s5: B.C.Legislature.....

[tzang@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Dear all,  The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada, passed a
motion in support of Burma's parliamentarians and the struggle of the
people of Burma for democracy on May 4, 1999.
   This is the first motion of this nature in North America -- direct
political support by elected legislators for Burma's parliamentarians --
and is therefore a significant and historic one.
   The copy of the motion is as below:

BEST,
Chao Tzang Yawnghwe
Relayed on behalf of the Burma Roundtable, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
================

COPY:

The Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia
                   Motion No. 61

Mr. Hartley moved--

Be it resolved that this Assembly deplores the continuing violations of
human rights in Burma, including extrajudicial and arbitrary executions,
rape, torture, inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced labour, forced
relocation and denial of freedom of expression, assembly, association and
movement, as reported by the UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur;

Be it further resolved that in the opinion of this Assembly these human
rights abuses in Burma are the result of policy at the highest level and

that the regime's officials bear political and legal responsibility for
them;

Be it further resolved that this Assembly urges the military regime in
Burma to:
(a) ---  immediately and unconditionally release all detained political
leaders and all political prisoners, to ensure their physical integrity
and to permit them to participate in the process of national
reconciliation;
(b) ---  repeal all regressive laws;
(c) ---  stop all the violations of human rights and in particular the
unlawful coercion against the National League for Democracy (NLD) members
leading to surrendering of their membership and the closure of NLD
offices; and
(d) ---  immediately initiate a substantive political dialogue with the
Committee Representing the People's parliament before there is further
violent upheaval in Burma.

Be it further resolved that the Legislature condemns the State Peace and
Development Council (formerly named the State Law and Order Restoration
Council) for:
(a) ---  openly encouraging the production, trade and export of opium and
heroin into North America; and
(b) ---  racially-motivated genocide against the ethnic peoples in Burma,
especially those in Karen, Karenni and Shan States;

Be it further resolved that the Legislature urges the Government of
Canada to:
(a) ---  recognise as the legitimate instrument of the will of the
Burmese people the Committee Representing the People's Parliament formed
by the National League for Democracy on 16 September 1998 as acquiring
the legal authority of 251 MP's and support of the four non-Burman ethnic
political parties;
(b) ---  take all necessary action to achieve coordinated international
action in support of the restoration of human rights in Burma;
(c) ---  direct the federal drug enforcement agency to increase counter
narcotics efforts specific to the flow of heroin into Vancouver from
Burma; and
(d) --- appeal to the UN Secretary-General to send a special envoy to
Burma to continue discussions with the leaders of the military regime as
well as with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders in order to make
significant advances towards the democratization of Burma.

Motion agreed to nemine contradicente on the following division:

YEAS -- 66
Evans
Zirnhelt
McGregor
Kwan
G.F. Wilson
Hammell
Boone
Streifel
Pullinger
Lali
Orcherton
Calendino
Walsh
Randall
Gillespie
Robertson
Cashore
Conroy
Priddy
Petter
Miller
G. Clark
Dosanjh
MacPhail
Sihota
Lovick
Ramsey
Farnworth
Waddell
Hartley
Smallwood
Bowbrick
Kasper
Doyle Giesbrecht
Whittred
C.Clark
Campbell
Farrell-Collins
de Jong
Plant
Abbott
L. Reid
Neufeld
Coell
Chong
Sanders
Jarvis
Nettleton
Penner Weisgerber
Goodacre
Weisbeck
Nebbeling
Hogg
Coleman
Stephens
Hansen
Thorpe
Symons
van Dongen
Barisoff
Dalton
J. Reid
J. Wilson
Janssen
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