‘Eye in the sky’ sees Myanmar abuse

HONG KONG:  An all-seeing ‘eye in the sky’ has starkly shown up evidence of Myanmar army’s razing of ethnic minorities’ villages and other gross violations of human rights in conflict-ridden regions in eastern parts of the country.  

High-resolution commercial satellite images of the areas affected by the conflict in Karen and Shan state, which were analysed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), have confirmed grassroots-level accounts of widespread military attacks on human settlements, forcible relocations of ethnic minorities, and establishment of army camps. 

They also show up the limitless possibilities of using satellite imaging technology in the cause of human rights in closed societies like Myanmar. When video and photographic images of the recent bloody crackdown were broadcast to the world, the junta responded by cutting off Internet services in the country and shutting down cyber cafes in order to enforce an “information blackout”.

AAAS has put this technology to use in Zimbabwe and Darfur area in Sudan. Using ‘before’ and ‘after’ imagery of areas affected by a conflict, changes can be identified and analysed, notes AAAS researcher Lars Bromley, who heads the AAAS Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights project.

“Specifically, by visually comparing the newer imagery with images collected prior to reported attacks, features such as villages and structures that have been removed in the intervening years are relatively easy to identify. Likewise, new construction, such as military bases is also relatively easy to identify.”

The AAAS analysis details 25 sites in eastern Myanmar where villages and houses were destroyed since mid-2005, or where human settlements were forcibly relocated. At the first level, information on attacks was made available by three non-governmental organisations in Myanmar — the Free Burma Rangers, the Karen Human Rights Group, and the Thailand Burma Border Consortium. 

But the use of commercial satellite imagery for conflict assessment wasn’t entirely without challenges, especially in Myanmar. “Precisely finding specific locations based on reporting is relative difficult,” notes Bromley. In addition, thick vegetation and cloud cover may block observational satellites.

The small sizes of the homes, also made it difficult to positively identify structures. In some cases, there were no archival imagery for a given location; as a result, it was not possible to make before-and-after comparisons. 

Yet, with all these difficulties, the AAAS has trained the focus light of international publicity on the Myanmar military rulers’ gross abuse of human rights in the country’s eastern region. It may not inhibit the junta from resorting to more such operations, but it puts the military on notice: you can run, but you can’t hide.