Former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, "South Korea Is Also Responsible for the Coup d'etat in Myanmar. The International Community Must Play Its Role" [Interview]

[경향신문]

Min Aung Hlaing (left), the commander-in-chief of the Myanmarese military shakes hands with state advisor Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), in his office in Naypyitaw, the nation’s capital on December 2, 2015. On February 1, the military-owned TV station reported, “The military declared a year of a state of emergency in response to the election fraud last November.” The military detained senior government officials including state advisor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and transferred power to the commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing. Naypyitaw / AFP Yonhap News

On February 1, Lee Yang-hee, former UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar said, “The international community including South Korea played a big part in the retreat of democracy in Myanmar due to a military coup d’etat.”

In an interview with the Kyunghyang Shinmun this day, Lee said, “South Korea has made ‘blind’ investments in regions where Myanmar massacred ethnic minorities, and as a result, money from South Korea flowed into the hands of Myanmar’s military.” She argued, “We turned a blind eye to the human rights suppression by the Myanmar government in order to attract investments.”

Lee explained, “During the past fifty years, when the military was in power, the military has filled its pockets, but the people’s lives have become more difficult.” She expressed her concerns saying, “If a coup occurs just five years after power was transferred to a civilian government in 2015, the lives of the people will deteriorate even further.”

At the same time, she called for the international community to press the Myanmarese military before it was too late. Lee said, “The UN Security Council must send a delegation to Myanmar quickly.”

Early this day, the Myanmar military staged a coup d’etat and detained major government and ruling party figures, including state advisor Aung San Suu kyi and President Win Myint. The military transferred power to commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing and declared a state of emergency for a year.

Lee, who is a professor at the Department of Child Psychology and Education at Sungkyunkwan University, was the first Korean to serve as a special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar at the UN Human Rights Council from 2014 until last year. She actively worked traveling between South Korea and Myanmar, but after her last visit in July 2017, the Myanmar government denied her entry into the country. The following is a series of questions and answers from the interview.

- Why did the military stage a coup now?

“It’s been a while since there have been signs of a possible coup. The military refused to accept the results of the parliamentary election last November, claiming it was fraudulent, and in the past few days, tanks and armored vehicles have been passing through the streets of Yangon, Myanmar. Just until yesterday, the military said it would observe the situation a little longer, but today, Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief suddenly carried it out. Min Aung Hlaing would have had to resign from his position this coming June, when he turns 65. He seems to have been influenced by the fear and anxiety that the military could lose the wealth and power it had accumulated after he resigned. He probably decided that now, with the COVID-19 outbreak, was the perfect time for the coup. I was able to call Myanmar just this morning, but now the line is dead. Communication and the Internet have been severed, and roads have been closed. Due to the novel coronavirus, people cannot go out and demonstrate.”

- The civilian government, which was about to start its second term, is facing a crisis.

“Politics in Myanmar began to develop after the military transferred power to the civilian government of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), led by advisor Aung San Suu Kyi in 2015. But even Suu Kyi broke her promise of democracy after she entered office. The number of political criminals increased under Suu Kyi’s rule, and students who criticized the government were arrested. The suppression of ethnic minorities and the press was also severe. Nevertheless, due to the military coup, democracy in Myanmar will retreat further than under the civilian government. The military stuffed its pockets full using the rich natural resources during their long-term rule of over a half century, but the people’s lives have become more difficult. With the coup, the lives of civilians will fall behind even more.”

- What impact will the coup d’etat have on ethnic minorities?

“Even under the rule of Aung San Suu Kyi, the military violated the human rights of ethnic minorities, such as the Rohingya and the Rakhine, and committed war crimes. Recently, the military indiscriminately detained and killed the Rakhine and bombed civilian homes. If the military seizes power, oppression of ethnic minorities will become more serious.”

- What should the international community do?

“Actually, the international community including South Korea has a huge responsibility in the democratic backsliding in Myanmar. The South Korean government has made ‘blind’ investments in regions where the Myanmarese military massacred ethnic minorities. As a result, a large amount of South Korean funds have flowed into the hands of the Myanmarese military. Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government also engaged in dogmatic behavior, suppressing the rights of ethnic minorities, but the South Korean government turned a blind eye in order to attract investment. The international community must play its role now, even if it may seem too late. The coup d’etat in Myanmar should be referred to the UN Security Council, and the Council should quickly send a delegation to Myanmar.”