22-28 August: Quintana Sees Through Burma Regime’s Public Relations Tricks

August 29, 2011

Throughout the course of the past few weeks the regime has put a great deal of effort into burnishing its image, taking a number of steps aimed at appearing to be responsive to international demands for democratic change. Sadly, most of these steps are simply window dressing and have not reduced the incidences of human rights abuses in Burma.

One action the regime has taken that is designed to improve its reputation internationally is the very public meeting between President Thein Sein and opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. But all talks between Daw Suu and the regime have focused on avoiding “conflicting views” rather than engaging in the genuine dialogue necessary for national reconciliation. Similarly, the second session of parliament opened this past week as part of the regime’s campaign to appear as if it has transitioned to civilian government. Given that 76% of the seats are held by MPs from the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, this parliament is still little more than a rubber stamp for the military regime.

The regime invited the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, to visit the country for the first time in more than a year. Quintana, who boldly called for a Commission of Inquiry a year and a half ago, was not taken in by the regime’s public relations campaign. In a press conference given at the conclusion of his visit on 25 August, he noted that there have been positive developments in the country since his last visit but that, “there are still serious and ongoing human rights concerns that need to be addressed.” Among those concerns that Quintana mentioned are “the continuing detention of a large number of prisoners of conscience” and “the continuing allegations of torture and ill-treatment during interrogation, the use of prisoners as porters for the military, and the transfers of prisoners to prisons in remote areas.”

The regime’s efforts to appear as if it is transitioning to a democracy clearly do not extend to entering into nationwide ceasefire negotiations to end the conflict in Eastern Burma. Grave human rights abuses in conflict areas have continued unabated, despite Quintana’s visit to the country. As he described, “the ongoing tensions in ethnic border areas and armed conflict with some armed ethnic groups, continue to engender serious human rights violations, including attacks against civilian populations, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, internal displacement, land confiscations, the recruitment of child soldiers, as well as forced labour and portering.”

Additionally, regardless of the political developments currently taking place in the country steps must be taken to address the war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated as part of the Burma Army’s offensives against ethnic armed groups. As Quintana himself noted, “justice and accountability measures, as well as measures to ensure access to the truth, are fundamental for [Burma] to face its past and current human rights challenges, and to move forward towards national reconciliation.” Given that the current regime in Burma is unwilling and unable to provide such accountability, as Quintana also noted, “the capacity, independence and impartiality of the judiciary remain outstanding issue.” The international community must therefore take responsibility for doing so through the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry.

The international community must follow Quintana’s lead and not be fooled by the regime’s public relations campaign. They must continue to demand genuine change and, as Khin Ohmar, Coordinator of Burma Partnership and Foreign Affairs Secretary of the Forum for Democracy in Burma told a conference in India this weekend, insist on “[t]he release of [all] 2,000 political prisoners, stopping the attacks against ethnic nationalities and holding an inclusive dialogue” as “the three benchmarks necessary for democratization and reconciliation in Burma.”