缅甸风云：SDU’ s STATEMENT On “Threat To The Peace: A Call For The UN Security Council To Act in Burma”

• On behalf of the people of Shan State, Burma, the SDU would like to support and welcome the endeavour of the former Czech President Vaclav Havel and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu on their report titled "Threat to the Peace: A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in Burma", made public on 20 September 2005.

• The SDU considers the report's argument in the light of "Burma edging towards failed state scenario" as a valid and credible assessment, due to all the ever deteriorating socio-economic and political indications, which are unfolding at a tremendous space.

• The core of the problem has always been the flawed political vision on the part of the Burmese generals. Instead of taking cue from the outcome of the 1990 nation-wide general election, where the NLD and ethnic-based political parties won with a landslide, and help implement a multi-party parliamentary system based on federalism,according to the people's wish, the military regime has been pushing its "unitary" system topping it with a permanent role of military dictatorship against the will of the people.

• It is evident that all the problems and woes surrounding Burma today are, in large part, man-made disasters, as could be seen by the outcomes of Burmese military regime's "total elimination" policy on the democratic opposition and ethnic resistance groups. The sheer numbers of political prisoners, which amount to over a thousand figure nation-wide, and a million or so refugees and internally displaced persons speaks for the real oppressive atmosphere and disintegrating situation in Burma.

• The report reviewed initial Security Council resolutions that were adopted in response to internal conflict situations (when a government was in control of the country) that the Security Council deemed a threat to the peace. Accordingly, it enabled to identify the criteria that helped the Council make its decisions. These criteria are utilized in this report as the determining factors relevant to the case of Burma. These factors include:

(1) the overthrow of a democratically elected government; (2) conflict among governmental bodies and insurgent armies or armed ethnic groups; (3) widespread internal humanitarian/human rights violations; (4) the substantial outflow of refugees; and (5) other cross-border problems (for instance, drug trafficking). (Excerpt from the report)

• All the cases of internal conflict in which the Security Council has become engaged have included some of these factors. Burma is unique in a way that all the said factors are present. The extent to which some of these factors exist in Burma is considerably worse than in other countries in which the Security Council has chosen to act. (Excerpt from the report)

• Given such circumstances, the SDU would like to call on the UNSC members to earnestly help alleviate the sufferings of the peoples of Burma and endorsed reconciliation and democratisation processes under the guidance of the UN General Secretary, making the Burmese military regime answerable to the Council, for its "self-help" reconciliation process has failed miserably and the "indifferent" posture of the international community has only worsen the already deteriorating situation in Burma.

• Finally, we would like to urge the UNSC that the notion of "non-interference" and "territorial integrity" should now take a back seat, especially in the case of Burma, to help prevent the country from plunging into severe crime against humanity and a free-fall leading to an ungovernable failed state.

Shan Democratic Union

September 23, 2005

E-mail: s.wansai@onlinehome.de

Website: http://www.shanland.org/resources/state/SDU/