Congressional Human Rights Caucus holds briefing on Pakistan

The Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) held a briefing Friday on the human rights situation in Pakistan. Expert witnesses included T. Kumar, from Amnesty International; Tom Malinowski, from Human Rights Watch; Mohammad Akram Sheikh, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan; and Jennifer Leonard, from the International Crisis Group.

Convening the discussion, CHRC Director Hans Hogrefe emphasized the importance of holding the briefing in order to examine the current developments within the larger context of the situation regarding Pakistan. He said that “all these things are extremely, extremely troubling,” and it is necessary to urge Pakistan to return to a democratic process that respects the rule of law.

The United States’s relationship with Pakistan was discussed by all of the witnesses, and many suggestions were made regarding what the U.S. should do next. Pakistan, one of the United States allies, is “The only country that can make a difference at this point,” according to Kumar. He added that the U.S. should send a clear message that the actions of suspending the judiciary and constitution will not be accepted.

The development of a relationship with the people of Pakistan was suggested as an important change needed in American foreign policy. Malinowski said that the U.S. has been too preoccupied with who was ruling in Pakistan rather than developing the democratic institutions in the government. He suggested that the U.S. push for a restoration of the country’s governmental institutions, such as the judiciary and constitution, which are necessary for establishing a legitimate government and protecting Pakistan’s citizens.

U.S. interests were also a focus of the discussion. The United States’s relationship with Pakistan has been based on fighting terrorism, however, according to Malinowski, “Musharraf has done more to destabilize Pakistan than al-Qaeda could ever dream of.” Leonard also mentioned that while lawyers and human rights activists were being jailed, approximately 20 militants were released. She said that this shows a contrast in priorities, and a fear of secular groups rather than extremist ones. Malinowski added that while lawyers, judges, and human rights activists were being detained, Pakistan was not going after members of al-Qaeda. Episodes like these cause the people of Pakistan to become more cynical, making it harder for the U.S. to do what it needs to do, he said.

The recent statement by Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte that Musharraf is an “indispensable” ally was decried as a mistake by the witnesses. According to Sheikh, Washington’s allegiance to Musharraf makes it harder to work with the Pakistani people, and strengthens Musharraf’s power. Sheikh said that in this way, Musharraf was holding Pakistani society hostage. Malinowski expanded on this statement, saying the U.S. has been unable to push Pakistan due to the fact the U.S. needs Musharraf for a problem Pakistan “helped sustain and create.” Sheikh suggested that the solution was to isolate Musharraf from his country’s institutions, thereby stripping him of his power.

Congressional Human Rights Caucus holds briefing on situation in Burma

The Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) on Wednesday held a special briefing on the situation in Burma. The witnesses present were: Bo Hla-Tint of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, Than Lwin Htun, the Burmese Service Chief for Voice of America, T. Kumar, Amnesty International’s advocacy director for Asia, and Jennifer Quigley of the U.S. Campaign for Burma.

CHRC Director Hans Hogrefe provided introductory remarks, saying that Burma’s military crackdown on the “utterly and totally peaceful demonstrations” is “totally intolerable to the world community.” On the surface, the situation in Burma seems relatively calm, Hogrefe said, however, the military junta still roams the streets, and has imposed a “silence of the grave.”

The Burmese government reports that only 10 people have died because of the crackdown, however, Quigley said that she is able to confirm that more than 200 have been killed, with another 2,000 arrested. Moreover, she said that at least 50 monasteries have been left empty, and monks are being imprisoned inside other monasteries, where if left for too long, they will die from starvation. She also mentioned that there have been unconfirmed reports of corpses being dumped in the jungle, and that the military has begun using a crematorium outside of Rangoon to destroy bodies.

The current protests reflect those that occurred in 1988, however, Hla-Tint said that these are fundamentally different. He said the Burmese are willing to sacrifice their lives, not because this is something they want, but because there is no other choice. Similarly, Quigley added, “the people of Burma have proven with their blood that they are ready for democracy.”

A major focus of the discussion was on what the international community should do concerning Burma. Kumar gave a stark view of the reality of the situation, saying that if nothing is done, “this will repeat itself.” Neighboring countries, such as China and India, have caused problems in the past by refusing to speak out against Burma, allowing the military junta to feel comfortable killing and abusing the Burmese people. The panel agreed that it is important for the U.N. Security Council to be united on this issue and take strong action immediately. As Lwin Htun said: “The Burmese Foreign Minister’s speech to the United Nations confirmed that Burma will not heed the international community and will continue to seek its own path, no matter what.”

The United States has a major role to play in resolving the situation in Burma, the witnesses said. According to Kumar, the U.S. “is not doing what they are supposed to be [doing].” He also said that the U.S. needs to push China to do the right thing by not vetoing resolutions going to the U.N. Security Council. He believes Burma should be seen as a test case. “The danger we are facing,” Kumar said, is that “if we cannot make a change here, we will not make change anywhere.”