Burma: Elections

Baroness Cox Excerpts

Thursday 11th November 2010 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Baroness Cox]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent elections in Burma.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford)]

My Lords, the elections on 7 November were a sham. They were neither free, fair nor inclusive and they do not represent progress. We have heard reports of voter intimidation and irregularities in the results. Over 2,100 political prisoners remain in detention, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Many ethnic groups were excluded from the process. It is clear that the military is determined to maintain its grip on the country. An opportunity for national reconciliation has been missed.

[Baroness Cox]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply, with which I entirely agree. Is he aware that, while the sham nature of these elections has been widely and appropriately reported, less widely reported are some of the abuses in remote areas, such as the intimidation and arrest of Chin and Rohingya people and military offences against the Karen, which have led tens of thousands to flee into Thailand? Will Her Majesty’s Government consider some humanitarian assistance for the newly displaced and ensure that all the ethnic nationals, comprising 40 per cent of the population of Burma, are fully involved in all future discussions and dialogue?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness, who is second to none in her grasp of these developments; I believe that shortly she will once again be travelling to the Chin state area to see for herself some of these very bad conditions. The broad answer is that we are monitoring the situation and looking carefully all the time at whether additional aid and support can be mobilised for these ethnic groups. Among the refugees on the Thai border there are now reports of unpleasant developments in Chin state, northern Rakhine and other areas. We are looking at these things closely. It is a little early to say whether additional international aid is required, but we stand ready to examine in close detail the points that the noble Baroness has rightly made.

Korean Peninsula

Baroness Cox Excerpts

Wednesday 28th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

The noble Lord speaks wise words. The North Koreans are capable of really dangerous acts. They have the Taepodong missile, which in theory has an intercontinental range. They have tried one—it did not work, but it might have done—and they are prepared, under pressure, to do very dangerous things. This is a very dangerous situation and we should have no illusions that it is just a question of sabre rattling. It is right that the entire community should recognise this and that the Chinese should realise that, although North Korea is their neighbour, they should be as worried as the rest of us to have a neighbour with these inclinations.

[Baroness Cox]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of widespread concern over the deteriorating situation in North Korea with regard to human rights, with the recent public executions by firing squad of former Cabinet Minister Kwon Ho Ung, reportedly for failing in his negotiations with South Korea, and also of two young men in their 20s, as well as concern about the US citizen, Mr Gomes, who has recently tried to take his life in prison? Will Her Majesty's Government use the good offices of our ambassador in Pyongyang to raise these serious issues with the North Korean Government?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

These are both very worrying situations. The report of the executions is unconfirmed but we have sought to establish what happened. If it is confirmed, the noble Baroness will be absolutely right that it is an extremely grim example. On the question of Mr Aijalon Mahli Gomes and his early release from prison, he is currently on hunger strike. We are aware of his case and are monitoring it closely. However, the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang is the consular protecting power for US nationals in North Korea and is handling the case, although we are keeping a close watch.

Queen's Speech

Baroness Cox Excerpts

Wednesday 26th May 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Cox]

My Lords, I, too, warmly congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Howell, on his appointment. I have always valued the great wisdom and sensitivity with which he has approached many of the complex issues with which I am sometimes associated. I also appreciate how those characteristics were similarly demonstrated by the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock.

I shall focus on three countries which I have recently visited: Sudan, Burma and Nigeria. I was in Sudan in February with my small NGO, HART, working with local partners in southern Sudan and the Nuba mountains. We found many causes for concern, including a desperate humanitarian situation. For example, one in seven mothers in southern Sudan dies in pregnancy or childbirth; one in seven children dies before the age of five; and only 17 per cent of the population receives immunisation, leaving people vulnerable to such preventable conditions as tetanus, measles and diphtheria. The situation for the Beja people in eastern Sudan is even worse.

I welcome the significant funding of £250 million that the United Kingdom has provided for Sudan and to which the Minister referred. However, in the areas where we work, there is little sign of it. Many people ask where those resources are going. Could a review therefore be undertaken to ensure that the money which DfID has given really does reach the most unreached people and will be used in the most effective way to address the very disturbing situations reflected in those statistics?

The recent elections were inevitably plagued by many problems but they are a critical step in the CPA process, leading to the referendum for southern Sudan. They have therefore been generally welcomed. However, the plight of the people in the Nuba Mountains is dire. Although the Nuba Mountains were officially renamed South Kordofan, the local people prefer the traditional name, so I use it. The comprehensive peace agreement put the Nuba Mountains under the administrative control of Khartoum, causing such dire problems that the people there claim:

“We were better off in war than under the CPA”.

They are now forced to be primarily dependent on Khartoum for aid and claim that Khartoum manipulates that aid with its Islamist political agenda—in ways resented as much by the local Muslims as by Christians and traditional believers. Attempts by Khartoum to impose Sharia law in Kadugli were met with robust opposition from all the population, Muslim and Christian as well as traditional believers.

However, the concerns of the people of the Nuba Mountains have been exacerbated by the lack of information about the substantive content of the “consultation” which was their lot under the CPA rather than a referendum for self-determination. They are so worried that some of their leaders believe that if the south votes for secession, the people of the Nuba Mountains will be so vulnerable that they may feel that they have to resort to a new war. The particular fears that they have identified again and again are: forced Islamisation, Arabisation and the loss of their precious, historic, rich, African Nuba culture. What measures are being taken by the Assessment and Evaluation Commission set up under the CPA to address these justifiable concerns for the people of the Nuba Mountains and the other marginalised areas of Blue Nile and Abyei?

The recent report by the Associate Parliamentary Group for Sudan, On the brink: Towards lasting peace in Sudan, highlights many issues, some of them identified by the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey. It also highlights especially the need to prepare for the post-referendum situation, particularly with capacity-building in many spheres.

I turn briefly to Burma, where the SPDC military junta continues to deny free and fair elections and to pursue its policy of brutal oppression of the democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, of the imprisonment of large numbers of political prisoners, forced labour, use of 70,000 child soldiers, military attacks with a shoot-to-kill policy against the Karen, Karenni and Shan peoples in the east, and of military occupation affecting other peoples such as the Chin, Kachin and Rohingya, with extrajudicial killings, rape, forced labour, theft of land and livestock. The Chin people also suffered when their bamboo crops flowered three years ago, bringing an infestation of rats which devoured the crops and created such a critical shortage of food that many people suffered and died. I take this opportunity to express great appreciation to DfID for the £600,000 of life-saving resources that it initially provided, followed by another £200,000 last year. Will it monitor the situation and consider further support if needed for people in remote areas who still have not received any help?

On the SPDC’s cynical manipulation of elections, which are a travesty of democracy, will Her Majesty's Government support the resolution passed by the European Parliament on 20 May, calling for the European Commission to reverse cuts in funding to refugees on the Thai-Burma border; immediate release of all political prisoners; the UN to focus on securing genuine tripartite dialogue between all parties, including the ethnic groups; the European Commission to start funding cross-border aid to parts of Burma where the regime blocks aid; the EU to work to build global support for a UN arms embargo on Burma; and Bangladesh to improve its treatment of Rohingya refugees?

I turn briefly to the disturbing situation in northern Nigeria and Plateau state, with reference to a Question that I asked in your Lordships' House on 30 March, highlighting the recent slaughter of up to 500 villagers near Jos. This was just the latest in a series of attacks by Islamist extremists. On a recent visit to Jos, I met both Muslim and Christian leaders who were very interested in an initiative which I had the privilege to help to establish in Indonesia some years ago. It has the long name the International Islamic Christian Organisation for Reconciliation and Reconstruction, which mercifully abbreviates to IICORR. I asked the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, if she was aware that the Foreign Office had funded some years ago a symposium for an interfaith delegation from Indonesia which helped to contain further conflict and was very successful. I asked whether Her Majesty's Government would consider a similar initiative for the Muslim and Christian leaders in Jos. I was very encouraged when the noble Baroness invited me to send her a proposal, which I have sent to the Foreign Office; subsequently, I have had discussions with staff in the Foreign Office. I therefore express the hope that the Minister might be willing to consider this initiative. Any help given to local leaders in that very troubled situation could help to protect their own people and to protect Nigeria from destructive destabilisation, especially at a time when Nigeria is facing many other challenges that could make it very vulnerable.

The situation in Sudan, Burma and Nigeria is critical and the needs are great. I hope that the Minister will be able to give some sympathetic consideration to these issues and suggestions.