Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 documents Burmese ruling junta’s atrocities

Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 documents Burmese ruling junta’s atrocities
Wed, 2008-09-10 13:50
Bangkok, 10 September, (Asiantribune.com): As the first anniversary of Burma's September 2007 Saffron Revolution approaches, the Human Rights Documentation Unit (HRDU) has released a 964 pages Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007. Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 is revealed to be the largest and most comprehensive report ever published by the HRDU, but is also quite likely the single largest report ever produced on the human rights situation in Burma.Human Rights Year Book of Burma
Twenty years since the brutal suppression of the 1988 uprising, the Burmese military junta continues to exert tight control over the country's population, while executing a litany of human rights abuses against its citizens. Drawing on thousands of reports, news articles, UN statements, and other sources of information, the Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 documents the continuing and systematic perpetration of human rights violations in Burma as they occurred across the country throughout 2007.


The Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 reveals that the human rights situation confronting the people of Burma has not improved since the very first Burma Human Rights Yearbook was published fourteen years ago. On the contrary, widespread human rights violations continued to be perpetrated in Burma with near impunity throughout 2007.

Across the country, members of the civilian population have continued to be subjected to egregious abuses including, but not limited to forced labor, extortion, arbitrary arrest, summary execution, rape, forced relocation, the confiscation and/or destruction of land and property, religious persecution and ethnic discrimination.

Dr Sann Aung of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma on Tuesday said:

"Whether we look at it in terms of the time elapsed since the Saffron Revolution last year or over a longer timeframe since the uprisings in 1988, the result is the same. The root causes which gave rise to these protests have never been adequately addressed by the regime and the general grievances of the population remain. While it is difficult to say conclusively that the human rights situation in Burma is getting worse, we can say that it certainly isn't showing much improvement."

The Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 documents the suppression of human rights in 18 primary areas of concern, including the systematic oppression of the freedoms of expression and assembly, manifested in the brutal crackdown on the September 2007 Saffron Revolution protests. Reflecting deep discontent and impatience with military regime, the year 2007 saw a sharp increase in public dissent against the regime, which culminated in the monk-led September uprising – marking the largest public display of dissatisfaction against the regime seen in the country in almost 20 years.

The HRDU is the research and documentation department of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). The HRDU was formed in 1993 to comprehensively document the human rights situations in Burma, in order to protect and promote the internationally recognized human rights of those persons in the country.

- Asian Tribune -