Autumn Edition 2012

Newsletter: Autumn Edition 2012

Racial Injustice in Burma - Put the Tragedy to an End

"Absolute peace in our world is an unattainable goal. But it is one towards which we must continue to journey, our eyes fixed on it as a traveller in a desert fixes his eyes on the one guiding star that will lead him to salvation.”
(extracted from Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize Speech)

In December 2011, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of the United States, announced that the country would loosen the economic restrictions and provide more financial assistance to Burma in recognition of the effort of Burma’s government on economic and political opening. This, together with the general election in 2010 in which the National League for Democracy won 43 out of the 45 seats, paved the democratization road of Burma. While the light of hope continued to shine, it was reported by the Human Rights Watch that Burma was undergoing another human rights crisis in June 2012. Sectarian violence broke out in the Arakan State of Burma between Arakan Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims after an Arakan woman had been raped and killed by Muslim men. While mob, rape and killing became more serious in the state, the government was accused of paying little or no effort in stopping the violence. Burmese army was even accused of abusing the Rohingya Muslims with forced labor, extermination and restriction of freedom. As Rohingya was traditionally not recognized as Burma’s citizens, they suffered from discrimination and poor human rights conditions. While the government released the figure that 78 people were killed in the aforesaid sectarian violence, it was suspected that the fatality would be much higher in view of various media reporting the chaos resulting in the government announcing a state of emergency. In this article, the performance of Burmese government on racial protection and the role of international humanitarian aid to counteract racial injustice in Burma will be discussed.

Protection of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)
Internally displaced persons, as defined by the United Nations, are “persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border.” They are different from refugees as they remain in the country’s border. It is estimated that the sectarian violence in Burma has created more than ten thousand IDP. Burma is also one of the countries in the world having the largest population of IDP. There is currently no international law that specifically applies to IDP and the General Principles promoted by the United Nations on the protection of ICP is not binding. The role of humanitarian aid depends heavily on civil societies and organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross. In order to alleviate the ethnic hostility in the country, international intervention, such as economic sanction, is crucial. To settle the problem of IDP, Burmese government should consider the right of return of her citizens, also known as the post conflict situation. This includes the provision of property rights, freedom of speech and security. The Burmese government should also quickly stop all state-sponsored illegal detainment, torture, persecution and discrimination.

Racial Discrimination
The recent killing between Arakan Buddhists and Rohinya Muslims is only the blasting fuse of the sectarian violence in Burma. Deep-rooted in this violence is the traditional racial discrimination and injustice
against the muslims. Without settling this root cause, racial tension and unrest will stay at the summit. Racial discrimination originates from the 1982 Citizen Law, which states that Rohingya do not have the citizenship right of Burma. Rohingya eventually become stateless. Rohingya living in Burma suffer from serious discrimination, as they are viewed by the Arakan population as foreigners. They are deprived of their rights, such as access to education, employment, freedom of religion, movement and speech and property ownership, etc. Without access to assistance from the UN or the government, they are starved and homeless. On 12 July 2012, the President of Burma even suggested that the only solution to peace was to expel the Rohingya to neighboring countries. This reflects that Burmese government does not have the determination to implement measures that promote ethnic understanding, stability and development, liberty and democracy. No wonder that hatred and revenge have spread outside Arakan State consequential to the President’s speech. Although Burma is neither a signatory nor party of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Covenant provides good guiding principles on how Burma can be directed to a liberal democratic state. Its article 2 states that a state party should “respect and ensure to all individuals the rights recognized in the Covenant without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”. Part 3 (Articles 6 - 27) also lists the basic human rights that should be protected, including physical integrity, liberty and security, procedural fairness, political participation, non discrimination, minority rights, equality before the law etc. Recognizing these rights would be an important step forward for Burma to further participate in the international community. It is also suggested that Burma’s government should quickly amend the 1982 Citizenship Law so that Rohingya are treated the same as other races or ethnic groups. This would be a challenging move due to serious racial discrimination, hostility and lack of consensus in the society. It is anticipated that pride and nationalism of other races as ‘Burmese’ would fight against the citizenship of Rohingya. However, without amending the law, ethnic harmony would be an impossible dream. Burma’s government should start from the promotion of cultural understanding and promotion. Education on ethnic tolerance should be practised.

Short Term Aid - Stop the Bomb from Explosion
In order to minimize the number of casualties, international organizations and civil societies should play a more proactive role. Human Rights Watch expressed that “Rohingya are less supported by domestic contributions as they are afraid of imminent attack from local Arakan if they venture out in public. Their access to markets, food and work remain limited because of the dangers of venturing into public spaces.” Organizations should not only increase the humanitarian aid, but also the access of assistance and resources by the less fortunate. Moreover, a thorough understanding of the status quo is necessary. More updated and factual information, such as the current number of casualties, should be obtained, based on which international community could have more solid ground to press the Burmese government for immediate and sustainable actions to solving the crisis.

CONCLUSION
As mentioned by Suu Kyi during her Nobel Peace Prize Speech, “the Nobel Prize had drawn the attention of the world to the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. We were not going to be forgotten”. The road of Burma towards a liberal democratic state is far away, with lots of hurdles ahead. It is hoped that the Burmese government can secure the human rights of her citizens, improve on racial injustice and put the tragedy to an end.

LEE Ho Ching, Matthew
Current Affairs Secretary
World University Service, HKUB, HKUSU,
Session 2012-2013