History and Background

Burma is a Buddhist nation of about 52 million people located in Southeast Asia to the west of Thailand. Two-thirds of the population belongs to the "Burman" ethnic group and the remaining third consists of over 100 other ethnic groups. Given this diverse population, ongoing ethnic conflicts have existed for over a millennium, dating back to Burman kings' conquests of various groups in the 10th century. Conflict between the Burmese government and various minority groups continues to affect millions of civilians daily.

In 1884, the British gained complete control over Burma after sixty years of war. British colonial favoritism aggravated ethnic tensions between various ethnic groups. As frustrations among ethnic minorities mounted, a number of groups started agitating for autonomous status, especially after WWII when the Burmese national army began to commit human rights abuses against civilians.

After Burma gained independence in 1948, the government divided the country into several ethnic states to provide a measure of autonomy to minority groups. However, in 1962, the military staged a coup and has since ruled the country with an iron fist. The military regime instituted the "Burmese Way to Socialism," which expelled foreign investors and economically isolated the country. Even though Burma is known to be abundant in natural resources with rubies, land, water, natural gas, coal, and petroleum, this wealth has not created prosperity. Due to the military regime's economic policy, Burma has fallen from the "rice basket of Asia" to one of the least developed countries in the world. As the Burmese economy collapsed in 1987, protests against the military regime grew into a nationwide movement advocating for reform, with Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi emerging as a prominent leader. Despite multiparty elections, the military regime continues to forcefully hold authoritarian power and has imprisoned Ms. Suu Kyi.

Mass Atrocities Against Civilians in the East

Meanwhile, insurgencies from various ethnic states have continued to fight the government. In 1966, the government launched a series of counter-insurgency campaigns. It sent the Burmese army, or the Tatmadaw, to implement what has become known as the "Four Cuts strategy" - cutting off: 1) food; 2) funds; 3) intelligence; and 4) recruits to the insurgents. The campaign uses murder, systematic rape, forced labor, forced relocation, landmines, and the destruction of villages, crops and food supplies as weapons to devastate and demoralize the targeted populations. In particular, rape is used as a part of the "Burmanization" campaign, aiming to impregnate ethnic minority women with Burman children. Additionally, ethnic minority women have also been used as sex slaves on military bases.

Over 3,000 villages have been destroyed and 650,000 people have been displaced in ethnic minority states (notably the Karen, Karenni, and Shan states). Almost 700,000 Burmese are registered refugees, but there is reported to be millions more, particularly in Thailand.

Current Situation

Since the early fall of 2007, government troops have been abusing civilians holding large-scale pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks. These protests were a culmination of the frustrations suffered by the Burmese people throughout over four decades of repression by the military regime

As international awareness of the Burmese government’s brutality increases, it is important place this crisis in the context of larger human rights violations committed in remote regions of the country. The crimes perpetrated against civilians during anti-government protests of last fall echo those regularly carried out in the country’s forests and rural areas. In an interview with Human Rights Watch, one villager from Karen state said: "In 1997, the Burma Army shot my brother…He bled to death. Later, in 2002 in Baw Gwa village, Burma Army twice destroyed our rice barns. The second time, they also burn our houses while we were hiding in the forest. We were so scared. Later, when we crept back to the village we had nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep. We were still scared but also hungry — and angry too." This quotation exemplifies the scale and manner of violence that the Burmese Junta regularly commits against its citizenry. Civilians are forced to accept such incidents as a routine part of life in eastern Burma. The international community has yet to act effectively to prevent and stop the commitment of these types of mass atrocities against civilians.

The constitution approved by referendum in May gives the military 25%, or 110 out of 440, seats in the People's Assembly and 25%, or 56 of the 224, seats in the National Assembly. It also grants the military the power to take over the government for up to a year in emergency situations. The new constitution also bars Burmese citizens married to foreign nationals from holding office, shutting Aung San Suu Kyi out of office. The government has also made it a crime to criticize the new constitution; doing so could result in a three year prison sentence. International observers called the referendum process a sham and that the process essentially codifies the military’s role in the government of Myanmar.

In the beginning of May, Cyclone Nargis struck Burma, causing widespread flooding and destruction. While casualties were not as high as initially feared, nearly 130,000 people were killed due to the storm's effects and the unwillingness of the Burmese junta to allow large-scale aid distribution. The government continues its campaign against ethnic minorities in eastern Burma, driving hundreds of civilians over the Thai border.