Canadian Senior gives $110K donation to Burma Victims

The Canadian Press
Fri Jun. 27 2008


TORONTO — A Toronto senior has offered up what's thought to be the largest private Canadian donation to date to help survivors of Burma's cyclone.

Joseph Lariviere donated $110,000 to the Burmese Buddhist Association of Ontario earlier this week for its relief program for Burma.

The abbot of the Toronto temple where Lariviere offered his donation says at first he didn't believe it.

He says the association is touched by the generosity of seniors but is checking to make sure they'll have enough money left to live on.

The association has raised about $300,000 to date to help survivors of the May 2 storm in Burma.

Canadians have donated about $8 million to cyclone relief for Burma.

UN Rapporteur Warns Burma on Vote

BBC, 15 April 2008

Mr Pinheiro said there were no signs of political change in Burma.

Burma's referendum next month will be a "ritual without real content" unless international monitors are allowed in, a top United Nations official has said.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Special Rapporteur on Burma, also accused military rulers of a clampdown on people campaigning for a "no" vote.

The referendum, set for 10 May, is on whether to adopt a new constitution.
Leaders say it will pave the way for elections by 2010, but critics say it is aimed at entrenching military rule.

The charter was drafted by the generals without input from the pro-democracy opposition.

It allocates a quarter of seats in parliament to the military and bans anyone who has been married to a foreign national from holding office - ruling out detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Her National League for Democracy has called on people to vote against the referendum.

'No transition'

Speaking in Brussels, Mr Pinheiro said that the referendum would not have any credibility if opponents were prevented from speaking out.

Burmese troops used force to end anti-government protests in September "How can you have a referendum without any of the basic freedoms?" he was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.

"It would be important to have international observers to validate the referendum, because if not it would be just a ritual without real content."

In a separate interview with Reuters news agency, he accused the Burmese government of detaining "no" campaigners, and said that he saw no signs of political change there.

"If you say a real political transition process is taking place in Myanmar (Burma), this would be almost offensive to countries in Asia like the Philippines and Indonesia or Thailand that passed through a transition process to democracy," he said.

Mr Pinheiro last visited Burma in November 2007, weeks after a military crackdown on anti-government protests left at least 31 people dead.

The Burmese government has since then refused to allow him back in.

The full text of the constitution went on sale in government bookshops on 9 April.

Democracy in Burma back on UN agenda

FT, April 8 2008

With the United Nations under fire from Burma’s opposition for failing to hasten the end of military rule more than six months after the violent suppression of anti-regime protests, western states will this week seek to push the issue back on to the international agenda.

The US, Britain and France intend to press fellow members of the UN Security Council to adopt a new statement calling for the early establishment of democracy.

But Burmese dissidents said they doubted words would be enough to dent the intransigence of the ruling junta as it prepares for a constitutional referendum whose purpose they claim is to entrench its authority.

The situation of the Burmese, whose plight dominated headlines as world leaders gathered for the UN General Assembly’s annual session last autumn, has since fallen victim to the current dynamics of the 15-member Security Council in which China and Russia baulk at action they construe as interference in member states’ internal affairs.

Last autumn’s crackdown, in which hundreds of Buddhist monks and other protesters were rounded up, prompted unanimous condemnation from the council in October to which even China, Burma’s closest ally, put its name.

But since then public pressure has subsided and three visits by Ibrahim Gambari, UN special envoy, have failed to win concessions from the military regime.

The Nigerian diplomat’s decision to take the regime’s word on its commitment to reform, in spite of the lack of concrete results, has angered opposition leaders and has even been questioned by diplomats in New York.

Mr Gambari told the council last month that the regime was proceeding with a “road map” to democracy it had itself established by setting dates for a constitutional referendum in May and elections in 2010.

He also appeared to rule out international sanctions on the regime which are in effect closed to the Security Council because of the near-certainty of a Chinese veto.

Opposition figures accused him and the UN of betraying the Burmese people. Aung Din, head of the US Campaign for Burma, and one of his chief accusers, said at the weekend: “He’s still acting as if he can do something. He persuaded the opposition he could deliver and he hasn’t.”

Although this week’s draft statement expresses appreciation for Mr Gambari’s work, a western envoy acknowledged privately: “We feel he needs to be clearer in areas where the regime is failing and not always put a positive gloss on the regime.”

The western drafters want the council to demand the early release of all political prisoners and detainees and to engage in an inclusive dialogue with all opposition figures, including Aung San Suu Kyi, who would be barred from seeking election under the terms of the regime’s new constitution. They also call for guarantees of freedom of expression and assembly ahead of next month’s referendum as well as international monitoring of the vote.

That is not enough to satisfy the Burmese opposition and may be too much for some members of the Security Council to accept.

---------

UNPO Declaration - International Day of Action

DECLARATION
UNPO International Day of Action

11 February 2008

On the occasion of the second UNPO International Day of Action, declared by the UNPO VIII General Assembly General Resolution to be marked annually on 11 February, the date of UNPO’s founding;

UNPO declares 11 February 2008 as a Day of Action, and the beginning of a year-long focus, on issues relating to ongoing repression and human rights abuses within the Union of Myanmar.

UNPO calls upon its Members to act in solidarity with their fellow representatives in supporting, publicizing, and promoting not only the plight of the Chin, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Karenni, Mon, and Shan, but also those other peoples and nations who remain subjugated and unrepresented within the borders of the Union of Myanmar as a result of the official and unofficial policies and actions of the unelected military junta.

UNPO urges its Members to support international efforts to investigate the crushing of pro-democracy protests in September 2007. In addition, UNPO calls for the release of the hundreds of Burmese who remain detained and at the risk of physical abuse from the Myanmar state authorities.

Furthermore, UNPO exhorts the Myanmar authorities to demonstrate a commitment to protecting its citizens’ rights by ratifying all outstanding international conventions intended to guarantee the human rights of all nations and peoples from abuse.

Members are also urged to help the democratically elected National League for Democracy to return Burma to democracy with representation assured for all Burma ’s nations and peoples.

UNPO calls on the international community to support any action and activity that favors the establishment of a democratically elected government in Burma .
www.unpo.org/article.php?id=7562

New Rambo Movie Highlights Deadly Crisis in Burma

By VOA News
25 January 2008

Movie fans in the United States are expected to flock to their neighborhood theaters Friday, to see the fourth installment of the Rambo series, which portrays Burmese government forces as the main villain.

The series, starring veteran actor Sylvester Stallone, revolves around a U.S. veteran of the Vietnam War who engages in extreme acts of violence against an equally brutal enemy.

This latest installment finds Rambo living in exile in Thailand when he is recruited to take a group of American missionaries seeking to help a group of ethnic Burmese villages caught in the middle of a civil war. He later joins a team of mercenaries to return to the village after the people there are attacked and slaughtered by Burmese government forces.

European Union's Burma Envoy to Visit Thailand

ABC Radio Australia
01-24-2008

The European Union's special envoy to Burma makes a three-day visit to Thailand next week to discuss efforts to press Burma's ruling junta on promised reforms.

Special envoy Piero Fassino is expected to meet with the Thai foreign minister, Nitya Pibulsonggram, and United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations.

Mr Fassino last week called for the UN's mediator, Ibrahim Gambari, to return to Burma and seek the release of democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Dr Gambari has reportedly asked to return to Burma this month, but has been told that April would be more convenient.

He has visited the country twice since last September's bloody military crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks.

San Francisco Shouldn't Welcome Tainted Olympic Torch

By Bridget Johnson, Columnist
www.insidesocal.com/friendlyfire
Article Last Updated: 11/19/2007 China is an egregious violator of human rights.

It seems by this point in history this should be common knowledge, and proponents of free speech, media and religion shouldn't have to keep justifying opposition to the regime by offering the examples that repeat from day to day.

China 's track record is grim: Labor and re-education camps full of political prisoners. More executions than anywhere else in the world. More journalists and cyber-dissidents caught and punished by a massive crew of censorship police. China's propping up the brutal regime of Myanmar that kills democracy protesters in cold blood - and blocking U.N. Security Council action by maintaining it's just business as usual in a sovereign state.

So why in the world would a progressive city like San Francisco welcome the torch of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics?

"The torch should not be permitted to be used as a propaganda vehicle for the communist dictatorship in China," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., who in August co-sponsored resolutions calling for the United States to boycott the Olympics over China's role in Darfur and its human-rights violations at home.

Yet the City by the Bay is the sole U.S. stop on the global torch relay, with the flame set to pass through on April 9. One grass-roots group of human-rights- minded residents isn't so willing to let that happen, but so far the San Francisco Team Tibet Coalition can't even get an audience with Mayor Gavin Newsom to ask him to cancel the torch relay through the city.

"Your welcoming of the Olympic torch would suggest ... that you are ready to turn your back on a unique opportunity to promote legitimate international concerns and... take a stand for justice in Tibet and China," stated the Aug. 8 letter to Newsom. According to Giovanni Vassallo, president of coalition member the Committee of 100 for Tibet, the mayor's office has not responded.

Repeated attempts to obtain comment from Newsom's office were unsuccessful.

The "Journey of Harmony" torch relay hasn't just stirred the waters in the Bay Area: Beijing included Taipei on the relay route, only to have Taiwan - which is not allowed to use its flag, seal or anthem at the Games - declare the torch unwelcome, calling it "a brazen attempt to downgrade Taiwan to a part of China." China has also instituted strict background checks on foreign climbers on the Tibetan side of Mt. Everest in an effort to thwart protesters on the torch route.

Shannon Service, a Students for a Free Tibet member who was detained by Chinese authorities in April for protesting at Mount Everest, is part of the coalition setting its sights on San Francisco.

"The mayor doesn't seem to quite get that when the torch passes through our fair city it will not be hailed as a symbol of international unity and sports," she said. "It's going to raise international protest as a symbol of occupation, torture and genocide."

" San Francisco is known worldwide as a center of progressive consciousness," said Laurel Sutherlin, also arrested on Mount Everest. "We cannot allow the Chinese government to exploit the reputation of our city to advance their nefarious policies on the global stage."

At this point, we unfortunately can't go back and fix what the International Olympic Committee should have never done in the first place: awarding the 2008 Summer Games to Beijing. It takes a truly blind individual to not see the hollowness of the regime's empty promises to reform in return for the games. Conversely, we've seen increased press-freedom crackdowns and, according to Amnesty International, "re-education through labor" and "enforced drug rehabilitation" in order to "clean up" Beijing before the games.

What we can do, though, is take a stand and decide that this tainted Beijing torch does not represent the values of a nation that has pledged to defend the basic dignity and human rights of every individual.

China 's torch should not be welcomed on American soil. The city of San Francisco should take the bold step of canceling the torch relay through its streets, putting humanity before revenue and justice before publicity.

This torch should also light a fire under Americans to reconsider other partnerships with China until its people and the Tibetan people are free.

"After the monks have been mowed down and slaughtered in the streets of Rangoon, ( Myanmar), it has to be more difficult for people to accept that we have the Olympics in Beijing," Rohrabacher said.

Bridget Johnson writes for the Daily News and blogs at www.insidesocal. com/friendlyfire. Write to her by e-mail at bridget.johnson@dailynews.com

Gordon Brown: India has important role to play on Burma

New Delhi (PTI)
Jan 20th, 2008 (Sunday)

As he prepares to exhort India to do more on Myanmar, visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday said New Delhi has an important role to play with regard to the neighbouring country's transition to democracy and end to problems there.

Brown, who will discuss the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow, said international action is necessary to persuade the Myanmarese government that "they got to take seriously all the problems that exist in their country."

He favoured an early visit by UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambhari to be followed by a trip by Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to Myanmar.

"I will ... be raising this issue with Mr Singh as I believe that India as well as China have an important role to play in making sure that the end to violence happens in Burma (Myanmar)," the British Prime Minister told reporters soon after his arrival here on a two-day visit.

"I am pleased to say the Chinese government is working resolutely towards how to persuade (Myanmarese Junta) and we will be looking at how we can persuade the Burmese regime," said Brown, who came here after concluding a trip to Beijing.

He said he wanted to see the Myanmarese government reconciling with the people and having regular discussions with pro-democracy leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi for movement towards democracy.

"I want to see an end to the violence and release of political prisoners in Burma," he said.

Britain says that the process of democratisation in Myanmar did "not seem to be moving forward significantly" and underlines the need for "carrot and stick policy".

Joint Statement on Burma by the UK, US and French Foreign Ministers at the World Economic Forum in Davos

17 January 2008
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (National)

The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos is a unique event. No other occasion brings together so many of the world's leaders from all fields. For over three decades now, these meetings have provided a global platform for collaboration and action to address international priorities of concern to us all.

One such priority is the urgent need for progress towards a transition to democracy and improved human rights in Burma. The fact that we have chosen to write about this issue, with so many competing priorities, should underline the strength of our governments' determination to support the people of Burma in their pursuit of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic future. We have repeatedly made clear that the situation in Burma cannot continue, and that we remain committed to helping the people of Burma.

It is now more than four months since the world was horrified by the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations in Burma. The dramatic pictures seen around the world of the brutality directed against peaceful protestors, including monks and nuns, were truly shocking. We cannot afford to forget. We must convince the Burmese regime to meet the demands of the international community and respect the basic rights of Burma's people.

The UN Security Council in October spelled out its expectations and reiterated those expectations on January 17. First, the early release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and the creation of conditions for a genuine dialogue between the Government and the opposition.

Second, full co-operation and constructive engagement with the UN. Third, the need for the regime to address the economic, humanitarian and human rights concerns of the Burmese people. Several months on, however, we find the regime has met none of these demands.

The regime claims to be moving ahead with its roadmap to civilian rule. However the process, already 14 years old, is open-ended, and many key political actors, not least Aung San Suu Kyi, are excluded. There can be little doubt that only genuine and inclusive dialogue can deliver national reconciliation and stability for Burma and its neighbours.

We call on all those attending the World Economic Forum to demonstrate that, while the regime may be indifferent to the suffering of the Burmese people, the world is not.

We ask you to support the return to Burma by UN Special Adviser Gambari as soon as possible, and to urge the regime to cooperate fully with him and the UN. We call on the regime to act on the recommendations of UN Human Rights Envoy Pinheiro; to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi; and to launch a substantive, time-bound dialogue with democratic leaders and ethnic minority representatives, as called for in Aung San Suu Kyi's statement of November 8.

A unified call for genuine and peaceful political reconciliation and reform will be heard in Burma. We would not live up to our values if we ignored Burma's plight.

Monks Marching in Sri Lanka for Four Consecutive Days

Monks in SriLanka have been marching for four consecutive days as a "Peace for Burma" Campaign, regardless of the weathear/rain.
(Thanks to niknayman for the photos.)

India's Halt to Burma Arms Sales May Pressure Junta

washingtonpost. com > World > Asia/Pacific
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 30, 2007; Page A29

India has halted all arms sales and transfers to Burma, a development that could increase international pressure on the military junta that brutally crushed the pro-democracy "Saffron Revolution" led by monks this fall.

The Indian government's decision has not been officially announced, but diplomatic sources said it has been privately confirmed by New Delhi to top U.S. officials in recent weeks. In a little-noticed statement, first lady Laura Bush noted the decision in a video teleconference she held on Dec. 10 in recognition of International Human Rights Day. Ticking off actions taken by countries around the world in response to the crackdown, Bush said, "India, one of Burma's closest trading partners, has stopped selling arms to the junta." A spokesman for the Indian Embassy in Washington declined to comment.

Burma, also known as Myanmar, is regarded as one of the world's most repressive nations. The National League for Democracy, the party of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won a landslide victory in the country's last elections, in 1990, but the military leadership refused to recognize the outcome. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest or in prison on and off since then.

But in September, massive demonstrations led by Buddhist monks threatened the junta's rule, until the army arrested thousands of monks and democracy activists. Of the thousands arrested, 700 remain behind bars along with 1,150 political prisoners already in detention, according to Amnesty International. At least six members of the 88 Generation Students, a leading pro-democracy group, were arrested last week, the State Department said.

Before the protests, military ties between India and Burma had appeared to be on a fast track. Military contacts had increased in early 2007, with New Delhi seeking help battling Burmese-based insurgent groups operating on its northeastern border and also attempting to counteract China's growing influence in the Burmese economy. Indian and Burmese military forces began conducting joint operations, and Indian officials indicated they would grant Burma's request for military equipment.

In one sign of cooperation, India began discussing the transfer of military helicopters that Amnesty International, in a July report, said are "highly likely to contain components, technology and munitions" originating from European Union nations and the United States, undermining embargoes by those countries.

"India's relationship with Burma has expanded pretty dramatically in the past few years," said Michael J. Green, a former top Asia adviser to President Bush who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He said that Southeast Asian neighbors of Burma had complained to Bush about India's deepening military ties with Burma. "They expect it of China, but India is a democracy," Green said.
He said India's decision to end arms sales to Burma is "a big deal for U.S.-India relations. I think they are shifting."

More broadly, India's move may put pressure on China, currently Burma's largest trading partner and arms supplier, experts said. Last week, a bipartisan group of 48 senators, led by Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), signed a letter to Bush urging him to support an international arms embargo against Burma, in the form of a U.N. Security Council resolution. "No responsible nation should provide weapons to a regime as reprehensible as the one found in Burma," the letter said.

Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said, "We support an arms embargo against Burma and have been engaged in discussions with various countries on the matter."

China is one of the nations holding veto power at the United Nations, and few expect it to support the arms embargo. But analysts said that India's decision could force China to think of options short of an arms embargo to pressure the Burmese junta.
In the 1990s, China became Burma's most important trading partner, according to Amnesty International, providing more than $2 billion worth of weapons and military equipment, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery pieces such as howitzers, antitank guns and antiaircraft guns, some sold at below-market prices.

"The Chinese clearly are sensitive to the emerging role they are playing," Durbin said in an interview. "We have an obligation to continue to remind them we need their help in stopping some of the outrages in the world." A top European envoy last week also urged China to use its influence in Burma, specifically to end the house arrest of Suu Kyi. "Any sign from the Burmese authorities to progress on this path will be welcome, and the Chinese intervention is fundamental, " Piero Fassino told reporters at the end of a three-day trip to China.

In her year-end news conference last week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that "when the monks were in the streets, that there was an energy in the international community to try to do something about it," but now that momentum has dissipated. "It's our responsibility, along with others, to try to keep a focus on that effort," she said. "We will return again and again to the Security Council to discuss this issue. We will return again and again to those states that have influence, like China, to move this forward, because there needs to be a process of political reconciliation. "

EU Special Envoy Urges China to Take Action on Burma

EU Special Envoy Urges China to Take Action on Burma
By Kate Woodsome
Hong Kong
20 December 2007

The European Union special envoy on Burma is urging China to encourage political reconciliation in neighboring Burma, where the military government has violently suppressed dissent. As VOA's Kate Woodsome reports from Hong Kong, the envoy is appealing to China's role as an emerging world power to help the Burmese people.

The EU's Piero Fassino talks to reporters in Beijing on Dec 20 2007, that China should use its position as a leading power in Asia, and as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, to help resolve the crisis in Burma.

Fassino says Chinese intervention in Burma is fundamental to achieve any progress there. He has been discussing the issue with Chinese officials since Tuesday.
Burma's military government stirred international anger last September when security forces opened fire on peaceful pro-democracy protesters.

A recent U.N. report says at least 31 people were killed, but Burmese activists abroad say the number is higher. Burma's government dismisses the claims. Thousands of people, including Buddhist monks, were beaten and arrested. After the crackdown, China blocked proposed sanctions on Burma at the U.N. Security Council, saying they would be counterproductive.

Some analysts say China wants simply to maintain the status quo in neighboring Burma, which is rich in gems, timber and the natural gas China needs for its surging economy. But Fassino says China has been trying to encourage Burma to create an atmosphere more conducive to dialogue.

He praised China for exerting a positive and decisive influence in international negotiations on North Korea's nuclear program, and said he trusts Beijing will do the same with Burma. However, Fassino says Chinese authorities made clear to him that the Burmese must resolve their crisis on their own. Fassino is on the first part of an Asian tour that will take him to India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The EU strengthened sanctions against Burma's military government after the bloody crackdown. On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that imposes new financial and travel restrictions on Burma's leaders and their associates. It also blocks the import of Burmese gems and timber.

The Burma Democracy Promotion Act also creates a position of special representative and policy coordinator for Burma. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a similar bill last week. It must approve the Senate version before the bill is sent to President Bush for his signature.

Military leaders have ruled Burma since 1962, turning the once-prosperous nation into a repressive state mired in economic despair. The current government has kept opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for more than a decade and ignored her party's overwhelming election victory in 1990.

http://www.voanews. com/english/2007-12-20-voa7.cfm

UN First Meeting with 14 Nations to Solve Burma Issues

UN First Meeting with 14 Nations to Solve Burma Issues
Scoop, Friday, 21 December 2007, 6:25 am
Press Release: United Nations

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today convened the first meeting of a group of 14 nations to assist him in his efforts to spur change in the troubled South-East Asian nation.

The "Group of Friends of the Secretary-General on Myanmar" will be "a consultative forum for developing a shared approach in support of the implementation of the Secretary-General' s good offices mandate," UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters.

Consisting of Australia, Indonesia, Russia, United States, China, Japan, Singapore, Viet Nam, France, Norway, Thailand, India, Portugal and the United Kingdom, the Group will meet as needed in an informal format, she added.

Also attending today's meeting was the Secretary-General' s Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari, who has visited Myanmar twice since the Government used force to crack down on peaceful protesters just a few months ago.

Mr. Gambari told reporters yesterday that he expects to return to Myanmar by next month.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0712/S01110.htm

UN Envoy on Burma Gives White House Briefing

UN Envoy on Burma Gives White House Briefing
By VOA News
17 December 2007

Ibrahim Gambari (r) meets at the White House with Laura Bush, 16 Dec 2007
The United Nations' special envoy to Burma has made a visit to Washington.
Envoy Ibrahim Gambari met Monday at the White House with First Lady Laura Bush and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. The United Nations says they discussed ongoing U.N. efforts to promote democratic change in Burma.

Gambari is scheduled to give a briefing on his efforts to a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. In a resolution adopted last Friday, the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva called on Burma's ruling military to lift restraints on peaceful political activity.

The 47-member Council also said it plans to send its special envoy, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, back to Burma to report on what has happened since the September crackdown.
Pinheiro told VOA last week that he was disappointed at the Burmese government's reaction to a report he presented to the UNHRC.

In that report, he said at least 31 people were killed in the Burmese government's crackdown on demonstrators. Burma has rejected Pinheiro's findings and claims that less than half that number of people were killed.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.

http://www.voanews. com/english/2007-12-17-voa67.cfm

US House honours Burma's Suu Kyi

US House honours Burma's Suu Kyi
BBC, 12-18-2007

Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years
The US House of Representatives has voted to award Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi its highest honour - the Congressional Gold Medal. Supporters of the bill, which passed 400-0, said the move was meant to send a message to Burma's military leaders.

"We will continue to pressure the junta to release her and bring freedom... to the people of Burma," said Joseph Crowley, a Democrat. Ms Suu Kyi has been kept under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) won polls in 1990 but was never allowed to take power.

"For three decades, Aung San Suu Kyi has valiantly led the non-violent movement in Burma for democracy and human rights," Mr Crowley said after the vote on Monday. "Her work and dedication to the cause of freedom and individual liberty has earned her recognition throughout the world, including the Nobel Peace Prize.
"Today, the US House of Representatives showed her and the world that she has also won the hearts and minds of the US Congress."

The bill will now be referred to the US Senate, which must also back the measure.
More than 300 individuals and groups have received the Congressional Gold Medal.
George Washington was awarded the first medal, which originally was given to military heroes but was later expanded to include prominent humanitarians, scientists, explorers, artists and others.

Non-American recipients of the medal include Winston Churchill, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Mother Theresa.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7149277.stm

President Bush's Statement on UN Special Rapporteur's Findings on Burma

White House Press Release
Dec 11, 2007

This is the President Bush's Statement on UN Special Rapporteur's Findings on Burma.

"I am deeply disturbed by the report that UN Special Rapporteur Paulo Pinheiro released today in Geneva documenting his findings from his trip to Burma last month. It provides further alarming details about the Burmese authorities' crackdown on demonstrations by monks and democracy activists and the severe reprisals that continue today.

He describes how the regime harassed, detained, and killed many peaceful demonstrators. The Special Rapporteur received reports, for example, that a large number of bodies were burned September 27-30 at the Ye Way Crematorium.

I strongly condemn these actions and the junta's refusal to accept the need for real change in Burma. Even while Mr. Pinheiro was in Burma, the regime continued to arrest and harass monks and democracy activists. The regime has also closed down monasteries, including the Maggin Monastery in Rangoon that served as a hospice and treatment center for HIV/AIDS patients.

Mr. Pinheiro's report demonstrates why the world cannot go back to business as usual with General Than Shwe and his junta. I call on all members of the international community to condemn the atrocities detailed in Mr. Pinheiro's report in the strongest possible terms. Last month, I announced new sanctions on the leaders of the regime and their cronies. Should the regime continue to ignore calls for a true democratic transition and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, the United States is prepared to lead international efforts to place more sanctions on the regime.

Laura and I will continue to stand with the Burmese people as they seek the freedom they deserve."

Britian Prime Minister and France President Had a Serious Talk about Burma

Time for serious dialogue
By Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy
Friday, November 30, 2007

Just two months ago, the world was shocked and outraged by the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations that took place in Burma. The images may have vanished from our screens, but we cannot and will not forget the plight of the Burmese people.

A country that has the natural resources to be an economic powerhouse is instead the sick man of Southeast Asia. As the rest of the region advances into the digital age, Burma is in danger of retreating to the dark ages.

Cut off from the
outside world and denied access not only to democracy and respect for human rights, but also to proper education and basic economic rights, its society is in a state of disarray.

The huge demonstrations and protests over recent months have shown that the Burmese people have been pushed beyond breaking point by the regime.

Last week a new generation of leaders gathered in Singapore to mark an important milestone: 40 years of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean. We welcomed that celebration: Asean today represents a proud and prosperous region standing at the heart of the global economy, its voice heard and respected across the world.

Asean's leaders faced the twin challenges of enshrining a charter that commits them to respect democratic and human rights and dealing with the ongoing crisis in Burma. The Burmese government was sent a clear message: There is no going back. We agree.

It is obvious now that the country is in a
downward spiral of poverty and unrest. Like the European Union, Asean has always understood that economic growth and open markets cannot be pursued in isolation: Good economics are founded on good politics. But the politics of Burma are poisoned and now need urgently to be transformed for the wider health of the region.

We welcome the positive and conciliatory statement issued on Nov. 9 by Aung San Suu Kyi, holder of the Nobel Peace Prize and figurehead of the Burmese opposition. She signaled her desire to begin soon a meaningful and time-bound dialogue with the Burmese regime. She also emphasized the need for a growing role of the UN in Burma and underlined the need to engage with other political forces including Burma's ethnic nationalities. Those are welcome steps.

It's time the regime engages in a genuine dialogue. In this respect, the regime must remove restraints on Aung San Suu Kyi, give unfettered access to Ibrahim Gambari, the UN secretary general's
special envoy, and heed the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Paul Sergio Pinheiro. And they must enter wholeheartedly into dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi as well as with other opposition groups and ethnic leaders.

The goal must be genuine reconciliation and political transition. Nobody imagines that this process will be quick or simple. Burma is a complex mixture of ethnicity, religion and culture. The process will need to be broadly-based and inclusive, taking careful account of the need to build a lasting stability that includes Burma's key political and ethnic groups.

The neighboring countries are well placed to support and encourage such a process. And, although the military dictatorship must end, the military itself must continue to play an important role in any future government, as Aung San Suu Kyi herself has acknowledged.

Faced by the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Burma, the international community, and
in particular the EU, has already extended its aid to address the needs of the most vulnerable people. The EU has also decided to reinforce existing sanctions against Burma in order to send a strong political message and has consequently established a new series of targeted sanctions against the military regime.

The EU also made clear that it stands fully ready to review, amend or reinforce existing restrictive measures in the light of developments on the ground and the results of the good-offices mission of Ibrahim Gambari.

We believe that positive change will be best encouraged by following a carrot and stick approach: a combination of restrictive, targeted measures on the one hand and the alleviation of these measures as well as the prospect of a comprehensive economic initiative on the other.

However, this move will become possible if, and only if, there is a clear signal that a genuine transformation leading to a new, democratic government of
Burma is under way.

The prize for Burma's long-suffering people, and for neighbors who have suffered too long from the problems of refugees, narcotics and instability that spill across Burma's borders, is great indeed: a prosperous, stable Burma living up to its economic potential and adding to the region's economic dynamism.

But achieving that prize will require sustained engagement and real mobilization by the international community. We will continue to stand by the Burmese people as they prepare to mark 60 years of independence.

We hope that 2008 will finally bring peace and reconciliation to Burma.

Gordon Brown is prime minister of Britain, and Nicolas Sarkozy is president of France.
(http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/30/opinion/edbrown.php)