Burma’s
Seven Point Road Map to Ethnic Cleansing
Kanbawza Win, Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
January 15, 204
Prime Minister Khin Nyunt’s seven points road map
to democracy should be more fittingly label as Burma’s
seven point road map to ethnic cleansing. Now that the Karen
has reached a de facto cease-fire with the Junta the wrath
of ethnic cleansing will be on the rest of the ethnic nationalities
who have not entered a cease-fire agreement, such as Shan,
Karenni, Chin and the Arakanese. Even at the time of this
writing the news that thousands and thousands of Karenni ethnic
nationalities have been force to flee their homeland lacking
food, shelter and being hunted is but a part of the follow
up of the ethnic cleansing program. While the Junta continued
to strengthen their position through construction of road
via forced labor for the supply of their routes, the ethnic
nationalities are reeling under the impact.
Ethnic cleansing is a literal translation of the _expression
etnicko ciscenje and is not new to Burma. It has been practiced
thousands of years ago even before the authentic history of
a Pagan dynasty begin in 1044 AD, when the advanced Myanma
tribe (not Myanmar because putting r is both phonetically
and politically wrong as the word Myanma comes from the South
Indian word Mrama and ma is pronounced softly as in the mother
in English) began to dominate the earlier tribes of Pyu, Kanyan
and Thet. (One can refer to the famous exploits of Pyu princes
Panthwa). It is just the process of the elimination of an
unwanted ethnic group from a society, as by genocide, forced
migration, and/or forced assimilation. It is also a process
in which advancing army of one ethnic group expels civilians
of other ethnic groups from towns and villages it conquers
in order to create ethnically pure enclaves for members of
their ethnic group.
Obviously the policy of ethnic cleansing fundamentally represents
a violation of human rights and international humanitarian
law. A dramatic moment is when people are expelled and flee
their towns or villages. It is not necessarily a planned and
well-organized move it is a creeping process that is hidden
from view. The main component of the process is the gradual
undermining of the infrastructure of the civilian population
lives in the territories: its continuing strangulation under
closures and sieges that prevent people from getting to work
or school, from receiving medical services, and from allowing
the passage of water and ambulances, which sends the ethnic
nationalities back to the age of ox and cart.
Seeing that the Karenni are a smaller tribe if compared to
other major groups it has very lately unleashed the seven
point ethnic policy as follows: -
1. Destroying Villages: Many villages have been totally destroyed
in an attempt to ensure that the ethnic Karenni residents
do not return.
2. Looting and Burning: Thousands of houses, rice barns were
burned to the ground and all the valuable things were looted
including were looted from the Karenni villages
3. Detentions: There are consistent refugee reports that
the Burmese army are separating military-aged men from their
families in a systematic pattern for porters and later killed.
4. Summary Execution: Refugees have provided accounts of
summary executions in towns and villages In addition to random
executions; in Arakan area some were burned alive
5. Systematic Rape: Ethnic nationalities women are reportedly
being raped in increasing numbers. Authenticated accounts
of systematic and organized mass rapes in Shan, Karenni areas
have already reported worldwide.
6. Poisoning the Water: All the streams and wells in the
Karenni areas were poisoned so that not only men but also
animals that drink the water may die.
7. Violations of Medical Neutrality: The apparent goal is
to effectively deny health care to ethnic nationalities and
extinguish the community base health care systems.
Deputy commander of the Karenni National Progressive Party
(KNPP) Major-General Aung Mya that is fighting against the
Junta had just told AFP that nine battalions of Burmese soldiers
had been deliberately sent to the Karenni area to implement
the ethnic cleansing, while at the same time blaring out the
7-point road map to democracy. Paradoxically it was only last
moth that the emissary of the Junta negotiated with the KNPP
telling them that they could go back to their homes in peace.
So it is high time that the international community should
note that the 7-point road map is actually the 7-point road
map for ethnic cleansing.
The Asians under the smokescreen of the Constructive Engagement
policy are either unaware or refuse to acknowledge this horrific
and shameful part of the Asian history in the making, or,
similar to Holocaust denial, they provide a bevy of apologias
that purport to justify the ethnic cleansing policies of the
Junta, either by citing similar examples in other regions
or by claiming such policies were executed under political
necessity. In this case the brave Burmese army is fighting
not against the ethnic resistance fighters but against the
women and children to implement its ethnic cleansing policy
under the smokescreen of the four cut policy. Minority baiting
is still, unfortunately, part of the political landscape in
this region of Southeast Asia and until these past wrongs
are address it will continue to be so
The world has witness several modern ethnic cleansing starting
Hitler’s holocaust to the current the denial of the
Palestinian rights by the Jews. The Third Reich at first try
to solve the Jewish problem by deporting to wherever possible-Palestine,
Eastern Europe, Madagascar etc but later was forced to chose
the second best solution “The Concentration Camps.”
Currently the Junta is copying the tactic Slobodan Milosevic
in their campaigns of forced migration and is planning to
put all the ethnic nationalities in the list of vanishing
tribes. Yet in spite of this, the rest of the ethnic nationality
groups are warmly shaking the bloody hands of the generals.
The prevailing attitude of ASEAN, China and India seems
to be “What’s a few crimes against humanity when
business deals are at stake” The international community,
to which many Burma commentators have appealed, has remained
silent. Perhaps the world is a collection of rogue nations,
following their own selfish interests. Even the United Nations,
whose primary mission is to confront and resolve serious conflict,
has failed even though we understand among its members were
the worst dictatorships on earth. Obviously the UN is not
a club of democratic nations that meet a prescribed set of
standards defined by the holding of periodic and open and
fair elections, and the nonviolent transfer of power.
The European Union, which has seen the ethnic cleansing
in Yugoslavia and not withstanding the many efforts of its
resident democracy activists, has offered only the most timid
– one could say diplomatic – of responses. The
US, support for democracy – is far from guaranteed as
President Bush visit to Bangkok visit has demonstrated.
No doubt the world will look on with folded arms at this
atrocious ethnic cleansing and genocide. The intellectuals
and the ethnic fighters must find ways to pressure the US
administration, so that for once it has a coherent foreign
policy, a policy that follows from, not contradicts, the principles
on which the United States supposedly is based.
Bruxelles Belgique
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