When Burma's politics are discussed, certain key words define the discussion: Military, Insurgency, Ethnicity, Democracy, Human Rights Violations, and Drugs.
I would prefer to highlight the militarisation of society and ethnic issues in Burma.

The emergence of the Union of Burma in 1948 was the outcome of a mutual understanding that the Union would be formed of co-equal and co-independent states. This was the essence of the Pang Long Agreement in 1947. However, since Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948, this mutual understanding collapsed between the ethnic people and civil war broke out all over the country. The military has since remained in control and it's human rights abuses have been rampant especially in the non-Burman nationalities' areas,
The situation deteriorated even further after 1962, when the General Ne Win's military took total control of the government, and the economy. In 1987, after more than twenty years of neglect and mismanagement, Burma became one of the poorest countries in the world.

In 1988, it was the students who led the people's uprising against the military regime. After the uprising, when the military reasserted it’s power, many were arrested and thousands fled to the areas belonging to the ethnic minorities and to neighboring countries. Thousands of young activists also joined the armed struggle against the military. To no avail, power still remains in the hands of the so-called State Peace and Development Council, or the SPDC (the State Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC) which comprises 19 leading military commanders.

In the last ten years the military authorities have launched a series of crackdowns on the members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) since the party won 80% of the parliamentary seats in an election in1990. The party was not allowed to form a government, and hundreds of its members are imprisoned.

In the frontier areas, severe human rights abuses have occurred since the 1950s. The persecution of ethnic nationalities by the military regime is depriving people of their economic, social and cultural rights on a large scale. The consequences of this racial discrimination are misunderstanding, distrust and xenophobia .It has resulted in:

• church-burning, harassment and detention of pastors, but preferential treatment for local Buddhist civilians in Chin State and persecution of Christians in Karen State;
  
  
• persecution of Muslims who are living in Burma.
  
  
• not permitting or encouraging the teaching of ethnic minority languages;
  
  
• Burmanization of place names in ethnic areas;
  
  
• uprooting the ethnic people by systematic forced relocation programs, especially in Shan, Karenni and Karen States, where hundreds of thousands of people have been dispossessed of their lands, cultural heritage and livelihood;
  
  
• starvation due to forced relocation has forced thousands of men, women and children to search for food in the forests. Many have been shot on sight by the SPDC troops;
  
  
• three major armed groups in Karenni, Karen and Shan State, Rakhine and Chin groups are still fighting with the SPDC, although most armed groups and SPDC have agreed to cease-fires.
  
  
• Because of their ethnicity and presumed support for armed groups, Shan, Karenni and Karen civilians are targeted for punishment by the military authorities. Even in the cease-fire areas, the SPDC and continues to oppress the civilians (mostly farmers) and increase the military presence.
  
  
• ethnic persecution by the military regime: forced labour, force relocation, torture, including the systematic rape of women and young girls, looting, mass killing, and summary executions.
  

Torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners, and civilians of all ethnic nationalities in Burma are commonplace and have been well-documented by international organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

In more recent years, an estimated two million people, including pregnant women, children and the elderly, have been used as forced labourers and porters in so-called development projects such as road and railway construction, irrigation and dam projects. These modern day slaves work on plantations owned by the military. They build barracks, and carry military supplies to the front-line areas. These people are neither paid for their labour, nor fed. No medical care is provided and they are forced to work even when they are sick. Women are raped and even killed with impunity.

Part of the tragedy is that the government is not encouraging the development of a civil society in Burma. Its military regime spends only 2% of its annual budget on health, and a mere 14% on education. On the other hand, the most conservative estimate of defence expenditure -- not including the procurement of weapons from abroad and other related, indirect expenses -- is 32% annually. Some observers put the figure as high as 50%.

The military regime has absolute power and it works to prolong the military dictatorship in Burma. Recently, the SPDC ordered MiG-29s fighter aircrafts for US $ 130 million from Russia utilizing the foreign exchange reserves. At the same time, SPDC is making an effort to get foreign aid for so called "development"projects.

Military repression in Burma has created a large population of internally displaced people. An estimated two million people have been forced from their homes in the wake of the government's counter-insurgency campaigns. Confiscation of people's land and stocks of rice and other food stuffs is part of the forced relocation of people. Consequently more than 100,000 have sought shelter in refugee camps across the Thai border, while several hundred thousand have become undocumented migrant workers in Thailand. The refugees have almost no protection and are living in constant fear of attacks by the Burmese army -- which has crossed the border on several occasions -- and the risk of arrest and deportation back to Burma. Most of them survive as underpaid labour, exploited by unscrupulous businessmen.

The situation in Burma is grim and the people are suffering. The SPDC has no desire to change the political system or even listen to the people. If it is not replaced by a government that acknowledges Burma's problems and has a firm commitment to a comprehensive program to rebuild the country, the situation will only get worse -- especially for Burma's women.

"Burma desperately needs stronger pressure or even tougher economic sanctions if dramatic change is to take place. However, if the policies of international governments towards Burma continue as they do at present, the military dictatorship in Burma will go on forever".

A meaningful dialogue between all actors in the political arena is absolutely necessary to end the decades-long civil war and to build a peaceful and democratic society.

Thank you.

August 31, 2001
Asia Pacific Tent
NGO Forum: Durban, South Africa