Burma: Elections

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts

Thursday 11th November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Cox]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent elections in Burma.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford)]

My Lords, the elections on 7 November were a sham. They were neither free, fair nor inclusive and they do not represent progress. We have heard reports of voter intimidation and irregularities in the results. Over 2,100 political prisoners remain in detention, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Many ethnic groups were excluded from the process. It is clear that the military is determined to maintain its grip on the country. An opportunity for national reconciliation has been missed.

[Baroness Cox]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply, with which I entirely agree. Is he aware that, while the sham nature of these elections has been widely and appropriately reported, less widely reported are some of the abuses in remote areas, such as the intimidation and arrest of Chin and Rohingya people and military offences against the Karen, which have led tens of thousands to flee into Thailand? Will Her Majesty’s Government consider some humanitarian assistance for the newly displaced and ensure that all the ethnic nationals, comprising 40 per cent of the population of Burma, are fully involved in all future discussions and dialogue?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness, who is second to none in her grasp of these developments; I believe that shortly she will once again be travelling to the Chin state area to see for herself some of these very bad conditions. The broad answer is that we are monitoring the situation and looking carefully all the time at whether additional aid and support can be mobilised for these ethnic groups. Among the refugees on the Thai border there are now reports of unpleasant developments in Chin state, northern Rakhine and other areas. We are looking at these things closely. It is a little early to say whether additional international aid is required, but we stand ready to examine in close detail the points that the noble Baroness has rightly made.

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords, after the rigged and fraudulent election in Burma, is it not now time that we sent a clear signal to the military junta that it can no longer enjoy impunity for its war crimes and crimes against humanity over many years? In that respect, the United Nations special rapporteur has recommended a commission of inquiry into these crimes. The UK has supported that view. Will we therefore, in the United Nations Security Council, in the United Nations General Assembly and at the European Union next week when the election is discussed, support that view and press for a commission of inquiry?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

The noble Baroness is quite right. This is our policy, as she well knows, having administered it herself. As she also probably realises, the problem is that of gathering the appropriate international consensus. If we rush in too soon and fail to get the consensus, that will merely send a signal to the generals in Burma that the international community cannot do anything. We want to get the timing right, but the policy is exactly as the noble Baroness says. We support the idea of a commission of inquiry and the rapporteur’s proposal, but it may take quite a time to build the broad consensus that is needed to make this a success.

[Lord Avebury]

Should we not make it crystal clear to the Government of Myanmar that, if Aung San Suu Kyi is released on Saturday, that will be grossly insufficient to meet the many criticisms in the special rapporteur’s report, which is now before the General Assembly? Have the Government pressed for a UN-led dialogue on all the recommendations in that report, including for a commission of inquiry, which was mentioned by the noble Baroness? Is it in the EU recommendations to the General Assembly for discussion in December?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

My noble friend is right: merely releasing Aung San Suu Kyi from her detention is only part of the story and certainly not a full response. There is a need for far greater pressure on Burma to begin to return itself to democracy. The EU has a tough sanctions policy, as my noble friend knows. We all have an agreed EU position on Burma, which the British Government are entirely consistent with and support. As to the policy at the UN, the position is as I described to the noble Baroness. It is a question of building the consensus and getting the timing right so that we and our EU colleagues can press ahead successfully and get full support for a commission of inquiry. It is no good if we rush in and find that we cannot get adequate support for it.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool]

My Lords, on this day will the Minister recall that, in the Second World War, principal among the quarter of a million Burmese who fought alongside us or supported us as civilians were the Karen people, whom Lord Mountbatten of Burma described as our bravest allies? Will he also recall that, following what he has called sham elections, 30,000 Karen people have fled from the new upsurge of violence described by my noble friend in her question to the refugee camps along the border, where there are also 150,000 refugees? What aid and support can we give to these, our forgotten allies?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

The noble Lord is right. I have a slightly smaller figure of 20,000 but, really, who cares? Thousands upon thousands of desperate people have fled across the Thai-Burma border to escape clashes between troops and the ethnic Karen rebels. We are deeply concerned about the reports of this fighting, which serves only to underline the fact that flawed elections will not create the national reconciliation that noble Lords have rightly urged and called for. As to assistance for refugees, I will have to write in detail to the noble Lord. We are looking at it and thinking about the possible focusing of additional assistance, but I will supply the precise details in a letter.