Depayin massacre

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The Depayin Massacre occurred on 30 May 2003, when at least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy were killed by government-sponsored mob in Myanmar.

Although this was but one of many atrocities committed by the Government of Myanmar against its citizens, it should be regarded with particular seriousness given the number of persons killed at one time, the extent to which the event appears to have been planned in advance with the connivance of the highest authorities, and because it directly targeted the embodiment of popular democratic aspirations in Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

In making this statement, the Asian Legal Resource Centre concurs with the preliminary findings of the Ad Hoc Commission on the Depayin Massacre, presented on 25 June 2003. In its summary observations on the attack, the Ad Hoc Commission observed that the attack was clearly premeditated and well-organised, as indicated by the following:

a) Up to 5000 persons were brought to a remote rural location for the purpose of attacking the convoy.
b) The attackers were all well-armed and located strategically at two killing sites.
c) Before the motorcade arrived, local authorities threatened people living in nearby villages to stay indoors.
d) The authorities systematically searched for and arrested survivors of the attack.

The attack is described by a number of eyewitnesses, from whom the Ad Hoc Commission has collected affidavits, in the following terms:

They beat women... after pulling off their blouses and sarongs. When the victims covered in blood fell to the ground, I saw the attackers jumped on to them and wrapped the hair around their hands and pounded the heads against stone surface of the road, with all their force. (Wunna Maung, 26)

Before my own eyes, people were being beaten savagely. I was hearing the wounded, dying victims moaning and wailing in pain, shrieking in agony, and crying out for help. At that time, as the attackers . . . were shouting unspeakable abuses, it was just like the hell boiling over. I saw with my own eyes the attackers striking down the victims with all the force and stabbing viciously with pointed iron rods. Truly, it was a murderous attack. The beating was done until the victims died. . . . It appeared that the attackers were systematically trained. They mainly aimed and struck on the head. Even when I was at a hundred yards, I heard with anguishing pain, the popping sounds of heads being broken by savage blows. (U Khin Zaw, 50)

In order to document the beating of villagers on the video, attempt was made to line up the motorcycles and light up the area with their headlights. In the light from the motorcycles, we saw the attackers holding up wooden bats, iron bars, pointed iron rods, bamboo sticks and shouting. At that moment, the sound of a whistle was heard, and led by monks in red armbands; they shouted and charged towards us. While we were still dumbstruck on seeing the charge, they started attacking the last pickup truck, in which the monks and novices were seated.(Maung Po Zaw, 23)

About 80 policemen, holding shields and wooden clubs, came to [one area of killing after the massacre was over]. . . . Two officers got out of the cars and checked the killing field. Hiding under cover of night, I witnessed that the 80 policemen threw the bodies of the dead and injured, as if they were garbage, into the trucks. I could clearly see in the lights of trucks that had been to that area before and others that got there later, although I could not discriminate between who was who. The two Helix pickup trucks left at the scene were pushed down into the rice field and then they set them up as if they had overturned. The other two Helix pickup trucks were set up to look like they had had a head-on collision. Then they took pictures of them with video and still cameras, for the record. After that, I left that area so that I could find a venue to hide for a night. (Ko Chit San, 36)

The Asian Legal Resource Centre is of the opinion that the massacre at Depayin clearly amounts to a "widespread or systematic attack directed against [a] civilian population, with a knowledge of the attack" (article 7.1 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court) and is therefore a crime against humanity. To date, however, there has been no serious action taken on the massacre, and with every day that passes, the likelihood of uncovering the truth grows less.

The persistent abuse of human rights by the Government of Myanmar is a matter of international public record and is well-known to the Commission. The attack at Depayin on May 30 has worsened conditions in Myanmar. When goon squads are sent to quash popular sentiment, they are intended to do more than assault a single individual or organization—the real objective is to destabilize society. If a country is politically and socially stable, people are capable of expressing discontent. If unstable, those in control are free to carry on with whatever schemes they have devised for their own economic and political advantage. When people's lives are insecure, their primary concern is the search for security itself. When lawless elements are given a free hand, it sends the message that there exists, in the words of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, only the un-rule of law. The effect on the collective consciousness is not only to prevent the possibility of democracy, but also to prevent the realization of even the most fundamental rights: those to food, water and other basic necessities. Poverty and lawlessness coincide; society becomes demoralized and inert. The Asian Legal Resource Centre has over a number of years, including this year, submitted written statements to the Commission on conditions of food scarcity in Myanmar caused by the militarisation of its society.

Under such circumstances, the obligation of the international community to become involved is greatly increased. Sadly, it has failed to respond. The lack of any serious consistent pressure on the Government of Myanmar has meant that it has been free to commit widespread human rights abuses while making piecemeal gestures to silence international critics and give the impression that it is progressing towards a political transition. The international protest that arose after the killings at Depayin ought to be leading to something more. The Asian Legal Resource Centre suggests that the periodic visits of special envoys from United Nations agencies are insufficient. Urgent intervention is required at all levels to arrest Myanmar from further decline.

With regards to the events at Depayin in particular, a formal, large-scale investigation needs to be carried out under international pressure. Steps must also be taken to account for—and protect—the survivors, many of whom reportedly remain under detention. More broadly, the United Nations must work concertedly for change in Myanmar with a view to the holding of a credible election there under international supervision, to ensure that the armed forces honour the results. Finally, steps must be taken to bring those responsible for numerous human rights violations in Myanmar to account for their actions in accordance with international law.