American Federation of Teachers AFT

[osolnick@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Members of the AFT had personal experience with the leadership of the
National League for Democracy, the teachers working in the schools inside
Burma and the teachers teaching on the borders. The following resolution
was thought off and passed through a working relationship built up
between the FTUB and the AFT over many years.

News and Information Secretariat - FTUB


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<center>Support for Democracy in Burma

Adopted by the American Federation of Teachers. AFL -CIO

National Convention,  July 16-20. 1998

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WHEREAS, Burma has been ruled by a brutal military dictatorship since
1962; and


WHEREAS, in May 1990, in a free and fair parliamentary election the
National League for Democracy (NLD) -- led by Aung San Suu Kyi --
received more than 80 percent of the national vote; and


WHEREAS, the military government has refused to honor the results of the
1990 election, and instead has continued to persecute the NLD leadership
and other democracy activists and conducted a war against its own people;
and


WHEREAS, the actions of the dictatorship- including the extensive use of
torture, extra-judicial killings, forced labor, forced repatriation and
rape as methods of political repression - have been condemned repeatedly
by the United States, the United Nations, the European Union, the
International Labor Organization (ILO) and every major human and labor
rights organization; and


WHEREAS, Burma is a signatory to ILO Convention 87 on "Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organize" and yet was
condemned by the ILO in June 1997 for the "total absence of progress in
the application of the Convention"; and


WHEREAS, Burmese teachers - like all other workers - face Imprisonment,
or worse, if they engage in trade union-related activities; and


WHEREAS, according to recent United Nations figures the dictatorship
spends twice as much of the national budget on the military than it does
on health and education; and


WHEREAS, Human Rights Watch reports that the military supports its
development and war efforts by forcing thousands of children as young as
twelve to work without pay building roads, bridges and other public works
or portering  for the army; and


WHEREAS, according to UNICEF estimates, as many as one-third of Burmese
children aged 6-15 work instead of attending school; and


WHEREAS, the military government has shut down the universities for seven
of the last ten years, and has frequently closed secondary schools,
denying Burmese youth their right to an education; and


WHEREAS, the Burmese democracy and trade union movement has repeatedly
called for support by the U.S. labor movement in its peaceful struggle
for a free and democratic Burma;



RESOLVED, that the AFT strongly condemn the Burmese government's
violations of human and trade union rights and urge it to end its
persecution of democracy and trade union activists; and


RESOLVED, that the AFT urge the military government to enter immediately
into unconditional political talks with the leadership of the National
League for Democracy -- including Aung San Suu Kyi -- that will lead to
the restoration of democracy in Burma; and


RESOLVED, that the AFT support U.S. government's actions, including
economic sanctions, aimed at the returning democracy to Burma; and


RESOLVED, that the AFT encourage its members to participate in local,
state and national campaigns -- including "selective purchasing" and
"disinvestment" campaigns targeted at U.S. corporations doing business
with Burma, and the "Open-the-Schools" campaign urging the military to
re-open the country's universities and secondary schools -- aimed at
putting pressure on the dictatorship to enter into dialog with the NLD
and other democracy activists; and


RESOLVED, that the AFT join with the NEA, AFL-CIO, Education
International and the international labor movement to pursue all possible
actions in support of the restoration of trade union and human rights in
Burma; and


RESOLVED, that the AFT engage in an education campaign to inform its
members -- and the U.S and international labor movement -- about the
current situation in Burma, and actions they can take individually and
collectively to support the Burmese peaceful struggle for democracy.




For further information contact:


Helen K. Toth

AFT - International Affairs

555 New Jersey Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20001

Tel:	(202) 879-4448

Fax:	(202) 879-4502