Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged the Japanese government to drop a plan to donate 100 million yen (U.S. $934,300) to buy vehicles and communications equipment for the Myanmar Police Force to use to protect dignitaries, arguing that the police are partners with the army in widespread abuses.<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s Foreign Ministry announced the plan on July 2, describing it as a modernization effort aimed at \u201cstrengthening the capabilities of police agencies in various fields\u201d and \u201cupdating equipment that had not been replaced for more than 20 years in a country vulnerable to terrorism, illegal drug trafficking, and human trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder this plan, by providing vehicles and radios for the protection of dignitaries, the police force in the country, which promotes democratization and civil servant reform, will be strengthened in security measures to stabilize the society and contribute to the economic and social development of the country,\u201d said the Japanese Embassy website in Myanmar.<\/p>\n
New York-based HRW said, however, that Myanmar\u2019s police has worked hand-in-glove with the military during a spate of atrocities in recent years, particularly in Rakhine state, where they expelled more than 740,000 Muslim Rohingya in 2017 and now are brutalizing civilians in a war against ethnic Rakhine fighters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s inexplicable that the Japanese government would try to curry favor with Myanmar\u2019s abusive security apparatus by providing financial assistance to the police,\u201d said Brad Adams, HRW\u2019s Asia director, in the statement issued Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of supporting Myanmar\u2019s police, Japan should be helping the victims of rights abuses and ethnic cleansing by working with other donor governments to hold the security forces accountable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Under the 2008 constitution drafted by the military, the Myanmar Police Force operates under the authority of the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs and outside the control of the civilian-led government, HRW noted.<\/p>\n
In addition to working with the military in conducing the \u201cclearance operations\u201d in Rohingya Muslim communities in Rakhine state, the police played a part in violence against the Rohingya in 2012 and 2016, and are accused of committing human rights abuses against ethnic Rakhines in the 19-month armed conflict between the Myanmar military and rebel Arakan Army (AA) forces in northern Rakhine.<\/p>\n
\u2018Playing real politics\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Phil Robertson, HRW\u2019s deputy Asia director, said the move contradicted the Japanese government\u2019s stated objective to use human rights principles to guide its policy of issuing financial assistance packages to Asia-Pacific countries.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they move forward with this grant of a significant amount of money for the Myanmar police, it will show that the government of Japan\u2019s words are not true,\u201d he told RFA.<\/p>\n \u201cJapan says it cares about human rights, but the reality is that the more interested it is in playing real politics, the more it is interested in playing games to try to influence the government,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t care about human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n HRW noted that Japan\u2019s Foreign Ministry said it had confirmed with the Myanmar government that the aid should be used and maintained for its stated purposes.<\/p>\n The ministry also said that its embassy in Yangon would monitor whether the equipment was being used appropriately.<\/p>\n When RFA\u2019s Myanmar Service contacted the embassy for comment, an official replied that someone would respond in a week.<\/p>\n Police Colonel Kyaw Thiha, spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs, told RFA by email that he had no comment on the issue. RFA could not reach the ministry\u2019s director general, Khine Tun Oo, for comment.<\/p>\n \u2018Aiding an evil entity\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Some rights activists in Myanmar also lashed out about Japan\u2019s plan to provide finds to the Myanmar Police Force.<\/p>\n \u201cOur police forces are not under the control of the civilian government, [but]rather the control of the military [which]gives them full orders,\u201d said Min Thway Thit from the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), who previously had been arrested and detained by police for peaceful protest activities.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the international community gives them humanitarian assistance, regardless of what type of aid it is, they are aiding an evil entity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Aung Myo Min, executive director of the Yangon-based human rights education group Equality Myanmar, said it would not be easy for Japanese officials to follow how the money would be spent.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are examples of the authorities using grant funds for purposes other than what they were intended for,\u201d he told RFA. \u201cThere are many dubious actions in the [police]force that should concern the civil community. Monitoring the use of [funds]by the force is easier said than done.\u201d<\/p>\n But Moe Yan Naing, a former police captain who was fired and jailed for blowing the whistle on a police setup of two Reuters journalists who were reporting on the crackdown on the Rohingya, said that the police force needs to receive international assistance in order to change its ways.<\/p>\n \u201cThe police force should receive the aid, as it is still in transition,\u201d he said. \u201cIf it receives aid, it will be very helpful for its progress\u201d toward changing over to civilian control.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know for sure when the police force will be completely under the civilian government,\u201d he added. \u201cIn the meantime, the international aid could help speed up the police force\u2019s reform process.\u201d<\/p>\n Reported by Wai Mar Tun for RFA\u2019s Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged the Japanese government to drop a plan to donate 100 million yen (U.S. $934,300) to buy vehicles and communications equipment for the Myanmar Police Force to use to protect dignitaries, arguing that the police are partners with the army in widespread abuses. 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