“It is baseless. This is plain and simple cowardice. The junta makes irrational decisions that simply ignore world opinion.”
Thus commented Egoy Bans, spokesperson of the Free Burma Coalition-Philippines (FBC-Phils), on the decision of the military regime of Burma to extend Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest. FBC-Phils dubbed the Burmese junta as a “bunch of cowards” and challenged the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to apply more pressure on the generals in Rangoon to free the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD).
“It is baseless. This is plain and simple cowardice. The junta makes irrational decisions that simply ignore world opinion.”
Thus commented Egoy Bans, spokesperson of the Free Burma Coalition-Philippines (FBC-Phils), on the decision of the military regime of Burma to extend Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest. FBC-Phils dubbed the Burmese junta as a “bunch of cowards” and challenged the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to apply more pressure on the generals in Rangoon to free the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD).
The decision came on Tuesday, as activists in Burma marked the 18th anniversary of the May 27, 1990 general elections where the NLD won 82 percent of parliamentary seats but were not allowed to assume power.
Bans added, “The junta until now treats Aung San Suu Kyi and her followers as enemies of the state. But accusing a non-violent leader as a leader of chaos is a rehashed argument used only by a dictator like General Tan Shwe.”
FBC-Phils also urged the UN and the ASEAN to effectively act on the Burmese regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi and the thousands of prisoners of conscience languishing in Burmese jails. The group added that the UN and ASEAN should pressure the junta to come up with a tangible plan for concrete reforms in Burma.
“The military regime builds its strength on the inaction of the outside world. While we commend the past efforts of the UN and ASEAN on Burma, obviously they are not doing enough. When are they going to tell the junta it’s enough? It’s time for the UN and ASEAN to get out of their usual rhetorics and confront the real problems of Burma,” Bans stressed.
He concluded, “The international civil society is doing its job. The UN and the ASEAN should complement the efforts of the civil society. This is more than freeing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. This is about saving the peoples of Burma from the hands of their brutal government.”
Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate had her detention extended by one year as announced by the junta on Tuesday afternoon. She has been in and out of house arrest for more than 12 of the past 18 years, amid increasingly vocal international demands for her immediate and unconditional release. ###
For more information: Pls contact Gani Abunda and Egoy Bans at +63929-4109647, +63-9132472 or call +632 425900 or +632 9110205
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