STATEMENT
ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF NATIONWIDE PRO-DEMOCRACY UPRISING IN BURMA
August
8,1998
Today
is the 10th Anniversary of the nationwide pro-demoncracy uprising in Burma, marking the
large scale slaughter of our friends, brothers, and sisters who sacrificed their lives for
democracy and human rights. In this
unforgettable day, we, members of the Monland Restoration Council, protest against the
Burmese military regime in front of its embassy in Washington,
DC., USA.
On
August 8, 1988 almost the entire population
of Burma marched into the streets and called
for democracy. After more than a month of
peaceful demonstrations, a military coup on 18th September cracked down the democracy movement.
Calling themselves then the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC),
the military Junta ordered the killing of thousands of civilians. Thousands more were arrested, tortured, raped, and
detained without trial. Many others fled to
malarial jungles along the border with Thailand.
During
the following 10 years human rights abuses have escalated all over the country. According to the recent United Nations Special
Rapporteur, human rights abuses in Burma include extrajudicial, summary executions,
tortures, forced relocation thousands of ethnic nationalities and forced labour by
children as well as women, and rapes of ethnic women by Burmese troops. The ruling Burmese military junta, recently
renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
has employed an "ethnic cleansing policy" in order to wipe out all
ethnic resistance and Burmanize diverse ethnic groups. Worst of all,
systematic rape of ethnic women by Burmese troops is utilized as a weapon of war against
ethnic groups and as a policy of "blood mixing" and Burmanization of ethnic
groups. Besides, the military has made every attempt to terminate the existence of ethnic
culture and literature. Celebration of Mon
National Day is banned, and teaching of ethnic languages is prohibited. The regime ordered on 1st July 1998 to shut down
all Mon national schools in Mon state, threatening to arrest those who teach Mon language.
The
current political situation in Burma are getting worse and worse. The military regime restricts the freedom of
movement of Noble Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
Refusing to honor the results of the free and fair 1990 elections, the
ruling regime has continued to refuse to negotiate with pro-democracy forces and ethnic
groups. We are deeply concern about the
present political tensions in Burma. Burma is likely to explode again soon and repeat the
tragedy of 1988 unless a genuine political solution is found through a peaceful means.
Aung
San Suu Kyi has called for a parliament to convene by August 21, 1998. We fully support her call, but strongly warn that
a parliament which implements only the interests of majority Burman will not find a
solution; nor will a parliament which neglects the causes of ethnic nationalities find an
answer. The conflicts of Burma can never be
solved without recognizing the causes of diverse ethnic groups. Only a genuine parliament which accomplishes the
establishment of a federal union that guarantees equality and the right to
self-determination of ethnic nationalities will find Burma a true solution.
On
this historic occasion, we urge U.S government and international community to support the struggle for democracy of
Burmese people by taking the following
actions:
1. Ask
the United Nations to intervene in Burma's current political tensions.
2.
Ask Burma's military rulers to immediately release all political prisoners and to begin
negotiations with representatives of the NLD and
ethnic nationalities.
3.
Pressure Burma's military regime to convene a
Parliament to honor the results of the May 1990 elections.
Central
Committee
Monland
Restoration Council