So nothing has changed? Well, not quite.
In a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, special rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana painted a grim picture of conditions in the country: 400 political prisoners sentenced in the last quarter of 2008 to jail terms ranging from 25 to 64 years; a total of more than 2,100 political prisoners in thecountry (twice the figure of two years ago); and a 20-year-old student union member jailed for 104 years in January.
There was more: opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained for the last six years under a law that permits detention for no more than five years; multiple abuses of the rights of Rohingya Muslims in North Rakhine state; continuing recruitment of child soldiers; prevalent rape of ethnic minority women by soldiers; forced labor; use of landmines; and, in a country which should have a food surplus if properly run, acute food shortages in five states.
Quintana also noted that the junta did not accede to his request to meet political party leaders because "all the leaders were held in detention, either under house arrest or in prisons in remote areas". And yet six months into his job as special rapporteur, Quintana is trying to make it as easy as possible for Myanmar's ruling junta to grasp the nettle of human rights issues that have made it an international pariah.
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Junta’s blatant denial of rights abuse shameful:
Wunna Maung Lwin, Burmese Ambassador to the UN on Tuesday denied a report by the UN special envoy on Human Rights Tomas Ojea Quintana that over 2,000 political prisoners continue to languish in prisons across Burma.
Denying Quintana’s report, Wunna Maung Lwin at the 10th Session of Human Rights Council, being held at Geneva from March 2-27, said, “There were no prisoners of conscience, the only individuals serving prison terms had broken the laws of Myanmar [Burma].”
While several representatives at the Session condemned Burma’s military rulers for its appalling human rights records, Russia, a long time supporter of Burma’s military junta defended it.
The Russian representative in a statement said, “The increasing attention paid by the international community to the issue was artificial, and the accusations levelled at the leadership were based on unreliable information, from unverified and politicised sources.”
David Scott Mathieson, Burma consultant of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) based in Thailand said Burma’s denial of the presence of political prisoners and the appalling human rights situation could mislead the international community.
“We know that there are more than 2,000 political prisoners, but he [Wunna Maung Lwin] denied it. But the danger is not in the stupidity of what he said but the danger is what he is causing the international community into believing,” said Mathieson.
He added that it is dangerous that some countries would choose to believe such statements made by the Burmese junta and the actual human rights situation could be ignored.
HRW said the international community should not believe what the Burmese Ambassador said. They should pay more attention to the human rights situation inside Burma.
“This is not a serious statement and does not reflect a policy of honesty to the international community and to the UN. It is an insult to the global human rights project,” Mathieson added.
Quintana, who last visited Burma in February, in his report said the human rights situation in Burma is still challenging and that over 2,000 political prisoners remained locked up in prisons across the country.
He also called on Burma’s military rulers to release the political prisoners including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before the junta convenes a general election in 2010.
Aung Myo Min, a human rights activist based in Thailand said, he had seen the Special Rapporteur’s report that carries specific human rights violations in Burma including cases of porterage, and the use of human minesweepers, but he doubts the effectiveness of the report.
“Only if all the members of the UN take effective action, then the report will be meaningful,” Aung Myo Min said.
“The Burmese ambassador’s denial means that the junta is brazenly denying human rights violations and also his [Quintana] report,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bo Kyi , joint-secretary of Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners- Burma (AAPP-B), said the condition of political prisoners in Burma is getting worse by the day.
According to the AAPP-B, there are at least 2,100 political prisoners languishing in prisons across the country. The group said following the September 2007 monk-led protests, the number of political prisoners has doubled.
“The junta’s denial is nothing new, they have always given excuses like this, without any proof,” said Bo Kyi.
But he said he is concerned with the deteriorating condition in which political prisoners have to live. Political prisoners continue to endure physical and mental torture by the authorities without proper medical treatment.
“Political prisoners are dying a slow death in the prisons,” said Bo Kyi, who was a former political prisoner in Burma.
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