When government armies seize power from the people, it is very hard to get it back. Burma, a country west of Thailand has a serious problem with forced army recruitment. Burma’s military promised that the November 2010 elections, the countries first in more than 20 years, would bring about human rights improvement. But, as usual, the military set on a new mission has continued to degrade and take citizens, mostly convicts now, to work as what they call “porters”.
This is a third world country where war is a continuous obstacle arising from rebel army groups fighting the now in power government. The quick fix solution that this country has come to is rounding up prisoners from the local prisons to carry army equipment and assist in anyway they can. In January 2011, the Tatmadaw, in collusion with the Corrections Department and the Burmese police, gathered an estimated 700 prisoners from approximately 12 prisons and labor camps throughout Burma to serve as porters for an ongoing in southern Karen State, in the east of the country. There are no discriminations taken into account when sending these prisoners off for war, people ranging from murders to fraud end up on the front lines. The idea of using prisoners during war situations is not a new one and is sometimes a practical way of keeping up numbers, but the treatment that these people must endure from the abusive soldiers is unacceptable. The prisoners selected as porters described witnessing and enduring summary executions, torture and beatings, being used as “human shields” to trip landmines or shield soldiers from fire, and being denied medical attention and adequate food and shelter.
Solutions are hard to come by when dealing with a system of rule and order that has become too corrupt to follow even passed laws. The Dead Men Walking report claims that military regulations, including one 1999 law banning the use of forced labor by military, are simple ignored in conflict zones. So, the solution I came to was a law or system created by the U.N. that monitors countries with abusive government systems that abuse the citizens. Exactly like the U.S. government’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report, but on a global scale, creating a system that punishes these countries and puts temporary sanctions cutting them off from the Super Powers.
photo credit: http://zunia.org/typo3temp/pics/973be32fd8.jpg
Building an army full of prisoners is a new concept that I have been unaware of. Humans that have committed crime do deserve to be sent to jail. I can see both sides of the argument whether they should fight for their country or not however if fighting for their country they should not be abused. Prisoners soldiers not receiving food or proper shelter is cruelty.
ReplyDeleteThe use of prisoners as soldiers is not a bad idea- prisoners are suppose to "pay their debt to society" usually in the form of community service or labor. If trained properly they could actually be very effective but the fact that they are not being trained or prepared for combat puts them at a disadvantage for any kind of fighting. The government doesn't want to pay soldiers so they use prisoners, and they don't want to spend money training them because that would present the same financial issue. It makes sense to assume that free labor would solve a money problem but this actually creates many more severe problems for everyone. Who knows what the real solution is, maybe the money being spent on these porters can be used to pay citizens who decide themselves that they want to fight for their country.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I thought that the idea of using prisoners as caddys was a great idea until I read what happens to them. What is it that causes humans to want to so brutally abuse the those who are in their power? It's sick and demented. How would the U.N. go about keeping tabs on the countries who abuse thier people? Is there a standard definition of what qualifes as abuse? If so, are there exceptions to the rule?
ReplyDeleteWhat kinds of brutality do the prisoners endure?
ReplyDeleteEven though prisoners commit crimes, they are still human beings and still deserve their rights. Making the inmates go to war doesn't disturb me as much as the way the military officials treat them. People should never abuse others. The officers already punish the porters by imprisoning them, taking them away from their family and friends, and isolating from much of society. The beatings and executions only add to the poor character of the government administrators.
Also, why is Burma engaged in war?
I am interested in what you think of Israel's IDF. Would you consider them to be enslaved since most young people are reqired to serve in the military?
ReplyDeleteAre the prisoners being used as soldiers against their will? It is an interesting idea, but it's a little disturbing that they offer no training for the soldiers.
ReplyDelete