To make more meaningful today’s observance of the International Women’s Day and also the centennial celebration of the women struggle in the Philippines, Burma watchers under the Free Burma Coalition-Philippines (FBC) demands justice to all victims of women rights abuses in military-ruled Burma and calls on the international community to pressure the State Peace and Development Council, the military regime ruling Burma for 43 years now, to start substantial political reforms.
To make more meaningful today’s observance of the International Women’s Day and also the centennial celebration of the women struggle in the Philippines, Burma watchers under the Free Burma Coalition-Philippines (FBC) demands justice to all victims of women rights abuses in
military-ruled Burma and calls on the international community to pressure the State Peace and Development Council, the military regime ruling Burma for 43 years now, to start substantial political reforms.
FBC said that while women groups in the Philippines celebrate the gains of their 100 years of struggle for liberation, the women in Burma, especially the ethnic women, continue to suffer violence such as rape, discrimination, forced portering, torture and murder in the hands of their own government.
The group said that the Burmese military junta, despite international condemnation, repeatedly violates international covenants and instruments like the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) upholding the rights of women.
FBC claimed that rape of women and girls in Burma happens almost daily especially in ethnic villages where the Burmese army has camps or is stationed. The Burmese military, FBC charged, is systematically using rape as a weapon in their so-called “anti-insurgency” campaigns against civilian populations.
In a pamphlet entitled “License to Rape” which was published by the Shan Women’s Action Network last May of 2002, the group documented 173 cases of sexual violence against women. Up to 40% of the cases documented were gang-rapes while in 28% of the cases, the victims were killed after being raped.
Rapist Regime
Meanwhile, Gus Miclat, Executive Director of the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) the secretariat of FBC, said, “Even if cases of rape and other forms of violence against women have been documented, the junta always meets this with sharp denials. Weak prosecution also discourages women from reporting rape incidents or pursuing a case. Worse, abused women were even punished for complaining.”
Miclat commented, “Nothing has changed in Burma as far as the state of violence against women is concerned. SPDC is a rapist regime that ravishes its own women.”
Free Aung San Suu Kyi
IID also took the occasion to reiterate its call for the immediate and unconditional release of Burmese opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who has been jailed several times and remains under house arrest at present.
“Suu Kyi is the symbol of the worsening situation of women in Burma. But her courage and strong leadership inspires the Burmese people that democracy would be restored and justice would be attained,” Miclat explained.
IID and FBC again registered their opposition to the scheduled assumption of Burma as ASEAN chair in 2006, citing its bad human rights record and failure to institute democratic reforms.
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