CHRO

Human Rights by Numbers 

The six month report card is out. Life under the junta since the February 2021 has been nothing short of hellish for the Chin people like the rest of the country. The Burma Army has been more brutal than ever and has perpetrated serious violations amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity with complete impunity over the past six months. In Chin State alone, CHRO has documented a total of 466 arbitrary arrests of which 163 people are still being detained on various charges or without trial, 52 deaths, including children, and 25 outstanding warrant issued against peaceful dissidents.###

Achara Ashayagachat and AFP
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/205148/junta-faces-threat-claims
7 November 2010

Burma’s military regime and its political proxies faced growing accusations yesterday of threats and intimidation on the eve of the country’s controversial first election in two decades.

Up to 29 million eligible Burmese voters will go to the polling stations today, less than a week before opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to be released from house arrest. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) has boycotted the poll.

Her youngest son, Kim Aris, who lives in Britain, planned to apply for a visa to Burma at the Burmese embassy in Bangkok tomorrow to visit Mrs Suu Kyi after the release, according to the BBC’s Burmese language service. He is staying at a Chao Phraya riverside hotel.

The Burmese embassy said yesterday it was not aware of the visa application.

The junta’s detention of Mrs Suu Kyi expires on Saturday. Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win said in the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Hanoi on Oct 28 that the Burmese regime will free her after the election. Mrs Suu Kyi swept her party to power in 1990 but the results were never recognised by the ruling generals.

This time, two parties aligned to the military _ the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National Unity Party (NUP) _ are together fielding about two-thirds of the total candidates.

The Democratic Party (Burma) and National Democratic Force, a splinter party of the NLD, which is contesting the election, accused the USDP on Friday of illegally collecting advance ballots by coercion and intimidation.

Signs of voter intimidation were also reported by the Chin Human Rights Organisation, which said that in a ward in Chin State, in western Burma, one of the polling stations was at an army checkpoint. ”How can people feel free to vote for the party of their choice if soldiers are watching them?” said programme director Salai Za Uk Ling.

According to exile news website The Irrawaddy, two major ethnic minority parties have threatened to contest the result if concerns over alleged USDP abuses are not addressed.

The All Mon Region Democracy Party, based in Mon State in the southeast, and the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP), in Rakhine State in the west, have also raised complaints.

”If the USDP wins due to the influence and resources of the government, ethnic and other pro-democracy parties will boycott the election results,” RNDP chairman Aye Maung was quoted as saying.

Local authorities have allegedly helped the USDP, formed by ministers who left the military in April, to force people to vote early and for the junta party.

”We have learned that the USDP, together with ward authorities, is trying to get advance votes by cheating, bribing or threatening people,” said a letter from the Democratic Party to the Union Election Commission in the capital Naypyidaw.

The ruling regime’s proxy party enjoys huge advantages in the polls: a quarter of seats in the new legislature are reserved for the army, while opposition parties have suffered major obstacles.

Many people in Burma, a country where almost one-third of the population lives below the poverty line, prioritise basic needs over politics, while a lack of choice has fuelled disillusionment in the election.

In many constituencies the poll is a two-horse race between the USDP and the NUP, the successor to late dictator Ne Win’s party.

Foreign election observers and international media have been barred from entering the country for the election.

European diplomats have also snubbed official polling station visits, declining an invitation to join what British ambassador Andrew Heyn has already dismissed as a ”choreographed tour”.

In a speech reproduced in state newspaper The New Light of Myanmar on the election eve, Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein urged citizens to vote, and not to ”tarnish the image of the state”.

Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/11/20101169237967672.html
6 November 2010

Myanmar is set for its first general elections in 20 years, but opposition parties still in the fray are already questioning the fairness of the vote.

In the run-up to Sunday’s vote, the All Mon Region Democracy Party and the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) have accused the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) of “cheating” and “threatening” voters.

They have threatened to contest the result of the elections unless their complaints are dealt with.

The USDP, formed by ministers who retired from the military in April, has allegedly been helped by local authorities to force people to vote early and for the military-backed party.

Some 29 million people are registered to vote in the elections that many foreign governments consider to be a “sham” to keep the military junta in power.

Elections are to be held for 440 seats in the lower house of parliament, 110 of which have been reserved for the army. Simultaneous elections are to be held for the upper house of parliament and 14 regional assemblies.

Other political parties have also raised concerns over the poll.

‘Deeply concerned’

Thu Wai, the Democratic Party chairman, said on Friday that his party was “deeply concerned” about stories of voter intimidation across the country and has filed an official complaint.

“We have learnt that the USDP together with ward authorities are trying to get advance votes by cheating, bribing or threatening people,” said a letter from the party to the Union Election Commission in the capital, Naypyidaw.

“If the USDP wins the polls due to the influence and resources of the government, then ethnic and other pro-democracy parties will boycott the election results,” Aye Maung, the RNDP chairman, was quoted as saying to exile news website Irrawaddy.

Fact box

Two parties aligned to the military are together fielding about two-thirds of the total candidates and the weakened opposition has a slim chance of success with Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s democracy icon, under house arrest.

Aung Saan Suu Kyi’s now-disbanded National League for Democracy (NLD) is boycotting the process.

She swept her party to power in 1990 but the results were never recognised by the ruling generals.

Signs of voter intimidation were also reported by the Chin Human Rights Organisation, which said that in a ward in Chin state, in western Myanmar, one of the polling stations was at an army checkpoint.

“How can people feel free to vote for the party of their choice if soldiers are watching them?” Salai Za Uk Ling, the programme director, said.

The military-leadership was feared to be intentionally blocking access to information, with the Internet down across Yangon, the country’s largest city, on Friday.

The ruling regime’s proxy party enjoys huge advantages in the polls, while opposition parties have suffered major obstacles.

Many people in Myanmar, a country where almost one-third of the population lives below the poverty line, prioritise basic needs over politics, while a lack of choice has generated political disillusionment.

Image of state

In a speech reproduced in the state mouthpiece, the New Light of Myanmar, on the eve of the election, Thein Sein, the Myanmar prime minister, urged citizens to vote and not to “tarnish the images of the state”.

However, Al Jazeera’s special correspondent, reporting from Yangon, said there is still very little sign that there are elections coming up.

“Travelling around the city of Yangon, there is the odd election poster around the city. But that is about the only sign that elections are upon us,” the correspondent said.

“And we certainly did not see any increased security inside the city, which was something that we did expect to see.”

Few outsiders will be there to bear witness because foreign election observers and international media have been barred from entering the country for the election.

European diplomats have also snubbed official polling-station visits, declining an invitation to join what Andrew Heyn, the British ambassador, has already dismissed as a “choreographed tour”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday Heyn said there was cause for concern in the upcoming elections.

“It is hard to say too much positive things about these elections. The atmosphere on the ground is incredibly flat. What we are seeing here is that these elections are a major missed opportunity.

“We have had some ethnic parties excluded, elections laws which are very restricted, and Aung San Suu Kyi and over 2,100 other political prisoners unable to participate in this elections.

“So it is little wonder the public is cynical.”

27 January 2010: More than 40 youths from southern Chin State have escaped to India in recent days to avoid ongoing forcible recruitment drive that targets people between the age of 15 and 45.

The latest in a series of measure to boost local supports for the junta ahead of the planned 2010 elections, the conscription is currently being implemented in Paletwa Township, which consists of about 400 villages.

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