Mineral rights, not human rights

When the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) speaks against a government, the matter is serious. The ICRC normally adopts a neutral stance, thereby allowing it to work where other organisations, maybe with their own agenda, are unwelcome.

The last time the ICRC spoke out against a government was when it denounced the ongoing genocide in Rwanda more than a decade ago. This time, the ICRC has set its sights on Myanmar whose military dictatorship it takes to task for human rights abuses which are causing immense suffering to thousands of people.

The ICRC has particularly homed in on the regime using detainees as army porters, and abusing Burmese along the Thai border.

It is not surprising that the Myanmar military should behave in this way; their concept of democracy and human rights is non-existent, yet tolerated by foreign governments that want access to the country's plentiful mineral resources.