BurmaNet News, September 22, 2010

[Editor]

September 22, 2010 Issue #4047


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: New coalition for election formed in Rangoon

ON THE BORDER
DVB: Fighting erupts on Int’l Peace Day
Kyodo: Myanmar refugees leave Thai camp to resettle in Japan

DRUGS
Irrawaddy: Drugs increasing at Thai-Burmese border

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burma War Crimes Commission receives growing support
Irrawaddy: Burma FM claims progress towards development goals
DVB: Burma cornered at UN rights debate

PRESS RELEASE
Info Birmanie and FIDH: BURMA – War crimes and crimes against humanity
HRW: Japan: Press Burma for justice
ND-Burma: ND-Burma releases periodic report on the human rights situation
in Burma





____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 22, Irrawaddy
New coalition for election formed in Rangoon

Fourteen independent candidates contesting the upcoming election on Nov. 7
formed a coalition in Rangoon on Monday.

Consisting of six independent candidates for the People's Parliament and
eight candidates for  the Region and State Parliaments, the coalition
issued a joint statement on Monday after a lunch in Rangoon's Traders
Hotel.

The independent candidates urged voters to go to polling stations on
election day .

“Think bravely and act accordingly!” the statement said. “Go to the
polling stations and cast your vote. Do not give your vote to candidates
who will only follow orders! And most importantly, do not give your vote
to those who contest the election because they have money [because they
will not benefit the people],” said Yan Kyaw, an independent candidate
contesting for a seat in the People's parliament in the Pazuntaung
constituency.

Ba Tint Swe, who is contesting for the People's Parliament in North
Okkalapa constituency, said independent candidates faced difficulties when
they registered for the election at the Union Election Commission (EC).

“Independent candidates are only allowed to use names shown on their
identity cards and cannot use ones by which they are popularly known in
the communities where they are campaigning,” he said.

“People in my town know me as Ba Tint Swe but the EC only allows me to
register with the name Tint Swe as it appears on my ID card. I have
requested the local EC to allow me to use my  popular name but have
received no reply.”

The launch of the independent candidates' coalition was reportedly
attended by over 50 people including domestic and international reporters,
invited guests, intelligence personnel and police.

Apart from Ba Tint Swe and Yan Kyaw, the four other independent candidates
who will contest for the People's Parliament are Tin Aye (Laeway
constituency), Dr. Soe Lwin (Lay Myatnar constituency), Kaung Myint Htut
(South Okkalapa constituency) and Zaw Oo (Dala Constituency).

The eight independent candidates who will contest for the Region and State
Parliaments are Hla Shein (Mawlamying constituency No. 1), Zaw Min Thein
(Lay Myatnar constituency No. 1), Dr. Than Myint (Amarapura constituency
No.1), Kyi Oo Thein (North Okkalapa constituency No. 2), Dr. Saw Naing
(South Okkalapa constituency No.1), Win Cho (Dala constituency No.1), Win
Ko Ko Win (Thanlyin constituency No.1) and Thein Htay (Thanphyuzayut
constituency).

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

September 22, Democratic Voice of Burma
Fighting erupts on Int’l Peace Day – Naw Noreen

A proposed one-day ceasefire yesterday between the Burmese junta and Karen
troops fell apart as fighting broke out some 30 kilometers from Burma’s
border with Thailand.

Three Burmese troops died during the clash with the Karen National
Liberation Army (KNLA), dashing hopes of a ceasefire to mark International
Peace Day and a rare show of dignity amidst one of the world’s
longest-running civil wars.

According to Saw Phaw Doh, commander of Battalion 101 in the KNLA’s
Brigade 7, fighting began around 9am yesterday close to Kyaw Thalay Koh
village in Karen state’s Hlaingbwe township. A second clash occurred near
Mae Htaw Dalay village in Myawaddy township, resulting in the death of a
KNLA solider, he said.

Yesterday was the latest in a string of attacks, with fighting having
erupted on 18 and 19 September between the KNLA and a newly-formed Border
Guard Force. The joint-secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU) – the
political wing of the KNLA –Saw Hla Ngwe, said that casualties from both
incidents are still unknown.

“We really wish we could discuss about the peace with the international
community,” Saw Hla Ngwe told DVB. “There will be a good outcome if the
Burmese government shows its goodwill, otherwise we will be forced to keep
on defending our people and continuing our fight.”

The KNLA remains on of the few armed ethnics groups in Burma not to have
signed a ceasefire pact with the Burmese military, which has ruled the
country in various guises since 1962. The  Karen army was formed shortly
after British rule of Burma ended in 1948, spurred on by a pledge by the
British to create an independent Karen homeland that failed to
materialise.

Meanwhile, in nearby Myawaddy yesterday evening, around 30 troops from the
pro-junta Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) surrounded a police
station and demanded the return of allegedly smuggled vehicles that were
confiscated by police.

Troops from the Burmese army arrived at the scene and forced the DKBA to
withdraw after 40 minutes, a source close to the Myawaddy police said.

“[The DKBA soldiers] thought they would get their vehicles back like the
last time [they were confiscated],” said a local Myawaddy resident. “But
this time, the army showed up and said they would be shot if they don’t
leave so they fled.”

____________________________________

September 22, Kyodo News
Myanmar refugees leave Thai camp to resettle in Japan

Mera, Thailand – Five Myanmarese families who will be taken in by the
Japanese government under the "third country" refugee resettlement program
next week left Mera refugee camp in northwestern Thailand on Wednesday.

After undergoing medical checkups at an International Organization for
Migration facility in Mae Sot, Thailand, the 27 ethnic Karen people will
leave Thailand for Japan on Sept. 27.

The families are the first group of 90 Myanmar refugees whom Japan will
accept over the next three years under the third-country refugee
resettlement pilot program.

The Karen families bid farewell to their relatives and friends in Camp
Mera, where they have lived for over 10 years, as they boarded the bus to
Mae Sot earlier Wednesday.

A 36-year-old man who will be heading to Japan with six family members
said he could not sleep the previous night because of nervousness, adding
that he would miss the people at the camp but is happy that he is going to
Japan.

The five families completed a 20-day training course on Japanese language
and customs in August. After arriving in Japan, they will stay initially
in Tokyo for six months to learn Japanese and receive job training.

It is up to them to decide where they will eventually resettle and what
jobs they will do.

Camp Mera, the biggest refugee camp in Thailand, is home to about 50,000
Myanmar refugees who have fled their country, mainly due to armed
conflicts between the Myanmar military and Karen National Union rebels.

____________________________________
DRUGS

September 22, Irrawaddy
Drugs increasing at Thai-Burmese border – Alex Ellgee

CHIANG RAI, Thailand—From their base, the Thai soldiers can see two
Burmese army outposts and another two United Wa State Army (UWSA) camps.
Despite the proximity to the two rival armies, the pace of life at the
jungle base is slow; this unit has not engaged in fighting for decades.
However, the Thai soldiers say their position is vital, not only for Thai
sovereignty but to combat the increasing flow of drugs being smuggled into
Thailand.

Every two or three months the Thai and Wa soldiers meet at a location
halfway between their two bases. Despite their dedication to combating the
drug trade, the soldiers say they refrain from talking about “politics or
serious issues” with the Wa. But it is well known among Thai border guards
that the Wa have their hands in the drug trade. Only two days before this
reporter visited, they had caught three people no more than 4 km from the
base smuggling in large quantities of methamphetamines. When the Thais
attempted to arrest the traffickers a gunfight broke out, killing one of
the smugglers.

Despite increased efforts by the Thai military to reduce trafficking, the
level of drugs entering Thailand has soared over the last six months.
Sitting in a safe house on the Thai-Burmese border in Chiang Rai province,
Ko Sai, an ethnic Wa spy for the Thai military, told The Irrawaddy he
believed the level of drugs entering into Thailand has increased more than
six times from last year.

“Drugs have just started to flood in to Northern Thailand from Burma, I
have never seen so much,” said Ko Sai, using a fake name for reasons of
security.

Statistics reflect this increase. Thailand’s northern branch of the Office
of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), which spearheads all anti-drug
operations, reports that 10.8 million amphetamine tablets were seized this
year, a massive increase from last year when only 2.9 million were seized.
However, heroin seizures have decreased from 13 kilograms last year to
nearly four kilogram’s this year.

When Ko Sai was only 15 years old, the UWSA came to his village and
demanded he join their forces. Despite his objections, he was dragged off
and conscripted to an outpost. He stayed there till he was 18 and then
deserted to Thailand.

Over the last year, Ko Sai’s former Army, the USWA, has faced repeated
calls from the Burmese military government to accept the Border Guard
Force (BGF) proposal. Naypyidaw’s original plan was to put an end to the
autonomy that many of the cease-fire groups enjoy, and bring them all
under one command in time for the Nov. 7 general election.

The most contested element of the proposal was Naypyidaw's demand that
Burmese commanders take up senior positions in the ethnic army's ranks and
hand over the Wa-controlled area at the Thai-Burma border, where more than
80,000 Wa people had been strategically relocated by the junta to counter
the late Shan drug lord Khun Sa’s armed group in the early 1990s.

Fearing an offensive by the Burmese government forces, the Wa and other
cease-fire groups in the area have been on high alert since March when BGF
talks became more heated. As a result of the tensions, the USWA told all
the administrative and military units to prepare for the possibility of an
end to the cease-fire.

Part of this preparation has been to stockpile weapons. Following months
of surveillance inside USWA area, Ko Sai said that the USWA are trying to
sell drugs quickly in order to raise capital.

“It is not the top USWA leaders directly, but through their cronies and
family members they are able to raise more money to buy more arms,” he
said, adding that he had witnessed a shift to buyers buying on credit.

Along the main roads and smuggling routes, he said the USWA had set up a
series of checkpoints. At every checkpoint, travelers are searched and
simply asked to declare how much drugs they are carrying. “Then the
soldiers will then tax them on how much they are carrying,” said Ko Sai.

However, the Palaung Woman’s Organisation (PWO), based on Burma’s borders
with China and Thailand, asserts that the Burmese regime is largely to
blame for the drug trade. While the ethnic armies are reported to be
selling large amounts of drugs across the border, the Burmese authorities
will also be profiting from the surge, according the organization’s latest
report, “Poisoned Hills,” which also says that opium production is
increasing in Burmese government-controlled areas at an alarming rate.

The PWO says that police “anti-drug teams” extort opium growers by
demanding bribes to turn a blind eye, and to fill out eradication reports
incorrectly to show that drug production is decreasing.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 22, Irrawaddy
Burma War Crimes Commission receives growing support

A proposed UN Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate war crime in
Burma has received growing support, with the governments of the Netherland
and New Zealand giving their approval.

A CoI would investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma
especially in eastern Burma where armed conflicts between the Burmese army
and ethnic rebels has gone on for decades.

The expression of support was in response to a draft resolution in the
Netherlands Parliament calling on the government to support an inquiry and
work for the proposal to be included in a forthcoming UN General Assembly
resolution on Burma.

Zoya Phan, the International Coordinator at Burma Campaign UK, said, “The
official support of the Netherlands for a UN inquiry into crimes in Burma
is very welcomed. Every EU member supporting it brings us a step closer to
official EU support. The EU should urgently support an inquiry. Horrific
human rights abuses which break international law are being committed
every day. There is no excuse for delay.”

The Netherlands is the nineth country to officially support a CoI, and the
fifth European Union member to express support. Other supporting countries
are Australia, UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia, US, Canada, Hungary and New
Zealand.

Naing Ko, a spokesperson for Burma Campaign New Zealand, said, “It's great
to see the New Zealand government is willing to stand in solidarity with
the people of Burma. It's a necessary first step to ending impunity and
bringing the perpetrators to justice.”

He said that there is no doubt that the Burmese military junta is one of
the worst human rights violators in the world. Torture, sexual violence,
forced labor, recruitment of child soldiers and the killing of civilians
in ethnic areas are widespread and systematic, according to human rights
groups.

“The international community has long been aware of the systematic nature
of human rights violations committed in Burma, and it is imperative they
start to investigate these crimes,” he said.

In its latest Periodic Report on Wednesday—documenting human rights
violations in Burma from January to July of this year, a Thailand-based
rights group, the Network for Human Rights Documentation—Burma (ND-Burma)
said that arbitrary and corrupt taxation is a violation that is
challenging the survival of many families in Burma.

In areas where cases were gathered, forced labor, confiscation or
destruction of property, torture and inhumane or degrading treatment were
among the most prevalent human rights violations, according to the rights
group. ND-Burma has documented 352 human rights violations in the report.

Tate Naing, an advisory board member of ND-Burma, said, “These are not
just isolated cases. The military regime is systematically attacking
civilians in Burma. The cases in this report add more details to the
growing body of evidence that the regime may indeed be committing crimes
against humanity.”

The Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), an umbrella organization of
NGOs and humanitarian agencies that assists internally displaced persons
(IDPs) and refugees at the Thai-Burmese border, said that between August
2008 and July 2009 some 120 communities were destroyed, making a total of
more than 3,500 villages and “hiding sites” in eastern Burma that have
been destroyed or forcibly relocated since 1996.

In a 2008 report, the TBBC said that the total number of IDPs in eastern
Burma was likely to be well over half a million people with at least
451,000 people estimated to have been displaced in rural areas alone.

____________________________________

September 22, Irrawaddy
Burma FM claims progress towards development goals – Lalit K. Jha

Washington—Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win said on Tuesday that despite
challenges the country has made progress towards achieving most of its
millennium development goals (MDGs), especially in the areas of poverty
alleviation, food security and promotion of health and education.

Leading the Burmese delegation to the 65th annual session of the UN
General Assembly, Nyan Win told the participants in a high level plenary
meeting on the UN's MDGs that while national governments have the primary
responsibility to ensure progress, the international community must help
by creating an environment that would enable developing countries to make
firmer strides in their road to development.

Nyan Win said that in Burma, the junta is striving to promote better
living standards for its people through the implementation of its National
Development Plan, which is inextricably linked to MDGs, and the targets of
MDGs have been accorded priority in the context of national development
and poverty alleviation.

Burma’s food security program, which is focused on expanding production of
agriculture, livestock and fisheries, has enabled the country to achieve
not only food self-sufficiency, but also to contribute towards fulfilling
the needs of others in the region and beyond, Nyan Win said.

Noting that education occupies a place of high priority in Burma, Nyan Win
said a large number of schools, colleges and universities were expanded to
various regions to provide better access to education.

“School enrollment ratio has been drastically increased from 67.13 percent
in 1988 to 98.13 percent in 2009 due to nationwide activities such as the
All School Age Children in School Project. Literacy rate has also grown to
94.83 in 2009. In terms of gender equality, the ratio of girls to boys in
primary education increased to 97.43 per cent in 2009. The ratio is even
higher in secondary and higher education,” Nyan Win said.

Similar progress was also recorded in maternal health and mortality, Nyan
Win said. “The under-five mortality rate has also been reduced by half,
from 130 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to 66.1 per 1,000 live births
in 2003. It is still declining further. We are also on the course to
achieve the MDG target of reduction of maternal mortality by
three-quarters,” he said.

Nyan Win said that international assistance could serve as an important
catalyst for developing countries' efforts to achieve their development
goals. “Therefore, indiscriminate fulfillment of the ODA [Official
Development Assistance] commitments, increased investment flows, market
access and resolution of debt problems are essential to enable the
developing countries to realize the MDG targets,” he said.

Despite Nyan Win's claims of progress towards its MDGs, however, the 2009
Human Development Report ranked Burma 138th out of 182 countries listed in
its human development index, a composite measure of three dimensions of
human development: living a long and healthy life, being educated and
having a decent standard of living.

____________________________________

September 22, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma cornered at UN rights debate – Francis Wade

Delegates from 12 countries delivered a scathing denunciation of the human
rights situation in Burma late last week at a meeting of the UN Human
Rights Council in Geneva.

Burma’s delegate at the conference, Maung Lwin, faced bruising remarks
from diplomats from the EU, US, Australia, Japan and Norway, with the
looming elections and a possible UN inquiry into war crimes in the pariah
taking centre-stage at the 17 September debate.

“Japan continued to have serious concerns regarding the democratisation
process in Myanmar [Burma],” a summary of the proceedings said. “The
current situation in which prisoners of conscience, including Aung San Suu
Kyi, could not stand for political office in the forthcoming general
elections was regrettable.”

The sentiment was echoed elsewhere: Norway made reference to “gross and
systematic violations of human rights” in Burma, while Washington urged
“an international commission of inquiry
to examine allegations of serious
violations of international law”.

The debate on Burma formed part of a wider discussion on global situations
that “require the Human Rights Council’s attention”. A statement on the
Council’s website said that while some delegates denounced rights abuses
around the world, “other speakers said this exercise was counter
productive and reflected the prevailing double standards in dealing with
human rights which only targeted countries of the south”.

This certainly appeared to be the position taken by Maung Lwin, who
reacted to the condemnation by saying that the Burmese junta argued that
issues surrounding human rights should “only be resolved in a cooperative,
non-politicized and non-selective manner”.

He also defended the junta’s “every effort to hold free and fair elections
in a peaceful and stable manner”, following attacks from Belgium, Norway,
UK, Denmark and others on the 7 November polls, Burma’s first in 20 years.

“Myanmar was transforming toward democratic society and the destiny of
Myanmar should be decided by its own people,” Maung Lwin continued. “It
was not fair to make prejudgements and set preconditions on the upcoming
elections from outside with the intention of interfering in internal
affairs.”

The build-up to the vote has been shrouded in controversy – international
monitors are banned, and a number of clauses in the 2008 constitution,
such as the awarding of a quarter of parliamentary seats to the military
prior to voting day, appear to be an obstacle to any democratic reform in
the military-ruled country.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

September 22, Info Birmanie and International Federation of Human Rights
BURMA – War crimes and crimes against humanity

FIDH, Human Rights Watch, Info-Birmanie and French Human Rights League
demand the set-up of an international commission of inquiry

They welcome France’s statement and urge the EU to support this initiative
at the UN General Assembly

During a press conference held on Wednesday 22 September in Paris, the
organizations Info-Birmanie, Human Rights Watch, the French Human Rights
League and FIDH unanimously welcomed the statement made by France
supporting the establishment of a commission of inquiry on crimes against
humanity and war crimes perpetrated in Burma. Isabelle Dubuis,
Info-Birmanie’s coordinator, stated “this commission of inquiry is long
overdue; its establishment would demonstrate the right to justice of the
victims and would materialize the international community’s repeated calls
to finally put an end to human rights abuses in Burma.” Jean-Marie
Fardeau, Human Rights Watch France director “regrets that the European
Union has not yet taken a public stand. We believe a joint EU position
would be a strong signal sent to the others United Nations member states.”
Souhayr Belhassen, President of the FIDH, reminded that “this commission
is not only necessary to put an end to crimes but also awaited to bring
justice to Burma.”

As the 2010 UN General Assembly has opened in New York, the French
government has publicly stated its support to the set-up of an
international commission of inquiry to investigate the numerous
allegations of international crimes perpetrated in Burma. During the 15th
session of the Human Rights Council, France’s permanent representative
stated that: “Human rights are still systematically violated and France
expressed its support for the Special Rapporteur’s recommendation to
establish an international commission of inquiry and urges the Burmese
government to fully cooperate with the latter.”

In March 2010, M. Quintana, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights
situation in Burma/Myanmar, characterized human rights violations
committed in the country as being “widespread and systematic” and as being
“the result of a State policy”.  His recommendation to the UN was to
consider establishing the commission of inquiry on crimes against humanity
and war crimes. It is the first time in twenty years that a senior UN
official makes such a recommendation. His predecessor M. Pinheiro, who
partook in the panel of the press conference, declared: “I am very pleased
that France has joined this ‘group of honour’ of countries supporting the
commission of inquiry”.

Since March, support in favour of this initiative has increased: several
countries including the United States, Australia, Canada and European
countries such as the Netherlands, Hungary and Czech Republic have
declared their support for a UN international commission of inquiry.
France is today the ninth country to take a public stand in favour of such
a commission. In France, 60 MPs have urged the French government to
publicly stand in favour of a commission of inquiry to put an end to the
culture of impunity that has been spreading in Burma for decades and
prevent the perpetration of new crimes and abuses.

The evidences gathered by different UN agencies and Burmese and
international organizations are appalling: the destruction since 1996 of
over 3500 villages, the overwhelming number of arbitrary killings, forced
disappearances and rapes, the forced displacement of over a million people
and the forced recruitment of dozens of thousands of child soldiers.

____________________________________

September 22, Human Rights Watch
Japan: Press Burma for justice

Tokyo – Japan should publicly support the establishment of an
international Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against
humanity in Burma, Human Rights Watch and five other nongovernmental
organizations said in a letter to Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara made
public today.

Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Now, Burmese Relief Center-Japan,
People's Forum on Burma (Japan), Amnesty International Japan, and
BurmaInfo urged Japan to support a resolution on Burma which includes
language establishing a United Nations Commission of Inquiry at the
upcoming session of the UN General Assembly. This move follows the March
2010 statement by the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma,
Tomas Ojea Quintana, calling on the UN to consider establishing a
Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity committed in Burma.

"Establishing an international Commission of Inquiry would be a
significant step to end impunity in Burma," said Kanae Doi, Japan director
at Human Rights Watch. "As one of the few Asian member states of the
International Criminal Court and a major Asian democracy, Japan is in the
unique position to take the lead in reaching out to other Asian neighbors
to join this critical movement to seek justice for Burma's people."

For years, the UN has documented and publicly reported on serious,
widespread, and systemic violations of international human rights and
humanitarian law in Burma. To date, there have been 19 resolutions on
Burma passed by the UN General Assembly.

The letter states that the UN must move beyond this status quo of
documenting rights violations and passing annual resolutions on the grave
human rights situation in Burma. The six organizations called on Japan to
play an active and leading role in supporting this international
Commission of Inquiry, and to ensure the investigation covers violations
perpetrated by any and all of the parties to Burma's long-running civil
conflict.

The groups state that "it is time for Japan and other like-minded states
to ensure that these crimes will be subject to greater international
scrutiny and take steps to halt the cycle of impunity in Burma. The
establishment of an international Commission of Inquiry is an important
first step."

Several EU member states such as the United Kingdom, Hungary, the Czech
Republic, and the Netherlands, as well as the governments of the United
States, Australia, and New Zealand have now publicly announced their
support for an international commission to investigate crimes in Burma.

Human Rights Watch also released today an extensive document on
"Frequently Asked Questions" in Japanese that provides detailed
explanations of various issues relating to accountability for crimes in
violation of international law in Burma.

"The victims of serious international crimes in Burma deserve recognition
and justice," Doi said. "The new foreign minister Maehara should take this
opportunity to assume a leadership role in bringing about human rights
improvement in Burma."

____________________________________

September 22, Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma
ND-Burma releases periodic report on the human rights situation in Burma

The Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma (ND-Burma) today
released its latest Periodic Report documenting human rights violations in
Burma from January to July of this year.

Over this period, ND-Burma has documented a total of 352 human rights
violations. In the areas where cases were gathered, forced labor,
confiscation or destruction of property, torture and inhumane or degrading
treatment are among the most prevalent human rights violations. Arbitrary
and corrupt taxation is a violation that is challenging the survival of
many families in Burma. For more information on this topic, see ND-Burma’s
recent report, We have to give them so much that our stomachs are empty of
food: The Hidden Impact of Burma’s Arbitrary and Corrupt Taxation
(available at www.nd-burma.org).

“These are not just isolated cases; the military regime is systematically
attacking civilians in Burma. The cases in this report add more details to
the growing body of evidence that the regime may indeed be committing
crimes against humanity,” Ko Tate Naing, Advisory Board member of
ND-Burma, said.

Over the same period, ND-Burma documented 60 election-related violations
committed by the military regime and its supporters. “During this
reporting period, we saw that there were restrictions on freedom of
movement, expression and association and a threat of violence and
intimidation and arbitrary arrest. These are not conditions conducive to
free, fair and democratic elections,” Moon Nay Li, Management Board member
of ND-Burma, said.

ND-Burma fieldworkers put themselves at great risk to document these human
rights abuses. Because this monitoring cannot take place openly, a
comprehensive representation of all human rights violations that happen in
Burma is not possible. However, ND-Burma’s reports feature information
from a wide range of areas of Burma and cover 16 categories of human
rights violations. These Periodic Reports provide up-to date information
and highlight pressing issues and trends within the country including
election-related human rights violations in the pre-election period.

ND-Burma will continue to document election-related human rights
violations in the lead up to election day, and will be releasing a
comprehensive report on the subject.

ND-Burma’s 13 member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of
what communities in Burma have endured to challenge the regime’s power
through present-day advocacy as well as prepare for justice and
accountability measures in a potential transition.

For further information, please contact –

Ko Tate Naing: kotate_9 at yahoo.com (+66 (0)81 287 8751)
Moon Nay Li: moonnayli at gmail.com (+66 (0)85 625 1912)