Friday, April 15, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Remark at USCB National Organizing Meeting
Opening Remark by Aung Din at the USCB National Organizing Meeting, April 2, 2011
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen,
I thank you very much for gathering here today. I know some of you came from very far away. Instead of enjoying this precious weekend with your families and loved ones, you joined here with us to discuss how to increase our effort to help the people of Burma in their long journey to democracy. I appreciate your commitment on Burma’s democracy movement and solidarity with the people of Burma. As you just heard, our leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi greatly appreciates importance of the actions of people like you and recognizes the work of grassroots activists is vital.
We have been in this struggle for democracy more than 22 years, since 1988. For those who challenged the dictatorship since 1962 when the military took over the power, they have been in this struggle for nearly five decades. The flag of the revolution has been passed from one generation to another. My father was not able to see the democratic change in his country before he passed away two years ago. However, I believe I will be able to see the change in my country in my lifetime and my next generation will surely have a better life and a better country.
Some people argue that there are changes in Burma today. That is true, but these changes are not the one we want and we are fighting for. Burma is now ruled by two sets of boots, the military run by currently serving generals and its proxy party, Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), run by retired generals. And they are supported by a bunch of crony businesspersons who are allowed to control, manipulate and exploit the country’s entire business sector and natural resources. The discipline-flourishing democracy, as the regime called it, in Burma is actually a new form of tyranny, with a triangle of thugs, active-duty generals, retired generals, and crony businesspersons, ruling the country without respecting the rights and will of the people.
However, we are seeing the cracks within the military and between the military and the USDP. In-fighting between them are obviously growing and they all are competing aggressively to secure key positions in the new government and lucrative business opportunities. Former high ranking generals, who were forced to retire to take positions in the USDP, are now less powerful than before, and some of them have no power at all as they don’t have any place in new governing system. Than Shwe is getting old and is unable to control and satisfy all of his subordinates. As he put his loyalists Thein Sein and General Min Aung Hlaing in the President and the Commander-in-Chief positions respectively, he plans to continue to hold the power behind the scene. However, Burma is not China. As history proved again and again, pulling the strings from the back stage will not be working. Now is the beginning of the end-of- Than Shwe era.
The regime claimed that the National League for Democracy is not a legal party anymore. However, the NLD is stronger and well-organized than before since the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has launched a campaign to organize a nationwide popular network for democracy, social and humanitarian assistance. This network is now up and running and gaining great momentum. She continues to enjoy huge support from the people of Burma and is more recognized by the international community. Since her release, she has been communicating directly with Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers, Ambassadors, and MPs from many countries.
The NLD still holds the dialogue as a means to achieve national reconciliation and democratization in Burma. The NLD understands that dialogue will not be realized without putting sufficient pressure on the regime by the people of Burma and the international community. Therefore, NLD supports the existing sanctions imposed on the regime by the United States, EU, Switzerland, Canada and Australia. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to build a strong democracy force which can stand parallel with the ruling regime, but is more respected and relied by the people of Burma. We believe that the people of Burma will rise up again, as in the Middle East and North Africa; to challenge the dictatorship and the NLD will be ready to lead the uprising when the time is right.
Since 2009, we have launched an international campaign, calling for the United Nations to set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. We believe that the Commission of Inquiry will serve two purposes. One, it will become a preventive mechanism to stop further killing in Burma. The regime has created a constitution in 2008, in which generals and their followers are fully protected for the abuses they have committed and they are committing. The Commission of Inquiry will make them to realize that although they are protected by domestic legal system, they are still accountable under the international legal system. This will make them to think twice before they commit more abuses. And two, the COI will also serve as a pressure mechanism to force the regime to start a meaningful political dialogue with Burma’s democracy movement for peaceful and sustainable solution.
Over the past two years, we have achieved many significant victories in this front. Current UN Special Rapporteur Mr. Tomas Quintana became the first senior UN official to support the COI. He even made recommendation to the UN Human Rights Council to set up a COI in March 2010. He reiterated this call in the General Assembly in September 2010, and again in the Human Rights Council in March 2011. His call is supported by two former Special Rapporteurs, Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro of Brazil and Professor Yozo Yokota of Japan, Nobel Peace Laureates, such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Jody Williams, and Members of the U.S. Congress. Today, 16 nations, including the United States, expressed their support for the establishment of COI in Burma. We are hoping that we will have more support in the upcoming Sessions of the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council and we will achieve the victory soon.
Since its inception, USCB has been working hard to make the voices of the Burma’s democracy movement heard by the international community loud and clear. We have organized successful grassroots campaigns to convince U.S. Congress to support Burma’s democracy movement more and more and pressure on the Burma’s military regime stronger and harder. We have worked with successive U.S. Administrations to put Burma at the significant level of foreign policy priority, set the right policy on Burma, and implement it effectively. We have educated the people of the United States and international media to pay close attention on Burma. We have also worked together with our allies in many other countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe to organize collective and effective intervention by the United Nations. We achieved a lot of successes and we know that we can’t have them without you. We also face a lot of challenges and we know that we will be able to overcome these obstacles because you all are with us. I truly appreciate the freedom loving people in this room, in this country, USCB members and supporters all over the United States. The people of Burma owe you a lot.
Thank you.
