To the dignitaries of the European Union:
To world communality who valued Democracy and Human’s right:
Dear Sirs and Madams,
Just as much as you appreciate and value your own personal freedoms, we the oppressed peoples of Burma have the same values, and although we have been denied, for many decades, such freedoms, we seek your help as we struggle to regain this freedom.
In 1962 our country, in its early years of freedom, was hijacked by a military dictatorship that eradicated all civil institutions and embarked on a process that has produced devastating consequences for our country. Its leader, General Ne Win, imposed his own brand of ideology on the nation, where military officials replaced almost all civilian workers in the nation’s administrative institutions. Civil society also came under military control and the country degenerated into a terrifying tyranny.
In 1974, the Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP) drafted their constitution which enabled the dictatorship to establish a pseudo-civilian government, and General Ne Win transformed himself from a military leader into both the President and the Chairman of the only party in the country. His continued misgovernance of the country, including the demonetarization of the currency, produced dire results for the people, who were systematically impoverished by his reckless mismanagement.
Burma, under Ne Win’s mismanagement, degenerated into abject poverty, and the majority of the population suffered greatly. By 1987, Burma had become one the poorest nations in the world, and was given Least Developed Country status by the United Nations. This degeneration culminated in the mass demonstration of 1988, whereby the people protested for the freedoms so long denied them by the dictatorship. In response to the protests, the BSPP disbanded and Ne Win stepped down as President and Chairman.
However, far from relinquishing power, the military clique reemerged in essentially the same form, with Ne Win’s henchmen and protégés as its leaders. Under the leadership of Saw Maung, the military staged a coup and promised multiparty elections to quell the unrest and mass demonstrations. However, political parties were denied the right to campaign publicly, and had to organize indoors. Nonetheless, when the 1990 elections were held, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 82% of the vote, winning 383 out of the all seats. Saw Maung acknowledged that the results were fair and genuine, and promised that the military would return to the barracks. This was simply a maneuver on the part of the military, and Saw Maung later states that first there must be a constitution, and the military will not hand over power until it is drafted. The military then proceeded to hand pick their own representatives for a conference to draft the new constitution, and outnumbered the legitimate representatives elected in the 1990 elections, they also demanded that over 20% of the government was to be made up of military personnel. Furthermore, they demanded that the military hold important positions within the government, including Defense, and that the positions of President and Prime Minister had to be approved by the military. This resulted in the NLD, and other elected representatives, boycotting the drafting of the constitution.
There was then over ten years of stalling by State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and then the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the various names the military junta gave itself, and they have conspired to eliminate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as other prominent elected leaders. There have been more than sufficient indicators that strongly suggest that this was ordered from the top military leaders of the junta. Failing to eradicate the movement for democracy, they then hatched a 7-point plan, or so-called “Road Map to Disciplined Democracy” in 2003. This was another blatant maneuver by a regime that was unwilling to relinquish their power. This was simply a rehashing of Ne Win’s 1974 BSPP dictated constitution.
In 2007, student leaders of 1988 asked the military rulers to consider the plight of the people who faced unrealistic increases in fuel costs imposed by the dictatorship. Their response was to arrest the student leaders, who were then given long jail sentences. In the same period, Buddhist monks approached the military leadership and reminded them of their duty to the people – the dictatorship responded with brutal force. The military shot and arrested monks, and entered many monasteries and destroyed them. Many were killed, with estimates suggesting over 300 monk and civilian victims.
In May, 2008, although foreign meteorological centers warned the military of an impending high force cyclone, the SPDC downplayed the intensity predicted by these sources. The devastating result of this deliberate withholding of information was that over 100,000 people were killed, and over a million people lost their homes and livelihood. Amidst this catastrophe, 8 days after the disaster, on the 10th of May, the SPDC held a referendum for its bogus constitution, and claimed a 93% yes vote. Later in the year, political prisoners were given extended jail sentences, and their lawyers were arrested and given long jail sentences from 20-65 years as well. This was in order to silence all possible political opposition by the democratic movement and its leaders.
The military rulers of Burma now plan to implement the 7th Stage of their so-called “Road Map to Disciplined Democracy” – the 2010 general elections. The abovementioned facts and track record of the military show that they are determined to maintain power, at the expense of the wellbeing of the nation. In 1948 Burma had gained independence and was known as the “Rice bowl of Asia”, and its currency had real value. It was known as a fast developing nation”. However, after 1962, Burma’s position rapidly plummeted, and it eventually reached Least Developed Country status, and had one of the worst human rights abuses records in the world. The military leaders of today are in reality clones spawned by Ne Win – they were the coup leaders of 1988, and none of the promises given by them have ever been kept. Their denial of foreign aid after Cyclone Nargis illustrates that they are not, and have never been, concerned about the welfare of the people. This present day attempt to fool the international community into believing that they will adopt a democratic process is merely a facade. It is no more than a carbon copy of the 1974 constitution which was designed to keep the military in power. Thus, the planned so-called return to civil rule will only further enslave the nation, and will extinguish all genuine democratic opposition to their rule.
In this critical year of 2009, we ask delegates of the international community at the United Nations General Assembly’s annual meeting and the European Union not to recognize this bogus and fraudulent election designed by the military. We ask all to join forces and to use the instruments of the United Nations to bring about a genuine change and true democracy for the people of Burma. We thank you in anticipation for the work you are about to undertake
Please click here to sign at petition online
Not only Burmese people but also all people who sympathized on people of Burma.
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