Category Archives: AIUofT Candlelight

Crisis in Myanmar

Posted on December 23, 2021 | Leave a comment

By: Penelope Giesen

Myanmar Continues its fight against oppression

Background
On February 1, 2021, there was a military coup in Myanmar, which a country in southeastern Asia, bordering India, China, Thailand, and Laos. This coup halted the nation’s first quasi-democracy that had previously held power since 2015, led by Aung Sung Suki. Aung Sung Suki is widely considered to be a controversial figurehead who successfully transformed Myanmar into a democracy after a long history of military dictatorship, yet whose leadership has been marred by ethnic violence and potential unethical alliances with the military now in power.

Protests
Since the coup, there has been widespread civil disobedience against the oppressive policies put in place by the military government in power, the Tatmadaw. These immediate policies included seizing control of infrastructure, suspending international and national flights, stopping internet access in most major cities, and closing the stock market and major banks. All of these measures were justified under claims of a “constitutional” state of emergency declared by the military. Though these protests started peacefully, they quickly turned violent and sparked ruthless retaliation by the government. On February 20, 2021, two unarmed protesters were killed, including a 16-year-old boy, prompting millions to go on strike two days later. The retaliations have escalated with the military, killing 600 and maiming, injuring, and torturing thousands more on March 27, 2021. This incredible violence inspired an armed resistance by the Burmese people, who call themselves the People’s National Defense, and they engage in jungle gorilla warfare against the Tatmadaw. Despite facing rampant food insecurity and constant threat from the Tatmadaw, the People’s National Defense is determined to fight for liberties and the freedom that had once existed. Yet this army is underfunded, and many have been pushed up into the remote hills where they must combat hunger, poisonous snakes, and dengue along with their families when the Tatmadaw systematically burns villages that are home to these resistance fighters. Despite these challenges, the horrific conditions don’t diminish the determination of the resistance, which has been further galvanized by their shadow government calling for a revolution by armed insurrection on September 7, 2021. Many of the Burmese people have a complicated relationship with the armed resistance in support of their former democratic government given the atrocities inflicted upon ethnic groups in the nation such as the Rohingya Muslims. In a state of disorder and terror, it is hard to distinguish what is being fought for, but some believe that this fight for liberty is a turning point for the Burmese people as it is uniting all Burmese people in a fight for liberation. Thet Swe Win, a Burmese human rights activist, notes the Tatwondow’s terrorization of Burmese people in villages and urban areas has “opened people’s eyes to the rights abuses other ethnic groups have long been facing”. As a result, people have started to broaden their horizons for the liberty they are fighting for.

Humanitarian crisis:
This armed coup and ensuing resistance had caused the death of at least 1180 armed resistors and civilians, the destruction of innumerable villages and homes, and displacement of at least 176,000 people internally with an additional 22,000 to other countries. The Tatmadaw has been documented using tactics against Myanmar’s civilian population such as burning villages, looting properties, torture, and mass arrests. This is in addition to the hundreds of thousands of Burmese refugees such as the Rohingya Muslims that have fled ethnic terror for decades. Many of these refugees flee with their families to India, which is an arduous journey that involves spending days in the woods without food or water and having to cross the Tiau River that separates the nations. And there are growing concerns that neighboring countries such as Thailand will begin to turn away refugees at the border.

What can be done to help?
The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar is multifaceted and severe. Civilians, members of the rebel army, and refugees all are in dire need of support. There are many approaches that could be taken to support these groups, including: donations to various humanitarian aid organizations, advocacy to local representatives and the federal government of increased sanctions, and blockades, and establishing a “no-fly zone” over Myanmar. Some reliable organizations that could be donated to include: The International Rescue Committee (which has been supporting Myanmar since 2008), Save the Children (which supports children in dangerous situations around the world and specifically provides support to children and families in Myanmar that have been affected by the deadly violence occurring). In addition, donations to the Civil Disobedience Movement will provide support to Burmese people participating in protests against their authoritarian government. In addition, support to the Burmese people could include contacting your country’s relevant diplomatic and government representatives to ask for increased sanctions on Myanmar in solidarity with the protestors trying to weaken and destabilize the military in control. Another method of support could involve exerting pressure on our government to support the Secretary General’s special envoy on Myanmar, per Christine Schraner Burgener’s request in her speech to the UN press conference on October 21, 2021. Her request noted that international leadership not accept the Tatmadaw as a legitimate established government as they are responsible for the majority of the instability and violence in the nation.

References:
1) Goldman, Russell. “Myanmar’s Coup and Violence, Explained.” The New York Times, The New
York Times, 1 Feb. 2021,
https://www.nytimes.com/article/myanmar-news-protests-coup.html.
2) Wee, Sui-lee. “Thousands Flee Myanmar for India amid Fears of a Growing Refugee Crisis.”
The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2021,
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/world/asia/myanmar-refugees-india.html?search
ResultPosition=2.
3) Martin, Michael F. “Myanmar’s Opposition Wants U.S. Intervention. Here Are Some Options.”
Foreign Policy, 24 May 2021,
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/05/24/myanmar-opposition-coup-us-intervention-sanctio
ns-options/.
4) Win, Thet Swe. “The Coup United the People of Myanmar against Oppression.” Opinions | Al
Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 1 Oct. 2021,
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/10/1/the-coup-united-the-people-of-myanmar
-against-oppression.
5) UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBAP). “Myanmar Emergency – UNHCR
Regional Update – 1 September 2021.” UNHCR Operational Data Portal (ODP), UNHCR , 1
Sept. 2021,
https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/88481.
6) Snodgrass, Erin. “5 Ways to Help Anti-Coup Protesters on the Ground in Myanmar Right
Now.” Insider, Insider, 11 Apr. 2021,
https://www.insider.com/ways-help-anti-coup-protesters-myanmar-right-now-2021-4.
7)Desk, News. “Myanmar Situation Deteriorating – United Nations Press Conference (21
October 2021).” The Global Herald, The Global Herald , 21 Oct. 2021,
https://theglobalherald.com/news/myanmar-situation-deteriorating-united-nations-press-c
onference-21-october-2021/.
Image Source: New York Times October 26, 2021

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Posted in AIUofT Candlelight

Tagged crisis, diplomacy, humanitarian, Myanmar, refugee, rohingya, tatmadaw, UN

The Xinjiang Conflict: a human rights issue worthy of greater international pressure

Posted on August 20, 2021 | Leave a comment

By: Lucas Khoo

Since 2017, at least 1 million Uyghurs have been arbitrarily interned in Xinjiang, China (PBS, 2019). Forcibly placed into what the Chinese government calls “Vocational Education and Training Centres”, Uyghurs are victims of racial discrimination, mass indoctrination, and as the U.S. recently declared, “genocide” (Axios, 2021). The Uyghur people are a Muslim minority group native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China. The conflict between the Chinese government and the Uyghur people is a longstanding and complex one. Disagreement over who has official claim to the Xinjiang region, separatist sentiment amongst the Uyghur minority, and perpetual belligerence between the Han and Uyghur people has fuelled several conflicts: the 2009 Urumqi Riots which left over 197 people dead, the 2011 Hotan attack, and three other violent attacks in 2014. These types of conflicts have initiated a firm response by the Chinese Communist Party. Xi Jinping’s administration has taken a hard-line approach in addressing the separatist sentiment and terrorism which has been brewing in Xinjiang for many years. It is not wrong to curtail and deter terrorism, however, it is wrong to target an entire ethnic group and subject them to oppressive measures; this is exactly what is unfolding in Xinjiang. Concealing their governmental actions as part of an effort to combat terrorism, the Chinese government has unjustifiably persecuted and deprived thousands of Uyghurs of their human rights. It is difficult to tolerate the fact that approximately 1 million people have been stripped from their families, torn from their religion, and imprisoned because of their ethnicity. That population size alone outnumbers the respective city inhabitants of Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Vancouver. There is no place for arbitrary detention in the 21^st century.

While it is important for the international community to maintain good relations with China, the severity of human rights abuses in Xinjiang merits greater international pressure. On March 22^nd, 2021, the United States, Canada, Britain, and the European Union imposed sanctions against several Chinese officials (Politico). These sanctions were in direct response to the human rights abuses being committed in Xinjiang. This type of multilateral action against China is crucial; not only does it tangibly penalize the Chinese government, but it symbolizes a western coalition that will not tolerate human rights abuses. Hopefully, in placing pressure on the Chinese government, Chinese leaders will re-evaluate and stop their genocidal operations. The newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, has a great responsibility in the coming years. Being at the helm of U.S. foreign policy, Blinken must steadfastly defend the human rights of Uyghurs and make bold foreign policy decisions; perhaps no other man is in a better position to stand up against the Chinese government. Blinken has affirmed his view that “genocide” is being committed against the Uyghurs (CBS News, 2021). At his confirmation hearing, Blinken asserted that, “forcing men, women, and children into concentration camps, trying to in effect re-educate them to be in adherence to the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party — speaks to an effort to commit genocide” (CBS News, 2021). Blinken’s future actions as secretary of state will be pivotal in the fight for human rights in Xinjiang. Canada has also responded to the ongoing human rights abuses in China. Just recently, Canada’s parliament reproached China for committing genocide in a motion which passed 266 to 0 (BBC, 2021). As with most other humanitarian crises, the Xinjiang Conflict has been met with political disagreement. The Chinese government still refutes any claims of wrongdoing or genocide. Multilateral efforts and verbal condemnation can only go so far, but it is a vital first step toward addressing the atrocities committed by China. Constant and persistent political pressure is needed to protect the human rights of millions of Uyghur people.

The greatly discomforting list of human rights abuses committed against the Uyghur people exceed arbitrary detainment. The Chinese government has been alleged of conducting forced abortions, compulsory sterilization, rape, and torture (Human Rights Watch, 2021). These harrowing crimes against humanity are well documented by reliable sources such as the BBC and Human Rights Watch. The suffering and plight of the Uyghur people may not be visible to most of us in western societies, but thousands of Uyghurs on a daily basis face a cruel reality. One in which they are abused, racialized, and subjugated. One in which fear is rampant and hope is diminished. This genocide can no longer go unnoticed. The United Nations and the rest of the international community must exert their powers to the fullest extent and alleviate the vicious oppression perpetrated by the Chinese government.

Sources:

Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany. “U.S. Declares China’s Actions against Uighurs ‘Genocide.’” Axios, January 19, 2021. https://www.axios.com/us-declares-china-actions-against-uyghurs-genocide-65e19e86-29ad-4c56-922f-d8a060aa2df8.html.

“‘Break Their Lineage, Break Their Roots.’” Human Rights Watch, Apr 19, 2021. www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/19/break-their-lineage-break-their-roots/chinas-crimes-against-humanity-targeting.

Brennan, Margaret, Christina Ruffini, and Camilla Schick. “With China’s Treatment of Muslim Uighurs Determined to Be Genocide, Biden Administration under Pressure to Act.” CBS News. CBS Interactive. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-treatment-of-muslim-uighurs-determined-to-be-genocide-biden-administration-under-pressure-to-act/.

“Canada’s Parliament Declares China’s Treatment of Uighurs ‘Genocide’.” BBC, February 23, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56163220.

Toosi, Nahal. “U.S., Allies Announce Sanctions on China over Uyghur ‘Genocide’.” POLITICO. POLITICO, March 22, 2021. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/22/us-allies-sanctions-china-uighers-genocide-477434.

Wood, Bryan. “What Is Happening with the Uighurs in China?” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service. Accessed May 6, 2021. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/features/uighurs/.

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Posted in AIUofT Candlelight

Tagged China, genocide, Uyghurs, Xinjiang Conflict

Women’s Strike Protests in Poland

Posted on January 6, 2021 | Leave a comment

By Shiva Ivaturi image from uk.reuters.com

Corruption of Political Institutions

Poland’s nationalist, far-right Law and Justice (PiS) party has been the dominant party in the country since winning the majority of seats in the lower house (235 out of 460 seats) and upper house (61 out of 100 seats) in 2015 parliamentary elections.

Elections and political parties often face tumultuous cycles. Yet political change does not substantiate action to reduce the power of a country’s basic institutions of justice that are meant to keep all political agendas from crossing irrevocably defined ethical boundaries. After coming into power, the PiS terminated the terms of three constitutional judges belonging to an opposition party and nominated three judges to represent the PiS, a move that ignored the timeframes of their terms of office (Tomczak, 2020). Legal experts across the world deemed the change to the Constitutional Tribunal as an illegal, unwarranted attack on judicial independence that established a link between the most powerful independent court and the ruling party of parliament (BBC, 2016). With a presupposition of corruption overshadowing future rulings made by the Constitutional Tribunal, the rights and freedoms of Polish citizens would be inevitably modified as well (Kobyliński, 2016).

The party’s propaganda and attempts to delegitimize the human rights of sexual and gender minorities have only continued in recent years, with the Law and Justice party winning the vast majority of local elections in 2018 and maintaining power in the lower house of parliament during 2019 parliamentary elections (Beswick and Abellan-Matamoros, 2019).

Amendments to the electoral code of Poland in 2018 signed by President Duda changed the framework of the National Electoral Commission (PKW). Previously, all nine members of the commission were appointed by courts, although the reform allowed seven out of the nine members to be chosen by parliament, perpetuating biased influence of the ruling party throughout the electoral process (Freedom House, 2020).

Observers of the 2019 parliamentary elections from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) concluded that although the elections were generally conducted in a transparent and fair manner, the effect of judicial reforms and state sponsored propaganda through public broadcaster channels reduced the ability of voters to make an informed, impartial choice or to lodge election related complaints without undue influence from government authorities (Freedom House, 2020).

Ruling of the Constitutional Court

With the Law and Justice (PiS) party having exerted firm control in the past of Poland’s institutions and continuing to do so for the foreseeable future, the quality of life and impact on sexual and gender minorities has become a human rights cataclysm that cannot be ignored for any longer. With the most powerful institutions in the country falling in line to the ruling party, political agendas became commandments that all citizens were subjugated to, irrespective of whether it deprived them of basic human rights they had previously enjoyed.

Abortion restrictions had previously severely limited the rights of women in Poland, only allowed if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, if the woman’s life was in danger, or if there were fatal fetal abormalities (Gessen, 2020). However on the 22nd October 2020, the Constitutional Tribunal, tied to the political agenda of the PiS party, held unconstitutional the provision of allowing an abortion should there be fatal fetal abormalities. The tribunal’s justification relied on defining abortion to be permissible only in instances of “absolute necessity”, a vague term seemingly allowing the court to propogate the ideas of the PiS without acknowledging or protecting the rights of pregnant mothers. Notably, the constitutional rights of women were hardly mentioned in the judgement, including but not limited to: guarantee of human dignity, the right to freedom, the right to life, the prohibition of torture and degrading treatment, the right to privacy, the protection of health, and the special protection of mothers before and after birth (Krajewska, 2020).

Emergence of Women’s Strike Protests

Following the ruling on 22 October 2020, activists mobilized across the nation to call for a change to the eroding, precarious status of reproductive rights in Poland. The umbrella term for these protests were colloquially referred to as the Women’s Strike, although since its inception the protests have come to encompass a wide variety of human rights issues and call attention to socioeconomic disparities (Gessen, 2020).

The right to freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association, freedom of expression, life, liberty, and security of the person to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatments and/or punishments are provisioned in human rights treaties to which Poland is a party (UN General Assembly, 1966). However, Amnesty International has documented multiple instances of police brutality against peaceful protesters.

On 9 November 2020, activist Gabriela Lazarek was violently arrested while protesting peacefully in front of the Ministry of Education (Bednarek, 2020). She faces charges of unlawfully influencing by force or threat of the actions of authorities, punishable by up to three years in prison (Code of Criminal Procedure, 1997). Amnesty International holds that these

charges are unjustified. On 10 November, activist Katarzyna Augustynek was arrested in Warsaw while she was protesting peacefully (TVN24, 2020). Video footage shows her talking to three police officers when a fourth officer approaches and demands to see proof of identification, to which she refuses as police do not have a legal basis for conducting an identification check. Katarzyna was forcibly arrested and charged on the basis of a violation of the physical integrity of an officer on duty, punishable by up to three years in prison (Code of Criminal Procedure, 1997). Amnesty International holds that these charges are unjustified. On 11 November, multiple instances of excessive use of force by police on protesters were documented. On 18 November 2020, police kettled protesters and used pepper spray directly in their faces.

Concerns that the police will continue to resort to excessive use of force and criminalization of peaceful protesters are of the utmost importance during a time where Polish authorities appear to be turning a blind eye to citizens who oppose the deprivation of reproductive rights and social mobility. In fact, Polish authorities appear to be taking punitive actions against the constituents to which they are obligated to represent.

What Can You Do?

Broad actions taken to consolidate power in governments is not a new phenomenon. Nor is the deprivation of basic reproductive rights and those of sexual and gender minorities through the corruption of a country’s institutions of justice. In these tumultuous times, we must ask ourselves whether we are willing to stay uninformed and take no action against these sorts of horrific phenomena that continue perpetuating inequalities at every level of society, or whether we will call for change.

With the onset of a global pandemic, traditional forms of social mobilization have been restricted in order to limit the transmission of COVID-19. Fortunately, activism has increasingly taken advantage of digital channels. Amnesty International at the University of Toronto encourages you to stay informed on the actions of Polish authorities particularly as it relates to the treatment of protestors and contribute to change through letter writing campaigns, petitions, and other forms of communication to raise awareness among peers. Please consider making a financial contribution if you are able to do so to organizations including but not limited to: Amnesty International, Stonewall Poland, and Human Rights Watch!

References:

1. “Poland’s Constitutional Court Clashes with New Government.” BBC News, BBC, 9 Mar. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35766482.

2. Kobyliński, Konrad. “The Polish Constitutional Court from an Attitudinal and Institutional Perspective Before and After the Constitutional Crisis of 2015–2016.” Wroclaw Review of Law, Administration & Economics, vol. 6, no. 2, 2016, pp. 94–107., doi:10.1515/wrlae-2018-0006.

3. Tomczak, Malgorzata. “Poland’s Government Creates Constitutional Crisis It Will Find Hard to Resolve.” Balkan Insight, 30 Nov. 2020,

balkaninsight.com/2020/11/30/polands-government-creates-constitutional-crisis-it-will-fi nd-hard-to-resolve/.

4. Kurasinska, Lidia. “This New Political Party in Poland Wants to ‘Re-Christianise’ Europe.” OpenDemocracy, 27 Feb. 2019,

www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/new-party-poland-aims-re-christianise-europe/. 5. “Poland.” Freedom House, freedomhouse.org/country/poland/freedom-world/2020. 6. Gessen, Masha, et al. “The Abortion Protests in Poland Are Starting to Feel Like a Revolution.” The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2020,

www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-abortion-protests-in-poland-are-starting-t o-feel-like-a-revolution.

7. Beswick, Emma, and Cristina Abellan-Matamoros. “Poland Election: Ruling PiS Win Narrow Majority – Final Results.” Euronews, 15 Oct. 2019,

www.euronews.com/2019/10/13/poland-head-to-the-polls-with-conservative-ruling-law-j ustice-party-in-the-lead.

8. UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 16 December 1966, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 999, p. 171, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3aa0.html

9. Bednarek, Michalina. “Aktywistka Gabriela Lazarek Spędziła Noc ‘Na Dołku’. Wyszła z Poważnymi Zarzutami.” Wyborcza.pl, 11 Nov. 2020,

katowice.wyborcza.pl/katowice/7,35063,26502384,aktywistka-gabriela-lazarek-spedzila noc-na-dolku-i-wyszla.html?disableRedirects=true.

10. The Code of Criminal Procedure of Poland (Act of 6 June 1997). 1997. 11. “Polska Babcia Zatrzymana. Poseł Szczerba: Usłyszała Zarzut Zaatakowania Policjantów Tęczową Torbą.” TVN24, TVN24, 30 Nov. 2020,

tvn24.pl/polska/polska-babcia-katarzyna-augustynek-zatrzymana-przez-policje-w-sobote w-czasie-protestu–strajk-kobiet-4764431.

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Posted in AIUofT Candlelight