The Flourishing Business

It was rather paradoxical to hear the news that that Radhika Coomaraswamy, special representative for children and armed conflict will be going to Burma to "the issues of children associated with armed groups and humanitarian access." Charles Petrie, the U.N. humanitarian chief in Burma told reporters at the United Nations on Wednesday that since 2003, the U.N. has been able "to start addressing some very difficult issues" with the Burmese Military Junta, including the problem of child soldiers.

Human Rights groups around the world have long accused the Burmese Junta and opposition groups for recruiting large numbers of child soldiers, some as young as 11. The Military Junta seems to be proud of carrying on its gregarious human rights abuses, including summary executions, torture and forced labor as they always justify that this was the historical task carried on since the days of Burmese monarchs.

A spokesman at Coomaraswamy's office stressed that the trip was not a fact-finding mission but a routine, visit to coordinate U.N. programs to protect children in the country. Coomaraswamy plans to meet with the government, U.N. workers, members of civil society and children affected by conflict. But we are quite positive that the top brass will show only the positive side.

However, if Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy cared to have a cup of tea in any of the Burmese teashop in Burma she would noticed that the persons serving her are just 9 to 11 years old boys. One can argue this cannot be categorized as child labor because it was done voluntarily by the children to supplement their parent’s income to make both ends meet. No teashop or any restaurant dared to hire the boys of age 12 and above because they were forcibly kidnapped by the gangs and sell it to the army recruiters who in turn send it to the Training centre between Kalé and Tamu way up in the north of Burma where very few people can reach. In fact it was something like a boys company, but keeps it Hush Hush!

The Burmese Junta aims to have half a million men second only to China and has been turning out the junior army officers from Maymyo Defense Service Academy. Hundreds of them graduated every year to be assigned to the army. But they have no soldiers. The Burmese army has more captains than soldiers. Hence they assigned these new graduate army officers to recruit young soldiers promising them with promotion if they can recruit a record number of young boys.

Most of these graduate who hailed from the well to do parents, simply go to this centre and buy of the boys. The price for these boys ranges from 300,000 to 1,200,000 Kyats depending on they physique. The boys were paraded and each captain goes around choosing them, they just look at their mouth, eyes and physical structure as if they were choosing slaves of the olden days. Once they brought these boys to their company, they were ear marked for promotion. Hence, this business of kidnapping boys has become the most flourishing business in Burma. It has surpassed the narcotic trade as most of the Narco barons who now have become the “Gentleman of Rangoon” are now quite smug in their live of luxury.

The kidnappers usually ply at night especially at Railway stations and cinemas where the boys used to solicit and if they happen to meet any boy between 12 and 16 they are just carted off to be sold at the Hush Hush Military Training Centre. Sometimes they lay in wait for the schools children coming back home from school and pounced on them.

Recruiters for Burma's army frequently apprehend boys at train and bus stations, markets and other public places, threatening them with jail if they refuse to join the army. The boys are given no opportunity to contact their families, and are sent to camps where they undergo weapons training, are routinely beaten, and brutally punished, if they try to escape. Human Rights Watch received several accounts of boys who were beaten to death after trying to run away. These children were given a choice, to choose whether they want to die or to serve in the army. Hence, they were taken to that recruiting centre and sold for quite a high price. More than 20 percent on active duty at the Burma army are children under the age of 18. Hence, in Burma, there are lots of parents who have lost their boys. They poor parents approached the police stations and other security personals for help, but to no avail.

Nobody knows this flourishing business and of course the Junta and its cronies always suppress this kind of news blaming that the destructive elements were out and out to tarnish the image of the Army and the fair name of the country until the cat was led out of the bag one day.

It happens so, when the nephew of U Win Sein, the former minister of culture, a boy of age 11 was kidnapped by one of these gangs at Monywa station and sold it to the “Hush Hush Military Training Centre” at Kalé thinking that he was like any other boy. The parent has sent him to Fine Arts School in Mandalay, and on enquiry discovered that their son had never reach the school, it was lost on the way. The fact finding groups was set up to discover of whether there was any fatal accident or what happens. There was no trace of him. So naturally the parents approached the Minister of Culture who alerted the military intelligence. After some investigation it was discovered that the boy was already training in that “Hush Hush, Military Training Centre”. Even then the parents have to pay a large sum of money to get their son back. This is but one case of trafficking of children in Burma.

Obviously the Junta’s propagating machine and its media would loudly deny this episode as a crack up story claiming as usual to the destructive elements. If Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy would care and dare to visit this “Hush Hush Military Training Centre” the world will know who are the destructive elements of Burma? Or if the Junta is brave enough to set up an independent team with the help of the UN. The truth will come out.

What will be the fruition of 15-member Security Council expressing its “grave concern” at the suffering of civilians and children if these kinds of things are going on under our noses and then pretending that everything is alright? Addressing the Council, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said that “if there is one thing we need to do above all, it is to end the culture of impunity which underlies so many abuses.” And this is exactly what the Burmese Junta is doing.

The Junta continues to recruit large numbers of children into its army, many by force, despite its promises to stop this internationally-condemned practice. Most of the children said they were coerced and deceived to join the army and suffer its horrible conditions in training camps and dangers of injury and death on the battlefield. Other children said they joined the military because of economic hardships and social pressures, conditions that make children in Burma easy targets for government recruiters.

In January 2004 after the U.N. Secretary-General reported to the U.N. Security Council that Burma was violating international laws. The Burmese army rather than trying to resolve the problem focuses on public relations exercises, contesting allegations from the U.N. and from international human rights groups about the use of child soldiers. With new weapons that are lightweight and easy to fire, children are more easily armed, with less training than ever before. Often recruited or abducted to join armies, many of these children - some younger than 10 years old - have witnessed or taken part in acts of unbelievable violence. Such children are exposed to the worst dangers and the most horrible suffering, both psychological and physical. What is more, they are easily manipulated and encouraged to commit grievous acts, which they are often unable to comprehend. When schools are closed, children are left with few alternatives and may be more easily swayed to join the army.

When a conflict is prolonged as in Burma, armed forces and groups are more likely to use children to replenish their ranks. Children who are used as soldiers are robbed of their childhood and are often subjected to extreme brutality. Stories abound of children who are drugged before being sent out to fight and forced to commit atrocities. Burma’s record on child soldiers is the worst in the world said Jo Becker, advocacy director of the Children's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. The 220-page report, "My Gun was as Tall as Me: Child Soldiers in Burma," is the most comprehensive study of child soldiers in Burma to date. Drawing on interviews with more than three dozen current and former child soldiers, the report examines child recruitment by 19 different armed opposition groups in addition to Burmese Tatmadaw.

Once deployed by the Burmese army, boys as young as 12 engage in combat against opposition groups, and are forced to commit human rights abuses against civilians, including rounding up villagers for forced labor, burning villages, and carrying out executions. Human Rights Watch interviewed two boys, ages 13 and 15 at the time, who belonged to units that massacred a group of 15 women and children in Shan State in early 2001.

The Burmese army often used threats, intimidation and often violence to force young boys to become soldiers. "To be a boy in Burma today means facing the constant risk of being picked up off the street, forced to commit atrocities against villagers, and never seeing your family again." Human Rights Watch noted that the Burmese army has as many as 70,000 soldiers under the age of 18 are proven beyond doubt. Will Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy try to discover the truth or fall prey to the Burmese Junta like Mr. Gambari is still yet to be seen?

(http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/6255)