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Burma: Letter to Senators Urges US Leadership
03/29/2006
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is holding a hearing on US-Burma relations today. This hearing is an important opportunity to stress the need for US leadership in bringing Burma on the agenda of the UN Security Council. The Security Council’s involvement is urgently required to resolve the political and humanitarian crisis in Burma that has led to the worst refugee crisis in Southeast Asia.
Refugees International sent the following letter to Senators urging them to use today’s hearing to recommend that the US Administration be in the forefront of an initiative to put Burma on the Security Council agenda to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of Burmese people, both living in and out of the country, be protected from persecution and human rights violations.
Dear Senator:
Refugees International thanks the Committee on Foreign Relations for scheduling a hearing on US-Burma Relations this week. We believe it is very important to maintain the spotlight on Burma. The country has provoked the worst refugee crisis in Southeast Asia- at least a million people have fled to neighboring countries to escape repression and persecution by the Burmese military regime.
On a number of fact-finding missions to countries with large numbers of Burmese refugees: Thailand, Bangladesh, India and Malaysia, I have interviewed numerous victims of the brutal Burmese military. These include children as young as 14 years of age who were tortured by soldiers for their refusal to join the military.
Additionally, Burma has the worst internal displacement crisis in all of Asia, with upwards of 500,000 people uprooted in the eastern part of the country alone. Not only is the military forcing civilians to flee from their homes, it is also preventing assistance from reaching them. Just this month, more than 3,400 people belonging to the Karen ethnic group have been displaced by Burmese military attacks in eastern Burma.
The international community has not developed a common approach to pressure the Burmese government to end the internal oppression in the country. As long as the political situation in Burma remains unresolved, the humanitarian crisis and displacement will continue.
In December 2005, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held a briefing on Burma that was a key first step towards developing a common strategy about the country. It has been four months since that briefing at the UNSC, and there has been no improvement in the political or humanitarian situation in Burma.
It is imperative that the Security Council put Burma on its agenda and explore possibilities for a lasting political situation in the country. US leadership is crucial to getting Burma onto the UNSC agenda. We urge you to use this hearing to press the Administration to put Burma on the Security Council's agenda.
I am attaching a letter that Refugees International sent to UNSC members in December 2005 to underscore the need for the Security Council to respond to the grave humanitarian and human rights situation in Burma.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kavita Shukla
Advocate
Refugees International
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