President Hu Jintao
People’s Republic of China
Zhongnanhai, Xichengqu, Beijing City
People’s Republic of China
Dear President Hu:
On
August 8, 2008, more than a billion people around the globe will
celebrate the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Millions
of Burmese, however, are unlikely to focus that day on the
Olympic theme of “One World, One Dream,” but rather will observe
the 20th anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy protests in
Burma, during which an estimated 3,000 people were killed.
We realize that your government chose to open the Beijing
Olympics on 08-08-08 for symbolic reasons, but recent events in
Burma mean that the spotlight on that date will also be on the
continued suffering of the Burmese people. Your government has
resisted efforts to link the Olympics with human rights concerns
in China and in China’s relations with abusive governments. Yet
your government’s reluctance to condemn the latest acts of
brutality by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
its ongoing—and crucial—support to the SPDC, and the coincidence
of the two events only raises the stakes for China to act
swiftly and constructively to help protect the people of Burma
from further human rights abuses.
In August and September peaceful protests were staged throughout
several cities in Burma calling for improved living standards,
respect for basic rights, and the conduct of a genuine political
dialogue with opposition politicians, many of whom remain in
prison. The response by the SPDC security forces was brutal by
any measure: riot police and army units used baton charges, tear
gas, and shot directly at Buddhist monks and civilians engaged
in peaceful protests. It appears likely that the death toll is
considerably larger than the official figure of 10, and injuries
were also likely to be very high. Thousands of participants in
the demonstrations were arrested; many, including monks, were
reportedly tortured in custody. Hundreds of people remain
unaccounted for. SPDC security forces continue to conduct
nighttime arrests and intimidation of people suspected of
involvement in the demonstrations. The brutal crackdown has only
worsened the poor state of the economy and increased already
widespread dissatisfaction with military control of the country.
In response to the crisis, the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN), which rarely speaks out on human rights
concerns, has publicly expressed its “revulsion” in response to
Burma’s assaults on peaceful demonstrations. UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has described the SPDC’s actions
as “abhorrent and unacceptable.” The Security Council, with your
government’s consent, has in a presidential statement rightly
called for the release of political prisoners and the lifting of
restrictions on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
It is, however, regrettable that we have not heard directly from
Beijing the strong words of condemnation such as those from
ASEAN and from the secretary-general. Similar public criticism
from China would have an immediate effect in Burma. Merely
calling for peaceful resolution of the crisis without
referencing the SPDC’s abuses, suggests that China does not see
it as important that the lethal policies of the government
should change.
As one of Burma’s neighbors, its largest investors, and its main
suppliers of weaponry, China indisputably wields the power to
positively influence this situation. We have noted the Chinese
government’s rhetoric expressing mild concern, yet without
concrete action this changes little inside Burma.
Given your government’s relationship with the Burmese
government, as a member of the UN Security Council and Human
Rights Council, and as a self-described “responsible power,” we
believe China is able to bring about the dramatic improvement of
the dire human rights situation in Burma by taking the following
steps:
- Immediately place an embargo on all weapons transfers from China to Burma and suspend all military training, transport, assistance, and cooperation.
- Support or abstain from vetoing UN Security Council resolutions calling for sanctions or other collective action to address the crisis in Burma. Constructively engage with other Security Council members to design and adopt appropriate multilateral sanctions on Burma. Sanctions should be pegged to the government meeting specific human rights conditions. These should include the release of all persons arbitrarily detained for exercising their basic human rights to free expression, association, and assembly, and an accurate official accounting of the numbers, whereabouts, and conditions of individuals killed, arrested, and detained by the security forces.
- In the absence of Security
Council-imposed sanctions, China (along with other
countries) should act to impose targeted sanctions to
encourage the steps outlined above:
- Sanctions, including financial sanctions, should be targeted at leading officials, both military and civilian, who bear responsibility for abuses, as well as others who may assist in, or be complicit in, the evasion of sanctions by those individuals. Those sanctioned should be identified by means of a fair process, and the sanctions should be subject to regular monitoring of both their impact on human rights and whether the steps outlined are being reached.
- Consistent with human rights measures previously adopted or currently under consideration by the European Union and United States, China should also ban new investment and prohibit the importation of select products from Burma.
- Prohibit business partnerships with or payments to entities owned or controlled by the Burmese military, and whose revenues are largely used to finance military operations (as opposed to social spending).
- Uphold the 1951 Refugee Convention and customary international law and allow anyone fleeing persecution in Burma to cross the border into China.
- Suspend involvement by state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec, both official Olympic partners, in the proposed Burma-China oil and natural gas pipelines until the conditions specified above in relation to multilateral sanctions are met. As Human Rights Watch has previously described, we are concerned that the proposed construction of overland pipelines would exacerbate the serious human rights situation in Burma. In light of recent events, Human Rights Watch urged all companies to suspend activities related to onshore pipeline projects in Burma, as we do not believe it will be possible for them to carry out such projects without becoming complicit in the abuse of human rights.
- Instruct Chinese firms, including stated-owned firms, with business ties to Burma to publicly and fully disclose all payments made to the Burmese military, directly or through the entities it controls.
- Continue to urge the SPDC to engage in dialogue with its critics, and end its repression of them. The Seven Step Road Map to Democracy, which is merely a cover for continued military rule, must be scrapped and replaced with a plan that has the genuine support of Burma’s political parties and ethnic groups.
- Urge the SPDC to reconvene a truly representative and participatory national convention that operates through an open and transparent consultative process that could lead to a new constitutional settlement that genuinely reflects the views of all parties and leads to the creation of a civilian government.
Should the Chinese government
take such steps, it is possible that on August 8, 2008—a date on
which your country will be the focus of unprecedented
international interest—it will likely be credited rather than
criticized for its role in Burma. It is not only right that
China should stand with the people of Burma against state
repression and abuse, it is in China’s self-interest to do so.
Sincerely,
Ken Roth
Executive Director
Human Rights Watch
