ICTJ Activity

The ICTJ's research program in Burma focuses on how impunity is allowed to continue and how the documentation of human rights abuses can be improved, so it can contribute directly to development of a transitional justice framework before, during, and after transition. This work builds on comparative experiences in other post-conflict settings where work on prosecution, truth-seeking, reparations, and institutional reform has been hindered because information has not been prepared with transitional justice in mind. For example, many violations might have been documented for advocacy purposes, but information on whether the violations were widespread or systematic has not been recorded. Even though it was available at the time, it is difficult to reconstruct later. The research project also analyzes the military regime's "roadmap to democracy" and its attempts to gain legitimacy for its continuing role in the country's political life. It will also examine how the military will affect the fight against impunity and the importance of establishing systems based on accountability.

In addition the ICTJ works closely with various civil society actors such as the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) and the Burma Lawyers' Council, providing training and consulting with local groups on techniques and strategies to combat impunity.

Past ICTJ work has included a number of capacity-building and networking activities. As part of its "Transitional Justice in Asia Series," in collaboration with the Asia Society in New York, the ICTJ organized a symposium on Burma to examine the initiatives undertaken and lessons learned in the transitional process. The ICTJ has twice taught workshops on transitional justice for human rights activists at the Thailand-Burma border as part of the "Training-the-Trainers" program of the Burma Lawyers' Council, a nongovernmental organization, and facilitated input by resource people at several other transitional justice trainings.

In addition, nine Burmese activists have participated in the intensive fellowship course in Cape Town, South Africa. Many of the fellows have returned to the region to focus on transitional justice education initiatives or promotion of truth and justice in Burma. As part of the Documents and Confronting the Past Affinity Group, the ICTJ has worked closely with ND-Burma to gather data from a diverse set of organizations that document human rights violations in Burma.

Background

After gaining independence from Great Britain in 1948, Burma entered a period of democracy that lasted until a 1962 coup d'état brought General Ne Win to power. Ne Win implemented the "Burmese Way to Socialism," a mix of Marxism, Buddhism, and Burmese nationalist ideology that also closed Burma's borders almost completely, isolating the country from the rest of the world. Ethnic groups took up arms to fight for self-determination, and the Burmese military carried out brutal counterinsurgency campaigns against them and the local population. In central Burma the military regime also repressed dissent expressed sporadically in demonstrations led by university students and Buddhist monks.

Ne Win ruled the country until popular uprisings in 1988 forced him to resign and agree to multiparty parliamentary elections. His regime was replaced by a new military clique, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Elections took place in 1990, and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, won more than 80 percent of the parliamentary seats. The SLORC refused to allow the newly elected Parliament to meet and four years later established a national convention to write a new Constitution and pave the way for a transition to democracy. Since that time the NLD's activities have been severely restricted, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has spent more than 12 of the past 19 years under house arrest. Meanwhile the military regime (which renamed itself the State Peace and Development Council, SPDC, in 1997) has reached ceasefire agreements with most of the armed opposition groups. Armed resistance still continues along Burma's eastern border.

The National Convention, the first step on the SPDC's road to democracy, concluded its work just as another popular uprising erupted in cities throughout Burma in August and September 2007. Former political prisoners, led by the 88 Generation Students group, organized the demonstrations, initially calling for a reduction of a sudden fuel-price hike that had ripple effects throughout the economy. After most of the 88 Generation Students leaders were arrested, Buddhist monks began leading demonstrations that grew in size to perhaps 100,000 people on the streets of the former capital, Rangoon. In late September 2007 SPDC troops and military-backed militias cracked down on the monks and other demonstrators, killing scores and arresting hundreds. At this time there is no access to accurate figures on those killed, arrested, and tortured.

The August-September 2007 uprising brought unprecedented attention to Burma and support for the work of UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari. He has visited Burma on several occasions to facilitate political dialogue between the SPDC, the NLD, and leaders of the ethnic nationalities. In early 2008 the SPDC announced it would hold a referendum to approve the newly drafted Constitution and subsequent elections in 2010. The regime has refused the UN's appeals to include the NLD and other opposition groups in the road map process.

(Updated March 2008)