Burma: New Zealand must add its voice to the protest

“The Burmese people must be supported by all countries that promote democracy,” says Rae Julian, Executive Director of the Council for International Development of Aotearoa/New Zealand. She has written to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, urging them to add their diplomatic voices to support the hundreds of thousands of people in Burma who have courageously taken to the streets to call for regime change.

“The New Zealand government should emphasize that both development and achieving normal relations with most other countries will be impossible if human rights are not respected and a democratic government installed. In particular, this should be raised at the eleventh round of negotiations for a free trade agreement between New Zealand and ASEAN, which includes Burma, currently underway in Kuala Lumpur.”

“This is the most hopeful sign of regime change since the 1990 election result was annulled by the military government. However, we fear a violent crackdown similar to 1988 when over 3000 people died and thousands of others were imprisoned. Already the monks who led the demonstrations are being threatened.”

For decades the Burmese dictatorship has fought off pressure – imprisoning elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other democracy activists, wiping out thousands of villages in the provinces, bringing miseries from forced labour to refugee camps and presiding over a collapsing economy. One-third of children under five now suffer malnutrition; millions are down to one meal a day. This is an issue of the human rights of millions of people.

The world must take action. Pressure must be put on China, Japan and India, the countries closest to Burma, to intercede in support of the protesters. These are people so affected by the declining economy that they are risking their lives to demand change.

“Only a democratic government can bring wide donor support and redirect spending from the military to essential services.”

“If the protests fail to bring democracy, the outcome will be deepening poverty, even more political prisoners, and an increase in the number of refugees in camps on the border or in other countries,” says Rae Julian.

New Zealand must do its bit to make the Burmese government aware that the whole world is watching them. We must encourage them to take genuine steps to return to democracy.

ENDS

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