A Reflection
On April 21st, the US Campaign for Burma (USCB) hosted a Genocide Awareness and Prevention month live stream. Audiences tuned in to ask questions and hear what the three incredible guest panelists had to say about the crisis in Burma and the experiences of ethnic people there. The three panelists included Stephen Rapp, Debbie Stothard, and Yasmin Ullah. Stephen Rapp is the former ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues. Debbie Stothard is an activist and founder of ALTSEAN. Yasmin Ullah is a Rohingya refugee and former president of the Rohingya Human Rights Network.
The panelists explained many of the problems facing Burma. Their decades of experience allowed them to see that the Tatmadaw has never had to change its cruel ways. A chronic lack of accountability is one of the major contributions that emboldened the military to continue committing human rights violations with impunity.
During the event, special attention was paid to the upcoming ASEAN summit in Jakarta. Min Aung Hlaing was invited to the event and with much debate about how the meeting would go. Our panelists had a few choice words about the summit and ASEAN’s decision to invite the coup-plotter-in-chief.
Yasmin Ullah
Yasmin Ullah hails from one of the most persecuted minorities in the world: the Rohingya, who have suffered at the hands of the military for decades. Yasmin and her family escaped Burma in 1995, long before the genocide. In ‘95, she sought refuge in Thailand. However, even in that new land she felt the Tatmadaw’s oppression. The myths that the regime spread about her people followed her to Thailand. Even the Thai government fell for the military’s lies.
This pattern has not ended, and, if anything, it has gotten much worse. Even as thousands of Kachin and Karen people are trying to escape the military’s airstrikes and campaigns of violence, the military is once again spreading lies about them. The Thai government and the Tatmadaw have claimed that these desperate people are COVID-carrying illegal immigrants who are not to be trusted.
However, it seems that across the region, the junta’s lies are not holding up as well as they used to. The unpopularity of autocratic regimes in places like Thailand and Burma makes people less likely to believe what the military says. Not only that, but the prevalence of the internet has made it easier for people all across Southeast Asia to unite and see through malevolent narratives their governments peddle. This has helped build up the Milk Tea Alliance that serves as a loose alliance for pro-democracy activists in the region.
During the event, Yasmin Ullah voiced concern about the military trying to drive a wedge between the Rohingya and the rest of the country. Hopefully, after decades of trauma, the people of Burma will not fall victim to the military’s old divide and rule tactics!
Ambassador Stephen Rapp
Stephen Rapp analyzed the situation through a more geopolitical lens. Throughout his extensive travels, Stephen has seen accountability as the #1 remedy for runaway dictatorships. The Tatmadaw’s lack of accountability is precisely why the regime felt that it could dismantle democratic reforms and kill countless people. Through the writing of the 2008 constitution, the Burmese military gave themselves the power to act with impunity. They never lost this power, and they were never punished for their reprehensible actions.
Rapp also felt that the anti-junta movement showed particular promise due to its push for a federal democracy. Such a system would completely remove the military from power and rightfully include all ethnic people in government for the first time. Hopefully, if the movement succeeds, it would also push for reconciliation through accountability. All who participated in the Tatmadaw’s reign of terror and the Rohingya Genocide must be tried for their crimes.
In the meantime, Stephen hopes that arrest warrants from the International Court of Justice will come soon. He feels that the best place for these generals is behind bars. While potential arrests might not be the end-all for Burma’s woes, they will be the first step toward accountability in the country.
Debbie Stothard
With regard to the April 24 ASEAN summit, Debbie Stothard’s comments were of particular interest. As the founder of ALTSEAN, a solidarity group of Southeast Asian activists, she obviously felt that ASEAN’s invitation to Min Aung Hlaing was an affront to human rights. However, the invitation is typical of ASEAN’s response to many human rights abusers in the region. She contrasted the reaction to the coup in Burma to punishment for the Indonesian military’s crimes. In Indonesia, the military had its business holdings and reserved place in politics torn away. In Burma, on the other hand, ASEAN and Western states have advocated in the past that civilians compromise with the Tatmadaw.
Similar to the Indonesian military, the Tatmadaw operates a vast empire of industry and capital that might be threatened if they were forced from power. So, the military prevented this eventuality by way of the February 1 coup. Stothard said that while it is far from the only reason why the coup took place, the coup and all other abuses have had a clear economic motive- that economic motive is why it is essential to sanction Burma’s oil and gas industries.
Lastly, Stothard stressed the need for the National Unity Government to ratify the Rome Statute. This will help ensure the eventual prosecution of war criminals in Burma and show that the country’s legitimate government is ready to join a rules-based international community.
Unfortunately, the outcome of the ASEAN summit did manage to disappoint. This was not unexpected, but it was disheartening to hear more calls for “dialogue” and “compromise” from such a spineless organization. This, however, does not mean that the junta has won. If anything, our panelists managed to prove that there are plenty of brave people working to oppose the illegal regime. These people, both in Burma and around the world, are dedicated to liberating the country, righting past wrongs, and preventing future genocide and ethnic cleansing.
If you were unable to view the event live, there is a recording on the USCB’s Facebook page that can be found here. A live Tweet thread is also available to read via the USCB’s Twitter page, which can be found here. Also available is a full recording of the event, to be found here.
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