• by Jody Williams, Tin Tin Nyo
• Monday, April 11, 2011
• Inter Press Service

One could be forgiven for thinking that democracy is busting out all over Burma. After all, the military junta that runs the country is making a big show of handing over power to Parliament, and declaring a victory for General Than Shwe’s much-touted ‘roadmap to democracy’, write Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize 1997 and Tin Tin Nyo, General Secretary of the Women’s League of Burma.

The elections in November 2010 were neither free nor fair, so it has come as little surprise that the ‘new’ parliament looks like the old military government. Its leadership includes ex-general Thein Sein, the head of the main pro-military party and a dependable ally of general Than Shwe. Recently the Economic Intelligence Unit put it succinctly: "The country remains a military dictatorship in all but name".

Over 2000 political prisoners languish in Burma’s prisons in abhorrent conditions. Ethnic communities live in fear as they roam the jungle night after night trying to avoid forced labor and execution. Girls and women are left to the mercy of military gangs as they are raped, mutilated and tortured. Children are snatched from their parents and forced to porter for soldiers or used as de-facto mine sweepers. Surely, this is not what democracy entails.

Representing thousands of other women, last year twelve courageous women of Burma travelled to New York City to testify in front of an international tribunal, and describe the atrocities they have suffered under the Burmese military. They believed that their testimonies, which according to their own words are "normal stories inside Burma," would provide the basis for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry.

It is sad to see that a year later, the international community has not matched these women’s courage.

It is time for concrete actions. The establishment of a Commission of Inquiry can no longer be delayed as it has more potential for a roadmap to democracy than any military blueprint could ever have.

(*) Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work on banning landmines, and is the Chair of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. Tin Tin Nyo is the General Secretary of the Women’s League of Burma.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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