Published on February 26, 2021 | Managing Editor: Stephen Capobianco, PhD
ContentA Virtual Summer Internship: First-hand Experience in Local Government |
From the Co-Directors
On the twenty-second of February, hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens took to the streets to protest the coup staged by the Burmese military, the Tatmadaw, at the beginning of the month. From Yangon, Mandalay and Napidaw, in Taunggyi and Sittwe, Bago and Taunggyi, Dawei, to smaller towns across the breadth of the country, peaceful demonstrators marched to demand the return of Myanmar鈥檚 fraught, conflicted, 12-year-old experiment with democracy. On the first of this month, the generals of the Tatmadaw, Myanmar鈥檚 armed forces, concluded that that experiment, problematic as it has been in so many ways, was working too well for their own interests. Nationwide parliamentary elections the previous November had resulted in a landslide win for the National League for Democracy and a clear mandate for its leader, Aung Sang Suu Kyi.
In a sense, the February 1 military coup was business as usual for the Tatmadaw and its cadre of leaders headed by General Min Aung Hlaing, named in a recent UN-backed investigation as bearing personal responsibility for the military鈥檚 genocidal attacks on Myanmar鈥檚 Rohingya minority. Aung Sang Suu Kyi, who gave the generals a tremendous public-facing assist in the genocide, is now once again under house arrest.
For decades the generals have treated Myanmar as their personal property, and its citizens as their subjects. This time they may have miscalculated. Political protests culminating in the nationwide February 22 demonstrations began shortly after the coup, and have continued to grow over the course of the month. In response the generals made their position on further pro-democracy very clear. On its Facebook channel the day after the national protests, the Tatmadaw declared that pro-democracy protesters 鈥渞aised their incitement towards riot and anarchy mob on the day of 22 February. Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life.鈥
This threat was blunt enough for Facebook to take the unusual step of deleting the Tatmadaw鈥檚 official channel the following day. But every Burmese citizen understands its credibility. Even for those Burmese too young to remember personally, the February 22, 2021 nationwide rallies evoke an earlier and also numerologically notable date: August 8, 1988, when the Tatmadaw responded to a mass pro-democracy rally in Yangon by opening fire on the crowd, killing thousands.
As we write, Tatmadaw troops have shot three young protesters dead, and taken nearly a thousand people into custody. Nationwide strikes and demonstrations are growing by the day and crystallizing into a loosely organized and broad-based movement uniting Burmese citizens from different regions, religions and ethnic groups, and socio-economic divides, all demanding real change in their country. (#CivilDisobedienceMovement).
Whether the generals will once again order massive atrocity crimes to meet this challenge hangs in the balance. Protesters for the moment appear undeterred. Some describe writing their blood type and next-of-kin contact information on their own arms as they prepare to take the streets again.
Convincing the Burmese military to back away from the brink of mass atrocity will take substantial behind-the-scenes diplomacy, especially involving the ASEAN countries and China. But longer-term goals 鈥 including some genuine steps to address the continuing tragedy of Myanmar鈥檚 Rohingya minority 鈥 will require a global effort.
What actions can we in the Western world take to show solidarity for democratic change in Myanmar, and help to deter Myanmar鈥檚 generals from slaughtering its own citizens? We try to become what Simon Billenness, of the , calls 鈥渢he 鈥 by keeping informed, urging President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken to impose further targeted sanctions on the Tatmadaw and its sprawling business holdings, lobby Chevron to divest from the Tatmadaw鈥檚 lucrative natural gas projects, and demand that Facebook continue to deny the Tatmadaw and its minions access to its services. We can support and 136 other NGOs demanding that the United Nations Security Council on Myanmar鈥檚 military.
And we can bear witness. Myanmar鈥檚 protesters know what the Tatmadaw is capable of, but this time they also know that the world is watching. They know that the more global visibility they can generate for their movement, the more they raise the potential costs if the generals opt for atrocity violence.
Bearing witness is not passive. It means not just watching but learning and responding 鈥 to our leadership, to the global network of civil society organizations, to one another, to the protesters themselves.
- Nadia Rubaii & Max Pensky
A Virtual Summer Internship: First-hand Experience in Local Government
Matthew's internship has further fostered his interest in the connection between social justice and public sector action in long-term atrocity prevention strategies.
I realized how interconnected everything is, the government community and how each individual plays a role.
During his internship, he started working on a community outreach project related to refugees in New York and looks forward to continuing this work through his studies at Binghamton. Upon reflecting on his experiences with local government, Matthew reported that, "it was refreshing to see that there are some people out there that are really trying to figure out and get to the root of issues."
Matthew was able to participate in a summer internship due to the generous support of the Bloom Family Summer Internship in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention program. The internship award is available to eligible Binghamton undergraduates who minor in GMAP. I-GMAP works with partner organizations around the world and one of our key priorities is to make connections for our students to have high-impact learning experiences working in the field of atrocity prevention. Internships also provide support and assistance to organizations and agencies in their efforts to address community needs. Through their internship experiences, students often make important discoveries and professional connections.
Does your organization need support and assistance to address your atrocity prevention goals?
If your organization is interested in hosting one of our students for either the undergraduate summer internship program or the 4-6 month graduate student field placement, please be in contact with Dr. Stephen Capobianco, scapobia@binghamton.edu.
Upcoming Events
Save the Date: Spring 2021 Webinars
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Registration Link |
| Wednesday, March 17, 2021 | 10:00 am - 11:30 am EDT | A Conversation with Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the new Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide at the United Nations | |
| April (date tba) | tba | Indigenous Priorities and Perspectives in Atrocity Prevention | Forthcoming |
A Conversation with Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the new UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide
Alice Wairimu Nderitu of Kenya is the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. Ms. Nderitu is a recognized voice in the field of peacebuilding and violence prevention, having led as mediator and senior adviser in reconciliation processes among communities in Kenya, as well as in other African settings. She served as Commissioner of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission in Kenya, as well as Founding Member and co-Chair of the Uwiano Platform for Peace, a prevention agency linking early warning to early response. She is also the founder of Community Voices for Peace and Pluralism, a network of African women professionals preventing, transforming and solving violent, ethnic, racial and religious conflicts worldwide.
Ms. Nderitu鈥檚 national experience includes her tenure as Director of the Education for Social Justice programme at Fahamu, and as Head of the Human Rights Education and Capacity-Building Programme for the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and its predecessor, the Standing Committee on Human Rights. Previously, she was Researcher and Administrator of the Kenya Prisons Service within the Ministry of Home Affairs. She is a member of the Kenya National Committee on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and All Forms of Discrimination, as well as the African Union Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (Fem-Wise), and the Women Waging Peace Network.
Ms. Nderitu holds a master鈥檚 degree in armed conflict and peace studies and a Bachelor of Arts, Literature and Philosophy from the University of Nairobi. She is a Transitional Justice Fellow at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in South Africa. Widely published, she is the recipient of awards recognizing her commitment to peaceful conflict resolution throughout Africa and her innovative approach to mediation.
Join us Wednesday, March 17th from 10am to 11:30am EDT.
Recent News
Prioritizing Children in Atrocity Prevention: Prevention Approaches in the Recruitment and Use of Children in Armed Conflict
In Collaboration with the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security
Preventing the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups, criminal networks and gangs, and reintegrating former child soldiers in the aftermath of armed conflict, are profound atrocity prevention challenges. In conflicts around the globe, children are used in a variety of roles from combatants, in support functions, as sexual slaves, or as intelligence gatherers and as a result face a devastating range of physical, psychological, and social vulnerabilities. Successful reintegration of children after such experiences is challenging and exacerbated by the instability of post-conflict and economic insecurity. This significantly contributes, in turn, to a heightened risk of further cycles of violence and the recurrence of atrocity crimes. Finding better ways to protect children from recruitment and use and to reintegrate those who have previously been recruited should be prioritized for achieving more peaceful societies.
What prevention approaches hold most promise for reducing the recruitment and use of children as soldiers? What do these prevention efforts in the context of armed forces and armed groups have in common with parallel efforts in the context of criminal networks and gangs? How can lessons learned from interstate or intrastate armed conflict inform efforts to reduce recruitment into organized criminal networks, and vice versa?
In this webinar, our colleagues from the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, as well as experts in the recruitment prevention and child protection fields both in the context of armed conflict and for criminal networks and gangs, joined us for a lively discussion.
Panelists:
- is an investigative journalist, policy analyst and author. He is co-founder and co-director of , a think tank focused on organized crime in the Americas. He is the author of (2019).
- is a civil society peacebuilding activist with special expertise in youth issues. He is National Coordinator of Local Youth Corner Cameroon.
- Cesar Rincon is a Colombian lawyer with 30 years of experience in criminal investigation, focusing on criminal organizations, human rights violations and government corruption. His experience includes 11 years as team coordinator at the United Nations International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).
- is the executive director of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security (Canada).
Professor Whigham Speaks on Cameroon Human Rights Panel
Assistant Professor Kerry Whigham joined other human rights experts on February 10th for a panel on "Launching of a Human Rights Incident Reporting and Tracking Tool on the Armed Conflict in the Southern Cameroons" hosted by the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations. The event marks the launch of a new system that allows Cameroonians to report human rights violations that they have experienced or witnessed as ongoing atrocities continue to plague the Central African nation. Evidence gathered through this system will be shared with regional and international governments and organizations, including the US State Department, the United Nations, the European Union, the International Criminal Court, and the African Commission on Human and People鈥檚 Rights.
Kerry spoke alongside Marie Lamensch from the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University and Juliette Paauwe from the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. You may .
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