24 May 2006

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) is greatly concerned that Burma’s pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will not be released from house-arrest come May 27, 2006 when her detention period is due to end.

The military government in Burma had, in November 2005, extended Suu Kyi’s house-arrest period for a further six months and we fear that they would again act no differently. We strongly call on the junta, especially its leader Senior-General Than Shwe, to respect international practices of human rights and justice by unconditionally releasing Suu Kyi when her current house-arrest term expires.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Suu Kyi has been kept under detention for the past three years. The de-facto Burmese authorities have not charged her with a crime and have kept her a prisoner in her own home.

It is high time that the junta discontinues its harassment and intimidation of the Burmese people’s chosen leader and takes concrete measures in allowing her the right to live freely. AIPMC finds it is extremely unacceptable that Suu Kyi has been detained for over 10 of the past 16 years of her life for committing no apparent crime.

Her peaceful struggle to bring democracy and democratic reforms to her land is no cause for the military regime to deny Suu Kyi her basic rights. AIPMC vehemently calls on the junta to accord freedom to Burma’s symbol of peace.

AIPMC also urges the United Nations (UN) to demand that the Burmese Generals release Suu Kyi immediately. The United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari’s recent visit to Burma, while well received, must be validated by concrete actions to address Burma’s dire situation.

Gambari’s upcoming briefing of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on his trip to Burma is timely and welcomed. We urge the UNSC to then act accordingly by initiating concrete steps to resolve the political deadlock, as well as the deteriorating social and economic conditions, in Burma.

On April 28 this year, the UNSC adopted resolution 1674 (2006), which was its strongest condemnation yet of the violence committed by Burma’s military against civilians during armed conflict. We call on the Council to substantiate that move by adopting a resolution on Burma that would empower them to intervene in Burma’s crises. It is time for real action. It is time for a new, democratic and peaceful Burma.

Zaid Ibrahim

AIPMC Chairperson and Member of Parliament for Kota Baru, Malaysia

For further media inquiries, please contact Roshan Jason at +6-012-3750974

Bangkok, May 8 (DPA) A caucus of Asian parliamentarians Monday called on the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN to take action against Myanmar’s military regime for ongoing violence against the Karen ethnic group.

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), a two-year-old grouping of ‘progressive’ parliamentarians from Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, called on the ASEAN governments to consider putting the Myanmar issue on the agenda at the UN Security Council.

‘The UN has been considering to act on this issue at the Security Council but it was put off by Malaysia,’ said outgoing Thai Senator Kraisak Choonhavan.

‘We have to tell the ASEAN countries to reconsider this. ASEAN has to come out with a resolution to have the question of Burma discussed and not protect the regime,’ said Kraisak, a founding member of the AIPMC.

Myanmar’s military regime has reportedly cleansed the neighbourhood around its new capital of Pyinmana of all ethnic Karen, forcing some 11,000 now homeless refugees to flee to the Thai border over the past three months.

The Karen is one of Myanmar’s largest ethnic minority groups, who have been waging a guerrilla war for the autonomy of the Karen state for the past five decades.

The latest crackdown on the Karen has highlighted Myanmar’s abysmal human rights record and failure to implement political reforms, making the country an ongoing international embarrassment for ASEAN of which it became a member in 1997.

6 May 2008

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), an organization consisting of Parliamentarians from the Asian region, strongly condemns the ongoing acts of violence in Burma that are primarily targeted against the Karens, an ethnic minority group in Eastern Burma.

Reports of these events have shown enough facts and figures to warrant international involvement in the dire situation in Burma. In light of this, the AIPMC strongly urges the UN Security Council (UNSC) to immediately act on this the latest security crisis in the conflict-stricken nation. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of Burmese have fled the violence in their land and crossed borders to neighboring countries. The situation is indeed becoming worse as this current military offensive in Eastern Burma has sparked a new outflow of thousands of refugees.

The regime’s move to establish its administrative capital in Pyinmana has sparked this aggression against the Karen living in the vicinity. These attacks have resulted in over 11,000 Burmese Karens being driven from their homes and numerous innocent lives taken.

The UNSC must play its role and carry out its functions in dealing with perpetrators of such crimes. The destruction of villages in Eastern Burma and the military attacks on civilians have also been labeled as acts of genocide. The UNSC must not fail in effectively dealing with the situation if it wants to reassure the international community of its relevance.

Many more lives are at risk of being lost and thousands more face displacement if the international community continues to stagnate on the Burma situation.

International humanitarian groups and refugee agencies have labeled Burma ‘the worst international displacement crisis in Asia’. The UNSC must play its role by heeding these reports and acting on global calls for Burma to be placed on the UNSC agenda and immediately act to put a stop to the current violence in the country.

In December 2005 the situation in Burma was discussed in the UNSC and the body indicated that it would undertake a course of action to deal with the existing crisis. The time has come for the UNSC to embark on its security action to deal with Burma and bring to an end the loss of innocent lives and the destruction of homes.

AIPMC further demands that the Burmese military regime, responsible for these unacceptable acts of inhumanity, immediately stop its military offensives against the Karen as well as any other military action against other innocent lives.

Burma’s military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has in recent months informed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that it has embarked on democratic reforms within the country. However, such occurrences of unwarranted aggression against its own people do not indicate that the junta is working towards positive reforms.

ASEAN must take concrete and substantive steps to ensure that the junta is serious about introducing democratic change. The regional grouping must hold the regime accountable for Burma’s history of displacing lives and its current military offensive against the Karen if it wants to ensure regional safety and stability.

AIPMC further condemns the junta for such acts as the planting of landmines in areas where the military have successfully driven out the ethnic minorities, in an effort to prevent these inhabitants from returning to their homes.

Such an act of senselessness and terror is an abuse of power and a gross human rights violation. It must be strongly condemned and the perpetrators must be held responsible.

Released on May 8, 2006 by the AIPMC Secretariat on behalf of AIPMC Parliamentarians.

Enquiries:

Roshan Jason, AIPMC Executive Secretary +6012-3750974 or info@aseanmp.org