The UN Security Council statement passed on Thursday offers some hope but should have been much stronger, Burmese dissidents told The Irrawaddy on Friday.
The presidential statement received the full support of the 15-member security council, including China and Russia.
A spokesperson for Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, said it welcomed the council’s non-binding statement and considers it a positive sign, but it did not go far enough.
“The Burmese people only get a non-binding statement...because China and Russia blocked the attempt for a binding resolution on Burma,” said spokesman Han Thar Myint, referring to the two countries’ veto of a tougher Burma resolution before the council that was backed by the US, Britain and France.
On the plus side, the statement will support the efforts of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, as they work to improve conditions inside Burma, he said, and the statement signifies the council supports Burma’s democracy movement.
“This time the Chinese and Russian governments are participating and finding common ground in the security council because they also realize that the situation in Burma is becoming worse,” he said.
But even as the security council passed the statement, the junta was arresting, imprisoning and torturing non-violent protestors, said Han Thar Myint.
Aung Htoo of the Burma Lawyers Council, based in Thailand, said the junta has committed crimes against the people with “impunity” and the council should have addressed that issue.
“The UN special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, did not say anything about state-backed crimes in Burma," he said. “The security council must take more effective actions on Burma if they really want to help the people and resolve the problems.”
Aung Htoo said that in 2003, the junta committed crimes against non-violent protesters, and the international community did not take any effective action against the junta. In September, while the world watched, the junta again committed crimes against civilians, he said.
Soe Tun, a leader of the 88 Generation Students group, said the security council resolution doesn’t offer the Burmese people any legal protection against state-backed violence and people are very afraid of the junta.
“Even though the 88 students welcome the international support for Burma’s democracy movement, we are still disappointed with the ineffective actions of the security council,” he said.
“Dissidents, including monks, are brutally tortured at detention centers and even the International Committee of the Red Cross cannot visit them," he said.
The UN Special envoy to Burma is scheduled to return to Asia next week for consultations with key governments. He will meet with officials in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China and Japan and then return to Burma, according to The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, raids and arrests by security forces continue in Burma. one activist, Naw Ohn Hla, was arrested in Rangoon on Friday morning, according to reports, and the home of another activist, Lin Lin, in Rangoon was raided and searched by soldiers overnight on Thursday.
Rumors are circulating in Rangoon that some female detainees, including nuns, have been raped by soldiers at detention centers.
“We heard there are not enough female guards at detention centers, where women are detained,“said Soe Tun.”There is real concern for the situation of these women detainees.”