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Burma Study/Action Weekend in Japan
Date: 13 Nov 94 21:50 JST
From: NBH03114@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Reply-to:NBH03114@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To:reg.burma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
STATEMENT
BURMA STUDY/ACTION WEEKEND
Yamazaki, Kyoto, Japan
November 12-13, 1994
Burmese Relief Center--Japan,
Burma Youth Volunteer Association
Twenty activists from six countries gathered in Kyoto
this Saturday and Sunday to discuss Burmese issues and
to plan ways to support the democracy movement there.
During the fifth annual Burma Study/Action Weekend, held
by Burmese Relief Center--Japan, participants heard about
the latest political developments from several people who
had recently traveled in the impoverished country and to
the war-torn border region. They then developed strategies
for pressuring SLORC, the military government in Rangoon, to
transfer power to civilian rule and to unconditionally free
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. They reiterated their strong
opposition to the Japanese government's resumption of ODA to
SLORC. According to BRC-J director Ken Kawasaki, "It is absurd
to pretend that things are back to normal in Burma. Until
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is free to hold discussions on an equal
basis with her captors, nothing important will have changed."
Dean Chapman, a freelance photojournalist from Britain, showed
slides and black and white prints taken during the 16 months
he lived with the Karenni ethnic group along the Thai/Burma
border. "Despite ceasefire negotiations, SLORC is engaging
in large-scale offensives against the ethnic minorities," he
said. "As a consequence, the people continue to suffer, and
their standard of living deteriorates, despite SLORC's claims to
economic improvement."
Because SLORC is promoting tourism to procure desperately
needed foreign currency, participants in the Kyoto meeting agreed
to target travel agencies in Japan offering tours to Burma. They
will also launch a campaign to inform prospective Japanese tourists
of the implications of their travel to Burma.
Participants are sending letters and faxes to protest the presence
of SLORC at the 17th Session of the International Tropical Timber
Council in Yokohama . They are calling upon delegates not to do
business with SLORC. They also resolved to expand ongoing campaigns,
particularly the boycott of Nippon Oil and other companies involved
in the gas pipeline in Burma, which is being built with the massive
use of forced labor.
Scheduled activities for the near future include demonstrations in
Tokyo, Kobe, and Okayama on December 10, International Human Rights
Day, and January 4, Burmese Independence Day, in coordination with
similar actions by human rights groups around the world.
/E