Helsinki International Model United Nations 2015 | XV Annual Session

Forum: General Assembly 3 Issue: Question of Human Rights in Myanmar Student Officer: Ms. Arawela Sovala Position: Chair of the 3rd Committee ______

Introduction

The Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar - also known as Burma - has gone through many hardships before reaching their current political situation. The power has moved from the hands of the British imperialists to the leaders of an independent and democratic nation and finally to the dictators of the military junta. 1

Throughout its years of independence that Myanmar gained on the 4th of January 1948 it has endured serious civil wars between the numerous ethnic minorities inhabiting the country. The situation is so difficult, that the United Nations and many other organizations have addressed the consistent and systematic human rights violations happening in the nation.2

Nowadays the situation is improved. In 2011 the military officially ended its reign that had begun on the 2nd of March 1962. It has withdrawn some of its power while still holding a great amount of influence over the populace. Because the government has since freed many political prisoners, their foreign relations and the common opinion on their human rights situation has somewhat recovered. However there is still a lot of negative attention directed at the mistreatment the government endorses towards some of the ethnic minorities and the disputes between Muslims and Buddhists in west Myanmar. 3

Children in Myanmar are exceptionally mistreated. Out of the 350 000 - 400 000 soldiers 70 000 are children (~20%). They play a major role in the conflicts, both in the official Myanmarese army as well as the rebel movement. 42 child soldiers of the Myanmarese army were released in September 2012. The plan of the United Nations and other organizations, especially the International Labour Organization, is to free more child soldiers in cooperation with the

1 "Burma." Burma. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. 2 "Myanmar." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x 3 "Burma." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2015.

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government and the Kachin independence army, a political group composed of ethnic Kachins from northern Myanmar. 4

Besides children, women are also in a very vulnerable position in Myanmar. Mostly during 1996- 2001 the Myanmarese military committed rape or other forms of sexual violence against 625 women. 61% of the rapes were gang rapes and 25% of all the rapes ended in the death of the victim. These were committed mainly in the Shan state and are done to terrorize ethnic minorities. Other kinds of torture have been reported by Refugees International and Amnesty International. The government has denied what they're accused of.

Both of these vulnerable groups as well as men are suffering from being forced into labour. Several hundred thousand people from all ages and mainly ethnic minorities are forced to work. If one refuses they are likely tortured, raped or even murdered. International Labour Organization has gone through measures since the 1960s to end this forced labour. They have adopted a resolution calling on the government to cease their actions. 5

Trade unions were also demolished and banned during Ne Win's rise to power in 1962. In October 2011 they were legalized again.

Definition of Key Terms

Imperialism means extending the authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries or areas and acquiring and holding colonies

Military junta is a group of military officers who rebel against a government and rule a country after seizing the power with violent tactics. 6

Human rights violation is an action that goes against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

4 Svenska Burmakommittén. "Statslösa I Sitt Eget Hemland - Om Konflikten I Västra Burma." YouTube. YouTube, 4 July 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x 5 "ILO." In Myanmar. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2015. x 6 "Military Junta." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

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Trade union is a union for workforces that guard the rights of the worker from the possible mistreatment by an employer.

Background

The history of Myanmar is filled with disagreements between different ethnic groups. In the 16th century, Myanmar had already gone through 250 years of political fragmentation. The Pagan empire had been replaced and the power moved from the Ava to the Hanthawaddy and the Shan states. These mixed ethnic groups consisted of backgrounds mainly from the area where Northern Myanmar meets China, such as the original Myanmarese and the Mongol people. These parties had difficulties getting along together and even had occasional disputes within their own groups. Even though there were ethnic clashes between the minorities inside each group, the people still managed to come to a conclusion of some sort and improved the Myanmarese culture. 7

These steps ensured the rise to power of one of the vassal states of the Ava state called Toungoo. Toungoo empire conquered an extensive amount of Southeast Asian land and remained in power until 1599 when the Siam empire - modern day Thailand - overran the Toungoo leaders and took control. This was also the time when the first markings of European rule could be seen in that area when Portuguese mercenaries established Portuguese rule in the port city of Thanlyin.

After less than 15 years, the dynasty had already reclaimed some areas in Myanmar and re-established their kingdom. The Toungoo kings that had the power again, created a political framework that was still visible in the 19th century. This decreases the power of the empire's leaders and the system of receiving the power changed from hereditary to a governorship. The economy prospered for the next 80 years because of the prolonged governmental reforms and successful trade and Myanmarese literature and theatre flourished.

In 1752 the Ava leaders who had been in power were defeated by the Hanthawaddy who got arms from the French and the British. The mighty China in the north, the

7 "Myanmar/Burma." History of. Lonely Planet, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

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revived Siam in the west and the unclear border between them and the British India were the cause of headaches in the kingdom. This was because of the constant disputes for the rule of land in the history of Myanmar within itself and with its direct neighbours.

Myanmar lost a lot of land in the first Anglo-Burmese War against the British in the years 1824-1826. In 1852 lower Myanmar was conquered in the second Anglo-Burmese War. The rest of Myanmar was conquered by 1885 in the third war. The repercussions of the wars were the colonization of the nation by the British, officially on 1st of January 1886.

The animosity towards the British and the British Indians was not hid. Violent riots occasionally incapacitated Yangon - the British capital of Myanmar that was an important port between Singapore and Calcutta - all the way until the 1930s. Some of the animosity was a direct result of the disrespectful way the British treated Myanmarese traditions. One of the bigger disputes resulted from the British not complying with taking their shoes off when entering pagodas - multi-storey tiered towers commonly used for Buddhist religious functions - or prohibiting monks from wearing their Buddhist robes while imprisoned. These are two of the reasons why the monks have been quite active in the Myanmarese history.

Ba Maw was the first Prime Minister of Burma and he was an advocate of Myanmarese independence and also opposed Myanmar taking part in the Second World War. The resentment of the British went so far that some Myanmarese joined the Burma independence army formed by Aung San in Japan. However many Myanmarese - especially people from ethnic minorities - served in the British Burma Army.

The Panglong Agreement that was to guarantee Myanmar’s independence was negotiated by Aung San after the Second World War The ethnic leaders that were a part of the agreement making Myanmar an unified nation were Aung Zan Wai, Pe Khin, Bo Hmu Aung, Sir Maung Gyi, Dr. Sein Mya Maung and Myoma U Than Kywe. Myanmar got its independence in 1947, the same year Aung San - at the time the Prime minister of Myanmar, the Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Burma and the

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pioneer of democracy in Myanmar - was assassinated by political rivals because of a battle for power. One of the people convicted of the assassination was U Saw, the leader of a nationalist political group whose popularity had decreased because the populace adored Aung San.8

On the 2nd of March 1962 the Military Junta, which was led by General Ne Win, seized the power from the democratic government. He ruled in Myanmar in 1962-74, as a head of a revolutionary council. They combined Soviet-style nationalization and central planning to control the nation. Most of the sectors in the society - business, media and production to name a few - were under government control under the “Burmese Way to Socialism”

In 1974 a new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted and Myanmar was ruled by the Burma Socialist Programme Party whose leading members were Ne Win among other military officers. During the years of the Military Junta the nation became one of the most poverty-stricken in the world.

Random protests against Ne Win’s military rule were crushed before they could begin. On the 7th of July 1962, 15 students were killed at a protest at the Yangon University. In 1974 more university students held an anti-government protest was in the funeral of U Thant, a Myanmarese diplomat and the secretary general of the United Nations during the years of 1961-1971. This protest was violently stopped and the outcome of it was the death of some students and as counter-attack damage to the police stations.

Students have been very active along the years of the Military Junta. They have held protests in 1975, 1967 and 1977, which were suppressed with exaggerated force, which appears to be a common theme in the workings of the government.

The 8888 Uprising was the name of the pro-democracy demonstrations all over Myanmar resulting from the economic misbehaviour and political oppression in 1988. Thousands of demonstrators were killed and Saw Maung, a general of the army assumed power. He was the chairman and founder of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) from the 18th of September 1988. Saw Maung promised

8 "The Panglong Agreement." N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2015. x

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multi-party elections and to give the power to the winning party and their leader. In 1990 the National League for Democracy (NLD) and their leader Aung San Suu Kyi won the elections, but the result wasn't accepted as the SLORC saw it as a direct insult to Saw Maung’s authority. The SLORC continued to rule until 1997. After that the name of the party was changed to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) which ended in March 2011. After the end of the SLORC, Myanmar was admitted to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN was created because of the growing influence of communism in Vietnam in the middle of the 20th Century. The association monitors and work to develop economic growth, social progress, sociocultural evolution and peace and stability amongst its member nations which are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. 9, 10

The Military Intelligence of Myanmar was unhappy with some of the actions of the Myanmarese army which resulted in open leadership positions.

General Khin Nyunt was prime minister until 19 October 2004, when he was replaced by General Soe Win, after the purge of Military Intelligence sections within the Burma armed forces.

Anti-government protests were seen again in August 2007 when the increased price of diesel and petrol caused heated emotions. They were met with violent repercussions from the government. As a result of the government's reaction, a civil resistance known as the Saffron Revolution rose amongst the Buddhist monks who lead the protests. Hundreds of them wanted to honour the daughter of the pioneer of democracy who herself was also the leader of the NLD. The monks defied her house arrest and travelled to the gates of her house, which the government didn't like. 11

Holy monks were killed and the Shwedagon Pagoda was barricaded. This reaction was condemned and led to economic sanctions by the United Nations against the

9 Leigh Phillips. "Burmese Human Rights Block to EU-Southeast Asia Trade Pact." EUobserver. EUobserver, 2 June 2009. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x 10 "Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar." Southeast European and Black Sea Studies (2011): 331-33. Situation of Huma N Rights in Myanmar. UN General Assembly. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x 11 Daniel I. Wu. "Reconciling Sovereignty with Responsibility: Burma and ASEAN." CogitASIA CSIS Asia Policy Blog. CogitASIA, 20 Aug. 2010. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

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Myanmarese government. One other big cause of disapproval was the government's reaction to the Cyclone Nargis in May 2008 that caused the death or missing of 200 000 people, left at least 1 million people homeless and the cost for the total damage came up to as high as 10 billion US dollars. The critique towards the government came from the accusation that the government delayed the coming aid because of the threat of the presence of foreign military and intelligence. Military planes belonging to the United States of America, that were delivering medicine, food and other supplies, were not allowed entry during the critical early days.

During 8-12th of August 2009 a conflict arose between the junta and the ethnic minorities in northern Myanmar. 10 000 members of the minorities fled over the border to the Yunnan province of china. It was known as the Kokang incident.

The violations of Human Rights from the government’s side don’t end at that. Over 1300 political prisoners during years 1989-2004 have been wrongfully imprisoned and they haven’t had fair trials. In 2008 the amount had risen to 2123. One of them is the previously mentioned Aung San Suu Kyi and another is Tin Oo, a pro-democracy activist and deputy leader of the NLD. Amnesty International has heightened the wrongness of this occurrence of deprivation of basic human rights to freedom of a person, speech and a fair trial as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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The exploitation of the populace’s freedom of speech doesn’t end at that. The Junta has searched the people’s homes, intercepted their mail and monitored their telephone conversations. The use of technology that can be used to communicate with outsiders, such as computers, modems, fax machines and telephones is criminalized.

Media is also not free from the prying and controlling of the government. Everything that is published is under the Ministry of Information and even then everything is censored heavily. If the government is criticized by a member of the press they face serious consequences. Progress has been made though. Since August 2012 after hundreds

12 "New Film Reveals Human Rights Crimes in Western Burma." Civil Rights Defenders New Film Reveals Human Rights Crimes in Western Burma Comments. Civil Rights Defenders, 12 July 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

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protested against the “killing of the press”, publications no longer have to be checked in the censorship board. Local members of the press have said that even with this improvement, many journalists self-censor because the threat hasn’t disappeared.

Relevant Parties Myanmar’s official standing in this situation is that the government does what it can to resolve the conflicts. Still they haven’t done enough to improve the human rights conditions in their country and the populace is still under the abuse of some of the officials.

Great Britain was the colonizer of Myanmar from 1824 to 1948. It has had a hand in the independence and the political instability in Myanmar by supporting the New Opposition National League for Democracy (NLD)

China has become a home for many Myanmarese refugees. Officially China doesn’t vocally condemn the human rights violations in Myanmar, but they do express concern over the stability of their shared border with Myanmar. 13

Bangladesh is also a country where 29 000 Myanmarese people have fled in search of a safer place to live. This along the military tension in Myanmar has made the relations strained. For Myanmar to reach peace is the most beneficial outcome for Bangladesh. 14

Human Rights Watch monitors human rights around the globe. Myanmar has been high on their list because of the violations of human rights, especially against children. 15

Amnesty International is another organization observing human rights in the world and has condemned the actions happening in Myanmar.

International Labour Organization is concerned by the workers’ lack of rights in Myanmar.

13 "China, Myanmar Share Responsibility to Maintain Border Stability: FM_English_Xinhua." China, Myanmar Share Responsibility to Maintain Border Stability: FM_English_Xinhua. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2015. x 14 "Bangladesh." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2015. x 15 "Burma/Myanmar: Genocide and Human Rights Violations." The Kassandra Project Freedom against Disinformation. N.p., 29 Feb. 2008. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.

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Timeline 1531 Toungoo empire reunites Myanmar that previously consisted of smaller tribes inhabiting the area, Portuguese establish European rule for the first time in Myanmar 16 1824-26 First Anglo-Burmese war ends. Myanmar lost some of its southern territories to Great Britain. 1852 Second Anglo-Burmese war, now all of Southern Myanmar is under British rule. The north is still Myanmarese. 1942 Japanese Army occupies Myanmar with the help of the Japanese trained Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL). 1945 Myanmar freed from Japanese occupation by the British with help from the AFPFL, led by Aung San. 1947 Aung San assassinated by political rivals led by U Saw, a nationalist rival of Aung San's. U Nu asked to head the AFPFL and the government. 1948 Myanmar becomes independent with U Nu as prime minister. 1960 Military angered by U Nu's promotion of Buddhism as the state religion and his tolerance of separatism. 1962 Gen Ne Win seizes power, gets rid of the federal system and inaugurates "the Burmese Way to Socialism". 1974 New constitution: power goes from the armed forces to a People's Assembly headed by Ne Win and other former military leaders; protest at U Thant’s funeral. 1987 The Myanmarese government devalued some of the bills of the then Burmese Kyat, which left only 25% of the nation’s currency valid. This caused money issues for the populace and anti-government riots. 17 1988 Thousands of people are killed in anti-government riots. The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) is formed.

16 "Myanmar Profile." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2015. 17 Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Myanmar". The Banknote Book, San Francisco

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1989 SLORC declares martial law, arrests thousands of people, renames Burma Myanmar, with the capital becoming Yangon. New Opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Aung San, is put under house arrest. 1990 NLD wins landslide victory in general election, result ignored by the military. 1992 Several political prisoners freed in bid to improve Burma's international image. 1996 Aung San Suu Kyi attends first NLD congress since her release; SLORC arrests more than 200 delegates. 1997 Myanmar admitted to Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) and SLORC is renamed State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). 1998 300 NLD members released from prison, students’ protests are broken up. 2000 Government cancels restrictions on movements of Aung San Suu Kyi and senior NLD members. 2001 Government frees ~200 pro-democracy activists. 2002 Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi released after nearly 20 months of house arrest. 2003 Five senior NLD leaders released from house arrest after visit of UN human rights envoy. 2004 Thousands of prisoners freed, including Min Ko Naing, who led the 1988 pro-democracy student demonstrations. 2007 Another outcry from the public regarding fuel prices. Dozens of activists are arrested. 2008 Cyclone Nargis hits Myanmar, killing over 100 000 people. 2011 Some political prisoners are freed. New labour laws allowing unions are passed. 2013 Four private daily newspapers appear for the first time in almost 50 years as the state monopoly ends.

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2014 October Government announces release of 3,000 prisoners. Mostly petty criminals, but ex-military intelligence officers imprisoned along with former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt will be included.

UN Resolutions http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/66/230 The latest UN resolution (from 24th of December 2011) on this subject wants to end the violation of human rights in Myanmar, especially the ones concerning child soldiers, misplaced people, torture, sexual violence and the violations targeted at Aung San Suu Kyi.

Bibliography 1. "Burma." Burma. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

2. "Myanmar." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

3. Svenska Burmakommittén. "Statslösa I Sitt Eget Hemland - Om Konflikten I

Västra Burma." YouTube. YouTube, 4 July 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

4. "ILO." In Myanmar. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2015. x

5. "Military Junta." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

6. "Myanmar/Burma." History of. Lonely Planet, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

7. "The Panglong Agreement." N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2015. x

8. Leigh Phillips. "Burmese Human Rights Block to EU-Southeast Asia Trade

Pact." EUobserver. EUobserver, 2 June 2009. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

9. "Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar." Southeast European and Black Sea

Studies (2011): 331-33. Situation of Huma N Rights in Myanmar. UN General

Assembly. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

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10. Daniel I. Wu. "Reconciling Sovereignty with Responsibility: Burma and

ASEAN." CogitASIA CSIS Asia Policy Blog. CogitASIA, 20 Aug. 2010. Web.

15 Dec. 2014. x

11. "New Film Reveals Human Rights Crimes in Western Burma." Civil Rights

Defenders New Film Reveals Human Rights Crimes in Western Burma

Comments. Civil Rights Defenders, 12 July 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. x

12. "China, Myanmar Share Responsibility to Maintain Border Stability:

FM_English_Xinhua." China, Myanmar Share Responsibility to Maintain Border

Stability: FM_English_Xinhua. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2015. x

13. "Bangladesh." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d.

Web. 01 Jan. 2015. x

14. "Burma/Myanmar: Genocide and Human Rights Violations." The Kassandra

Project Freedom against Disinformation. N.p., 29 Feb. 2008. Web. 15 Dec.

2014. x

15. "Myanmar Profile." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2015. x

16. Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Myanmar". The Banknote Book, San Francisco

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