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Australia and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi'



Subject: Australia and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's statement

Thank you to Amanda Zappia for posting a
transcript on BurmaNet of Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi's message to the Australian
Parliament. The Sydney
based Friends of NLD Australia have written to
each of the Australian
state and territory parliaments as well as the
Commonwealth Parliament
supporting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's request, and
seeking parliamentary
leaders' support for her position. If you want
to write too, you might
find the following list of Australian
parliamentary leaders and their
contact details useful. I've included the NSW
Olympics Minister,
Michael Knight, also given the Burma Out
campaign.

Also at the end of the list is a form of a
letter for people that might
want a bit of start on writing their own
letters.

Susan Locke
Chair, Friends of NLD Australia


***********************

Parliamentary leaders in Australia

Australian Federal Government

The Hon. John Howard, M.P.
Prime Minister of Australia
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Fax: +61 2 6273 4100; +61 2 6277 7111
Tel +61 2 6277 7700
Email c/-: Anthony.Benscher@xxxxxxxxxx 

The Hon. Alexander Downer, M.P.
Australian Foreign Minister
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Fax: +61 2 6273 4112
Tel +61 2 6277 7500
Email: A.Downer.MP@xxxxxxxxxx 

The Hon. Margaret Reid
President of the Senate - Australia
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Email: senator.reid@xxxxxxxxxx 

New South Wales

The Hon Bob Carr, M.P. 
Premier of NSW
Level 40, Governor Macquarie Tower, 
1 Farrer Place, Sydney 2000 
Email: bob.carr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Hon. Michael Knight, M.P.
Minister for the Olympics
Level 34, Governor Macquarie Tower, 
1 Farrer Place, Sydney 2000 
Email: Knight@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Queensland

The Hon Peter Beattie, M.P
Premier of Queensland
PO Box 185
Brisbane Albert Street Qld 4002
Email :
http://www.thepremier.qld.gov.au/form.htm


Northern Territory

The Hon. Denis Burke
Chief Minister, Northern Territory
Parliament House
(GPO Box 3146)
Darwin, NT, 0801
Email: denis.burke@xxxxxxxxx


Western Australia

The Hon. Richard Court, M.P.
Premier of Western Australia
24th Floor, 197 St George's Terrace
Perth, Western Australia 6000
Email: wa-government@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
or use the contact form at :
http://www.premier.wa.gov.au/contact/inde
x.html


South Australia

The Hon. John Olsen
Premier of South Australia
9th Floor
Terrace Towers
178 North Terrace
Adelaide, South Australia 5000
Fax: 61 8 8303 2283
Email:
http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/premier/contact_us/contact.html


Victoria

(This one is a bit difficult because the results
of the election in
Victoria mean that they are still trying to work
out who will be
Premier; as of today it looks like it will be
Steve Bracks)
 
The Hon. Jeff Kennett, M.P (or the Hon. Steve
Bracks, M.P)
Premier of Victoria
1 Treasury Place, 
Melbourne, 3002
Email
:http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/Feedback.nsf/Premiers+HTML+Comment
+Feedback+Graphic


Tasmania

The Hon. Jim Bacon, M.P.
Premier of Tasmania
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Ground Floor, Public Building
Franklin Square
(GPO Box 123B)
Hobart 
Tasmania 7001
Email: jim.bacon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 


Australian Capital Territory

The Hon. Kate Carnell, M.L.A
Chief Minister, A.C.T
Legislative Assembly
Civic Square, London Circt
Canberra 2600
Email:carnell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx


***************************

Dear {Prime Minister, Premier, Minister}

We have received a transcript of Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi's appeal to the
Australian people to take great care in dealings
with the Burmese
military regime that governs Burma. I attach a
copy of her statement to
this letter for your information should not be
in receipt of that
transcript.

The immediate context of her statement is the
visit of Mr Chris Sidoti,
the Australian Human Rights Commissioner, to
Burma. The background
context appears to be an emerging policy in
Australia of engagement
with the Burmese regime.

Burmese refugees in Australia can attest to the
brutality of the
Burmese regime, and its wanton disregard for
human rights. The role of
the regime in the drug trade out of Burma
attests to its disregard of
human life on an international scale. Human
rights organisations have provided evidence of
the massive scale of human right abuses. This is
a regime whose repressive
and murderous activities have resulted in
thousands of lives lost, and
thousands of lives displaced as people flee to
refugee camps on the
Thai/Burma border. 

We support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's plea for care
in engaging in any
dealings with the regime. As she notes this is a
delicate time in the
struggle for democracy in Burma. Any activity
that implies even
slightly the legitimacy of the regime disturbs
progress towards freedom
for Burma. 

We appeal to you as {Prime Minister, Premier,
Minister, President, of ...} to
support the appeal of Daw Aung Suu Kyi, the
legitimate head of state of Burma, and counsel
your fellow
government Ministers, Members of Parliament and
government officials to
withdraw any support for the Burmese regime,
including support for
participation of Burmese officials in cultural,
sporting, economic and
educational activities in {Australia ... }.  
We also draw your attention to the growing
international movement
seeking the banning of Burma from the Sydney
2000 Olympics, and would
appreciate information on the stand you will be
taking in regard to
seeking the banning of Burma from those Games.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal to Australians is
one of particular
importance as Australia positions itself
strategically within the
Asia/Pacific region. The appeal to protection of
human rights and
support for the struggle for democracy in Burma
is one that touches all
Australians as evidenced by the depth of support
in Australia for the
East Timorese people.

We trust that you can give your support to Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel
Peace Prize Laureate, and look forward to
hearing from you regarding the
actions you will be taking to provide such
support.