88 Generation Students (Exile): THE CELEBRATION OF SUU KYI' 63rd BIRTHDAY UNDER ARREST

Thursday, June 19, 2008

THE CELEBRATION OF SUU KYI' 63rd BIRTHDAY UNDER ARREST

At least four members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested in Rangoon by Burmese authorities at about 11 am on Thursday while they were releasing sparrows and doves to mark of the 63rd birthday of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Many NLD members were beaten. One NLD woman member was seriously injured, said Win Naing. After the assault, about 10 vehicles carrying more than 300 security personnel in uniforms and plainclothes blocked the roads leading to NLD headquarters.
The authorities earlier had prevented NLD members from offering food to Buddhist monks, said Ohn Kyaing, a NLD spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), an underground Buddhist group heavily involved in the 2007 demonstrations, released a statement on Wednesday asking the UN Security Council and the Council of the European Union to take immediate actions to protect the Burmese people from the Burmese military government. The two groups are scheduled to meet on Thursday in New York and Brussels.
“We call on the UN Security Council to take effective action to stop the humanitarian crises in Burma, created by the Burmese military government,” the ABMA said in its statement.

The statement read: “We would like to call for leaders of the EU to continue to assist Burma’s democracy movement led by detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi. We request the EU to bring [Snr-Gen] Than Shwe, leader of the Burmese military junta, before the International Criminal Court to be tried for his crimes against humanity, as recommended by the European Parliament.” Suu Kyi completed a five-year sentence under house arrest on May 27. Under the conditions of her detention, Article 10 (b) of the State Protection Act Law 1975, a person can be detained for a maximum of five years. However, the military regime announced in late May that Suu Kyi’s house arrest had been officially extended for one year.

No comments:

Post a Comment

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I am disappointed by the unwillingness of the government of Burma to deliver on its promises for democratic dialogue and the release of political prisoners."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I would like to make an appeal to President Bush: Please take pride as a President who has worked hard for Burma to achieve something before his term expires.”

-U Gambira, a leader of the All-Burma Monks’ Alliance that spearheaded nationwide protests in Burma in September---

—

U WIN TIN

Because we refuse to bow to these unjust election 'laws,' our party will be abolished by the regime soon. Still, the NLD will not disappear. We will be among the people, with the people. We will continue to fight for democracy, human rights and equality among all ethnic nationalities, by peaceful means. —

Win Tin, a member of NLD Central Executive Committee

From Stalin to Burma, a history lesson

They may wear different cloaks, but under the surface all dictators are similar. As the memory of dictators like Joseph Stalin fades, mistakes of the past repeat themselves with a vengeance in forgotten places like Burma.One writer said of Stalin: “He had found Russia working with wooden ploughs and left it equipped with atomic [stock]piles.” But perhaps the true question doesn’t regard Stalin’s undisputable impact on humanity, but whether the legacy justified all the human sacrifice. To Stalin, the millions killed as a consequence of his ambitious drive were simply stepping stones along the road to national prosperity. However, such a Machiavellian frame of mind can neither be justifiable nor ethical.Stalin utilized numerous harsh methods in attempting to meet his ‘utopian’ goals. Collective farms were prevalent, while each Five Year Plan sought to leapfrog Russia ahead of competing nations and systems. Toward this end, virtually every industry fell under the direct control of the government and its de facto and shackled workforce. And the sad truth, more often than not, was results never met by an increasingly impoverished population.Stalin’s principle instrument for maintaining control over his country was his secret police. Through this institution, fear was instilled in the hearts of the people. The final death toll from Stalin’s regime is indeed staggering, with estimates ranging from 10 to 20 million people having perished.Stalin was under the belief that all his actions, extreme or otherwise, were necessary in order to pull Russia into the industrial age. Yet, ultimately, the major flaw in Stalin’s reasoning was that he claimed all sacrifices were necessary and for the future of Russia. “Life has improved, comrades. Life has become more joyous,” he once remarked. And while he was thinking about the future of the country and the generations to come, the standard of living within Russia had plummeted.Today, forgetting that dictatorship is a self inflicted wound, some intellectuals and humanitarians reason that simply sending more aid and increasing engagement are starting points to improving the political situation in Burma. But when they begin to regard the active opposition, as symbolized by Aung San Suu Kyi, as increasingly irrelevant, the time has come to refresh their memory about Joseph Stalin and the enormous price of dictatorship. It is one thing to want to bring Burma into the international community, but it is another to coddle and nurture tyrants without speaking out against their inhumane acts.So far, newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama and Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton have taken a cautious and slow approach toward Burma. But in a world of competing interests and ideology, it will be a great tragedy if they fail to take a firm stand against the dictators in Burma.After all, the United States and its allies helped reform the militaries in Indonesia and Turkey within democratic transitions and transformations. Now, the U.S., United Nations, ASEAN and the European Union need decisive and effective leadership to help Burma. Obama and Clinton have a great chance to seize this mantle…if they are willing to seriously take on the leadership role.Today, even as Burma’s generals tragically act more and more like Stalin, could it not be that the army as an institution in Burma was originally inspired by similar beliefs to those of countries such as Indonesia and Turkey? This should offer an important clue as to where to begin with Burma.

88 Generation Students (Exile)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

THE CELEBRATION OF SUU KYI' 63rd BIRTHDAY UNDER ARREST

No comments:

NeoCounter

ONLINE COUNTER

VISITOR COUNTER

About Me