A Year of Nascent Reforms Taking Root, Challenges for Future Growth

2013 has been a year in which many of the nascent reforms of 2012 have begun to take root, but also one in which new challenges have emerged. In 2014, there will be many opportunities for the government of Burma to show its commitment to democratic transition.

This year saw the historic meeting of ethnic armed groups in Laiza, Kachin State, with a second due in Karen State the third week of January. Despite such important conferences, the uncertainty of the ceasefire process has had an impact on ethnic unity. After several postponements, the government is planning to hold its nationwide ceasefire in early 2014. Such a public show will not be enough to solve decades of armed conflict and ethnic inequality; the government, its Union Peace Working Committee and all ethnic armed groups must engage in a comprehensive, inclusive political dialogue with all parties on an equal footing. An independent third party mediator would help ensure that the difficult underlying issues, such as the power of the Burma Army, political power sharing between the government and ethnic nationalities, resource management, and justice for human rights abuses committed by all sides, are finally addressed and sustainable peace is achieved.

Cooperation Needed to End Violence Against Women of Burma

To mark 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 27 civil society organizations have come together to launch 16 days of action that will end on 10 December, International Human Rights Day. The campaign began with a public ceremony in Rangoon on 24 November that included games, music and other performances. Women’s groups called for cooperation from all people of Burma to help end all forms of violence against women by participating in a “white campaign”, wearing white shirts or accessories during the 16 days to raise awareness about the problem of violence against women.

In a Burmese-language statement, the Women’s League of Burma called for the people of Burma to work together to reduce the role of the military in the governance of the country and achieve sustainable peace. The statement outlined the many different forms of violence that women face on a daily basis: physical, mental, sexual, domestic and community violence, as well as violence carried out by the Burma Army, especially in ethnic nationality areas.

Civil society groups have documented the harrowing extent of human rights violations and violence against women in areas of ongoing armed conflict. The Kachin Women’s Association – Thailand (KWAT) found that there have been 64 cases of rape committed by Burma Army troops since fighting resumed between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in June 2011. Such acts of sexual violence and rape against Kachin women continue even as peace talks are underway between the government and the Kachin Independence Organization, undermining the peace process. Additionally, the displacement of over 100,000 people due to the fighting in the last two years, lack of protection for internally displaced persons and shortages of humanitarian aid have become significant new push factor fuelling the trafficking of Kachin women to China, exacerbating an already long-standing problem. In the report “Pushed to the Brink,” KWAT documented 24 cases of actual or suspected trafficking since June 2011.

“National Race Protection Law” Protects No One

At a convention of over 1,500 monks from around the country in Rangoon on 27 June, senior Buddhist monks said that they endorse a draft law that would place restrictions on marriages between Buddhist women and non-Buddhist men, ostensibly “to protect our race and religion.”

The proposed “national race protection law” states that non-Buddhist men wishing to marry a Buddhist woman would have to convert to her religion. They must also obtain permission from the woman’s parents and local authorities before marrying or risk 10 years in jail.

The proposed bill is in clear violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states in Article 16(1) that, “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family.”

The bill also violates the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Advances and Challenges to Media Freedom in Burma

World Press Freedom Day was held on 3 May, marking an eventful year for media freedom and freedom of expression in Burma. There have been both advances towards increased freedoms, but also serious challenges.

Most notably, the government ended pre-publication censorship and the disbanded the censorship board, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD). Independent organizations such as the Myanmar Journalist Association, Myanmar Journalist Network and Myanmar Journalist Union, have been permitted to form in order to promote the rights and welfare of journalists, replacing the government affiliated Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association. The Ministry of Information and Communications granted permission for 16 privately owned journals to publish dailies for the first time in 50 years starting on 1 April, with an additional 10 journals granted permission at the end of April. Many exiled journalists have returned to Burma and foreign news agencies, such as Associated Press, NHK and Kyodo News, are opening offices in Rangoon.

Despite these positive steps, there remain many challenges to the freedom of expression of journalists and publications. One of the largest threats of repression is that the Printers and Publishers Registration Act (1962) and other restrictive laws remain on the books, providing legal grounds for the government to repress critical voices.

Government Uses Political Prisoners as Bargaining Chips Yet Again

On 23 April, Burma’s government announced a presidential amnesty for 93 prisoners. Media originally reported that this included 59 political prisoners, however, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has confirmed the names of 63 released. Among those released were 40 Shan soldiers, reportedly from the Shan State National Army, and former majority shareholder of the Myanmar Times, Sonny Swe.

In yet another illustration of the government using political prisoners as bargaining chips, the release happened the day after the European Union decided to lift all sanctions on Burma, except an arms embargo. Previous political prisoner releases also coincided with decisions made by the international community or visits by key international figures, such as US President Barack Obama’s visit last November.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Political Reconciliation with Burma’s Armed Forces

On 27 March, Burma’s Armed Forces Day was commemorated with its usual military fanfare. But this year, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi sat in the front row of the parade, raising concerns about her closeness to the army.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was similarly criticized for her comment on BBC’s Desert Island Disks radio show about her “fondness” for her father’s army. While Daw Suu appears to be cozying up the Burma Army as an attempt of political reconciliation in her push towards the 2015 elections, the public widely continues to see the country’s security forces as the perpetrators of human rights violations especially in ethnic nationality areas and of brutal crackdowns on civilians in 1988, 2007 and most recently in November 2012 against protesters and monks at the Letpadaung copper mine.

Commemoration Calls Attention to Political Prisoners’ Struggle

On 1 February, a group of former political prisoners held a public forum in Rangoon to commemorate their protest against forced prison labor in Tharawaddy Prison in 1989. The group was arrested and imprisoned after the 1988 popular uprising that was brutally crushed by the military regime. The “Anti-Labor Protest”, as they called it, was an act of resistance to the first time after the 1988 uprising that prison authorities imposed hard labor on political prisoners. It was also the first time after the uprising that prisoners stood up for their rights and the prison authorities’ first use of widespread and brutal torture against them.

On 17 November 1989, 250 political prisoners were transferred from Insein Prison to Tharawaddy Prison in Pegu Division. On 23 November, prison authorities began to force the political prisoners to perform hard labor, but 6 people refused to do so. Authorities separated them into two groups, severely beat each of the prisoners and placed them in solitary confinement. The following day, other political prisoners demanded to see the 6 who had been taken away. When their demand was rejected, they refused to perform hard labor as well. As with the 6 original protesters, they were also sent to solitary confinement and tortured terribly. Three of these protesters died shortly after they were released from prison.

No More Than a Semblance of Freedom of Assembly, Association and Expression

Like many of Burma’s other reforms including the easing of restrictions on media, there is a darker side to the semblance of freedom of assembly, association and expression that has recently been commended in Burma.

President Thein Sein’s office has been urging ministries to remove some 4,000 people remaining on the blacklist. However, some returning exiles have been asked to sign agreements that they will not do anything that could “harm the state.” The agreement says that exiles can repay the government’s “generosity” by avoiding actions that would disrespect the government and not participate in actions or publish anything that would harm the country’s stability, which hark back to language used by the military regime.

Within the country, lawyers, activists, farmers and local villagers have been protesting on a range of crucial issues including land confiscation, mining projects, electricity shortages, the preservation of cultural heritage buildings in Rangoon and the need for nationwide peace. Those who speak out on issues that are sensitive to the government are detained, charged or threatened by authorities. One of the biggest cases at the moment is that of the thirteen organizers of the peace protest on 21 September who are facing court cases in 10 different Rangoon townships for protesting without permission. They are required to appear at court hearings nearly every day and must inform the authorities if they plan to leave Rangoon.

The Long Road to Ending Armed Conflict in Burma

On 21 September, people around the world marked the United Nations’ International Day of Peace, a day that highlighted just how far there remains to go to achieve lasting peace in Burma.

While Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was being feted on her first trip to the US in more than two decades, Kachin community members called on Daw Suu to do more for the people in Kachin State. As many as 90,000 people have been displaced due to armed conflict between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army, and have little access to urgently needed humanitarian assistance.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Rangoon on 21 September to call for peace in Burma, and especially in Kachin State. They wore blue headbands and carried signs reading “Stop Civil War” and “Justice Guarantees Lasting Peace” as they walked from City Hall to Inya Lake. Another group of protesters were stopped from traveling to Naypyidaw where they had planned to protest in front of the office of the Burma Army’s Commander-in-Chief; they instead joined the main group.

While authorities did not stop the main protest in Rangoon, the police later questioned 15 activists and have filed charges against them for violating Article 18 of the problematic Law Relating to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession for demonstrating without official permission. The activists say that they had applied for permission to protest and submitted all the necessary documents, but had been denied by authorities without being given any reason.

UN Special Rapporteur Calls for Investigations, Accountability and Reconciliation in Burma

Last week, Tomás Ojea Quintana, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma undertook his sixth visit to the country. His statement upon leaving Rangoon touched on many crucial issues, including the release of political prisoners, the situation in Arakan State and the need for a truth commission.

Quintana welcomed the release of Phyo Wai Aung, a young man falsely accused, tortured and imprisoned for his alleged involvement in bombings during the Thingyan water festival in 2010. While this was a welcome gesture from President Thein Sein, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reports that there are an estimated 448 political prisoners still behind bars. Each of these individuals must be released immediately, for as Quintana himself stated, “National reconciliation and democratic transition cannot move forward without this necessary step.”