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Title: Myanmar: Situation Assessment on Amphetamine-Type Stimulants
Description/subject: "...According to the latest Myanmar Situation Assessment on Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS), the manufacture, trafficking and consumption of synthetic drugs in the country and region is worsening. Published by UNODC, the report indicates that the impact of methamphetamine and other ATS trafficked from Myanmar affects not only the country?s immediate neighbours but also parts of East and South-East Asia. Speaking on this, Deepika Naruka, East Asia and the Pacific Regional Coordinator for the Global Synthetics Monitor: Analyses, Reporting and Trends (SMART) Programme, noted: "There are indications that the methamphetamine problem in Myanmar is becoming more severe. In 2009, large seizures of high purity crystalline methamphetamine were made in Myanmar. Authorities in both Myanmar and Thailand confirm that the manufacture of crystalline methamphetamine is now occurring in the Golden Triangle..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Date of publication: 2010-12-20
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-22
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.94 MB
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Title: Myanmar-UPR: Compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Description/subject: Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Tenth session Geneva, 24 January – 4 February 2011..... "The present report is a compilation of the information contained in the reports of treaty bodies, special procedures, including observations and comments by the State concerned, and other relevant official United Nations documents. It does not contain any opinions, views or suggestions on the part of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), other than those contained in public reports issued by OHCHR. It follows the structure of the general guidelines adopted by the Human Rights Council. Information included herein has been systematically referenced in endnotes. The report has been prepared taking into consideration the four-year periodicity of the first cycle of the review. In the absence of recent information, the latest available reports and documents have been taken into consideration, unless they are outdated. Since this report only compiles information contained in official United Nations documents, lack of information or focus on specific issues may be due to non-ratification of a treaty and/or to a low level of interaction or cooperation with international human rights mechanisms".... At present, only the Arabic, English and French versions are available.
Source/publisher: United Nations (A/HRC/WG.6/10/MMR/2)
Date of publication: 2010-11-15
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-18
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English, French, Arabic
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 170.73 KB 134.02 KB 194.49 KB
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Title: Myanmar-UPR: National Report
Description/subject: Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Tenth session Geneva, 24 January – 4 February 2011.....No Russian version at present
Source/publisher: United Nations (A/HRC/WG.6/10/MMR/1)
Date of publication: 2010-11-10
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-18
Type: Individual Documents
Category:
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf pdf pdf pdf
Size: 129.53 KB 224.32 KB 726.86 KB 146.9 KB 225.45 KB
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Title: Summary of Stakeholders? reports to the UPR - Myanmar
Description/subject: Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Tenth session Geneva, 24 January – 4 February 2011.....Summary prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1.....The present report is a summary of 24 stakeholders? submissions1 to the universal periodic review. It follows the structure of the general guidelines adopted by the Human Rights Council. It does not contain any opinions, views or suggestions on the part of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), nor any judgement or determination in relation to specific claims. The information included herein has been systematically referenced in endnotes and, to the extent possible, the original texts have not been altered. Lack of information or focus on specific issues may be due to the absence of submissions by stakeholders regarding these particular issues. The full texts of all submissions received are available on the OHCHR website. The report has been prepared taking into consideration the four-year periodicity of the first cycle of the review.
Source/publisher: United Nations (A/HRC/WG.6/10/MMR/3)
Date of publication: 2010-10-18
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-16
Type: Individual Documents
Category:
Language: English (also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish)
Format : pdf pdf pdf pdf pdf pdf
Size: 180.74 KB 191.46 KB 121.49 KB 633.11 KB 241.22 KB 184.46 KB
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Title: High and Dry - The cross-boundary impacts of China?s Longjiang dam
Description/subject: Summary: "A recently built dam on the Longjiang (Nam Mao or Shweli) river in Yunnan Province of China has severely disrupted the livelihoods of about 16,000 villagers living in the Mao Valley along the northern Shan State border in Burma. The Ruili-Muse border crossing, in the Mao Valley, is the main border trade point between China and Burma, and local communiti es rely principally on income from ferrying goods across the river on either side of the crossing. However, in early 2010, when the reservoir in the Longjiang Dam started to be fi lled, the river dried up, falling to unprecedented low levels and bringing boats to a standsti ll. Since the start of the rains in May 2010, there have been huge daily fl uctuati ons in the river levels, causing not only grounding of boats, but also fl ooding of goods, cutti ng ferry workers? incomes by up to two-thirds. The numerous ferry operators have thus had to drasti cally reduce the numbers of their trips. The resulti ng drop in trade is not only cutti ng the income of the riverside communiti es, but also that of many of the 30,000 people living in the town of Muse, who rely on the border trade. These communiti es were never informed by either Chinese or Burmese authoriti es about the dam and its impacts. They are urgently requesti ng the Chinese authoriti es to modify the dam?s operati on so that the river?s environmental fl ow can be restored, and the disrupti on to their livelihoods minimized. This case study provides evidence that builders of hydropower dams on transnati onal rivers in China have neglected to consider the trans-boundary environmental and social impacts of these projects. There is an urgent need for transparent, comprehensive and parti cipatory assessments of the environmental and social impacts of these projects on the enti re length of the rivers."
Source/publisher: Shan Women?s Action Network, Shan Sapawa Environmental Organisation
Date of publication: 2010-12-14
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-15
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 3.62 MB
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Title: Broken Ethics:The Norwegian Government?s Investments in Oil and Gas Companies Operating in Burma (Myanmar)
Description/subject: "The Norwegian government has been accused of complicity in illegal land seizures, forced labour and killings, by investing national funds in international companies that operate inside Burma on projects where widespread abuses are alleged to have taken place. A state-controlled pension fund that is a repository for some of Norway?s own oil wealth has invested up to $4.7bn in 15 oil and gas companies operating inside the South-east Asian country. The companies are accused of participating in projects where various human rights violations have taken place. Activists claim the pension fund is in breach of its own guidelines for responsible investment. The allegations come just days after Norway hosted the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. Land confiscation, forced labour and other abuses are happening in connection with several gas and oil pipeline projects in Burma, according to Naing Htoo of EarthRights International, which is today publishing a report detailing the alleged abuses being committed by the Burmese government. "There?s every indication abuses connected to these projects will continue, and, in some cases, worsen," he said. A number of those companies in which the Norwegian fund has investments have previously been accused in relation to controversial projects in Burma which has been controlled by a military junta since 1962. Among them are Total Oil of France, in which the Norwegian fund has an investment of $2.6bn, and the US-based Chevron Corp, in which the fund has $900m invested. EarthRights International insists that widespread violations continue to be committed by the Burmese army in support of many oil and gas projects that earn the regime millions of dollars. The group says that troops providing security for the Yadana and Yetagun pipelines have carried out extra-judicial killings..." ["The Independent"]
Matthew Smith, Naing Htoo, Zaw Zaw, Shauna Curphey, Paul Donowitz, Brad Weikel, Ross Dana Flynn, Anonymous Field Teams
Source/publisher: EarthRights International
Date of publication: 2010-12-15
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-15
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Ethnic Minority Politics
Description/subject: "While the world?s attention for the past decade has focused on the struggle between Myanmar?s military government and the political opposition, the underlying conflicts between the central government and ethnic minority groups perhaps represent a more fundamental and intractable obstacle to peace, development and democracy. The basic grievance of ethnic minorities in Myanmar is their lack of influence on the political process. However, they also face a major challenge to build political and organisational capacity to ensure that they are not left out of potential negotiations on the future of the country and can continue to represent the interests of their communities... Myanmar is one of the ethnically most diverse countries in the world and throughout its existence as an independent state has experienced a complex set of conflicts between the central government and ethnic minority groups seeking autonomy. While the world?s attention for the past decade has focused on the struggle between the military government and the political opposition over national power, these underlying conflicts perhaps represent a more fundamental and intractable obstacle to peace, development and democracy..."
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group
Date of publication: 2003-05-07
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-14
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 645.65 KB
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Title: Kachin National Organization
Description/subject: Original website is down but the Kachin National Organization has Facebook page.
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-14
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: South-East Asia Opium survey 2010: Lao PDR, Myanmar - Myanmar section
Description/subject: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "The Government of the Union of Myanmar (GOUM) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) jointly conducted the 2010 Opium Survey in Myanmar. Through satellite imagery and village and field surveys, information was gathered to determine the extent of opium poppy cultivation and production, as well as the socio-economic status of farmers. While current levels of opium cultivation remain below the alarming levels of the mid-90s and increases measured in the last three years are still modest, there are two worrying changes: farmers? incomes remain distressingly low and food security has worsened. Given the high price of opium in Myanmar, this situation makes the growing of opium more attractive. In fact, as a proportion of total income, opium income has increased among opium growing farmers. Between 2003 and 2009, the income generated by opium had a diminishing impact on opium-growing farmers? total cash income (i.e. the proportion of their income that came from opium fell from 70% to about 20%). In 2010, this trend reversed. Opium poppy is now by far the most lucrative crop for farmers that illicitly cultivate it. With the cultivation of one hectare of opium earning 6.5 times more than that earned from rice cultivation in low lands, and 13 times more than rice cultivated in uplands, the income proportion from opium increased to more than 43%. This makes it difficult to convince farmers to abandon opium and switch to other crops. Nonetheless, this survey provides important information to target alternative livelihood programmes and identifies what crops farmers would be willing to cultivate instead of opium. Opium farmers in Myanmar remain poorer than non-opium farmers. The great majority of farmers who cultivate opium do so to buy food. For them, opium cultivation remains a subsistence exercise. Tellingly, many farmers who stopped cultivating opium, had to purchase food on credit or borrow food and rely on relatives and friends. The pattern of opium poppy cultivation is also changing: some areas became opium-free while others increased their level of cultivation. In South Shan State, farmers introduced new practices such as multi-cropping. Generally, opium fields moved further away from villages and, in certain regions, were subject to eradication. In addition, cultivation shifted to areas previously considered opium-free or to climatically less favourable regions. All these considerations, combined with reduced accessibility and the expected change in cropping pattern, influenced the 2010 survey methodology..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Date of publication: 2010-11-30
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-13
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 3.71 MB
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Title: Geo-Spatial Visualization on Burma (Myanmar) (blog)
Description/subject: Short essays with Graphical and Visualization using satellite imageries. Topics on Burma?s Ancient towns, Disaster Responses, Military and Militarization, Agriculture, Urbanization, Naypyitaw, etc. Used geo-spatial tools (Google, GIS, Remote Sensing). Satellite imagery interpretations on various sites
Source/publisher: winners? circle (aung-mye)
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-08
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Internal Displacement and Protection in Eastern Burma
Description/subject: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "The Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) first collaborated with communitybased organizations to document the scale and distribution of internal displacement in Eastern Burma during 2002. Two years later, another survey was coordinated to enhance understanding about the vulnerability of internally displaced persons. These assessments sought to increase awareness about the situation in conflict-affected areas which remain largely inaccessible to the international community. More communities have been displaced during the past year while others have attempted to return to former villages, resettle elsewhere in Burma or continue their journey of forced migration into Thailand. As the environment is constantly evolving, situation assessments also need to be regularly revised. Part of the purpose of this report is thus to update estimates of the scale and distribution of internally displaced persons in eastern Burma. Threats against conflict-affected populations in eastern Burma have been well documented by a range of independent institutions. However, there is little information on humanitarian efforts to stop existing patterns of abuse, mitigate the worst consequences, prevent emerging threats and promote judicial redress. A second key objective is therefore to inform the development of humanitarian protection strategies for internally displaced persons and other civilians whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by war, abuse and violence. This year?s surveys were designed in partnership with ethnic community based organizations with reference to the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and conducted between April and June 2005. Estimates for the scale and distribution of internal displacement have been compiled from interviews with key informants in 37 townships across the six states and divisions of eastern Burma. Analysis of issues relevant to humanitarian protection has been based around responses to 1,044 questionnaires with conflict-affected households spread evenly between hiding sites, government controlled relocation sites, ethnic administered ceasefire areas and mixed administration areas. These responses have been complemented by semistructured interviews with internally displaced persons, the four main non state actors in eastern Burma and ten humanitarian agencies based in Rangoon. During the past year it is estimated that a further 87,000 people were forced or obliged to leave their homes by the effects of war or human rights abuses. Border-wide, a further 68 villages were destroyed, relocated or otherwise abandoned during this period, including a number which had only recently been established by displaced persons. In the majority of cases, forced displacement was found to be caused by violence or abuse perpetrated by the armed forces of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). This survey has also identified 88 previously abandoned villages which have been partially re-established during the past year. In this time, it is estimated that 40,000 people who had previously been displaced have returned to their homes or resettled elsewhere in eastern Burma. The total number of internally displaced persons in eastern Burma who have been forced or obliged to leave their homes over the past decade and have not been able to return or resettle and reintegrate into society is estimated to be at least 540,000 people. The population is comprised of 340,000 people currently in the temporary settlements of ceasefire areas administered by ethnic nationalities, while 92,000 civilians are estimated to be hiding from the Burma Army in areas most affected by armed conflict and approximately 108,000 villagers have followed eviction orders from the SPDC and moved into designated relocation sites. Overall this represents a slight increase of approximately 14,000 internally displaced persons since late 2004. This is attributed primarily to flight in Shan State away from SPDC patrols and into hiding, a significant inflow into Mon ceasefire areas, and methodological differences estimating populations in Tenasserim Division?s relocation sites. These combined increases have outweighed reductions in the estimates for internally displaced populations hiding in Karen State as well as for ceasefire areas in Shan and Karen State. However, these population estimates are considered conservative as it has not been possible to include displaced persons in urban areas and rural mixed administration areas who may not have reintegrated into society but rather remain in a state of internal displacement. Patterns of insecurity, the coping strategies of survivors of abuse and violence, and attempts at engaging the humanitarian responsibility of relevant authorities were assessed to inform the development of protection strategies. The survey conclusively found that not only are soldiers from the Burma Army the primary perpetrators of abuse, but also that the Government of Burma is generally unable or unwilling to strengthen local coping strategies and protect civilians from harm. Legal insecurity is highlighted by findings that less than a quarter of the conflictaffected population own legal title deeds for land tenure while just 12% of civilians hiding from Burma Army patrols possess an identity card. The former reflects the threat of land confiscation while the latter increases vulnerability to extortion at checkpoints, harassment in contested areas, restricted access to markets and fields as well as another obstacle for the internally displaced against returning to former homes or resettlement elsewhere in Burma. Despite the range and severity of deliberate physical violence in conflict-affected areas, the prevalence of threats to civilian livelihoods is on a much greater scale. A third of households surveyed have been directly affected by arbitrary taxes and forced labour in the past year. During this period, the deliberate impoverishment and deprivation of civilians as a counter-insurgency strategy is reflected in 17% of households having had food supplies destroyed or confiscated. Similarly, a quarter of households in hiding and relocation sites reported having had housing destroyed or having been forcibly evicted during the past year. Although unable to stop or prevent violence and abuse, internally displaced and conflict-affected villagers have developed a range of coping strategies to resist threats and mitigate the worst consequences. Other civilians are the main source of early warning signals about approaching troops, which stresses the importance of building social capital, or networks of trust, within and between local communities for the development of a more protective environment. Hiding food supplies and preparing alternative hiding sites in case counterinsurgency patrols induce an emergency evacuation were the main approaches to coping with threats amongst households in hiding sites. Conversely, the main method of minimizing risks in relocation sites and mixed administration areas is reportedly to pay fines and follow orders. These findings suggest that abuses against civilians by government forces are motivated not only by retaliation against armed opposition patrols, but also by economic imperatives or greed. Six percent of households reported that they had at some point resorted to procuring a hand gun to minimize threats to safety and livelihoods. Given the threat of being suspected as either a rebel sympathizer by the SPDC or a government collaborator by the armed opposition, this gauge of the prevalence of assault weapons is considered high. Due to the breakdown in law and order and the ease of procurement, transport, concealment and use, the prevalence of small arms is in itself a significant threat of violent insecurity. Humanitarian responsibilities relate to ensuring that parties to a conflict re
Source/publisher: Thailand Burma Border Consortium
Date of publication: 2005-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-06
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 4.12 MB 3.91 MB
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Title: Internal Displacement and Vulnerability in Eastern Burma
Description/subject: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "In September 2002 the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), formerly the Burmese Border Consortium, compiled a report ?Internally Displaced People and Relocation Sites in Eastern Burma”. The report was written because although the Royal Thai Government was reluctant to accept more refugees and believed repatriation should occur as soon as conditions were judged suitable, new refugees were still arriving in Thailand. Since most of the new arrivals reported that they had formerly been living as internally displaced persons, TBBC considered that it was important to understand what was happening in the border areas before any planning for repatriation could begin. Since that time, the nature and scale of internal displacement in eastern Burma has been generally acknowledged, and humanitarian agencies based in Burma have been increasingly requesting and gaining access to some border areas. In particular, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Myanmar has negotiated roving access to a number of townships of ‘potential refugee return?. UNHCR Thailand has also been engaging the Royal Thai Government, donors and non governmental organisations (NGOs) in a conceptual planning exercise for the eventual repatriation of the refugees. Much of Eastern Burma is, however, still inaccessible to international observers from inside the country and the initial steps being taken towards planning for repatriation make it even more important to understand what is happening in these areas. This report draws together the results of new surveys carried out by local community organisations who collectively have broad access to the border areas. Community organizations conducted field surveys across eastern Burma between April and July 2004.1 Population estimates have been gathered from key informants in 36 significant townships and cross-checked with estimates from other local humanitarian and human rights agencies wherever possible. Vulnerability indicators were also developed from a multi-stage cluster survey of 6,070 people and 1,071 households in 60 areas spread over six states and divisions. The sample population for this quantitative survey was distributed between internally displaced persons in free-fire areas, government relocation sites, ethnic ceasefire areas and mixed administration areas. Estimates recorded during this survey in 2004 indicate at least another 157,000 civilians have been displaced by war or human rights abuses since the end of 2002. This includes people from at least 240 villages which have been documented as completely destroyed, relocated or abandoned during the past two years. The current status of villages forcibly relocated prior to 2002 has not been comprehensively assessed, but attempts to return and re-establish more than 100 such villages in Tenasserim Division have been documented as thwarted by further displacement. Civilian displacement has continued at a high rate even though there has been a significant decrease in the number of villages forcibly relocated since the mid-late 1990s. This trend is indicative of the extent to which government troops had been deployed and villages forcibly evicted prior to 2002. Since then, the military government has been consolidating, rather than expanding, areas of control. High rates of civilian displacement in areas where forced village relocations have decreased are attributed to the harassment of people who had already deserted SPDC relocation sites to attempt returning to their village or resettlement nearby. The total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have been forced or obliged to leave their homes and have not been able to return or resettle and reintegrate into society as of late 2004 is estimated to be at least 526,000 people. The population consists of 365,000 people in the temporary settlements of ceasefire areas administered by ethnic nationalities, while 84,000 civilians are estimated to be hiding from the military-government in free-fire areas and approximately 77,000 villagers still remain in designated relocation sites after having been forcibly evicted from their homes. This represents a decrease since 2002 when 633,000 people were estimated to be internally displaced in hiding sites, temporary shelters and relocation sites. This decrease can be attributed to a mix of sustainable return or resettlement, forced migration into the fringes of urban and rural communities, flight into refugee and migrant populations in Thailand and methodological differences in data collection. Speculation remains as to how many people on the fringes of rural and urban communities have been obliged to leave their homes and are unable to resettle and reintegrate, but whose status as internally displaced persons can not be verified. Indicators of vulnerability for the internally displaced population reflect a critical situation. The survey found that more than half of internally displaced households have been forced to work without compensation and have been extorted of cash or property during the past year. While these and other human rights abuses were widespread and a lack of protection was common in all areas, people in relocation sites have reportedly been affected the most. Livelihoods in free-fire areas are demonstrated as largely dependent on subsistenceoriented slash and burn agriculture, yet still they are undermined by government patrols searching for and destroying crops. Conversely, less households were documented in relocation sites than elsewhere as being involved in any type of rice farming, indicating a lack of access to land and greater restrictions on movement. Yet the survey also found the highest rates of hunting and gathering were in densely populated ceasefire areas, which is indicative of the livelihood constraints of resettlement into these areas. This report presents indicators which suggest there is a public health emergency amongst internally displaced persons in eastern Burma. A third of households surveyed had not been able to access any health services during the past year, contributing to high mortality rates from infectious diseases which can be prevented and treated, such as malaria. Child mortality and malnutrition rates are double Burma?s national baseline rate and comparable to those recorded amongst internally displaced populations in the Horn of Africa. The population structure shows significantly more children dependent on a smaller proportion of working age adults compared to official data sources for Burma. This working age adult population consists of a high proportion of women representing greater rates of mortality, economic migration, flight from abuse and military conscription amongst young adult men. Low levels of access to durable shelter are recorded and associated not only with limited protection from the climate but also adverse impacts on health and human dignity. Similarly, low levels of educational attainment are likely to restrict the capacity of internally displaced persons to cope and recover from all of these aspects of vulnerability. The surveys demonstrate that the problem of forced migration in Eastern Burma remains large and complex and that internally displaced populations are extremely vulnerable. As in 2002, TBBC presents this compilation of data without making any recommendations. The intention is that policy makers and humanitarian organisations might be better informed in terms of preparing for refugee repatriation and addressing the situation of internal displacement itself."
Source/publisher: Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC)
Date of publication: 2004-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-06
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 4.03 MB
Local URL:
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Title: Burma?s Internally Displaced: No Options for a Safe Haven
Description/subject: "Refugees International Advocate Veronika Martin and human rights lawyer Betsy Apple recently completed an assessment mission to the Thai-Burmese border. There are few fates worse than being an internally displaced person (IDP) in Burma. IDPs inside Burma are divided into two categories: those living under the strict control of the Burmese government in �relocation sites,� and those living in hiding in the jungle from the Burmese army. Both options present a high risk of human rights abuses, a lack of food, and limited or no access to healthcare and education. According to a recent report compiled by the Burma Border Consortium (BBC), more than 2,500 villages have been either destroyed, relocated, or abandoned, affecting 633,000 individuals over the last five years in eastern Burma. Since 1996, an estimated minimum of one million people living in the ethnic states that border Thailand have been displaced. This year has seen a marked increase in the frequency of counter-insurgency operations in ethnic minority areas, leading in turn to an increase in the level of internal displacement..."
Veronika Martin, Betsy Apple
Source/publisher: Refugees International via Asian Tribune
Date of publication: 2002-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-06
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Internal Displacement in Eastern Burma, 2006 Survey
Description/subject: ?Both tragedy and hope are reflected in this fifth annual survey of internal displacement in eastern Burma. The tragedy is that such systematic and widespread violations of human rights and humanitarian law continue to occur with national impunity and a largely ineffective international response. Yet it is the ongoing commitment and courage of ethnic community-based organisations to support grassroots coping strategies and document the impacts of conflict, violence and abuse which inspires hope for the future of Burma. The Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) has been collaborating with ethnic community-based organisations to document the scale, distribution and characteristics of internal displacement since 2002. Collectively, these surveys have aimed to raise awareness about vulnerability in eastern Burma and inform the development of humanitarian protection strategies. Recognising that conditions for the internally displaced are always changing, this year?s survey attempted to update population estimates and assess trends across different areas in more detail with higher resolution maps. TBBC and the participating community-based organisations designed the surveys collaboratively by drawing from the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Although there were some changes for the sake of clarity, the questionnaire was similar to those used in previous years to facilitate trend analysis. Quantitative field surveys of the scale and distribution of internal displacement and the impacts of militarization and development have been based on interviews with key informants in 38 townships between June and August 2006. This has been complemented with qualitative field assessments about the causes and impacts of displacement which have been documented by community based organisations on an ongoing basis throughout the year. TBBC has previously reported that the Burmese Army has approximately doubled the deployment of battalions across eastern Burma since 1995. This survey has identified 204 infantry and light infantry battalions currently in eastern Burma, which represents approximately 40% of the government?s frontline troops nation-wide. Such militarisation has facilitated the State Peace and Development Council?s (SPDC?s) counter-insurgency strategy which targets civilians in contravention of international humanitarian law. Accounts of such crimes against humanity have been documented by community based organisations in this report as contributing to conflict-induced displacement. State-sponsored development projects have done little to alleviate poverty in Burma, but have been significant causes of human rights abuses and displacement during the past year. The energy sector is Burma?s largest recipient of foreign direct investment, but this report associates the gas pipeline in Mon State with forced labour, travel restrictions, and harassment. Similarly, proposed hydro-electric dams along the Salween River are linked with incidents of forced relocations, forced labour and the logging of community forests. Meanwhile commercial agriculture, and in particular the national development initiative to cultivate castor oil plants to produce bio-diesel, is reported to have induced widespread land confiscation, the imposition of procurement quotas and forced labour for the cultivation of seedlings. During the past year alone, this survey estimates that 82,000 people were forced to leave their homes as a result of, or in order to avoid, the effects of armed conflict and human rights abuses. These estimates are consistent with the annual average rate of displacement in eastern Burma since 2002, and reflect the SPDC?s disregard for their responsibility to protect Burmese citizens from harm. While the distribution of forced migration during the past year was widespread, the most significant concentration was in northern Karen State and eastern Pegu Division. Counter-insurgency operations are reported to have killed at least 39 civilians and displaced over 27,000 others in this area during the past year. While the majority of people displaced during the past year fled in small groups, 232 entire villages were destroyed, forcibly relocated or otherwise abandoned. When combined with the findings of previous field surveys, 3,077 separate incidents of village destruction, relocation or abandonment have been documented in eastern Burma since 1996. Over a million people are understood to have been displaced from their homes in eastern Burma during this time. This reflects the cumulative impact of the Burmese Army?s expanded presence and forced relocation campaign targeting civilians in contested areas. Some of these villages may have since been re-established, and indeed this survey has identified 155 villages that were at least partly repopulated during the past year. However, the sustainability of return and resettlement is restricted not only by livelihood constraints but also by the lack of official authorisation. Indeed, attempts to re-establish over 100 villages in previous years have already been thwarted by harassment leading to further rounds of displacement. The total number of internally displaced persons who have been forced or obliged to leave their homes and have not been able to return or resettle and reintegrate into society as of November 2006 is estimated to be at least 500,000 people. This population is comprised of approximately 287,000 people currently in the temporary settlements of ceasefire areas administered by ethnic nationalities, while 95,000 civilians are estimated to be hiding from the SPDC in areas most affected by military skirmishes and approximately 118,000 villagers have followed SPDC eviction orders and moved into designated relocation sites. These are conservative estimates for eastern Burma as it has not been possible to survey urban areas nor mixed administration areas. Overall this represents a decrease of approximately 40,000 internally displaced persons since October 2005. This is due to a decrease of 53,000 people in the estimates for ceasefire areas. Population movements have been recorded out of areas administered by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) due to lack of livelihood opportunities. Estimates in other ceasefire areas of Shan and Karenni states have also decreased, reflecting how the areas administered by non state actors have effectively been reduced by the expansion of SPDC control. While many of these villagers may remain internally displaced, it has not been possible to track their current status. Conversely, the number of people in relocation sites has increased by approximately 10,000 people. This is partly a result of broader survey reach in Tenasserim Division and partly due to new incidents of forced relocation in Shan State. However, a significant decrease has been recorded in Mon state, where restrictions on resettlement away from relocation sites have eased. Rather than reflecting increased freedom, this illustrates that as villagers in surrounding areas become resigned to complying with Burmese Army orders, the government?s perceived need for relocation sites becomes redundant. While the overall estimates for people in hiding sites increased only slightly, there has been a significant increase in northern Karen State and eastern Pegu Division where approximately 55,000 villagers are currently hiding from government forces. This represents an increase of approximately 14,000 people since last year, and suggests that half of those displaced in the past year were previously living with the tacit approval of local SPDC authorities in mixed administration areas. These local arrangements offered little protection when the Southern and South Eastern Military Commands coordinated patrols by over 40 battalions to search for civilian settlements and destroy their means of survival..."
Source/publisher: Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC)
Date of publication: 2006-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-06
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese, Thai
Format : pdf
Size: 1.72 MB
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Title: FIDH / BLC Seminar Advancing Human Rights and ending impunity in Burma: which external leverages?
Description/subject: FIDH Opening Remarks by Cynthia Gabriel, FIDH vice president... BLC Opening Remarks by Thein Oo, BLC president... Advances in International Law on Grave Crimes and the Security Council?s Role Janet Benshoof, President of the Global Justice Center... Past Referrals Experiences: The Referral of the Situation in Darfur and Current Developments (Article 16 of the ICC Statute) Mariana Pena, FIDH permanent representative to the ICC... Current Dynamics Within the Security Council, Past Security Council Reaction to NonCompliant Government and Prospects in 2009 with the New SC members Antoine Madelin, FIDH Director for Intergovernmental organisations... Crimes Under the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and its Complementarity Principle Evelyn BalaisSerrano, Coordinator for AsiaPacific Coalition for the International Criminal Court... Role and Activities of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor Mariana Pena, FIDH Permanent Representative to the ICC... Documenting Crimes Against Humanity in Eastern Burma Dr. Yuval Ginbar, Legal Adviser, Amnesty International... International Criminal Law and Burma: A Brief Explanatory Note Magda Karagiannakis, Barrister, former UN legal advisor... The Value of Archives: An Example from Guatemala Youk Chhang, Director of Documentation Center of Cambodia... A Brief Analysis on the Constitution of Burma (2008) Aung Htoo, General Secretary of the Burma Lawyers? Council... Existing Sanctions Against the Burmese Regime EU Stance Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign United Kingdom... ASEAN and its approach to Human Rights within Myanmar Kalpalata Dutta, Asian Institute for Human Rights... The Democratization Process in Burma and the Role of India Mr. Kim, Coordinator, Shwe Gas Campaign Committee... List of Actors and Organisations Present at the Seminar
Source/publisher: International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH); Burma Lawyers? Council (BLC)
Date of publication: 2009-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-30
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Title: 3 sides to every story - A profile of Muslim communities in the refugee camps on the Thailand Burma border
Description/subject: "...The social dynamics of the refugee camps along the Thailand Burma border have shifted considerably in the past several years to the point where they now display significant diversities in ethnicity, religion and cultural practices. In order to better inform itself of these changing dynamics, in 2009 TBBC undertook research to gain a fuller understanding of one of the more distinct groups within this shifting landscape ? that of the Muslim communities. This report is the result of that process, and provides analysis and ways forward to ensure the programme reflects sensitivities to their practices and preferences. The Muslim sector of the refugee populations along the Thailand Burma border is a significant and distinct minority centred, for the most part, in the Tak camps ? namely, Mae La (ML), Umpiem Mai (UM) and Nu Po (NP); with a very small community also in Mae Ra Ma Luang (MRML). The population consists of three main sub-sects, representing divergent relations to the wider refugee community ? both in terms of geographical origin, political persuasion and social inclusion. A singular classification of the root causes and motivations for their entry into the camps is not possible ? as they range from genuine cases of asylum to the capitalisation on economic opportunities ? although one summarising their lifestyle practices and preferences is more feasible, as specific and wide-ranging commonalities exist across the communities..."
Source/publisher: Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC)
Date of publication: 2010-06-30
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-27
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English, Thai
Format : pdf
Size: 1.17 MB
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Title: Burma?s Dirty War - The humanitarian crisis in eastern Burma
Description/subject: "Up to a million people have fled their homes in eastern Burma in a crisis the world has largely ignored. Burma?s refusal to release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, and the boycotting of the constitutional convention this month by the main opposition, has thrust Burma into the spotlight again. But unseen and largely unremarked is the ongoing harrowing experience of hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Burma, hiding in the jungle or trapped in army-controlled relocation sites. Others are in refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border. These people are victims in a counterinsurgency war in which they are the deliberate targets. As members of Burma?s ethnic minorities - which make up 40 per cent of the population - they are trapped in a conflict between the Burmese army and ethnic minority armies. Surviving on caches of rice hidden in caves, or on roots and wild foods, families in eastern Burma face malaria, landmines, disease and starvation. They are hunted like animals by army patrols and starved into surrender. In interviews... refugees told Christian Aid of murder and rape, the torching of villages and shooting of family members as they lay huddled together in the fields. They recalled farmers who had been blown up by landmines laid by the army around their crops. This report, based on personal testimonies from refugees, tells the story of Burma?s humanitarian crisis. On the brink of the Burmese government?s announcement of a ?roadmap to democracy? for a new constitution, Burma?s Dirty War argues that any new political settlement must include the crisis on the country?s eastern borders. Burma?s refusal to free Aung San Suu Kyi promises more intransigence and an even slower pace of change - with predictable human costs. This report calls on the UK and Irish governments, the EU and the UN to use what opportunity remains from the roadmap to democracy to press for an end to the conflict in negotiations with ethnic minorities. It also argues that the UN must gain access to the areas in crisis - despite the Burmese government ban on travel there by humanitarian agencies. Key recommendations include: * that the Burmese government cease human rights abuses, allow access to eastern Burma by humanitarian agencies including UN special representatives, and engage in dialogue with ethnic minority representatives * that the UK and Irish governments, the EU and the UN fund work with displaced people inside Burma and continue to support refugees in Thailand * that the UK and Irish governments, the EU and UN Security Council condemn Burma?s human rights abuses against ethnic minorities, demand that it protect civilians from violence and insist that Burma allow access to humanitarian agencies The report argues that governments must seize the opportunity presented by the roadmap to push for genuine negotiations between the government, the National League for Democracy and ethnic minority organisations which can bring out a just and lasting peace..."
Source/publisher: Christian Aid
Date of publication: 2004-05-24
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-24
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Burma/Myanmar: Time for Change
Description/subject: "This timely report gives an overview of the major minority ethnic groups and their situation and prospects within Burma today. Major human rights issues are also discussed: extra-judicial killings, displacement of populations, forced labour, illegal use of landmines and child soldiers. The author considers the position of women, restrictions on freedom of expression and the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS and the trade in narcotics."
Martin Smith
Source/publisher: Minority Rights Group
Date of publication: 2002-07-17
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-24
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 640.53 KB
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Title: Burmese Election Results 2010
Description/subject: "The final election results for 1,156 of the 1,163 elected seats in the 16 Assemblies (2 National, 7 Region and 7 State). The other 7 seats are likely to be filled in the coming months. One or two results may still be outstanding. Page 6 sets out the percentage standings inclusive of the 25% military-appointed representatives in the Lower (Pyithu Hluttaw) and Upper (Amyotha Hluttaw) Houses, described as the "People?s Assembly" and the "National Assembly"
Source/publisher: Myanmar official sources via Network Myanmar
Date of publication: 2010-11-18
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-24
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Outcome of the Myanmar elections
Description/subject: "Elections for the bicameral national legislature as well as fourteen state and regional legislatures were held on Sunday 7 November. Voting took place in a peaceful and somewhat subdued atmosphere, but it was marred by what appears to be massive manipulation of the vote count. The official results show the regime?s Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) winning a massive majority. Several other parties have condemned the count, and have launched legal challenges (without much expectation of success). Nevertheless, they had always seen these elections as the first step of a long and difficult process, and the consensus of most parties at this point is that they must continue to engage with the process, taking their seats in the legislatures and making the best use of the limited space that has opened. Also, despite the irregularities, a number of ethnic-minority parties have fared reasonably well, particularly in the state/region legislatures. This paper provides an account of the voting process on election day, and a detailed analysis of the official results. It then makes some observations on what may lie ahead for the country in the next few months, in light of the election results as well as the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the ongoing tensions in some ethnic areas..."
Richard Horsey
Source/publisher: Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum
Date of publication: 2010-11-17
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-24
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Renewal of Work Permits 2011 - (English)
Description/subject: Between January and February 2010, 932,255 migrants from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar/Burma renewed their work permits with the Ministry of Labour?s Employment Department (DOE). They were allowed to stay and work in Thailand for an additional year while undergoing the Nationality Verification (NV) process. Entry into the NV process was a condition of renewal of work permits in 2010. Of the 932,255 migrants, 26 per cent (245,121) have completed the NV process and obtained a Temporary Passport or Certificate of Identity, and they are allowed to work legally in Thailand for up to 4 years. However 74 per cent (687,134) are still in the process of getting their NV completed, and they need to renew their work permits before the end of February 2011 if they want to work in Thailand while their NV applications are processed by the relevant authorities. The Ministry of Labour has earlier indicated that that all NV processes should be completed by 28 February 2012. This IOM Migrant Information Note provides the latest migration regulations and detailed information regarding the procedures and timelines for renewal of work permits in 2011.
Source/publisher: MIGRANT INFORMATION NOTE Issue # 8 – November 2010, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Date of publication: 2010-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-23
Type: Individual Documents
Category:
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 64.57 KB
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Title: FINDING DOLLARS, SENSE, AND LEGITIMACY IN BURMA (Introduction)
Description/subject: Summary of and introduction to the 8 chapters in the book " DOLLARS, SENSE, AND LEGITIMACY IN BURMA"
Susan L. Levenstein
Source/publisher: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.
Date of publication: 2010-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-21
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 129.5 KB
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Title: Oposition Movements in Burma: The Question of Relevancy
Description/subject: "Since Burma?s independence from British rule in 1948, the Burmese polity has been fraught with contentious politics ranging from armed insurgencies to non-violent movements against the state. The history of Burma?s opposition movements, originating from the colonial period, can be understood as five different forms of struggle—legal political means, armed insurrections, underground (clandestine) activities, above-ground engagements (through civil society groups and the domestic media), and international advocacy (through lobbying, grassroots campaigns, and the foreign media including Burmese language broadcasts). This paper will examine how opposition movements since 1988 have played out until now and how they will remain relevant after the 2010 elections. Generally, relevancy is defined as a means to increase the likelihood of accomplishing the professed goal,1 treating the goal more in terms of consequence (the actual outcome as opposed to the morality of intention). Public support or legitimacy plays a key role in determining relevancy. However, in the context of opposition movements in Burma, we must consider their moral ground. This paper will probe the question of relevancy for Burmese opposition movements from two perspectives— legitimacy and outcome."
Min Zin
Source/publisher: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.
Date of publication: 2010-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 173.1 KB
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Title: DISPLACED AND MISPLACED OR JUST DISPLACED: Christian Displaced Karen Identity after Sixty Years of War in Burma
Description/subject: "...The thesis sought to explore the impact of organized violence, displacement and resettlement has had on the identity of a micro-section of the displaced Karen people ? those professing to be Christian and either living in a displaced persons? camp on the Thai side of the Thai-Burma border or having migrated to a third country under the UNHCR Resettlement Scheme with a special emphasis on Australia. The reason for choosing this particular micro-section of the Karen people is that, though not the predominant faith practiced by the Karen, the Christian Karen are a synecdoche for the Karen internationally. The thesis was informed by theories of organized violence, displacement and resettlement and explored their relationship to the central construct of identity. A transitional ecosystems model was used to explore the interrelationship of these theories and concepts for Christian Karen, displaced from their homeland by organized violence perpetrated by the ruling power of their country..."
Shirley Lorraine Worland
Source/publisher: School of Social Work and Human Services, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Queensland
Date of publication: 2010-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.29 MB
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Title: AG 2010 (65me session): Resolution de l?Assembl?e g?n?rale - Situation des droits de l?homme au Myanmar (Fran?ais)
Description/subject: Adopted by Vote: 96-28-60 47th mtg 18 Nov 2010
Source/publisher: Nations Unies (A/C.3/65/L.48/Rev. 1)
Date of publication: 2010-11-18
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Category:
Language: Francais, French
Format : pdf
Size: 55.7 KB
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Title: GA 2010 (65th session): Draft resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (Spanish)
Description/subject: Adopted by Vote: 96-28-60 47th mtg 18 Nov 2010
Source/publisher: United Nations General Assembly (A/C.3/65/L.48/Rev. 1)
Date of publication: 2010-11-18
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: Espanol, Spanish
Format : pdf
Size: 137.83 KB
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Title: GA 2010 (65th session): Draft resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (Russian)
Description/subject: Adopted by Vote: 96-28-60 47th mtg 18 Nov 2010
Source/publisher: United Nations General Assembly (A/C.3/65/L.48/Rev. 1)
Date of publication: 2010-11-18
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: Russian
Format : pdf
Size: 140.26 KB
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Title: GA 2010 (65th session): Draft resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (English)
Description/subject: Adopted by Vote: 96-28-60 47th mtg 18 Nov 2010
Source/publisher: United Nations General Assembly (A/C.3/65/L.48/Rev. 1)
Date of publication: 2010-11-18
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 49.27 KB
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Title: GA 2010 (65th session): Resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (Chinese)
Description/subject: Adopted by Vote: 96-28-60 47th mtg 18 Nov 2010
Source/publisher: United Nations General Assembly (A/C.3/65/L.48/Rev. 1)
Date of publication: 2010-11-18
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: Chinese
Format : pdf
Size: 186.65 KB
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Title: GA 2010 (65th session): Resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (Arabic)
Description/subject: Adopted by Vote: 96-28-60 47th mtg 18 Nov 2010
Source/publisher: United Nations General Assembly (A/C.3/65/L.48/Rev. 1)
Date of publication: 2010-11-18
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: Arabic (Full text also available in English, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish)
Format : pdf
Size: 140.26 KB
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Title: The Endurance of Military Rule in Burma: Not Why, But Why Not?
Description/subject: "...Although it is always possible that unforeseen events could dramatically recast the distribution of power inside Burma, the current military leadership is probably not one push short of capitulation to ?pro-democracy? demands. The SPDC appears to have learned to manage the conflicts resulting from myriad pressures inside the country and from abroad.33 In this context, how would a ?democratic opposition? (or more appropriately, ?democratic oppositions?) bring about liberal political reform that advances the rights, protections, and interests of ordinary citizens and limits the arbitrary power of government? Short of an improbable capitulation to Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, I suggest five possibilities:..."
Mary Callahan
Source/publisher: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.
Date of publication: 2010-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 219.97 KB
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Title: The Rise of Private Indirect Government in Burma
Description/subject: "...due to budgetary and ideological reasons, the regime requires all of its field battalions to be as economically self-sufficient as possible. This policy, introduced in the early 1990s, has encouraged the battalions to engage in a diverse array of activities to fund their operating expenses, which minimally include food, ammunition, and pay packets for Ken MacLean | 44 | the soldiers under their command. Of these activities, joint ventures are among the most lucrative since they allow the battalions to collect various rents (such as extra-legal taxes and protection fees) in addition to a percentage of the commodities extracted. Second, decades of counterinsurgency operations have resulted in the extensive militarization of Burma?s border regions. There are, for example, more than 200 infantry battalions presently deployed on or near the country?s eastern border.11 Due the density of these deployments, battalions frequently find themselves seeking to exploit the same limited number of economic opportunities in order to finance themselves. Third, most of the extractive enclaves in the ceasefire areas contain several different kinds of resources, so concessions devoted to one commodity often overlap spatially with others, which results in shifting forms of competition and collusion between the ad hoc joint ventures. Over time, these practices have produced a curious paradox that complicates conventional understandings of sovereignty, which still privilege a state?s monopoly over the legitimate use of force within a territory. On the one hand, the resource concessions have helped the regime to expand its military, administrative, and economic reach into areas of the country where it previously had little or none. On the other hand, the resource concessions have simultaneously undermined the regime?s ability to exercise centralized control over these same areas since the joint ventures are able to divert a considerable portion of the resources they extract (rents as well as primary commodities) to members of their respective patron-client networks, group, or locality. Both processes have not only intensified efforts by the joint ventures to claim what remains of Burma?s natural ?capital? before someone else does, but accelerated the devolution of sovereignty into competing networks of authority and accumulation, which cross-cut the regime?s civil and military bureaucracy at some moments and bypass them entirely at others..."
Ken MacLean
Source/publisher: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.
Date of publication: 2010-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Category:
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 152.13 KB
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Title: Myanmar?s 2010 Elections and International Legitimacy: A Perspective on ASEAN?s Stance vis-?-vis Naypyidaw
Description/subject: CONCLUSION: "ASEAN governments appreciate that Myanmar?s elections are going to be flawed in more ways than one and—given the constitutional framework— will also leave the military controlling the reins of political power. However, they are not likely to question Myanmar?s international legitimacy on the back of the country?s first elections in 20 years. Indeed, the expectation is that the elections will be an important step toward a different political order, which will be able to positively impact on domestic stability and reform. Some may thus hope that over time, giving life to the new constitution will serve to break at least some internal cycles of conflict. Equally, ASEAN countries are bound to maintain that Myanmar?s overall track record in conducting its bilateral affairs and in working toward ASEAN?s stated objectives in the context of the formation of the ASEAN Community also does not project the question of international legitimacy. Whether (and how) the allegations surrounding Myanmar?s interest in a secret nuclear program might do remains to be seen."
Jürgen Haacke
Source/publisher: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.
Date of publication: 2010-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 175.54 KB
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Title: Anticipations and Anticipated Responses: The United States and the 2010 Burmese Elections
Description/subject: "The Obama administration?s initiative to review U.S. policy in six countries, of which Burma/Myanmar1 was one, was taken as a welcome sign among most observers of the Burma/Myanmar scene with the exception of those deeply committed to endorsing even more stringent measures against Naypyidaw.2 They were unrealistically fearful that the Obama administration would completely reverse the policies of the previous Republican and Democratic regimes. This was politically impossible in the United States at that time. Welcome and obvious, but modest, signals, however, had been sent by both the Americans and the Burmese that increased contacts were desirable. The Burmese foreign minister had an unprecedented meeting with a mid-level State Department official in March 2009, and the United States indicated it would consider signing (and later did) the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, which it had not done in large part because of Myanmar?s ASEAN membership, which the U.S. adamantly opposed, in 1997. The beginnings of such contacts moved the possibility of progress forward. The constraints of the domestic U.S. political scene resulted in a modified policy from isolation and regime change under both the Clinton and the Bush administrations to ?pragmatic engagement,? essentially meaning the continuation of the sanctions regimen together with dialogue at a relatively high diplomatic level aimed at the amelioration of human rights violations and governance excesses associated with the junta. In a quiet shift, ?regime change? and the honoring of the May 1990 elections swept by the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) were discarded...Now, as this essay is written in June 2010, a sense of frustration over the lack of progress seems evident in both the American and Burmese camps. In Washington, there is increasing talk of even further sanctions beyond those instituted in 1988 (cutting off military sales and support, as well as the U.S. economic assistance and anti-narcotics programs), 1997 (prohibiting new investment), 2003 (denying imports and the U.S. banking system to the Burmese state), and 2008 (focusing on jade and ruby import restrictions)..."
David I. Steinberg
Source/publisher: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.
Date of publication: 2010-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 172.92 KB
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Title: Finding Dollars and Sense: Burma?s Economy in 2010
Description/subject: "In recent times, questions concerning the state of Burma?s economy have been unusually prominent. The December 2009 visit to Burma of Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, the release a few weeks later of the latest official report on post-Cyclone Nargis reconstruction, and a series of ?privatization? announcements for an array of hitherto state-owned enterprises have all drawn attention to economic conditions in one of the world?s poorest countries. So what is the state of Burma?s economy in 2010? In a word, it is grim. Among those old enough to remember, there is something of a general consensus among Burmese farmers, workers, civil servants—even former soldiers and favored entrepreneurs—that Burma?s economy is at its lowest point since the end of the Second World War. Frustration, despair, and a feeling that something has to give in a country in which its natural endowment promises prosperity, all the while its political economy serves up destitution, are near enough to universally expressed sentiments. The purpose of this paper is to examine Burma?s economy at the cusp of 2010, and to briefly look at some of the basic reforms that will be necessary to restore economic security to the Burmese people. The paper is divided into two parts—part I taking up the question of Burma?s current economic state of play, and part II addressing some of the reforms necessary for medium and long-term growth..."
Sean Turnell
Source/publisher: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.
Date of publication: 2010-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-20
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 199.65 KB
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Title: Myanmar/Thailand: Nowhere to run (Amnesty press release)
Description/subject: "Today Amnesty International expressed grave concern about recent attacks by the Myanmar army on a settlement of internally displaced Karen civilians. In late November the army raided Htee Wah Doh, just across the border from Thailand, burning and looting houses, a hospital, and a school, and arresting 15 Karen villagers. The previous month, 63 Karen asylum-seekers took shelter in Htee Wah Doh after being forcibly returned to Myanmar by the Royal Thai Army..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International USA (ASA 16/024/2000)
Date of publication: 2001-12-07
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-19
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English and French
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 78.07 KB 154.67 KB
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Title: FINDING DOLLARS, SENSE, AND LEGITIMACY IN BURMA
Description/subject: "...The military junta in Burma1 is in full control these days. For two decades, the country?s principal opposition group, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has struggled without success to topple the regime, and has now fractured into competing groups. Nor has the international community fared any better in its efforts to promote political change in Burma. Yet in today?s evolving and increasingly globalized world, Burma?s governing State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has acknowledged that only by opening up to the outside world can it reap the benefits from its treasure trove of natural resources and, in turn, shed its image as a pariah state. To achieve this, Naypyidaw2 is working hard to attract foreign investment, specifically in the profitable sector of energy. Indeed, revenues from the sales of natural resources have enriched the military regime and deprived the general population. Burma?s economy has benefited mainly from the global competition for energy resources between its two neighboring superpowers, China and India.3 Unfortunately, none of the newly generated wealth for Burma is transferred to the people. As discussed later in this volume, Burma suffers from a ?resources curse? in which the people have no access to the revenues generated from the export of the country?s natural resources, as ultimately these revenues all get funneled to the military junta..." PART I: BURMA?S ECONOMY: Finding Dollars and Sense: Burma?s Economy in 2010 Sean Turnell... The Rise of Private Indirect Government in Burma Ken MacLean..... PART II: BURMA?S POLITICS: The Endurance of Military Rule in Burma: Not Why, But Why Not? ... Opposition Movements in Burma: The Question of Relevancy ..... PART III: INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES TOWARD BURMA: Myanmar?s 2010 Elections and International Legitimacy: A Perspective on ASEAN?s Stance vis-?-vis Naypyidaw J?rgen Haacke... Burma, the International Community, and Human Rights (with Particular Attention to the Role of Foreign Aid) Morten B. Pedersen... Anticipations and Anticipated Responses: The United States and the 2010 Burmese Elections David I. Steinberg... Considerations for Future Economic Engagement with Myanmar Bradley O. Babson
Susan L. Levenstein (ed.); Sean Turnell; Ken MacLean; Mary Callahan; Min Zin; Jürgen Haacke; Morten B. Pedersen David I. Steinberg;Bradley O. Babson
Source/publisher: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.
Date of publication: 2010-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-18
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.58 MB
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Title: PRESS BRIEFING ASSK, NLD HQ in Yangon, Myanmar 14-11-2010 - TRANSCRIPT
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Source/publisher: Article 19
Date of publication: 2010-11-14
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-16
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: QUOTABLE DAW SUU
Description/subject: After her release from seven years under house arrest, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has spoken on a wide range of issues concerning the past, present, and future of Burma. What follows is a summary of the statements she made in the 48 hours that followed her 13 November release....On the 2010 elections...On the NLD...On cooperation with other pro-democracy forces...On ethnic issues...On dialogue and national reconciliation...On talks with SPDC Chairman Sr Gen Than Shwe...On the military...On people?s participation...On her detention...On political prisoners...On democracy, rule of law, and human rights...On politics...On economic sanctions...On the management of Burma?s natural resources...On China
Source/publisher: ALTSEAN-Burma
Date of publication: 2010-11-15
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-16
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Burma: A Violent Past to a Brutal Future - The Transformation of a Paramilitary Organization into a Political Party
Description/subject: Conclusion: "Through the years, the USDA has served the interests of Burma?s military regime. In essence, the mass organization has been used as a tool by military elites to shore up their interests and suppress dissent, ultimately preventing a mass revolution and subsequent regime change. The regime has trained, funded and supported the organization; in return, USDA has attacked the political opposition, engineered mass rallies, reportedly recruited nearly half of Burma?s population, and committed electoral fraud in 2008 and 2010. As the political climate changed, the USDA changed with it, altering both their mandate and their activities. The regime originally needed a body of popular support to superficially combat public discontent. However, as the NLD and other political organizations began to exercise more of their political rights and gained vast public support, they became an increasingly powerful threat to the regime?s hold on power. The USDA thus evolved into a paramilitary organization, ready to attack political, religious, or social opponents of the regime, the deadliest of attacks being the Depayin Massacre and during the Saffron Revolution. While these attacks ensured that the public grew a stronger distrust and hatred for the regime, they also directly contributed to the USDA?s reputation as a nefarious militia lacking moral or religious concerns. For the USDA, this reputation was a double-?‐edged sword; while it may have lost the support of members who resent the USDA?s violent behaviour, the violent reputation ensures the USDA can effectively intimidate and harass the opposition. The composition of the USDA?s panel of patrons and Central Executive Committee illustrates how USDA?s leadership is undeniably intertwined with the current regime and dedicated to preserving its power. This legacy was passed on to the USDP in 2010, as the mass organization positioned itself to serve as the new civilian face of the military regime. The USDP has committed a host of election-?‐related human rights violations in an attempt to secure votes in the 2010 elections. The Union Election Commission has turned a blind eye to these violations and itself lacks impartiality and Burma: A Violent Past to a Brutal Future 53 independence.224 Due to the USDP?s successful, but largely unlawful, campaign methods, the USDP will likely amass the majority of electoral seats in the 2010 elections. The USDP?s pre-?‐election activities are not the actions of a political party committed to bringing democratic change to Burma. Nor are they the actions of a party that will seek to prioritize people?s welfare over military might, curb human rights violations and hold perpetrators accountable, or open up space for greater political freedom. The USDP must be recognized for what it is – a political manifestation of the regime?s paramilitary organization responsible for brutal attacks on the people of Burma, including the Depayin Massacre and Saffron Revolution, as well as a military-?‐backed party possessing all the political and financial capital necessary to win an election. Year after year, the USDA and the USDP has demonstrated that theirallegiances, and thus, theirinterests lie with the military regime, not the people. The SPDC?s history is undeniably intertwined with that of the USDA and the USDP; and in turn, the future of the USDP will be the future of the regime. A USDP-?‐led government composed of current and former military generals will not be a step toward democracy, but rather a continuation of military rule, impunity and political repression."
Source/publisher: Network for Democracy and Development
Date of publication: 2010-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-16
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
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