Congressional International Religious Freedom Caucus

Briefing Announcement:

The Burmese Junta’s Flagrant Abuse of Human Rights: From Elections to Religious Persecution – Next Steps for U.S. and International Policy

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

2:30-4:00pm

Room: 2456 Rayburn HOB

Dear Colleague,

Please join the Congressional International Religious Freedom Caucus for a briefing with experts to discuss the ongoing abuse of power and human rights by Burma’s ruling military junta, which have been well documented in the State Department’s human rights report on Burma and by outside groups.  We will discuss the regime’s latest attempts to manipulate the scheduled 2010 elections, and remain in power under a new constitution that provides them extrajudicial authority and undermines the rights of minority ethnic groups.  We will also discuss the continuous persecution of Rohingya Muslims, Buddhist monks and ethnic Christian minorities throughout the country. 

According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s recently released 2010 annual report on Burma:

“In the past year, the SPDC has engaged in severe violations of the freedom of religion and belief including: the arrest, mistreatment, and harassment of Buddhist monks who participated in peaceful demonstrations in 2007 or are suspected of antigovernment activity; the severe repression and forced relocation of the Rohingya Muslim minority; the banning of independent Protestant “house church” activities; and the abuses, including forced labor, relocations, and destruction of religious sites, against ethnic minority Protestants.”

Following a constitutional referendum in May 2008 deemed invalid by most independent observers, the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) continues its plans for parliamentary elections later this year.  While the constitution went into force the day it was approved, the SPDC and military remained in control of all organs of government until the parliament is convened following elections.  Of no surprise, the Burmese Junta’s third in command, Prime Minister Thein Sein, along with 20 other ministers applied to turn the Union Solidarity and Development Association into a new political party – the Union Solidarity and Development Party – to contest in the elections and thereby allow the military regime to appear more democratic while it remains in de-facto control of the government. 

The National League for Democracy (NLD) – which overwhelmingly won the 1990 elections – decided not to participate in the sham elections citing the undemocratic and unjust election laws that would have forced them to expel Aung San Suu Kyi and the nearly 500 members of their party currently incarcerated as political prisoners from the party. 

Under the Obama Administration, the United States reviewed its Burma policy in 2009 and decided to retain long-standing sanctions against the ruling junta, but have also began a “pragmatic dialogue” with the SPDC and increased humanitarian assistance.  Members of Congress have called on the Obama Administration to support a United Nations Security Council Commission of Inquiry to investigate the Burmese regime's war crimes, crimes against humanity, and system of impunity, and the United Nations may be adopting this approach now as well. 

The UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (Burma), Tomas Ojea Quintana, issued his progress report on human rights in Burma for debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva in mid-March.  In his report, he held all levels of the Burmese military government complicit for grave crimes against humanity and recommended establishing a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the situation.  This is the first time an acting UN official has suggested a Commission of Inquiry, which if adopted could potentially result in a recommendation for a Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

To discuss these important issues, we will welcome as our witnesses:

Jennifer Quigley is the Advocacy Director for the U.S. Campaign for Burma working to ensure support for the movement for freedom and democracy in Burma, provide support for human rights and humanitarian needs, as well as seek to bring justice and an end to crimes against humanity and impunity in Burma.

Maung Tun Khin is a Rohingya Muslim active in the Burmese democracy movement.  He left Burma in February 2004, after facing interrogation from the military authorities due to his involvement with the National League for Democracy (NLD) youth group and Rohingya democratic groups. He is president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) and is an active member of Burmese Democratic Movement Association UK (BDMA-UK) and the Burma Initiative Coordination Committee (BICC). 

Benedict Rogers is the East Asia Team Leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) in London, where he specializes in Burma. He has travelled extensively on fact-finding visits to conflict zones and places of persecution, including making over 30 visits to Burma and its borderlands.  From 1997-2002, Ben worked as a journalist in Hong Kong and is the author of two books – A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma’s Karen People and Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma’s Tyrant.  In 2007, he authored a report published by CSW called Carrying the Cross: The military regime’s campaign of rest"> Washington, D.C. 20515