Campaign

• Prime Minister Letter to Friends of Burma • Prime Minister Letter to International MPs • Prime Minister's Call to Oversea Burmese • Burma in Review • International MP Declaration • Campaign Coordinators guide • MP-Campaign update • MPs Situation Printable Version

BURMA IN REVIEW

Geography and Cultures:

Burma is a Southeast Asian country of approximately 45 million people in 8 major ethnic nationalities: ethnic Burmans account for roughly 60% of the population, with the Shan, the Karen, the Kachin, and the Karenni being the next most numerous. Burma's diverse, multicultural society boasts 106 languages and dialects. The peoples' spiritual faiths also reflect the underlying diversity of history and culture, including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and varieties of animism. Burma is rich in natural resources, such as precious stones, tropical hardwoods, and onshore and offshore energy reserves.

Modern History:

The modern boundaries of Burma are not historical but the legacy of administrative convenience during the sixty years of British colonial rule, which ended in 1948. General Aung San, architect of Burma's independence and broadly revered as the leader of the independence struggle, was able to win the trust of the ethnic nationalities at the Panglong Conference in February 1947 and unified them with the Burmans. Together, all the nationalities participating in the conference demanded independence from the British. General Aung San's assassination in July 1947, just as the Union struggled to be born, is a national tragedy that haunts Burma to this day. The leadership vacuum left by his death gradually led to the breakdown of trust that existed among all the nationalities of Burma. General Ne Win, claiming that the nation was about to break up, staged a coup in 1962 and instituted a system of governance that ensured the military remains supreme in every aspect of life. That system has lasted 36 years today.

From 1962 to 1988, General Ne Win and his cronies sealed Burma away from the international community. The peoples of Burma became pauperized by the junta's economic experiments and Burma's status as one of the wealthiest countries in Asia declined to one of the ten poorest in the world.

The dominating role of the military was assured by subjecting the people to brute force and introducing a pervasive system of surveillance, the use of forced labor, extra-judicial killings, ethnic cleansing, and forced relocation of populations.

In 1988 the peoples of Burma asserted their right to dignity and hope. Monks, students and workers led nonviolent demonstrations and general strikes nationwide calling for democratic reform. In September of that year, the military, calling itself the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) staged a coup and in the process opened fire and killed thousands of unarmed democracy protesters. To pacify the people, the SLORC held multi-party elections in May 1990. The National League for Democracy (NLD) headed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, General Aung San's daughter, who emerged during this crisis to lead the party, won by a landslide. With the party it backed winning only a handful of seats, the military embarked on a campaign of terror against the NLD members, elected representatives and political parties. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was kept under house arrest during and after the elections for six years (from 1989 to 1995). The NLD managed to win 392 of 485 seats despite the imprisonment of most of its leaders and the junta's strong-arm tactics.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi continues to be the symbol of non-violent struggle for democracy and has successfully united diverse voices calling for the restoration of democratic freedoms and human rights. The Nobel Committee awarded the 1991 Peace Prize to Aung San Suu Kyi in recognition of her personal courage and her commitment to democracy and nonviolence.

The NLD, representing democratic choice and reconciliation, continues to

advocate peaceful solutions and dialogue. The generals have consistently refused to meet the NLD. In 1997, the junta changed their name into State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) without any success to improve their international pariah image.

National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB):

By late 1990, a group of NLD Members of Parliament (MPs), led by Dr. Sein Win, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's cousin, was sent into exile in order to mobilize international support for Burma. The MPs, with support from the Democratic Alliance of Burma, the National Democratic Front, among others, formed the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). The NCGUB has since been working with all the democracy and the disenfranchised ethnic forces through the National Council of the Union of Burma as well as with the other exile and student groups. The NCGUB has led the call for a tripartite dialogue between the ethnic nationalities, the NLD, and the military to resolve national problems. Over the past 8 years, the NCGUB has mobilized the international community to withdraw all financial and moral support to the dictatorship.

Current Situation

Governments, international institutions and human rights organizations have condemned the junta for systematically abusing human rights. Their use of forced labor on infrastructure development, tourism promotion projects and transportation of war materials in their war against ethnic nationalities are well documented. Forced labor and ruthless suppression of ethnic nationalities in the border areas have resulted in massive and continuing exodus of refugees; conservative estimation of some experts says there are about 150,000 refugees and 350,000 internally displaced persons. Thousands of democracy activists and hundreds of elected NLD representatives are subjected to torture and/or imprisonment in horrific conditions. There are documented and growing cases of deaths while in custody.

Concerned by the widespread use of forced labor in Burma, the International Labor Organization has decided not to provide any technical cooperation or assistance to and has banned SPDC from its conferences. Likewise, the European Union has recently tightened up its pressure mechanisms by taking additional measures on arms embargo and visa ban regimes.

Meanwhile, the country is eclipsed with harsh economic conditions. The economy has worsened rapidly after the Asian financial crisis. Both the World Bank and IMF have strongly criticized the junta for massive failures. While the economy declines rapidly, the production of narcotics has increased and Burma has become a huge drug menace to her neighbors.

Despite facing severe repression, the NLD continues to be unwavering in its commitment to carry out its national mandate. It gained the support of elected representatives to form the 10-member Committee for Representing People's Parliament. The Committee formed in August 1998 works on behalf of the MPs, including those who are in detention and exile, before the Parliament can convene.

In 2000, Parliamentarians around the world are joining together to declare their support for their colleagues from Burma - the only elected MPs in the world who have been denied the right to take their oath of office. They are signing a "Declaration of Support and Solidarity with the Democratically Elected Members of Parliament of Burma" that calls on the military regime to:

1. Release immediately and unconditionally all MPs-elect and end all violations of human rights against the people of Burma;

2. Recognize the right of the duly elected representatives of Burma to convene the parliament and immediately cease all restrictions against them; and

3. Agree to join the National League for Democracy and the representatives of ethnic nationalities in a dialogue to achieve a peaceful transition to democracy.