[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

OPEN LETTER TO SPDC (SALAI YAW AUNG (r)



RE: OPEN LETTER TO SPDC(SALAI YAW AUNG)
=======================================
Dear Salai Yaw Aung,

Thanks for your reminder and I am truly sad to hear that you father had 
died in prison in August 1998. I wish we don't have to hear anymore of 
these awful turn of events in Burma hopefully after the 21 August,1998 
when much needed peace between the SPDC and the democratic forces could 
be restored.

Nevertheless fear still loomed in Burma so long as a genuine 
open-dialogue between SPDC and the NLD including the ethnic groups do 
not take place. 

Until this meeting takes place and the May 1990 election results are 
honoured, the old wounds that were inflicted by the succesive military 
regimes may not be healed. 


Salay Yaw Aung wrote:

>
>After General Ne Win said he would fight a "sword with a sword"
>and a "spear with a spear", why then does the military shoot dead
>students with bullets when all they have are pens? This is
>neither courageous nor patriotic.
>

These were the words Ne Win used when defended his actions to gun down 
the stdents in the Rangoon Umiversity campus on 7 July, 1962.

During the 1988 uprising thousands of protestors died including 
children, students and monks. That was not the only time that we have 
witnessed the carnage. The very first of its kind came on the July 7, 
1962 while the worst was on the "8.8.88"; each one happening with 
increased brutality after what Ne Win had to say. 


>  
>"I want the people to know that if in future there are mob 
disturbances, if the army shoots, it hits; there is no firing into the 
air to scare."
> 

This was what Ne Win said at the end of his resignation speech in 1988.


So, I am still worried about the safety of the people in general and Daw 
Aung San Suu Kyi in specific when the SPDC declared the "NLD" as the 
"Number One Enemy" very recently in Burma. 

( Though the first informal meeting between U Aung Shwe of the NLD and 
the senior members of the SPDC led by Secretary-1 Khin Nyunt took place 
just 3 days before the 21 August dead to convene the parliament took 
place, we are not sure which faction within the SPDC is responsible for 
this declaration.)

May we bring peace in Burma. 

In soliderity with the NLD's movements,

Minn Kyaw Minn
==============  

>From notes@xxxxxxx Thu Aug 20 09:55:32 1998
>Received: from cdp.igc.apc.org (root@xxxxxxxxxxx [192.82.108.1])
>	by igc7.igc.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id JAA27785;
>	Thu, 20 Aug 1998 09:46:21 -0700 (PDT)
>Received: (from notes@localhost)
>	by cdp.igc.apc.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) id JAA08270;
>	Thu, 20 Aug 1998 09:46:13 -0700 (PDT)
>Date: 20 Aug 1998 08:48:07
>Reply-To: Conference "reg.burma" <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>From: lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: OPEN LETTER TO SPDC (SALAI YAW AUNG)
>To: Recipients of burmanet-l <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Message-ID: 
<Pine.OSF.3.96.980820223552.24245F-100000@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>X-Gateway: conf2mail@xxxxxxxxxxx
>Errors-To: owner-burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx
>Precedence: bulk
>Lines: 191
>
>OPEN LETTER TO STATE PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (SPDC)
>
>
>Date: August 20, 1998
>
>My name is Salai Yaw Aung, and I am a Central Committee member of
>the All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF). My parents are
>Daw Khin Soe Myint and U Saw Win (a.k.a. U Kyaw Zaw Lin ), a
>National League for Democracy (NLD) Member of Parliament who died
>in prison in August 1998. 
>
>During the 1988 uprising, I was a student at Rangoon University
>and was banned from the University because of my involvement in
>politics. In October 1988, I left for the Thai-Burma border and
>the following month I joined the ABSDF.
> 
>The purpose of this open letter to the State Peace and
>Development Council's Senior General Than Shwe is to ensure that
>the tragedy of my father's recent death in prison is not
>repeated. I hope that my father's death is the last in the
>struggle for democracy and human rights. 
>
>I also want to remind the people that we must work together for
>democracy in Burma.
>
>
>
>Salai Yaw Aung
>Central Committee
>ABSDF
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>Open Letter To:
>Senior General Than Shwe
>State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
>
>
>I send this letter to you firstly, so that you will understand
>how the people of Burma have been suffering. I also want to see
>that the country's problems are solved in a reasonable manner and
>that Burma can enter the 21st century with peace and prosperity.
>
>To understand the current situation in Burma, we need to look at
>past events. After the military coup in March 1962, the situation
>in Burma grew progressively worse. Many students who demonstrated
>against the military in July 1962 were killed. The historical
>student union building at Rangoon University was also destroyed
>and student unions were outlawed. General Ne Win, the then coup
>leader, also threatened his own people by saying that he would
>match a "sword with a sword" and kill those who demonstrated
>against the military regime. He simply ignored the feelings of
>those whose sons and daughters were killed in the protests and
>his comments made the people very angry. By determining that
>power came from the gun, the military junta oppressed political
>opponents with force, which included extra-judicial killings and
>torture.
> 
>The military also attacked not only ethnic rebel groups who have
>been fighting for autonomy for many years, but also ethnic
>minorities. This, in turn, forced the ethnic minorities to
>retaliate. We need to think why the military targeted ethnic
>groups and think about the military's boast of national unity.
>The truth is that the military have destroyed national unity,
>rather than creating it as they have claimed.
>
>The military have attempted to use guns and power to build a
>spirit of unity in the Union. For example, a local authority in a
>district of upper Burma one year ordered local people to attend
>the ceremony of Union Day. The authority coerced the people into
>attending by threatening to remove their right to purchase food
>at the local co-operative if anyone was absent. This is how the
>military attempts to build unity through force, but it doesn't
>work. In reality, such a spirit cannot be create in such a
>manner.
>
>Under the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) from 1974-1988,
>many workers, students and monks were jailed and killed. A
>prominent student leader, Saline Tin Maung Oo, was hanged for
>leading a demonstration against the military. Many students who
>were involved in demonstrations against the military were
>dismissed from their schools. Many others, particularly female
>students, died or committed suicide after their release from
>prison because of the poor conditions of the jails or as a result
>of torture. Their relatives were not given the opportunity to
>complain about the situation. It was clear that the military was
>forcing the people to live in fear and that has been the reality
>for the past 36 years.
>
>Through this fear and propaganda, the military attempted to mold
>the citizens of Burma so they would do everything the military
>wishes. It also isolated the country from the world and, as a
>result of all this, in 1987 the United Nations declared Burma a
>least developed country. This led to immense discontent among the
>people.
>
>By solving Burma's problems through force and violence, civil war
>has continued to rage for 50 years. The result has been that many
>people have become refugees, homeless or orphans, and the
>nation's economy has gone from bad to worse. Many young girls
>have had to go to neighboring countries, such as Thailand, to
>seek work and many of them end up in brothels and become infected
>with the AIDS virus.
>
>The AIDS virus took root in Burma in the late 1980s among
>intravenous drug users. Burma is at the heart of the golden
>triangle where opium poppy is harvested and almost two-thirds of
>Burma's intravenous drug users are estimated to carry the deadly
>virus. In Burma's prisons, the virus is rampant because needles
>are used over again by prison medical staff to treat prisoners.
>One National League for Democracy (NLD) Member of Parliament, U
>Hla Than, died of AIDS while in prison. However, the junta has
>failed to acknowledge that there is an epidemic. The fact is that
>there is not a proper medical system in Burma and government
>hospitals lack medicines and basic medical instruments.  
> 
>The education system is in a similar state of disrepair. Since
>1974, the education system has been changed many times, but
>nothing has improved. Indeed, most of those who have been able to
>achieve a high level of education have left the country. This has
>been largely because these people were never given the
>opportunity to work properly in their field. In the bureaucracy,
>it is military officers, skilled only in military matters, rather
>than educated professionals that make the final decisions. Unable
>to work under such conditions, Burma has experienced a huge
>brain-drain.
>
>In addition, during the last ten years universities and colleges
>have only been open for five years, with the military closing
>institutions fearing possible demonstrations from students. It is
>difficult to believe that a regime would be willing to sacrifice
>the educational future of a nation merely to suppress expressions
>of freedom.
>
>The fact is, although the budget for the military is more than 60
>percent of Burma's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), there is almost
>no money allocated for medical care and education.
>
>We do not understand why the military oppresses its own people
>and carries out ethnic cleansing of minority groups. We were all
>born here together. We drink the same water, so we are not
>strangers. It should be pointed out that the worse the
>oppression, the angrier the people become. And the worse the
>oppression, the more the people seek revenge.
>
>The people of Burmese are patient and kind, but if they decide to
>revolt their ability and perseverance are excellent. History has
>already proved this and it's still true today.
>
>If we examine the current political problems in Burma, we will
>need to respect both sides - military and pro-democracy. This is
>important, as world history has shown that when solutions are
>imposed without considering both sides, more harm is done than
>good.  
>
>Finally, I would like to ask you what it takes to be courageous
>and patriotic. Oppressing and bullying people is not courageous.
>However, it takes courage to fight for the truth and to sacrifice
>your life for your people and country. No hero tries to bully. If
>there is a machine that can measure patriotism, you can test me
>anytime. No doubt you will see that my fellow students and I will
>score much higher than anyone will in the junta.
>
>After General Ne Win said he would fight a "sword with a sword"
>and a "spear with a spear", why then does the military shoot dead
>students with bullets when all they have are pens? This is
>neither courageous nor patriotic.
>
>Therefore, I demand that the State Peace and Development Council
>(SPDC) foster the process of democratization in Burma by:
> 
>1) Immediately releasing all political prisoners,
>2) Immediately recognizing and convening the parliament elected
>in May 1990,
>3) Declaring a nation-wide cease-fire,
>4) Holding a tripartite dialogue with the democratic forces, led
>by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and ethnic groups. 
>
>
>
>Salai Yaw Aung, 
>(a.k.a. Aung Aung Min)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com