Report on National Convention on In

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Subject: Report on National Convention on India's Security and Restoration of Democracy in Burma.

Report on
National Convention on Indias Security and Restoration of Democracy in 
Burma
 
Date            8/10/96
Venue           Mavlankar Hall, New Delhi
Time            11 am to 4 PM
Organized by    Shri George Fernandes, MP, ( President of Samata Party )
Chairperson     Shri George Fernandes
Chief Guest     Dr. Tint Swe, MP (Burma)
Key speakers    Natwar Singh, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Cell of the 
Congress Party,
                Former Minister of State for External Affairs, Nepal
Mr.             Member of European Parliament
Ms.             Member of Parliament (Tibet exile govt.)
 
Part one
Speeches by Chairperson, Chief Guest and Key Speakers
 
Part two
Invited speakers, leaders and representatives of various 
political parties from different parts of India. 
Total 12 persons.
 
Part three      
Entertainment program by Indian musicians and singers 
including a play on the events in Burma.
 
Resolutions     On Burma (attached)
                On Indonesia (attached)
                On Tibet (attached)
                On "Burma Support Groups" (attached)
 
                        National Convention on 
        India's Security and Restoration of Democracy in Burma
 
The National Convention on India's Security and Restoration of 
Democracy in Burma, meeting in New Delhi on 10th August, 1996.
 
                        Resolution on Burma
 
  greets Aung San Suu Kyi and all those fighting for the restoration of 
Democracy in Burma, and assures them of unqualified support and 
solidarity form the people of India in their struggle;
  
  believes that the restoration of democracy in Burma is as vital for 
  India's security and for peace in South East Asia as a liberation of 
  Tibet from Chinese occupation; 
  
  asserts that the military junta which staged a coup in 1988 and 
  entranced itself in power by sustained mass killing of men and 
  women, youth and students, workers and farmers has neither moral 
  nor legal right to be called as the government of Burma:
  
  further asserts that it is only the members of parliament belonging to 
  the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi who 
  were given a massive mandate by the people with 82% of the popular 
  vote and 392 out of 485 seats in the National Parliament, who have 
  the legitimate mandate and rights to exercise power on behalf of the 
  Burmese people:
  
  emphasizes that the theory of "Constructive engagement" which is 
  used as a fig-leaf by several countries including India to hide the 
  ignominy of undertaking trade with Burma is a counter-protective 
  exercise whose sole purpose is to provide creditability and 
  respectability to the military junta, and thus legitimize their 
repressive 
  and ruthless  regime:
  
condemn the deny of human rights to and continuing violence against 
the people of Burma by the junta:
  
  notes that in the absences of democratic institution in Burma, drugs 
  and AIDS which are taking a heavy toll of human life have crossed 
  the international frontier and are wreaking havoc in the North Eastern 
  States of India particularly in Manipur , Mizoram and Nagaland:
  
further notes that the border trade between India and Burma through 
Moreh in Manipur and Champai in  Mizoram has meant opening 
India's doors for smuggling of Chinese goods, causing considerable 
damage to India's economy and danger to Indias security; and 
  
  cautions the people of the grave threat posed to India's security with 
  the militarisation of Burma with Chinese arms and training.
 
                        The Convention Demands
 
* the immediate release of all political prisoners in Burma,
  
* restoration of democratic rights and civil liberty of the Burmese 
  people,
  
* a dialogue by the ruling junta with ASSK and other democratic forces 
  in Burma to work out the modalities for convening the democratically 
  elected parliament of 1990, and
  
* the transfer of power to the elected representatives of the people.
 
The Convention Appeal to the people of India to:
 
* boycott Burmese goods and more particularly products of all 
  companies-National or Multi-national-who trade with Burma,
  
* pressurize all domestic companies and such multinationals trading 
  with Burma which have a presence in India to immediately stop doing 
  business with Burma,
  
* provide moral and material support to the Burmese students, youth, 
  Members of Parliament and others who have sought refuge in India,
  
* persuade the Union and States movements to extend all hospitality to 
  the refugee from Burma,
  
* urge the United Nations to grant the refugee status to all those who 
  had to flee form Burma to save themselves from physical elimination 
  at the hands of the military dictators, and
  
* organize "Burma support" groups at various levels, including in 
  Universities, work places, States, District and local areas, and to 
hold 
  meetings, conferences and demonstrations to make people aware of 
  the going on in Burma and the need and importance of a democratic 
  Burma for India's security.
 
The Convention urges
 
* Indian businessman to immediately withdrawal from doing business of 
  any kinds with Burma,
  
* Members of Parliament and all the States legislatures to stand up all 
  the restoration of democracy in and in defense of the rights and 
liberty 
  of their fellow Parliamentarians from Burma who are either in prison 
  or in exile, and in any case, are denied their right to take their 
place in 
  Parliament and to use the floor of their respective houses to highlight 
  the meaning and significance of the struggle for the restoration of 
  democracy  in Burma, for India's security; and 
  
* the government of India to recognized that only a democratic Burma 
  can ensure the safety and security of India's eastern frontiers.
 
Resolution on Indonesia
 
* National Convention on India's Security and Restoration of 
  Democracy in Burma congratulates Ms. Megawati Sukarnoputri on 
  her courageous and determined struggle to end the corrupt and 
  despotic family rule behind the democratic facade erected by Gen. 
  Suharto in Indonesia. The convention condemns the terror let lose by 
  the Army against Ms. Megawati Sukarputri and the Indonesian people 
  who are seeking to establish a genuine democratic politics;
 
* the people of Indonesia have suffered thirty years of Suharto's sham 
  democracy which he ushered after he massacred over five hundred 
  thousands persons, most of them communists or their sympathizers. 
  Three decades of Suharto's rule has seen periodic violence by the 
  army and government hired thugs against youths and students seeking 
  basic freedom of speech and assembly, and other democratic rights. 
  These years have also seen Suharto's children amass billions of 
  dollars ( estimated to be 20,000 Crore Indian Rupees ) through kick 
  backs commissions and businesses nurtured on nepotism and misuse 
  of Surharto's hold on power. The crackdown on the Indonesian 
  Democratic Party led by Megawarti Sukarnoputri is essentially 
  because Suharto's wants to keep political power in its family by using 
  the same blood letting method he employed to capture power.
  
* The capitalist and socialist countries of the world have had no qualms 
  in supporting the repressive regime of Shuaharto, and the only 
  concern expressed by them during the present upheaval his about the 
  fate of the money invested by the respective countries businesses in 
  Indonesia , and not the threat to the life of Megawati Sukarniputri and 
  her supporters. 
  
* The convention appeals to the world's community and particularly to 
  the Indian people to extend support to Megawati Sukarnoputri  and 
  her associates in their efforts to liberate Indonesia from the corrupt 
  Suharto family dictatorship. It warns the Indonesian establishment 
  against causing any harm to the life of Megawati.
  
* The conference also urges the Indian government to express to the 
  Indonesian government the concern of the Indian people over the 
  incidence in Indonesia.
 
                Resolution on Tibet
 
* The National Convention on India's Security and Restoration of 
  democracy in Burma denounces the arrest and detention of the 
  Panchen Lama by the Chinese government. It shares the anguish and 
  agony of the Tibetan people over the obvious design of the Chinese 
  authorities to wipe out Tibetan culture. The fact that the Panchen 
  Lama is the youngest political prisoner in the world bears testimony to 
  the desperation and ruthless of the Chinese in dealing with the 
  question of Tibetan freedom.
  
* The convention greets His Holiness The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan 
  people as they struggle along to secure their  claim over their 
country. 
  India and Tibet have always had a close relationship, and the Indian 
  people have been consistent in their support to the legitimate 
  aspiration of the Tibetan people, especially since The Dalai Lama 
  sought refuge in India following Chinese crackdown in Tibet in 1959. 
  This support must become more visible in the coming days as India 
  security is very much linked to Tibet freedom. The location of China's 
  nuclear weapon in Tibet  underlines China's reasons behind its 
  obstinacy in refusing to talk to The Dalai Lama on his proposals to 
  resolve the Tibet issue.
  
* The convention appeals to the India government to be more 
  forthcoming in upholding the cause of the Tibetan people. It calls 
  upon all political parties in the country to treat a free Tibet as the 
  cornerstone of India's security.
 
                Burma Support Groups
 
National Convention on Indian's Security and Restoration of Democracy 
in Burma hereby authorizes the chairman of the convention to take steps 
to coordinate the activities of the "Burma Support Groups" that may be 
set up in the country in pursuance of the decision of the convention.
 
National Convention on 
India's Security and Restoration of Democracy in Burma
August 10, 1996