Burma’s SAFFRON REVOLUTION: How Should the World Respond?
The American Enterprise Institute
Wohlstetter Conference Center
Twelfth Floor, 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
12:00-1:30 PM
Burma: Nation in Need of Effective Help
Aung Din
Policy Director
U.S. Campaign for Burma
1444 N Street, NW, # A2
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 234 8022
Fax: (202) 234 8044
www.uscampaignforburma.org
aungdin@uscampaignforburma.org
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Introduction
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for being here today. I appreciate the American Enterprise Institute for holding this event at the critical period, when my country of Burma needs effective and collective assistance from the international community. How should we respond to the people of Burma, who are courageously challenging the uniformed and armed thugs with peaceful and non-violent actions and who are being brutalized by the military regime? We have to ask this question and we have to find the solution, before more people are killed and more people are arrested.
As you are aware, country of Burma was rocked by peaceful protests, led by Buddhist Monks, in August and September. Saffron Revolution, which we call it today, shocked not only the military regime in Burma, but also the international community, who have witnessed the courage and determination of the people of Burma, who continuously call for democracy and human rights with great sacrifices. More than two hundred peaceful protesters, including Buddhist monks, students as young as 12 years old, and civilians, have been brutally killed and more than 3,000 were arrested, by soldiers and riot police in a matter of days.
International Responses
Unlike the popular democracy uprising in Burma in 1988, the 2007 Saffron Revolution has obtained the huge attention and care of the international community. I was one of the student leaders, who had organized the nationwide uprising, calling for political reform and an end of single-party rule in Burma in 1988. We were managed to organize millions of people to come to the streets in every city in Burma. The same military regime gunned down thousands of demonstrators, put thousands more in prison and made thousands more to flee to border to become refugees. International community did pay little attention on the massacre in Burma and made little effort to help. I found this time is different, a huge different.
With the help of information technology and skills of younger generation students and citizen-journalists, photos and video images of protests and brutal responses by the military regime came out of the country and attracted the attention of the international community. The Saffron Revolution becomes the headline news of the world media. Most of the international organizations, governments, social and religious groups, Nobel Peace Laureates, former Prime Ministers and Presidents, all praise the peaceful and courageous action of Burmese demonstrators and condemn the brutal and merciless responses by the military regime. UN Human Rights Council called for an emergency session on October 3, 2007 and adopted a resolution, calling for the regime to stop use of violence against the peaceful demonstrators.
After serious discussion and negotiation for five days, on October 11, 2007, the UN Security Council issued a Presidential Statement, strongly deploring the military regime for its use of violence against peaceful demonstrators and emphasizing the importance of the early release of all political prisoners and remaining detainees. It also calls on the Burmese military regime to create the necessary condition for a genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups, in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United Nations. Although this statement is short of binding capacity, we welcome it as the first step of the Security Council action on Burma, and as a unanimous decision of all members of the Council, including Russia and China. Although we welcome the statement, we insist that this is not enough and the regime will not listen to the voice of the Security Council if there is no concrete action beyond statement. It turns out that our comment is true.
The Response of the Military Regime
The military regime claimed that the situation in Burma has returned to normal. It is true that over 20,000 soldiers roam the streets of Rangoon. Their brutal and merciless actions and massive arrests have made it too difficult for people to stage protests in the streets. Arrests and Imprisonment of pro-democracy activists by the military regime continue, despite the unanimous and repeated calls from the international community to stop arrest and release all detainees. Student activists continue their challenge against the regime by distributing anti-government pamphlets and spraying anti-government slogans at various places, with guerilla actions, while the regime is trying to hold the mass rallies to support the national convention in Rangoon, Mandalay and many other cities. Family members are taken by police as hostages as they couldn’t find their targets. You can’t find monks in the street of Rangoon, and almost all of monasteries are empty now.
NLD issued a statement on October 11, announcing the list of NLD members arrested during the protests. According to the list, 216 NLD members, including 4 leaders from NLD Headquarters and 15 Members of Parliament-elect were arrested. The Military regime intensifies its effort to arrests the leaders of the protests and raids houses and monasteries at night. Within a week, from when the draft statement was submitted by the US, UK and France at the Security Council on Oct 5 to when the Security Council issued a Presidential Statement on Oct 11, more than 50 people were arrested in Rangoon alone. Most of them are young University students. Famous movie star and social activist Kyaw Thu and his wife were also arrested on Oct 11. A mother and a mother-in-law of a female activist were also arrested as the hostages, when police couldn’t find her. A woman, named Ma Shan Ma, was arrested in South Okkalapa Township, together with her two-year old daughter. On October 10, one of the remaining leaders of the 88-Generation Students Group, Hla Myo Naung, was arrested when he was trying to meet eye specialist to treat his poor eyes. Two students, who helped him to make a visit to clinic, were also arrested.
Win Shwe, NLD member from Kyauk Pandaung Township, Mandalay Division, was killed in detention by its interrogators. He was arrested along with five other activists on September 26, for their support and participation in the protests. They were put in detention inside the compound of police battalion in Plake Township, nearby Mandalay. The authority informed to his wife on Oct 9 that he passed away in detention from heart attack, and that his body was already cremated. According to some accounts of those who were released from detention recently, several protesters, including some monks died in detention due to severe torture and lack of medical treatment. One of them was U Than Aung, 48-year old, who died in Kyailkasan Detention Center on Sept 30, as medical treatment to cure his injuries and internal bleeding was denied. Interrogators use excessive force, homosexual rape, electric shock at genitals, water boarding and burning with cigarette butts, and many other cruel methods.
There is no sign of improvement for dialogue between Than Shwe and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, says a NLD leader, despite the regime announcement of appointment of Aung Kyi, a retired Major General and deputy minister for labor, as the liaison minister to deal with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The military regime issued a statement on October 13 in response to the UN Security Council Presidential statement. This statement simply said that it regrets the statement of the President of the UNSC as the situation in Burma is not amounting to the threat to the peace and security. It also said that contents in the statement are contrary with the opinion of people of Burma, who wholeheartedly support the government’s seven-point road map. Therefore, it concludes that the regime will continue to work for democracy through its seven-point road map. Now, military regime is holding mass rallies in Rangoon, Mandalay and other cities and forcing students, civil servants and the people to attend these rallies. And the security forces raided a house in Rangoon on the night of Oct 12, and arrested three leaders of the 88-Generation Students group, Htay Kywe, Aung Thu and Thin Thin Aye (aka) Mie Mie, who have been in hiding for two months.
The military regime’s reaction to the call for the international community and the UN Security Council is clear. They don’t care. They will continue to play their game with their own plan, without negotiating with democracy forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and without heeding to the request of the international community. Clearly, UNSC Presidential statement is not enough to convince the generals in Burma that the world is seriously raising their concerns.
Speaking with One Voice, Taking Collective and Effective Action NOW
The people of Burma have already proved with their blood that they sincerely want democracy and human rights by peaceful means. They are not asking the regime to move away from power at once. All they are asking for is a meaningful political dialogue between the military regime, the democracy movement and ethnic representatives. They are being killed, arrested and their families are being destroyed by the regime for such a modest demand. International community should not fail this time and take effective and collective action without further delay.
I would like to recommend the policy options as follow.
(1) The UN Security Council should adopt a binding resolution under Chapter Seven, instructing the military regime to stop killing and arresting protesters, to treat all detainees humanely and provide them proper medical care, release all political detainees including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and engage in a meaningful political dialogue with democracy forces and ethnic minority leaders for the sake of national reconciliation and a transition to democracy and civilian rule. The UN Security Council should impose targeted sanctions against the military regime, which include an arms embargo, a travel ban of the top generals and their family members, and a ban on investment, and threaten with stronger sanctions if military regime fails to fulfill the instructions of the Security Council.
(2) President Bush announced on September 25, at UN General Assembly that the US Government will impose additional sanctions against the generals and their financial sources. The tightened sanctions will block the property and interest in property of certain senior leaders of the regime and individuals who provide financial backing for the regime. The US Administration should enforce the tightened sanctions effectively and to produce the results as quickly as possible. Cutting financial resources and illegal earnings of the generals and their family members are very important and effective if implemented actively. We all know that Singapore is safe heaven for the generals, their family members and their cronies for shopping, touring and depositing their illegal earnings. The U.S. Government should pressure Singapore Government to fully cooperate in this regard.
(3) European Union should strengthen its common position. A ban on investment and prohibiting certain imports from Burma, especially timber, gems, and metal, should be imposed. EU also should include a provision, calling for the UN Security Council to adopt a binding resolution, including imposing targeted sanctions and instructing the regime to implement the recommendations made by UN Special Envoy Gambari and contained in the Presidential Statement, in the draft resolution on Burma, to be submitted to the General Assembly.
(4) ASEAN can play very important role in Burma, although they are still denying their responsibility to control the bad behavior of the Burmese military junta. ASEAN summit will be held in November in Singapore and celebrate its 40th birthday. To save its dignity and to prove that it is a respectable organization, not a club of ruthless dictators, ASEAN should pressure the regime to choose one option, between implementing political reforms as demanded by the international community and leaving from the ASEAN.
(5) China is a major factor to respond the situation in Burma. It is a major arm supplier, major trade partner of the regime and major investor in Burma. It is also a major exploiter of Burma’s natural resources and major defender of the Burmese military regime in international forum. The Burmese military regime has survived to this day with the support of China and we believe that China is responsible for killings and violence in Burma as equally as the Burmese military regime. Without China’s participation, a collective and effective action from the UN Security Council can’t be possible. Therefore, I would recommend the United States and European Union to use every leverage they have to pressure China to work together with them. I remember a line from an opinion piece written by Fred Hiatt in Washington Post. “China can have its Olympic Games or it can have its regime in Burma. It can't have both.”
Thank you,
Aung Din
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