Myanmar mulls allowing international observers for by-election

Feb 5, 2012, 13:33 GMT

Yangon - Myanmar's government is considering allowing international observers to monitor an upcoming by-election which opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will contend, the United Nations special rapporteur on the country's human rights said Sunday.

'I met chairman of Union Election Commission and he told me that international observers are being considered for April 1 by-election,' Tomas Ojea Quintana said, at the conclusion of a six-day official visit to the once-pariah state.

'The coming by-election is a key test how far the government has progressed in the process of reform,' Quintana said.

Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has entered the by-election race, contesting a seat in Yangon, while other party members will contest another 47 seats up for grabs.

Should Suu Kyi win, she is likely to become the legitimate opposition leader in parliament, a sign that Myanmar's pro-military regime may be sincere about democratic reforms in the country, which has been under military dictatorships since 1962.

Myanmar's President Thein Sein has initiated a slew of reform measures since coming to office in March last year, including opening talks with Suu Kyi, freeing more than 600 political prisoners and signing ceasefire agreement with a handful of Myanmar's ethnic minority insurgencies.

Hundreds of political prisoners remain in jail, however.

'I welcomed the release of prisoners of consciences, but I urged government to release all remaining prisoners of conscience without condition and without delay,' Quintana told a press conference.

He also noted that Myanmar still lacked an independent judiciary, with the chief justice still appointed by the president.

'My mission confirmed positive impact has been made but serious challenges still remain,' Quintana concluded, before departing for Geneva.

Quintana, who visited the Karen and Mon states where insurgencies have raged for the past six decades, noted that there were ongoing reports of human rights abuses in the areas.

'I received continuing allegations of serious human rights violations committed during conflict, including attacks against civilian populations, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, internal displacement, land confiscations, the use of human shields, the recruitment of child soldiers, as well as forced labour and portering,' the UN special rappoteur said.

Myanmar has been a pariah state among Western democracies for the past two decades, since the army cracked down on a pro-democracy movement in 1988 leaving an estimated 3,000 people dead.

Myanmar's worst human rights atrocities have been perpetrated against its ethnic minorities.

Quintana's full report on the Myanmar visit will be presented to the upcoming 19th session of the Human Rights Council.

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