Dear Friends,
As you may notice, I have been devoting my website to the cause of Burma democracy and human rights struggle. I have sent some friends a global petition that has been circulating around for a few days now.
If you are not one of the recipients of that global petition yet, please visit this link http://www.avaaz. org/en/stand_ with_burma/ h.php/?cl= 20636099 and sign up now. Stand up and be counted.
Burma’s struggle for democracy is very close to my heart because we were in that situation before and I knew how it feels to be under martial rule for 23 years with our basic civil and political rights curtailed. When I was still working in Amnesty International in the Philippines, we formed a network called Free Burma Coalition in 1994 to show our solidarity and as a response to pressure the junta (military) government which called itself the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC ) but changed its name to State for Peace and Development Council or SPDC. I was also one of the founding members of the regional network Alternative ASEAN (ALTSEAN) based in Bangkok, Thailand which focuses on Burma. I had the opportunity to visit the Thai-Burma border twice and met the ethnic nationals during my visits. In late 1990s, I was also privileged to interview U Thin Oo, vice president of National League for Democracy (NLD) for a radio program with international listeners. Through those years, we never stopped haunting the SPDC to give up their military power and turn it over to a civilian authority. NLD, through the leadership of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide electoral victory in 1990 but was not able to exercise their mandate for a single day to govern Burma. Instead she was put under house arrests and some of the NLD leaders have to go on political exile in different countries just to survive and continue with their fight for genuine democracy in Burma.
What has been happening in the last nine days is a prelude to another crackdown that happened in the 1988 uprising in Burma which was spearheaded by the student’s activists at that time. I have said this because the SPDC has no regard at all for the legitimate demands of the protesting monks. To date, a monk has been shot dead and there have been arrests of at least 100 monks and nuns and the hundreds that were injured when tear gas was used to disperse the peaceful demonstrations. BUT, there is one difference at that time and today, the world was not aware that killings have been going on in Burma in 1988, but nowadays, everything is known to the international community, support is coming from civil society from different parts of the world. So, don’t let this moment slip away without doing anything to support their struggle for democracy and human rights. We can see light at the end of the tunnel.
And there is one thing that I am very sure of - the spirit and fervor of the peoples in Burma will prevail.
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