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MEDIA ADVISORY UPDATE - 11th Year C



Subject: MEDIA ADVISORY UPDATE - 11th Year Commemoration of "8.8.88"

Massacre in Burma
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UPDATE
Media Advisory
August 2, 1999

11th Year Commemoration of "8.8.88" Massacre in Burma

DC Burma Activist Network- Ted Hobart: 703-524-9773
Free Burma Coalition- Sapna Chhatpar: 202-543-1094
Committee for the Restoration of Democracy in Burma- Tin Maung Thaw:
703-834-5670

Washington, DC-August 2- Over 100 Burmese and American democracy
supporters will hold a series of actions in remembrance of the eleven
year anniversary of the August 8, 1988 massacre by the military of Burma
against its own people.  Beginning on the 7th of August at 6:30pm, a
mock funeral procession will take place originating at the Dupont Circle
Metro and ending at the Burmese Ambassador's Residence (2333 R
Street).   A 12 hour vigil and wreath laying ceremony will follow.  The
event coincides with the launching of a worldwide campaign to remove the
Burmese military's seat from the United Nations General Assembly.  Each
participant will therefore bring a chair -symbolizing the "unseating" of
the military junta- to form a circle of empty chairs around the
Ambassador's residence.

Burma, a country of almost 50 million people, is ruled by a brutal and
oppressive military junta. On August 8 1988, the people of Burma
protested their repressive government, resulting in a brutal crackdown
in which almost 10,000 civilians were massacred.  Two years later, the
military held national elections. The National League for Democracy, the
party of 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, won 82% of the
seats in the parliament.  Unfortunately, the military refused to honor
the results and declared the elections void.

The Burmese military regime is recognized internationally for its
systematic oppression.  Atrocities such as rape, extra-judicial
killings, forced labor, child labor, and torture are widespread. 

· In 1999, the International Labor Organization (ILO) voted to suspend
Burma from its ranks for its pervasive use of forced labor.
· In 1996, The United States imposed economic sanctions on Burma in
response to widespread human rights abuses.
· Since 1994, resolutions have been adopted repetitively by the UN
General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Committee calling for
recognition of human rights standards and the formation of the
legitimately elected government.


Modeled on the South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, Burmese democracy
activists and supporters have launched a campaign to kick the illegal
military junta out of the United Nations General Assembly and replace it
with the elected parliamentarians.  The "Unseat Campaign," brings
attention to the illegitimacy of the Burmese regime and will ultimately
remove their seat from the General Assembly.  At the same time, the goal
is to "seat" those legitimate representatives who were democratically
elected in 1990.  

While there are many brutal regimes in the world, Burma is the only one
which held internationally recognized elections but whose
representatives are not honored by the United Nations. Burma's seat in
the UN General Assembly is unjustly occupied by the military junta,
instead of the duly elected officials. 

This is the first event in a series of actions over the next several
months to bring awareness to the campaign and the illegitimacy of the
Burmese junta.  In September, the United Nations General Assembly begins
its annual review of Burma's credentials.