han Shwe, dictator of Burma and leader of the country's authoritarian military junta, seized power in 1988 after military forces killed 3,000 pro-democracy student demonstrators. Shwe is an unassuming dictator in some senses; his countrymen know little about him and he is not an obviously visible presence throughout the country. He rules by decree, which his junta and military forces carry out, but maintains a low profile.
According to FreedomHouse.org, the younger generation of military officers who took control after the student demonstrations created the State Law and Order Restoration Council and refused to hold elections. In 1990 when elections occurred, the National League for Democracy won in a landslide. However, after the ruling junta nullified the results of the election and imprisoned dozens of pro-democracy activists, the junta won 392 of the 485 parliamentary seats. Shwe controls the junta, who in turn controls all aspects of society. In an op-ed for the Brookings Institute, Catharin Dalpino described Myanmar as a country where "there are no privileged pockets of democracy and human rights... authoritarianism sweeps the country."
In 1997, Shwe introduced superficial reforms aimed at improving his international image. The SLOC was renamed the State Peace and Development Council, but remained under the control of the junta. Homes are searched at will, mail is intercepted, publications are censored, and phone lines are tapped. Possession of an unregistered phone, fax, computer, modem, or software is a criminal offense. There is no independent judiciary, basic human rights violations are common occurrences, and military officers occupy virtually all of the senior positions in government. A certain degree of religious freedom is present, and worship is allowed, but monks are monitored and restricted in their teachings. Many are imprisoned for advocating pro-democracy positions.
The worst cases of abuse occur in areas that are predominately ethnic minority inhabited, where citizens are killed, raped and beaten arbitrarily. In some cases, civilians are forcibly uprooted from their homes and forced into relocation centers. FreedomHouse.org estimates that in 2003, approximately 2 million citizens had been removed from their homes. Laws prohibiting torture are on the books but security forces beat and torture prisoners, detainees and citizens with impunity. Forced labor and porterage occur regularly. Military forces can confiscate property, cash, and food from those being victimized without punishment.
According to the Report on Human Rights Practices for 2003, the U.S. State Department estimates that 1300 political prisoners remain in jail or work camps. The most prominent political prisoner in the country is Suu Kyi, leader of the NLD. Since 1989, she has been kept under house arrest intermittently and even though her party won the elections of 1990, she has never taken office as a political figure. A Nobel Peace Prize winner and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she has encouraged negotiations with the junta, to no avail. Foreign governments, human rights organizations, and numerous NGOs have called for her release, but the junta refuses to comply.
