{"id":88411,"date":"2017-03-13T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-03-13T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=88411"},"modified":"2017-03-10T11:42:45","modified_gmt":"2017-03-10T11:42:45","slug":"myanmarburma-peoples-tribunal-emphasizes-solidarity-across-ethnic-religious-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/03\/myanmarburma-peoples-tribunal-emphasizes-solidarity-across-ethnic-religious-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar\/Burma: People\u2019s Tribunal Emphasizes Solidarity across Ethnic, Religious Lines"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Permanent People\u2019s Tribunal on Myanmar State Crimes – London, UK, March 6 2017<\/p><\/div>\n

9 Mar 2017 – <\/em>In proceedings described by witnesses, prosecutors and jurists as a \u201chistoric moment,\u201d the Rome-based Permanent People\u2019s Tribunal (PPT) launched a session this week exploring allegations of state crimes against Kachin and Rohingya communities in Burma.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first objective is to give visibility,\u201d said the PPT\u2019s permanent secretary Dr. Gianni Tognoni, on the purpose of the opinion tribunal opening held in London from March 6-7 and webcast live.<\/p>\n

Representatives from the Burmese government were invited but did not attend the session\u2014in an act of symbolism, an empty chair labeled \u201cMyanmar Government\u201d was placed in the room for the duration of the launch.<\/p>\n

Witnesses from the Kachin National Organization (KNO), the Center for Human Rights Research and Advocacy in Malaysia, the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK) and professors from Queen Mary University and the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) testified before a panel of three jurists\u2014international experts on genocide and international law; the Dalai Lama also sent a statement in support of the proceedings.<\/p>\n

Through both live and videotaped testimony provided by activists and lawyers, Rohingya refugees and internally displaced Kachin described suffering a range of abuses, from sexual violence to military air strikes and shellings of their homes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Mandy Sadan, SOAS professor, historian and author, spoke on the historical context in which the current violence in Burma has unfolded. She was the first at the event to emphasize the significance of the Kachin and the Rohingya presenting testimony together\u2014an observation echoed by members of the prosecution team and the jurists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the first occasions in which one of the largest non-Burmese groups have chosen to ally themselves with the Rohingya,\u201d Dr. Sadan said of the Kachin. \u201cThis is a vitally important aspect of this tribunal.\u201d<\/p>\n

With regard to the joint participation with the Rohingya, the KNO\u2019s Kai Htang Lashi said: \u201cTheir suffering is our suffering. We share the same perpetrator\u2014the state, the military institution. One community is not more important than another community. We all suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a hearing a full day of testimony, the panel of jurists presented a joint statement declaring that the charges put forward \u201cdemand adjudication by the Permanent People\u2019s Tribunal.\u201d Dr. Helen Jarvis, who once served as a public affairs officer on the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, described the abuses as fitting into three categories: \u201cidentity framing\u201d through the exclusion of ethnic and religious minorities, allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Kachin, and allegations of war crimes and genocide against the Rohingya.<\/p>\n

Of particular concern, she explained, were demographic shifts linked to these patterns, noting that, according to testimony, 10 percent of the Kachin population was now internally displaced, and that the Rohingya population in Burma had been \u201chalved\u201d in less than 40 years.<\/p>\n

Member of the panel of jurists and former UN Assistant Secretary-General Denis Halliday urged for greater political leadership from Asean in encouraging the Burmese government to address allegations of human rights violations, and described what he sees as the impotence of the United Nations Security Council and the International Criminal Court in prosecuting crimes\u2014like those described to the tribunal\u2014under international law.<\/p>\n

Upcoming Sessions<\/strong><\/p>\n

A full and broader session of the PPT concerning Burma will be convened within six months, likely in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to produce a \u201creasoned judgment.\u201d The jurists and conveners of the tribunal have extended an open invitation to other groups in Burma who wish to bring their experiences before the panel in future sessions.<\/p>\n

PPT President Dr. Tognoni described the evidence presented in the opening session as \u201ccompelling,\u201d but noted that it needs, \u201cin order to be really evaluated and assessed, further documentation and systematization.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the next session, jurist Denis Halliday recommended that the PPT look into issues of \u201ccomplicity\u201d by international investors, agencies and countries such as the UK, US, China, France, and Israel, for promoting \u201csecurity and investment\u201d instead of confronting allegations of abuses by the state.<\/p>\n

People\u2019s tribunals\u2014of which there have been 42 sessions convened globally since 1979\u2014are not necessarily directed at \u201cthe powerful,\u201d said Daniel Feierstein, a genocide scholar and jurist on the current tribunal.<\/p>\n

Those in power he explained, \u201cnot only know what happens, but they [may] be the indirect or direct perpetrators or accomplices in what is happening.\u201d Therefore, opinion tribunals are \u201cmore of a call to the people, to take care of the suffering of others, even if they are suffering too. And I feel that\u2019s what happened yesterday and today,\u201d Feierstein said in his closing comments.<\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 irrawaddy.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

9 Mar 2017 – In proceedings described by witnesses, prosecutors and jurists as a \u201chistoric moment,\u201d the Rome-based Permanent People\u2019s Tribunal launched a session this week exploring allegations of state crimes against Kachin and Rohingya communities in Burma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}