15-21 August: Burma Regime Demonstrates Continued Lack of Interest in Genuine National Reconciliation

August 22, 2011

Over the course of the past week the military regime has made several statements suggesting that it wishes to begin the national reconciliation process with ethnic armed groups and opposition activists. Unfortunately, none of these overtures can be considered genuine.

On 17 August, President Thein Sein gave a speech in which he invited any of the ethnic armed groups currently engaged in conflict with the Burma Army to “hold talks with respective [regional] governments if they really favour peace.” But by issuing the invitation only for groups to talk individually with regional government, the regime clearly signaled its intention to continue its policy of only piecemeal talks and agreements, part of its divide and rule strategy. The ethnic armed groups however, refused to be divided, demanding that the regime negotiate with the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of the ethnic armed groups, to reach a nationwide ceasefire.

Also demonstrating the fact that it does not sincerely seek to end the conflict, the regime continues to deny the truth of the crimes it has perpetrated in carrying out its military campaigns. For example in its 13 August press conference, the regime, rather than recognizing that its decision to break the seventeen year ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) had a destructive impact on tens of thousands of Kachin civilians, accused the KIO of “exploiting honest and sincere local people” by encouraging villagers to become refugees. The KIO issued a statement in response on 17 August in which it argued that the statements by the regime made it clear that the regime sought only to assign blame for the casualties of the fighting and had no intention of ending the conflict and resolving the differences between the parties.

In the same 13 August press conference, the regime also accused the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) of “destructive acts such as firing into schools and houses in the villages of Tangyan, Kyaukme, Mongyai and Lashio townships and killing innocent people.” The SSA-N swiftly refuted these allegations and argued that it was the regime that was guilty of targeting innocent civilians. In fact, evidence of recent regime abuses against civilians in Shan State continued to accumulate this week with credible reports coming out of the use of children as human shields by the Burma Army during their offensive against the SSA, and a Shan Member of Parliament issuing a letter calling for the regime to take action to address human rights violations, including rape, in Shan State.

In his 17 August speech, President Thein Sein offered a similar phony overture to political activists living in exile, saying that dissidents would be welcomed home provided that “they have not committed any crimes.” However, most activists recognized the offer for what it was, “nothing more than a public relations exercise aimed at improving the image of his regime in the international community” as Khin Ohmar, Coordinator of Burma Partnership and Chairperson of the Network for Democracy and Development, told the Irrawaddy. She explained that, “The problem is that the regime sees political activists as having broken the law or committed crimes. They refuse to acknowledge that those nearly 2,000 people in prisons are political prisoners, held for their political beliefs. Those of us outside the country continuing with the struggle are political activists trying to bring about the real change that our country needs, which is a democratic federal system where democratic principles are upheld, people’s human rights are protected and ethnic equality is guaranteed. We are not criminals.”

Such empty gestures on the part of the regime will not bring about genuine national reconciliation and should not fool the international community. We must continue to insist that the regime release all 2,000 political prisoners, immediately cease committing human rights abuses against civilians, declare a nationwide ceasefire and enter into genuine dialogue with ethnic armed groups, the National League for Democracy and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

News Highlights

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi meets with President Thein Sein for the first time at the national-level workshop on economic development in Naypayidaw; nine experts present papers on a variety of economic and business related topics (Burmese)

President Thein Sein says the regime will accept exiled individuals and groups to return to Burma with consideration of leniency on offenses they committed; exiled groups express concern and skepticism

Inside Burma

Burma’s regime calls for peace talks with ethnic armed groups along its borders with Thailand and China

Members of the United Nationalities Federal Council, an alliance of ethnic armed groups, reject the offer from the Burma regime to enter into one-on-one ceasefire talks and claim such approach from the regime is to ‘divide and rule’

Aid workers in Kachin State express concern over prospects for food security after recent fighting between Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army

Burma Army forces attack Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) in Kyethi Township, Shan State; one killed and more than twenty injured, including civilians

SSA-N refutes Burma’s regime accusation that it fired on civilians

Shan MP accuses Burma Army of rape abuses

Residents of Shan State accuse the Burma Army of using children as human shields

Human rights abuses take place in northern Shan State since the start of the Shwe pipeline project to export gas and oil to China

Fighting between breakaway Border Guard Forces and the Burma Army in Hlaingbwe Township Karen State displaces 130 villagers

Burma’s state-run newspapers drop back-page banners attacking Western media and exiled Burmese media for the first time in four years

Flooding in Mon State destroys thousands of acres of paddy fields (Burmese)

Burma grants six-month export tax exemption for seven types of goods to counter the export decline

Regional

Senior police officials from Thailand meet with counterparts in Burma to discuss issues of cross-border human and drugs’ trafficking

Taiwan’s main opposition party visits Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Sri Lanka and Burma foreign ministers pledge to further enhance and consolidate relations between the two countries during a bilateral meeting in Colombo

International

United Nations special human rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana starts his 5 days visit to Burma to assess the human rights situation

United States welcomes the regime’s decision to allow Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s to travel to meet supporters

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Statement on the day of Kachin Women
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