Myanmar

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts

Thursday 10th May 2018 Grand Committee

Asked by

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent developments in Myanmar.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, 30 March 2016 ushered in a new era for Myanmar. The first elected civilian president in more than half a century took office. Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the key role in the new Administration as State Counsellor. Although barred from the presidency, she said she would rule by proxy. The handover completed the transition that began after the NLD won a landslide victory in the November 2015 elections. Today we have the opportunity to consider what the reality of that new era has been so far and what the future may now hold.

UK parliamentarians of all parties and none have demonstrated a strong commitment to Burma’s successful transition from the military domination it suffered before to democracy, which should bring peace, human rights and economic progress to all the peoples in Myanmar and resolve the devastating crisis in Rakhine. The large number of Peers participating in our short debate today is proof of that parliamentary commitment, and I very much look forward to their contributions.

The key test of any democracy is how it treats its most vulnerable and marginalised populations, such as the ethnic Rohingya and other minority populations. Burma’s Government and security forces should respect the human rights of all persons within its borders, and hold accountable those who fail to do so.

I visited Myanmar back in November 2016 in my capacity then as a Foreign Office Minister and the Prime Minister’s special representative on the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative—roles now carried out so ably by the Minister. I felt a cautious optimism. I was impressed by the dignity of the peoples who had survived so long in such difficult conditions and by their willingness to give the Government time to put things right. The Government had been in office for only seven months at that stage and had made some progress, including signing the national ceasefire agreement, which was vital for areas outside Rakhine.

But was my optimism misplaced? I shall focus today on the crisis for the Rohingya, but we should also note—I know we will hear about it today—the long-standing conflict between the Kachin Independence Organisation and government troops which escalated severely last month, despite the existence of the ceasefire agreement. Thousands have been displaced in Kachin and Karen states, and there are fears that many women, children and elderly people are trapped near the border with China. Can the Minister update the Committee on this crisis and say whether humanitarian aid organisations have now been allowed by the Government to gain access?

I turn to the crisis facing the Rohingya community. They have suffered decades of persecution, have been denied citizenship and been marginalised. They have been described by the United Nations as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. The Myanmar Government continue to implement laws and policies that discriminate against the Rohingya and are designed to drive them out of the country, including by using starvation, harassment and intimidation.

In the summer of 2016 there was an outbreak of violence in Rakhine. Border police were attacked. The response by the military was swift and brutal. In November that same year, I met the Defence Minister in Naypyidaw, the seat of government. I was told that the military did not consider that the Tatmadaw had committed any offences, and that if evidence were produced that offences had taken place, action would be taken by the Burmese Government. I was not convinced then, and I am not convinced now. In August 2017, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army carried out attacks which we rightly condemned. Twelve soldiers were killed. Far from exercising courageous restraint, the military’s reprisals were swift and even more brutal than ever. Thousands were killed. Approximately 1 million Rohingya fled to Bangladesh to escape the systematic rape, gang rape, torture and murder of men, women and children carried out by the military. The Burmese army appeared to be trying to destroy an ethnicity, not end an insurgency.

The Rakhine advisory commission reported last autumn. It was established by Daw Suu and chaired by Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General. The report analyses the underlying issues such as the entrenched poverty of all those in Rakhine. What has the UK done to press for implementation of its recommendations? What is the Government’s assessment of the current situation in Rakhine? What steps can and should be taken to hold the military to account?

This year, the UN Secretary-General has for the first time included Burma’s military, the Tatmadaw, in his annual list of parties that have committed sexual violence in conflict. A report presented to the UN Security Council finds:

“The widespread threat and use of sexual violence was integral to their strategy, humiliating, terrorizing and collectively punishing the Rohingya community”.


Will the Minister update the Committee on the work being funded or carried out by the UK to tackle sexual violence, improve human rights, and hold the perpetrators to account?

The Government of Bangladesh have sheltered up to 1 million refugees and should be thanked for that. Recently, they signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar about the return of the Rohingya. What are we doing to promote the citizenship rights of the Rohingya and facilitate their safe, voluntary and dignified return to their villages to rebuild their homes and livelihoods?

The UN reported just two days ago that 93 refugees who have been in Thailand for decades have now been returned to their place of origin in south-east Myanmar with the support of the UNHCR and its partners. But what about the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh? Is there any progress on their safe return to Rakhine?

Last month, there were three potentially significant developments. The UK co-led a visit of the United Nations Security Council to Burma and Bangladesh and issued a brief statement yesterday. The principle of the statement is clear, but it is how that principle should be put into practice that I wonder about. What steps does the UK now expect to be taken by the Security Council as a consequence of that visit? As one of the P5, we continue to play an important part. Also last month, the Foreign Secretary co-chaired in London a meeting on the Rohingya crisis with fellow Commonwealth Ministers, a welcome development. What conclusions were reached at that meeting? Thirdly, the EU imposed further restrictive measures on Burma, strengthening the EU’s arms embargo and targeting the Burmese army and border guard officials. How confident is the Minister—who is also the Sanctions Minister—that these will have the right effect?

Over many years, even before I came here, I watched the way in which Parliament and the UK generally saluted the work of Aung San Suu Kyi, before and when she took office. Her championship of human rights was exemplary, but I now feel somewhat confused, to put it mildly, by her apparent inaction in this crisis. I appreciate the challenge of walking the tightrope between international condemnation and Burmese public opinion in her attempts to bring an end to the generals’ power and bring democracy to Myanmar. But we now see the worst kind of abuse of human rights under her custodianship. As my noble friend the Minister said in this House six months ago, it is time,

“for Aung San Suu Kyi to use her moral authority to challenge directly herself the military ruthlessness and ethnic prejudice that lies behind the suffering”.—[Official Report, 11/10/17; col. 223.]

It is also time for the UK and the international community to do so much more to hold her to her words.