Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Opposition party claims harassment in Shan State
• De-robed monks await trial after monastery raid
• New approaches needed to help survivors of rape in Burma

Opposition party claims harassment in Shan State Posted: 14 Jun 2014 02:09 AM PDT An office of Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was told to remove party signage from their property or face retaliation, according to NLD officials. Aik Ti, NLD information officer for Loilam district, told DVB that a man came to the party's office in Kyae Thee, southern Shan State, on 9 June to relay a message from the village tract headman that the signage must be immediately removed or the property would be burned down and the owner killed. Local authorities could not be reached for comment. "He said to take down the sign, and he said 'we will burn down your house and kill you' if we don't obey," Aik Ti said. "The owner of the building was afraid and ran to the district office. We told him not to sacrifice his life. We told him that if they come and take down the sign, he should let them do it." Officials told him not to remove the signage himself, but not to interfere if someone came to take it down. Shan State NLD chairperson Khin Moe Moe offered a similar account: "I told them that, if possible, they should ask the headman to provide a written letter explaining why the sign must be removed. If they don't do that and they take down the sign, I told them to take pictures. We cannot tell our members to sacrifice their lives. Related Stories Constitutional reform campaign builds steam NLD will 'never give false hope to the people', says Suu Kyi Border demarcations leave Shan farmers on Chinese soil "The area is remote and lawless, so I told them to take care for their security," she said. The sign was erected in January of this year, shortly after Aung San Suu Kyi visited the Shan State capital, Taunggyi, as part of a highly anticipated trip that was mired in obstacles. Shan State has been a particularly hostile environment for the NLD; in early June, a village chairman for the party was abducted from his home in Hopong Township and killed by unknown gunmen. The culprits and motivation for the crime are still unknown. A year prior, more than 50 NLD party members were allegedly forced to resign at gunpoint following a land dispute with a local militia.

De-robed monks await trial after monastery raid Posted: 13 Jun 2014 11:54 PM PDT Five monks detained during a Tuesday night raid on the Mahasantisukha Monastery were de-robed and brought to court on Friday, according an officer at the Tamwe police station. The officer did not offer any further detail about the monks' arraignment or pending trial. A monk from Magwe, U Parmaukkha, told DVB after observing part of the hearing, "When we heard that U Uttara and the other monks were put on trial, I went directly to the court. I asked the judge and he said it was true. They were brought to court today. Five monks were de-robed, and the next hearing will be on the 20th of June." In the early hours of 11 June, the Sangha Maha Nayaka joined with police to raid the Mahasantisukha Monastery in Rangoon's Tamwe Township, where they sealed the perimeter and detained 37 people; five monks and 32 laypeople. All but the five monks were released the following day. The monks are believed to be detained in Insein prison, according to U Parmaukkha, though this has not been independently verified by DVB. Related Stories 'We are ashamed of ourselves,' says monk who helped raid Mahasantisukha Faith Conversion Law should be ‘scrapped’, say activists Mahasantisukha monks, supporters will be charged, say religious dept officials The Mahasantisukha Buddhist monastery is the domain of a well-known abbot, Penang Sayadaw, who is currently on a mission to Japan. It has for years been the subject of an ownership dispute between the abbot and the State Sangha Committee, which assumed control of the property some ten years ago while Penang Sayadaw was on a journey abroad. The land of Mahasantisukha Monastery was originally donated in 1995 by former dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe to Penang Sayadaw. The monastery was confiscated by the military government in 2004 and put under the control of the State Sangha Committee, which reiterated in March 2013 that it legally owned the property and would not give it back to Penang Sayadaw. In October of last year, the president issued a notification returning the monastery to the revered abbot. This provoked the State Sangha Committee to increase pressure on Penang Sayadaw, claiming that his continued defiance was an affront to Buddhist doctrine. Following the raid, officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced on Wednesday that the monks had no right to reside in the monastery and would face charges on account of violating the Buddhist code of discipline. On Friday, several monks came forward claiming that they had been deceived by the Maha Nayaka when monks from 12 townships were summoned to assist with the late-night operation. On condition of anonymity, the monks told DVB that they were told that the monastery might be occupied by armed "elements from across the border". "We really were not really sure what was going on," one witness said.

New approaches needed to help survivors of rape in Burma Posted: 13 Jun 2014 09:08 PM PDT As well as preventing sexual violence, assisting survivors of sexual violence in conflict has been a big theme at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, held in London this week. I was invited to take part in an expert panel on this subject at the summit, along with senior officials from the United Nations. Sadly though, I did not get the impression that there is a willingness to use the momentum from this summit to apply approaches to assist survivors of rape. The situation in Burma is an example of how the current approach, largely based on the principle of co-operating with governments, can leave survivors of sexual violence without even the most basic humanitarian support, let alone the specialised support they need. If the international community truly wants to assist survivors and end impunity, they have to address the problem of governments like Burma that do not cooperate. How do you provide assistance when the government of the country won't agree to you doing so? What action should be taken to ensure compliance with international law, justice and accountability, when the government of the country is committing the crimes and refuses to stop? This is what is happening in Burma today. The Burmese government has now signed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence In Conflict. This centres around three main goals: prevention, assistance and ending impunity. But the Burmese government has not said anything about how it plans to implement this declaration, and based on the government's record of abiding by international treaties and agreements, full implementation of this declaration would be very surprising. The simple truth is that today in Burma, the United Nations, governments, and many international humanitarian organisations have failed to take action to end impunity for sexual violence, and failed to provide assistance to survivors. Related Stories Rape summit aims to 'shatter impunity' Government, rights groups at odds on third anniversary of Kachin conflict EU initiates human rights dialogue with Burma International groups on the ground need to re-think their current approach. Humanitarian organisations are lobbying for better access in ethnic conflict zones, which is a positive sign, but a slow process. We are very concerned that where limited access is finally given, international organisations often move into an area and create their own programmes, rather than supporting and strengthening existing community and civil society structures. These local organisations need financing and support to expand. The arrival of international groups can actually weaken local civil society when competing services are set up, which in our situation is an enormous loss. We have built up local organisations in a very difficult operating environment. We are a vital building block for democracy and stability. Gender-based anti-violence services, education and prevention are matters the community must own and address, not simply allow them to drop on us from international organisations. Competing services also waste valuable resources and do not help us create a sustainable response. In the case of gender-based violence in Burma, this approach effectively helps the government to suppress information about rapes and sexual violence committed by its army since no government-registered humanitarian international NGO will undertake documentation and advocacy. Only local community groups do this work. This adds to the sense of impunity the military already enjoys. Lack of documentation also undermines the hope that affected women will one day see justice for the crimes committed against them. Local organisations are the most effective way to build a system to win justice and support female victims. It is that simple, and the funding should be directly based on that. Where access is denied, there is an unwillingness by most large donors to consider alternative mechanisms for ensuring humanitarian assistance. They won't fund cross-border aid, perhaps for fear of upsetting the government. Britain's DFID demonstrated that this fear is wrong. They began funding cross-border aid, and it had no impact on their other operations in Burma. Support given to community-based organisations should include targeted assistance for women who have been subjected to rape and sexual violence. Members of the Women's League of Burma come from their communities and work within their communities. We have been providing services to women who have been subject to violence for many years, yet when funding is provided by DFID on this issue, where did it go? It went to large International NGOs, not our local organisations, and not to the survivors of sexual violence which those local organisations seek to help. The community must own and solve these problems and provide lasting support to women. We can only do that with funding from international organisations which strengthens our programmes, skills and abilities. Local organisations should be funded not just to assist victims, but to advocate for new laws, document crimes, and provide community education about violence against women. This issue needs a comprehensive solution, not simply counselling and safe houses. Ending impunity is essential. And this process will only begin if the international community starts to act. A first step would be an independent international investigation by the United Nations. We support UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call for Burma to "fully investigate and respond to current and historical human rights violations and abuses, including crimes of sexual violence". This is long overdue and without holding the perpetrators accountable we have no hope of stopping future violence. And finally, there must be recognition of the political root causes of this problem in Burma – a military which is not under civilian control, and a government which is not fully accountable to the people. We need constitutional change, and we can't wait. We won't be able to address the major problems our country faces, including sexual violence, until there is constitutional change, democracy, and laws that protect us.   Wahku Shee is Joint General Secretary 1 of the Women's League of Burma The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect DVB editorial policy.

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