[technoliberation] Application of sousveillance in human rights: Burma & Darfur

[Hughes, James J.]

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-09/aaft-sic092507.php

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Satellite images corroborate eyewitness accounts of human rights abuses
in Burma, AAAS reports

Before-and-after satellite images show the site of an apparent military
encampment in Burma on Nov. 11, 2000, (top), and again on Dec. 13, 2006,
(bottom), when new bamboo fencing can...
Click here for more information.

A new analysis of high-resolution satellite images -- completed by the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) -- pinpoints
evidence consistent with village destruction, forced relocations, and a
growing military presence at 25 sites across eastern Burma where
eye-witnesses have reported human rights violations.

The research by AAAS, a non-profit, non-partisan organization and the
world's largest general scientific society, offers clear physical
evidence to corroborate on-the-ground accounts of specific instances of
destruction. It is believed to be the first demonstration of satellite
image analysis to document human rights violations in Burma, also known
as Myanmar.

AAAS had previously used the same technology to assess destruction in
Darfur and Zimbabwe. The latest research was supported by the Open
Society Institute and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Multiple burn scars can be seen in the June 24, 2007, image in Burma,
above, likely representing settlement structures that were burnt in
reported April 2007 attacks. No before imagery...
Click here for more information.

A military state since 1962, Burma's ruling junta continues to clash
with the National League for Democracy, and has detained the group's
elected leader -- the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner,
Aung San Suu Kyi -- for nearly a dozen years now. Earlier this year,
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined First Lady Laura Bush in
decrying human rights violations in Burma, describing it as "a land
where 3,000 villages have been destroyed, 1,300 political prisoners are
in jail, 70,000 child soldiers have been forcibly recruited, and over
500,000 people are internally displaced." U.S. Ambassador Jackie W.
Sanders said Burmese military forces systematically rape women and
girls, especially those of the Shan, Karen, Karenni, and other ethnic
minorities.

An estimated 90 percent of Burmese people live below or near the poverty
level, subsisting on a dollar per day or less, Charles Petrie, the
United Nations humanitarian chief in Burma told the Associated Press in
August.

Working with three human rights groups in Burma, AAAS researcher Lars
Bromley obtained field descriptions of more than 70 instances of human
rights violations that were reported to take place from mid-2006 through
early 2007 in eastern Burma's Karen State and surrounding regions.

Bromley, director of the AAAS Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights
project, said documenting human rights violations in Burma posed special
challenges. Burmese military tactics reportedly include forcing ethnic
minorities to abandon their homes, and the use of scattered mortar fire
to intimidate those who try to grow rice or other crops.
A before image (top) depicts a small settlement in Burma on May 5, 2004,
and again on Feb. 23, 2007, with all structures removed. The images
correspond with information...
Click here for more information.

Consequently, Bromley noted: "Physical evidence of reported attacks on
civilians sometimes can be subtle compared to the slash-and-burn types
of destruction that we saw in Darfur or Zimbabwe. It's also a lush
ecosystem where plants can quickly grow to cover burn marks, and clouds
and terrain often block satellite observation." In addition, he said,
maps of the area are largely decades old, with "foreign" village name
spellings that are not used by reporting organizations or local people.

Despite such challenges, AAAS precisely mapped the locations of 31 of
some 70 reported human rights violations by comparing field notes with
information provided by the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence
Agency. Satellite image analysis then revealed physical evidence to
corroborate reported instances of human rights violations at 25 of the
31 accurately mapped sites. Wherever possible, Bromley compared archival
satellite images with newly acquired shots to examine sites before as
well as after the reported military activity. In other cases, recent
images revealed clear signs of destruction.

"Eighteen of the locations showed evidence consistent with destroyed or
damaged villages," Bromley reported. "We found evidence of expanded
military camps in four other locations as well as multiple possibly
relocated villages, and we documented growth in one refugee camp on the
Thai border. All of this was very consistent with reporting by multiple
human rights groups on the ground in Burma."

Within the Papun District, human rights groups had described increasing
conflicts and displacement, and the development of 33 new military camps
beginning in late March 2006. Field reports then allowed Bromley to map
the location of Papun District villages burned on and around April 22,
2007. Newly acquired satellite images revealed multiple burn scars in
the midst of an otherwise thick green forest. Before-and-after images
showed the removal of structures, consistent with eye-witness reports of
village destruction. Signs of an expanded military presence, such as the
buildup of bamboo fencing around a camp, and construction of a satellite
camp, also were identified.

North of the Papun District, in the Toungoo District, human rights
groups have reported military camp buildup, village buildings burned,
and dam and road construction by military forces. Again, AAAS
before-and-after satellite images provided evidence consistent with
ground reports of such incidents.

Similarly, Bromley documented human rights violations in the Dooplaya
District and the Shan State, where 23,700 people are said to be living
in relocation sites, as well as the expansion of refugee camps in
Thailand near the Burmese border. Nearly 160,000 refugees were believed
to have crossed the border into Thailand as of 2006. One dramatic pair
of images from Shan State reveals a 24-structure settlement in January
2000 where nearly all structures had been either completely destroyed or
severely damaged by February 2007.

The AAAS research is continuing, Bromley emphasized, and further study
by other investigators would be ideal in order to rule out any possible
alternate explanations for the removed or severely degraded villages. He
encourages reporting organizations and other parties to engage in the
image-analysis process.

The AAAS Science and Human Rights Program explores how satellite imagery
and other cutting-edge geospatial technologies can be used to assess
potential human rights violations and prevent new ones before they
develop, Director Mona Younis explained. "The imaging initiative is an
excellent example of how science and technology can be applied to help
expose human rights violations," Younis said. "The Burma project is the
latest in a 30-year effort by AAAS that has included documenting
atrocities from Guatemala to Kosovo, while also working to promote basic
human rights worldwide."

Bromley relied upon the Free Burma Rangers, the Karen Human Rights
Group, and the Thailand Burma Border Consortium for field accounts of
military oppression and destruction.

Images were provided by two firms: GeoEye, Inc (Nasdaq:GEOY) and
DigitalGlobe.

###

TELECONFERENCE: An embargoed teleconference, for reporters only, will
take place Friday, 28 September, 2007, at 12:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time.
In the United States, dial toll-free, 888-790-1712. Outside the United
States, dial 1-210-234-0098. The passcode will be "geospatial." The
leader's name is "Ginger Pinholster." Information will remain under
embargo until 1:00 p.m. U.S. ET Friday, 28 September, 2007. Reporters,
please note: A sufficient number of phone lines have been ordered to
accommodate reporters. Capacity could easily be exceeded, however, if
the dialing instructions and passcode are circulated beyond the reporter
community. Please refrain from sharing the teleconference information.

DOWNLOAD THE AAAS REPORT: An embargoed copy of the AAAS technical report
is available for review by reporters only. Reporters are asked to
refrain from re-distributing the report while it remains under embargo.
http://www.eurekalert.org/images/release_graphics/pdf/burmareport_24sept
2007_press.pdf

For background on the AAAS Darfur study, completed in conjunction with
Amnesty International USA, see:
http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2007/0606darfur.shtml.

For background on the AAAS Zimbabwe study, see:
http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/0530zim.shtml.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the
world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the
journal, Science (www.sciencemag.org). AAAS was founded in 1848, and
includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving
10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any
peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated
total readership of one million. The non-profit AAAS (www.aaas.org) is
open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve
society" through initiatives in science policy; international programs;
science education; and more. For the latest research news, log onto
EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a
service of AAAS.

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