88 Generation Students (Exile): 72 Former Presidents, Prime Ministers and actors and actresses Write to UN

Monday, May 18, 2009

72 Former Presidents, Prime Ministers and actors and actresses Write to UN

The Club of Madrid has sent a letter, signed by 72 former presidents and prime ministers, to the United Nations urging Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to go to Burma to seek the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Condemning the recent arrest of Suu Kyi, the Club of Madrid, in a letter dated May 15, said: “We urge you to make use of every possible means, including considering to travel to Burma on behalf of the United Nations, to press for her immediate release.”

The letter released to the media on Sunday was signed by Ricardo Lagos, president of the Club of Madrid and former president of Chile; Mary Robinson, vice-president of the Club of Madrid and former president of Ireland, and Kjell Magne Bondevik, a member of the board of directors of the Club of Madrid and former prime minister of Norway.

The letter cited the October 11, 2007, presidential statement of the UN Security Council calling on the Burmese junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

“In defiance of the United Nations Security Council, the Burmese junta has not only almost doubled the number of political prisoners, but now also imprisoned and charged Aung San Suu Kyi with breaching the terms of her house arrest. Hearing of the court will start on 18 May, 2009. The charges carry a maximum jail term of five years,” it said.

Meanwhile, in advance of the trial of Suu Kyi more than 40 global celebrities on Sunday urged the countries of the world and the UN to speak in one voice and to demand that the Burmese democracy leader be freed immediately.

“We must not stand by as she is silenced once again. Now is the time for the United Nations and the entire international community to speak clearly and with one voice: Free Aung San Suu Kyi,” global celebrities said in a statement on Sunday.

Prominent signers included David Beckham, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Anderson Cooper, Madonna, John McCain, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Salman Rushdie, Meg Ryan and Steven Spielberg.

“Nineteen years ago, the Burmese people chose Aung San Suu Kyi to be their next leader. And for most of those 19 years she has been kept under house arrest by the military junta that now runs the country. She is the world’s only incarcerated Nobel Peace Prize laureate,” the statement said. “Last week Suu Kyi was taken to Burma’s Insein Prison to face criminal charges as part of a concerted plan to deny her freedom.”

Among other signatories to the “Free Aung San Suu Kyi” statement were George Clooney, Madeleine Albright, Wes Anderson, Drew Barrymore, Matthew Broderick, Sandra Bullock, James Carville, Michael Chabon, Daniel Craig, John Cusack, Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, Dave Eggers, Jake Gyllenhaal, Václav Havel, Helen Hunt, Anjelica Huston, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Ashton Kutcher, Norman Lear, Mary Matalin, Cindy McCain, Rose McGowan, Orhan Pamuk, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Robert Rodriguez, Meg Ryan, Liev Schreiber, George Soros, Meryl Streep, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Naomi Watts, Prof Elie Wiesel and Owen Wilson.

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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)

Monday, May 18, 2009

72 Former Presidents, Prime Ministers and actors and actresses Write to UN

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