8/14/2019 The U.N and Its Members Must Not Fail the Burmese People Again

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The U.N and its members must not fail the Burmese people

again

Myat Soe (Mizzima News)

The Rwanda genocide was launched in April 1994 against the country's

Tutsi population and moderate Hutus, by Hutu extremists in the

government and the army. Approximately 800,000 people wereslaughtered in 100 days. The UN and its member states failed Rwanda

in deplorable ways in 1994, ignoring evidence that genocide wasplanned; refusing to act once it was under way.

According to the independent report, commissioned by Secretary-

General Kofi Annan, the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 can be

summarized as a lack of resources and a lack of will to take on thecommitment of the United Nations, which would have been necessary

to prevent or to halt the killings. After the United Nations had failed toprevent a massive human tragedy, Mr. Kofi Annan said, "Of all my aims

as Secretary-General, there is none to which I feel more deeply

committed than that of enabling the United Nations never again to failin protecting a civilian population from genocide or mass slaughter."

The question is: Did Mr. Annan make his promise and did he do what

he said? The answer is NO. The United Nations made fatal errors again

in its mission to Angola, where civilians faced starvation and massive

human rights abuse as a result of the resurgent war. The U.N.'sinvolvements in Angola, and similar missions in countries like theDemocratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone, were disasters

because of the United Nations' ignoring evidence to the conflicts.

Unless Mr. Annan has learned from those many fatal mistakes, the

United Nations still did not prepare to act to prevent acts of grossviolations of human rights in Burma. Even though the 53-nation U.N.

Human Rights Commission unanimously adopted a resolutionexpressing grave concern over systematic violations by authorities in

Burma, Mr. Annan as Secretary-General, did not raise to bring actual

penalties toward the Burmese illegitimate regime.

Undeniably, the United Nation resolution becomes a music to the earsof the notorious generals in Burma who have few friends in the region,

also lent its support to the junta's new roadmap to military way of

democracy. The Burmese brutal regime is enjoying a large measure ofunderstanding and tolerance from ASEAN, which chose to strictly

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observe its much-criticized ban against interference in membernations' affairs.

The evidence is that the conflict in Burma has displaced over one

million people. There are currently more than 1,300 political prisoners

in the notorious jails, many thousands of people in the war zones ofBurma, and 4 million citizens have left their own country since 1988.

Even many human rights groups have expressed concern aboutarbitrary arrests by military intelligence agents, prolonged

interrogation, and the torture and ill-treatment of detainees.

Yet the United Nations as the most prominent institution in the

international community and has failed to help rescue the Burmesepeople from a murderous tyranny that has lasted over 16 years (since

1988), and today, all human rights groups are still unearthing

thousands of victims in horrifying testament to that failure.

Burma's current situation is at the most critical point in its history.Support from all possible sources is needed for the beleaguered

democrats in Burma. In that respect, the United Nations, which is themost prominent institution in the international community, can play an

important role in resolving the political crisis in Burma.

The U.N and its members must not fail the Burmese people again

when they need protection the most. Mr. Kofi Annan must realize thatyour help and expertise cannot be effectively delivered from your

special envoy Mr. Razali Ismail, or Mr. Paul Sergio Pinheiro. You mustvisit Burma and you must meet both sides (Military regime and theNLD which won in 1990 General Election) to re-enter genuine political

dialogue that is aimed at returning the country to democracy andcivilian rule.

Myat Soe (Mizzima News)(The writer Myat Soe is the Research Director of Justice for Human Rights in Burma.)