Testifying at the briefing were RI advocate Veronika Martin, and RI intern Naw Musi
06/20/2003

The Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) & Congressional Women’s Caucus Members’ held a briefing today on “Burma: Hopes for Democracy and Human Rights Situation Squashed as Democratic Movement Leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, celebrates 58th Birthday under Arrest.”  The briefing was chaired by Representative Jerry Weller.  Testifying at the briefing were RI advocate Veronika Martin, and RI intern Naw Musi, who belongs to the Karen ethnic nationality in Burma.  She also spent 14 years of her life in a refugee camp in Thailand.  You can learn more about Naw Musi’s “Unforgettable Story” on RI’s Refugee Week site.

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Human Rights Violations in Karen States, Burma
Delivered by Naw Musi.
June 19, 2003

I would like to thank the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and those who organized this event to honor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on her birthday, and the people of Burma for their endurance in the struggle for human rights and dignity.
 
I am from the Karen ethnic group, one of Burma’s main ethnic nationalities. I have lived for many years as a refugee in a refugee camp along the Thai-Burma border. My family was forced to flee from Burma when the military regime burned down my village and killed many of my relatives and family members.

Nobody enjoys life in other countries and forgetting their homeland. We, the people from Burma, fled to Thailand not because we wanted to, but because we could no longer live peacefully in our villages. Under the repressive military regime, our daily lives were ruled by violence. Children were forced to watch their fathers be killed and their mothers be raped in front of them. We come to Thailand simply looking for a safe place to stay.
 
Every month, there are hundreds of refugees more fleeing from Burma into Thailand. This indicates the depth of the ongoing political conflict, the war, and the human rights violations committed by the military regime.

I am not surprised by the most recent violent attack on our pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The situation in Burma has been unbearable for most of the civilians, the ordinary people of Burma, for a very long time.

Unfortunately, not many people know about what is happening in Burma’s ethnic states, because the regime won’t let the media go there. Slowly but surely, the military regime is destroying our way of life and country where my people have lived for thousands of years.

Being a Karen and coming from the Karen State, I would like to share with you a few accounts of human rights violations in our area suffered by our people.

In our own country, the regime treats us with disrespect and dislike in the best cases, and with cruelty and hatred in the worst. We are also unwelcome guests in our host country, Thailand, but we have nowhere else to go.

The instructions from the Burmese Army’s high level authority to its troops stationed in our area often include “thorough and specific destruction” of our farms, houses, trees and land. Every instruction specifically indicates that civilians should be considered targets.

I know this is true because I have read some of the regime’s orders on paper. They use words like “Uprooting, complete destruction, and systematic,” to describe to their local troops what they should do to us.

The regime also uses landmines. The troops are ordered “to deliberately plant the landmines in the newly prepared slash-burn fields, the paths that villagers will inevitably use to come and go on the cross-roads between villages, and where villagers store their food.”

Sometimes, the regime forgets where it put the landmines. In this case, they force villagers to walk in front of them as human minesweepers. With guns to their backs, these poor villagers are killed as they are exploded by the mines. They use anyone: men, children, and even pregnant women.

It is unbearable for civilians under the control of the Burmese military regime. When we live in the villages, they attack us, and when we live in their relocation camps, they torture us and force us to work for free. If we try to escape the camps, they will kill us.

I also talked to newly arrived refugees who confirmed the above mentioned abuses. Indeed, without a doubt, the regime is breaking the Geneva Conventions. They are committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide under international law. Please bear in mind that I do not use these words cheaply. It is the truth. The military are destroying the Karen people, our culture, our history, and our heritage. Our life is like having September 11th because the military attack our village simply because of our ethnicity, yet we get very little media attention.

Releasing Aung San Suu Kyi may not be enough. What needs to happen is a new government in Burma immediately. For the Karen and other ethnic groups, our goal is to establish a democratic government in our country. That is why I wholeheartedly support our leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and have been actively participating in this movement.

As a refugee from Burma, I would like to make four recommendations to help bring change to Burma. First, the United States should immediately pass legislation increasing economic sanctions against Burma’s military regime.

Second, the United States should press the United Nations Security Council to immediately take action on Burma, and the United States should provide leadership there.

Third, the United States must spend more money to help protect internally displaced people in Thailand. There are nearly one million people running for their lives in the jungles in Burma and they need help.

Finally, the United States should continue to pressure Thailand to allow refugees to enter Thailand and give them support. We don’t want to cause problems for the Thais, but we have nowhere else to go. We are running for our lives.

Thank you very much for all of your support and we hope you continue to help us until Freedom and Justice come to Burma.