Declaration for August 8

[hag2@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Declaration for August 8, 1988: Tenth Anniversary Memorial Day

The Burmese people have been suffering under the rule of totalitarian
regimes since 1962.  Ten years ago, their struggle for democracy was
spearheaded by high school and university students who took to the streets
to call for a government that would exist to serve the people and not the
interests of a few high-ranking military officers.  As a result, the regime
backed by the military, the ruthless BSPP, fell from power.  Sadly,
thousands of students paid with their lives in overthrowing this autocratic
regime.  However, today the Burmese military still clings to power, and
their staunchest opponents remain the students.  We commemorate the many
students, monks and people who gave their lives for the sake of democracy
and for the sake of our country.

Without their courageous acts:
1. The plight of the Burmese people would not be known by the world.
2. The students would not have known the plight of the ethnic peoples in
Burma.
3. The politicians would not have had the chance to form political parties.
4. Overseas Burmese exile organizations would not have emerged.
5. We would not have the chance to speak as free men and women in the
countries that have welcomed us in exile.

This is why we humbly salute those who made the ultimate sacrifice in our
struggle for freedom and democracy.

The fight for democracy was at first organized secretly after the 1962
military coup, but it was recognized by the whole world on August 8, 1988.
The events of "8-8-88" will always live in our hearts and memories.  It has
been ten years now but we have not given up, nor will we ever give up,
until we see a free and democratic Burma.

We are the generations of the democratic revolution.  8-8-88 gives us the
hope and determination, the courage and resolution, to reach our destiny.
We are fighting for a freely elected government that serves the people
first, a humane political order that has the mandate of the people.  Today,
the political situation in Burma, along with the economy, education, and
health care system, are all in a terrible crisis.  NLD leaders have been
harassed, threatened, summarily arrested, and held without trial by the
SPDC.  The politicians who have spoken on behalf of the people have been
thrown in prison.  All non-military affiliated post-secondary schools have
been shut down since December 1996, for more than a year and a half.
Consumer prices have been skyrocketing and show no signs of coming down.
The military junta has done little to stop the spread of AIDS that
continues to rage in the country and those stricken with the virus have
failed to receive proper treatment.  Opium production has increased
alarmingly, and drug kingpins operate with impunity under the protection of
the military regime. 

Recent events surrounding Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has highlighted the many
faces of the crisis in Burma.  Her recent treatment at the hands of the
authorities indicates that the regime regularly abuses human rights, with
no regard for the well-being of the people.  Political parties exist but
their leaders have no right to travel, to meet their fellow members, to
organize the people, and to publish newsletters dealing with their
organization.  So, what are political parties allowed to do in Burma under
the laws of the current regime?  Nothing! 

We whole-heartedly appreciate the courage of US Secretary of State Ms.
Madeleine Albright for speaking out at the ASEAN meeting on behalf of Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese people.  We strongly support the decision
of UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan to send UN Human Rights
Representative Mr. De Soto to Burma.  We urge Secretary General Annan to
take a strong position with regard to the Burma issue and want him to
encourage the SPDC to negotiate with the NLD party.  We want the UN to be a
strong organization with the power to stop governments that abuse their own
people and deny them the basic rights of all human beings.  We want the UN
to take on the role of mediator between the NLD and the SPDC.  If the SPDC
refuses to negotiate with the NLD with the UN as the mediator, we urge the
UN Secretary General to revoke the seat held by the SPDC in the United
Nations General Assembly.

We call on the SPDC to:
1. Negotiate with the NLD party.
2. Release all political prisoners, including All Burma Students'
Federation Union leader Min Ko Naing, Young Monk Union General Secretary U
Ye Wa Ta, Democratic Party leader U Thu Wai, U Htwe Myint, and NLD Central
Executive Committee member U Win Tin.
3. Create an environment that promotes democracy by allowing the formation
of independent Students' Unions, Labor Unions, Peasants' advocacy
organizations, religious organizations, and so forth.
4. Re-open the schools, which are essential for the younger generations in
learning about responsible citizenship and advanced technology.
5. Allow the NLD to lead the national convention, without restrictions, for
drawing up a new democratic constitution.
6. Allow the NLD to convene parliament.
7. Respect the results of the 1990 elections.
8. Free all 44 million Burmese hostages.



Burmese Students Democratic Organization (BSDO)
All Burma Students' Democratic Organization (ABSDO)
Civil Society for Burma (CSB)

CC:
UN General Secretary
US State Department
Australia Foreign Ministry
Canadian Foreign Ministry
Foreign Embassies