President Nancy Coull made a special statement to Conference on 19 June about the crisis in Burma, pledging UNISON's support to the sanctions campaign.

Here, Murray Forgie (right - at a vigil in Chiangmai on 19 June) of the Burma Educational Scholarship Trust, Scotland, outlines the current situation.

Aung San Suu Kyi 58 on the 19^th June 2003

Since May 2002 when Aung San Suu Kyi was released from 12 years of house arrest, the international community has been hoping for a genuine dialogue of reconciliation between her National League for Democracy (NLD) and the ruling military junta. She was allowed freedom of movement and the NLD party was able to reopen their offices, but the release of other political prisoners was a trickle with about 1300 still behind bars. 

After months of dragging their feet, it became evident that the military junta had no intention of starting any talks either with the NLD Party or the ethnic minorities. As far as the military junta was concerned the release of Aung San Suu Kyi was an end in itself. The UN, diplomats and NGO's documented atrocities and human rights abuses in particularly the Karen and Shan States, which continued unabated and military attacks were reinforced against the Karen National Liberation Army and Shan State Army.

Coupled with pressure from the International community anxious for reconciliation talks to begin, the junta began to feel insecure, attempting to rally the population and to make them feel threatened by their traditional enemy, Thailand. Thus, a divide and rule campaign of Thai-Burma border incidents and the shutting down of border checkpoints began hindering trade.

The State controlled media in Burma broadcast and wrote abusive accusations against the Thais and meetings with the Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart and his Burmese counterpart U Win Aung were postponed and eventually cancelled. The Thai government, anxious to appease the military junta in Rangoon because of economic interests cracked down on Burmese exiles in Thailand, restricting travel for Burmese passport holders and threatening fleeing refugees with forced repatriation.

In the meantime Burma counts on China and India to blunt the effect of any new sanctions from the United States and Europe. Burma's geographical position between the two giants and a coveted coastline along the Bay of Bengal gives the junta all the confidence needed to continue to trade and receive technical help, both domestic and military, from her neighbours.

Relations between Thailand and Burma progressively improved and even became friendly culminating in an official visit in February by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin to Rangoon. On his return, Prime Minister Thaksin announced that Thailand would play a supportive role of mediation between the ethnic minorities Karen, Shan, Karenni, Kachin and Rangoon. Trade started to flow between the two countries, as the junta desperately needed a friendly neighbour and Burma's economy was on the verge of collapse.

A few days before Aung San Suu Kyi's month long political tour in the north of Burma was brought to a premature and premeditated end by clashes between the NLD party supporters and members of the junta sponsored Union Solidarity Development Association. (USDA)

Burma's First Secretary General Khin Nyunt was in Thailand on a foundation laying ceremony linking the two countries with a second Mekong bridge. He assured the Foreign Minister Surskiart that the reconciliation talks between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi were likely to resume soon. Mr Surakiart said that the move was encouraging and Thailand had explained to other countries what was going on inside Burma as the International community might not understand. The Burmese and Thai leaders, he said, were friends.

It is not surprising if the rest of the world finds the situation in Burma difficult to understand. After a carefully planned and murderous attack by the junta, Aung San Suu Kyi is once again under arrest though fortunately, as reported by UN Special Envoy Razali, unhurt though nobody else has been allowed to see her. All the NLD party offices are slammed shut; NLD party leaders are under house arrest; the Universities are closed.

The regime has abandoned its attempted charm offensive and is openly showing its true colours. This consistent and devious behaviour of the Burmese junta is deliberate and calculated with the expertise of an habitual ‘artful dodger'.

Ironically, pressure to fulfill conditions laid down by UN resolutions over a number of years, comes strongest from America and the UK - with a much weaker and watered down compromise coming from the EU. With an increasingly aware world citizenry questioning our leaders about what is done - or not done - in our name, it is important that all our leaders don't dodge these issues of multiple human rights violations either.

Continued business dealings in any shape or form, which directly profit the junta should cease immediately. Travel of junta members and their assets overseas should be frozen and restrictions kept in place until genuine national reconciliation talks begin.

ASEAN neighbours need to try to be good neighbours and pressurize the junta for a change that blights the entire region on the international stage - something they have failed to do thus far, for fear of engaging in comment on the internal affairs of a co-member. Logic dictates, that one day the junta will be gone, but the Burmese population will still be there as their neighbours and allies.

Positive and constructive criticism from its neighbours and targeted sanctions from them and the rest of the international community against the Burmese junta are required to affect the release of not just of Aung San Suu Kyi but all political prisoners; to stop the torture; to stop trafficking in children and enforced labour; and to stop the drug production and profiteering that has turned Burma into a pariah state.

Murray Forgie
Burma Educational Scholarship Trust, Scotland

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