Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to provide the House with an update on the situation in Burma. I know that there is a feeling here in the parliament and particularly in the government that great progress has been made. The recognition of the Thein Sein regime's preferred nation name of Myanmar and the lifting of sanctions against that country demonstrate that the government has normalised relations. It is my view that everything is not okay and that the same problems that existed before the release from house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi still exist today. I stress that if we delude ourselves and ignore the situation of the ethnic nationalities which make up as much as 70 per cent of the population in many of their own conflict-ridden states, we risk facing a situation similar to what happened in the Balkans or recently in the Middle East. The ethnic nationalities of Burma must not be sidelined in the engagement process.

This evening, together with Dean Smith, I hosted a gathering of community leaders from some of the ethnic nationalities of Burma. We also had Colonel Nerdah of the Korean National Union and he is also a representative of the UNFC, coming from the border region of Thailand. Also present was Scott Johnson, a lawyer from Western Australia who frequently visits Burma and supports those ethnic nationalities that still struggle for freedom. The impression of those who attended this briefing was not anywhere near as positive or hopeful as is often made out. Tonight I will outline the reality of what does take place in Burma.

On the positive side, as we know, Aung San Suu Kyi has been released, along with around 400 political prisoners. Media censorship has been relaxed a little and the NLB party was allowed to resume 43 parliamentary seats in 2012—a positive step forward. However, these changes have taken place under the larger shadow of military abuses. There is a conflict in the northern Kachin state, there are severe problems in Arakan state and against that backdrop there has also been an interference in the delivery of aid to thousands of refugees. In Karen state there are over 300 Burmese military bases or outposts which have been reinforced with troops and armed at an alarming rate. To emphasise the reality, I quote the Human Rights Watch Deputy Director Asia who condemned Burma's human rights situation in the World Report 2013. Phil Robertson said:

Burma’s reforms over the past year are hindered, not helped, by international oversell and hasty praise in the face of continued serious human rights abuses.

At the time when the Australian government recognises the country as Myanmar and abandoned sanctions the ethnic Arakanese Buddhists have been facing almost daily attacks from an Islamist terrorism base from across the border in Bangladesh, while still be persecuted by the Burmese government. Clearly this is not a record that anyone can be proud of and instead casts doubt on any acclamation from the international community.

In Washington two weeks ago Thein Sein met with President Obama and both spoke of the changes that have taken place. Last Monday however the reality was made abundantly clear when the US State Department published its annual review of religious freedom around the world. The Buddhist majority country of Myanmar appeared on the State Department's list with eight other countries where discrimination against ethnic groups was amongst the worst. In Chin state, the poorest state of Burma, the people have long been subjected to religious persecution and denied the right to build churches on their own land.

Unfortunately it gets no better when we hear of the escalating fighting by the army to, literally, a war in Kachin state against the Kachin Independence Organisation and its military arm, the KIA. This year has seen the regime employ helicopter gunships, jets and heavy artillery with bombardment in Kachin. Civilian deaths have occurred. The fighting has resulted in the displacement of more than 90,000 civilians, and within the KIA territory humanitarian aid has effectively been blockaded.

We must also remember that the National Human Rights Commission reported, in mid 2012, claims of abuses against civilians in Kachin. The report documented the systematic use of rape by the army. Unfortunately the commission has generally failed to challenge the government on such sensitive issues, its lack of transparency in reporting and the lack of real action it has taken. The commission is also strongly criticised for its recent report on human rights violations by the military which stated:

The commission does not wish to make any comment on the interrogation of the suspects by security forces for security reasons and on their prosecution in accordance with the law.

That is a weak response by them. Special Rapporteur for the UN, Tomas Quintana, has also weighed in on what is actually going on. Just two months ago he noted the seriousness of the situation in ethnic areas. He highlighted what are ongoing abuses such as attacks against civilians, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest, torture and sexual and gender based violence. The report also noted the large gap between the form at the top and the implementation on the ground.

For the Karen people, with 140,000 living in nine refugee camps on the Thailand side of the border, a war continues. The war began in 1949 and continues to this day. What started out as something like an autonomous movement now continues because of human rights abuses and atrocities. As I found out when I visited the Karen National Union leadership in Mae Sot in Thailand a few years ago, they want democracy in Burma but in a federalist framework.

In April, in Shan state, Burma's military stands accused of massive human rights abuses as President Thein Sein was awarded a peace prize. While peace talks take place with the Shan state army, Burma's military has launched a new wave of attacks on Tang Yan leading to civilian casualties. The latest attacks apparently began on 15 April during the New Year Water Festival when Burmese troops launched new offensives in civilian areas. Mortar shells aimed at two villages injured two children and damaged a school and several houses. Army patrols are accused of detaining and beating civilians in at least nine villages and causing serious injury. This included children who were allegedly beaten with rifle butts. It is understood by media sources that a group of about 50 young men and women travelled to celebrate their water festival. They were taken by the Burmese army and forced to walk in front of them as human shields.

The Shan leadership says that the Burma army attacks are in direct contravention of the ceasefire and calls into question the viability of the ongoing peace process between the government and the ethnic armed groups. If accurate, the report clearly undermines the decision by the EU to lift a raft of economic sanctions on the country. Many believe that the lifting of sanctions has the potential to line the pockets of cronies aligned to the military.

I mentioned before that some 400 political prisoners have been released from prison yet, at the same time, laws still exist and are being used that allow the imprisonment of peaceful activists, lawyers and journalists. Ominous sounding names such as the unlawful associations act, the electronics act, the state protection act and the emergency provisions continue to allow the abuse of human rights by the regime that is being lauded by too many governments, including this one. We should also not forget the extensive use of landmines by the regime inside Burma.

I have spoken of the reality and the clear differences between what is happening and the views of many Western governments. No-one should forget that Burma is made up of ethnic Burmese and a number of people of other ethnicities that amount to almost 70 per cent of the total population. This cannot be ignored and should not be ignored. Australia should not side with President Thein Sein when he says that his government does not need to support non-Burmese who are 'not of our ethnicity'. The 2008 change to the Constitution of Burma saw a quarter of all seats in the People's Assembly and the National Assembly reserved for the military. This meant that 110 military men sit in the 410-member People's Assembly while 56 military men sit in the 224-member National Assembly. Providing such a voting bloc to an unelected group shows that democracy remains nothing but a sham in Burma.

I had also cast doubt on the bizarre reason why the International Crisis Group last month granted Burmese President Thein Sein its annual chairman's award and its mention of 'transformational leadership to bring democracy and peace to the people of Myanmar'. I would say there is no peace and there is no democracy. While it may seem appropriate and somewhat pragmatic to try to counter China's influence in the country by embracing the Thein Sein regime, democracy and peace remain illusions.

In conclusion, what I have spoken about tonight is a reality. We must be on guard against romantic delusional or politically opportunistic notions that are not good for Burma. The problems are deep, they are long-held and they remain. Oppression and persecution of ethnic groups continue in Burma. The news reports demonstrate that the problems remain and that Aung San Suu Kyi's election in 2012 has not achieved any great improvements for the situation of the ethnic nationalities in the country. Given the undemocratic sham that is the 2008 Constitution, the abuses and persecutions against the Arakanese, Chin, Shan, Karen, Mon, Lahu, Palaung and Kachin ethnic nationalities continues. It is my view that the sanctions against Burma should be reinstated and that aid should be linked to human rights benchmarks.

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