Aid Groups Stretched by Refugees in Myanmar’s Kachin State
Reported by Zin Mar Win for RFA’s Myanmar Service.
Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Joshua Lipes, Radio Free Asia
November 20, 2013
Aid groups in Myanmar’s Kachin state are facing a humanitarian crisis as thousands of villagers fleeing homes to avoid fresh fighting between government troops and ethnic rebels inundate ill-prepared refugee camps, sources said Wednesday. Around 2,000 villagers have been displaced by a surge in clashes since Oct. 16 between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the military in Mansi township in Kachin, a region near Myanmar’s northern border with China. (read more)
The Dark Side of Transition: Violence Against Muslims in Myanmar
Following the outbreak of deadly intercommunal clashes in Rakhine State in 2012, anti-Muslim violence has spread to other parts of Myanmar. The depth of anti-Muslim sentiment in the country, and the inadequate response of the security forces, mean that further clashes are likely. Unless there is an effective government response and change in societal attitudes, violence could spread, impacting on Myanmar’s transition as well as its standing in the region and beyond.
The violence has occurred in the context of rising Burman-Buddhist nationalism, and the growing influence of the monk-led “969” movement that preaches intolerance and urges a boycott of Muslim businesses. This is a dangerous combination: considerable pent-up frustration and anger under years of authoritarianism are now being directed towards Muslims by a populist political force that cloaks itself in religious respectability and moral authority. (read more)
The Genocide Happening Right Now That Nobody Is Talking About By Dom Hammond 28 August 2013
Over the last two years, the positive news of Myanmar embracing democracy and engaging with the developed world has been consistently offset by reports of sectarian violence between Buddhists and the minority Rohingya Muslim population. Estimates suggest that 300 Muslims have been killed and up to 300,000 displaced since the military junta nominally ceded power in 2011. No longer is this violence restricted to the state of Rakhine where the majority of Burmese Muslims live. Major incidents are reported in states as far south as Thaketa, just a few miles from Yangon, the cultural, historic and business capitol of the country which is now awash with western businessmen drinking expensive cocktails in expensive hotels. This worrying trend of more frequent and more widely spread violence threatens to derail the country’s turnaround. (read more)
Myanmar risks spiraling anti-Muslim unrest: Watchdog By AFP 21 August 2013
BANGKOK — Myanmar must address anti-Muslim propaganda and stamp out a culture of impunity for religious violence or risk “catastrophic” levels of conflict, a rights group warned Tuesday.
Physicians for Human Rights described attacks on Muslims, that have swept the country since fighting first broke out last year as “widespread and systematic,” in a report examining unrest that has killed around 250 people and left tens of thousands homeless.
The US-based group said that while the situation in the country currently appeared calm, a failure to properly investigate and deal with the causes of the tensions risks further clashes. (read more)
You’ve forgotten about the Rohingya, haven’t you? By Neha Shastry 20 August 2013
It has been over a year since the renowned Burmese political activist Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to the Burmese parliament signalling a groundbreaking change in the country’s government. It has also been over a year since the first story emerged about the plight of the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority in Burma, leaving nothing but a slight murmur on the global conscience.
In this time, Burma’s international relations have markedly improved, with visits to the United States as well as the removal of economic sanctions. Even prominent global corporations have travelled to the country to set up shop. Behind this veil of prosperity and change lies the persecution of the biggest population of stateless people in the world. (read more)
Aid workers involved with Rohingyas in Rakhine resign amid threats By DhakaTribune 19 August 2013
Rakhine victims have expressed discontent with what they say is a “biased” aid effort Aid workers in Myanmar who are working with victims of violence in the Rakhine state are being targeted by “anti-Rohingya campaigners,” a report by Myanmar Times revealed.
Activists working with international aid organisations in the conflict-hit state are being threatened on social media once attackers learn their identities.
According to the news website, a source from a big international aid organisation that is currently working in the region said the group had a large number of local members resign after messages were posted on Facebook threatening them and their family members. (read more)
UN calls on Myanmar to hold talks with Rohingyas By PressTV 13 August 2013 The United Nations has urged the Myanmar government to hold talks with Rohingya Muslims to avoid further violence in the west of the country.
United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesman Adrian Edwards made the remarks at a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday.
"UNHCR is reiterating its call for peaceful dialogue and confidence-building between the (internally displaced persons) and government. We believe this is key to avoiding further violence," Edwards said.
Meanwhile, UN's human rights envoy for Myanmar Tomas Ojea Quintana was visiting Rakhine state, where violence killed one and injured ten others last week. (read more)
Fresh Myanmar clashes signal growing Muslim desperation By Andrew R.C. Marshall 12 August 2013
(Reuters) - Attempts to bring stability to Myanmar's strategic northwest Rakhine State could be unraveling after police opened fire on Rohingya Muslims for the third time in two months, reviving tensions in a region beset by religious violence last year.
Villages outside the state capital Sittwe remain volatile after a dispute over custody of a dead Rohingya quickly escalated into a day of clashes on Friday in which police raked Rohingya crowds with gunfire, according to witnesses.
The violence underscores the growing Rohingya desperation in the face of an increasingly unsparing police response. At least two people were killed and more than a dozen injured, locals said. (read more)
Non-Violent Extremism: The Case Of Wirathu In Myanmar – Analysis BY Kumar Ramakrishna 5 August 2013 The controversial Buddhist monk Wirathu, putative leader of the Buddhist fundamentalist 969 movement in Myanmar, has fuelled Buddhist-Muslim violence in the past year. Liberal responses to let the marketplace of ideas drown his extremist rhetoric are unlikely to suffice.
THE CONTROVERSIAL monk Ashin Wirathu, putative leader of the Buddhist fundamentalist 969 movement in Myanmar, has drawn world attention in recent weeks with his extremist rhetoric. Wirathu has graced the cover of Time magazine and even been called the Burmese bin Laden because his sermons have been blamed for fuelling the anti-Muslim violence that has rocked Myanmar the past year. (read more)
Burma’s Authoritarian Rule and Depopulation of Rohingya By NORA ROWLEY | Published: JULY 29, 2013
The Development of Burma’s Authoritarian Rule and Depopulation of Targeted Ethnic Minorities including Rohingya Muslims of Arakan State
BURMA: Police torture of gay and transgendered people By AHRC 22 July 2013
The Asian Human Rights Commission has been following with concern news of the police targeting of gay and transgendered people in Burma, or Myanmar, and has recently obtained detailed information on a number of cases of alleged arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of persons on the grounds of sexual orientation. The AHRC is troubled both by the manner in which this minority group appears to have been deliberately targeted by the police, and by the implications of these police abuses not only for the rights of minorities in democratizing Burma, but also for the rights of all people living there. (read more)
Myanmar Plan to Curb Interfaith Marriage Gains Support Radical Buddhist Group Gathers Signatures Under Monk's Auspices By Shibani Mahtani 21 July 2013
YANGON—Moves to curb interfaith marriage in Myanmar—designed to keep the country's Muslim minority away from Buddhist women—are gaining traction, with a radical monk who has spearheaded the movement saying he has gathered broad support for the proposals he put forth weeks ago.A draft of the law, which has circulated across Myanmar for two weeks, would mandate that Buddhist women seek official permission before marrying a man of another faith, or her marriage would be deemed illegal. It also includes a clause that the man must convert to Buddhism. (read more)
Burma risks becoming 'the next Rwanda' as violence grows By Jane Merrick 14 July 2013
Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary expected to announce fresh trade deals between UK and Burma when they meet President Thein Sein at Downing Street
David Cameron is being urged to demand an end to the violence against Burma's Muslim minority when he meets the country's President in London tomorrow.
Campaigners say Burma risks becoming "the next Rwanda", with chilling echoes of the build-up to the 1990s genocide in evidence. (read more)
Britain to offer military training to Burma to help end ethnic conflicts By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent 14 July 2013 Britain will offer Burma military training and official assistance to tackle its internal conflicts during a groundbreaking official visit by President Thein Sein to meet David Cameron that was due to begin on Sunday night.
Hugo Swire, the Foreign Office minister of state, told The Daily Telegraph that Britain was determined to take a leading role in helping Burma to develop a more democratic system and resolve ethnic tensions.
In particular the Foreign Office has sought to use its historic experience in the former colony to defuse tensions between the military-backed government and Rohingya Muslims.
Clashes between the Rohingya and Buddhist radicals with close links to the government have left hundreds dead over the past year, while more than 140,000 people remain displaced across Rakhine state. (read more)
Myanmar's radical monk targets interfaith marriage By Auskar Surbakti for Newsline 12 July 2013
The Myanmar man dubbed 'The Face of Buddhist Terror' by Time magazine wants a law restricting marriages between Buddhists and Muslims.
Radical monk U Wirathu has been leading hundreds of Buddhist monks in protest.
"This law is my dream," he said.
"I've given speeches like this in different places so that we could propose this law."
Last month, he joined around 200 other monks in Yangon to discuss ways to end rising religious violence that began in Rakhine state last year between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims.(read more)
Sectarian tension in Myanmar threatens aid workers By IRIN News 16 April 2013
BANGKOK – Ongoing tensions between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmar's western Rakhine State have created a threatening environment for aid workers, hindering assistance to more than 127,000 displaced persons.
“Access to IDPs [internally displaced persons] is being seriously hampered by ongoing intimidation [of aid workers] by some members of the local community,” noted the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yangon.
Humanitarian organizations, including medical NGO Médecins Sans Frontières, report aid staff have faced accusations by the local Rakhine community - who are mostly Buddhist - that their assistance favours the Muslim Rohingya minority.
The majority of the displaced are Rohingya, but there are also hundreds of Buddhists among them, according to government estimates. (read more)
Aid workers face difficulty. Photo cred: UNHCR/P. Behan
Genocide Emergency: Violence against the Rohingya and other Muslims in Myanmar 04 April 2013, updating Genocide Emergency by Genocide Watch 29 March 2012 By Katelyn Nawoyski
The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority of one million people that has lived in Rakhine state for centuries. But they face systematic religious and ethnic discrimination because under Myanmar’s constitution, they are not classified as one of 135 legally recognized ethnic minority groups with Myanmar citizenship. Ethnic Burmese consider the Rohingya as “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh. But Bangladesh does not recognize the Rohingya as its citizens.
Without citizenship, the Rohingya have no civil rights in Myanmar.
The regime refuses to issue identification cards to Rohingya, which are necessary to be able to travel, as well as to obtain passports and enroll in higher education.
They are denied land and property rights and ownership. The land on which they live can be taken away at any time.
The Rohingya people are barred from government employment.
Marriage restrictions are imposed on them. They are limited to two children per couple.
They are subject to forced labor, extortion and other coercive measures.
Public services such as health and education are neglected. Illiteracy is 80%.
More than 40,000 Rohingya children in western Myanmar are deprived of rights to travel, to attend school, or to marry in the future, because their parents had an unauthorized marriage or exceeded the two-child limit the Myanmar government has imposed on the Rohingya. These blacklisted children are refused birth registration, and so are not included in family lists and must be hidden during the authorities’ population checks.
The Rohingya are subject to curfews and other restrictions on basic freedoms.
The Rohingya are a dehumanized and persecuted minority in Myanmar. Many attempt to flee to Bangladesh or Malaysia in rickety boats, but are not accorded the rights of refugees in those countries. Some of these boat people drown.
Among the crimes against humanity the Myanmar military regime is committing against the Rohingya are: denial of citizenship, imprisonment in displaced persons camps, murder, denial of the right to travel, denial of education rights for children, and denial of food and medicines.
During 2012, violence increased against Rohingya and other Muslims in the Rakhine State. According to the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, the Rohingyas have become one of the most oppressed ethnic groups in the world. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report on discrimination against the Rohingya.
Miss Thidar Htwe, a Buddhist woman from Rakhine, was murdered on 28 May 2012. Government officials arrested and charged three Muslim men with the attack. The Economist reported that six days later a mob of Buddhist vigilantes stopped a bus carrying Muslim pilgrims, killing ten and raping one. Violence by Buddhists against Muslims grew. Scores of Rohingya were slaughtered. Attacks against Muslims have now spread to other areas of Myanmar. Attacks by government forces followed shortly thereafter. Mass media have incited discrimination against the Rohingya and Muslims, using derogatory terms and twisted stories when reporting on incidences.
Violence against Muslims is not just targeted against the Rohingya; Muslims living in other states have also been targets of ethnic, racial, and religiously motivated violence. The Burmese government has committed atrocities against Muslims, including mass killings and rapes, burning of Muslim villages, arrests, forced labor, and torture. Many Muslims attempt to escape to Bangladesh for sanctuary. However, in Bangladesh the Myanmar refugees face discrimination, exploitation, and deportation. In Myanmar, the Rohingya are a stateless people.
On 28 March 2013, The New York Times reported that President Thein Sein publicly declared that he would begin using force to stop religious conflict and rioting in Myanmar. This was the president’s first public comment on the issue since 40 Muslims were killed during rioting in central Myanmar the week before. About 12,000 were forced out of their homes and into refugee shelters as a direct result of that rioting, which included burning of Muslim houses and mosques. This was the worst instance of violence against Muslims in the past year.
The release from house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and lifting of restrictions on trade have given much of the world press a false sense that the Myanmar regime is liberalizing. In fact, the model it is following is China’s, with firm control by the military unshaken.
On 29 March 2013, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, issued a statement from Geneva in which he not only expressed the UN’s concerns about the violence between Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar, but urged the government to take “bold steps” to rectify the ongoing violence. Quintana noted the violence has been occurring since June and the government has not been doing enough to stop it.
State-supported violence against Muslims not only continues a long pattern of discrimination, but is also a warning sign that genocidal violence against Muslims, Shin, Karen, and other minorities remains rampant in Myanmar.
Genocide Watch is issuing an updated Genocide Emergency Alert for the Rakhine State of Myanmar. Genocide Watch recommends that the following actions be taken:
Myanmar authorities should cease human rights violations against the Rohingya and other Muslims, and against other minority groups;
The Myanmar Parliament should pass legislation that grants full citizenship to the Rohingya with all rights of citizens of Myanmar, including the right to hold land titles and travel, and other rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Bangladesh should adhere to its obligations under the UN Convention on the Protection of Refugees by accepting Rohingya refugees, permitting them to settle in refugee camps until they can be repatriated with full citizenship rights in Myanmar.
Genocide Emergency: Kachin State 04 April 2013 By Katelyn Nawoyski
Fighting in Myanmar’s Kachin state pits the Kachin Independence Army and its majority Christian population against the Burmese Buddhist government. Ethnic Shan in Kachin State have also been displaced.
Kachin State In 1994, the Burmese government reached a peace agreement with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) ending large-scale conflict between the two parties in the jade-rich territory. KIO maintained effective control, and political tension remained high for the next 17 years. In June 2011, that ceasefire agreement was shattered and fighting once again broke out between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Burmese government when the government attacked KIA forces near a hydropower plant. Fighting since has been non-stop.
The government says it only attacks in self-defense. However, it appears that the government is trying to capture KIA headquarters in Laiza. The line of command for attacks is ambiguous since the creation of the new democratic government, and it is unclear whether many of the attacks are directed by the central government or are occurring on the basis of local government action. Government attacks on Kachin villages have intensified since December 2012.
Human Rights Watch estimates that since the attacks have begun, over 75,000 Kachins have been forced to flee their homes looking for refuge. Attacks include raids and burnings of villages and rapes and murders. Many Kachin have fled to China, only to be deported.
On January 19, 2013, President Thein Sein declared a ceasefire, which was immediately broken by his own army. The two groups – KIA and the government – met for peace talks in February 2013, but tensions remain and there has been no stop to the violence. Tens of thousands of Shan Buddhists have also been displaced from Kachin state since June 2011. About 300,000 of Kachin State’s 1.2 million residents are Shan. Kachin Christians also face discrimination. It is estimated that over 100,000 Kachins have been displaced as a direct result of the fighting.
Relief groups from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the World Food Program (WFP) entered remote areas of the Kachin state to provide aid – in the form of supplies and relief workers – in late February. The UN had talks with the government to ensure that aid workers would be safe.
Genocide Watch has issued an updated Genocide Emergency Alert for the Kachin State of Myanmar.
Genocide Watch recommends that the following actions be taken immediately:
Myanmar authorities should cease human rights violations and violent attacks against the Shans and Kachins;
Myanmar authorities should abide by a ceasefire agreement with the Kachin Independence Army and ensure it is maintained by government military forces in the Kachin State;
China should adhere to its obligations under the UN Convention on the Protection of Refugees by accepting refugees from the Kachin State, permitting them to settle in refugee camps until they can safely return without threat from Myanmar government military forces.
Toll Rises as Sectarian Violence in Myanmar Spreads to Nearby Villages 21 March 2013 By Thomas Fuller and Wai Moe
BANGKOK — Rioting and arson attacks spread on Friday to villages outside a city in central Myanmar where clashes between Buddhists and Muslims have left at least 20 people dead, according to residents, a member of Parliament and local journalists. A picture of chaos and anarchy emerged from the city of Meiktila, where mobs of Buddhists, some of them led by monks, have ransacked and burned Muslim neighborhoods since Wednesday. ( read more)
Burma's President Thein Sein in first European visit By BBC News 25 February 2013
Burma's President Thein Sein is embarking on his first European tour, where he is expected to engage in high-level European Union talks.
The president will fly to non-EU state Norway and then visit Finland, Austria, Belgium and Italy, say officials.
He is expected to firm up bilateral ties and discuss Burma's reform process and rights-related issues, reports say.
Last year, Thein Sein visited the US, the first Burmese leader to do so in 46 years.
The five countries the Burmese president is visiting are not Europe's largest, but every step on the world stage involving this once most isolated of countries is carefully watched for signs of how well its democratic transformation is progressing, reports BBC South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head. (read more)
Burma: New Violence in Arakan State By Human Rights Watch 26 October 2012
The government of Burma should take immediate steps to stop sectarian violence against the Rohingya Muslim population in Arakan State, in western Burma, and ensure protection and aid to both Rohingyas and Arakanese in the state, Human Rights Watch said today. New satellite imagery [2] obtained by Human Rights Watch shows extensive destruction of homes and other property in a predominantly Rohingya Muslim area of the coastal town of Kyauk Pyu – one of several areas of new violence and displacement. (read more)
Report: Burmese Army Continues Rights Violations in Karen Voice of America 28 August 2012
As Burma's government and ethnic Karen rebel groups continue peace talks to end one of the world's longest running conflicts, there are renewed reports of human rights violations by the Burmese army in the volatile state. A new report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) found that a third of the families in the region reported experiencing abuses, such as evictions, forced labor, restricted movement and sometimes physical attacks, including rape and torture. The report released Tuesday suggests those living near economic development projects such as mines, pipelines and hydroelectric dams are significantly more likely to become victims of land rights and labor abuses. (read more)
Genocide Emergency: Western Myanmar, Rakhine State: The Rohingya
The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority living in northern Rakhine state in Western Myanmar. They face religious and ethnic discrimination by Myanmar’s military regime, which refuses to recognize the Rohingya as Myanmar citizens. The Rohingya people are not considered one of 135 legally recognized ethnic minority groups in Myanmar. Myanmar considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, but they have lived in Myanmar for centuries, and Bangladesh will not accept them as its citizens.
The first Rohingya people arrived in Myanmar as early as the seventh century, but the Myanmar military regime maintains, to this day, that the Rohingya immigrated to Myanmar from India while under British colonial rule. This disregard for earlier settlers prohibits the Rohingya from being legally recognized as a minority group in Myanmar.
The Rohingya have permanently settled in Western Myanmar and make up 1/3 of the population of the Rakhine State. There are close to 750,000 Rohingyas in Rakhine State.
Because of the Myanmar military regime’s denial of legal recognition, the Rohingya are denied fundamental human rights and freedom, and the military regime consistently perpetrates human rights violations against this vulnerable population.
The regime refuses to issue identification cards to Rohingya, which are necessary to be able to travel, as well as to obtain passports and enroll in higher education.
They are denied land and property rights and ownership. The land on which they live can be taken away at any time.
The Rohingya people are barred from government employment.
Marriage restrictions are imposed on them. They are limited to two children per couple.
They are subject to forced labor, extortion and other coercive measures.
Public services such as health and education are neglected. Illiteracy is 80%.
More than 40,000 Rohingya children in western Myanmar are deprived of rights to travel, go to school or to marry in the future, because their parents had an unauthorized marriage or exceeded the two-child limit the Myanmar government has imposed on the Rohingya. These blacklisted children are refused birth registration, and so are not included in family lists and must be hidden during the authorities’ population checks.
The Rohingya are subject to curfews and other restrictions on basic freedoms.
The Rohingya are a dehumanized and persecuted minority in Myanmar. Many attempt to flee to Bangladesh or Malaysia in rickety boats, but are not accorded the rights of refugees in those countries. Some boat people drown.
Among the crimes against humanity the Myanmar military regime is committing against the Rohingya are: denial of citizenship, imprisonment in displaced persons camps, widespread murder of civilians, denial of the right to travel, denial of education rights for children, and denial of food and medicines.
Genocide Watch is issuing a Genocide Emergency Alert for the Rohingya of Myanmar. Genocide Watch recommends that:
The Myanmar Parliament should pass legislation that grants full citizenship to the Rohingya, with all rights of citizens of Myanmar, including the right to hold land titles, travel, and other rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Plan measures to dissolve Rohingya displaced persons’ camps with international assistance, especially from countries in Asean;
Myanmar authorities should cease human rights violations against the Rohingya;
Bangladesh should adhere to its obligations under the UN Convention on the Protection of Refugees, by accepting boats of Rohingya refugees, permitting them to settle in refugee camps until they can be repatriated with full citizenship rights in Myanmar.
Country Profile: Myanmar (Burma)
The state of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a melting pot of political tensions. Myanmar has been subject to several occupations by foreign militaries. In response, a surge of nationalism prompted the different ethnic minorities to fight together against the imperialist nations of Britain and Japan. Following the pull out of foreign militaries, ethnic minorities were promised their opportunity to secede from the nation of Burma if they chose to do so. However, the assassination of Aung San left the nation without a capable leader. Burma became a police state in 1962 under the socialist leader, General Ne Win. The constitutional agreement to allow the ethnic minorities to secede was nullified. Since then, numerous secessionist movements have fought the Burmese Army, representing the Karen, Shan, Kachin, and other peoples. These movements have been viciously suppressed, with many crimes against humanity and even genocidal massacres committed by the Burmese Army. The socialist party has continued to oppress the people of Myanmar (Burma) by nationalizing all property, staging fixed elections, and killing and imprisoning those who speak out against the regime. They continue brutal attacks and campaigns against the ethnic minorities in Myanmar; the Kachin, Karen, Shan, Rakhin, and Mon. They have also violated international treaties pertaining to human rights including the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The armed forces of the SLORC party (State Law and Order Restoration Council) committed heinous crimes against humanity by using rape as a weapon of war. Women not only run a high risk of being raped, but lack access to healthcare because of their refugee-like status in their own country. Many people have fled Myanmar and are refugees in the surrounding countries of Bangladesh, China, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Myanmar conscripts children into its armed forces, as do the resistance movements to Burmese rule. These children, usually between the ages of 15-17, are forcibly removed from their families and homes and forced to fight for the government or one of the minority rebel militias. The UN International Labor Organization received 201 complaints of child recruitment from people in Myanmar in 2010 (U.N. www.un.org). There is evidence that both sides of the conflict have been using child soldiers, a crime against humanity. This conscription of children directly violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in which a government is obliged to recognize a child’s inherent right to life and ensure, to the possible extent, the survival and development of that child. Myanmar is a state-party to that Convention. Despite significant democratic reforms in the last two years, Myanmar continues to wage ethnic wars on ethnic minorities. The regime has released 300 political prisoners but reports say there are still several hundred imprisoned. The opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kye has been freed from house arrest and has declared her candidacy in the next elections or Parliament. The U.S has required that all political prisoners be released before all sanctions will be removed. However, full diplomatic relations have been restored.
Because of its ongoing wars against minorities, especially the Karen, Shan, and Kachin, Genocide Watch has kept Myanmar at Stage 7 (Current genocidal massacres.)
Copyright 2012 New York Times Company, Soe Than Win / Agence France- Presse - Getty Images. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Center, at her opposition party's headquarters in Yangon this week, is being allowed to seek elected office for the first time since 1990.
Conflict adds ‘genocide’ to the lexicon of Burmese politics
By Agatha Gort
26 May 2012
AS WESTERN powers make encouraging sounds towards Burma’s recent political reforms, on the country’s far-flung northern border with China a dark conflict is still raging.
The ethnic Kachin people – a largely Christian minority who picked up guns in 1961 to fight the Burmese army – say they have been left out of the reform process, which has seen ceasefires and a renewed attempt at reconciliation between the central government and the country’s myriad ethnic groups which have been in conflict with Rangoon.
In recent weeks, the outnumbered and outgunned Kachin have begun to use the word “genocide” to describe the campaign against them, as they fight to defend their defacto capital of Laiza. (Read more)
Soldiers loyal to the KIO patrol a supply route into Laiza. Picture: Getty
News alerts, personal stories, and articles on Burma can be sent
to burma@genocidewatch.org.
Genocide Watch is the Coordinator of the International Alliance to End Genocide P.O. Box 809, Washington, D.C. 20044 USA. Phone: 1-202-643-1405 E-mail:communications@genocidewatch.org
