Democracy and Non-Democracy

Australia (Democratic States)

 Limited Mandate
A national general election is held within three years of the first meeting of a new federal
parliament. The average life of parliaments is about two-and-a-half years. In practice, general
elections are held when the Governor-General agrees to a request from the Prime Minister, who
selects the date of the election.
The electoral system used are two variants of preferential voting and two variants of
proportional representation. For preferential voting, the full preferential voting is used for the
House of Represetatives at the federal level and the lower houses in Victoria, South Australia,
Western Australia and the Northern Territory; and optional preferential voting is used for the lower
houses in New South Wales and Queensland. On the other hand, the proportional representation
system are divided into Senate model and the Hare-clark system.

 Universal Suffrage
For all citizens over the age of 18 it is compulsory to vote in the election of both federal and
state governments, and failure to do so may result in a fine or prosecution.

 Genuine Alternative Choices

Australia has four main political parties. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is a social democratic
party founded by the Australian labor movement. The ALP has governed since late 2007. The
Liberal Party is a party of the centre right. The National Party of Australia, formerly the Country
Party, is a conservative party representing rural interests. The Australian Greens is a left-wing and
environmentalist party.

 Freedom of Expression, Association, Assembly and Communication

Since 1992 decisions of the High Court have indicated that there are implied rights to free
speech and communication on matters concerning politics and government, e.g. permitting political
advertising during election campaigns.
The Australian Constitution contains an implied guarantee of freedom of communication in
relation to political matters, which the High Court has determined is essential to the proper
functioning of Australia’s system of democratic and representative government. The Freedom of
Information Act 1982 gives every person the right to access information in the possession of the
federal government and its authorities, with exemptions such as Cabinet papers.

 Freedom on Religion
Australia has no official state religion and people are free to practice any religion they choose,
as long they obey the law. Australians are also free not to have a religion.
Religious freedom is safeguarded by section 116 of the Australian Constitution, which prohibits
the federal government from making any law establishing any religion, imposing any religious
observance, or prohibiting the free exercise of any religion. Individuals are free to express a
diversity of views, as long as they do not incite religious hatred.
 The biggest Christian denominations continued to be Catholic (25.8 per cent of the population)
followed by Anglican (18.7 per cent) and the Uniting Church (5.7 per cent). The biggest non-
Christian religions were Buddhism (2.1 per cent), Islam (1.7 per cent) and Hinduism (0.7 per cent).
The number of Australian residents who stated in the Census that they had no religion increased
from 2.9 million in 1996 to 3.7 million in 2006—almost 19 per cent of the total population.

 Transparent Criminal Justice System

It is fundamental to the administration of justice in Australia that a person accused of a
criminal offense is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
A person can only be detained by police for a limited period before being either released or
charged with an offence and presented to an independent judicial officer (judge or magistrate) who
decides whether the person may be detained in custody pending trial. In some cases an initial
assessment may be made by police, with provision for judicial review. The question of whether to
initiate criminal proceedings on serious charges is determined by an independent office, for
example the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in the case of federal offences.
An accused person has the right to a fair trial, including the right to be informed of the charges
laid against them. A trial must take place before a judicial officer who is independent of the
executive government and legislature. Generally, a person who is placed on trial for a serious
offence that is punishable by a significant term of imprisonment has the right to be tried before a
jury drawn from the community. With some exceptions, an individual also cannot be compelled to
provide self-incriminating testimony in court.
Legal aid services provide assistance and representation to accused people, subject to a
financial means test and other conditions. A further fundamental principle of the Australian
common law system is the availability of legal professional privilege.
A right of appeal is available against conviction and sentence on specified grounds, including
that there has been a miscarriage of justice.

 Safeguard Human Rights

1. Australia’s commitment to its international human rights obligations is reflected in domestic
legislation, such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. Equality between men and women is a
principle that lies at the heart of a fair and productive society. It is also the key goal of the
Act, which aims to eliminate discrimination and sexual harassment and promote greater
equality in all aspects of the Australian community.
2. The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 makes disability discrimination unlawful and
promotes equal opportunity for people with disabilities in many aspects of public life such
as employment, education and access to premises. The Act also protects relatives, friends
and others from discrimination because of their connection to someone with a disability.
3. Australia’s Age Discrimination Act 2004 protects individuals from discrimination on the basis
of age in many parts of public life including employment, education, accommodation and
the provision of goods and services
Myanmar (Non-Democratic States)
 Absence of Limited Mandate
The government is controlled by the military (Tatmadaw) in the form of the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) since 1962. The head of the junta is Senior Gen. Than Shwe. A
parliamentary government was elected in 1990, but the military prevented it from convening.

 Attempt to Legalize Authoritarianism

SPDC are planning to hold elections this year. Multi-party elections in 2010 would end 5
decades of military rule, as the new charter gives the military an automatic 25% of seats in
parliament.
According to Human Rights Watch, the merging of Burma's largest government-controlled
social welfare organization into the army's recently formed political party is clear evidence that the
planned 2010 elections will not be legitimate.

 No Freedom of Opposition
A 2004 Amnesty International report says that, between 1989 and 2004, more than 1,300
political prisoners have been imprisoned after unfair trials. The prisoners, including National League
for Democracy (NLD) leaders Aung San Suu Kyi, Ko Mya Aye and U Tin Oo, have been wrongfully
denied their liberty for peaceful acts that would not be considered crimes under international law,
Amnesty International claims. In 2010, there are more than 2,200 political prisoners.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese opposition politician and was General Secretary of the National
League for Democracy. She won in the 1990 elections as the country’s prime minister but the junta
refused to hand over the power. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992. She has remained
under house arrest in Myanmar for almost 14 out of the past 20 years. On 11 August 2009: House
arrest extended for 18 more months because of "violation" arising from the May 2009 trespass
incident.
Ko Mya Aye, a pro-democracy activist imprisoned in Myanmar, is in urgent need of medical
treatment for a heart condition. The authorities have so far failed to provide the treatment he
requires. He is being held in Taungyi prison, Shan state, in northern Myanmar, far from emergency
medical treatment facilities, and hundreds of kilometres from his family.

 Censorship
A Freedom House report notes that the authorities randomly search citizens' homes, intercept
mail, and monitor telephone conversations, and that the possession and use of telephones, fax
machines, computers, modems, and software are criminalized. The government restricts Internet
access, including blocking of Google, Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail. The government uses software
provided by U.S. company Fortinet to limit the materials citizens can access on-line.

 Violation of Human Rights

1. A 2002 report by The Shan Human Rights Foundation and The Shan Women's Action
Network, License To Rape, details 173 incidents of rape and other forms of sexual violence,
involving 625 girls and women, committed by Burmese army troops in Shan State, mostly between
1996 and 2001. Furthermore, the report states that 25% of the rapes resulted in death, in some
incidences with bodies being deliberately displayed to local communities. 61% were gang-rapes;
women were raped within military bases, and in some cases women were detained and raped
repeatedly for periods of up to 4 months.
2. According to Human Rights Watch, recruiting and kidnapping of children to the military is
ordinary. An estimated 70,000 of the country’s 350,000-400,000 soldiers are children. There are
also multiple reports of widespread child labor.
3. According to Amnesty International, the Muslim Rohingya people have continued to suffer
human rights violations under the Burma junta since 1978. Approximately 300,000 Rohingya
Muslims fled to neighboring Bangladesh, where the government offered them shelter in makeshift
camps.
Evidence has been gathered suggesting that the Burmese regime has marked certain ethnic
minorities such as the Karen for extermination or 'Burmisation'. Burma's military junta is carrying
out a "slow genocide" of ethnic minorities in the east of the country, according to a British
researcher who has spent five years gathering evidence from the jungles. There were killing of
3,000 to 4,000 people in the Irrawaddy Delta in October 1991, and the murder of about a dozen
inhabitants of the village of Dooplaya in 2002.
4. According to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 700,000, women,
children and elderly people are forced to work against their will by the administration. Individuals
refusing to work may be victims of torture, rape or murder. The International Labor Organization
has continuously called on Burma to end the practice of forced labor since the 1960s.
5. At least 15 people were killed by security forces, and thousands were arrested on a protest
in Yangon led by Buddhist monks.

References:
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/burmamyanmar/1492726/Burmas-
slow-genocide-is-revealed-through-the-eyes-of-its-child-victims.html
 http://birmanie.total.com/en/contexte/p_1_1.htm
 http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/myanmar
 http://www.hrw.org/asia/burma
 http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/07/19/burma-military-party-guaranteed-dominate-
elections
 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html
 http://www.globalissues.org/article/147/myanmar-formerly-burma-and-human-rights
 http://australia.gov.au/

Submitted by:
 Jan Rizza Ang
 Jim Kung
 Luigino Leveriza
 Larisa Jane Salaysay
 Maisie Tan