04/10/2010

Towards Peace and Democracy in Burma

By Sandra Carreira, Portuguese Press Assistant

On 5 October 2010, MEPs Maria da Graça Carvalho and Paulo Rangel will host a seminar entitled "Towards Peace and Democracy in Burma", at which the President of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta will be the keynote speaker. Their aim is to discuss the political and humanitarian situation in Burma before its general elections, which will take place in November 2010.

The European Parliament has always prioritised human rights and freedom of thought in its agenda, namely by the creation of Parliament's annual Sakharov Prize which provides international recognition for individuals and groups who have spoken up about human rights abuses. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma and currently under detention, received the Sakharov prize in 1990. East Timor was also awarded with the Sakharov prize in 1999.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1996 to José Ramos-Horta for his work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor. President Ramos-Horta has been the leading international spokesman for East Timor's cause since 1975. He has made a significant contribution through reconciliation talks and by working out a peace plan for the region, as one of the primary voices for East Timor in the international arena, becoming East Timor’s de facto ambassador to the United Nations (UN). President José Ramos-Horta is recognised worldwide as a defender of causes such as human rights, the fight against poverty, climate change and sustainable development.

Recently, President Ramos-Horta raised his voice in support of the struggle for democracy in Burma. The continuing detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the imprisonment of more than 2100 political activists is a serious concern that needs urgent attention.


The ethnic conflicts in Burma

Burma, a former British colony that became independent from the Commonwealth in 1948, has lived with ethnical tensions more or less since the British left. The country, officially called Union of Myanmar, is host to a mosaic of different peoples: those who call themselves the Burman ("Bamah"), ethnically related to the Tibetans and the Chinese, representing 65% of the population, and who dominate the minority communities, such as the Shans, the Karens, the Kachins, the Mons and the Rakhines. These ethnic minorities are calling for independent States that would form part of a federation. However, the Burmese central government rejects those claims, repressing these minorities, to avoid separatist movements. The National Democratic Alliance of ethnical resistance groups therefore formed the Democratic Alliance of Burma, to fight against the military dictatorship. In 1996, almost all parties signed peace agreements with the military junta.

62 years of independence have been marked by brutality and repression against minority ethnical groups. That is why these minorities, in spite of the agreements signed in 1996, still mistrust the Burmese State.

Burma’s main political events

1948 - Independence from the Commonwealth
1962 to 1988 - NE WIN dominated the government
1988 - Military deposed NE WIN and established a new ruling junta
1990 - National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in Burma's first multi-party elections, but has never been allowed to govern
1989 – 1995 and 2000-2002 - NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize AUNG SAN SUU KYI under house arrest
2003 - AUNG SAN SUU KYI imprisoned
August 2007 – Tens of thousands of Burmese marched, protesting against the fuel price increase
September 2007 – Burmese government brutally suppressed the protests, killing 13 people and arresting thousands
May 2009 - AUNG SAN SUU KYI's house arrest was due to end, but was extended for 18 months. She was convicted for violating the terms of her house arrest.