Official Journal of the European Communities 24.5.2000
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COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2003/297/CFSP of 28 April 2003 on Burma/Myanmar
L 106/36EN Official Journal of the European Union 29.4.2003 (Acts adopted pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on European Union) COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2003/297/CFSP of 28 April 2003 on Burma/Myanmar THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, will not be imposed if by that time there is substantive progress towards national reconciliation, the restoration of a democratic order and greater respect for human Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in parti- rights in Burma/Myanmar. cular Article 15 thereof, (6) Exemptions should be introduced in the arms embargo Whereas: in order to allow the export of certain military rated equipment for humanitarian use. (1) On 28 October 1996, the Council adopted Common Position 96/635/CFSP on Burma/Myanmar (1), which (7) The implementation of the visa ban should be without expires on 29 April 2003. prejudice to cases where a Member State is bound by an obligation of international law, or is host country of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (2) In view of the further deterioration in the political situa- (OSCE), or where the Minister and Vice-Minister for tion in Burma/Myanmar, as witnessed by the failure of Foreign Affairs for Burma/Myanmar visit with prior noti- the military authorities to enter into substantive discus- fication and agreement of the Council. sions with the democratic movement concerning a process leading to national reconciliation, respect for human rights and democracy and the continuing serious (8) The implementation of the ban on high level visits at the violations -
Burma's Long Road to Democracy
UNITED STATES InsTITUTE OF PEACE www.usip.org SPECIAL REPORT 1200 17th Street NW • Washington, DC 20036 • 202.457.1700 • fax 202.429.6063 ABOUT THE REPORT Priscilla Clapp A career officer in the U.S. Foreign Service, Priscilla Clapp served as U.S. chargé d’affaires and chief of mission in Burma (Myanmar) from June 1999 to August 2002. After retiring from the Foreign Service, she has continued to Burma’s Long Road follow events in Burma closely and wrote a paper for the United States Institute of Peace entitled “Building Democracy in Burma,” published on the Institute’s Web site in July 2007 as Working Paper 2. In this Special to Democracy Report, the author draws heavily on her Working Paper to establish the historical context for the Saffron Revolution, explain the persistence of military rule in Burma, Summary and speculate on the country’s prospects for political transition to democracy. For more detail, particularly on • In August and September 2007, nearly twenty years after the 1988 popular uprising the task of building the institutions for stable democracy in Burma, public anger at the government’s economic policies once again spilled in Burma, see Working Paper 2 at www.usip.org. This into the country’s city streets in the form of mass protests. When tens of thousands project was directed by Eugene Martin, and sponsored by of Buddhist monks joined the protests, the military regime reacted with brute force, the Institute’s Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention. beating, killing, and jailing thousands of people. Although the Saffron Revolution was put down, the regime still faces serious opposition and unrest. -
Myanmar's Security Outlook and the Myanmar Defence Services
CHAPTER 7 Myanmar’s Security Outlook and the Myanmar Defence Services Tin Maung Maung Than Introduction: Elected civilian government and the military in politics There were expressions of disappointment and even outright condemnation by the West and opposition groups that viewed the 7 November 2010 elections, held under the auspices of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as neither free nor fair as well as lacking inclusiveness. Allegations of votes being manipulated in favour of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP that was transformed from the military-sponsored Union Solidarity and Development Organization, led by former prime minister and retired general U Thein Sein), the boycott of National League for Democracy (NLD, which convincingly won the 1990 election and whose leader Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was still under house arrest had refused to re-register for competing in the polls) and complaints of unfair election laws tarnished the victory of the USDP which won overwhelmingly. By winning over 79 percent of the contested seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw (People’s Assembly or lower house of parliament) and nearly 77 percent in the Amyotha Hluttaw (National Assembly or upper house of parliament) at the national level and substantially (majority party in all seven states and seven regions) at the provincial level, the USDP was in a position to form the Union Government as well as the respective Region/State Governments. Though the Chairman of the SPDC Senior General Than Shwe and the Vice Chairman -
Violent Repression in Burma: Human Rights and the Global Response
UCLA UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal Title Violent Repression in Burma: Human Rights and the Global Response Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/05k6p059 Journal UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal, 10(2) Author Guyon, Rudy Publication Date 1992 DOI 10.5070/P8102021999 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California COMMENTS VIOLENT REPRESSION IN BURMA: HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE GLOBAL RESPONSE Rudy Guyont TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................ 410 I. SLORC AND THE REPRESSION OF THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT ....................... 412 A. Burma: A Troubled History ..................... 412 B. The Pro-Democracy Rebellion and the Coup to Restore Military Control ......................... 414 C. Post Coup Elections and Political Repression ..... 417 D. Legalizing Repression ........................... 419 E. A Country Rife with Poverty, Drugs, and War ... 421 II. HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN BURMA ........... 424 A. Murder and Summary Execution ................ 424 B. Systematic Racial Discrimination ................ 425 C. Forced Dislocations ............................. 426 D. Prolonged Arbitrary Detention .................. 426 E. Torture of Prisoners ............................. 427 F . R ape ............................................ 427 G . Portering ....................................... 428 H. Environmental Devastation ...................... 428 III. VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ....... 428 A. International Agreements of Burma .............. 429 1. The U.N. -
Burma Road to Poverty: a Socio-Political Analysis
THE BURMA ROAD TO POVERTY: A SOCIO-POLITICAL ANALYSIS' MYA MAUNG The recent political upheavals and emergence of what I term the "killing field" in the Socialist Republic of Burma under the military dictatorship of Ne Win and his successors received feverish international attention for the brief period of July through September 1988. Most accounts of these events tended to be journalistic and failed to explain their fundamental roots. This article analyzes and explains these phenomena in terms of two basic perspec- tives: a historical analysis of how the states of political and economic devel- opment are closely interrelated, and a socio-political analysis of the impact of the Burmese Way to Socialism 2, adopted and enforced by the military regime, on the structure and functions of Burmese society. Two main hypotheses of this study are: (1) a simple transfer of ownership of resources from the private to the public sector in the name of equity and justice for all by the military autarchy does not and cannot create efficiency or elevate technology to achieve the utopian dream of economic autarky and (2) the Burmese Way to Socialism, as a policy of social change, has not produced significant and fundamental changes in the social structure, culture, and personality of traditional Burmese society to bring about modernization. In fact, the first hypothesis can be confirmed in light of the vicious circle of direct controls-evasions-controls whereby military mismanagement transformed Burma from "the Rice Bowl of Asia," into the present "Rice Hole of Asia." 3 The second hypothesis is more complex and difficult to verify, yet enough evidence suggests that the tradi- tional authoritarian personalities of the military elite and their actions have reinforced traditional barriers to economic growth. -
Sold to Be Soldiers the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers in Burma
October 2007 Volume 19, No. 15(C) Sold to be Soldiers The Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers in Burma Map of Burma........................................................................................................... 1 Terminology and Abbreviations................................................................................2 I. Summary...............................................................................................................5 The Government of Burma’s Armed Forces: The Tatmadaw ..................................6 Government Failure to Address Child Recruitment ...............................................9 Non-state Armed Groups....................................................................................11 The Local and International Response ............................................................... 12 II. Recommendations ............................................................................................. 14 To the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) ........................................ 14 To All Non-state Armed Groups.......................................................................... 17 To the Governments of Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, India, and China ............... 18 To the Government of Thailand.......................................................................... 18 To the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)....................... 18 To UNICEF ........................................................................................................ -
Myanmar Security Outlook: a Taxing Year for the Tatmadaw CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 4 Myanmar Security Outlook: A Taxing Year for the Tatmadaw Tin Maung Maung Than Introduction 2015 was a landmark year in Myanmar politics. The general election was held on 8 November and the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi (daughter of Myanmar armed forces founder and independence hero General Aung San) won a landslide victory over the incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP; a military-backed party led by ex-military officers and President Thein Sein). This was an unexpected development that could challenge the constitutionally-guaranteed political role of the military. The Tatmadaw (literally “royal force”) or Myanmar Defence Services (MDS) also faced a serious challenge to its primary security role when the defunct Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a renegade ethnic armed organization (EAO), unleashed a furious assault to take over the Kokang Self-Administered Zone (KSAZ; bordering China) leading to a drawn out war of attrition lasting several months and threatening Myanmar-China relations. Tatmadaw: fighting multiple adversaries Despite actively participating in the peace process, launched by President Thein Sein’s elected government since 2011, The MDS found itself engaged in fierce fighting with powerful EAOs in the northern, eastern and south-eastern border regions of Myanmar. In fact, except for the MNDAA, most of these armed groups that engaged in armed conflict with the MDS throughout 2015 were associated with EAOs which had been officially negotiating with the government’s peace-making team toward a nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) since March 2014. Moreover, almost all of them had some form of bilateral ceasefire arrangements with the government in the past. -
Governing Body Geneva, November 2000
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE GB.279/6/1 279th Session Governing Body Geneva, November 2000 SIXTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA Effect given by the Government of Myanmar to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry established to examine the observance of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) Report of the ILO technical cooperation mission to Myanmar (Friday, 20 October- Thursday, 26 October 2000) 1. Origin of the mission 1. In talks with the Permanent Representative of Myanmar, Ambassador U Mya Than, shortly after the conclusion of the 88th Session of the International Labour Conference, the Director-General emphasized the need for urgent action on the part of the Myanmar authorities to give effect as quickly as possible to the resolution adopted by the Conference at its 88th Session. He recalled that the resolution in question had authorized the Office to respond positively to all requests by Myanmar for assistance in attaining that goal. On 14 July, the Director-General followed up this conversation with a letter addressed to the Minister of Labour of Myanmar (Annex 1). 2. In an interim reply dated 7 August (Annex 2), the Minister of Labour, while expressing regret that the Conference had not chosen the path of cooperation to resolve the issue, stated that consultations were in progress in Yangon with a view to the adoption of a considered position. 3. On 8 September, the Director-General met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, Mr. Win Aung, at the United Nations Millennium Summit. During the meeting, the Director-General again emphasized the increasing urgency of action on the part of the Myanmar authorities to give effect to the Conference resolution, given that the next session of the Governing Body was only two months away, and recalled that such action was needed in the three main areas indicated in the resolution, namely legislative, executive and administrative measures. -
CHAPTER 3 Myanmar Security Trend and Outlook:Tatmadaw in a New
CHAPTER 3 Myanmar Security Trend and Outlook: Tatmadaw in a New Political Environment Tin Maung Maung Than Introduction In March 2016, the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF), or Myanmar Defence Services (MDS) which goes by the name “Tatmadaw (Royal Force),” supported the smooth transfer of power from President Thein Sein (whose Union Solidarity and Development Party lost the election) to President Htin Kyaw (nominated by the National League for Democracy that won the election).1 Despite speculations that the winning party and the Tatmadaw would lock horns as the former challenges the constitutionally-guaranteed political role of the military, the two protagonists seemed to have arrived at a modus vivendi that allowed for peaceful coexistence throughout the year. On the other hand, the last quarter of 2016 saw two seriously difficult security challenges that took the MDS by surprise both in terms of ferocity and suddenness. The consequences of the two violent attacks initiated by Muslim insurgents in the western Rakhine State, and an alliance of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) in the northern Shan State, have gone beyond purely military challenges in view of their sheer complexity involving complicated issues of identity, ethnicity, and historical baggage as well as socio-economic and political grievances. Occurring at the border fo Bangladesh, the Rakhine conflagration, with religious and racial undertones, invited unwanted attention from Muslim countries while the fighting in the north bordering China raised concerns over potential Chinese reaction to serve its national interest. As such, Tatmadaw’s massive response to these challenges came under great scrutiny from the international community in general and human rights advocacy groups in particular. -
Eyewitness to Early Reform in Myanmar
Eyewitness to Early Reform in Myanmar Eyewitness to Early Reform in Myanmar TREVOR WILSON ASIAN STUDIES SERIES MONOGRAPH 7 Published by ANU Press The Australian National University Acton ACT 2601, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at press.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Creator: Wilson, Trevor, author. Title: Eyewitness to early reform in Myanmar / Trevor Wilson. ISBN: 9781925022988 (paperback) 9781925022995 (ebook) Series: Asian studies series monograph. Subjects: Democratization--Burma. Government, Resistance to--Burma. Burma--Politics and government--1988- Dewey Number: 320.9591 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by ANU Press. Cover photograph: Golden Rock Kyaiktiyo at Dawn by David Wansbrough. This edition © 2016 ANU Press Contents Preface . vii Acknowledgements . ix List of Acronyms and Abbreviations . xi 1 . Introduction . 1 2 . The Historical Contexts . 9 3 . Australian Ambassador to Myanmar . 23 4 . Working Under Military Authoritarian Rule . 33 5 . Myanmar in 2000: Ready Or Not For Change? . 57 6 . Engagement Versus Disengagement . 69 7 . Australia’s ‘Limited Engagement’ Initiatives . .. 83 8 . Encounters with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi . 97 9 . Bilateral Sanctions and Successful Alternative Approaches . 115 10 . Early Australian Public Diplomacy Possible in Myanmar . 129 11 . Reflections on Coming to Terms with Myanmar: Personally and as Convener, ANU Burma/Myanmar Update 2004–13 . 145 Bibliography . 153 Map of Myanmar/Burma Source: The Australian National University CartoGIS Preface The period between 1999 and 2003 proved to be quite an interesting period in modern Myanmar history, because it provided unusual insights into the political and other forces that propelled Myanmar on its pathway towards a transition to democracy. -
General Assembly Distr: General 20 October 2000
United Nations A/:'55/509 General Assembly DiStr: General 20 October 2000 Original: English Fifty-fifth session Agenda item 114 (c) Human rights questions: human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives j Situation of human rights in Myanmar L^«w«-"-™~«««»»^^ Report of the Secretary-General* I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 18 of General Assembly resolution 54/186 of 17 December 1999 on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, in which the Assembly requested me to continue my discussions with the Government of Myanmar on the situation of human rights and the restoration of democracy in Myanmar, to submit additional reports to the Assembly during its fifty-fourth session on the progress of those discussions and to report to the Assembly at its fifty-fifth session and to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-sixth session. 2. As I have indicated in previous reports, I consider the role entrusted to me by the General Assembly as being one of good offices, as opposed to the fact-finding mandate assigned to the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights. 3. In implementation of resolution 54/186, in April 2000, I appointed Razali Ismail, former Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations, as my new Special Envoy, replacing Alvaro de Soto. Mr. Razali visited Myanmar from 29 June to 3 July 2000 to "build confidence" with his interlocutors. During his visit, Mr. Razali held consultations with Lieutenant-Genera] Khin Nyunt, Secretary-] of the State Peace and Development Council, U Win Aung, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Brigadier-General David Abel, Minister in the office of the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council. -
Actos Adoptados En Aplicación Del Título V Del Tratado De La Unión Europea
L 154/116ES Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea 21.6.2003 (Actos adoptados en aplicación del título V del Tratado de la Unión Europea) DECISIÓN 2003/461/PESC DEL CONSEJO de 20 de junio de 2003 por la que se aplica la Posición Común 2003/297/PESC sobre Birmania/Myanmar EL CONSEJO DE LA UNIÓN EUROPEA, DECIDE: Vista la Posición Común 2003/297/PESC, de 28 de abril de 2003, sobre Birmania/Myanmar (1), y en particular sus artículos Artículo 1 8 y 9, junto con el apartado 2 del artículo 23 del Tratado de la La lista de personas que figura en el anexo de la Posición Unión Europea, Común 2003/297/PESC se sustituye por la lista que figura en el anexo. Considerando lo siguiente: (1) De acuerdo con el artículo 9 de la Posición Común Artículo 2 2003/297/PESC, la ampliación de determinadas sanciones allí establecidas, así como las prohibiciones Queda levantada la suspensión de las disposiciones del apartado establecidas en el apartado 2 del artículo 2 de la misma 2 del artículo 2 de la Posición Común 2003/297/PESC tal y Posición Común se suspendieron hasta el 29 de octubre como se establece en la letra b) del artículo 9 de la Posición de 2003, salvo que el Consejo decida lo contrario. Común. (2) A la vista del persistente deterioro de la situación política Artículo 3 en Birmania, en particular el arresto de Aung San Suu Kyi y otros destacados miembros de la Liga Nacional La presente Decisión surtirá efecto a partir del día de su adop- para la Democracia y el cierre de las oficinas de la ción.