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7/3/98 statement



ALL BURMA FEDERATION OF STUDENT UNIONS

Request to the International Student Community
By the All Burma Federation of Students' Union


The All Burma Federation of Students' Union (ABFSU) has struggled to
improve Burmese Education System and to enable to enjoy their basic student
rights in Burma. During the rule of Burmese Military regime (formerly the
SLORC, now Called SPDC) students have been increasingly denied their rights
and Educational freedom, the SPDC's oppression of students has become more
intense and widespread. At the same time, many students' movements occurred
to try and improve the situation, so the SPDC military regime is always
trying to attack the ABFSU and to crush all the students' movements. The
ABFSU is not allowed to exist legally and has had to organize itself and
struggle secretly under the military rule.
We, the ABFSU are deeply concerned about the future of our country because
all the universities and colleges have been closed for such a long time,
while the regime had kept open the Institute of medicine, the Institute of
Technology just for the military and their families. During the last ten
years of military rule, the universities and colleges for civilians have
only been opened for 28 months. Min Ko Naing, the chairperson of the ABFSU
was arrested in 1989 and he has been detained in solitary confinement for
almost 10 years up until the present. His health condition is now critical.
Since January 1989, We, the ABFSU and all other students' unions have been
demanding that the regime release all student prisoners, including the
chairperson Min Ko Naing. Soon after the movement began, over one hundred
students were arrested again. Some of them were sentenced to long term
imprisonment. Chairperson Min Ko Naing and over one thousand other students
are now in various prisons all over Burma.
Therefore, we would like to request the international student community to
understand and support our movement in Burma and to undertake regional
activities to pressure the SPDC military regime to immediately do the
following;

(a) To reopen all universities and colleges
(b) To release Chairperson Min Ko Naing and all student prisoners,
unconditionally.

According to the decision of ABFSU,

Students' action committee
All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU)
Rangoon.
March 7,1998.