New Delhi - The United Nations Human Rights expert's meeting with the Karen splinter groups on Sunday is shocking, as they are known to have taken part in human rights violation in eastern Burma, a UK-based campaigner said.
Benedict Rogers, from the Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) said, it was shocking to hear that Quintana had paid a visit to the Karen National Union/ Karen National Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA) Peace Council and the Democratic Buddhist Karen Army (DKBA), but had so far not visited the Karen National Union (KNU).
"I have not heard the report, but if it is true, I am quite shocked that he [Quintana] met those groups, who are themselves guilty of human rights violations and failed to meet the KNU, which is the only true representative organization for the Karen people," Rogers said.
The UN office in Rangoon, in an email message said, Quintana, on Sunday, had travelled to Karen state in Eastern Burma and met the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, and on Monday met members of the DKBA.
Both the KNU/KNLA Peace Council and the DKBA are splinter groups from the main Karen resistance organization – KNU, which has been waging an armed struggle for self-determination for 60 years.
Both the groups have signed peace agreements with the Burmese Army and at times, reportedly joined the junta's campaign against the KNU.
Even as the purpose of Quintana's meeting with the Karen splinter groups remains unclear, Rogers said, the UN envoy should meet members of the KNU too, if he is independently investigating rights abuse in eastern Burma.
Rogers, who along with the CSW team recently completed a three-week field research trip to eastern Burma, bordering Thailand, said he had witnessed the ongoing human rights violation, perpetrated by the ruling junta's army and its allies, including the DKBA in eastern Burma.
The CSW, in a statement released on Monday, renewed its call on the international community to assert more pressure on Burma's ruling junta to stop its systematic rights abuse in eastern Burma.
"Villagers are constantly on the run for their lives. But as far as we could see, many have not crossed over to Thailand but have remained in Internally Displaced Persons camps," Rogers told Mizzima.
In one incident, Rogers said, an old man, who had left his home for fear of the DKBA, lost his leg in a landmine, which was placed outside his house.
Rogers said by meeting only the KNU/KNLA peace group and the DKBA, Quintana will get 'distorted information' as they were among the perpetrators of human rights violations.
"It is peculiar to me, that he [Quintana] is meeting people, who are carrying out the violations and not meeting the victims and the people, who are the obvious targets," Rogers said.
Meanwhile, Burma's state-run newspaper, New Light of Myanmar on Sunday accused the Karen National Union of launching shell attacks on the Thai-Burmese border town of Myawaddy.
"The KNU insurgents fired heavy weapons from a distance four times into Myawaddy in Kayin [Karen] State early this morning [February 14]," the paper said.
The paper also accused the KNU of committing terrorist and subversive acts in the country and bullying innocent people with the use of arms, murdering, planting mines, looting and robbing people of their possessions, demanding extortion money, burning down houses and firing heavy weapons from a distance into town.
However, the KNU on Monday denied being involved in the shelling of Myawaddy town, but accused the ruling junta of setting up the shelling to tarnish the image of their group.
In a statement released on Monday, the KNU said the shelling of Myawaddy had nothing to do with the KNU or its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).
"The KNU has a policy of not targeting civilians," the statement said.
Rather, the KNU said, "We have no doubt that it was a machination by the SPDC to tarnish the image of the KNU and the revolutionary resistance of the Karen people, referring to Burma's ruling junta by its official name – the State Peace and Development Council.
The KNU also said, there were reasons to believe that the shelling had been done by the junta, in order to cover up the widespread human rights violations committed by its troops in Karen State and elsewhere, by diverting the focus of UN envoy Quintana, who is touring the Karen and Mon States.
The KNU also called on the UN envoy to meet the KNU, Karen civil society organizations, Karen people in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, and to also meet internally displaced people in order to understand the true situation.
Similarly, Rogers said, excluding the KNU from the list of meetings would not help Quintana to understand the situation but he would only get 'distorted information'.
However, he added, the International Community including the United Nations Secretary-General needs to step up diplomatic and political pressure and invoke their responsibility to stop human rights abuse in eastern Burma and elsewhere.
"We would like to see a combination of diplomatic and political pressure on the regime to implement changes," Rogers said.
