Burma Campaign UK today urged Vijay Nambiar, the UN Special Advisor on Burma, not to ignore the current crisis in Shan State during his visit to Burma. Nambiar is visiting Burma to assess the willingness of Burma’s new dictator, Thein Sein, to enter into dialogue and implement democratic reforms.
There has been a major increase in human rights abuses in Shan State since the dictatorship broke a 22 year long ceasefire agreement with the Shan State Army – North on 13th March. Civilians are being targeted in the military offensive, with mortar bombs fired at civilian villages. Abuses committed by the Burmese Army include arbitrary execution, arbitrary detention, torture, looting, rape, forced relocation and forced labour. These abuses are violations of international law. Since breaking the ceasefire, abuses continue on a daily basis.
“We cannot have a repeat of 2006, when the then UN Envoy Ibrahim Gambari visited Burma and ignored a Burmese Army offensive in Karen State, which forced tens of thousands of civilians from their homes,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director at Burma Campaign UK.
Gambari claimed then that the regime had turned a new page with the international community, and predicted the imminent release of Aung San Suu Kyi. The regime renewed Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention within days of his visit, keeping her detained for four more years. Less than a year later they brutally crushed a peaceful democracy uprising, and doubled the number of political prisoners. The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma later stated that by deliberately targeting civilians, the military offensive in Karen state broke the Geneva Conventions.
“The dictatorship has broken three ceasefire agreements with armed ethnic groups in the past two years, and is threatening to break more,” said Anna Roberts. “This would plunge Burma into even greater conflict, and result in a major humanitarian and human rights crisis. Since the latest ceasefire was broken, the Burmese Army has been gang-raping women and mortar bombing civilian villages. Nambiar seems to have no sense of urgency about the situation in Burma, but he cannot to continue to ignore the situation in ethnic states. He should call for an immediate nationwide ceasefire, and for the dictatorship to use dialogue, not force, to solve political problems.”
A background briefing on the crisis in Shan State is available here.
A background briefing on ethnic political issues is available here.