Burmese exiles call for Suu Kyi’s release on her birthday

^{By Hseng Khio Fah
20 June 2008}

Various Burmese NGOs based in Chiang Mai celebrated Suu Kyi’s birthday at Chiang Mai University calling for not only the release of Suu Kyi but also demanding the Burmese military junta to allow the international aid into the country to help 2.4 million victims of Cyclone Nargis. They also called on the junta to hold genuine dialogue with Suu Kyi to solve the political problem in Burma. 

The regime last month extended Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention for another year.

The junta still restricts aid to reach the cyclone victims even though the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with the junta chief Senior General Than Shwe on 23 last month to allow international aid workers to conduct their relief efforts to Cyclone victims freely and without hindrance.

“The SPDC regime did not dare to release her amidst the turmoil following Cyclone Nagis and they extended her illegal detention for another year last month. So, this shows how much fear the regime has been experienced with regards to the changes inside Burma,” criticized Charm Tong from Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN).

“Free Suu Kyi and free the people of the Burma,” she concluded.

It is time for the brutal generals to make the right choice and release Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's democratic leader, and start meaningful dialogue, or face being charged at an international court for crimes against humanity. Such crimes include the killing of monks last September and the ongoing blocking of aid to cyclone victims, which is causing further unnecessary suffering and death, particularly of women and children, according to the Women's League of Burma (WLB).   

And we wish to thank those governments, including the United States of America, Canada, Australia and the European Union, who have maintained sanctions against the SPDC at this critical time. These sanctions have targeted SPDC leader Than Shwe and his clique, including his business cronies, the Union Solidarity and Development Association and other entities of the regime. These sanctions must be maintained until genuine steps to democracy are taken, the WLB said.

Since the cyclone hit southern Burma, more victims are fleeing in large numbers into neighboring countries especially Thailand. The numbers of Burmese migrant workers are increasing day by day in Thailand due to livelihood difficulties in the home country.

Around 2 million migrants are estimated to be working illegally in Thailand. Most of the migrant workers in Thailand­legal and illegal­are people from Burma, employed in factories, commercial farms, food industry and in the domestic sector, according to Thailand-based labor groups.

Meanwhile, the Thai police are also cracking down on the migrant workers.

The migrant communities are also concerned about the relationship between Thailand and Burma and urging the government to promote the rights of migrant workers.

The groups which organized the party yesterday were Women’s League of Burma, Chiang Mai-based MAP Foundation, Burmese Women Union (BWU), Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN), Lahu Women Organization (LWO), students from Chiang Mai University and Nargis fund raising teams.