Mizzima: Dissidents honor imprisone

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Dissidents honor imprisoned sisters in Burma

New Delhi, June 19, 2000
Mizzima News Group (http://www.mizzima.com)

Honoring women activists who have been languishing in various jails for
their political life in Burma, and celebrating the 55th birthday of
Burma?s democratic leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, various women
organizations in India celebrate ?Women of Burma Day? today in New
Delhi.

They held a rally at the Janta Mantar in the morning, which was
participated by a hundred Burma activists and lasted for an hour. Burma
women organizations in exile have been celebrating Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi?s birthday as ?Women of Burma Day? since 1997, but the military
government does not approve it nor allow to mark the day inside Burma.

Some prominent women activists in India have proposed Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi?s birthday as ?Women of Asia?s Day?. Sending a message to the Burma
women activists today, Samata Party president Ms. Jaya Jaitly said that
the day should be called ?Women of Asia?s Day?, because ?we women of
Asia, most of all, are fighting against violence, economic domination
and the ugly side of armed conflicts? and ?Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gives
women courage to face difficulties?.

?Any military should guard the integrity of its country and its borders
and leave government to a democratically elected government of capable
men and women?, said Ms. Jaitly in her message.

Moreover, various women organizations from Burma such as - All Burma
Democratic Lushai Women Organization (ABDLWO), Chin Women Organization
(CWO), Chin National League for Democracy (Exile)- Women Wing, Kuki
Women Human Rights Organization (KWHO) and Women Rights & Welfare
Association of Burma (WRWAB) - issued a joint statement urging the
military government to release all political prisoners and enter into a
dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to break the political deadlock in
the country.

The statement said that Aung San Suu Kyi, 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate, is
the symbol of inspiration and hope for the Burmese people who have been
struggling for democracy and human rights in the country. ?Celebrating
Women of Burma Day, we believe that we can encourage our Burma women to
participate in the struggle for restoration of democracy and build unity
and solidarity among women?, said the statement.

Aung San Suu Kyi herself sent a message to exiled Burmese women today
and she said that women are very important in the democratic movement in
Burma.

?We find that it is the woman who sometimes have a better understanding
of why we are struggling for democracy because she strips away all the
political jargon and gets down to basic facts?, she continues.

?Women can empathize with the fate of mothers whose children are in
prison, of wives who have lost their husbands, of whom who are
struggling to feed families, of the housewife who goes to the bazar
daily with her heart pounding in case prices have gone up again,? said
the Nobel Laureate in her 12 minutes video message which was smuggled
out of the country.