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"whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and in truth."

1 John 3:17-18

Burma: A Nation Ruled by Terror

Naw Moo Day Wah, a 10-year-old Karen girl, was shot by the Burma Army. During this attack her uncle was killed and four members of her family wounded. She was shot in the stomach and was in a coma for 8 days. The bullet is still inside her body. She was brought to Thailand in February 2004 where she was x-rayed and examined by medical doctors who decided it was too risky to remove the bullet.

Naw Moo Day Way is an IDP (Internally Displaced Person) and her family lives with other families who were chased from their villages by the Burma Army. Even though their situation is not secure they do not want to leave their home land. Naw Moo Day Wah is doing very well and now smiles much more than before.

BURMA: A NATION RULED BY TERROR

Burma is a country of ethereal beauty, disfigured and scarred by one of the cruellest regimes in the world.

Through whichever lens you look at Burma, you will see injustice and oppression targeted at its long-suffering but brave people.

Politically, the democratic will of the people has been ignored and the rightful leader (Aung San Suu Kyi) imprisoned. Burma's government, the State Peace and Development Council, has imprisoned approximately 1,600 political prisoners in Burma, including 38 elected members of parliament.

Historically, Burma has been controlled by the largest ethnic group, the Burmans, since independence from Britain 1948. After only 14 years of a fledgling democracy, a military coup occurred in 1962 led by General Ne Win. Since then a series of Army strong men have maintained power with an iron fist, curtailing virtually all civil and political liberties. In 1988, Thousands of people were killed in anti-government riots. In 1990, opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in a general election, but the result only led to a further clampdown on any individual or group, who dared to oppose the military.

Economically, a once prosperous nation has been turned into one of the poorest in Asia. 40% of Burma's GDP is spent on the military although it has no external enemies. Despite being the world's leading exporter of teak, a principal source of jade, pearls, rubies and sapphires the people remain very poor and are getting poorer. Burma is also the world's second largest producer of illegal opium and Southeast Asia's largest producer of methamphetamines, exacerbating political friction between the SPDC and ethnic groups.

Militarily, Burma's David and Goliath battle pits the 400,000 strong Burma Army against the thread bare plethora of ethnic resistance groups who are seeking autonomy from Burma. Hundreds of thousands of civilian Karen, Karenni, Shan and other ethnic groups have been forced from their homes and are struggling to survive in the jungle. Although tentative ceasefires have been signed between the SPDC and the ethnic armies, human rights abuses by Burma Army soldiers are common place.

Legally, the junta is responsible for genocide against the ethnic minority groups. Rape is used as a weapon of war (an allegation upheld by the US State Department). Landmines are widely used - killing more people in Burma in 2002 than any other country in the world. Millions of Burmese have been pressed into forced labour - what the International Labor Organization, calls "a modern form of slavery". Even the former UN Special Rapporteur on Burma Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah QC, stated in 1998, '[I am] deeply concerned about the serious human rights violations that continue to be committed by the armed forces in the ethnic minority areas. The violations include extrajudicial and arbitrary executions (not sparing women and children), rape, torture, inhuman treatment, forced labour and denial of freedom of movement.'

Burma: A Nation Ruled by Terror

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