Interview

What is Important Now: Free and Fair Elections

By THE IRRAWADDY Friday, March 5, 2010

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Food is scarce and of poor quality, health and hygiene is a concern, medical treatment is limited. These jails are harsh places. However, despite this, they maintain their commitment to peaceful reconciliation with the government.

In northern Rakhine [Arakan] State I went to assess the condition of the Muslim people there known as the Rohingya. There is a real situation of systematic discrimination against the Rohingya. The government is not willing to recognize their rights, there are many laws that restrict their basic human rights, and many are held in harsh conditions after being arrested arbitrarily.

Q: Opposition figures and former political prisoners have welcomed your visit, and in general many believe that the presence of a figure such as yourself brings some temporary improvement for some prisoners in Burma. However, UN envoys have come and gone, and even the secretary-general was snubbed when he visited in 2009. Many in the Burmese opposition and exile groups feel that UN visits typically achieve little or nothing. What do you say to counter negative reviews?

A: Firstly, it is important not to expect too much from these visits, but I understand the feelings among those who suffer human rights violations by the government and of those who want the situation in the country to change for the better. I have been appointed by the UN Human Rights Council as an independent expert and I use my visits to raise my voice on behalf of those who cannot speak out for themselves. There are a number of UN agencies working in Myanmar, and I speak on behalf of all of those as well, and I say what needs to be said. What is important now is that the government holds free and fair elections, based on the release of all prisoners of conscience and the other requirements discussed previously. I have said this to the government, and have repeated this to the media and others.

Q: After your visit, what comes next? Will you go back to Burma anytime soon?

A: I will report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 15. The report will first be presented to the member states before it is published. I will include the items mentioned and discussed during this interview, and more besides, but I do not want to prejudice the report in advance.

I have requested another visit to Myanmar, to take place sometime this year, and I hope that the government will agree. As for timing, I have no date in mind. It is difficult to arrange this right now as we do not know when the election will take place. My visit would be timed around that, but whether before or after, I cannot anticipate right now.

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COMMENTS (3)

plan B Wrote:

09/03/2010

Recently a group of absolutely apolitical Americans entered Myanmar through Tachilek and set up free medical, dental and eye care in the city of Kyain Tung.
The first day they attracted 200-300 patients,the 2nd day the crowd queuing for the services offered were near 500 in a religious compound by mid morning. The official in Kyain Tung then decided to rescind their approval and ask the group to leave ASAP.
From that experience, the group members all view the Myanmar government negatively. However all agreed the tremendous needs of the Kyain Tung citizenry and most commited to return in a suitable individual capacity to help the citizenry.
Has Quintana lost that simple UN SACRED PRINCIPLE that saving the citizenry outweighs vilifying the government and, even worse, not pointing the policy that the West eschews is part of the cause?
The whole interview is littered with the suffering of Myanmar citizenry yet nowhere does he say anything beyond blaming the SPDC. As for a solution: None, Zilch, Nada.

Zam Mang Wrote:

07/03/2010

The world is witnessing the historic election in Iraq. In the past, Iraq was not a better country than Burma. But today, because of Than Shwe's unwillingness to change, Burma is left behind by others. The upcoming election must be free and fair. If not, the blood will flow like rivers in the Union of Burma. The wrath of lovers of democracy from every corner of the nation will fall on SPDC gangsters. The people have tolerated this evil SPDC for too long. If Than Shwe cheats again, he will be eaten alive by the citizens this time.

James O'Brien Wrote:

07/03/2010

UN needs to give mandate to Quintana to more than report human rights abuses.

He and all Burmese pro-democracy groups should be actively working on a vast data bank that will

1. in short term combined with activism, alleviate some of the suffering of political prisoners and their families.

2. in long run, or maybe short run too, who knows,lead to the perpetrators (the junta) finally brought to justice in international courts.

I am glad the little junta apologists have fallen silent.

But they will start up again in these columns, I don't doubt it, running interference.

James O'Brien.