Honourable members of the Canadian House of Commons Subcommittee on Human Rights, we are grateful to be here because we want to tell you our story and express our concerns for the Kachin people in the land of Myanmar or Burma.
The Jinghpaw people, also known as the Kachin or mountain people, are one of 135 people groups that create a diverse population in the country, which numbers over 55 million. Like many of their tribal brothers—the Shan, the Chin, the Karen—all these mountain people have gone through many years of what could readily be categorized as crimes against humanity, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.
The Kachin themselves number about two million people. They live in the northern division, called Kachin state, and they were granted statehood by both the British government and by the early leadership of the country of Burma, under the Panglong Agreement, February 12, 1947, known today as Union Day. But only months after this agreement was signed the leaders, including General Aung San, the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, and many of his cabinet ministers, were assassinated during their meeting in Rangoon on July 19, 1947.
Independence from Britain came on January 4, 1948, and statehood granted to the Kachin on January 10, 1948. U Nu, first prime minister in 1948, led the country off and on until 1960. It was during this time that various Kachin armies were formed. General Ne Win seized power in 1961, and from that date till 1988 the Kachin were still under a form of democracy-dictatorship. But soon after Aung San Suu Kyi's landslide election win in 1991, the military regime under Saw Maung took over, arresting and jailing both her and her cabinet, as well as many of the National League for Democracy supporters. A short time later, in 1992, Than Shwe became the country's leader, with his generals. He has been the main leader for the last 20 years.
These last two leaders have dealt out much death and destruction to all people groups who would oppose them. Just two examples are the student movement of 1996 and the monk marches and demonstrations of 2007. Heavy-handed tactics have been used against the Kayah, the Karen, the Chin, Pao, Rakhine, Shan, Mon, Kachin, and Wa peoples, resulting in hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing to many countries of the world. In addition, the killing, maltreatment, and raping of hundreds of thousands more has gone unchecked. Even today, after the recent election of 2010 and the by-election of 2012, these terrible events are still taking place throughout the country.
Yes, there have been many positive things taking place in Yangon and in Naypyidaw, but this is only a ruse, the purpose being to have the world lift sanctions that, in turn, will place more money into the hands of these criminals, known by the citizens as the military regime, under Than Shwe. Do not be fooled. Than Shwe still controls the country's constitution, the military, resources, and the elected government of Thein Sein.
The country of Burma or Myanmar has had several constitutions over the years, one in 1947 that was more British in nature, another in 1974 more socialist-communist in nature, and the latest in 2008, more army dictatorship-democratic in nature. The new constitution, that we are told was approved by a 96% vote, is a curious admixture of U.S. and British styles of government, along with a mystifying dictatorship-democratic reality, leading to much confusion as to what is meant in a country that is supposedly based on federalism.
Aung San Suu Kyi said that if you were to put on a scale of one to 10 the people's understanding of federalism, it would be a one. Also, I would think, on a similar scale, their understanding of what the constitution is all about and what it says about human rights would be a minus five. The constitution gives a large amount of power to the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services. Almost all major decisions by the elected government, as well as decisions made by the president, must go through the commander-in-chief. The military holds over 25% of the seats and they are personally filled by the commander-in-chief.
The constitution is meant to be the supreme rule for guiding the people in making and understanding the laws of the land; however, the judicial system, including the supreme court, is living and operating under a formidable cloud of fear. Others within the judicial system have been appointed by the military and operate under their influence.
From the local to the state level, and especially in the mountain states, for example, Kachin state, there is great confusion concerning the various roles of government. The military pays little attention to what the government, or central command in the capital city, appears to say. It still all boils down to the commander-in-chief, and what he and his astrologers desire. The commander-in-chief acts most often as if he is the supreme leader, the king of the country. The new capital city, Naypyidaw, is designed, just like in olden times, to symbolize his power and authority over the people.
It is important to know that the commander-in-chief can at any time suspend the constitution for up to two years and also can dissolve the parliament at any time if he perceives the need to do so. The main reason for this powerful leverage is that the constitution is upheld and protected. This provision, of course, protects him and his position.
