Article by Ko Ko Aung

November 30th, 1998

The International Herald Tribune reported recently that UN and World Bank were willing to give US one billion dollars in financial and humanitarian aids in exchange for opening a dialogue with the Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The news immediately made a hit in the overseas Burmese community resulting in instillation of euphoria and hope. It is a long held belief among the Burmese people that the role of UN has been passive when it comes to the question of military dictatorship in Burma. Gravely concern, noted with concern, urge are the words of war UN used as a weapon to launch an attack on Burma in United Nations General Assembly resolutions, every year. Arguably, it was believed that UN involvement in global affairs was in line with the pursuit of US interest except few occasions if not at all. As a matter of fact, Burmese people had held high hope for US assistance since the beginning of people uprising against the military dictatorship in 1988. Street demonstrations and thousands of mass gathering had taken place right on front of US embassy. Teenage students challenged the bullets coming from machine gun nests, shedding their blood and spending their lives just in order to demonstrate their will for democracy right before the US mission and making it as a witness to tell the world. Sadly enough, these events were little known to world community in contrast to Tienman square event in China. Having lived in one of the most isolated countries in the world where the dictatorship regime methodically curtailed the contact to outside world, Burmese people had no idea how to do the public relation job to American people although they looked up United States as role model of democracy and a mother of free society.

So it was not an accident when US No.7 Navy entered the Burmese territorial water in September 1988 to rescue its citizens in case, the Burmese majority was overwhelmed with joy, thinking that US forces were about to relieve the suffering of Burmese people, as it happened in Panama, Haiti and Grenada. Totally wrong. US did show its opposition to government and support to pro-democracy movement which were more in moral and psychological other than physical. When the next generation of generals seized the power in the name of coup, thousands of students fled to border areas (mainly Thailand), running for their lives with great expectation that, with the help of western democratic countries including United States, they would be able to launch armed struggle against military tyranny. Wrong again. Instead of fighting Burmese army, students were fighting malaria, poverty and all kinds of hardship. Instead of setting up their own strong hold, students took refuge in ethnic armed resistant groups who were fighting the central government for decades. Nobody could say students faced with discriminations but it was a period when they kept their profiles very low as everything depended on their hosts. At that time UN was motionless. It took nearly a year when UN involvement started by giving refugee status to Burmese who ran away from persecution by government. Even though it was not dynamic enough as UNHCR operated in Kingdom of Thailand under its jurisdiction, the running of camps depended on how much Thai authorities willing to cooperate. Regrettably, though Thai authorities were so much energetic in UNHCR operations of Cambodian refugees, it was seemed to be dragging their feet when it came to the questions of Burmese refugees. Positive sign came recently when UNHCR announced its plans to take total control of running camps in Thailand. Most of the people seeking refugee status in Thailand are genuine refugees. They all are running away from brutal persecution by military tyranny. Some are political activists. Some are student activists. Some are artists who tried to defy by expressing their conscience in their professional way. Some are technocrats and intellectuals who only sin that made them to leave their beloved land is they dare to speak out. Some are law abiding simple Burman citizens as well as ethnic citizens who had been raped, tortured, robbed, enslaved and displaced. The percentage of so called economic refugees can be assumed, if proper study is not possible, negligible as no one would risk his life to cross the border just to seek the refugee status. It is a logical conclusion. Understandably, because of so many reasons and restraints certain percentage of these people had been granted refuge status and many were rejected. To compound the situation, some refuges that had been granted were not allowed to be accommodated in safe camps. It is just like you won the lotto but lost the ticket. Many times, Burma observers wonder all these problems are anything to do with extreme friendship between Burmese and Thai generals.

How long is the UN able to solve this refugee problem? Refugees and displaced persons will keep on coming because military will keep on persecuting his own people. As it will never stop killing, torture and rape, people will keep on coming. How long the host countries are going to tolerate this situation? If the things are going on in this way there will be more people in and naturally there will be more economic refuges. Troubled enough with the growing influx of illegal migrant workers in host countries bordering with Burma, especially Thailand and its neighbors such as Malaysia and Singapore, such scenario will not be appreciated by respective governments. However, this is likely to happen if the political climate remains status quo in Burma, not in distant but in near future as Mendalene Albright warned few months ago about social explosion if not political. World community can not afford to give a blank check especially when the global economy is in danger of recession. When the cure is not possible only thing we can do is to prevent it from happen.

Political settlement, economic reforms, respect of human rights is the only measures to prevent this scenario to occur. To achieve this goal UN needs to show its muscle as much as to promise the carrot, if it is not accepted. What UN is going to do if its plea fell on deaf ears? In this case, the UN better need to use a baton.