From Violence to Silence in Burma

Things seem to be eerily quiet inside Burma after the recent violent crackdowns against monks and protesters. In addition to suppressing the media, it was reported today that the junta has shut down the Internet in Burma in order to prevent more negative images from slipping out.

Here are some of the other major developments since my last blog post:

After briefing the UN Security Council last week, the Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, traveled to Burma over the weekend, where he met with junta leaders, as well as Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy leader who has been under house arrest for more than a decade. But despite Gambari's visit, the junta continued today to arrest more demonstrators.

This week, the UN Human Rights Council held a special session on the situation in Burma and passed a resolution yesterday strongly deploring the violence. Refugees International welcomes the resolution and urges the UN Security Council to follow suit and condemn the violence. In her address to the Human Rights Council, Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged action in order to prevent further violence and abuse. The council is pushing for Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, UN special rapporteur for human rights in Burma, to be allowed access to the country in order to investigate the human rights situation.

For now there do not seem to be any additional refugee flows out of Burma, according to UNHCR in Thailand. However, the Washington Post reported today that “dozens of Burmese were deported across the border Sunday after demonstrations backing the uprising in Rangoon.” And there is still concern that people who are currently in hiding could try to make their way to the border. Refugees International continues to urge the Thai government to allow Burmese to seek asylum.

The international community must also continue to support aid agencies as they provide assistance to vulnerable Burmese. WFP has finally been allowed to continue its food deliveries after the junta lifted its ban on the agency's movement during the demonstrations. However, humanitarian aid workers still warn that a food crisis is now looming in the country.

Japan has also said that it is considering reducing its humanitarian assistance to Burma, after the killing of a Japanese journalist during the protests last week. Japan is a major donor to Burma, a country that continues to be in desperate need of more international humanitarian support. This distressing news only reinforces our call that the U.S. and other governments put measures in place to assist vulnerable Burmese who are struggling to access food, health care and other necessities.

--Camilla Olson