The previous dictatorship, of which President Thein Sein was one of the most senior members, was notorious for using the strategic release of political prisoners to try to alleviate international pressure. Thein Sein has continued this policy.

Thein Sein seems to have judged, sadly apparently correctly, that the Obama administration is particularly gullible and likely to respond positively to this kind of manipulative use of political prisoner releases. Thein Sein strategically released around 100 political prisoners ahead of his visit to the USA in September 2012, and then strategically released around 50 political prisoners when Obama visited Burma in November 2012.

“The release of any political prisoner is welcome, but two years after the reform process began, people should be asking why there are still hundreds of political prisoners still in jail,” said Wai Hnin, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “These releases are blatantly designed to get good publicity ahead of Thein Sein’s visit to the USA. It is disgraceful to use political prisoners for public relations like this.”

While hundreds of political prisoners have been released since Thein Sein became President, hundreds more have been arrested in Kachin State and in Rakhine State. The exact numbers are not known, but could mean that the overall number of political prisoners in the country has fallen by a figure in the low hundreds, rather than almost a thousand.

Thein Sein has also left almost every repressive law used to jail political prisoners in place. Almost all the releases of political prisoners have only been released conditionally, meaning that if they engage in political activities which the government does not like they can be put back in jail and have to serve a new prison term and their old prison term.

Burma Campaign UK is still verifying that those expected to be released actually have been, but it does seem that four of the 23 political prisoners released today have been highlighted as political prisoners of the month in the ‘No political Prisoner Left Behind’ organised by Burma campaign groups worldwide. They are Win Myint, Kan Min Thar, Tun Oo, and Aung Naing.

Burma has a long track record of placing restrictions on international aid, especially in ethnic states. In 2008, as Prime Minister, Thein Sein was in charge of relief efforts after Cyclone Nargis, where restrictions on international aid caused international outrage. It was only through a combination of a credible threat, with American, French and British Navy ships off the coast and able to deliver aid directly, combined with a diplomatic effort that went as high as the Secretary General of the United Nations, that the government of Burma finally backed down and allowed in international aid.

Whilst there has been a significant improvement in humanitarian access in some areas of Burma since then, many restrictions remain in place, including in Rakhine State. In areas of conflict, such as Kachin State and Shan State, violations of international humanitarian law have continued under President Thein Sein. These restrictions are costing lives.

The places facing some of the most severe restrictions on aid to internally displaced people, Rakhine State and Kachin State, have around quarter of a million people displaced by violence and human rights abuses since Thein Sein became President. As President, Thein Sein has ultimate responsibility for the restrictions on international aid.

Many of the people living in IDP camps in Rakhine State and now under threat from Cyclone Mahasen have been there for almost a year. Throughout this time international agencies have faced many restrictions on their activities, and have never had completely free access to help these IDPs.

UN humanitarian coordinator Valerie Amos said after visiting one of the camps: “I have seen many camps during my time as the ERC but the conditions in this camp rank among the worst.”

For many months international agencies and the United Nations have been urging the government of Burma to move tens of thousands of the IDPs away from low-lying areas which are liable to flooding during the rainy season, but President Thein Sein failed to act. Now thousands of IDPs face disaster as Cyclone Mahasen threatens to strike Bangladesh and Burma on Wednesday or Thursday.

Belated efforts are being made to move many IDPs, but many more have not yet been moved, and even for those being moved, many are only being moved to slightly less dangerous sites, not safe sites.

The 2012 UN General Assembly resolution on Burma expressed ‘concern’ about violations of international humanitarian law, and called for ‘unhindered’ humanitarian access.  The 2013 UN Human Rights Council resolution on Burma also expressed concern about violations of international humanitarian law in Kachin State, and restrictions on aid in Rakhine State, and called on the government to end such violations.

However, almost every General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolution in the past 20 years has raised similar concerns. The government of Burma is fully aware that such expressions of concern are purely lip-service and that it can continue with restrictions on aid, even those which violate international humanitarian law, with impunity.

A factor that will reinforce President Thein Sein’s belief that he can continue to place restrictions on aid and break international humanitarian law without facing any consequences is the decision by the European Union in April 2013 to lift all sanctions except the arms embargo. When the EU suspended sanctions in April 2012, ending restrictions on humanitarian assistance was one of the key benchmarks they set. Despite the fact that this benchmark was not met with regard to Kachin State, and new restrictions were put in place for IDPs in Rakhine state, the EU still lifted sanctions.

Burma Campaign UK has repeatedly requested that the British government make challenging humanitarian aid restrictions in Burma a greater priority, and to take steps to hold the government of Burma accountable for its violations of international humanitarian law.

“There was already a humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State, and now there is a possible humanitarian disaster,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “By accepting restrictions on aid in Burma as normal and to be expected, these restrictions have been allowed to continue. Then, when disasters strike the consequences are more severe. The British government and rest of the international community have taken no action to hold President Thein Sein accountable for restricting aid in Rakhine State and for violating international humanitarian law in Kachin State, and so those violations have continued. Tens of thousands of people in Rakhine state are in much greater danger than they should have been as Cyclone Mahasen approaches. The priority now is getting people to safety, but the current crisis should be a wakeup call to the international community that they need to deliver on pledges made after Cyclone Nargis in 2008 that continued restrictions on aid would no longer be accepted.”

Action is also need to pressure the government of Bangladesh to lift its restrictions on aid to Rohingya refugees who have fled Burma. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees live in camps in the Cox’s Bazaar area of Bangladesh, which the United Nations predicts will suffer the heaviest rainfall and surge from Cyclone Mahasen.

The EU and USA set the unconditional release of all political prisoners in Burma as one of the key benchmarks which needed to be met before the lifting of sanctions. However, the EU and USA have lifted almost all sanctions despite the fact that most political prisoners were only released conditionally, and there are still hundreds of political prisoners in jail.

Almost all the political prisoners released since 2011 have only had their sentences suspended under Burma penal code 401, rather than receiving full pardons. This means that if they are arrested again they will serve the new prison terms, and the old prison term which they didn’t finish serving will be added to it. The released political activists receive no compensation and have criminal records, which creates difficulties in finding employment and trying to rebuild their lives.

“This jailing of Nay Myo Zin shows that the EU was wrong to lift sanctions and talk about ‘remarkable progress’ in Burma,” said Wai Hnin, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “William Hague didn’t keep his word on judging the Burmese government by their actions. He supported lifting sanctions even though the benchmark of the unconditional release of all political prisoners which he had previously insisted on had not been met.  His new soft approach with the Burmese government is effectively abandoning political prisoners in the country.”

Nay Myo Zin is a former military captain turned social activist and a founder of Myanmar Social Development Network, which is a civil society organisation that supports healthcare, informal education and farming communities. He was arrested in August 2011 and sentenced to 10 years in prison under the Electronic Transaction Act. He was released in January 2012 under a presidential amnesty.

A court hearing about the case in Thailand was expected to take place today.

Following Andy Hall exposing human rights abuses against migrant workers in their factory, the Natural Fruit company in Thailand is taking legal action for defamation which could result in his being fined more than £6.6 million, and spending seven or more years in jail.

Andy Hall managed a team of researchers producing a report on labour conditions for migrant workers in factories in Thailand. The report, ‘Cheap Has A High Price’, was published by the Finnish organisation Finnwatch, on 21st January 2013. It is available online here:
http://www.finnwatch.org/uutiset/80-serious-human-rights-violations-behind-european-food-brands

The report exposed human rights abuses at a Natural Fruit company factory in Thailand which processes pineapple products. The vast majority of the workers are migrants from Burma. The abuses include child labour, workers being hit by security staff and managers, dangerous working conditions with heatstroke and fainting common due to high temperatures, and electric shocks and other injuries, compulsory overtime, illegally low wages, unfair deductions and charges from salaries, and seizure of passports and ID papers and which are not returned on request.

By targeting Andy Hall, Natural Fruit are also trying to threaten others who try to expose their illegal behaviour. It is an attack on free speech, and threatens work to improve the rights of migrant workers in Thailand. There are an estimated 2-3 million migrant workers in Thailand, mostly from Burma, Laos and Cambodia. Around eighty-percent of all migrants in Thailand are thought to be from Burma.

“I think it’s a malicious case and I think it’s an attempt to silence me,” said Andy Hall.

“Natural Fruit must drop the charges against Andy Hall,” said Mark Farmaner, Director at Burma Campaign UK. “Instead of Natural Fruit taking Andy Hall to court, the government of Thailand should be taking Natural Fruit to court for breaking the law. If Natural Fruit don’t drop these ridiculous charges they will do even more damage to their own reputation. The solution to this problem is for Natural Fruit to treat migrant workers fairly and in accordance with the law, not shoot the messenger.”

Natural Fruit also has strong political connections in Thailand. Nai Wirat is a major shareholder, and is the older brother of Chalermchai Sri-on, who is General Secretary of the Democratic Party.

Burma Campaign UK supporters are being asked to send an email to Natural Fruit demanding the company drop the charges against Andy Hall and take action to improve the working conditions in their factory.

Andy Hall’s website about the case is here: http://andyjhall.wordpress.com/

You can take action here.

A briefing about Andy Hall’s case is available here.

Burma Campaign UK today urged Hugo Swire MP, British Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for Burma to do more to push the military-backed government in Burma to release Myint Soe and all remaining political prisoners in Burma.

The unconditional release of all political prisoners is an essential step towards genuine democracy and freedom in Burma. Regardless of the changes in Burma, almost all the repressive laws which enabled the jailing of political prisoners still remain in place.

To draw attention to the remaining political prisoners, Burma Campaign UK is highlighting the case of a different political prisoner every month. The political prisoner for this month is Myint Soe.

Myint Soe is a labour activist from Burma who campaigns for workers’ rights and helps workers to set up trade unions. He was arrested in March 2013 and sentenced to 7 and half years in prison.

Myint Soe and his colleagues helped farmers in southern Burma to reoccupy their land and build temporary houses. Several years ago the government had confiscated their land. Now the area is controlled by a state-owned paper factory run by a crony company called Shwe Than Lwin.

Myint Soe was sued and falsely accused by the company that he cut eucalyptus trees in the area in order to build houses. Although Myint Soe had witnesses who provided statements that he did not cut any trees, he was arrested. He was charged under The Public Property Protection Act (1947) with the accusation of cutting the trees down, and was sentenced to 7 and half years in Thaton prison, Mon State.

“Framing a labour activist for cutting down trees shows the ridiculous lengths the Burmese government is prepared to go to silence activists,” said Wai Hnin, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “This case shows why a permanent review mechanism is needed to investigate cases of political activists who are wrongfully jailed.”

Action can be taken on the Burma Campaign UK website at: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/campaigns/actions/free-political-prisoners/no-political-prisoner-left-behind

The decision of the Burmese government to take court action to increase his sentence raises yet more doubts about British government claims that by befriending the government of Burma they will have more influence to improve human rights.

Burma Campaign UK has learned that two weeks ago Tun Aung was given an additional six years on top of his previous prison sentence of eleven years. He is now serving a total prison sentence of seventeen years. He will now not be released from prison until 2029, aged 81.

In October 2012 Burma Campaign UK highlighted the case of Tun Aung as part of our ‘No Political Prisoner Left Behind’ campaign. Our original media release is available here: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/news-stories/a-community-leader-jailed-in-burma-free-tun-aung/8

Tun Aung had originally been charged under five different counts and sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2012. However, the prosecution argued that the court sentence on three of the five charges was too lenient and appealed to review his sentence. The prosecution won the appeal and six additional years have been added to Tun Aung’s previous sentence.

Hugo Swire MP used the fact that he had raised the case of Tun Aung with the Burmese government in defence of criticism that his first visit to Burma in December 2012 was to lead a trade mission, rather than putting human rights as the top priority.

On Tuesday 7th May, another court hearing will take place for an increased sentence for the other two charges, including The Emergency Provision Act 5 (e). If successful even more years could be added to his current sentence.

Tun Aung is a 65-year-old medical doctor and a respected community leader from Maungdaw, Arakan State. He was arrested in June 2012 as part of the Burmese government’s efforts to arrest and detain Muslim community leaders to stop them from talking to international observers and journalists. He is suffering from a pituitary tumor and needs regular medication but he has been denied medical treatment.

“The British government asked for Tun Aung’s release and instead the Burmese government is increasing his sentence.” said Wai Hnin, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “This should be a lesson to Hugo Swire not to naively believe everything he is told by the government of Burma. The new soft British policy on Burma isn’t delivering results, and political prisoners are paying the price.”

The EU suspended sanctions on April 26th 2012, in recognition of changes that had taken place in Burma. At the time the decision to suspend the sanctions was controversial, with concerns that a suspension of all sanctions was premature given that key improvements in human rights which had been demanded by the EU had not been met.

On suspending the sanctions, the EU laid out four key benchmarks where it expected to see improvements in return for the suspension of sanctions. These were:

“…the EU still expects the unconditional release of remaining political prisoners and the removal of all restrictions placed on those already released. It looks forward to the end of conflict and to substantially improved access for humanitarian assistance, in particular for those affected by conflict in Kachin State and along the Eastern border, as well as to addressing the status and improving the welfare of the Rohingyas.”

Not one of these benchmarks has been met, and in the case of the Rohingya the situation has significantly worsened. 

• Hundreds of political prisoners remain in jail, and almost all of those who have been released have only been released conditionally.
• Humanitarian access is still restricted with significant problems in delivery of aid to displaced people in Kachin and Rakhine state.
• Conflict in Northern Shan State and Kachin State continues and the Burmese Army launched a major offensive in December during which civilians were targeted. The Burmese Army is also frequently violating the ceasefire in Shan state.
• Around 130,000 Rohingya have been forced from their homes and are now living in squalid camps, and President Thein Sein has ruled out reform of the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law.
• The United nations has documented multiple on-going human rights abuses which could be classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity

Burma Campaign UK has produced a detailed analysis of the benchmarks and EU policy, available here: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/burma-briefing/title/the-european-union-must-not-abandon-human-rights-benchmarks

The lifting of sanctions on the same day as Human Rights Watch publishes a report on ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya highlights the growing disconnect between EU policy and the reality on the ground.

The EU has always pledged to respond proportionately to change. Sanctions should have been lifted gradually in response to positive steps, based on benchmarks laid out by the EU. There is no proportionality in the EU’s current approach.

“The lifting of sanctions when even the EU’s own benchmarks have not been met represents a downgrading of human rights as a priority,” said Zoya Phan, Campaigns Manager at Burma Campaign UK. “European leaders should have the courage to go and explain this decision to political prisoners still in jail, to ethnic Kachin women who have been raped by Burmese Army soldiers, and to mothers in camps for the internally displaced who have watched their child die because of Thein Sein’s restrictions on aid delivery. Ask them how ‘remarkable’ the changes are. Thein Sein now knows that he can safely ignore the EU when they talk about human rights. The human rights abuses which led the EU to impose these sanctions have not stopped.”

The Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) is top of the agenda for G8 Foreign Ministers. However, Burma is not one of the countries included in PSVI. Instead, discussion on Burma will focus on proposals by the Government of Burma for responsible investment.

Reports of rape and sexual violence by government forces have increased since Thein Sein became President in 2011. Women’s organisations and human rights organisations have documented increased use of rape by government forces in Shan State, Kachin State and Rakhine State.  The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma has highlighted on-going sexual violence in his recent reports, and the United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution on Burma, passed last month, also called for an end to ‘rape and other forms of sexual violence.’

Despite this, G8 Foreign Ministers seem likely to be silent about sexual violence in Burma, while focussing instead on a non-binding responsible investment initiative, which at the moment seems more like a public relations exercise for companies worried about the risk to their reputation from investing in Burma.

“It is incredible that at a G8 Foreign Ministers’ meeting where ending sexual violence is the priority, ministers will sit with Burma government officials to discuss trade, not sexual violence,” said Zoya Phan, Campaigns Manager at Burma Campaign UK. “Sadly this is another example of how trade with Burma, not human rights, is becoming the priority for the international community.”

The findings come in a new briefing paper published today by Burma Campaign UK: ‘Burma’s Treatment of the Rohingya and International Law.’ The briefing is available online at: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/burma-briefing/title/burmas-treatment-of-the-rohingya-and-international-law

The briefing paper examines Burma’s treatment of the Rohingya in the context of international law, treaty obligations and international guidelines and norms. It examines two areas, the general treatment of the Rohingya before the violence which erupted in June 2012, and the response of the government of Burma during and after the violence began.

Key findings include:

Burma’s 1982 Citizenship Law violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The Convention on the Rights of the Child, and international norms prohibiting discrimination of racial and religious minorities.

Burma’s treatment of the Rohingya violates UN definitions of the rule of law.

The investigation committee set up by the government of Burma violates international human rights guidelines.

Burma and the international community are failing in their responsibility to protect.

“World leaders need to take off their rose-tinted glasses and start making policy based on international law and promoting human rights,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “Burma’s treatment of the Rohingya violates international law. The international community must hold President Thein Sein accountable for the policies and actions of his government. The British government should base its policy on what is happening in the whole of Burma, not just what happens in Rangoon and Nay Pyi Daw.”

The findings of multiple violations of international standards have additional significance as Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, has reportedly stated:  “A country must decide its citizenship for itself, but in doing so it should meet international standards.”