Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon to bring to the attention of the Senate and bring to the attention of the Australian government a very important human rights issue in Myanmar. That issue goes fundamentally to the right of parliamentarians in Myanmar to conduct their activities, to represent their constituencies and to argue their case in the parliament of Myanmar.

By way of background, I would like to remind the Senate that I had the very real privilege and honour of representing Australia as an election observer at the 2015 general elections that heralded a very important period in the continuing democratisation of Myanmar. I might just add that I'm someone who prefers to call it Burma because, for many people, the word 'Burma' represents a federated union of Burma which allows the many ethnic minorities who make up Burma to be properly represented in a bicameral system of government. For this exercise, I'll use the word 'Myanmar', but, to those people listening, I think that point of clarification is an important one.

In addition to travelling to Myanmar to observe the 2015 general election, in recent years I've had, again, the honour and privilege of working very closely with the Chin community in Australia. The Chin community have been coming to our country predominantly as humanitarian refugees and have settled predominantly in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. Over the last few years, I have developed a very strong and committed relationship with them, making sure that their transition to life in Australia is as smooth and as comfortable as possible. And I'm very pleased, and I'm sure the whole Senate chamber will agree with me, to make this statement—that is, that I applaud the way the Chin community have settled in our country.

But the Chin Human Rights Organization, which visited Canberra on two separate occasions and had the opportunity of meeting with Prime Minister Morrison on their last visit, have recently communicated to me their concern over the fate of a Chin parliamentarian who serves in the upper house of Myanmar. I would just like to read that for the Senate chamber—and so that others interested in human rights issues across Asia, interested in human rights issues in Myanmar—might also give attention to this issue, and their advocacy. The Chin Human Rights Organization wrote: 'Senator Smith, you probably have heard about a Chin member of parliament from the Burmese upper house who was kidnapped and held in incommunicado detention by the rebel Arakan Army over two weeks ago. In the last 12 months, the Chin Human Rights Organization has documented the disappearance of 14 Chin civilians after they were abducted by the Arakan Army.' And the Chin Human Rights Organization have provided to me a variety of documents supporting their claim. This claim is one that is important for this parliament, for this Senate chamber and for the Australian government to give due recognition to.

The concerns of the Chin Human Rights Organization have been echoed by Amnesty International and by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights. On 21 November this year, they said on their websites:

Amnesty International and the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) are seriously concerned for the safety and well-being of Hawi Tin, an ethnic Chin Member of the Union Parliament of Myanmar (MP) from Chin State, who was abducted by the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group operating primarily in the west of Myanmar.

Australia has been a strong supporter of democracy in Myanmar. Indeed, Australia is the largest contributor of education funding to Myanmar. Young Myanmarese children go to school because of the generosity of Australian taxpayers, who support education aid programs in Myanmar. In addition, this government has proudly associated itself with, and proudly funded, the work of various peace processes in Myanmar. At the core of those peace processes is the strong desire to make sure that ethnic minorities across Burma are properly represented in the future development of a democratic country in Myanmar. The Chin community are proud sponsors of democracy and make a very strong and proud contribution to Myanmar. The case of this particular Burmese parliamentarian needs to be noted and taken on board. I encourage the Australian government—and I know the foreign minister is in the chamber with me now—to give every due consideration to doing what it can to support a free parliamentary process in Burma, in Myanmar, but, more particularly, to fight and argue for the safekeeping of this Chin member of the Burmese upper house.