Myanmar's prisoners - Aung San Suu Kyi, Zaw Htet Ko Ko, U Win Tin, U Khun Htun Oo
© Private
8 August 2008 ,2008年8月8日
By Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Researcher on Myanmar
ベンジャーミンZawacki著、ミャンマーのアムネスティ・インターナショナルの研究者
"We must move forward, forward in Myanmar. There is no backwards for us." These words were spoken to me by a participant in the "8888" uprising in Myanmar who was forced to flee his country. Twenty years after the brief flowering of people power in Myanmar, however, little has improved for the millions of people still suffering under repressive rule.
" 私達はミャンマーで前方進まなければならない。 us."のために後方にない; これらの単語は"の関係者によって私に話されていた; 8888" 彼の国を逃げさせるミャンマーの反乱。 しかしミャンマーの人々力の報告書の開花の後の20年少しはまだ抑圧的な規則の下で苦しんでいる何百万の人々のために改良した。
If the future is to be better, the UN Security Council and Myanmar’s Asian neighbours must cease turning a blind eye to human rights violations in Myanmar and begin to take bold and effective measures toward stopping them.
On 8 August 1988, students took to the streets in Yangon (then still Rangoon) to demand democracy and human rights from their government. Over the next six weeks, the demonstrations grew in number and popular support and spread across the country, before the security forces moved in and violently suppressed the uprising. They killed more than 3,000 people and caused the enforced disappearance of an unknown number of others.
The massacre so shocked the world that many people both inside and outside the country believed that it marked "the end" in Myanmar; human rights violations on such an egregious scale would no longer be tolerated by the international community. Sadly for the people of Myanmar, however, they were wrong.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the main opposition party, Nobel Peace laureate, and icon of the Burmese human rights movement, has been under some form of detention for nearly 13 of the last 19 years. U Win Tin, a senior member of her party and 78 years-old, has been imprisoned for all of those 19 years, the longest-serving prisoner of conscience in Myanmar. Thousands of other political prisoners have been detained since 1988; 137 have died in custody, some from torture or lack of medical attention.
More than 2,000 people are now behind bars, more than a third of whom the government detained during its violent crackdown on the monk-led demonstrations last fall — the third major demonstration since 8888 through which the Burmese have tried, against ruthless and heart-rending odds, to demand their rights. Just days after the crackdown, monks and dissidents on the Thai-Myanmar border told me harrowing accounts of the recent violence and their narrow escape from the country.
Outside of the cities — and the international spotlight — the Myanmar army has continued to wage war over the past twenty years against the country’s ethnic minorities as well, among them the Karen. Campaigns against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) have been relentless since the early 1990s. Three years ago the army commenced another major offensive against the Karen, which continues to this day, though this time the army is actively avoiding the KNLA and instead targeting defenseless villagers.
On a widespread and systematic basis, the army is perpetrating a catalogue of serious human rights violations against the Karen, including extrajudicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, forced labour, crop destruction and confiscation, restrictions on movement, arbitrary levies and fines and anti-personnel land mines.
Another effect of both the 8888 uprising and the ethnic persecution is that hundreds of thousands of people in the past two decades have been forced to flee their homes to seek shelter elsewhere in Myanmar or in neighbouring countries. No fewer than half a million people in a nation of approximately 51 million are internally displaced within Myanmar. As I have witnessed myself, most live in deplorable conditions and constant fear, wondering if the world even knows about them.
Just under half that number are officially recognized as refugees in the surrounding countries, though several times more are not officially recognized and thus have even fewer rights. Many refugees have become some of the world’s most committed and courageous human rights activists — members of Myanmar’s "88 Generation" — as another entire generation of children has been born in exile.
Three months ago, the government wilfully neglected its people when Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar. Relief workers, diplomats, journalists, and Burmese survivors told me again and again with horror and disbelief how the government violated its own citizens’ human rights to food, shelter, health, and to life itself on a massive scale.
The government refused to deploy its own much-touted army of 400,000 soldiers to the affected areas and rejected international assistance. Instead, the authorities saw fit to frog-march traumatized, bereaved, and hungry people to "vote" for a new constitution that both fails to protect human rights and codifies impunity for officials who violate them.
The exodus of refugees from Myanmar and the government’s response to the cyclone have generated the kind of human suffering that the UN system was designed to address. The UN has sent numerous official and unofficial missions to Myanmar since 1988 — with two more taking place this month — and has a large humanitarian presence there now, but with little or no impact on human rights.
But the one UN body with real power, the Security Council, has been unable or unwilling to take effective action. It has neither visited Myanmar to obtain first-hand information on the situation on the ground nor imposed a comprehensive mandatory arms embargo on the country. The only resolution condemning Myanmar’s human rights record was vetoed in January 2007 by permanent members China and Russia, while Indonesia, a non-permanent member at the time, abstained.
Since then, the Council has managed only two Presidential Statements on Myanmar, one in October 2007 that "strongly deplored" last fall’s crackdown, and another in May 2008 that "underlin[ed] the need" for Myanmar to ensure inclusiveness and credibility in its constitutional referendum later that month. Stronger language was objected to by, among others, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
While ASEAN’s statements critical of the crackdown last fall and the continued detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi have been welcome, the organization—and its member countries—have been inexcusably forgiving of Myanmar’s human rights record over the past twenty years. India, a powerful neighbouring state and the world’s largest democracy, has also been disturbingly compliant.
Just as with the 8888 uprising, many people hope that the government’s response to Cyclone Nargis signals the "the end" of such enormous human rights violations in Myanmar. Whether it really does this time, however, depends not only on the Burmese — whose "88 Generation" continues to courageously lead the way — but on the political will of the UN Security Council and Myanmar’s Asian neighbours as well. Twenty years is a long time, but it is not too late.
This article originally appeared in the Bangkok Post in Thailand on 8 August 2008.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
No moving backwards for Myanmar,ミャンマーのための後退無し
Suu Kyi's party hails 1988 uprising as 'turning point' in Myanmar
Suu Kyi's party hails 1988 uprising as 'turning point' in Myanmar: "Suu Kyi's party hails 1988 uprising as 'turning point' in MyanmarSuu Kyi's party hails 1988 uprising as 'turning point' in Myanmar"
Burma quiet on rally anniversary-BBC
"Most of the people are more concerned about their lives and their businesses as the economy is going down. Still, I think the Burmese are hoping the situation in the country will get better one day," he added.
" 人々のほとんどは彼らの生命およびビジネスについてもっと経済がダウン状態になっていると同時に心配する。 まだ、私は国の状態がよりよく1日、"を得ることをビルマ人が望んでいることを考える; 彼は加えた。
Burmese must be supported, ビルマ語は支えられなければならない
Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the democratic movement in Burma, has been placed under house arrest by the military regime since 1989
Aung San Suu Kyiのビルマの民主的な動きのリーダーは1989年以来の軍の政体によって自宅軟禁の下に、置かれた
© 2008 The Irish Times,2008アイルランドの時
The Government will continue to help the Burmese people in their struggle for democracy, writes MICHEÁL MARTIN
政府は書くMICHEÁLマーティンを民主主義のための苦闘のビルマの人々を助け続ける
TWENTY YEARS ago, in a remarkable display of "people power", hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens took to the streets of their country in peaceful demonstrations to demand democracy, justice and economic security in their troubled land, a struggle that they have been engaged in ever since.
"の驚くべき表示の20年前に、; 人々のpower" 、数十万人のビルマの市民は彼らの悩まされていた土地の要求の民主主義、正義および経済保障、苦闘に平和なデモンストレーションの彼らの国の通りにその後従事していたこと取った。
It was in these post-8-8-88 (August 8th, 1988) weeks that a small, quiet, middle-aged woman emerged on to the national stage. The daughter of the hero of Burma's struggle for independence, Gen Aung San, who had been assassinated when she was two, and of a mother who was a distinguished Burmese ambassador, Aung San Suu Kyi had spent much of her life outside her native land but she had returned to Burma in March 1988 to nurse her terminally-ill mother.
これらのはに国民の段階に小さく、静かな、中年の女性によってが現れたポスト8 8 88 (1988年8月8日)週だった。 Burma'の英雄のある娘; 独立のためのsの苦闘は彼女の末期症状の母を看護するために、暗殺されたGEN昂山彼女が顕著なビルマの大使だった母、Aung San Suu Kyiの2才、彼女の故国の外の彼女の生命の多くを過ごしが、である彼女は1988年3月のビルマに戻った前に。
Known little beyond being the daughter of her hero father and with no track record as a practising politician, Aung San Suu Kyi became involved almost immediately on her return in the pro-democracy wave sweeping the country. Exactly one week after the Burmese people took to the streets on August 8th, Aung San Suu Kyi issued an open letter to the regime, proposing the appointment of an independent People's Consultative Committee to lead the country into multi-party elections, and also stressing to the people of Burma the vital importance of discipline and non-violence in their search for justice and change.
彼女の英雄の父のそして実績練習の政治家として知られていて、Aung San Suu Kyi無しの娘であることを越えて少し民主化の波で彼女のリターンで含まれるようにほとんどすぐに国を掃除することはなった。 ビルマの人々が8月8日の通りに取った1週後丁度、Aung San Suu Kyiは複数政党制の選挙に国を提案し、ビルマの人々にまた導くために独立した人々の諮問委員会の任命を正義および変更の調査の訓練そして非暴力の死活的重要性に重点を置く政体に公開書簡を出した。
On August 26th, Aung San Suu Kyi made the first major public appearance of her career at a political rally in Rangoon, addressing a rapturous crowd of around half a million, and presenting a political programme based on human rights, democracy and non-violence.
8月26日で、Aung San Suu Kyiはラングーンの政治再結集で彼女のキャリアの最初の専攻学生におよそ五十万の熱狂的な群集に演説し、人権、民主主義および非暴力に基づいて政治計画を示す登場をした。
But on September 18th, the 8-8-88 popular and peaceful uprising and the weeks of hope and elation that followed were brought to a rapid end when the army chief-of-staff staged a military coup to regain control of the government. Martial law was immediately imposed and control of the country was transferred to a State Law and Order Restoration Council. Along with this, the army launched a merciless counteroffensive against the demonstrators, unleashing the full might of the military on unarmed civilians - men, women and children. At a minimum, 3,000 died or disappeared without trace, but some would claim that the number could have been as high as 10,000.
しかし9月18日で、政府の制御を取り戻すために軍隊の主席補佐官が軍不意の一撃を上演した場合の続かれる急速な端に持って来られたこと希望および大得意の8-8-88の普及した、平和な反乱および週。 戒厳令はすぐに課され、国の制御は州の法と秩序の復帰議会に移った。 これと共に、軍隊は非武装の一般市民-人の軍隊の完全な力、女性および子供を自由にするデモンストレーターに対して無慈悲な反攻を進水させた。 少くとも、3,000は跡なしで死ぬか、がまたは消えた、数が10,000高かったかもしれないことを一部は主張する。
Undeterred by the crackdown, Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the opposition founded a political party on September 24th - the National League for Democracy, or NLD, and she became its general secretary. By then, Aung San Suu Kyi, in defiance of bans on public meetings and in the face of serious threats to her personal safety, had already begun to organise a series of more than a hundred political rallies around the country, attended by growing crowds of supporters.
、Aung San Suu Kyiおよび他のメンバー反対の取締りによって引き止められない9月24日の政党を創設した-民主主義のための国民リーグ、かNLD、および彼女は書記長になった。 それまでに、市民集会の禁止を無視してそして彼女の個人的な安全への深刻な脅威に直面するAung San Suu Kyiは、既にサポータの群集の成長によって出席された国中で一連百政治再結集より多くを組織し始めてしまった。
In April 1989 while campaigning in the Irrawaddy Delta, Aung San Suu Kyi - in one of the most iconic scenes of her career - marched calmly through an army unit with rifles trained on her. However, in July, increasingly alarmed by her growing influence and popularity, the regime placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest in Rangoon where she has remained for most of the years since then.
4月1989日Irrawaddyのデルタで運動をしている間、ライフルが付いている陸軍部隊を通して穏やかに行進されたAung San Suu Kyiが-彼女のキャリアの最も画像的な場面の1つで-彼女で訓練した。 但し、ますます彼女の成長する影響および人気によって驚かされた7月に、政体は彼女が年のほとんどのためにそれ以来残ってしまったラングーンに自宅軟禁の下にAung San Suu Kyiを置いた。
But despite her house arrest and heavy restrictions on her, Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD scored a resounding victory in elections in May 1990, with her party securing 82 per cent of the seats. The military junta refuses to recognise the results of the election and have continued to rule the country ever since, changing its name to Myanmar. It is a ruthless military regime that has distinguished itself primarily for its brutal repression of the people of Burma, military campaigns against ethnic minorities and the generation of vast numbers of refugees and internally-displaced people. It is the same regime that last September brutally crushed the peaceful protests of unarmed monks and civilians demonstrating peacefully.
しかし彼女の彼女の自宅軟禁および重い制限にもかかわらず、Aung San Suu KyiおよびNLDは座席の82%しっかり止めていて彼女の党が1990年5月の選挙の顕著な勝利を、記録した。 軍の会議はミャンマーに名前を変える選挙の結果を確認し、国を以来支配し続けることを断る。 少数民族に対してビルマの人々、軍事行動および避難者および内部転置された人々の膨大な数の生成の残酷な抑圧のためのそれ自身を主に区別したのは無慈悲な軍の政体である。 それはこの前の9月が残酷に平和に示している非武装の修道士および一般市民の平和な抗議を押しつぶしたこと同じ政体である。
It is a regime which, in the wake of the tragedy engendered by Cyclone Nargis in May, proceeded with an already flawed and discredited referendum and did virtually nothing to help the survivors, until forced into action by the international community.
5月のCyclone Nargisが発生させた悲劇の結果として、既に傷が付いた、疑われた国民投票と進んでおよび国際地域社会によって行為に強制までの生存者を、助けることを事実上何もしなかったのは政体である。
Unfortunately the international response to the situation in Burma has been inadequate, though to their credit the European Union, the United States and some other countries have imposed political and economic sanctions on the regime in the wake of their rejection of the results of the 1990 election; these were tightened further following the events of last September. Although sanctions have not resulted in any change of heart on the part of the regime, they serve as an important symbol of our rejection of that brutal regime and all that it stands for.
残念ながらビルマの状態への国際的な応答は信用に不十分、しかしずっと欧州連合である、米国および他の一部の国は1990年の選挙の結果の拒絶の結果として政体に政治および経済制裁を課した; これらはこの前の9月のでき事の後で更にきつく締められた。 認可が政体の方のあらゆる方向転換で起因しなかったが、意味するその残酷な政体およびすべての私達の拒絶の重要な記号として役立つ。
The Burmese generals have also resisted any effective role by the UN and international human rights bodies, though the personal intervention of the UN secretary general in the post-cyclone situation and visits by other key UN representatives provide some grounds for optimism for a more proactive UN role. I would, of course, very much welcome this.
ビルマ大将はまた国連によって有効な役割に抵抗し、国際的な人権ボディは順向国連役割の楽天主義に、しかしポストサイクロンの状態の国連事務総長の個人的な介在および他のキー国連代表による訪問ある地面を提供する。 私は、当然、非常にこれを歓迎する。
Ireland, along with our EU partners, has long worked hard to maintain the issue of Burma high on the international agenda. The Government works closely with like-minded international partners seeking ways to generate more effective global action in support of the Burmese people. We hope that their role in the post-Nargis relief and reconstruction effort can be developed into more proactive political engagement.
私達のEUと共にアイルランドは、長く懸命に働いた国際的な議題のビルマの最高の問題を維持するために組む。 政府はビルマの人々を助けてより有効で全体的な行為を発生させる方法を追求している同じ考えの国際的なパートナーと密接に働く。 私達はポストNargisの救助および復元の努力に於いての彼らの役割が順向の政治約束に開発することができることを望む。
Over the years, the Government and the Irish people have provided assistance to the Burmese people and their acknowledged representatives, including responding quickly and generously to the recent humanitarian crisis. Likewise, we work closely with the Burmese community and friends of Burma in Ireland, including supporting the excellent work of Burma Action Ireland. We also maintain close working relations with the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma - Burma's government in exile(NCGUB).
年かけて、政府およびアイルランドの人々は最近の人道主義の危機にすぐにそして寛大に返答を含むビルマの人々そして彼らの認められた代表に援助を、提供した。 同様に、私達はビルマの行為アイルランドの優秀な仕事の支持を含むアイルランドのビルマのビルマのコミュニティそして友人と、密接に働く。 私達はまたビルマ-ビルマの連合の国民の連合の政府の近い仕事上の関係を維持する流浪(NCGUB)の政府。
Today, we remember the heroic actions of the people of Burma in 1988. We recognise in particular that, despite all that they have suffered, the spirit of 8-8-88 lives on in the hearts and minds of the people of Burma, at home and in exile. In paying tribute today to those brave men and women, and especially to their leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Government will continue to do all that is possible in support of their unwavering desire for freedom, justice and democracy.
今日、私達は1988年にビルマの人々の英雄的な行為を覚えている。 私達は家庭でそして流浪で、彼らが苦しんだすべてにもかかわらず、8-8-88の精神はビルマの人々の中心そして心に住んでいることを、特に確認する。 それらの勇敢な人および女性と特にリーダーへの捧げ物を今日支払うことで、Aung San Suu Kyiは、政府自由、正義および民主主義のための動揺しない欲求を助けて可能であるすべてをし続ける。
• Micheál Martin is Minister for Foreign Affairs
• Micheálマーティンは外交のための大臣である
© 2008 The Irish Times
This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times
この記事はアイルランドの時の印刷物の版で出る
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