Burmese people living in India, irrespective of their ethnicities, have denounced the forthcoming general election on November 7, 2010 arguing that the exercise ‘will not bring any freedom to the people of Burma’. The exile Burmese came out with a strong statement that the proposed election would only legitimize the military rule, which has already earned a notorious name for human rights violation.
“The election will enact the 2008 Constitution, which not only contains many undemocratic measures including giving the military effective veto power over decisions made by the new parliament and government, but also depriving people of their basic human rights by stipulating ‘exception clauses’, and preserving draconian laws that explicitly prohibit freedom of speech, association, and assembly,†said M. Kim, an India based Burmese pro-democracy activist.
The activists also apprehend that the November 7 polls will ‘not be free or fair under the present regime and unsatisfied ambience’, as thousands of democracy activists have been imprisoned, intimidated, tortured and put to death for demanding justice, peace, human rights in the Southeast Asian country.
Speaking to this writer from New Delhi, Kim informed that ‘nearly 2,200 political prisoners are serving detention in Burma and there is no hint from the military rulers that they might be allowed to participate in the election’.
Meanwhile, on 141st birthday of Mahatma Gandhi (2 October 2010), Burma Centre Delhi had submitted an appeal letter to Sonia Gandhi, president of All India Congress Committee seeking her support in ‘restoring peace, justice, democracy and human rights in Burma’. The letter, endorsed by 44 Burmese organizations in India strongly argued for immediate release of Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with other political prisoners.
“On this auspicious day, which marks Gandhiji’s birthday and also recognized as International Day of non-Violence, we together with other Burmese organizations in India would like to seek your kind attention on the struggle for restoration of peace, human rights and democracy in Burma by non-violence means,†said in the BCD letter.
Mentionable that a living symbol of Gandhiji’s Satyagraha and a recipient of Jawaharlal Nehru’s Award for International Understanding (by India), Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 15 of the past 20 years. She and her political party National League for Democracy have already been barred from participating in the forthcoming November 7 general election in the military ruled country.
Suu Kyi’s speeches in various occasions clearly reflected her deep respect to Gandhiji’s non-violence method of struggle saying, “If we consider a country like India which was very much influenced by Gandhiji’s non-violence philosophy you can see how clear the military has kept away from politics. India has had many political upheavals and it has faced many problems and it probably will have many problems to face in the future. But I think the seed of non-violence that was planted before Independence has helped them a great deal in resolving the problems in a democratic way as is possible under thecircumstances.â€
The Burmese groups including All Burma Democratic Lusei Women Organization, All Burma Monks’ Representative Committee, Chin Human Rights Organization, Women League of Burma – India, Shwe Gas Campaign – India, All Kachin Students & Youth Union, Arakan League for Democracy – Exile, Burmese Christian Association, Burmese Women Union, National League for Democracy Liberated Area, Zomi Women Union demand that ‘all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, Khun Htun Oo and MinKo Naing must be released before the election’.
Moreover, inclusive dialogue with key stakeholders from democracy groups and ethnic nationalities, including a comprehensive review of the 2008 Constitution must be convened and systematic human rights abuses and criminal hostilities against ethnic groups, political activists, journalists and civil society must be stopped, they pointed out.
The Burmese activists, though they were ‘deeply upset with the Government of India for accepting Burmese military ruler Than Shwe as a state guest in last July’, they still maintain hope that the largest democracy in the globe would ‘play a crucial role in the process of national reconciliation and restoration of democracy in Burma’. They even urged New Delhi that it should not ‘endorse Burma’s military constitution and elections’, as it would only lead to entrenchment of military rule in the country.
Source:http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2753
“The election will enact the 2008 Constitution, which not only contains many undemocratic measures including giving the military effective veto power over decisions made by the new parliament and government, but also depriving people of their basic human rights by stipulating ‘exception clauses’, and preserving draconian laws that explicitly prohibit freedom of speech, association, and assembly,†said M. Kim, an India based Burmese pro-democracy activist.
The activists also apprehend that the November 7 polls will ‘not be free or fair under the present regime and unsatisfied ambience’, as thousands of democracy activists have been imprisoned, intimidated, tortured and put to death for demanding justice, peace, human rights in the Southeast Asian country.
Speaking to this writer from New Delhi, Kim informed that ‘nearly 2,200 political prisoners are serving detention in Burma and there is no hint from the military rulers that they might be allowed to participate in the election’.
Meanwhile, on 141st birthday of Mahatma Gandhi (2 October 2010), Burma Centre Delhi had submitted an appeal letter to Sonia Gandhi, president of All India Congress Committee seeking her support in ‘restoring peace, justice, democracy and human rights in Burma’. The letter, endorsed by 44 Burmese organizations in India strongly argued for immediate release of Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with other political prisoners.
“On this auspicious day, which marks Gandhiji’s birthday and also recognized as International Day of non-Violence, we together with other Burmese organizations in India would like to seek your kind attention on the struggle for restoration of peace, human rights and democracy in Burma by non-violence means,†said in the BCD letter.
Mentionable that a living symbol of Gandhiji’s Satyagraha and a recipient of Jawaharlal Nehru’s Award for International Understanding (by India), Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 15 of the past 20 years. She and her political party National League for Democracy have already been barred from participating in the forthcoming November 7 general election in the military ruled country.
Suu Kyi’s speeches in various occasions clearly reflected her deep respect to Gandhiji’s non-violence method of struggle saying, “If we consider a country like India which was very much influenced by Gandhiji’s non-violence philosophy you can see how clear the military has kept away from politics. India has had many political upheavals and it has faced many problems and it probably will have many problems to face in the future. But I think the seed of non-violence that was planted before Independence has helped them a great deal in resolving the problems in a democratic way as is possible under thecircumstances.â€
The Burmese groups including All Burma Democratic Lusei Women Organization, All Burma Monks’ Representative Committee, Chin Human Rights Organization, Women League of Burma – India, Shwe Gas Campaign – India, All Kachin Students & Youth Union, Arakan League for Democracy – Exile, Burmese Christian Association, Burmese Women Union, National League for Democracy Liberated Area, Zomi Women Union demand that ‘all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, Khun Htun Oo and MinKo Naing must be released before the election’.
Moreover, inclusive dialogue with key stakeholders from democracy groups and ethnic nationalities, including a comprehensive review of the 2008 Constitution must be convened and systematic human rights abuses and criminal hostilities against ethnic groups, political activists, journalists and civil society must be stopped, they pointed out.
The Burmese activists, though they were ‘deeply upset with the Government of India for accepting Burmese military ruler Than Shwe as a state guest in last July’, they still maintain hope that the largest democracy in the globe would ‘play a crucial role in the process of national reconciliation and restoration of democracy in Burma’. They even urged New Delhi that it should not ‘endorse Burma’s military constitution and elections’, as it would only lead to entrenchment of military rule in the country.
Source:http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2753
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