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Commemoration of the 52nd Anniversa
Subject: Commemoration of the 52nd Anniversary of Burmese Independence
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Message from the Foreign Affairs Committee of All Burma Federation of Students
Union (ABFSU-FAC) in commemoration of the 52nd Anniversary of Burmese
Independence
January 4, 1948 marks a very significant turn in Burmese history. It was 52
years ago, after years of struggle against colonial rule, that Burma achieved
national independence. Since then, Independence Day has been a symbol of
national solidarity for the people of Burma.
Without the courage, tenacity and diligence of our national leader, General
Aung San, and other independence and ethnic leaders, we could not have achieved
our independence. The people sacrificed their lives for the independence of
Burma. They fought the colonialists through both non-violent and violent means,
and they did so in harmony by uniting and inspiring all revolutionary forces.
Although Burma achieved sovereignty from the colonial rule in 1948, the essence
of independence was meaningful only for the rulers. For the people,
independence was meaningless. National reconciliation could not be achieved,
and the country was split rather than united. As a result, civil war ensued.
The national economy could not recover, and for the people, democracy seemed
very far away. The Army was strengthened as a result of the civil war, enabling
the emergence of the military dictatorship. The Army was able to take power
on two occasions, and they continue to maintain power over the country today.
Today the military regime refuses to uphold human rights and democracy,
ignoring the outcome of the 1990 election. This regime has arrested and
imprisoned elected Members of Parliament (MPs). Instead of providing benefits
to the people, the national economy only benefits the regime. Instead of
providing an independent educational system, the military regime uses education
for the purpose of administering and maintaining the current military system.
They continue to implement military policies which ignore the people's
economic, health and social activities. The people of Burma do not live in
freedom.
Education is under the complete control of the military. Students have lost
their right to education. They have no freedom of speech and they cannot
organize. There are no student unions which can protect student rights, and all
the student movements are suppressed by the regime. The military oppressed
student movements by closing the universities for many years, arresting the
students, and sentencing the students to long terms of imprisonment. Another
result of this oppression is the regime's decision to encourage a private
education system at the high school level. The education system now depends on
money, and parents have to pay significant amounts for their children to go to
good schools.
Therefore, we, the ABFSU-FAC, strongly believe that our country is not truly
independent, despite the fact that we obtained sovereignty from the colonial
rule on January 4, 1948. We demand that the military regime commence political
dialogue with the NLD and ethnic groups in order to end the political deadlock
and suffering of the people.
We, the ABFSU-FAC, pledge our continuous effort for ending the military
dictatorship abolishing the military bureaucracy, and overcoming the brutal
military power of this regime on this 52nd Anniversary of the Independence of
Burma. We do so in the patriotic spirit of our national leaders who sacrificed
for Burma's independence.
In addition, we demand the following: that the modern national education system
be strengthened; that freedom of education and student rights be protected;
that the forming of the student unions be permitted; and that all universities
be re-opened. We raise these demands in accordance with the aims and
historical role of the ABFSU.
We offer our deepest respect to our national independence leader General Aung
San, and the other national and ethnic leaders. We wish to state that we will
work for all the people of Burma, including the ethnic groups, in order to
achieve true independence for our country.
Foreign Affairs Committee
All Burma Federation of Students Union (ABFSU-FAC)
January 4, 2000
===========================================
Foreign Affairs Committee
All Burma Federation of Student Unions.
P.O Box- 30
Maesot
Tak Province, 63110
Thailand
email: bakatha@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
============================================
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Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"
<html>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4 color="#000080"><b><u><div align="center">
Message from the Foreign Affairs Committee of All Burma Federation of
Students Union (ABFSU-FAC) in commemoration of the 52nd Anniversary of
Burmese Independence <br>
<br>
<br>
</b></u></div>
January 4, 1948 marks a very significant turn in Burmese history. It was
52 years ago, after years of struggle against colonial rule, that Burma
achieved national independence. Since then, Independence Day has been a
symbol of national solidarity for the people of Burma.<br>
<br>
Without the courage, tenacity and diligence of our national leader,
General Aung San, and other independence and ethnic leaders, we could not
have achieved our independence. The people sacrificed their lives for the
independence of Burma. They fought the colonialists through both
non-violent and violent means, and they did so in harmony by uniting and
inspiring all revolutionary forces.<br>
<br>
Although Burma achieved sovereignty from the colonial rule in 1948, the
essence of independence was meaningful only for the rulers. For the
people, independence was meaningless. National reconciliation could not
be achieved, and the country was split rather than united. As a
result, civil war ensued. The national economy could not recover, and for
the people, democracy seemed very far away. The Army was strengthened as
a result of the civil war, enabling the emergence of the military
dictatorship. The Army was able to take power on two
occasions, and they continue to maintain power over the country
today.<br>
<br>
Today the military regime refuses to uphold human rights and democracy,
ignoring the outcome of the 1990 election. This regime has arrested and
imprisoned elected Members of Parliament (MPs). Instead of providing
benefits to the people, the national economy only benefits the regime.
Instead of providing an independent educational system, the military
regime uses education for the purpose of administering and maintaining
the current military system. They continue to implement military policies
which ignore the people's economic, health and social activities.
The people of Burma do not live in freedom.<br>
<br>
Education is under the complete control of the military. Students
have lost their right to education. They have no freedom of speech
and they cannot organize. There are no student unions which can protect
student rights, and all the student movements are suppressed by the
regime. The military oppressed student movements by closing the
universities for many years, arresting the students, and sentencing the
students to long terms of imprisonment. Another result of this oppression
is the regime's decision to encourage a private education system at the
high school level. The education system now depends on money, and parents
have to pay significant amounts for their children to go to good
schools.<br>
<x-tab> </x-tab><br>
Therefore, we, the ABFSU-FAC, strongly believe that our country is not
truly independent, despite the fact that we obtained sovereignty from the
colonial rule on January 4, 1948. We demand that the military regime
commence political dialogue with the NLD and ethnic groups in order to
end the political deadlock and suffering of the people. <br>
<br>
We, the ABFSU-FAC, pledge our continuous effort for ending the military
dictatorship abolishing the military bureaucracy, and overcoming the
brutal military power of this regime on this 52nd Anniversary of the
Independence of Burma. We do so in the patriotic spirit of our national
leaders who sacrificed for Burma's independence. <br>
<br>
In addition, we demand the following: that the modern national education
system be strengthened; that freedom of education and student rights be
protected; that the forming of the student unions be permitted; and that
all universities be re-opened. We raise these demands in accordance
with the aims and historical role of the ABFSU.<br>
<br>
We offer our deepest respect to our national independence leader General
Aung San, and the other national and ethnic leaders. We wish to
state that we will work for all the people of Burma, including the ethnic
groups, in order to achieve true independence for our country.<br>
<br>
<br>
<b><div align="right">
Foreign Affairs Committee<br>
All Burma Federation of Students Union (ABFSU-FAC)<br>
January 4, 2000<br>
</font></b><br>
<br>
<font color="#800080">===========================================<br>
</font><font face="Courier New, Courier" color="#FF0000"><b>Foreign
Affairs Committee<br>
All Burma Federation of Student Unions.<br>
</font></b><font face="Courier New, Courier">P.O Box- 30<br>
Maesot<br>
Tak Province, 63110<br>
Thailand<br>
email: bakatha@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<br>
</font><font color="#800080">============================================</font></html>
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