Memorandum submitted by Peter Sagar
RE:
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
COMMITTEE AND
DFID FUNDING
FOR BURMA
1. I have been informed that the International
Development Committee is soon to be holding an inquiry into how
the Department for International Development operates with regards
to Burma. I would like to make the case that more should be done
to support organisations and schemes, which actively promote transition
to democracy in Burma. I also believe that more should be done
to help refugees and migrants from Burma, presently in Thailand
and other neighbouring countries. There are tens of thousands
who have fled the appalling human rights abuses of the SPDC regime
and the brutal attacks made by the Burmese army, particularly
on the Karen ethnic minority.
2. Many of the refugees have been in refugee
camps for over ten years now and those refugees currently in Thailand
desperately need support for basic services such as health and
education provision. Not only are they in desperate need of support
at present, but this situation is likely to continue into the
indefinite future. The only other scenario is even worse; that
the refugees are forcibly relocated back to Burma, to face the
prospect of becoming forced labour, or death. It can be well argued
that greater support for provision of health and education would
help to persuade the Thai authorities that they should be allowed
to remain in Thailand.
3. With regards to support for organisations
which help Burmese people currently resident in Thailand, in either
refugee camps or migrant communities, I would like to suggest
for the following:
— Support for education projects
run by UK-led and other NGOs in the refugee camps and in towns
on the border such as Mae Sot. I have taught in two refugee camps
along the Thai/Burmese border and am therefore only too well aware
of the difficult conditions, which teachers are facing in the
refugee camps. The Thai government are allowing the refugees and
migrants to stay in Thailand but are not funding their education
provision. Resources and training are desperately needed. Without
a decent education the future for many young people from Burma,
currently resident in Thailand is bleak indeed. Support for education
on the Thai/Burmese border and in Karen State would also help
to ensure that any transition to democracy is enduring, as there
is a good argument that a more educated society is more likely
to understand the complexities of a democratic system.
— Similar support is needed for
health provision in the refugee camps and among the migrant workers
along the Thai/Burmese border. There are also ways through clinics
such as Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot of helping IDPs within Burma,
through the backpackers scheme, whereby trained medics go into
Burma to find and provide medical support for IDPs in the rainforest.
Support for further training of medics among the refugee communities
on the Thai/Burmese border would also be useful. Again support
for health care would help to make the transition to democracy
easier as it would help to improve the levels of skills and knowledge
of health practioners, thereby ensuring that one possible cause
of unrest would be lessened.
4. I am aware that there may be difficulties
in giving support for people who are not technically citizens
of the country they are currently residing in, but the levels
of suffering of refugees from Burma is so great that I do believe
that attempts must be made.
5. In terms of funding organisations directly
involved in working for a democratic Burma I am similarly aware
that the funding of such pro-democracy projects may not at first
appear as a good way of using money, since there is often no immediate
tangible change as a result of this kind of support; however,
many independent commentators have pointed out that the abject
poverty in Burma is largely a result of the lack of democracy
and so an approach, which seeks to support the development of
democracy within Burma, can be said to address the root cause
of poverty and human rights abuses within Burma and can therefore
be justified on both strategic and economic grounds.
6. The transition to democracy and the establishment
of a civil society within Burma will not be an easy one, and investment
is clearly needed for agencies in exile, which can facilitate
this change. Specifically, I would like to request you to fund
2 such organisations, which are currently promoting democratic
transition in Burma:
Federation of Trade Unions, Burma (FTUB)
7. The FTUB is a trade union congress with
member unions; it works inside Burma to educate, organize, and
strengthen Burmese workers and other pro-democracy movements.
The leadership of the FTUB is in exile in Thailand and other countries
as membership of a free trade union in Burma can be punishable
by imprisonment or even death. Only two weeks ago, reports emanating
from Burma suggested that a prominent trade unionist had been
handed a 25-year prison sentence.
8. There are huge problems with forced labour
in Burma and as in many other countries, trade unions in Burma
are among those organisations which are most concerned with gathering
information about human rights abuses and working for those human
rights. I also firmly believe that trade unions are a basic building
block in any civic society and without the development of a strong
civic society in Burma, any future democracy may be in peril.
The Association for the Assistance of Political
Prisoners
9. This organisation gathers and disseminates
information about political prisoners within Burma, some of whom
were elected as MPs in the election of 1990. Support for this
organisation could send out a very strong message that the UK
government is serious about supporting the transition to democracy;
a transition which is long overdue, as it is now 17 years since
the results of a democratic election were declared null and void.
10. I think that it is very important that
DfID supports cross-border organisations as these are more likely
to get aid to where it is really needed. This particularly the
case with regards to support for the ethnic minorities, including
the Karens, Karenni, Kachins, Mon and Shan.
11. I hope the Committee will consider the
points raised above when it considers funding for Burma in the
years ahead. It is important that support is given to the needs
of the thousands of Karen and other refugees from Burma who have
had to flee from Burma, to escape being attacked or coerced into
becoming forced labour on huge construction projects which only
benefit the regime and their allies outside Burma. Health and
Education provision and respect for workers' rights are essential
in any functioning democracy. DfID can provide great assistance
both to IDPs and refugees now and to the successful future transition
to democracy in Burma, by supporting cross-border organisations
and projects, which are working for these goals.
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