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Various rights: reports of violations against several ethnic groups Websites/Multiple Documents Title:   SAFFRON REVOLUTION Date of publication:   24 March 2008 Description/subject:   The protests: Students and opposition activists protested after the unannounced 15 August decision to increase fuel prices by 500%. On 5 September, SPDC security forces used force against monks to break up a peaceful demonstration in Pakokku, Magwe Division. The military refused to apologize by the monks' 17 September deadline, and monks began to lead daily non-violent protests. Civilians joined as the protests quickly gained momentum and grew in size. Between 18 and 28 September, thousands of monks joined and led demonstrations. Between 19 August and 31 October, hundreds of thousands of monks, nuns, and citizens participated in over 150 protests spread across nearly every State and Division in the country. See complete list of protests...... The crackdown: The crackdown began on 26 September and involved the use of deadly force, raids on monasteries, and the arrest of thousands of protesters. The regime arrested over 3,000 people, killed at least 31 during the crackdown, and sentenced to prison at least 33. SPDC authorities detained 18 elected MPs, several thousand monks, 274 NLD members, and 25 88 Generation Students members. At least 18 detainees died in custody due to poor conditions and harsh interrogations. The regime continued to hunt for protesters in the months following the peak of the protests. As of 25 January 2008, 700 people involved in the protest remained in custody with 80 unaccounted for...... The international response: The international community was quick to condemn the arrests of protesters in August, and criticism intensified as calls for a peaceful approach to September protests and genuine political dialogue went unheeded. ASEAN expressed "revulsion"strongly deplored" the violent repression of demonstrators. ..... Worldwide demonstrations: People in over 35 countries organized rallies, vigils, marches, petitions, and protests during and following the Saffron Revolution. Some expressed their support for and solidarity with the peaceful protesters. Many demonstrations focused on the policies of Burma's military regime, with calls for the release of political prisoners and an end to the violent crackdown of the protests. Demonstrators also urged the UN and governments worldwide to intervene. See complete list of worldwide solidarity actions...... Related reports: • Saffron Revolution: Recap; • Fuel price hikes inflame Burmese people; • Face off in Burma: Monks vs SPDC; • Saffron Revolution: Update; • Burma Bulletin - August 2007; • Burma Bulletin - September 2007; • Burma Bulletin - October 2007; • Burma Bulletin - November 2007; • Burma Bulletin - December 2007......The documents include also a photo gallery of the events, maps of the demonstrations and crackdowns, a 12MB! Flash presentation of the background and photos of the international solidarity protests around the world and an invitation to buy the T-shirt. Language:   English Source/publisher:   ALTSEAN-Burma Format/size:   html etc. Date of entry/update:   28 March 2008 Title:   Amnesty International Deutschland: Berichte und Dokumente Myanmar 1997 - Language:   Deutsch, German Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Deutschland Format/size:   HTML Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Amnesty International Netherlands Burma Group Description/subject:   Documents, campaigns, links Source/publisher:   Amnesty International, Netherlands Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Amnesty International: Burma Page (News, Reports, Urgent Actions) Description/subject:   Reports, news and Urgent Actions from 1997 (earlier reports, unfortunately, not online). Annual Reports from 1997. Best to use printer-friendly versions. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Asian Human Rights Commission - Burma site Description/subject:   New site. Various useful articles and links Language:   Burmese, English Source/publisher:   Asian Human Rights Commission Format/size:   html/pdf Date of entry/update:   05 February 2007 Title:   Association of Humanitarian Lawyers: Archive of Documents Description/subject:   The Karen Parker Home Page for Humanitarian Law...Several written and oral statements on Burma to U. S. and U.N. bodies. Focus on international humanitarian law (laws of war, armed conflict. Keywords: Karen, Karenni, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, International law, violations of human rights law, violations of humanitarian law, armed conflict, Laws of War, Self-Determaination, United States Policy. Author/creator:   Karen Parker Language:   English Source/publisher:   The Karen Parker Home Page for Humanitarian Law Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) Description/subject:   Various reports on Burma, notably the reports of CSW vists to the border areas. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   10 May 2004 Title:   Derechos: Human Rights in Burma Description/subject:   Last updated about 1998. Some docs in Spanish Source/publisher:   Derechos Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Forum of Democratic Leaders of the Asia/Pacific Description/subject:   Lots of good human rights, academic and other links. The Burma-specific links were dead, August 2001, but we can hope... Language:   English Source/publisher:   FDLAP Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch Burma page Description/subject:   Full text online reports from 1989 (events of 1988), though 1991 seems to be missing and 2004 has no section on Burma. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma (ND-Burma) Description/subject:   DOCUMENTATION: The range of human rights violations in Burma is extensive, and each ND-Burma member organization focuses on certain violations that are particularly relevant to their mission. To provide a framework for collaboration among members, ND-Burma has developed a “controlled vocabulary” of the categories of human rights violations on which the network focuses... DOCUMENTATION MANUAL SERIES: Based on ND-Burma's controlled category list ND-Burma has developed a documentation manual series to support its members to effectively document human rights violations. 1. Killings & Disappearance 2. Arbitrary Arrest & Detention 3. Recruitment & Use of Child Soldiers 4. Forced Relocation 5. Rape & Other Forms of Sexual Violence 6. Torture & Other Forms of Ill-Treatment 7. Forced Labor 8. Obstruction of Freedom of Movement 9. Violations of Property Rights 10. Forced Marriage 11. Forced Prostitution 12. Human Trafficking 13. Obstruction of Freedoms of Expression and Assembly 14. General Documentation... TRAINING: ND-Burma's Training Team organises and provides training to its members, affiliates and invited organisations. Human Rights Documentation training and Martus software training is held regularly. Other traning provided includes; * International Human Rights legal systems * Project Management * Finance * Film Shooting/Editing Workshop * Taxation systems * Interview techniques * Advocacy * Training of Trainers... HUMAN RIGHTS DATA MANAGEMENT: All members use the same software for documentation, called “Martus”, allowing for analysis and storage of encrypted incident reports, called “bulletins,” on a secure common server. ND-Burma provides training and suppport on using Martus to its members... ADVOCACY: ND-Burma promotes its work and those of other Burmese human rights organizations through its website. ND-Burma provides human rights information to relevant advocacy campaigns and through publishing reports analyzing its data. ND-Burma is currently working on a report about Arbitary Taxation and its impact on the livilihoods of people in Burma. ND-Burma collaborates with its members and other human rights organizations’ campaigns. Language:   English, Burmese Source/publisher:   ND-Burma Format/size:   html, pdf Date of entry/update:   12 September 2009 Title:   Search results(Google) for "Burma" on the Asian Human Rights Commission site Description/subject:   511 results, March 2004 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Asian Human Rights Commission Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   12 March 2004 Title:   Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights, Myanmar Description/subject:   Reports, resolutions, press releases etc. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Format/size:   html, pdf Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   UN human rights documents on Burma (Myanmar), by year (from 1991) Description/subject:   Resolutions of the General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights; reports by the Secretary-General and the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar; written statements by NGOs; reports with references to Myanmar by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Special Rapporteur on toxic wastes, Special Rapporteur on Torture, Report of the High Commissioner on human rights and mass exoduses, Report of the Secretary-General on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, Report of the Secretary-General on the national practices related to the right to a fair trial. Language:   Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish Source/publisher:   Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Format/size:   html, pdf Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   US Department of State: Burma page Language:   English Source/publisher:   US Department of State Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   US Department of State: Semi-Annual Reports to Congress on Conditions in Burma and US Policy Towards Burma Language:   English Source/publisher:   Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs U.S. Department of State Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Individual Documents Title:   Annual Report on Human Rights 2009 Date of publication:   March 2010 Description/subject:   "...The human rights situation in Burma continued its downward trend in 2009. Daily life in Burma continues to be characterised by the denial of almost all fundamental rights, and a pervasive military and security presence. Expressions of opposition to the regime often result in arrest and extended detention without trial. Despite international pressure, the regime made no attempt in 2009 to engage in substantive political dialogue with the democratic opposition and ethnic groups. Both were disenfranchised by the National Convention process and flawed referendum in May 2008 on the new Constitution, which is designed to ensure continued military control of the country. The key event in Burma in 2010 will be elections, based on the Constitution, that form the final step in the military authorities’ seven-step “Roadmap” towards “disciplined democracy”. Opposition and ethnic groups now have to decide whether to participate in a skewed electoral process, which offers them little prospect of any real power, or to stand aside. We expect further human rights abuses in 2010 as the regime maintains a tight grip on internal security in the months leading up to elections..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office Format/size:   pdf (1MB - Burma section; 5.35MB - full report) Alternate URLs:   http://centralcontent.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/human-rights-reports/human-rights-report-2009 Date of entry/update:   27 April 2010 Title:   The repression of ethnic minority activists in Myanmar Date of publication:   16 February 2010 Description/subject:   "...Planning this year to hold its first national and local elections since 1990, the Myanmar government has prepared itself in many ways, including, as Amnesty International’s findings indicate, by repressing ethnic minority political opponents and activists. While these human rights violations certainly preceded the February 2008 announcement that elections would be held—as the late 2007 crackdown on the Saffron Revolution showed—the coming elections have given the government new resolve in repressing political dissent in all of Myanmar’s seven ethnic minority states and among its ethnic minority peoples. This repression has included arbitrary arrests and detention; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; unfair trials; rape; extrajudicial killings; forced labour; violations of freedom of expression, assembly, association, and religion; intimidation and harassment; and discrimination. This repression of political opponents and activists has also run completely contrary to the Myanmar government’s repeated claims since 2004, to be embarking and continuing on a ‘Roadmap to Democracy’ and increasing the level of political participation in the country. With almost no exception, authorities and officials have enjoyed impunity for their violations. The repression of political opponents and activists has resulted in the violation of ethnic minorities’ human rights, and the violation of international human rights and humanitarian law: Myanmar is bound by its legal obligations under the Conventions on the Rights of the Child and on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the 1949 Geneva Conventions; and customary international law. It is also obliged, as a member of the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to uphold the provisions of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ASEAN Charter..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Format/size:   pdf (758K), html (258K) Alternate URLs:   http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA16/001/2010/en/183ebaaa-6f76-4d61-952b-8555034d56fd/asa1... Date of entry/update:   16 February 2010 Title:   Myanmar: Beneath The Surface (video) Date of publication:   23 December 2009 Description/subject:   "Two years ago the world watched in dismay as Myanmar's military junta brutally crushed the so-called Saffron Revolution. It was the only show of mass opposition to have occurred inside the country in almost 20 years. Filmmaker Hazel Chandler entered the country undercover for People & Power to find out how Myanmar's people are fairing, and to investigate disturbing claims that the regime may be trying to develop nuclear weapons." Author/creator:   Hazel Chandler Language:   English Source/publisher:   Al Jazeera (People and Power) Format/size:   Adobe Flash (23 minutes) Date of entry/update:   25 December 2009 Title:   Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2008 - Chapter 18: Ethnic Minority Rights Date of publication:   23 November 2009 Description/subject:   "...Under British Colonial rule, Burma was divided into two zones: the centrally located ‘Ministerial Burma’, which mostly consisted of the Buddhist Burman ethnic group, and the ‘Frontier Areas’, located in the mountainous regions situated along what are recognized today as Burma’s international borders. These Frontier Regions were where most of the ethnic minorities resided. While the British essentially destroyed the local government systems in Ministerial Burma and employed their own systems of administration and government, the area also received some development and investment. On the other hand, while the Frontier Areas retained their systems of governance and some autonomy, their natural resources were exploited by the British and they received little in regard to health, education, economic development, or political representation at the national level.1 Even though Burma has long been free of British rule, this system of exploitation and neglect continues to this day..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU) Format/size:   pdf (872K) Date of entry/update:   06 December 2009 Title:   U.S. Policy Toward Burma (video) Date of publication:   21 October 2009 Description/subject:   Witnesses Panel: The Honorable Kurt M. Campbell Assistant Secretary Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs U.S. Department of State... Mr. Tom Malinowski Advocacy Director Human Rights Watch... Chris Beyrer, M.D., MPH Professor of Epidemiology, International Health, and Health, Behavior, and Society Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health... Mr. Aung Din Executive Director U.S. Campaign for Burma Language:   English Source/publisher:   U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs Format/size:   Webcast [Real Player] (2.5hours) Date of entry/update:   28 October 2009 Title:   U.S. Policy Toward Burma - Testimony of Chris Beyrer MD, MPH Date of publication:   21 October 2009 Description/subject:   Testimony of Chris Beyrer MD, MPH Professor of Epidemiology and International Health Director, Center for Public Health and Human Rights Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health... Language:   English Source/publisher:   U. S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs Format/size:   pdf (50K) Date of entry/update:   28 October 2009 Title:   Animal Farm Date of publication:   August 2009 Description/subject:   "...Below are some excerpts from my interviews with inmates at Rangoon zoo. A nervous elephant, the only tusker in the zoo willing to talk to me, shivered as he remembered an incident on September 27, 2007:..." Author/creator:   Satya Sagar Language:   English Source/publisher:   http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16449&page=1 Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   26 December 2009 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 2009 - Events of 2008: Burma section Date of publication:   14 January 2009 Description/subject:   Burma’s already dismal human rights record worsened following the devastation of cyclone Nargis in early May 2008. The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) blocked international assistance while pushing through a constitutional referendum in which basic freedoms were denied. The ruling junta systematically denies citizens basic freedoms, including freedom of expression, association, and assembly. It regularly imprisons political activists and human rights defenders; in 2008 the number of political prisoners nearly doubled to more than 2,150. The Burmese military continues to violate the rights of civilians in ethnic conflict areas and extrajudicial killings, forced labor, land confiscation without due process and other violations continued in 2008....Cyclone Nargis...Constitutional Referendum...Human Rights Defenders...Child Soldiers...Continuing Violence against Ethnic Groups...Refugees and Migrant Workers...Key International Actors Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   17 January 2009 Title:   THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA ‐ 2008 -- A DOUBLE‐DISASTER IN THE 2007 PROTESTS’ AFTERMATH Date of publication:   10 December 2008 Description/subject:   "Perhaps the two most significant features of the human rights landscape in Burma during 2008 were the morally bankrupt and blatantly repressive response of the country’s military regime to the Cyclone Nargis disaster in May, and the continued detaining, charging and sentencing of persons involved in last September’s nationwidut also domestic law...WORLD’S WORST RESPONSE TO A NATURAL DISASTER..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Asian Human Rights Commission Format/size:   pdf (675K) Date of entry/update:   23 December 2008 Title:   Saffron Revolution Imprisoned, law demented Date of publication:   September 2008 Description/subject:   Contents: SPECIAL EDITION: SAFFRON REVOLUTION IMPRISONED, LAW DEMENTED... Foreword: Dual policy approach needed on Burma Basil Fernando... Introduction: Saffron Revolution imprisoned, law demented Editorial board, article 2... Ne Win, Maung Maung and how to drive a legal system crazy in two short decades, Burma desk, Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong... Ten case studies in illegal arrest and imprisonment..... APPENDIX: Nargis: World’s worst response to a natural disaster, Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Article 2 (Vol. 7, No. 3) Format/size:   pdf (1.31MB) Date of entry/update:   15 November 2008 Title:   BULLETS IN THE ALMS BOWL - An Analysis of the Brutal SPDC Suppression of the September 2007 Saffron Revolution Date of publication:   March 2008 Description/subject:   Table of Contents: Acronyms and Abbreviations... Maps... Map of Burma Showing Protest Locations... Map of Rangoon... I Executive Summary... II Government by Exploitation: The Burmese Way to Capitalism?... Macroeconomic Policy... Fiscal Policy... Monetary Policy... The Economic Cost of Militarization... The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back... III Growing Discontent: The Economic Protests... Early Signs of Dissatisfaction... Protesting the Fuel Price Rise....... IV The Saffron Revolution... The SPDC and the Sangha... Interdependence of the Monastic and Lay Communities... Pakokku and the Call of Excommunication... Nationwide Protests Declared... V Crackdown on the Streets... Wednesday, 26 September 2007... Shwedagon Pagoda... Downtown Rangoon... Thakin Mya Park... Yankin Post Office... Thursday, 27 September 2007... South Okkalapa Township... Sule Pagoda... Pansodan Road Bridge... Thakin Mya Park... Tamwe Township State High School No3... Friday, 28 September 2007... Pansodan Road... Pazundaung Township... Latha Township ... Saturday, 29 September 2007, onwards... VI The Monastery Raids... Invitations to ‘Breakfast’ ... Maggin Monastery ... Ngwe Kyar Yan Monastery ... Additional Raids in Okkalapa ... Thaketa Township... Raids in Other Locations around the Country...Arakan State Mandalay Division... Kachin State... Continued Raids... VII A Witch Hunt... Night Time Abductions... Arrested for Harbouring... Arrests in Lieu Of Others... Collective Punishment of Entire Neighbourhoods... Release of Detainees... Continuing Arrest and Detention of Political Activists... VIII Judicial Procedure and Conditions of Detention... Prolonged Detention without Charge... Judicial Procedure... Conditions of Detention... Interrogation and Torture of Detainees.... Denial of Medical Care... Deaths in Custody... Treatment of Monks... IX Analysis of the Crackdown: Intent to Brutalise, Cover Up and Discredit... Hired Thugs... Targeted and Intentional Killings... Removal of the Dead and Wounded... Treatment of the Injured... Secret Cremations... Suppression of Information... The Internet... Telephone Networks Severed... The National Press... Deliberate Targeting of Journalists... Providing Information to the Media... Defamation of the Sangha... The Pro-SPDC Rallies... X Conclusion... XI Recommendations. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Documentation Unit of the NCGUB (HRDU) Format/size:   pdf (4.8MB) Date of entry/update:   13 March 2008 Title:   Arbitrary Confiscation of Farmers’ Land by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Military Regime in Burma Date of publication:   February 2008 Description/subject:   Abstract" "This research was framed by a human rights approach to development as pursued by Amartya Sen. Freedoms are not only the primary ends of development but they are the principle means of development. The research was informed by international obligations to human rights and was placed within a context of global pluralism and recognition of universal human dignity. The first research aim was to study the State Peace and Development Council military regime confiscation of land and labour of farmers in villages of fourteen townships in Rangoon, Pegu, and Irrawaddy Divisions and Arakan, Karenni, and Shan States. Four hundred and sixty-seven individuals were interviewed to gain understanding of current pressures facing farmers and their families. Had crops, labour, household food, assets, farm equipment been confiscated? If so, by whom, and what reason was given for the confiscation? Were farmers compensated for this confiscation? How did family households respond and cope when land was confiscated? In what ways were farmers contesting the arbitrary confiscation of their land? A significant contribution of this research is that it was conducted inside Burma with considerable risk for all individuals involved. People who spoke about their plight, who collected information, and who couriered details of confiscation across the border into Thailand were at great risk of arrest. Interviews were conducted clandestinely in homes, fields, and sometimes during the night. Because of personal security risks there are inconsistent data sets for the townships. People revealed concerns of health, education, lack of land tenure and livelihood. Several farmers are contesting the confiscation of their land, but recognise that there is no rule by law or independent judiciary in Burma. Farmers and their family members want their plight to be known internationally. When they speak out they are threatened with detention. Their immediate struggle is to survive. The second aim was to analyse land laws and land use in Burma from colonial times, independence in 1948, to the present military rule by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The third aim was to critically review international literature on land tenure and land rights with special focus on research conducted in post-conflict, post-colonial, and post-socialist nations and how to resolve land claims in face of no documentation. We sought ideas and practices which could inform creation of land laws, land and property rights, in democratic transition in Burma." Author/creator:   Dr. Nancy Hudson-Rodd; Sein Htay Language:   English Source/publisher:   The Burma Fund Format/size:   pdf (11MB) Date of entry/update:   29 March 2008 Title:   BURMA/MYANMAR: AFTER THE CRACKDOWN Date of publication:   31 January 2008 Description/subject:   "The violent crushing of protests led by Buddhist monks in Burma/Myanmar in late 2007 has caused even allies of the military government to recognise that change is desperately needed. China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have thrown their support behind the efforts by the UN Secretary-General's special envoy to re-open talks on national reconciliation, while the U.S. and others have stepped up their sanctions. But neither incomplete punitive measures nor intermittent talks are likely to bring about major reforms. Myanmar's neighbours and the West must press together for a sustainable process of national reconciliation. This will require a long-term effort by all who can make a difference, combining robust diplomacy with serious efforts to address the deep-seated structural obstacles to peace, democracy and development. The protests in August-September and, in particular, the government crackdown have shaken up the political status quo, the international community has been mobilised to an unprecedented extent, and there are indications that divergences of view have grown within the military. The death toll is uncertain but appears to have been substantially higher than the official figures, and the violence has profoundly disrupted religious life across the country. While extreme violence has been a daily occurrence in ethnic minority populated areas in the border regions, where governments have faced widespread armed rebellion for more than half a century, the recent events struck at the core of the state and have had serious reverberations within the Burman majority society, as well as the regime itself, which it will be difficult for the military leaders to ignore. While these developments present important new opportunities for change, they must be viewed against the continuance of profound structural obstacles. The balance of power is still heavily weighted in favour of the army, whose top leaders continue to insist that only a strongly centralised, military-led state can hold the country together. There may be more hope that a new generation of military leaders can disown the failures of the past and seek new ways forward. But even if the political will for reform improves, Myanmar will still face immense challenges in overcoming the debilitating legacy of decades of conflict, poverty and institutional failure, which fuelled the recent crisis and could well overwhelm future governments as well. The immediate challenges are to create a more durable negotiating process between government, opposition and ethnic groups and help alleviate the economic and humanitarian crisis that hampers reconciliation at all levels of society. At the same time, longer-term efforts are needed to encourage and support the emergence of a broader, more inclusive and better organised political society and to build the capacity of the state, civil society and individual households alike to deal with the many development challenges. To achieve these aims, all actors who have the ability to influence the situation need to become actively involved in working for change, and the comparative advantages each has must be mobilised to the fullest, with due respect for differences in national perspectives and interests..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   International Crisis Group (Asia Report N°144) Format/size:   pdf (806K) Date of entry/update:   15 March 2008 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 2008 - Events of 2007: Burma section Date of publication:   31 January 2008 Description/subject:   Burma’s deplorable human rights record received widespread international attention in 2007 as anti-government protests in August and September were met with a brutal crackdown by security forces of the authoritarian military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Denial of basic freedoms in Burma continues, and restrictions on the internet, telecommunications, and freedom of expression and assembly sharply increased in 2007. Abuses against civilians in ethnic areas are widespread, involving forced labor, summary executions, sexual violence, and expropriation of land and property......Violent Crackdown on Protests...Lack of Progress on Democracy...Human Rights Defenders...Continued Violence against Ethnic Groups...Child Soldiers...Humanitarian Concerns, Internal Displacement, and Refugees...Key International Actors. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   17 January 2009 Title:   Burma’s "Saffron Revolution” is not over - Time for the international community to act Date of publication:   December 2007 Description/subject:   Executive summary" "The situation in Burma after the “Saffron Revolution” is unprecedented. The September 2007 peaceful protests and the violent crackdown have created new dynamics inside Burma, and the country’sfuture is still unknown. This led the FIDH and the ITUC to conduct a joint mission along the Thai-Burma border between October 13th-21st 2007 to investigate the events and impact of the September crackdown, and to inform our organizational strategies and political recommendations. The violence and bloodshed directed at the monks and the general public who participated in the peace walks and protests have further alienated the population from its current military leaders. The level of fear, but also anger amongst the general population is unprecedented, as even religious leaders are now clearly not exempt from such violence and repression. This is different from the pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988, when monks were not directly targeted. In present-day Burma, all segments of the population have grown hostile to the regime, including within the military’s own ranks. The desire for change is greater than ever. Every witness -from ordinary citizens to monks, and Generation ‘88 leaders- told mission participants the movement was not over, despite the fear of reprisals and further repression. The question is what will happen next, and when? The future will depend of three factors: the extent to which the population will be able to organize new rounds of a social movement, the reaction of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and the influence the international community can exert on the junta. What happened in Burma since the crackdown has proven that the international community has influence on the regime. The UN Secretary General's Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari’s good offices mission was accepted. The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Sergio Pinheiro was allowed access to the country for the first time in four years, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) were given permission to meet with each other for the first time since Daw Suu was placed under renewed house arrest, in May 2003. Yet these positive signs are still weak: a genuine process of political change has not started yet. Such a process, involving the democratic parties and ethnic groups, is fundamental to establishing peace, human rights and development in Burma. To achieve that, the international community must keep its focus on Burma, and maximise its efforts and capacity to help bring about political transition..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Federation Internationale des Droits de l'Homme (FIDH) Format/size:   pdf (388K) Alternate URLs:   http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/FIDH-ITUC-Saffron-rev..pdf Date of entry/update:   14 December 2007 Title:   Crackdown: Repression of the 2007 Popular Protests in Burma Date of publication:   December 2007 Description/subject:   Summary: "In August and September 2007, Burmese democracy activists, monks and ordinary people took to the streets of Rangoon and elsewhere to peacefully challenge nearly two decades of dictatorial rule and economic mismanagement by Burma’s ruling generals. While opposition to the military government is widespread in Burma, and small acts of resistance are an everyday occurrence, military repression is so systematic that such sentiment rarely is able to burst into public view; the last comparable public uprising was in August 1988. As in 1988, the generals responded this time with a brutal and bloody crackdown, leaving Burma’s population once again struggling for a voice. The government crackdown included baton-charges and beatings of unarmed demonstrators, mass arbitrary arrests, and repeated instances where weapons were fired shoot-to-kill. To remove the monks and nuns from the protests, the security forces raided dozens of Buddhist monasteries during the night, and sought to enforce the defrocking of thousands of monks. Current protest leaders, opposition party members, and activists from the ’88 Generation students were tracked down and arrested – and continue to be arrested and detained. The Burmese generals have taken draconian measures to ensure that the world does not learn the true story of the horror of their crackdown. They have kept foreign journalists out of Burma and maintained their complete control over domestic news. Many local journalists were arrested after the crackdown, and the internet and mobile phone networks, used extensively to send information, photos, and videos out of Burma, were temporarily shut down, and have remained tightly controlled since. Of course, those efforts at censorship were only partially successful, as some enterprising and brave individuals found ways to get mobile phone video footage of the demonstrations and crackdown out of the country and onto the world’s television screens. This provided a small window into the violence and repression that the Burmese military government continues to use to hold onto power..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   pdf (1.88MB) Date of entry/update:   08 December 2007 Title:   Myanmar: Briefing Paper: No Return to "Normal" Date of publication:   09 November 2007 Description/subject:   "The violent suppression by the Myanmar authorities of peaceful demonstrations in 66 cities country-wide from mid-August through September 2007 provoked international condemnation. Amnesty International continues to document serious human rights violations. The situation has not returned to normal. Based on numerous first-hand accounts from victims and eye-witnesses, this briefing paper outlines some key human rights abuses committed since the start of the crackdown." Language:   English, Francais, Espanol Source/publisher:   Amnesty International (ASA 16/037/2007) Format/size:   pdf (55.7K) Alternate URLs:   http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA16/037/2007/fr/dom-ASA160372007fr.pdf (Francais) http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA16/037/2007/es/dom-ASA160372007es.pdf (Espanol) Date of entry/update:   28 April 2008 Title:   Myanmar - Von der Kolonie zum Armenhaus Date of publication:   07 September 2007 Description/subject:   Die knapp 60 Jahre mit ständigem Wechsel von bewaffneten Konflikten, BürgerInnenkriegen und "sozialistischer" Militärdiktatur sind der Grund für die heutige Lage eines der ärmsten Länder der Welt. Der Artikel schildert die ethnischen KOnflikte, den Terror des Militärs und die Lage der Menschenrechte in Myanmar; Ethnic minorities; terror; human rights; education; Karen; Author/creator:   Sebastian Nagel Language:   German, Deutsch Source/publisher:   Grüne Jugend Format/size:   Html (47kb) Date of entry/update:   15 September 2007 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 2007 - Events of 2006: Burma section Date of publication:   11 January 2007 Description/subject:   Events of 2006..."Burma’s international isolation deepened during 2006 as the authoritarian military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), continued to restrict basic rights and freedoms and waged brutal counterinsurgency operations against ethnic minorities. The democratic movement inside the country remained suppressed, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political activists continued to be detained or imprisoned. International efforts to foster change in Burma were thwarted by the SPDC and sympathetic neighboring governments..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html, pdf Date of entry/update:   07 March 2007 Title:   BURMA: The Human Rights Situation in 2006 Date of publication:   21 December 2006 Description/subject:   "The myth of state stability & a system of injustice During 2006 Burma continued to be characterised by wanton criminality of state officers at all levels, and the absence of the rule of law and rational government. Throughout the year, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) documented violent crimes caused by state officers, and the concomitant lack of any means for victims to complain and have action taken against accused perpetrators..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Asian Human Rights Commission Format/size:   pdf (447K) Date of entry/update:   05 February 2007 Title:   Toungoo District: The civilian response to human rights violations Date of publication:   15 August 2006 Description/subject:   "Attacks on villages in Toungoo and other northern Karen districts by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) since late 2005 have led to extensive displacement and some international attention, but little of this has focused on the continuing lives of the villagers involved. In this report KHRG's Karen researchers in the field describe how these attacks have been affecting local people, and how these people have responded. The SPDC's forced relocation, village destruction, shoot-on-sight orders and blockades on the movement of food and medicines have killed many and created pervasive suffering, but the villagers' continued refusal to submit to SPDC authority has caused the military to fail in its objective of bringing the entire civilian population under direct control. This is a struggle which SPDC forces cannot win, but they may never stop trying..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Rights Group Field Report (KHRG #2006-F8) Format/size:   pdf (588 KB) Alternate URLs:   http://www.khrg.org/khrg2006/khrg06f8.html Date of entry/update:   09 November 2009 Title:   Pa'an District: Land confiscation, forced labour and extortion undermining villagers' livelihoods Date of publication:   11 February 2006 Description/subject:   "Villagers in northern Pa'an District of central Karen State say their livelihoods are under serious threat due to exploitation by SPDC military authorities and by their Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) allies who rule as an SPDC proxy army in much of the region. Villages in the vicinity of the DKBA headquarters are forced to give much of their time and resources to support the headquarters complex, while villages directly under SPDC control face rape, arbitrary detention and threats to keep them compliant with SPDC demands. The SPDC plans to expand Dta Greh (a.k.a. Pain Kyone) village into a town in order to strengthen its administrative control over the area, and is confiscating about half of the village's productive land without compensation to build infrastructure which includes offices, army camps and a hydroelectric power dam - destroying the livelihoods of close to 100 farming families. Local villagers, who are already struggling to survive under the weight of existing demands, fear further forced labour and extortion as the project continues..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Rights Group Field Report (KHRG #2006-F1) Format/size:   pfd (739 KB) Alternate URLs:   http://www.khrg.org/khrg2006/khrg06f1.html Date of entry/update:   09 November 2009 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 2006 - Events of 2005: Burma section Date of publication:   January 2006 Description/subject:   Events of 2005..."Despite promises of political reform and national reconciliation, Burma’s authoritarian military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), continues to operate a strict police state and drastically restricts basic rights and freedoms. It has suppressed the democratic movement represented by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, under detention since May 30, 2003, and has used internationally outlawed tactics in ongoing conflicts with ethnic minority groups. Hundreds of thousands of people, most of them from ethnic minority groups, continue to live precariously as internally displaced people. More than two million have fled to neighboring countries, in particular Thailand, where they face difficult circumstances as asylum seekers or illegal immigrants. The removal of Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt in October 2004 has reinforced hard-line elements within the SPDC and resulted in increasing hostility directed at democracy movements, ethnic minority groups, and international agencies..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html, pdf Date of entry/update:   07 March 2007 Title:   The Misery Goes On - An Interview with Brad Adams Date of publication:   September 2005 Description/subject:   A senior human rights official outlines Burmese ethnic minority communities’ ongoing horrors... In June, New York-based Human Rights Watch issued a damning and all too resonant report on the plight of an estimated 650,000 internally displaced persons in eastern Burma, most from the large Karen minority. The Karen are part of a very grim overall picture. “The human rights situation in Burma is horrible,” says Brad Adams, HRW’s director for Asia. “Gross violations of international humanitarian law are regularly committed by government forces, including the continued recruitment and use of child soldiers, extrajudicial executions, rape of women and girls, torture, and forced relocation.” Adams was recently interviewed by Dominic Faulder for The Irrawaddy. Author/creator:   Dominic Faulder/Brad Adams Language:   English Source/publisher:   "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 9 Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   30 April 2006 Title:   Amnesty International Report 2005 (Section on Myanmar) Date of publication:   25 May 2005 Description/subject:   Covering events from January - December 2004... "In October the Prime Minister was placed under house arrest and replaced by another army general. Despite the announcement of the release of large numbers of prisoners in November, more than 1,300 political prisoners remained in prison, and arrests and imprisonment for peaceful political opposition activities continued. The army continued to commit serious human rights violations against ethnic minority civilians during counter-insurgency operations in the Mon, Shan and Kayin States, and in Tanintharyi Division. Restrictions on freedom of movement in states with predominantly ethnic minority populations continued to impede farming, trade and employment. This particularly impacted on the Rohingyas in Rakhine State. Ethnic minority civilians living in all these areas continued to be subjected to forced labour by the military..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   25 May 2005 Title:   Dying Alive - A Legal Assessment of Human Rights Violations in Burma Date of publication:   April 2005 Description/subject:   AN INVESTIGATION AND LEGAL ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS INFLICTED IN BURMA, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED, EASTERN PEOPLES..."For over a decade, the United Nations and Human Rights organisations have documented systematic and widespread human rights violations inflicted on the people of Burma generally, and on the ethnic people in particular. Most reports, however, with the exception of some references to Article Three of The Geneva Conventions, have refrained from conceptualizing the violations in terms of International Humanitarian Law. This report addresses that gap and, in the aftermath of the State organised ambush of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's convoy on May 30, 2003; the ongoing, widespread, systematic destruction of substantial parts of the eastern ethnic peoples; and the failure to end impunity, recommends a period of consultation, education and consensus building to explore the practicality, political appropriateness, and morality of applying and enforcing relevant International Humanitarian Law. This report analyses the human rights violations, identified by, amongst others, UN Special Rapporteurs for human rights and Amnesty International, and expressed in UN General Assembly Resolutions, that have been inflicted on the people of Burma for decades..." NOTE ON FORMAT: There is a glitch in the CD the online version is based on, with lines from the next page creeping onto the current page. This will be fixed eventually. There is also a plan to break the text up into managable chunks. Author/creator:   Guy Horton Language:   English Source/publisher:   Guy Horton, Images Asia Format/size:   pdf (4.7MB) Date of entry/update:   03 May 2006 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 2005 - Events of 2004: Burma section Date of publication:   January 2005 Description/subject:   Events of 2004..."Burma remains one of the most repressive countries in Asia, despite promises for political reform and national reconciliation by its authoritarian military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The SPDC restricts the basic rights and freedoms of all Burmese. It continues to attack and harass democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, still under house arrest at this writing, and the political movement she represents. It also continues to use internationally outlawed tactics in ongoing conflicts with ethnic minority rebel groups. Burma has more child soldiers than any other country in the world, and its forces have used extrajudicial execution, rape, torture, forced relocation of villages, and forced labor in campaigns against rebel groups. Ethnic minority forces have also committed abuses, though not on the scale committed by government forces. The abrupt removal of Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt, viewed as a relative moderate, on October 19, 2004, has reinforced hardline elements of the SPDC. Khin Nyunt’s removal damaged immediate prospects for a ceasefire in the decades-old struggle with the Karen ethnic minority and has been followed by increasingly hostile rhetoric from SPDC leaders directed at Suu Kyi and democracy activists. Thousands of Burmese citizens, most of them from the embattled ethnic minorities, have fled to neighboring countries, in particular Thailand, where they face difficult circumstances, or live precariously as internally displaced people..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   16 January 2005 Title:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide visit to Thai/Burma border - 19-26 April 2004 Date of publication:   07 May 2004 Description/subject:   Contents 1. Summary; 2. Purposes;3. Personnel;4. Itinerary; 5. Military Offensives and Human Rights Violations Against Ethnic Nationals; 6. Case Studies; 7. Health Status of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Karen, Karenni and Shan States; 8. Political Developments; 9. Recommendations. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   10 May 2004 Title:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide Visit to the Chin and Kachin Refugees in India March 2nd-9th, 2004 Date of publication:   19 March 2004 Description/subject:   Summary; 1. Introduction; 2. Itinerary; 3. Personnel; 4. Aid; 5. Religious Persecution; 6. Cultural Genocide; 7. Forced Labour; 8. Economic oppression; 9. Political oppression and torture of political detainees; 10. Health Care; 11. The Kachin; 12. Refugees in India; 13. The Chin Diaspora; 14. Conclusions and Recommendations; 15. Bibliography... APPENDIX: Testimony of a Defector. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   10 May 2004 Title:   CHR 2004 (60th Session): Briefing Paper on the Human Rights Situation in Burma, Year 2003-2004 Date of publication:   March 2004 Description/subject:   For the 60th Session of the UN Commission Human Rights resolution on ‘The human rights situation in Myanmar’...- 1 - Contents: Recommendations; Summary; The Judicial System: Unjust Laws and Orders; The Depayin Massacre; Political Prisoners; MPs, NLD members arrested for organizing trip of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; Extension of Prison Terms Under Section 10 (A); Hunger Strikes in Prison; The Aging Political Prisoners; Members of Parliament in Prison and in Exile; Women, Children, Racial, Ethnic & Religious Minorities in Burma:- Women: Rape as a Systematic Tool; The License to Rape Report; Military's Response to the Report; Responses to the Report; Recommendations to the United Nations; Other Tragedies Suffered by Women... Children: Burmese Children in Armed Conflict; Health and Education of Children... Racial, Ethnic and Religious Minorities: Restrictions on Religious Practices and Freedom... Forced Labor, Forced Displacement, Land Mines and Refugees and IDPs:- Forced Labor: The ILO and the Regime; Forced Displacement; Landmines; Refugees and IDPs: Bangladest Border; Indian Border; Thai Border... Land Confiscation and Forced Relocation... Economic Situation... Appendix I: Members of Parliament in Prison; Appendix II: Over 65 years Old Political Prisoners... Appendix III: Update Tables on Political Prisoners... Summary:- "The human rights situation in Burma has worsened again this year. While the military junta claims that it is working to bring "disciplined democracy" to the country through a "seven-point roadmap", political arrests continue unabated and leaders of the election-winning party, the National League for Democracy, remain under detention. High-ranking officials of the military junta try to paint a rosy picture of the political future of the country while they refuse to cooperate with the United Nations' call for an independent investigation into the use of rape as a weapon against Shan women by the military or to permit an inquiry into the massacre of National League for Democracy members who came under the "premeditated attack" of the military and its affiliated thugs near Tabayin [Depayin] during the tour of the region by Aung San Suu Kyi and her party members. The junta also continues to ignore the resolutions of the past years passed by the General Assembly and relevant bodies and blatantly ignores the efforts of the United Nations' Secretary General and his envoy to facilitate a national reconciliation process in Burma. Violations of human rights, including arbitrary killings, rape, looting, force relocation, and destruction of villages continue particularly in the border areas where large-scale military offensives are launched against ethnic nationalities. The Burmese people continue to be held hostage under the military's corrupt, brutal, inhumane, and undemocratic policies. This briefing paper, along with many other reports compiled by prominent human rights and intergovernmental organizations, should serve as a testimony to the fact that human rights violations in Burma are continuous, as they have tragically been for many years; that the regime has no regard for the protection and promotion of its people’s human rights and only cares about instilling fear in the minds of the people through the use of brute force so as to preserve military rule. * This paper has been prepared by the Burma UN Service Office of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB)..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Burma UN Service Office of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) Format/size:   pdf (286K) Date of entry/update:   30 March 2004 Title:   REPORT OF CSW MISSION TO THAI-BURMESE BORDER 17 – 27 NOVEMBER 2003 Date of publication:   27 November 2003 Description/subject:   CONTENTS: Purposes; Personnel; Agenda and Meetings; Donations Made (jointly given by CSW UK and CSW Australasia) ; Discussion; Interviews; Recommendations to the International Community; Language:   English Source/publisher:   Chrtistan Solidarity Worldwide Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   10 May 2004 Title:   Unspeakable Crimes Date of publication:   September 2003 Description/subject:   "Burma’s rulers need to be brought to account before they commit more political crimes and human rights abuses..." Two months after the May 30 ambush on political activists and leaders of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), the human rights group Amnesty International called on Burma’s military regime to bring the culprits to justice and permit an independent and impartial investigation. Amnesty said, "The events of 30 May show all too clearly the need for accountability and an end to impunity in Myanmar [Burma]." Other human rights organizations and several foreign governments also called Burma to answer. Burma’s military regime, however, remains mute, ignoring pressure from abroad while claiming they arrested pro-democracy supporters, including NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Vice Chairman Tin Oo, for the sake of stability in the country..." Author/creator:   Thar Nyunt Oo Language:   English Source/publisher:   "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 11, No. 7 Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   06 November 2003 Title:   SPDC & DKBA ORDERS TO VILLAGES: SET 2003-A Date of publication:   22 August 2003 Description/subject:   "This report presents the direct translations of 783 order documents and letters, selected from a total of 1,007 such documents. The orders dictate demands for forced labour, money, food and materials, place restrictions on movements and activities of villagers, and make threats to arrest village elders or destroy villages of those who fail to obey. Over 650 of those selected were sent by military units and local authorities of Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) junta to village elders in Toungoo, Papun, Nyaunglebin, Thaton, Pa’an and Dooplaya Districts, which together cover most of Karen State and part of eastern Pegu Division and Mon State (see Map 1 showing Burma or Map 2 showing Karen State). The remainder were sent by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) or the Karen Peace Army (KPA), groups allied with the SPDC. All but a few of the orders were issued between January 2002 and February 2003..." Papun, Pa’an, Thaton, Nyaunglebin, Toungoo, & Dooplaya Districts General Forced Labour (Orders #1-150); Forced Labour Supplying Materials (#150-191); Set to a Village I: Village A, Papun District (#192-200); Set to a Village II: Village B, Papun District (#201-226); Set to a Village III: Village C, Thaton District (#227-241); Set to a Village IV: Village D, Dooplaya District (#242-251); Extortion of Money, Food, and Materials (#252-335); Crop Quotas (#336-346); Restrictions on Movement and Activity (#347-354); Demands for Intelligence (#355-426); Education, Health (#427-442); Education (#427-439); Health (#440-442); Summons to ‘Meetings’ (#443-652); DKBA & KPA Letters (#653-783); DKBA Recruitment (#653); DKBA General Forced Labour (#654-685); DKBA Demands for Materials and Money (#686-719); DKBA Restrictions (#720-727); DKBA Meetings (#728-771); KPA Letters (#772-783); Appendix A: The Village Act and the Towns Act; Appendix B: SPDC Orders ‘Banning’ Forced Labour. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Rights Group Orders Reports ( KHRG #2003-01) Format/size:   html, pdf (5.4MB) 405 pages Date of entry/update:   17 November 2003 Title:   Uncounted: political prisoners in burma's ethnic areas Date of publication:   August 2003 Description/subject:   Contents: 1. Executive Summary; 2. Introduction; 2a. Scope of report; 3. Background; 4. Definitions and Regulations; 4a. What is a political prisoner?; 4b. International and domestic regulations governing treatment; 4c. Conflict zones; 4d. Cease-fire and "Pacified Areas"; 4e. Support and perceived support for armed groups; 5. Politically Motivated Detentions in the Conflict Zones; 5a. Accusations; 5b. Places of detention; 5c. Were charges laid?; 6. Treatment of Detainees and Outcomes of Detention; 6a. Arbitrary detention; 6b. Torture; 6c. Extrajudicial killings; 6d. Disappearances; 7. Political Motivations Behind Detentions; 7a. Weakening/destruction of the People's Movement; 7b. Power and absolute control; 7c. Eradication of armed forces; 7d. Other motivations; 7e. Secondary Effects; 8. Inclusion in Existing Reporting; 9. The Bigger Picture; 10. Conclusion; 11. Recommendations... 12. Appendixes: a. Summary of cases; b. Ethnic Armed and political groups; c. Relevant international laws and regulations; 13. Glossary; Map of Burma; Map of Locations of Detention... Executive Summary: In Mr Paulo Sergio Pinheiro's report to the 59th Commission on Human Rights he stated, "Political arrests since July 2002 have followed the pattern of un-rule of law, including arbitrary arrest, prolonged incommunicado detention and interrogation by military intelligence personnel, extraction of confessions of guilt or of information, very often under duress or torture, followed by summary trials, sentencing and imprisonment." This report presents a sample of 46 cases that comply with the description in Pinheiro's statement but remain unrecognised as political arrests. They are people mostly in Burma's ethnic areas detained on accusations of supporting non-Burman ethnic nationality opposition groups. The accusations range from offering support through food and accommodation, to knowledge of opposition group movements, to actually being a member of a non-Burman ethnic nationality opposition group..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   "Burma Issues", Altsean-Burma Format/size:   pdf (796K) 82 pages Alternate URLs:   http://www.burmaissues.org/En/reports/uncounted.pdf Date of entry/update:   21 September 2003 Title:   Amnesty International Report 2003: Myanmar Date of publication:   28 May 2003 Description/subject:   Events of 2002 "...Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was released from de facto house arrest in May. There was no reported progress in confidential talks about the future of the country, begun in October 2000, between the ruling military government – the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) – and Aung San Suu Kyi. However, over 300 political prisoners were released during the year, bringing the total of those released since January 2001 to over 500. Some 1,300 political prisoners arrested in previous years remained in prison and some 50 people were arrested for political reasons, despite the SPDC's stated commitment to release political prisoners as part of their undertaking to work with the NLD. Extrajudicial executions and forced labour continued to be reported in most of the seven ethnic minority states, particularly the Shan and Kayin states. Civilians continued to be the victims of human rights violations in the context of the SPDC's counter-insurgency tactics in parts of the Shan and Kayin states..." Language:   English and Japanese Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Format/size:   html Alternate URLs:   http://www.burmainfo.org/AI/AI_report-2003-myanmar_jp.html (Japanese) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   US State Dept. - Burma: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (2002) Date of publication:   31 March 2003 Description/subject:   Events of 2002. "Burma is ruled by a highly authoritarian military regime. In 1962 General Ne Win overthrew the elected civilian government and replaced it with a repressive military government dominated by the majority ethnic group. In 1988 the armed forces brutally suppressed prodemocracy demonstrations, and a junta composed of military officers, called the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), led by Senior General Than Shwe, took control. Since then the SPDC has ruled by decree. The judiciary was not independent, and there was no effective rule of law. The regime reinforced its firm military rule with a pervasive security apparatus, the Office of Chief Military Intelligence (OCMI). Control was implemented through surveillance of government employees and private citizens, harassment of political activists, intimidation, arrest, detention, physical abuse, and restrictions on citizens' contacts with foreigners. The SPDC justified its security measures as necessary to maintain order and national unity. Members of the security forces committed numerous, serious human rights abuses..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights,and Labor, US Department of State Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Myanmar: Amnesty International welcomes first visit, calls for further improvements Date of publication:   10 February 2003 Description/subject:   Press statement at end of AI's first visit to Burma. "After its first ever visit to Myanmar, Amnesty International called upon the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, Myanmar's military government), to release immediately and unconditionally all prisoners of conscience still held throughout the country. "The continued imprisonment of between 1200 - 1300 political prisoners, many of whom we believe are prisoners of conscience, held solely for their peaceful political activities, was one of the key issues discussed with the local authorities," Amnesty International said during a press conference held today in Bangkok, Thailand. The organization, which had been requesting access to Myanmar since 1988, welcomed the efforts made by the government officials in Myanmar to accommodate the delegation's requests and the frank discussions it held with Ministers, police and prison officials...." Author/creator:   Publisher and translator of Japanese version: Burma Coordination Team of Amnesty International - Japan Language:   Japanese, English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International (ASA 16/007/2003) Format/size:   html Alternate URLs:   http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/Index/ASA160072003?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIES/MYANMAR http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA160072003?open&of=ENG-MMR Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide Visit to the Thai-Burma Border November 2002 Date of publication:   03 February 2003 Description/subject:   I. Introduction; II. Evidence of Violations of Human Rights by the SPDC; III. Conclusion; IV. Recommendations... Appendices: I The General Situation in Shan, Karenni and Karen States; II The General Situation relating to refugees on Thai soil; III Visit to An Internally Displaced Settlement in Karen State. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   10 May 2004 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 2003 - Events of 2002: Burma section Date of publication:   15 January 2003 Description/subject:   With the release of opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in May after nineteen months of de facto house arrest, hope arose that the military junta might take steps to improve its human rights record. However, by late 2002, talks between Suu Kyi and the government had ground to a halt and systemic restrictions on basic civil and political liberties continued unabated. Ethnic minority regions continued to report particularly grave abuses, including forced labor and the rape of Shan minority women by military forces. Government military forces continued to forcibly recruit and use child soldiers.....Human Rights Developments...Defending Human Rights... The Role of the International Community Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html (89K) Alternate URLs:   http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/EBO2003-HRW.htm Date of entry/update:   04 August 2003 Title:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide Visit to the Thai-Burma Border 30th June - 8th July 2002 Date of publication:   17 July 2002 Description/subject:   1. Summary; 2. Introduction; 3. Purposes; 4. Personnel; 5. Itinerary; 6. Aid; 7. Meetings; 8. Summary of meetings; 9. Conclusions & Recommendations; 10. Abbreviations; 11. Recommended reading on Burma... 1. Summary: “This is the worst year since 1997 for the ethnic minorities in Burma,” one leading activist, missionary and relief worker told CSW last week. The release of Burmese democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, while a welcome step in itself, has not led to any progress whatsoever for the Karen, Karenni, Shan and other ethnic minorities, nor has it so far resulted in a move to democracy, justice and the rule of law in Burma. Attacks by the Burmese military against the ethnic minorities, usually involving gross violations of human rights and attacks on unarmed civilians, continue unabated. CSW’s latest visit to the Thai-Burmese border last week found that, according to the Karen and Karenni representatives interviewed, the situation inside Karen and Karenni states in Burma has in fact worsened this year. It is time for the world to wake up. In the personal view of the author of this report, CSW UK Board Member Benedict Rogers, supported by the views expressed to him last week by Karen and Karenni representatives and human rights workers, international intervention similar to that taken in Afghanistan, East Timor and Bosnia should seriously be considered by the United Nations and the United States, Great Britain and other democratic nations, to restore democracy, justice and peace in Burma. The international community should demand that the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Burma’s illegal ruling military junta, make meaningful progress towards the transfer of power to the democratically elected government and the establishment of democracy and justice. The international community should be prepared to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the SPDC complies with these demands and ceases its brutal suppression of the citizens of Burma. There is no difference between Burma under the SPDC and Afghanistan under the Taliban, or East Timor under Indonesia’s military occupation. If the world could act in Afghanistan and East Timor, why does it turn a blind eye to Burma? But the international community should not only focus on the restoration of democracy and the dialogue between the SPDC and the National League for Democracy (NLD)’s leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Greater attention is needed now on the plight of the ethnic minorities and a just resolution to the conflict that has plagued Burma since 1949. The international community should note the SPDC’s recent request to Thailand for permission to enter Thai soil to hunt down the leaders of ethnic minority groups, and also Thailand’s threat to arrest the leaders of ethnic groups from Burma found on Thai soil (see introduction). These are signs of an acceleration in the SPDC’s stated intent to eliminate the ethnic minorities. The international community should also be aware of the increasing persecution of Christians in Burma. It was reported to CSW last week that a Christian-run orphanage in Rangoon was forced to shut down until it complies with a new requirement by the SPDC. Under this new rule, orphanages must remove any Christian content from the building or their educational programme, and must establish a management committee, of which 60 per cent must be SPDC nominees. Meanwhile, the children of this particular orphanage have been transferred to a Buddhist monastery to train as monks. In addition, 80 churches in Rangoon alone have been forced to close this year. Finally, this report details news received during this visit that the Thai authorities propose closing Karenni Camp 3 near Mae Hong Son, which currently has 4,347 refugees, and relocating them to Camp 2, only one or two kilometres from the Thai-Burmese border. This is a matter of serious concern. CSW hopes that the Thai authorities will reconsider their decision (see page 12). There are also unconfirmed rumours that the SPDC may be planning an attack on the Karenni refugee camps on the Thai side of the border. Benedict Rogers urges all CSW branches and all other human rights organisations to increase their focus on Burma this year, and urges the international community to significantly increase pressure on the SPDC to follow its release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with meaningful dialogue and reform. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   10 May 2004 Title:   Myanmar: Lack of Security in Counter-Insurgency Areas Date of publication:   17 July 2002 Description/subject:   "...In February and March 2002 Amnesty International interviewed some 100 migrants from Myanmar at seven different locations in Thailand. They were from a variety of ethnic groups, including the Shan; Lahu; Palaung; Akha; Mon; Po and Sgaw Karen; Rakhine; and Tavoyan ethnic minorities, and the majority Bamar (Burman) group. They originally came from the Mon, Kayin, Shan, and Rakhine States, and Bago, Yangon and Tanintharyi Divisions.(1) What follows below is a summary of human rights violations in some parts of eastern Myanmar during the last 18 months which migrants reported to Amnesty International. One section of the report also examines several cases of abuses of civilians by armed opposition groups fighting against the Myanmar military. Finally, this document describes various aspects of a Burmese migrant worker's life in Thailand..." ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced labour, refugees, land confiscation, forced relocation, forced removal, forced resettlement, forced displacement, internal displacement, IDP, extortion, torture, extrajudicial killings, forced conscription, child soldiers, porters, forced portering, house destruction, eviction, Shan State, Wa, USWA, Wa resettlement, Tenasserim, abuses by armed opposition groups. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Format/size:   PDF version (126K) 48pg Alternate URLs:   http://web.amnesty.org/aidoc/aidoc_pdf.nsf/index/ASA160072002ENGLISH/$File/ASA1600702.pdf http://www.burmainfo.org/AI/ASA160072002_jp.html (Japanese, excerpt) Date of entry/update:   20 July 2010 Title:   Amnesty International Deutschland: Jahresbericht 2002 Date of publication:   28 May 2002 Description/subject:   Berichtszeitraum 1. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2001 Language:   Deutsch, German Source/publisher:   ai Deutschland Format/size:   html (28K) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Amnesty International Report 2002: Myanmar Date of publication:   May 2002 Description/subject:   Events of 2001 Language:   English and Japanese Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Alternate URLs:   http://www.burmainfo.org/AI/AI_report-2002-myanmar_jp.html (Japanese) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   US State Dept.: Burma - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (2001) Date of publication:   04 March 2002 Description/subject:   Events of 2001. "Burma is ruled by a highly authoritarian military regime. Repressive military governments dominated by members of the majority Burman ethnic group have ruled the ethnically Burman central regions and some ethnic-minority areas continuously since 1962, when a coup led by General Ne Win overthrew an elected civilian government. Since September 1988, when the armed forces brutally suppressed massive prodemocracy demonstrations, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), a junta composed of senior military officers, has ruled by decree, without a constitution or legislature. The Government is headed by armed forces commander Senior General Than Shwe, although Ne Win, who retired from public office during the 1988 prodemocracy demonstrations, continued to wield informal influence..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights,and Labor, US Department of State Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 2002: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   10 January 2002 Description/subject:   This report is based on the Special Rapporteur's October 2001 fact-finding mission to Burma/Myanmar and information received by him up to December 2001, and should be read in conjunction with his report to the General Assembly (A/56/312)of 21 August 2001. CONTENTS: I. ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR: A. Fact-finding mission; B. Other activities. II. HUMAN RIGHTS-RELATED DEVELOPMENTS: A. Activities of the governmental Committee on Human Rights; B. Civil and political; rights: 1. Freedom of political association; Freedom of expression and information; 3. Political prisoners; 4. Conditions in prisons; 5. Freedom of religion; 6. Forced labour. C. Economic, social, and cultural rights: 1. Tertiary education; 2. HIV/AIDS. III. OTHER ISSUES: A. Ceasefires; B. Refugees and internally displaced persons; C. Child soldiers; d. Violence against women; E. Humanitarian aid. IV. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. Annexes: I. Program for the fact-finding mission of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar of the UN Commission on Human Rights. II. List of humanitarian cases. III. List of persons who reportedly received prison terms for communicating, trying or intending to communicate, or being suspected of communicating human rights information to the United Nations. IV. List of persons interviewed by the Special Rapporteur during his visits to Lashio and Mandalay. Author/creator:   Sr. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (E/CN.4/2002/45) Format/size:   Word (for download) and PDF (187K) Alternate URLs:   http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/e6876ab7119ec9dfc1256b8f0058e50a/$FILE/G0210065.doc Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 2002 - Events of 2001: Burma section Date of publication:   2002 Description/subject:   There were signs of a political thaw early in the year and, for the first time in years, hopes that the government might lift some of its stifling controls on civil and political rights. By November, however, the only progress had been limited political prisoner releases and easing of pressures on some opposition politicians in Rangoon. There was no sign of fundamental changes in law or policy, and grave human rights violations remained unaddressed.....Human Rights Developments... Defending Human Rights... The Role of the International Community Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   17 January 2009 Title:   Looted Land, Proud People: The Case for Canadian Action in Burma Date of publication:   2002 Description/subject:   A useful and balanced overview. FACTS ABOUT BURMA... BURMA: A CHRONOLOGY... CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND TO 1988: Rise of Nationalism; Ne Win and Isolationism; Growth of Heroin Industry... CHAPTER 2: THE MEN BEHIND THE MASSACRES: The Ordeal of Aung San Suu Kyi... CHAPTER 3: THE HUMAN COSTS OF MILITARY RULE: Refugees; Political Prisoners; Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Forced Relocation; Forced Labour; Students and Education; Political Prisoners; Freedom of the Press; The Militarization of Society; Women Living under a Military Dictatorship; Political Prisoners... CHAPTER 4: THE CRIMINAL ECOMONY: Sectors Complicit with Forced Labour; Opium, Heroin and a Drug Economy... CHAPTER 5: FORCED LABOUR AND THE ILO: ILO Commission of Inquiry, 1998 Report; Follow-up to the 1998 Report; CHAPTER 6: GEOPOLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCES: Neighbouring Countries; Malaysia,Singapore and ASEA; Canada and Other International Influences; The United Nations; Other National Governments; How Does Canada Measure Up?; Civil Society... CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSIONS: Canada’s Role; Development Assistance; Trade and Investment... FURTHER READING... WEB CONNECTIONS. Author/creator:   Clyde Sanger Language:   English Source/publisher:   Canadian Friends of Burma Format/size:   pdf (1.35MB) 52 pages Date of entry/update:   09 July 2003 Title:   Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2000 Date of publication:   October 2001 Description/subject:   Separate clickable chapters on: Forced Labor; Extra-judicial, Summery, or Arbitrary Executions; Arbitrary Detention and Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading treatment or punishment; Deprivation of Livelihood; Rights of the Child; Rights of Women; Rights of Ethnic Minorities; Rights to Education and Health; Freedom of Religious Belief and Practice; Freedom of Opinion, Expression and the Press; Freedom of Assembly and Association; Freedom of Movement; Internally Displaced People and Forced Relocation; The Situation of Refugees; The Situation of Migrant Workers from Burma; Special Report #1 Landmines in Burma; Special Report #2 Tourism and Human Rights Violations - The Than Daung Gyi Project; List of Resources and Contributors. Language:   English Source/publisher:   National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) Human Rights Documentation Unit Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2000: Rights of Ethnic Minorities Date of publication:   October 2001 Description/subject:   "...Burma is a country rich in ethnic diversity. Yet although the SPDC attempts to promote this diversity, and the existence of its 135 "national races" (SPDC term for the country�s ethnic minority groups), the rights of ethnic minority people remain in violation...n areas where cease-fire agreements have been reached, human rights abuses continue to take place. In fact, in these "national reconciliation" areas human rights abuses have increased rather than abated. There has been no move on the part of the SPDC to engage in political discussions with opposition groups to reinforce the military cease-fire agreements. Under the terms of the cease-fire, some ethnic groups have been allowed to keep their arms and soldiers, however, SPDC had vastly increased the number of its soldiers in those areas... The continuing armed conflicts in the Karen, Karenni, Shan and Chin States have been accompanied by massive human rights violations..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Documentation Unit, NCGUB Format/size:   html Alternate URLs:   Main page of Yearbook: http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/yearbooks/Main.htm Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   GA 2001 (56th Session): Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   20 August 2001 Description/subject:   General Assembly, Fifty-sixth session. Summary: "The present report is the first report of the present Special Rapporteur, appointed to this mandate on 28 December 2000. The report refers to his activities and developments relating to the situation of human rights in Myanmar between 1 January and 14 August 2001. In view of the brevity and exploratory nature of the Special Rapporteur’s initial visit to Myanmar in April and pending a proper fact-finding mission to take place at the end of September 2001, this report addresses only a limited number of areas. In the Special Rapporteur’s assessment as presented in this report, political transition in Myanmar is a work in progress and, as in many countries, to move ahead incrementally will be a complex process. In the human rights context, against the background of ongoing talks between the Government and the opposition, there have been some positive signals indicative of the Government’s endeavour to make progress. Those include the dissemination of human rights standards for public officials, work of the governmental Committee on Human Rights, releases of political detainees, reopening of branches of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the main opposition party, the continued international monitoring of prison conditions, and cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights, inter alia, through the mandate of this Special Rapporteur and with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar and the International Labour Organization. Among the areas in most need of significant improvement is the situation of vulnerable groups, inter alia, children, women and ethnic minorities and, in particular, those among them who have become internally displaced in zones of military operations. Overall, there exists a complex humanitarian situation in Myanmar, which may decline unless it is properly addressed by all concerned." Author/creator:   Mr. Paolo Sergio Pinheiro Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (A/56/312) Format/size:   PDF (195K) and Word Alternate URLs:   http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/AllSymbols/53F25867FD928877C1256AD9004B8E15/$File/N0151752.doc?OpenElement Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Amnesty International Deutschland, Jahresbericht 2001: Myanmar Date of publication:   30 May 2001 Language:   Deutsch, German Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Deutschland Format/size:   html (28K) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 2001 (57th session): Resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Date of publication:   18 April 2001 Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (E/CN.4/RES/2001/15) Format/size:   Adopted by consensus Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Papun and Nyaunglebin Districts: Internally displaced villagers cornered by 40 SPDC Battalions; Food shortages, disease, killings and life on the run. Date of publication:   09 April 2001 Description/subject:   Food shortages, disease, killings and life on the run.Based on new interviews and reports from KHRG field researchers, this update summarises the increasingly desperate situation for villagers in these two districts. In the hills, the people of several hundred villages are still in hiding, their villages destroyed by SPDC troops. Their survival situation is now desperate as 40 SPDC Battalions continue to systematically destroy their rice supplies and crops and landmine their fields, and shoot them on sight. In the villages under SPDC control, people suffer under an impossible burden of many kinds of forced labour and extortion. Language:   English Source/publisher:   KHRG (Information Update #2001-U3) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Thaton District: SPDC using violence against villagers to consolidate control Date of publication:   20 March 2001 Description/subject:   Information from KHRG researchers in Thaton District, which spans the border of northern Mon State and Karen State. SPDC troops already have a relatively strong hold on the area, but they have been intimidating and torturing villagers in an effort to wipe out any remaining support for the Karen resistance, and forcing villagers to join militia-like SPDC paramilitary groups. Language:   English Source/publisher:   KHRG (Information Update #2001-U2) Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Northeastern Pa'an District: Villagers Fleeing Forced Labour Establishing SPDC Army Camps, Building Access Roads and Clearing Landmines Date of publication:   20 February 2001 Description/subject:   Information on a new flow of refugees from northeastern Pa'an District into Thailand. The villagers say that they fled their village in mid-January 2001 because SPDC troops are using them as porters, forced labour on an access road, and Army camp labour in order to strengthen the regime's control over this contested area. Worst of all, the villagers say they are being ordered to clear landmines in front of the SPDC Army's road-building bulldozer, and to make way for new Army camps. Language:   English Source/publisher:   KHRG Information Update #2001-U1 Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 2001: The situation in Myanmar Date of publication:   13 February 2001 Description/subject:   Written statement submitted by the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. "1. In the year 2000, as in the past 12 years, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Burma's ruling military junta, continues to be among the worst human rights violators of our times. Reported human rights violations included: extra-judicial, summary and arbitrary executions, enforced disappearances, rape, torture, inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced labour, forced relocation, and denial of freedom of assembly, association, expression and movement..." ... ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced Author/creator:   Rights & Democracy (ICHRDD) Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations ((E/CN.4/2001/NGO/124) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   US State Dept.- Burma: Country Report on Human Rights Practices (2000) Date of publication:   February 2001 Description/subject:   Events of 2000 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, US Department of State Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   New CSW trip report unveils massive human rights abuses in Burma. (Press release) Date of publication:   05 January 2001 Description/subject:   "...CSW's new findings from a recent trip to Burma reveal a catalogue of serious human rights abuses that discredit Burma's claim to have carried out major reforms in recent months. The compelling new evidence adds impetus to the call for sanctions and underlines the significance of Sunday's first ever international day of prayer and fasting for Burma's ethnic minorities..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Christian Solidarity Worldwide Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   10 May 2004 Title:   Amnesty International Annual Report 2001: Myanmar Date of publication:   January 2001 Description/subject:   Events of 2000 Language:   English and Japanese Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Alternate URLs:   http://www.burmainfo.org/AI/AI-report-2001-myanmar_jp.html (Japanese) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 2001 - Events of 2000: Burma section Date of publication:   January 2001 Description/subject:   Events November 1999-October 2000..."The Burmese government took no steps to improve its dire human rights record. The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) continued to pursue a strategy of marginalizing the democratic opposition through detention, intimidation, and restrictions on basic civil liberties. Despite international condemnation, the system of forced labor remained intact. In the war-affected areas of eastern Burma, gross violations of international human rights and humanitarian law continued. There, the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), and Karen National Union (KNU), as well as some other smaller groups, continued their refusal to agree to a cease-fire with the government, as other insurgent forces had done, but they were no longer able to hold significant territory. Tens of thousands of villagers in the contested zones remained in forced relocation sites or internally displaced within the region. Human Rights Developments The SPDC continued to deny its citizens freedom of expression, association, assembly, and movement. It intimidated members of the democratic opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) into resigning from the party and encouraged crowds to denounce NLD members elected to parliament in the May 1990 election but not permitted to take their seats. The SPDC rhetoric against the NLD and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, became increasingly extreme. On March 27, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, in his Armed Forces Day address, called for forces undermining stability to be eliminated. It was a thinly veiled threat against the NLD. On May 2, a commentary in the state-run Kyemon (Mirror) newspaper claimed there was evidence of contact between the NLD and dissident and insurgent groups, an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment. In a May 18 press conference, several Burmese officials pointed to what they said were linkages between the NLD and insurgents based along the Thai-Burma border, and on September 4 the official Myanmar Information Committee repeated this charge in a press release after Burmese security forces raided the NLD headquarters in Rangoon..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Amnesty International": Myanmar Country Report 2001 Date of publication:   2001 Description/subject:   Covering events from January - December 2000 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amesty International Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Myanmar Country Report 2001 Date of publication:   2001 Description/subject:   Covering events from January - December 2000 Language:   Japanese Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   KHRG Commentary #2000-C2 Date of publication:   17 October 2000 Description/subject:   The worsening situation of the internally displaced in all northern Karen districts, forced labour and convict porters, rice quotas, the desperate situation of rank-and-file SPDC soldiers, forced repatriation of refugees in Thailand, and the SPDC's persistence in denying that there is any problem whatsoever. Language:   English Source/publisher:   KHRG Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Peace Villages and Hiding Villages: Roads, Relocations, and the Campaign for Control in Toungoo District Date of publication:   15 October 2000 Description/subject:   Roads, Relocations, and the Campaign for Control in Toungoo District. Based on interviews and field reports from KHRG field researchers in this northern Karen district, looks at the phenomenon of 'Peace Villages' under SPDC control and 'Hiding Villages' in the hills; while the 'Hiding Villages' are being systematically destroyed and their villagers hunted and captured, the 'Peace Villages' face so many demands for forced labour and extortion that many ofthem are fleeing to the hills. Looks at forced labour road construction and its relation to increasing SPDC militarisation of the area, and also at the new tourism development project at Than Daung Gyi which involves large-scale land confiscation and forced labour. Keywords: Karen; KNU; KNLA; SPDC deserters; Sa Thon Lon activities; human minesweepers; human shields; reprisals against villagers; abuse of village heads; SPDC army units; military situation; forced relocation; strategic hamletting; relocation sites; internal displacement; IDPs; cross-border assistance; forced labour; torture; killings; extortion, economic oppression; looting; pillaging; burning of villages; destruction of crops and food stocks; forced labour on road projects; road building; restrictions on movment; lack of education and health services; tourism project; confiscation of land and forced labour for tourism project;landmines; malnutrition; starvation; SPDC Orders. ... ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #2000-05) Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   SPDC & DKBA Orders to Villages: Set 2000-B Date of publication:   12 October 2000 Description/subject:   Pa'an, Dooplaya, Toungoo, Papun, & Thaton Districts. Over 250 orders dating from mid-1999 through late September 2000, the vast majority of them from the latter half of that period. Includes restrictions on the movement of villagers, forced relocation, demands for forced labour, extortion of money, food, and materials, threats to villagers and other demands, as well as documents related to rice quotas which farmers are forced to give, education and health. Also contains one order #174 which directly shows the role of a Dutch timber importing company in causing the SPDC to threaten all non-government controlled timber traders. ... ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Rights Group Orders Reports (KHRG #2000-04) Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   GA 2000 (55th Session) Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   22 August 2000 Description/subject:   The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the interim report prepared by Rajsoomer Lallah, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, in accordance with Commission resolution 2000/23 and Economic and Social Council decision 2000/255. Author/creator:   Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (A/55/359) Format/size:   PDF (98K) and Word Alternate URLs:   http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/6f93e36e7c6843ccc1256983002e3c40/$FILE/0063504e.doc Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   US State Dept. - Burma: Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1999 Date of publication:   25 February 2000 Description/subject:   Events of 1999 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State Format/size:   html Alternate URLs:   gopher://dosfan.lib.uic.edu:70/00ftp%3ADOSFan%3AGopher%3A03%20Publications%20-%20Major%20Reports%3A... Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 2000: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   24 January 2000 Description/subject:   Good section on economic, social and cultural rights. Author/creator:   Mr Rajsoomer Lallah Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (E/CN.4/2000/38) Format/size:   PDF (58K) Alternate URLs:   http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/ce1abcf0fa86d72f802568a20060e3ae/$FILE/G0010351.doc Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Amnesty International Annual Report 2000: Myanmar Date of publication:   January 2000 Description/subject:   Events of 1999 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Alternate URLs:   http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/myanmar_burma/document.do?id=7276C685032E6793802568E400729F20 Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 2000 - Events of 1999: Burma section Date of publication:   January 2000 Description/subject:   Events of November 1998-October 1999)..."The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) offered no signs during the year that fundamental change was on the horizon. The SPDC's standoff with the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) continued. No progress was made on ending forced labor. Counterinsurgency operations by the Burmese military in several ethnic minority areas, accompanied by extrajudicial executions, forced relocation, and other abuses, led to the displacement of thousands inside Burma and the flight of yet more refugees across the border into Thailand. In one of the few positive developments during the year, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reopened its office in Rangoon in May and was able to visit Burmese prisons on a regular basis. Bilateral and multilateral policies towards Burma remained largely unchanged during the year, with sanctions in place from much of the industrialized world. Various governments tried combinations of diplomatic carrots and economic sticks to improve human rights and encourage negotiations between the SPDC and the opposition, but none had succeeded by late October. Arrests and intimidation of supporters of the NLD continued, part of a campaign that began in August 1998 after the NLD announced its intention to convene a parliament in line with the 1990 election result. This was foiled by mass arrests, and the NLD subsequently established a ten-member Committee Representing People's Parliament (CRPP), a kind of parallel parliamentary authority whose creation was seen as a direct challenge to the government. Some sixty parliamentarians remained under detention while thousands of NLD registered voters were forced to resign their party membership..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   GA 1999 (54th Session): Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   04 October 1999 Description/subject:   General Assembly, Fifty-fourth session. The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the interim report prepared by Rajsoomer Lallah, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, in accordance with Commission resolution 1999/17 of 23 April 1999 and Economic and Social Council decision 1999/231 of 27 July 1999. Author/creator:   Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (A/54/440) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   I have to work harder Date of publication:   July 1999 Description/subject:   "...The human rights violations still continue in every area of Burma especially in the ethnic areas of Burma. Burmans are not being treated like ethnic people, but because of the civil war and the four cuts system in the ethnic areas the ethnic people suffer a lot. More than the Burman people. But Burmese people also suffer other kinds of human rights violations. In the ethnic areas there is forced portering and forced relocation on a massive scale, but at the same time inside Burma there is political detention and arrest of political activist still going on. We can not compare what is worse and which one is the better one, but the human rights situation is as bad as before like ten years ago. I would say that in some areas its getting worse and in some areas its getting better. Even after we get democracy or even after the SPDC is overthrown so people with the kind of basic knowledge can be helpful for the foundation of civil society for the future of Burma...I decided to do some kind of training to give the knowledge about human rights and give a chance for people to think about their basic rights. This is good for the future of Burma so that people know about their rights, so they know how to prevent abuses. If they know how to advocate then they can protect their human rights. Even after we get democracy or even after the SPDC is overthrown so people with the kind of basic knowledge can be helpful for the foundation of civil society for the future of Burma..." Author/creator:   Aung Myo Min Language:   English Source/publisher:   "The Irrawaddy" Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   US State Dept. - Burma: Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998 Date of publication:   26 February 1999 Description/subject:   Events of 1998 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, US Dept. of State Format/size:   html Alternate URLs:   gopher://dosfan.lib.uic.edu:70/00ftp%3ADOSFan%3AGopher%3A03%20Publications%20-%20Major%20Reports%3A... Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 1999: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   22 January 1999 Description/subject:   Long section on IDPs; also on prison conditions and the suppression of the NLD. Author/creator:   Mr Rajsoomer Lallah Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (E/CN.4/1999/35) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Amnesty International Annual Report 1999: Myanmar Date of publication:   January 1999 Description/subject:   Events of 1998 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 1999 - Events of 1997-98: Burma section Date of publication:   January 1999 Description/subject:   Events December 1997-early November 1998..."Ten years after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising was crushed by the army, Burma continued to be one of the world’s pariah states. A standoff between the government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, general secretary of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), and other expressions of nonviolent dissent resulted in more than 1,000 detentions during the year. Many were relatively brief, others led eventually to prison sentences. Human rights abuses, including extrajudicial executions, rape, forced labor, and forced relocations, sent thousands of Burmese refugees, many of them from ethnic minority groups, into Thailand and Bangladesh. The change in November 1997 from the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to the gentler-sounding State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) had little impact on human rights practices and policies; the SPDC’s euphemism for continued authoritarian control—”disciplined democracy”— indicated no change. In addition to pervasive human rights violations, an economy in free fall made life even more difficult for the beleaguered population..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Karen Human Rights Group Commentary #98-C2 Date of publication:   24 November 1998 Description/subject:   "..."Things are getting more difficult every day. Even the Burmese leaders capture each other and put each other in jail. If they can capture and imprison even the people who have authority, then how are the villagers supposed to tolerate them? That’s why the villagers are fleeing from Burma." - Dta La Ku elder (M, 44) from Dooplaya district (Report #98-09) There is no doubt that life is currently becoming worse for the vast majority of people in Burma, in both urban and rural areas. In urban areas, people are plagued by high inflation, rapidly increasing prices for basic commodities such as rice and basic foodstuffs, the tumbling value of the Kyat, wages which are not enough to feed oneself, corruption by all arms of the military and civil service, and the ever-present fear of arbitrary arrest for the slightest act or statement that betrays opposition to the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC) junta..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Right Group (KHRG #98-C2) Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   22 November 2009 Title:   GA 1998 (53rd Session): Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   10 September 1998 Description/subject:   General Assembly, Fifty-third session. The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the interim report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, prepared by , Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, in accordance with Economic and Social Council decision 1998/261 of 30 July 1998. Author/creator:   Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (A/53/364) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   US State Dept. - Burma: Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997 Date of publication:   30 January 1998 Description/subject:   Events of 1997 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State Format/size:   html Alternate URLs:   gopher://dosfan.lib.uic.edu:70/00ftp%3ADOSFan%3AGopher%3A03%20Publications%20-%20Major%20Reports%3A... Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 1998: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   15 January 1998 Author/creator:   Mr Rajsoomer Lallah Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (E/CN.4/1998/70) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Amnesty International Annual Report 1998: Myanmar Date of publication:   January 1998 Description/subject:   Events of 1997 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 1998 - Events of 1996-1997: Burma section Date of publication:   January 1998 Description/subject:   Events December 1996-November 1997..." Respect for human rights in Burma continued to deteriorate relentlessly in 1997. The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) continued to be a target of government repression. NLD leaders were prevented from making any public speeches during the year, and over 300 members were detained in May when they attempted to hold a party congress. There were no meetings during the year of the government's constitutional forum, the National Convention, which last met in March 1996; the convention was one of the only fora where Rangoon-based politicians and members of Burma's various ethnic movements could meet. The government tightened restrictions on freedom of expression, refusing visas to foreign journalists, deporting others and handing down long prison terms to anyone who attempted to collect information or contact groups abroad. Persecution of Muslims increased. Armed conflict continued between government troops and ethnic opposition forces in a number of areas, accompanied by human rights abuses such as forced portering, summary executions, rape, and torture. The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) continued to deny access to U.N. Special Representative to Burma Rajsoomer Lallah. Despite its human rights practices, however, Burma was admitted as a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   GA 1997 (52nd Session): Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   16 October 1997 Description/subject:   General Assembly, Fifty-second session. The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the interim report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, prepared by Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 51/117 of 12 December 1996 and Economic and Social Council decision 1997/272 of 22 July 1997. Good section on citizenship and citizenship legislation (paras 119-142), mainly relating to the Rohingyas, a Muslim group in Rakhine (Arakan) state; statelessness and the conformity of the different forms of citizenship [in Burma] with international norms. Also, the rights pertaining to democratic governance, the right to form and join trade unions, forced labour, violations against ethnic minorities, including violations of civil rights. Author/creator:   Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (A/52/484) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 1997: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   06 February 1997 Author/creator:   Mr Rajsoomer Lallah Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (E/CN.4/1997/64) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   US State Dept. - Burma: Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996 Date of publication:   30 January 1997 Description/subject:   Events of 1996 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, US Department of State Format/size:   html (84K) Alternate URLs:   http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/USDOS-CR1996.htm Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Amnesty International Annual Report 1997: Myanmar Date of publication:   January 1997 Description/subject:   Events of 1996 Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 1997 - Events of 1996: Burma section Date of publication:   January 1997 Description/subject:   Any hope that the July 1995 release of opposition leader and Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi might be a sign of human rights reforms by the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) government were destroyed during 1996 as political arrests and repression dramatically increased and forced labor, forced relocations, and arbitrary arrests continued to be the daily reality for millions of ordinary Burmese. The turn for the worse received little censure from Burma's neighbors, who instead took the first step towards granting the country full membership in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and welcomed SLORC as a member of the Asian Regional Forum, a security body. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   17 January 2009 Title:   GA 1996: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   08 October 1996 Description/subject:   General Assembly, Fifty-first session. The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the interim report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, prepared by Judge Rajsoomer Lallah, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, in accordance with Commission resolution 1996/80 of 23 April 1996. Author/creator:   Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (A/51/466) Format/size:   pdf (94K), html Alternate URLs:   http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/TestFrame/e15e04e58ad9d9a18025670b00555587?Opendocument Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Dacoits Inc. Date of publication:   June 1996 Description/subject:   "Human rights violations committed by units/personnel of Burma's SLORC armed forces 1994-1995". A 100 or so pages of summaries of incidents, classified by Burma army units, with date, army unit, name of commanding officer (where available), short description of incident. Important document. See also "A Swamp Full of Lilies" (1994) which covers 1992-1993. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Project Maje Format/size:   PDF (2939K) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   New Internationalist: Burma, a Cry for Freedom Date of publication:   June 1996 Description/subject:   Special issue of the magazine. Several articles Language:   English Source/publisher:   New Internationalist Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   KHRG Intervention at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights Date of publication:   14 April 1996 Description/subject:   "...Mr. Chairman, Many dictatorial regimes argue that human rights take second place to economic development, that as long as government figures claim some kind of "economic growth" the world should ignore serious and systematic human rights abuses. [In reality, economic growth is meaningless without an improvement in the lives of the people, and there can be no such improvement where systematic human rights abuses prevail.] Some regimes claiming to create peace and economic stability actually carry out abuses which destroy the economic, social and cultural fabric of the country. For several years the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs has been following the situation in Burma, where the ruling military junta, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council or SLORC, is such a regime..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Right Group (KHRG Articles & Papers) Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   26 November 2009 Title:   US State Dept. - Burma: Human Rights Practices, 1995 Date of publication:   March 1996 Description/subject:   Events of 1995 Language:   English Source/publisher:   U.S. Department of State Format/size:   html (61K) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 1996: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   05 February 1996 Author/creator:   Mr. Yozo Yokota Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (E/CN.4/1996/65) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 1996 - Events of 1995: Burma section Date of publication:   January 1996 Description/subject:   Events of 1995..."The most significant human rights event in Burma in 1995 was the release on July 10 of Nobel laureate and opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after six years of house arrest. Paradoxically, the governing military State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) took an increasingly hard-line stance during the year, and there was no overall improvement in the human rights situation. In some areas abuses increased, notably in the Karen, Karenni and Shan States where there was fighting, while throughout the country thousands of civilians were forced to work as unpaid laborers for the army. The SLORC continued to deny basic rights such as freedom of speech, association and religion and the right of citizens to participate in the political process..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   GA 1995: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   16 October 1995 Description/subject:   General Assembly, Fiftieth session. The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the interim report prepared by Mr. Yozo Yokota, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/72 of 8 March 1995, and Economic and Social Council decision 1995/283 of 25 July 1995. Author/creator:   Mr. Yozo Yokota Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (A/50/568) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Country Report on Human Rights: Burma Date of publication:   01 October 1995 Description/subject:   "Burma is a country where many nationalities live together. Half of the population is Burman, who live in the central plains and valleys, and the rest are from about 15 main ethnic groups, most of whom live in more hilly regions. Historically, Burma was never a single country until the British annexed it in 1886. After independence in 1948, the Burman leaders started making policies favouring the Burmans and making everyone else into second-class citizens. So one by one the non-Burman peoples went into revolution demanding equal rights. By the 1970s, there were more than 12 ethnic groups fighting against the Burmese government. They had their own governments and controlled alot of the territory outside of central Burma..." _Report on: Civil and Political Rights, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Women, children and the elderly, Ethnic / Indigenous Rights, Problems of Human Rights Defence and Proposals / Recommendation. Author/creator:   Kevin Heppner Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG Articles and Papers) Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   The Current Human Rights Situation in Burma Date of publication:   05 September 1995 Description/subject:   The Military and Political Situation, The Human Rights Situation and Conclusions and Recommendations. Author/creator:   Kevin Heppner Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG Articles and Papers) Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   The Current Human Rights Situation in Burma: Executive Summary Date of publication:   05 September 1995 Description/subject:   "...SLORC is using the release of Aung San Suu Kyi to divert attention away from what is really happening in Burma right now: resumed and intensified offensives against ethnic peoples, further expansion of the army, intensified repression and clampdowns against people nationwide, and the further collapse of the economy. The human rights situation is rapidly worsening, with rapid increases in forced labour as military porters and servants, forced labour on development and infrastructure projects, extortion which is driving villagers further into destitution, land confiscation for military-run farms operated with forced labour, and other abuses connected with these activities such as killings, torture, rape, arbitrary detention, and abuse against children, women, and the elderly. The rural areas are being systematically targetted for further repression and extortion in order to support cosmetic and superficial "improvements" in urban areas - for example, more urban people are giving money in lieu of forced labour, causing more rural villagers to be taken for forced labour. Urban people are poorer than ever due to spiralling inflation, partly caused by foreign investment. Rural people are being hit the hardest due to spiralling demands for extortion money by military officers. Tens of millions of Kyat per month is stolen from rural villages and sent by officers to their families in the cities; their families can then set up urban businesses, and foreign visitors mistake this for economic improvement and open market reform. SLORC still rigidly controls the economy. Rural villages can no longer pay and are falling apart as people flee to avoid arrest for failure to pay money and crop quotas. Forced labour is increasing exponentially in some areas in hurried attempts to finish infrastructure in preparation for "Visit Myanmar Year 1996"..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Right Group (KHRG Articles & Papers) Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   26 November 2009 Title:   Report to the Senate Foreign Operations Subcommittee Date of publication:   25 July 1995 Description/subject:   Testimony of Karen Parker J.D. before the Foreign Operations Sub-Committee Senate Appropriations Committee. " The three features of the situation of human rights in Burma described in my 1993 statement are still valid today: (1) the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) regime is illegitimate yet continues in power; (2) the regime continues to be particularly brutal; and (3) armed conflict continues, primarily involving the ethnic nationalities who have been fighting against the SLORC regime and its predecessor governments. Violations of armed conflict law, as set out in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and all customary humanitarian law, continue to be violated. Thus, the SLORC regime continues to commit grave war crimes..." Keywords: Karen, Karenni, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, International law, violations of human rights law, violations of humanitarian law, armed conflict, Laws of War, United States Policy. Author/creator:   Karen Parker Language:   English Source/publisher:   The Karen Parker Home Page for Humanitarian Law Alternate URLs:   http://www.webcom.com/hrin/parker.html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Burma: Entrenchment or Reform? Human Rights Developments and the Need for Continued Pressure Date of publication:   July 1995 Description/subject:   I SUMMARY � Summary of Recommendations� II THE PATTERN OF ABUSE: Political Prisoners; The Political Process; The National Convention; Forced Labor; Discrimination Against Minorities� III HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES DURING COUNTERINSURGENCY OPERATIONS: The Renewed Offensive in the Karen State; The Offensive Against Khun Sa; IV THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE: The United Nations; China; India; The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN); Japan; The United States� V RECOMMENDATIONS: To the State Law and Order Restoration Council; To the International Community; APPENDIX I � APPENDIX II. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html (463K), pdf (332K) Alternate URLs:   http://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/B/BURMA/BURMA957.PDF Date of entry/update:   09 March 2004 Title:   US State Dept. - Burma: Human Rights Practices, 1994 Date of publication:   February 1995 Description/subject:   Events of 1994 Language:   English Source/publisher:   U.S. Department of State Format/size:   html (123K) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 1995: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   12 January 1995 Author/creator:   Mr. Yozo Yokota Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (E/CN.4/1995/65) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 1995 - Events of 1994: Burma section Date of publication:   January 1995 Description/subject:   Events of 1994..."The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), a military body established as a temporary government in Burma after the pro-democracy uprising in 1988, continued to be responsible for forced labor, especially on infrastructure projects; arbitrary detention; torture; and denials of freedom of association, expression, and assembly. Fighting with armed ethnic groups along the Thai and Chinese borders continued to diminish, as the SLORC reached a cease-fire agreement with the Kachin Independence Organization in February and opened talks with others. Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the democratic opposition, remained under house arrest but for the first time since her detention in July 1989 was permitted to meet with visitors outside her family. On September 21, as the U.N. General Assembly opened in New York, she was allowed out of her house for a televised meeting with the chair and secretary-1 of the SLORC, Senior General Than Shwe and Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt. A second meeting took place on October 28..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   GA 1994: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar (Addendum - Government Response) Date of publication:   09 November 1994 Description/subject:   General Assembly, Forty-ninth session. 1. The Special Rapporteur submitted to the Government of Myanmar, on 5 October 1994, a summary of allegations he had received concerning human rights violations in Myanmar (for the text, see A/49/594, para. 9). In his accompanying letter, the Special Rapporteur requested the Government of Myanmar's responses to five specific questions (see A/49/594, para. 8). 2. By note verbale dated 4 November 1994, the Permanent Mission of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations Office at Geneva transmitted the responses of the Government of Myanmar to both the Special Rapporteur's summary of allegations received and the five specific questions put in his letter of 5 October 1994. 3. The following is the full text of the Government of Myanmar's response to the summary of allegations received by the Special Rapporteur: "OBSERVATIONS AND REBUTTALS ON THE SUMMARY OF ALLEGATIONS" Author/creator:   Mr. Yozo Yokota Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (A/49/594/Add.1) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Myanmar: human rights still denied Date of publication:   November 1994 Description/subject:   "In the sixth year of government by the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), there has been no fundamental change in its attitude towards respecting the basic human rights of its citizens. Whereas the SLORC took a number of tentative steps to indicate to the international community a willingness to address the human rights situation in Myanmar, it at the same time reinforced its repressive hold within the country..." Keywords: prisoners of conscience, house/town arrest, death in custody, death penalte, minorities, politically-motivated criminal charges, ill-health, torture, ill-treatment, prison conditions, solitary confinement, long-term imprisonment, forced labour, transportation, extrajudicial execution, women, farmers, aged, lawyers, political activists, journalists, parliamentarians, writers, editors, publishers, students, dentists, scientists, military as victims, doctors, refugees, armed conflict, military, impunity, constitutional change, political background, release, photographs, UN Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   GA 1994: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   28 October 1994 Description/subject:   General Assembly, Forthy-ninth session. The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the interim report prepared by Mr. Yozo Yokota, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Myanmar in accordance with paragraph 20 of Commission on Human Rights resolution 1994/85 of 9 March 1994 and Economic and Social Council decision 1994/269 of 25 July 1994. Author/creator:   Mr. Yozo Yokota Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (A/49/594) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Testimony of SLORC Army Defectors Date of publication:   07 August 1994 Description/subject:   "TOPIC SUMYARY:SLORC recruiting methods (p.2,5,7,8,10111), drafting old men and teenagers (p.2,6,7,8,10), abuse during military training (p.3,6,8), theft of food, medicines & salary by officers (p.3,6,9,11), censorship of letters (p.4,6-7,8), beating/torture of soldiers (p.3,6,8,9,10), officers ordering their own wounded shot (p.4,6,10), execution Karen POWs (p.4), execution, enslavement and abuse of villagers (p.4-5,7,9,10,11,), using porters in battle (p.4), situation inside Burma (p.5,7,9,10)..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Comments by SLORC Army Defectors Date of publication:   20 June 1994 Description/subject:   "The following comments were made recently in independent interviews with defectors from the SLORC Army in Mergui/Tavoy District, in the Tenasserim Division of southern Burma. Some of them defected earlier this year, while others defected over a year ago. However, all of their comments still apply because as the SLORC Army continues to rapidly expand, conditions continue to deteriorate for both civilians and rank-and-file soldiers. In fact, as the comments of these former soldiers make clear, it seems that only the senior officers are deriving any benefit at all from the systematic oppression of the civilian population. The monthly salary before deductions of a private soldier, 450 Kyat, is not even enough to buy milled rice for two people for a month at current prices - not to mention that people also need other food to eat with their rice. Meanwhile, inflation continues to rage throughout the country as the Kyat becomes increasingly worthless..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 1994: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   16 February 1994 Author/creator:   Mr. Yozo Yokota Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (E/CN.4/1994/57) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   A Swamp Full of Lillies Date of publication:   February 1994 Description/subject:   "Human rights violations committed by units/personnel of Burma's Army, 1992-1993". 60 pages of summaries of incidents, classified by Burma army units, with date, army unit, name of commanding officer (where available), short description of incident. Important document. See also "Dacoits Inc." (1996) which covers 1994-1995. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Project Maje Format/size:   PDF (2897K) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   US State Dept.:Burma: Human Rights Practices, 1993 Date of publication:   31 January 1994 Description/subject:   Events of 1993 Language:   English Source/publisher:   U.S. Department of State Format/size:   html (110K) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 1994 - Events of 1993: Burma section Date of publication:   January 1994 Description/subject:   Events of 1993... "The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council or SLORC continued to be a human rights pariah, despite its cosmetic gestures to respond to international criticism. Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, was permitted visits from her family but remained under house arrest for the fifth year. SLORC announced the release of nearly 2,000 political prisoners, but it was not clear that the majority had been detained on political charges, nor could most of the releases be verified. At least one hundred critics of SLORC were detained during the year, and hundreds of people tried by military tribunals between 1989 and 1992 remained in prison. Torture in Burmese prisons continued to be widespread. Foreign correspondents were able to obtain visas for Burma more easily, but access by human rights and humanitarian organizations remained tightly restricted. A constitutional convention met throughout the year, but over 80 percent of the delegates were hand-picked by SLORC..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   MYANMAR: Human rights developments July to December 1993 Date of publication:   31 December 1993 Description/subject:   "While there are signs of relaxation of restrictions and some progress in economic, social and cultural rights, many civil and political rights are still severely restricted. Particularly, the right to life, liberty and security of person, freedoms from slavery, torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, freedoms of thought, opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association are widely violated and ignored especially in connection with forced labour, forced relocation, political activities including activities related to political parties and the National Convention."... "Amnesty International welcomes certain incremental improvements which the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), Myanmar's military authorities, have made in regards to the human rights situation. However the organization remains concerned that a system of repression is still in place which is being used to violate the fundamental human rights of the people of Myanmar. During 1993 non-violent critics of the SLORC were arrested and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, and ethnic minorities, particularly the Karen, were still at grave risk of repressive measures by the Myanmar security forces in the course of their counterinsurgency operations. Torture and ill-treatment of both ethnic minorities during forced portering and of political prisoners in Myanmar's jails continues to be a common occurrence. Some 70 prisoners of conscience remain in detention, most of whom have been sentenced after blatantly unfair trials. Other prisoners of conscience who have been released are routinely subjected to intimidation, which takes the form of surveillance, threats, and interrogation. Delegates to the SLORC-controlled National Convention have also been subject to similar repressive measures which have denied them the rights to freedom of expression and assembly..." Developments at the National Convention, Political Detention, Recent Arrests, Human rights violations against members of the Karen ethnic minority, Burmese Muslim refugees. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Other International Organizations. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Format/size:   html Alternate URLs:   http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/myanmar_burma/document.do?id=A059B998242172D4802569A6006044AF Date of entry/update:   09 March 2005 Title:   GA 1993: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   16 November 1993 Description/subject:   General Assembly, Forty-eighth session. The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the interim report prepared by Professor Yozo Yokota, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, in accordance with paragraph 16 of the Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/73 of 10 March 1993 and Economic and Social Council decision 1993/278 of 28 July 1993. Author/creator:   Mr. Yozo Yokota Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (A/48/578) Format/size:   PDF (88K) and Word Alternate URLs:   http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/026307f31845840dc125699000591d47/$FILE/9361495E.doc Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   CHR 1993: Report by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Date of publication:   17 February 1993 Author/creator:   Mr. Yozo Yokota Language:   English Source/publisher:   United Nations (E/CN.4/1993/37) Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 1993 - Events of 1992: Burma section Date of publication:   January 1993 Description/subject:   Events of 1992...Human Rights Developments Burma (Myanmar) in 1992 remained one of the human rights disasters in Asia. Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi continued under house arrest, and an unknown number of political dissidents remained in prison. Reports of military abuses against members of ethnic minority groups were frequent. Certain positive measures were taken by Burma's military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (slorc), such as the release of several hundred alleged political prisoners and slorc's accession to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. But the changes were largely superficial, and human rights violations persisted unchecked. ..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Report to the U.S. House Subcomittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs(1993) Date of publication:   1993 Description/subject:   Testimony of Karen Parker J. D. before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Asian and Pacific Affairs. Main headings: Illegitimacy of SLORC; G ross violatoins of human rights; Armed Conflict; The NDF/DAB-SLORC War; The Karenni-SLORC War; U.S. Policy. "I am pleased to have this opportunity to provide the Sub- Committee with information regarding Burma and my views on what United States policy should be towards that country... This statement will set out the situation in Burma from the point of view of international law norms. It will also present actions taken at the United Nations and its human rights bodies, including a review of Aung San Suu Kyi's case at the Working Group. It will conclude with recommendations regarding United States policy. There are three salient features of the situation of human rights in Burma: (1) the current regime is illegitimate; (2) the regime is particularly brutal; and (3) there is wide scale armed conflict, primarily involving the ethnic nationalities who have been fighting against the SLORC regime and its predecessor governments..." Author/creator:   Karen Parker Language:   English Source/publisher:   The Karen Parker Home Page for Humanitarian Law Alternate URLs:   http://www.webcom.com/hrin/parker.html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Myanmar: 'No law at all' Human rights violations under military rule Date of publication:   28 October 1992 Description/subject:   "I would like to explain about this martial law according to records that I have studied... martial law is neither more nor less than the will of the general who commands the army; in fact, martial law means no law at all." (Major General Khin Nyunt, Secretary-1 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council and head of military intelligence, 15 May 1991.)... "Human rights are grossly and persistently violated throughout Myanmar. The victims come from every section of society, and every ethnic and religious group. Opposition to the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) has been systematically suppressed; over 1,500 political activists have been jailed, sometimes following unfair trials and sometimes with no trial at all. Many have been tortured or have suffered other forms of ill-treatment. The military continues to detain civilians to work as porters or as labourers who are routinely ill-treated and even summarily killed when they become too exhausted to continue working. In ethnic minority areas where the military confronts armed insurgency, defenceless civilians have been arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed. Minorities in areas where there is little or no armed opposition, like the Muslims of Rakhine (Arakan) State, have also fallen victim to gross violations of their basic rights, including arbitrary arrest, torture and extrajudicial execution..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International (ASA16/11/92) Format/size:   pdf (602K) Date of entry/update:   24 June 2006 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 1992 - Events of 1991: Burma section Date of publication:   January 1992 Description/subject:   Events of 1991..." Refusing to respect the results of the 1990 general elections, Burma's military leaders intensified their crackdown on political dissent throughout the country in 1991. Repression was worse than any other time in recent years, marked by a complete lack of basic freedoms and the continuing imprisonment of thousands of suspected opponents of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). By the middle of the year, the crackdown extended beyond members of the main opposition parties to include a massive purge of those employed in the civil service, schools and universities. In late 1990 and early 1991, SLORC also heightened its offensive against ethnic minority insurgent groups, resulting in widespread civilian casualties and the displacement of tens of thousands of people along Burma's borders. The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi helped to focus attention on SLORC's disastrous human rights record. The crackdown on members and supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was especially severe..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   MYANMAR: IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST - Prisoners of conscience, torture, summary trials under martial law Date of publication:   06 November 1990 Description/subject:   HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN MYANMAR: Repression of the pro-democracy movement; Ethnic minority conflict - a history of human rights violations; Recent developments; Sources of information... MARTIAL LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS: Laws in force before September 1988; Martial law restrictions; Judicial proceedings under martial law... ARREST AND DETENTION PROCEDURES UNDER MARTIAL LAW: Circumstances of arrest... PRISONER PROFILES... TORTURE: Victims of torture; Agencies responsible for torture; Incommunicado detention; A methodology of pain, fear and intimidation; The consequences of torture; Torture in the insurgency areas; Provisions against torture in Myanmar and in international law; The Governments's Response... RECOMMENDATIONS: Torture; Fair Trial; Imprisonment on grounds of conscience; The death penalty; Extrajudicial executions. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Format/size:   html (156K) Date of entry/update:   10 March 2005 Title:   MYANMAR: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO HUMAN RIGHTS Date of publication:   31 October 1990 Description/subject:   "The National Assembly, for which elections were held in May, had yet to be convened by the military government five months after the results were published. The principal leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won over 80% of the National Assembly seats in the nationwide elections, remained under house arrest or in prison; and demonstrators increasingly called for the elected representatives to be allowed to take up their seats and form a government. July saw increased political activity with the approach of Martyrs Day on 19 July, which commemorates those killed in Myanmar's struggle for independence. The NLD cancelled plans for a Martyr's Day rally. However, as the country prepared for the holiday, students in Rangoon held snap demonstrations and handed out leaflets demanding that the military government -- State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) -- transfer power to the opposition. They reportedly dispersed when troops arrived. The official Martyr's Day ceremony proceeded without arrests..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   10 March 2005 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 1990 - Events of 1989: Burma section Date of publication:   January 1990 Description/subject:   Events of 1989... "The military government in Burma, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC, intensified political repression in the wake of the opposition's landslide victory in elections for a new National Assembly held in May 1990. Soon after taking power in September 1988, following an unprecedented nationwide uprising against the 26-year-old rule of General Ne Win and his Burma Socialist Programme Party in which security forces are believed to have killed an estimated 3,000 to 10,000 protestors, SLORC promised to deliver power to a civilian government as soon as elections could be organized..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   Human Rights Watch World Report 1989 - Events of 1988: Burma section Date of publication:   January 1989 Description/subject:   Events of 1988... "The Bush administration's stance on Burma (Myanmar) was generally positive, although the U.S. embassy in Thailand has been slow to respond to requests for refugee status by Burmese students fleeing repression. The human rights situation in Burma continued to deteriorate sharply throughout 1989, following the bloody end in September 1988 of Burma's pro-democracy demonstrations, when at least 3000 students and other largely unarmed civilians on the streets of the capital and other cities were massacred. The Reagan administration was quick to suspend its small military and economic aid program, and the Bush administration continued to speak out against Burmese rights violations. As one diplomat in Rangoon told the Washington Post in March, "Since there are no U.S. bases and very little strategic interest, Burma is one place where the United States has the luxury of living up to its principles." ..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Human Rights Watch Format/size:   html Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003 Title:   BURMA THE 18 SEPTEMBER 1988 MILITARY TAKEOVER AND ITS AFTERMATH Date of publication:   December 1988 Description/subject:   "Widespread human rights violations have taken place throughout the country since March 1988 as security forces have moved to suppress unprecedented popular unrest that culminated in August in a huge uprising demanding an end to authoritarian military rule and the establishment of multi-party democracy. Several thousand mostly non-violent demonstrators including women and children were reportedly killed by government security forces in March, June and August in Rangoon, the capital, and in Mandalay, Moulmein, Pegu, Prome, Taunggyi, Sagaing and other towns. During the same period a thousand others, including prisoners of conscience, were arrested and held for long periods, mostly in incommunicado detention. Although many of them were reportedly released after, sometimes brutal, interrogation, hundreds, including prisoners of conscience, were reported, in early September, to be still in prison, many without charge or trial. On 18 September 1988 the army staged a coup and brutally re-imposed government control over the administration of the country which had been almost paralysed by a series of general strikes that had involved an enormous number of people throughout the country. The coup and its immediate aftermath prompted a fresh outburst of street violence that resulted in hundreds more mostly peaceful, unarmed demonstrators being killed and wounded and thousands of others being arrested. Although no official figure was available, by December 1988 hundreds of political prisoners nationwide (including possible prisoners of conscience) arrested since or before 18 September, were believed to be in detention, most of them without charge or trial..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International (ASA 16/15/88) Format/size:   pdf (83K) Date of entry/update:   18 August 2005 Title:   BURMA: EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION AND TORTURE OF MEMBERS OF ETHNIC MINORITIES Date of publication:   May 1988 Description/subject:   "Thousands of ethnic minority people have fled Burma to escape the indiscriminate brutality of the army's counter-insurgency operations. Most of the refugees are from the Karen State, a mountainous area bordering on Thailand. Others come from the Mon and Kachin States and other parts of Burma. Their plight has received little attention from the international community. In this report Amnesty International publishes, for the first time, a detailed account of the widespread extrajudicial executions, and torture and harsh treatment inflicted on these people by soldiers operating in defiance of both Burmese and international law...Since 1984 the Burmese army has waged intensive counter-insurgency campaigns against various armed opposition groups, including minority movements fighting for greater autonomy in the Karen, Kachin and Mon States. The civilian population has suffered heavily in counter-insurgency drives. Most of the people living in these remote and mountainous states are illiterate villagers making a living out of rice farming or petty trading. To deny the insurgents any possible logistical or other support the army has imposed harsh restrictions on the villagers' lives, including controls on their movement, residence and wealth. Whole villages have been regrouped in "strategic hamlets" - fenced settlements - under strict curfew. These restrictions impose intolerable hardships on rice farmers, whose livelihood depends on free movement to tend their crops in often far-off fields, and on itinerant traders who ply their wares between villages. People are forced to risk their lives in order to survive. If they are found in places declared off-limits by the army, or on roads or in fields after curfew, they are suspected of links with the insurgents and may be summarily shot or taken into custody and tortured. Mutilated bodies are sometimes left by roadsides and in the fields...1. SUMMARY 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1 SOURCES AND THE SCALE OF ABUSES 2.2 BACKGROUND 2.2.1 HISTORICAL SKETCH 2.2.2 KAREN INSURGENCY 2.2.3 KACHIN AND MON INSURGENCIES 2.3 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S POSITION ON ABUSES BY ARMED OPPOSITION FORCES 12 3. EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION OF KAREN BY THE ARMY 3.1 CIRCUMSTANCES AND METHODS OF EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION 3.2 EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION FOR DISOBEYING RESTRICTIONS ON LIVELIHOOD 3.3 EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION OF PORTERS AND GUIDES 3.4 EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION FOR OTHER REASONS 4. TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT OF KAREN BY THE ARMY 4.1 CIRCUMSTANCES AND METHODS OF TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT 4.2 TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT DURING INTERROGATION 4.3 TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT AS PUNISHMENT 4.4 TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT OF WIVES TAKEN AS HOSTAGES 5. TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT OF KACHIN AND MON BY THE ARMY AND POLICE 5.1 KACHIN CASES 5.2 MON CASES 6. BURMESE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW AND AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 BURMESE LEGAL SAFEGUARDS AND REMEDIES RELATED TO HUMAN 6.1.1 PROVISIONS AGAINST TORTURE AND UNLAWFUL KILLING 6.1.2 FREEDOM FROM ARBITRARY ARREST AND DETENTION 6.1.3 THE JUDICIARY 6.1.4 POLITICAL OFFENCES INVOLVING VIOLENCE 6.1.5 EMERGENCY ABRIDGEMENT OF RIGHTS 6.1.6 INSPECTION AND COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES 6.2 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS 6.3 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE GOVERNMENT 6.4 GOVERNMENT REJECTION OF ALLEGATIONS OF EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION 6.5 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT 6.5.1 HIGH-LEVEL GOVERNMENT STATEMENTS AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS 6.5.2 FULL GOVERNMENT INQUIRY/PROSECUTION OF RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES 6.5.3 LEGISLATIVE REFORM AND ENFORCEMENT 6.5.4 IMPROVED TRAINING OF SECURITY FORCES 6.5.5 COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS AND THEIR RELATIVES 6.5.6 PROVIDING ACCESS AND INFORMATION TO INTERNATIONAL BODIES 6.5.7 RATIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS 6.5.8 DIVISION OF DETENTION AND INTERROGATION RESPONSIBILITIES 6 5.9 COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC RECORDS OF ARREST AND DETENTION... APPENDIX 1: REPORTED VICTIMS OF EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS; APPPENDIX 2: REPORTED VICTIMS OF TORTURE OR OTHER SEVERE ILL-TREATMENT. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International (ASA 16-05-88) Format/size:   pdf (475K) Date of entry/update:   17 August 2005 Title:   ALLEGATIONS OF EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS, TORTURE AND ILLTREATMENT IN THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF THE UNION OF BURMA Date of publication:   September 1987 Description/subject:   "Over the past two and half years, Amnesty International has been increasingly concerned about the growing number of reports it has received of serious human rights violations in the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. These violations have allegedly been committed by Burmese government armed forces and security agencies against mostly non-combattant civilians of ethnic minority origin living in regions where armed insurgent groups are active, notably in Burma's eastern Karen and Kayah States. Similar information has, however, come out of the Shan State in the east, the Rakhine (Arakan) State in the west, the Mon State in the south and, more recently, the Kachin State in the north (see Amnesty International's Reports 1985, 1986 and 1987). The alleged violations include the frequent practice of arbitrary arrest and short-term detention without charge or trial of suspected political offenders and the torture and ill-treatment of political detainees, particularly of civilian villagers taken into military custody during military operations. They also include persistent allegations that civilian villagers suspected of supporting or sympathizing with ethnic rebels, porters and traders travelling through restricted areas as well as prisoners of war captured in combat have been extrajudicially executed for political, ethnic or other reasons..." Language:   English Source/publisher:   Amnesty International Format/size:   pdf (51K) Date of entry/update:   19 August 2005 Title:   "I am Still Alive" -- Report of a Survey of Human Rights Abuse in Frontier Areas of Burma, 1983-1986 Date of publication:   1986 Description/subject:   Introduction, maps, methodology, interviews. Language:   English Source/publisher:   Project Maje Format/size:   pdf (976K) 42 pages Date of entry/update:   03 June 2003