Bruce Baird (Cook, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move the motion as amended in the terms circulated to honourable members:

That the House:

(1)

notes that Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of the National League for Democracy in Burma:

(a)

remains under house arrest and incommunicado;

(b)

has been in prison or under house arrest for 11 of the past 17 years; and

(c)

is only one of over 1,100 political prisoners in Burma;

(2)

calls on the State Peace and Development Council of Burma to:

(a)

allow its citizens to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of association and assembly; and

(b)

immediately and unconditionally release all people who have been arrested for the peaceful exercise of these rights;

(3)

notes that on 12 January 2007, nine out of fifteen countries in the UN Security Council voted in support of a non-punitive resolution on Burma and in debate on the resolution all Council members registered their concern about the situation there; and

(4)

expresses its concern regarding the 500,000 displaced people in Burma and the further 150,000 displaced people on the Thai border in refugee camps.

In 1998 Ko Thet Win Aung, a prisoner of conscience, was imprisoned in Burma for organising peaceful small-scale student demonstrations calling for the release of political prisoners and improvements to education. He was tortured during his imprisonment and suffered from malaria. He protested against the poor diet and medical treatment of prisoners by going on a hunger strike in 2002. By 2005 he was reported to have been unable to walk assisted. On 16 October last year, Ko Thet Win Aung, aged 34, died in prison.

This is just one individual case of human rights abuse. At least six deaths in custody have been reported since January 2005 in which individuals in pre-trial detention and prisons are suspected to have died as a result of either a lack of adequate medical attention, torture or ill-treatment. In all cases the bodies have been promptly cremated, preventing any autopsy or analysis of physical evidence.

There are countless cases of political oppression, torture and other human rights abuses in Burma under the current regime. Over 1,100 political prisoners languish in Burmese prisons for no reason other than simply expressing their political views. The most high-profile political prisoner in Burma is Aung San Suu Kyi. She was democratically elected as Prime Minister in 1990 but has never assumed that office as the results of that election were nullified and the military has refused to hand over power. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She has now been held in detention for 11 of the past 17 years and Burma’s military regime has not indicated any likelihood of her release.

This is an appalling state of affairs. When we speak of Aung San Suu Kyi and the many other political prisoners in Burma we are reminded of how precious those basic tenets of freedom and democracy are. We are lucky enough to be able to take these things for granted here in Australia.

When I represented Australia at the United Nations General Assembly in September last year—along with the member for Denison, who is here in the chamber and shares my strong concerns on this issue—I had the opportunity to represent the Minister for Foreign Affairs at a forum on Burma chaired by the US first lady, Laura Bush. This forum focused on what pressure could be placed on the Burmese regime and was attended by non-government organisations and diplomatic representatives from Singapore, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines and Canada. It highlighted the plight of two million displaced Burmese.

We spoke about the aggression of the military, which has been responsible for significant human rights abuses, particularly in the treatment of women. There have been 625 documented cases of sexual assault of women and children. One hundred and twenty-five were raped by officers, often in front of troops and sometimes involving gang rape. Twenty-one cases resulted in death. Thirty per cent of victims were under 18 and the youngest was eight years old.

Governments of the world are aware of the urgent need for democratic political reform in Burma. Only last month, on 12 January 2007, nine of the 15 countries in the UN Security Council voted in support of a non-punitive resolution on Burma, while all members of the council registered their concern during the debate about the situation in Burma.

The government has repeatedly called for the Burmese regime to commit itself to a genuine process of democratic political reform and to adhere to international human rights standards. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer, spoke to the Burmese foreign minister in Kuala Lumpur on 26 July last year about Australia’s concerns. Our embassy in Rangoon continues to take every opportunity to encourage reform and to exert strong pressure for the release of all political prisoners.

Australia has a longstanding program providing food and shelter and health support to a large number of Burmese refugees in the Thai-Burma border camps. The government is spending $703,000 on this program for the year and a further $500,000 is being spent to provide education to children in those camps. In Burma proper we are providing $11.3 million in humanitarian assistance, particularly in health services.

We must continue to put pressure on Burma’s regime to change. We cannot rest until significant changes have come to pass in Burma. We must continue to bring our strongest pressure to bear on the Burmese regime to address the ongoing abuse of the legal system to silence peaceful dissent and debate and to prosecute people who have reported allegations of human rights violations. The government of Burma has had every opportunity to embrace change, however small. As per the motion, I call on the UN Security Council to continue to scrutinise closely the concerning human rights record of the Burmese government. (Time expired)

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Duncan Kerr (Denison, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I am very pleased to be able to speak in support of the motion moved by the member for Cook. The member for Cook correctly draws attention to the fact that we shared the honour of being this parliament’s representatives at the General Assembly of the United Nations last year. Amongst the events we both attended was a meeting of concerned ASEAN parliamentarians who spoke about their concerns about human rights abuses in Burma. One of the messages that came through is that there is a degree of politeness within ASEAN and associated countries that has for a long time masked the real concern that exists throughout our region about the kinds of abuses that occur.

Sadly, we do not live in a perfect world and there are gradations of abuses. In our region, Burma is not the only country ruled by a military junta: sadly, Thailand has found itself in a circumstance where a military coup took place and is now run by a military government—at least for the short term, although there have been undertakings to return to civilian rule—and Fiji, too, has military rule. It is not possible to compare either instance with the one that applies in Burma.

Burma has seen some of the worst instances of human rights abuses perpetrated by any of our neighbours. It requires this parliament to continually raise the fact that we know these things to be happening, that we want our government to continue to press the case for human rights reform, that we want Asian and ASEAN nations as fellow neighbours in this region to also press that case and not be too deferential to a member of their own grouping and that we want the United Nations to continue to bring pressure to bear. But, most of all, we want change in Myanmar—or Burma, no matter how it is termed—such that Aung San Suu Kyi is released, such that people can have at least minimum standards of freedom and opportunity and an ability to live a life not subject to the kind of repression that is plainly too evident from all reports that have come from that country since the military takeover in 1990.

There are a large number of political prisoners in Burma. There are allegations of forced labour and very easily substantiated cases of the use of military power against ethnic and religious minorities in that country. There are also reports of intolerance towards religious minorities. All these things come together in a way that distinguishes the case of Myanmar, or Burma, from any of our near neighbours. This is a government that needs not only human rights support but also continual challenges from those who would seek to be its friends, and would wish to be its friends, to say that the way in which it conducts its affairs is unacceptable.

Australia does have a good record in pressing these cases, but I do think we have a greater task in our region. There is an increasing number of parliamentarians from elected parliaments who are prepared to speak out throughout the region. The member for Cook and I met with parliamentarians from the Philippines, Thailand and a number of other neighbouring countries who had bravely spoken out on this issue. It is not as if we are tilling ground which does not have the opportunity to be fertile. But we do have to acknowledge that within ASEAN there is this historical unwillingness to confront the weaknesses and frailties of a member state. We need to give encouragement to speak the truth rather than be deferential and too courteous in an environment where people’s human rights are so violently being abused. I entirely support the terms of the motion proposed by the member for Cook, and I hope it can receive the support of all parliamentarians, without dissent, who speak today.

Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

May I acknowledge my colleague the member for Cook and thank him for the opportunity to speak on this motion calling for the State Peace and Development Council in Myanmar to allow its citizens to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of association and assembly, and to immediately and unconditionally release all people who have been arrested for the peaceful exercise of their rights.

Those of us who are privileged to live in a democratic country find it difficult to conceive of circumstances where the right to freedom of political association could result in incarceration and where the results of a democratic election are overturned by a military regime, thus denying the majority the right to govern. As the member for Denison has pointed out, we have seen military coups in recent times in Thailand and in Fiji, but the events in Burma since 1988 have been particularly concerning because of the human rights that followed that military coup.

Power was seized by the military coup in Burma in 1988. The military government called national elections in May 1990. Aung San Suu Kyi, who had returned to Burma in 1988 to care for her ailing mother, led a revolt against the then dictator General Ne Win. Under Aung San Suu Kyi’s leadership, the NLD had a convincing win in the polls of that year, despite the fact that she had been placed under house arrest and disqualified from standing. Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 10 years under house arrest and the junta has since remained in control. There have been numerous complaints about human rights abuses over that time, including military attacks against civilians in ethnic minority regions and the detention of political prisoners. Indeed, I understand there are 1,100 political prisoners in Burmese jails.

There are allegations of Burmese soldiers using civilians as human minesweepers, forcing them to walk in front of the government troops. Human Rights Watch has received reports that, to demine areas to be traversed by the Burmese army, soldiers for the 66th Light Infantry Division forced civilians from 12 villages in the Toungoo district to walk or ride tractors ahead of troops on the road between Toungoo and Mawchi. Human Rights Watch reports that the use of landmines in Burma is widespread and used against civilians to terrorise them and hamper the annual harvest season. The Burmese government is the only government, I understand, in the world that has used antipersonnel mines on a regular basis throughout 2006. According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmine’s Landmine Monitor Report 2006, 231 people were killed or injured by landmines planted by government forces and non-state armed groups in 2005. Many more deaths and injuries go unreported.

A draft resolution on Burma at the UN Security Council recently failed. This is unfortunate as there is no pressure for the governing junta to bring about much needed reforms. The failure of the resolution means that thousands of innocent Burmese people will continue to suffer and that international peace and security will continue to be threatened.

Our Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Alexander Downer, has been consistent in calling for change, and late last year he again urged the Burmese regime to demonstrate genuine progress towards democratic political reform and to undertake constructive dialogue and reconciliation with all political and ethnic groups. The foreign minister has been extremely outspoken on this and other matters in the region where human rights abuses and law and order issues prevail.

In April 2005 Australia cosponsored resolutions condemning human rights abuses in Burma at the Commission on Human Rights, and again in the Third Committee in late 2006. Australia remains concerned about human rights in Burma, in particular about the welfare and human rights of Burmese displaced persons from a range of ethnic groups fleeing across the border to Thailand. As outlined in this motion, there are concerns about the estimated 500,000 displaced people in Myanmar and a further 150,000 displaced people in refugee camps on the Thai border. I support this motion and I once again acknowledge the work of the member for Cook in bringing this motion before the House.

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to support the motion moved by the member for Cook on human rights in Burma and also to support the remarks by my colleague the member for Denison and most recently those by the member for Pearce. This motion comes at a critical time. It remains a matter of the greatest concern that Aung San Suu Kyi, the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy in Burma, is still under house arrest after all these years. She is a figure of worldwide renown. It is a matter of the gravest concern, which I know is shared by parliamentarians in this House and in other places, that she remains under house arrest.

Regrettably, her imprisonment by the regime in Burma is shared by at least another thousand or more of her fellow citizens, because in Burma at this time, at the beginning of 2007, there is still suppression of democracy and the consistent violation of the human rights of the Burmese people. In particular we see the continuing refugee crisis and the use of non-paid child labour by the regime. We see the prospect of greater instability in the region, something which I know has been a matter of concern to the United States and others, but above all we see the serious and continuing erosion of human rights for the people in Burma.

This is a time when the world needs to focus its attention on this country. This is a time when we need to recognise that, in a period of difficult struggle for a people and when the international environment does not necessarily lend itself to issues being easily resolved, it is important that we have motions such as this in the House and it is all the more important that we speak and act for the people in Burma.

Some 28 resolutions on this matter have gone to the UN General Assembly and to the Commission on Human Rights. This is a matter which parliamentarians and nations worldwide have spoken and acted on. The draft resolution on 12 January this year, which had support for a non-punitive resolution on Burma, regrettably suffered a veto because of actions by both China and Russia. Also regrettably, I note that Indonesia abstained from the vote.

We have had representations from the Burmese community to this parliament. They have spoken to us eloquently of the situation faced by their fellow countrypeople who are still living with the regime. They report with great poignancy on the sorts of burdens that the Burmese people face. There are half a million people displaced within the country and hundreds of thousands in refugee camps on the Thai border, and last year’s reports of attacks on the ethnic minorities in Eastern Burma were particularly worrying.

If we add to this situation in Burma the response of the junta itself, with the suspension of International Red Cross visits and the refusal of the regime to accommodate the UN special envoys and the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, and all the while reports of torture, of forced relocation and of the recruitment of children to the military adding to the scope and seriousness of what is facing the people in Burma at this time, international concern is understandable and international outrage, dare I say, is necessary.

I think that Australia can continue to play an important role in this issue, and I certainly urge the Australian government to make representations as necessary both to the Chinese government and to the Indonesian government, and to some of ASEAN nations who have shown some reluctance to pick up and concentrate on the issue of Burma. Regrettably, it has tended to be handballed around the ASEAN nations. I think the ASEAN nations have a responsibility to tend to the flowering of democracy in this region. When the impositions by the junta and when the cruelty and the restrictions of human rights are so evident in a place like Burma, clearly there is an imperative for ASEAN nations to pay some attention to this issue and for Australia, in particular, to make those representations.

Thet Win Aung, who was a student leader and had been a prisoner of conscience since 1998, passed away recently at 34 years of age. He was imprisoned because of his conscience and because of his love for his country and the hope he had that his country could be a place where democratic freedoms were maintained. I support the motion. (Time expired)

Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of this motion on human rights in Burma and thank my colleague the member for Cook for placing this important issue on the Notice Paper. I support many of the comments that have been made by previous speakers. It is unbelievable that the Oxford educated and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi languishes in Burma under house arrest. She has been detained for 11 of the past 17 years without charge or trial by the ruling military. Aung San Suu Kyi is a remarkable person. Her pursuit of democracy to enable a better life for the people of Burma in a non-violent way has been inspirational to many. In a world that often seeks to resolve differences with violence, terrorism or war, she is truly worthy of inclusion alongside Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela.

In 1988 a massive student pro-democracy demonstration broke out in Burma in direct opposition to the ruling military junta. Burmese troops reacted with violence to quell the democracy demonstrations. In the wake of that massacre, Aung San Suu Kyi led an opposition movement—the National League for Democracy. Based on her Buddhist faith and Aung San Suu Kyi’s message of unity, discipline and love, the NLD gained momentum throughout the nation. Six months later, Aung San Suu Kyi and other democracy leaders were placed under house arrest. This was the start of many years of imprisonment or house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy captured some 80 per cent of the seats of the electoral assembly in 1989, and she was effectively Prime Minister elect. However, the military refused to respect these democratic elections and continued to retain power. Burma became a human rights disaster zone, as we have heard from other speakers today. Political dissidents are routinely imprisoned and tortured. Around 9,000 people are held in prisons for nothing more than campaigning for democracy. In 1998 over 114,000 refugees were in refugee camps on the Thai border.

One of the most serious attacks on democracy occurred on 30 May 2003, when the National League for Democracy convoy was viciously attacked outside Depayin. National League for Democracy members arrested during the Depayin massacre have since been sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven to 22 years for alleged contact with illegal organisations. Their trials were held inside prison, with no access to legal counsel or representation. Aung San Suu Kyi was once again arrested and imprisoned. ASEAN responded with unprecedented pressure, calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. She was removed from prison but once again placed under house arrest.

Last year the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Alexander Downer, again called for the release of all political prisoners. The federal government has repeatedly called for the Burmese regime to commit itself to a genuine process of democratic and political reform and to adhere to international human rights standards. The total number of political prisoners held is reported at some 9,000. Australia continues its ban on defence exports to Burma in an effort to get the Burmese military to address democratic requirements and principles and to give the Burmese people their freedom and liberty. Travel restrictions have been placed on senior regime and State Peace and Development Council figures in support of this.

The Australian government provides humanitarian assistance of $11.3 million to those in need. There is an aid program to assist the refugees in the Thai-Burma camps. An additional $1.2 million will go towards the education of children in those camps. Last financial year 1,100 humanitarian visas were granted to Burmese people, with the current intake expected to double. The stalemate continues, despite global pressure on Burma’s ruling generals. When Vaclav Havel nominated Aung San Suu Kyi for the Nobel Peace Prize, he said:

She has refused to be bribed into silence by permanent exile. Under house arrest, she has lived in truth. She is an outstanding example of the power of the powerless.

As a democratically elected member of parliament, Aung San Suu Kyi deserves the support of all humanity. Her people’s plight must continue to be placed in the spotlight. Freedom, liberty and democracy should belong to all people in this world today. We must work actively towards establishing the environment to ensure that this occurs. I again acknowledge the member for Cook for raising this matter in the parliament today.

Laurie Ferguson (Reid, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Urban Development and Consumer Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a member involved with support groups in Sydney over many years and also with individual ethnic minorities such as the Karen, who, perhaps of all the groups, have been most resistant to the government’s encroachment, I commend the member for Cook on his gesture today in moving this motion on human rights in Burma.

However, on a day when there has been criticism of the Prime Minister for meddling in the affairs of the United States, I would urge this government to meddle more clearly in the affairs of Burma. The member for Cook and the member for Hasluck quite correctly stressed the aid program, which is very commendable and very widely praised, but at the same time Australia has been involved in limited engagement with the regime, which is not quite as forthright, as strong or as valuable as the role of the United States and the European community.

One of the problems internationally has been the lack of solidarity with regard to these measures, and that was most recently demonstrated at the UN, where not only did China and Russia use the veto but they were joined by South Africa in supporting the regime. I note the comments of Archbishop Desmond Tutu in which he strongly reprimanded the South African government for forgetting its own history. Equally, we have had a situation where at various stages India and China, for their own geopolitical self-interest, have tended not to show solidarity in respect of these measures.

Even today, in the Sydney Morning Herald, we note the comments of the Indian foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, who promised ‘favourable responses’ for a 2003 request by the Burmese regime to be armed by India. That country has already supplied field guns and howitzers The pretext for Indian assistance is that the Burmese regime would help India with regard to insurgent forces in the Assam area that are operating out of Burma. The record shows in the article in the Sydney Morning Herald that, rather than the Burmese regime working against these insurgents, there is actually very strong evidence of complicity with them. Equally, China is very keen not only to exploit raw materials in the country, not only to get from the regime bargain prices for various products; it is also very interested in a number of naval bases in Burma that are being upgraded at the moment.

There is a need for a lot more solidarity internationally with regard to these measures, but of course there have been some worthwhile gestures. The International Labour Organisation has taken up the question of slave labour and child labour in the country and has moved towards a possible reference to the International Court of Justice. Equally, Human Rights Watch has constantly attacked the use of landmines in the country. The European community, which has taken a forthright position in these matters, has signalled to ASEAN in current free trade agreement negotiations the possibility that it will not sign this agreement if Burma is a party to it and has hinted at the possibility of bilateral agreements with other countries because of other problems with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and the state that they are in.

We have a situation where there is international pressure. I have a slightly different read from the member for Kingsford Smith. I say that, while ASEAN has been historically backward with regard to interference in the internal affairs of its parties, it has in recent years shown a greater predilection to taking more initiatives on this front. So, while we cannot be totally satisfied, there have indeed been moves. I think it is very encouraging that the Philippines, Singapore in particular and, to some degree, Thailand have been a lot more inclined to pressure the Burmese regime. Let us be honest about it: it is easy for people in Australia to prescribe activity in Europe; it is hard for people on the doorstep. I do recognise gains in ASEAN.

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time allotted for private members business has expired. The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 41. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. The honourable member for Reid will have leave to continue his speech when the debate is resumed.