Despite the convening of the newly elected Parliament,
Burma’s ‘democratically-elected’ regime is nothing
more than a disguised version of the military dictatorship that
has ruled Burma for the past five decades.
The military-dominated Parliament has placed
high-ranking SPDC officials at the top of the country’s
political system. In addition, SPDC Chairman Sr Gen Than Shwe
ensures he will continue to “guide” Burma’s
politics by naming himself the leader of a newly created State
Supreme Council.
In ethnic nationality areas, the situation continues
to deteriorate. The SPDC is targeting ceasefire groups that have
rejected the junta’s Border Guard Force (BGF) scheme. Armed
conflict between the SPDC Army and these groups has already displaced
tens of thousands of civilians.
Of particular concern is the situation of civilians
in ethnic nationality areas where the regime is set to re-launch
its atrocious and inhumane ‘four cuts’ campaign. This
makes the establishment of a CoI extremely urgent. The creation
of a CoI has a strong preventive value because it can hold the
regime accountable for human rights abuses, deter future violations,
promote respect for the rule of law, and obtain justice for the
victims of these crimes.