No Fanfare for Quintana

By MIN LWIN

UN Human Rights Envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana arrived in Burma on Saturday a day after jail sentences were handed down to two opposition members and a one-year extension on the house arrest of National Leagues for Democracy (NLD) Vice Chairman Tin Oo was proclaimed.

The two elected members of parliament were named as Nyi Pu and Dr Tin Min Htut, both of the NLD.

No official reception was reportedly afforded Quintana at Rangoon Airport, nor did state-run media mention his arrival. The UN envoy arrived on a six-day mission. Soon after his arrival, he was reportedly taken by military officers in a helicopter to Karen State.

“We don’t have any high expectations for his trip,” said Debbie Stothard, the coordinator of the Alternative Asean Network (Altsean).

“We were shocked that Mr Quintana traveled by military helicopter to go and see the DKBA at the border,” she told The Irrawaddy on Monday, in reference to the Karen splinter group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which signed a ceasefire with the Burmese junta in 1995. “It appears that Mr Quintana has been given a special package tour organized by, for and with the SPDC.

“Why hasn’t he met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?” she asked.

Argentinean Quintana, who took over this post in May 2008 from Brazil’s Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, has made two visits to Burma, the first in August last year.

According to early reports, the UN human rights envoy proposed to the Burmese military government that four core human rights elements be implemented: the revision of domestic laws that limit fundamental rights; the progressive release of the estimated 2,000 political prisoners; the reform and training of the military so that it conforms with human rights; and changes to the judiciary so that it is fully independent.

“We can’t expect anything from his visit. The regime welcomed him by handing down 15-year prison sentences on two members of parliament,” said Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP).

He said that Quintana would be unable to do anything to promote the human rights situation in Burma, even though the envoy would like to see progress in the area.

“The junta will not implement Quintana’s proposed four core elements,” Bo Kyi said.

Meanwhile, the military authorities reduced the sentences on convicted activists Zarganar, Zaw Thet Htwe, Thant Zin Aung and Tin Maung Aye.

A member of Zarganar’s family said that Rangoon’s divisional court had reduced the well-known comedian’s sentence from 59 years to 35 years in accordance with a legal appeal.

Political prisoners’ families speculated that the recent reduction in prisoners' sentences is related to Quintana's trip. However, the NLD disagreed.

“The recent reductions in prison sentences may or may not be related with the human rights envoy’s visit,” said Nyan Win, a spokesman for the NLD.

According to AAPP, a total of 2,137 political activists are currently being held in prisons across the country.

“Human rights violations committed by the Burmese junta and its actors all across Burma are not just human rights violations, but crimes against humanity,” said Bo Kyi.