A Burmese protester steps on the posters of Burma's military ruler Than Shwe during a demonstration in New Delhi in July. (Photo: Reuters)The US Administration has decided to support the creation of an independent United Nations commission of inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma after an intensive internal review of its policy of engagement with the Burmese regime, US media reported on Tuesday.
The decision is reportedly primarily targeted at the Burmese leadership led by Snr-Gen Than Shwe and also reflects a sense of frustration among Obama Administration officials who have been trying unsuccessfully to engage with the Burmese military rulers since last year.
While there has been no official announcement of the Administration decision, the move was reported by The Washington Post and the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine on their websites. The decision came a few days after the Burmese military junta announced that the election will be held in November, ignoring the concerns of the international community over its legitimacy.
"What's important here is that this is not aimed at the people of Burma but at its leadership, particularly at Than Shwe," a senior administration official was quoted by The Washington Post as saying.
The creation of a UN commission of inquiry has been urged by the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana. "The UN institutions may consider the possibility to establish a commission of inquiry...to address the question of international crimes," according to his report in March. The report raised the expectations of several Burmese opposition groups and organizations who seek legal action against the Burmese regime leaders.
Outlining some options for setting up a commission of inquiry, Foreign Policy magazine wrote that the UN could introduce before the UN Human Rights Council when it convenes next month a resolution establishing such a body. The Obama administration could also press the UN General Assembly to pass a resolution establishing the commission, or it could appeal to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to do it under his own authority, the magazine wrote.
The Washington Post said that a commission could be established by a UN Security Council vote although China is expected to block such a move. It cites examples of dictators tried on charges of war crimes, such as Slobodan Milosevic, the former leader of Serbia, and Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor, who is currently on trial at the Hague.
“The decision to push for a commission of inquiry reflects a judgment that there is merit in allegations of mass crimes by the Burmese military, that [opposition leader Aung San] Suu Kyi's political party supports such a commission, and that the Burmese government failed to come forward with steps to bring progress towards democracy," Foreign Policy said quoting a US official. It also reflected mounting congressional calls for tougher action against the Burmese regime, the magazine added.
“There is a whole generation of military elites in Burma who will be making choices in the next few years. This is aimed at them,” a US official was quoted as saying in the Washington Post.
Nearly a year after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Washington's new Burma policy, US officials have lately been publicly expressing their disappointment that the two rounds of US-Burma official level talks have not yielded any results.
Two senior officials told Foreign Policy that the move in favor of a commission of inquiry is consistent with the US policy of engagement with Burma. "We don't see diplomacy as a reward: it's a tool that we hope will have results," one of them said.
The Obama Administration is also considering tightening financial sanctions against the regime as part of an effort to force it to open its authoritarian political system and free thousands of political prisoners, reported The Washington Post.
Lalit K Jha contributed to this article from Washington.
Comments
Post a Comment