88 Generation Students (Exile): ASIA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION IS TRYING TO PULL OUT SU SU NEW FROM GRAVE

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

ASIA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION IS TRYING TO PULL OUT SU SU NEW FROM GRAVE

Myanmar: Special Humanitarian Request
Wednesday, 25 March 2009, 2:00 pm
Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission

Myanmar: Special Humanitarian Request For Urgent Medical Treatment For Detainee Suffering From Heart Condition

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing this special appeal to you out of grave concern that a person currently being detained in Myanmar is seriously incapacitated and could die for want of adequate medical attention.

The detainee in question is Ma Su Su Nwe, 39, who was convicted of five charges and sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in jail for her part in the events of August and September 2007, which was reduced on appeal to eight-and-a-half years in February 2009. Ma Su Su Nwe, as you may be aware, has a congenital heart defect and has been on medication for a long time.
However, we are gravely concerned that since she has been held in custody, Ma Su Su Nwe's health has worsened dramatically. According to visitors to Kalay Prison in Sagaing Division, where she has been held since November 2008, Ma Su Su Nwe is unable to walk without support from wardens and appears to be extremely weak and pale.

While we are aware that Ma Su Su Nwe has obtained some treatment at the Kalay hospital, we are gravely concerned that so long as she is held in the extremely poor conditions in the prison her health will only continue to worsen.

We are also aware that one of the reasons for Ma Su Su Nwe's seriously deteriorating health is that, like many other persons convicted over the incidents in 2007, she has been sent to a prison far from her residence, making it very difficult for friends and family to visit regularly and attend to her needs.

Without regards to other factors, we sincerely request you to allow Ma Su Su Nwe to get the urgent medical treatment that she needs to secure her health, preferably as an inpatient in a hospital outside of prison. In this respect we also kindly request that you consider transferring Ma Su Su Nwe to a prison closer to her family and relatives, in the Ayeyarwaddy or Yangon Divisions, so that other persons too may assist in seeing that she receives the food and medicine and other things that she needs.

Please be informed that we are making this request on strictly humanitarian and compassionate grounds, for the sake of the health and wellbeing of a woman detainee. We believe that your prompt intervention will allow for Ma Su Su Nwe to obtain the assistance that she needs without further delay.

We also take this opportunity to urge that the International Committee for the Red Cross again be allowed access to detainees in Myanmar in accordance with its international mandate as a matter of the highest priority.

We trust that you will give this request your highest consideration and thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely

Basil Fernando
Executive Director
Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong

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)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

ASIA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION IS TRYING TO PULL OUT SU SU NEW FROM GRAVE

No comments:

NeoCounter

ONLINE COUNTER

VISITOR COUNTER

About Me