brazen behavior towards the people of Burma. In this regard, the military has maintained its track record concerning gross human rights abuse. This comes as no surprise since the military junta fears foreign aid workers and journalists because, given the chance to speak with such foreign workers or journalists, the ordinary person on the street would tell about state sanctioned human rights abuses that take place in all parts of the country systematically. This is what the junta fears most, and it deals with dissenters mercilessly. It is symptomatic of a military junta that is increasingly nervous and paranoid about its own illegitimate position. The insecurity of power based on coercion translates into a need to crush all dissent.

A brief socio- politico- historic background (1948-1988)

The causes and contributing factors of Burma’s on going tragedy can be linked to Burma’s unstable political past. Leading up to independence, the nationalist movement known as the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL) led by Aung San, sought an end to British colonial rule in 1946. During negotiations, the British government of PM Clement Atlee… insisted that the political status of the peoples in the frontier areas be resolved. This insistence prompted Aung San to negotiate a pre-independence agreement with the Saophas who were the legitimate leaders of the ethnic Shans. After many discussions and political wrangling, the Saophas agreed that the Shans will join Aung San to show strength and unity in order to speed up independence…after independence, unless they [Shans] are satisfied with the administration, the Shans had the right to secede from the Union. Thus, the pre-independence agreement with the Shans and two other ethnic groups (Kachin, and Chin), was to become the Panlong Agreement of 12 February 1947 which met the preconditions as stipulated by the British government.

Five months later, Aung San and his cabinet members were assassinated by a rival politician named U Saw. Nonetheless, the Panlong Agreement paved the way for the Constitution of the Union of Burma which was completed in late 1947, and in which chapter ten reads: Right of Secession states as follows: Save as otherwise expressly provided in this constitution or in any Act of Parliament made under section 199, every State shall have the right to secede from the Union…secession shall not be exercised within ten years from the date on which this Constitution comes into operation.

Burma gained independence on the 4th of January 1948, and two months later in March, the Burma Communist Party (BCP) staged an armed rebellion in the northern parts of the Shan State. The newly formed government sent Burma Army troops to deal with the rebellion. During this period, the Burma Army had to contend with the Chinese troops as well; the anti-communist Koungmintang (KMT) troops fled to northern Burma after Mao Zedong took power in 1949. The presence of KMT troops and the armed rebellion of the BCP were in the northern most parts of the Shan State, but the central government used it as justification for establishing military rule in all parts of the Shan State even though there were neither BCP nor KMT presence in other areas. There were atrocities as Seng points out: Soldiers from the Burma Army started to violate the people of the Shan State… with robbery, rape, and extra judicial killings, people were ruled under martial law and the traditional administration of the Shan State was disregarded. Ethnic Karens were well aware that the newly formed ethnic Burman dominated central government was not about to honour the Constitution which stipulated that the new Union of Burma would be ruled by a democratically elected parliament… and a Karen State was to be established. Armed conflict broke out on the 31st of January 1949, when ethnic Karen sections of Ahlone and Thamaing in Rangoon were attacked by the “Sitwunduns” (militia) who were under the command of Ne Win.The ramifications of the unrest with ethnic Shans and Karens destabilized the central government’s position. Citing these internal problems, the military led by Ne Win took control of the country in 1958 although the PM of the day U Nu announced that the handover had been voluntary, but it became clear later that he [U Nu] had little choice in the matter.

The military control of the country was called the “caretaker” government which was to be for six months but it lasted two years. Elections were held in 1960, and the “Pyidaungsu” or Union Party of PM U Nu won a resounding victory. As a result, many ethnic leaders and senior politicians regarded the new government could bring about very important change concerning ethnic issues, and on the 2nd of March 1962, during a high-level seminar on federal issues attended by PM U Nu, senior politicians, and elected Shan representatives, Ne Win seized power again. Ne Win embarked on imposing his own brand of ideology called ‘the Burmese way to Socialism’ with devastating consequences. (The present junta leader Than Shwe’s “Road map to Disciplined Democracy” which excludes the NLD-National League for Democracy is farcical and Orwellian but terrifying, because many elected members of parliament have been jailed, tortured, or have died of mysterious illnesses). Military officials replaced almost all civillian workers in the nation’s administration, causing the collapse of economic and civic institutions. Civil society also came under military control via the security and administrative councils which were set up by the military. Thus, political, economic, and social institutions were managed by the military and, constantly monitored by its secret agents. Hence, what began as a military dictatorship in 1962, degenerated into a terrifying tyranny. The overwhelming majority of people were fed up with unnecessary “economic hardships…the difficulties of eking out a barely acceptable standard of living… and the humiliation of a way of life disfigured by corruption and fear. Thus, twenty six years later, such unbearable and unnecessary conditions culminated in the mass demonstrations of August 1988, led by students, and supported by the vast majority which was brutally crushed by the military, killing an estimated of between three and ten thousand citizens, mostly in the capital city, Rangoon, on the 8th of August.

Political manoeuvres and machinations by the military post-1988

The present military junta renamed the country Myanmar in 1989 following the massacre of students and civillians in 1988, in order to confuse the world at large about the atrocities it had committed then. It is a chilling and an eerie reminder of the Pol Pot era in Cambodia during the early 1970s, when more than two million people were killed by the Khmer Rouge, and the subsequent re-naming of that country into Kampuchea by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge in similar fashion. The junta also prides itself as the protectors of the Union which it claims will disintegrate without the junta. The on-going use of this pretext to justify military rule is not a new idea. It was used as the very pretext in 1962, by the then military coup leader, Ne Win, to justify the military take over of the country. Hence, this recycled idea from the Ne Win years (1962-88), has been used ever since, by successive leaders of the military regime that came after Ne Win. There is another idea from the Ne Win era that has resurfaced with a new façade. The present USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association) is almost a carbon copy of the BSPP (Burma Socialist Program Party 1974-1988), which was to shore up whatever the military espoused ideologically. Ne Win sought to use the BSPP to cement the allegiance of civil servants and others to his military-backed regime.

Presently, the head of the junta, Than Shwe, is using the USDA for a very similar purpose.

The junta has since 1988, embarked on the Burmanisation of its armed forces with the intention of causing division between ethnic Burman dominated military and other ethnic peoples, and by conducting continual military offences against these peoples. These operations are hatred driven; using rape as a weapon of oppression; and are clearly designed to create conflict between ethnic groups. The fact that neither the ethnic Burmans nor are the other ethnic groups such as the Shans, Karens, Chins, Mons, Kachins, and Arakanese, are not fighting for separate independent statehoods. But rather, unlike other southeast Asian countries that have total separatists wars or movements, Burma’s ethnic peoples want a federated system with equal power-sharing within a Federal Union and, with a Federal Union Army as well. This makes it all the more difficult for the junta to push their burrow of the so called national unity being undermined by ethnic peoples’ demands.

After the elections of 1990, in which the democratic forces won ninety per cent of the votes, the ethnic peoples got together and formed the National Ethnic Council (NEC) to counter the constant bogus claims made by the military since 1962 in regard to national unity. The military claims that there are lurking dangers the “Union” faces, which makes out the military to be some sort of guardian of the “Union” which has been, and is, the very deception used by the military as it manoeuvres and manipulates the nation while it tells the world at large that this junta is engaged in national solidarity, reconciliation, and the protection of the Union. The unrelenting attacks on ethnic peoples are in effect a policy of divide and rule, and therefore a means to an end, which is to cling on to power while it runs the country into the ground. In fact, the military has succeeded in creating a ruined economy; a hunger stricken life for most; a suffering nation because of grinding poverty for the vast majority; fear of the military; and paranoia on the part of the military because it too fears the will of the people. In other words, the military has without doubt engendered a failed state.

Conclusion and theorethetical issues

Much has been discussed in places like the UN and other venues of international significance, and much more has been recorded regarding human rights violations by various international bodies such as, Human Rights Watch/Asia, and the ILO. However, central to the idea of human rights as O’Byrne points out, is the idea of human dignity, and this dignity must be concrete, [and] grounded in material conditions and realities.

While the international community must make a moral effort to take up the issue of, “the Responsibility to Protect” and what it must mean, the vast majority of people in Burma have to rely on their own inner strengths in order to assert their inalienable right as members of the human family…, and must struggle against a totalitarian regime which has deprived the present of meaningfulness and hold out no hope for the future.

Thus, it all points to an intransigent regime/junta bent on holding power for power sake only. It is the worst form of tyranny which has become the tragedy of the nation, and it keeps the people in unending turmoil, not of their own making.

Note: The circumstances and situation in Burma regarding Human Right abuses has not changed since this essay was written.

30 September 2009

Bibliography:

Aung San Suu Kyi. (1995), Freedom From Fear. Penguin Books, London.

EarthRights International (2008), The Human Cost of Energy: Chevron’s Continuing Role in Oppression and Profiting From Human Rights Abuses in Military-Ruled Burma (Myanmar).

Fink, C. (2000), Living Silence: Burma Under Military Rule. White Lotus, Bangkok.

Hudson-Rodd, N. & Sein Htay. (2008), Arbitrary Confiscation of Farmers’ Land by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Military Regime in Burma. The Burma Fund, Bangkok.

O’Byrne, D. (2003), Human Rights: An Introduction. Longman, UK.

Sack, R. (2003), A Geographical Guide to the Good and Real. Routledge, London, New York.

Seng, N. (2000), The Panlong Agreement: Its Origin and Existence. Article, National Ethnic Council, Maeseriang, Thailand.