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LETTER CITY COUNCIL ALKMAAR, THE NE



Subject: LETTER CITY COUNCIL ALKMAAR, THE NETHERLANDS, TO GEN. THAN SHWE

Amnesty International group Alkmaar, the Netherlands and the International 
Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Netherlands is very pleased with the recent 
initiative of City Council member H. Eggermont, in order to express the 
concern of the City Council of Alkmaar about the human rights situation in 
Burma, to the authorities of Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Council. 
Herewith we forward the letter of the City Council of Alkmaar, with the names 
of it's members subscribing it.
We are very interested in the initiatives of any  groups or human rights 
organizations working for democracy and human rights in Burma. We would also 
like information on the issue of  purchasing local selective legislation.
Please contact:
Anja_Sloot@xxxxxxx (Amnesty Int. Group Alkmaar)
or:
ifor@xxxxxxxxxx (International Fellowship of Reconciliation)

LETTER FROM CITY COUNCIL ALKMAAR, THE NETHERLANDS, TO GEN. THAN SHWE.

General Than Shwe, Chairman
State law and Order restoration Council
c/o Ministry of Defense
Signal Pagoda Road
Yangon
Union of Myanmar
                                                                               
       Friday 13 November 1996
 
Dear General Than Shwe, 
 
Greetings from the Dutch city of Alkmaar, a city of some 95,000 people in the 
northern part of the Netherlands. This letter is written on behalf of the 
citizens of Alkmaar, by members of the Alkmaar City Council, which governs the 
city. 
 
We are writing to express our concern about the human rights situation inside 
the Union of Myanmar. Well documented reports from bodies such as the United 
Nations and from internationally respected human rights organizations point to 
the existence of serious violations of international law within your country. 
The reports of forced labor, forced relocation, government military operations 
against ethnic minorities, religious discrimination, and the denial of the 
rights to freedom of speech, press and political participation so essential to 
democracy, are very disturbing. 
 
As governing officials we are convinced of the benefits of democracy. The 
corner stone of democracy is respect for human rights. We welcomed your 
government's release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi last year, as did the entire 
international community. This release was an important first step in 
establishing democracy in the Union of Myanmar.
 
Yet we are aware that there are hundreds of political prisoners who remain 
unjustly imprisoned within Myanmar, and that international norms of human 
rights are violated daily within your country. We respectfully request that 
your government continue its steps towards democracy and respect for human 
rights by releasing such prisoners, whose only "crime" has been the nonviolent 
exercise of their basic human rights. 
 
Respectfully yours,

H.  Eggermont

member City Council Alkmaar.




Names of subscribing City Council members:

* G.P. van den Berg
* S.H. Binnendijk
* mw. J. Blom
* mw. M.N. Bolte
* J.J.A. Brons
* R. Diktas
* A.J. Dingerdis
* drs. B.S. Dobber
* A.J. Douma
* J. Douma
* D.W. Driessen
* H.A. Eggermont
* G.J. v. Elk-Kalkhuis
* A.J. Epskamp
* A.A.J. Giling
* A.M. Godijn
* D. Graatsma
* W.B. van der Ham
* mr. K.L.R. Ho-ten-Soeng
* V.H. Kloos
* drs. J. Klooster
* A.J. Leek
* mw. A.M.C. Levijn-Rademaker
* A.C. Lind
* drs. M.M.C. Maassen
* T.K.C. Stom
* dr. J. Talsma
* mw. mr. L.B. Vellenga-van Nieuwkerk
* mw. G.C.J. Verwoort
* C.G. van Vliet
* mw. drs. M.M.C. Wingen
* R.J.G. Bandell (chairman and Mayor)
* J.C.M. Cox (Secretary General)