Diminished ILO visit spells trouble

Bangkok Post ^ | 03 March 2005 | LARRY JAGAN

[LwinAungSoe]

Another international delegation to Burma has cut short its visit because of a lack of cooperation

Burma's military rulers are likely to face increasing calls for tougher economic sanctions following the failure of a recent high-level International Labour Organisation visit to Rangoon.

The delegation published its report on the visit earlier this week. It paints a bleak picture of government ignorance and intransigence. The ILO leaders were careful though to try to keep the door open for further dialogue with Burma's generals.

When the high-level delegation cut short its visit and left Rangoon a week ago, it left the regime with a four-point plan of action: the issuance of clear instructions to the army, and publicity for a campaign, to stop the use of forced labour; a renewed commitment to the previously agreed plan of action on forced labour, after the regime has dragged its feet over the past year; the granting of freedom of movement to the ILO liaison officer in Rangoon, which has been curtailed significantly for some time; and the extension of an amnesty to the third of three people convicted of high treason essentially for having contact with the ILO.

The independent high-level team was led by a former Australian governor-general, Sir Ninian Stephen, who also headed the last high-level visit four years ago, which conducted one of the most comprehensive investigations ever into forced labour in Burma. The other two members were former Swiss president Ruth Dreifuss and Chung Eui-yong, a former ILO governing body chairman and South Korean ambassador to Geneva who is now chairman of the foreign relations committee for his country's ruling party.

The regime has three weeks to make some kind of gesture to the ILO on the four action points before the body's governing body discusses Burma. The meeting of the governing body will be held in Geneva from March 3 to 24. ''Burma is the last item on the agenda to give Rangoon time to respond,'' a senior ILO official told the Bangkok Post last week. So far there has been overtures from the regime.

But the labour movement is in a quandary as to what to do next. ''The ILO presence in Rangoon has been important and helped increase awareness in Burma of people's rights to challenge forced labour,'' said Maung Maung of the outlawed Federation of Trade Unions _ Burma. He believes that instead of pulling out of Burma, the ILO should increase its presence in the country.

Burma's trade union leaders are keen to see the international organisation open offices in several other cities in Burma, including Mandalay and Moulmein. So pulling out of Burma is not an option favoured by the ILO or the trade union movement. ''We're not leaving, they'll have to throw us out,'' ILO director-general Juan Somavia has often said.

The generals, of course, may do just that. Clearly, Burma's military rulers will only be prepared to tolerate the ILO presence if it is in their interests to do so or not a permanent thorn in their side. For some time now the military government has effectively ignored the ILO and refused to respond to complaints and inquiries.

That may be an option the ILO could live with initially, but over time, without the cooperation of the authorities, the ILO would find it unsustainable. The ILO would not be prepared to maintain an expensive non-functioning office, and would have to withdraw at some time.

The regime is more likely to be angered by the ILO if it reinstitutes its resolution of four years ago _ which effectively called for its members to consider imposing sanctions _ at its meeting later this month. The generals may simply give the ILO office in Rangoon notice to leave as soon as possible. But the junta must realise that this is tantamount to throwing out a UN body. Although the ILO is unique in that it is made up of representatives of government, employers and labour, it is a key part of the UN's international organisations.

''This would not please Burma's neighbours,'' said a senior Asian diplomat who deals regularly with Rangoon. India and Thailand in particular would see this as a majo r setback to Rangoon's image internationally, and likely to cause increased tensions with the European Union and the US. Asean as a whole and even China are unlikely to support Rangoon if they tried to expel the ILO.

But crucially the battle between the ILO and Burma is more likely to take the form of greater pressure for increased sanctions. Although the ILO as such cannot implement sanctions, nor insist that its members follow that course of action, the resolution adopted in 2000 called for its members to review their relations with Rangoon to eliminate forced labour.

This would also mean international bodies like the other UN agencies, the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank would have to review their activities in Burma and stop anything that might involve the use of forced labour. It would almost certainly increase Rangoon's isolation.

Burma's military rulers are certainly worried about the potential power of the ILO. They know that if the body calls for action, including sanctions, it could really hurt them. One of the key measures being considered is a ban on the loading and unloading of Burmese cargoes by the shipping unions. This would hit the country's already crippled exports extremely hard and make imports even more difficult.

This probably prompted the regime to allow the delegation to visit in the first place. But from the very start it was obvious that Burma's military rulers were not taking it particularly seriously. A significant sign of that was the fact that the deputy labour minister met them at the airport.

Although the recent high-level delegation was confident it would meet the country's top two leaders, Senior General Than Shwe and General Maung Aye, its key meeting was with the new prime minister, Lieutenant-General Soe Win. He lectured the ILO team on the successes of the military regime for more than an hour and clearly had no idea of the purpose of their visit, according to diplomats in Rangoon who were briefed by the ILO on the departure of the team from Rangoon.

''The foreign minister was clearly shocked when the high-level team informed him that they were cutting their visit short because of the lack of cooperation,'' a UN official told the Bangkok Post on condition of anonymity.

The scene is now set for a protracted battle between the ILO and Burma's military rulers. Forced labour will not be the only issue at stake. The right to form unions, child soldiers and human trafficking will all become key concerns between the ILO and the Burmese government. For their part, the unions want to push the issue up on to the UN Security Council agenda.