May 16, Asian Wall Street Journal
Fleeing Burma - Benedict Rogers

In a rare admission, Burma's ruling junta acknowledged on Saturday that it has launched a major military offensive in Karen State, along the Thai border. Although the junta claims it is targeting antigovernment rebels, virtually all of the victims have reportedly been civilians. Thousands are fleeing with gruesome tales of atrocities. Isn't this enough evidence to convince the United Nations, the European Union and Asean to get serious about Burma?

The numbers are staggering. More than 15,500 people are estimated to have fled the army's attacks over the past two months. Thousands are hiding in the Burmese jungle without access to food, medicine or shelter. Almost 2,000 have crossed the border and taken refuge in temporary camps in Thailand. But even their situation remains perilous: Thai authorities have blocked international organizations from providing relief to those sheltering on a riverbank along the border between the two countries, and relief workers fear that Thai authorities may repatriate some or all of the refugees back to Burma.

These attacks are the latest stage in a long-running campaign by Burmese military junta against ethnic minorities such as the Karen, in pursuit of an ethnic Burmese nation. Although some -- such as the Karen National Union (KNU), a resistance group -- have taken up arms to resist this repression, it is not these fighters who are being targeted in the latest offensive. Rather, ordinary civilians are being killed and driven from their homes under the excuse of making way for a road and dam-building project, according to information gathered by the Free Burma Rangers, a relief organization active in the country. The military is also laying landmines to stop villagers from returning.

The latest attacks add to a long list of human-rights abuses which make Burma's junta the most brutal in the world. An estimated 70,000 children have been forcibly conscripted into the military, more than in any other country. Since 1996, more than 2,800 villages have been destroyed by the army's savage tactics in eastern Burma alone. More than a million people have been internally displaced or forcibly relocated by the Burmese Army over the past decade. Refugees International, an NGO, believes that Burma's latest refugee population flow represents the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia today.

Aside from its military transgressions, the junta's political repression is well-known. The country has more than 1,100 political prisoners. The most famous, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under house arrest for more than 10 years. But there are other, even more tragic cases. Khun Htun Oo, for example, is serving a 93-year sentence for prodemocracy activities. In the past year alone, nine political prisoners have died injail.

Despite this terrible track record, most of the world prefers to look the other way -- particularly the United Nations. The latest humanitarian crisis has been met with a deafening silence from U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and his senior aides. The European Union has only called for cease-fire talks between the government and the KNU, ignoring the fact
that civilians are being targeted. Burma's neighbors, India and China, are competing for energy supplies, so neither country is enthusiastic about supporting international pressure on the junta. Although the Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently persuaded Burma to give up its turn as chairman of the 10-member body, it's done little else.

The honorable exception is the United States, where Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Eric John recently condemned the "horrific descent of the situation in Burma." Several congressmen have registered even stronger protests. But given its stretched military resources, there is little the U.S. can accomplish on its own.

The tragedy is that there are steps which could easily be taken. The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution this month, condemning violence against civilians in armed conflict and enshrining an international responsibility to protect civilian victims. The U.N. could issue another resolution that specifically addresses the junta's abuses, and requiring the regime to implement a plan for the restoration of democracy, the release of all political prisoners, and ensure unhindered access to all parts of the country for international humanitarian organizations. Further action could include a global freeze on Burmese government assets and a ban on its leaders traveling abroad.

I have traveled in the conflict zones of eastern Burma many times, and to the western borders too. Ringing in my ears are the words of a 15 year-old Burmese boy who had seen his parents killed and his village burned, and had been taken for forced labor. He said: "Please tell the world not to forget us." Unfortunately so far, with a few exceptions, it seems that it already has.

Mr. Rogers works with the human-rights organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and is Deputy Chairman of the U.K. Conservative Party's Human Rights Commission. He is the author of "A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen People" (Monarch, 2004).