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Siege of the Burmese Embassy



Friends of the National League for Democracy
Australia
PO Box 288, Enmore NSW 2042

Media Release
October 2, 1999

Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors siege of the
Burma Embassy

The membership of the Friends of the National
League for Democracy Australia (FNLDA), a
pro-democracy group of Burmese and Australian
people working for the restoration of democracy
in Burma, are extremely distressed by the news
of the hostage situation at the Burma Embassy in
Bangkok, Thailand. Whilst the FNLDA does not
condone violence and dissociates itself from
acts of violence, members understand the
frustration that happens "when good men turn
their back on evil." The SPDC continues to
imprison, torture, terrorise and murder Burmese
people whilst the international community limits
itself to what amounts to non meaningful
requests to the SPDC to enter into dialogue with
the National League for Democracy.

The Chair of the FNLDA, Susan Locke, today said
"The failure of people across the world to take
meaningful, non-violent action to enable the
lawfully elected National League for Democracy
to govern Burma is itself an act of violence
against the Burmese people. Violence cannot be
reduced to physical violence alone. Violence
happens every time we turn away from human
rights abuses and say that it is not our
problem. The experiences of East Timor, Bosnia,
Rwanda , Afghanistan to name only a few, have
taught us that violence does not lessen if we
turn away, rather it escalates and grows in
power and terror until people have no options
left except to turn to violence themselves."

The FNLDA, an organisation based on the
non-violence philosophy of Aung San Suu Kyi,
believes that the failure of the international
community to support democracy in Burma through
meaningful political, economic and social
actions is a major factor in the hostage
situation. Since 1988 the Burmese pro-democracy
movement has sought, mostly without success, the
support of the international community to take
the strongest economic and political action
against the State Peace and Development Council
that unlawfully rules Burma. The SPDC has
refused since 1990 to allow the lawfully elected
National League for Democracy lead by Nobel
Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to take up
government.

The SPDC has been condemned on an annual basis
by the United Nations. However, many governments
continue to engage politically and economically
with the SPDC. There is a growing list of
governments forming alliances with the SPDC, or
moving towards engagement with the regime. This
growing environment of engagement has been
criticised by Aung San Suu Kyi in a smuggled
videotape shown to the Australian Parliament
just two weeks ago. Aung San Suu Ky has appealed
in particular to Australian governments to
support the pro-democracy movement by taking
great care in dealings with the regime. The
recent visit to Burma of Chris Sidoti,
Australian Human Rights Commissioner, has been
used by the SPDC to support its rule of Burma.
In addition there is a long list of businesses,
both in Australia and overseas conduction
business with and within Burma with the call by
Aung San Suu Kyi for the imposition of economic
sanctions on Burma being largely ignored by the
international community.

It is time for the international community and
Australia in particular to face what is
happening in Burma, and intervene diplomatically
and economically to enable democracy to become a
reality in Burma, before desperation about the
situation leads to further acts of desperation.

The FNLDA calls on the Australia government to
seek the urgent intervention of the United
Nations in developing the appropriate strategies
needed to:

· Secure the release of all political prisoners
in Burma
· Recognise the Committee Representing the
People's Parliament as the legitimate parliament
of Burma
· Remove all recognition and support for the
State Peace and Development Committee including
its place with the United Nations 
· Establish a War Crimes Tribunal to investigate
the human rights abuses and murders of thousands
of Burmese civilians by the SPDC

Contact:	Trevor Edmond		0418 635 990