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Abstract
For over sixty years a civil war has raged in the jungles of Burma. One of the lingering questions asked by human rights advocates and the international community is to what extent war crimes have been committed and whether the actions by the Burma Army amount to genocide. Based on significant data collected in the field over the past decade, this Article argues that the forced displacement of the Karen ethnic group does rise to the international standard of genocide. This Article explores the theory and application of genocidal intent through the inference of a systematic plan to destroy an ethnic group or nationality.
SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION ............. 64
I. ISSUE: IS THIS GENOCIDE? ............. 66
II. OVERVIEW OF THE CRISIS ............. 68
III. DEFINITION OF GENOCIDE ............. 74
IV. Examples of Genocide ............. 80
A. Prosecutor v. Radislav Krstic (ICTY) ............. 80
B. Prosecutor v. Goran Jelisic (ICTY) ............. 81
C. Prosecutor v. Jean-Paul Akayesu (ICTR) ............. 81
D. International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur (Pursuant to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1564) ............. 82
V. ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION IN BURMA ............. 83
A. National, Ethnical, Racial, or Religious Group? ............. 83
B. Mens Rea? ............. 84
C. Acts Committed ............. 84
D. Deliberately Inflicting on the Group Conditions of Life Calculated to Bring About Its Physical Destruction in Whole or in Part ............. 85
E. Killing Members of the Group ............. 99
VI. OPTIONS FOR ADVOCACY ............. 100
CONCLUSION ............. 101
INTRODUCTION
Late one evening, Pa La Sae sat in his family's bamboo hut.' Suddenly, this peaceful evening in the jungle was shredded by the explosion of mortar shells. Pa La Sae's village was under attack by the Burma Army.1
His family jumped up from their seats on the floor. Mortar shells exploded throughout their village as they ran out from their hut. Pa La Sae's parents told him to run ahead with another group of children.
Machine gun fire started as the Burma Army approached the village. Those who were caught were shot or forced to work for the Burma Army, porting loads for the soldiers.4 In parts of the country, women caught alone were raped.' As they left the village behind, Burma Army soldiers set landmines to dissuade the...