Tag: history

Burma: a forgotten conflict


Violence continues in Burma while the West does little

August 2024

One thing which helps a tyranny to survive and prosper is for people to look the other way. In Burma, the military has held sway for many years now and there was a belief that they were invincible and would eventually win. Three million have been displaced according to the Burma Campaign although the UN calculates the figure to be 2.3 million. Burma seldom makes the news and certainly not in comparison with Gaza and Ukraine. This relative obscurity has enabled the military, the Tatmadaw, to continue its murderous campaign and the assumption of their eventual victory meant countries and companies kept their powder dry in terms of its relations with them.

The previous UK government’s responses ‘slowed to a standstill’ according to the Burma Campaign in their latest campaign news (Issue 46, 2024). A crucial issue was the supply of jet fuel and there has been a campaign to stop the supply of this fuel which is used by the military to bomb schools, hospitals and villages. At a meeting of the UN Security Council in April, the USA and Malta called on the Council to take action to stop the supply of this fuel. In itself this was a huge step. The UK government did not support this move and unfortunately, Britain leads on Burma in the Security Council (ibid).

The lack of attention by the British media meant little pressure was put on the Conservative government to take an active role. We now have a new government and Burma News asks ‘What does the new government mean for UK Burma policy?’ It is of course early days but it does not look promising. Sir Keir is focused on the domestic agenda but has spoken on the plight of the Rohingya in the past. Disappointingly, the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy has shown no interest both recently and while he was in opposition. Other Labour politicians have offered some support but they do highlight Rushanara Ali MP who was very active and was chair of the All-Party Parliamentary group on Burma and Rohingya. She is now a housing minister so cannot continue in that role.

Aung San Suu Kyi became a hero and her time under house arrest attracted considerable international attention and sympathy. It was a huge disappointment to discover upon release that the party she led, the National Lead for Democracy, was vigorously in favour of the Rohingya genocide. She defended the military at the Hague. Although the situation is complex the basic point is that there is no desire by the NLD for Burma to be a multi-ethnic state. They believe the Bamar to be superior and there is a desire is for it to be exclusively Buddhist. The West’s image of Buddhists also came in for a knock. She is however, a popular figure still in the country.

Attitudes and policies may need a rethink however because the military it now appears is losing ground. Far from being invincible, the People’s Defence Forces have been winning back territory in many parts of the country. The UK government’s softly, softly approach and the Foreign Secretary’s lack of interest may need to change.

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Uyghurs win important case


World Uyghur Congress wins important Appeal Court case concerning cotton produced in Xinjiang

June 2024

The dreadful treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang province in China is well established and around one million of them are kept in 380 internment camps. They are also used as forced labour in the production of cotton and 85% of China’s cotton comes from this region. This cotton finds its way into western markets and is used to produce clothing on sale in UK shops and elsewhere.

The WUC tried to get the National Crime Agency to carry out an investigation which the declined to do saying that they needed details of specific contracts. This was overturned at the Appeal Court in what is being described as a ‘watershed moment‘ ([2024] EWCA Civ 715). The court said the decision by NCA was ‘illegal’. The cotton produced using forced labour infringes the Proceeds of Crime Act. This is the first successful action in the world and is being regarded as a landmark decision. If a company knowingly uses, or which they suspect to be using, forced labour, then a prosecution can be initiated under POCA.

Needless to say the Chinese are angry and the Chinese Embassy said it was ‘an enormous lie by anti-Chinese elements to smear China’. The problem for the Chinese is that it is a closed region and journalists are not allowed in. Footage that has emerged has been shot clandestinely. There seems little doubt however that the scale of the repression, the attempted destruction of the Uyghur culture including banning the language, and the demolition of hundreds of mosques, represents a major crime taking place in the twenty first century. It is variously described as a crime against humanity and genocide.

A lawyer from the Global Legal Action Network said ‘this litigation has been critical in recognising the mass atrocities being committed against Uyghur and other Turkic Muslim people by the Chinese government, and holding to account those complicit in, or profiting from, these crimes.’ Producers of clothes using Chinese cotton will now have to take extra care that it does not use forced labour. Major high street names are involved.

Sources: Binman’s, Reuters, The Guardian, Law Society Gazette

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Burma


Hope is a possibility in Burma

April 2024

The news at present focuses on the terrible events in Gaza with over 33,000 dead and many thousands injured or missing. Even today, there is news of the death of aid workers three of whom are Britons. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues and there are problems in Sudan with thousands fleeing for their lives. News today seems to focus on one crisis at a time partly because of resources and partly because there is what some call ‘compassion fatigue’.

Burma and the terrible activities of the Burmese military has slipped off the radar somewhat but the latest news from the Burma Campaign has a hint of encouragement in it which is good news.

The situation up to now has been dire. The military, known as the Tatmadaw, have waged war on many of its own citizens and has run an apartheid state. Thousands have been driven from their homes, villages have been bombed and burned. Tens of thousands have fled to Bangladesh to escape the violence. Some of the methods used by the military are vicious beyond belief and include burning people alive.

The British government has not done enough to make life difficult for the regime. For example, the bombing is carried out by jets which need jet fuel to fly. The ships bringing in the fuel are insured in London and there seems little chance that this will cease. Recently, Lord Cameron headed a deputation of people to the far east, including Burma, and was accompanied by several representatives of arms companies. A big source of income for the regime is the export of gems by state owned companies and little has been done to restrict this.

But it seems there is hope. It appears the military is losing more territory as people fight to free their country from military occupation. The Economist has reported that more and more soldiers are deserting the army. There is real hope that the country could be free of the military. The Burma Campaign recently joined others outside the Foreign Office and showed placards with David Cameron’s head on an image of a snail. It was urging the government to act more quickly.

Sources: Burma Campaign, Amnesty UK, The Economist, CAAT.

The Salisbury group was established 50 years ago this year
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