August

2000

Burma Issues
VOLUME 10 NUMBER

I N F O R M A T I O N FOR A C T I O N

C A M P A I G N S FOR P E A C E

G R A S S R O O T S EDUCATION AND ORGANIZING

FORCED LABOUR BLUES, I L O

The International Labour Organization's June decision to sanction the government of Burma for its ongoing use of forced labor has been correctly labeled a victory by the human rights community. The 1 9 3 0 convention on labor rights is the only UN convention that Burma has ratified, allowing the International Labour Organization and the annual convention of its 174 member nations some basis to reproach the long recalcitrant junta. This is the first time that the ILO has invoked the powers in its constitution to pressure a member state to comply with international labor norms. However, the ILO also faces significant barriers to effective action against forced labor in Burma.

ACTION

word, the most blatant legal support of forced labor. 1 However, it was deemed too little too late. During the 1 999 International Labour Convention (ILC) it was decided that Burma "should cease to benefit from any technical cooperation or assistance of the ILO, except for the purpose of direct assistance to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry."

Early this year the ILO Governing Body asked that the ILC take further action "as it may deem wise and expedient to insure compliance." 2 However, once again Burma's government indicated it was willing to cooperate and it was agreed that a three person ILO technical misAfter several years of investigation, the ILO sion would be sent. The mission returned with Commission of Inquiry released its 6,000 page a letter from Labor Minister Maj. Gen. Tin Ngwe report in August 1998. It documented comsaying that the government has "taken and are pulsory labor and slavery in Burma and con- taking the necessary measures to ensure that cluded that this type of abuse was sanctioned there are no instances of forced labor in by the legal system, that it was a long standMyanmar." He promised to take into considering and ongoing practice of the military and ation "appropriate measures", to come into that those who perpetrated forced labor weren't compliance with the ILO's demands but nothfacing punishment. In the light of these coning more concrete. 3 The team noted in its reclusions, the Commission made three recomport that while the Towns and Villages acts had mendations: been addressed, the order only covered forced labor invoked under those t w o laws. The vast That the Village and Towns Acts, which majority of the forced labor in Burma is comallow for local authorities to demand forced lapelled solely on the authority of local military bor and punish citizens who don't comply, and commanders without any further legal mandate. any other relevant legislation be brought into Their report concluded that despite some cosline with the 1930 Forced Labor Convention. metic changes, "the factual situation [had] nevertheless remained unchanged to date." 4 That no further forced or compulsory labor be imposed by authorities, particularly the At this years labor conference the membermilitary. ship sent a strong message that what mea That penalties imposed for exacting forced sures had been taken were insufficient, threatlabor be strictly enforced, with thorough invesening that if more concrete action was not taken tigation, prosecution and punishment of violaby November 30 punitive action would follow. tors. The government of Burma's reaction to the On May 14, 1999 the junta passed the "Or- problem of forced labor and the ILO process der Directing Not to Exercise Power Under Cerhas been typical of how the regime deals with tain Provisions of the Towns A c t , 1907 and international criticism. Some of the problems the Villages A c t , 1 9 0 7 , " which addressed, in that the ILO will face come to light in an examination of Burma's relations with the international community. Burma Issues, the monthly newsletter of Burma Issues, is distributed on a free-subscription basis to individuals and groups concerned with the state of affairs in Burma. P.O. Box 1076 Silom Post Office Bangkok 10504, Thailand durham@mozart.inet.co.th Denial has consistently been the junta's knee jerk response to accusations of problems in Burma and the matter of forced labor is no exception. Following the release of the Commission of Inquiry report, SPDC Secretary 1 Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt stated that "there might

have been recourse to so-called forced labor when work was being carried out on infrastructure, but these practices had ceased." 5 Another standard response has been that forced labor has long been a part of Burmese culture, and that it serves as Buddhist merit making. In part, this attitude of denial is symptomatic of a military hierarchy w i t h no accountability for those on top. In such structures only good news flows up. This same military hierarc h y has g i v e n wide ranging powers to largely independent regional commanders in insurgent areas, inviting abuse of the local people. There are clear advantages for local commanders to use forced labor, but f e w such advantages in reporting this use to a central command which wants to be seen as cracking down on the problem. At the same time, it is implausible that the clique of military leaders that runs Burma is unaware of the problems of forced labor, so widespread in the country. The posture of denial on this issue and the use of delay tactics are characteristic of the government's attitude that the country's internal matters are its concern alone. However, the fact that it bothers to deny the problem does show a marginal sensitivity to international attitudes and ideas. In the same statement in which Khin Nyunt denied the use of forced labor he reiterated that "Myanmar did not wish to remain an island among other states.... It wanted to develop relations w i t h its neighbors, the international community and international organizations." 6 Throughout the entire ILO process, the military leaders have attempted to appear to be working towards compliance w i t h the labor organization's demands. The order to revoke forced labor under the Towns and Villages acts, was a very public attempt to be seen as yielding to the ILO. Additionally, Burma's acceptance of the technical mission this year was seen as a positive sign of willingness to cooperate w i t h the ILO. Even Tin Ngwe's letter following the mission has been seen as one of the first official acknowledgments, however indirect, that forced labor does exist in Burma. Despite the fact there has been a marked reluctance in even these token measures, they serve as a reminder that strengthening relationships w i t h the inter-

national community, particularly neighboring states, remains on the junta's priority list. Burma's leadership doesn't need to be reminded that political stability is tied to economic factors. The currency devaluation that left many in the country suddenly impoverished in 1 9 8 8 , led many people to take to the streets against the military leadership. The shift since that time t o w a r d s an openmarket economy has required infrastructure development on a level that cash poor Burma can't afford. As some control over the economy has been relinquished, Burma has become more reliant on outside countries and foreign cash. The military government has spent the last ten years attempting to balance iron fisted control of a populace that despises it; development of infrastructure w i t h as little cash outlay as possible; attempts to maintain a stable economy; and presentation of a good face for the international community from which it desires financial assistance. Maintaining control remains the military's goal, but they are now more susceptible to international influence than any other time in the last 4 0 years. One of the f e w ways of dealing w i t h the denial on the part of an offending party in international conflict is through collective pressure in its various forms. In the past the military government has survived international sanctioning by successfully playing the Asian nations off the west. It is telling that, w i t h the exception of Thailand, all of the countries neighboring Burma and all ASEAN nations voted against further ILO sanctioning. The ultimate decision about what methods to use to bring about compliance is the ILO Governing Body's, and thus not subject to plenary veto. However, it remains to be seen how well the labor organization will be able to enforce compliance among Burma's largest investors and most significant trading partners in Asia. To its credit, the ILO has focussed its criticism much more narrowly than most international bodies in the past. It's specific target, forced labor, is almost universally condemned. Burma has very f e w supporters in its claim that forcing its citizenry to work without compensation is culturally appropriate. This sets the

Continued on page 7

Two

SIDES OF O N E

BORDER

he following article was originally printed in Burma Issues' Thai language newsletter "Say Yai Thai Pa ma. "

The circumstances in Thailand and Burma differ greatly. However, t w o Burma Issues staff members, one from each country, found that their life stories shared more in c o m m o n than they expected. PART 1

tory. I w o r k e d as a seamstress making clothes on the side because I could only make 3 0 0 0 kyat (US $8.50) a m o n t h at the other jobs. I didn't have enough to eat or to buy the necessary things to live in Rangoon, as I was responsible for my grandmother as well, so we lived in poverty.

I was born and grew up in an area of ethnic conflict in Burma. I was separated from my family w h e n my youngest brother was barely one day old. I had just turned 4. My grand-

mother came to take me to live w i t h her in Kyauk Kyi, in the same district as my home, because my mother w a s n ' t able to care for all of us by herself. Living w i t h my grandmother I w o u l d have the opportunity to go to school. When I was 8 years old my Grandmother moved her family to Rangoon. A t the same time one of my younger brothers and my sister w e n t to live w i t h an uncle very close to the Thai border. A f t e r a short time my t w o youngest siblings followed them. This move significantly increased the distance between me and my brothers and sisters. I didn't k n o w w h e n w e w o u l d be able to meet face to face under the same roof again, yet w e were still able to keep in touch w i t h each other and exchange letters and words of encouragement. Although it w o u l d take as much as 2-3 months for the letters to arrive, I would always wait for them w i t h eager anticipation. When I lived w i t h my Grandmother in Rangoon I had the opportunity to study and graduated from university w i t h a degree in Burmese language. I was able to work in many places: hotels, banks and an electric cable fac-

I was born in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. When I w a s a little more than 1 year old my mother took me to live w i t h my grandparents in the countryside because she had to w o r k and d i d n ' t have enough time to care for me. My mother's parents are peasant rice farmers and have many children. They work the fields but never have enough food to eat or money to buy other goods. When my mother was 12 or 13 years old she left school and came to find w o r k in Bangkok to help support her family. I lived w i t h my grandmother and grandfather until I graduated from 6 t h grade. A t that time I t h o u g h t t h a t I w o u l d n ' t have the opportunity to study further and returned to Bankok to find my mother. I was able to get w o r k in a paper f a c t o r y , but after a short time my uncle came to take me to Ubon Ratchatani province to take care of his house for him and I had to leave my mother one more time. However, this meant that I would have the opportunity to finish grade 9 because of a program that allowed children in the countryside to study for free. When I finished my studies, I again t h o u g h t that I w o u l d n ' t be able to study further and returned to be w i t h my mother. We were able to be a real family again after being separated for so long. However, I still thought about furthering my education, so I decided to both w o r k and study at the same time. I got a job as a telephone operator and was able to make more than 1 0 0 0 baht (at that time about US$ 30) a month. I w o r k e d from 9 : 0 0 in the evening until 6 : 0 0 in the morning. I had to hurry home to take a shower so I could continue my studies f r o m 8 : 0 0 in the morning to 3 : 0 0 in the afternoon. I lived like this for 3 years until I graduated f r o m vocational school. I was weary of this schedule but I was proud that I w o u l d soon be able to help my mother. PART 2

I continued to be able to keep in contact w i t h my family until 1 9 8 3 w h e n I received the

news that my younger brothers and sisters had fled w i t h our relatives to the Thai side of the border. The Burmese military had overrun their village and they had to escape. I found myself even more removed f r o m my family, but in the end w e were able to meet together once again. When my grandmother died, I was left all alone and I felt that I could no longer live there. I thought I w o u l d improve my life and meet up w i t h my younger brothers and sisters, so I traveled to the refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border. Last year I was able to meet w i t h my brothers and sisters w h o I hadn't seen in 26 long years. I have always t h o u g h t how wonderful it w o u l d be if w e could meet together again in Burma, because it is the home of our birth. Now I live in Umpiam refugee camp in Poppra district, Tak province. A t first I w a s n ' t able to do anything, only get along day by day. I just waited to receive the food that was distributed for the refugees. However, I was able to talk w i t h people my o w n age and eventually w e were able to w o r k together to teach the children. I am very worried about the future of the children here. They are able to learn very little about life outside of the camp because they d o n ' t have the freedom to go anywhere. These children only k n o w how to be refugees.

CONCLUSION These t w o w o m e n have had similar life experiences. Both of them had to leave the home of their birth to survive. One of t h e m was impoverished by the political reality i-n her country. For the other, her poverty has economic causes. Economic poverty arises f r o m a system that places little value on those on the bottom. Another kind of poverty is that w h i c h arises from war and the militarization of society. W i t h the government of Burma putting the development of the military as the highest priority, education, healthcare and social services have been neglected. Efforts to collect rice as an export earner for the government to buy weapons have deprived even rice producers of enough to eat. But beyond the obvious physical hardships, families have struggled to maintain unity in the face of both political and economic oppression. It is too often assumed that if a democratic government is instated in Burma, solving the impoverished country's problems will come easily. Those people concerned about Burma would do well to look to Thailand to see w h a t the future might hold. When the military government does fall, international business will most certainly try to fill some of the power void. Families w h o have found themselves margainalized and divided by 4 0 years of civil war may indeed find themselves margainlized by a new economic system.

When I was finally able to come join my mother in Bangkok, w e lived together in a slum. My mother built our house over a pond out of scraps Jetana Jitjun of w o o d f r o m construction sites that were no longer w a n t e d by the supervisor. When my mother first came to live in the slum there were very f e w houses, but gradually more and more people came until dozens of people lived there. There was no running water or electricC O U R T CASE RESOLVED ity. When they requested electricity the price they were Max Ediger, co-founder of Burma Issues, plead guilty to quoted was considerably charges of harboring illegals in a Thai court, on Septemhigher t h a n n o r m a l . T h e y drew water from the pond for ber 1 2. The Burma Issues office in Bangkok was raided in washing and daily use. For early February by Thai police and 6 Burmese nationals drinking water they had to go to the market at 4 : 0 0 in the were arrested for illegal entry into Thailand. At that time, morning and steal it, because Max was arrested on charges of harboring these 6 perthe owner of the market refused either to sell or to give sons. Citing the societal benefits of Burma Issues work, t h e m some. The experience the judge suspended a 6 month jail term and fined him of all the families in the community was the same, and it 5,000 Thai Baht ($125). We are thankful that Max is was discouraging for everyfree to continue his work in solidarity w i t h the people of one.

Burma.

EXPANSION INTO M E P L E T T O E : PART 2

his article is continued from the July 2000 edition of Burma Issues. It was taken from March and June 2000 reports by a veteran Bl information collector.

In the last year the Meplettoe region (of Pa'an district of Karen State) received little rainfall and experienced ongoing civil war, so the military governm e n t and other armed groups continued extortionist activities. People faced The instruction in pressures f r o m all the schools under sides and food control of the Burma shortages resulted. Army is better than Some villages expethat in remote vilrienced destruction lages, both in terms of food supplies and of quality of teachthreats from the ers and time contribChildren at a one room school in Meplettoe (BI, 2000) SPDC and DKBA uted to studies. troops, while other villages were able to get an However, these villagers must strain to stand adequate crop in. on their own feet so that their children can attend school. The villagers must build the There are a lot of places where there are fields schools and support the teachers. The SPDC with streams feeding them during the dry seaarranges for teachers for these schools, but son, and the water is good, not limestone wathey don't lift a finger to provide the teachers' ter. If the villagers were planting vegetables salaries or travel allowances, as is meant to be and small crops here during the dry season the case. Some schools in Karen villages try to they would grow abundanty. Because of the set aside time to teach Karen literacy, but it lack of security in the area, however, they have isn't encouraged. Only 10% of people over the no time to do this and so the villagers grow age of 20 in the area are able to read the Karen their paddy [during the rains] and then leave language with a 30% literacy rate among those the land fallow [during the dry season]. under the age of 20. EDUCATION There are three areas located a fair distance from SPDC and DKBA positions. Among these tracts there are many villages. A great number of villagers from this area have fled to become internally displaced persons (IDPs) in mountainous areas that the army government troops cannot have regular or easy access to. As a result, a great number of children cannot attend school, despite the fact about half the villagers would very much like to have their children do so. Some parents send their children to towns and some to refugee camp schools (in Thailand). The schools in the villages they have come from are generally staffed with teachers who don't have enough education themselves to be qualified to teach the children. In most If we look at this whole region only one in every three village children is able to attend school. However, it isn't due to a lack of effort by the parents that the children are not attending school, but rather due to the many difficulties that the parents must face in their lives. POLITICAL OUTLOOK Most people spend their lives as farmers and they have long had to live with the civil war. If the SPDC or some other armed group demands money from them, all they know is that they must give it. They don't usually hear any talk of politics, and we can say that not even ten percent of the people know anything about national or international law. On the local level, they select village heads once every six months or in some villages once

schools the teachers have not even passed 7 th standard. In some areas in the Meplettoe region, the Baptist Christian Missioni will provides teachers for the villages with smaller schools if the villagers agree. However, those children who can attend school, have little time for s t u d y i n g . A n d w h e n e v e r the military d i c t a t o r s h i p ' s soldiers come into the area the villagers are forced to flee and the schools are closed.

a year. Nobody wants to become a village head. Village heads have to give all of their time to their duties, and have no time for their o w n livelihoods and households. They have many responsibilities including; traveling back and forth, facing conflicts, receiving orders to give money and collecting money to meet these demands. Various armed groups demanding money appear like lions and tigers, roaring and swearing, so the people run for their lives. Because most people have little education and have become accustomed to the armed rebels coming and taking care of things, they themselves are not active in examining new ideas and perspectives on how to solve their problems or develop their lives. Most people w e met w i t h , young and old, are just waiting for someone else to come and take charge of their development and progress. Many people, male and female, young and old, asked, " H o w long will it go on this w a y ? " They understand that the resistance has been drawn out over a long time and has expended the people's energy and resources. They w a n t to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Among the people there are those w h o have lost hope for peace and have entered into collaboration w i t h the government cease-fire groups to escape from the pressures on them from all sides. The villagers are thirsty for real peace, but not many understand w h a t it is. CULTURE AND MORALITY Most people in this area are Karen. There is still adequate knowledge about cultural activities like Karen New Year. In most places, other cultures have become mixed w i t h Karen culture to create a hybrid. However, much of the morality of our ancestors has been lost. In some villages if you don't drink alcohol you may have only one or t w o friends. One or t w o bottles of whisky and you'll have a lot of buddies. Above that, there's drug use and gambling. Mobile video shows are also contributing to the destruction of traditional culture. People go to take a quick look and end up w a t c h i n g the whole night: one night isn't enough; t w o nights aren't enough. Many completely forget about work the next day. This is the situation throughout the East Dawna Mountains. In the West Dawna areas they hold "stage s h o w s " and the people w h o go and see them say that these are not a good thing for our people. In these areas, which are under SPDC and DKBA control, when there are festivals w i t h the stage shows there is a lot of gambling and drugs are sold. What re-

sults is t h e f t of cattle, arson, adultery and forced marriages that last only a short time. CONCLUSION I will speak plainly. I d o n ' t w i s h to see these problems that the people have to face any more. I d o n ' t wish to think about them. If we were to think about w h a t our people must face for a long time then w e w o u l d die from it. Many have put their people's problems outside their hearts. We c a n ' t blame them. I can say that for myself, w h e n the Creator gave me life he made me w a t c h over all this. Whether I can do it or not, it is difficult to w a t c h .

Continued from page 2

ILO measures apart from other criticisms of the military government. Broad censure of the military, covering every human rights abuse from extra-judicial killing to lack of freedom of assembly, have left little room for change within the current structure and put the leaders on the defensive. In contrast, the ILO has made focussed observations, given concrete suggestions and s h o w n willingness to help w i t h incremental moves towards compliance. The ultimate priority of the government of Burma is to stay in power. To do so they are walking a shaky tightrope balancing international legitimacy, internal economic stability, and political control. If the ILO can galvanize the international c o m m u n i t y , it has the potential of forcing the military leadership to decide whether they are more attached to their use of forced labor or to their international legitimacy and investment. E. Miller

ILO

DILEMMAS

1 "Second report of the Director General to the Governing Body on measures taken by the Government of M y a n m a r . . . . , " I L O , February

2000
2 " M y a n m a r government says might change laws on forced labor," Associated Press, 2 J u n e 2 0 0 0 3 "Myanmar willing to cooperate with ILO on labour standards," Agence France Presse, 4 June 2 0 0 0 4 "International Labour Conference adopts Resolution targeting forced labour in M y a n m a r , " ILO N e w s , 1 4 June 2 0 0 0 5 Associated Press, 2 June 2 0 0 0 6 ibid V

august n e w s
uu Kyi Stand-Off. Aung San Suu Kyi's 9 day standoff with the military ended earlyinthemorningSeptember2 d . Approximately 200 military personnel took control of the camp in Dala whereshe and 14 NLD members had been stopped on an attempt to meet with other party members outside of Rangoon. The group was returned from the Rangoon suburb to their homes and promptly put under house arrest. During the standoff the junta drew criticism from UN Sec-Gen. Kofi Anan, the US, UK and the EU. Breaking with the ASEAN tradition of non-interferance, the Thai Foreign Ministry expressed concerns that these events would jeopardize upcoming EUASEAN. Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra said that the Thai government has the right to urge restraint on the part of all the parties involved.

gust 28th, at the height of the confrontation between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the government of Burma, for the 7th annual meeting between the two countries. The meeting falls under a memorandum of understand signed in 1994. Among the topics of discussion were border crossing policy, drug suppression, border trade and infrastucture development. Specific projects included the bridge on river Tiau, the Kaladan river project and Tamanthi hydro-electric project.
"India, Burma to start 7th national meet from Monday," Asian Age, 26 August 2000

The Asian Age: 40,000 Chin Burmese to be deported from India August 6, 2000 US Committee for Refugees: USCR Deeply Concerned Over Fate of Burmese Chin Deported and Detained by India August 5, 2000 "Deputy FM calls for end t o stand-off, Suu Kyi Bloomberg: Daewoo Corp Wins $10 Billion Myan- H N E H T U newspaper (India): Jail condition in Mizoram State, Aizawl, dated 3 August 2000 crisis could affect Vientiane meet," Achara mar Oil Development Project Seoul, Aug. 10 Chin Freedom Coalition: India Will Deport 82 Chin Ashayagachat, Bangkok Post 31 August 2000 Refugees to Burma on August 18 Washington, DC, hin Repatriation. Officials in the North eastern Indian province of Mizzoram August 16,2000. ndia-Burma Meeting. Indian home min

il Investment. Daewoo Corporation of Korea reported that it had won an oil exploration project in Burma. Daeowoo will invest $180 million in the project over the next four years, according to an agreement signed with Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise. Daewoo, which is deeply in debt, "Opposition official: Myanmar government forces expects the project could be worth as much Suu Kyi to end," Associated Press, 2 September 2000 asUSS 10 billion.

who had fled from Burma. Eighty-seven Chins were repatriated on August 3rd prompting a reaction from the US Committee for Refugees (USRC), which noted that these ethnic people faced persecution in Burma appealed to India to recognize them as refugees. During the first week in August the central jail in the Mizzoram capital of Aizawl was already 346 prisoners over the normal 500 person occupancy level. By the middle of the month, the Chin Freedom Coalition reported that the more than 1,000 refugees had been arrested and another 114 had already been repatriated. The USCR urged India to accept the Chin people as refugees. India isn't a signatory to the UN Convention on refugees, and the UNHCR hasn't had access to the estimated 40,000 Chins in Mizzoram who have fled Burma.

ister Kamal Pande arrived in Rangoon Au- started arresting and deporting ethnic Chins

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