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Re Re U MAUNG MAUNG, ILO ETC
- Subject: Re Re U MAUNG MAUNG, ILO ETC
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 12:13:00
Dear people,
Apologies for any misunderstandings my posting "U MAUNG MAUNG, ILO ETC"
may have caused. I certainly did not intend any personal attack on Htun
Aung Gyaw,
whose commitment to working for democracy in Burma is beyond question.
My intention was simply to support the work of a person who in my
experience has been, and continues
to be, very effective in helping keep up the international pressure on the
Burmese military.
I also consider that in the forums where I have seen them in action, namely
the UN General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights, Dr Sein Win** and
his teams have been a critical element in ensuring increasingly strong UN
resolutions on Burma.
How one views the UN's actions on Burma is a separate matter. In spite of
the limitations imposed by the principle of state sovereignty and the
weight given to regional views, the UN resolutions and reports have:
* provided an expression of universal condemnation (the resolutions being
by consensus) of the Burmese military's human rights record,
* activated the Secretary-General's good offices in seeking a negotiated
restoration of democracy,
* via the Burmese-language radio (DVB, BBC, VOA and RFA), informed the
Burmese people of the international condemnation of the military regime,
* provided an authoritative statement of the human rights situation in
Burma which in my view has been a major factor in deterring substantial
Japanese and other investment as well as the resumption of large-scale
multilateral assistance,
* provided an authoritative base-line for other actors -- governments, UN
agencies, NGOs -- in making their own reports and actions,
Clearly the UN resolutions and reports are not enough, but beyond the areas
referred to above, they are important tools which in my view should be
used more by Burmese democracy activists in their work with the media,
governments, corporations, international organisations etc. The texts are
on the UNHCHR website: www.unhchr.ch
** while I work in communication WITH Dr Sein Win, U Maung Maung and
others at the Commission on Human Rights, General Assembly, ILO etc., I
certainly do not work FOR them.
David Arnott, Geneva