Italian Confederation of Workers Trade Union Condemns Junta’s Election Laws

By Italian Confederation of Workers Trade Union • March 17, 2010

The CISL (Italian Confederation of Workers Trade Union) harshly condemns the Burmese military junta and the unacceptable new election law that prohibits Burmese heroine Aung San Suu Kyi and the over 2,100 other political detainees from becoming candidates or voting in the upcoming elections.

This law is the tragic confirmation of the total lack of credibility of these elections, as well as of the intention on the part of the Burmese military junta to implement a fast and effective transition to democracy.

The new election law follows the imposition of a Constitution that continues the military power into the future, bans freedom of organization, and envisages forced labour and the violation of fundamental human rights.

The CISL, alongside the Burmese trade union FTUB, once again denounces the military junta’s attempt to remain firmly in power, turning itself into an authoritarian and repressive military government in civilian clothing, in which the rule of law remains a valid illusion for other similarly authoritarian governments that want to continue impoverishing the country’s natural, social, and human resources.

The CISL denounces the dramatic increase in the repression of fundamental human rights, killings, rapes, arbitrary arrests, forced labour, the use of child soldiers, and a frightening worsening of living and work conditions. For this reason, thousands of female workers, risking their freedom, are on strike every day in the industrial districts of Rangoon.

Together with the trade union and all Burmese democratic organizations, CISL requests the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the other political prisoners, the guaranteed right for all to participate and be candidates in the elections, the immediate opening of a dialogue between the junta, the democratic organizations and the ethnic nationalities, and above all the revision of the Constitution.

The CISL asks the Italian Government, Parliament, and the EU Special Representative to promote these legitimate requests, to subject the acceptance of the elections to the compliance with these minimum conditions, and to start – in view of the high-level EU mission to Burma at the end of April – an urgent consultation with the Burmese trade union and democratic organizations and with the European trade union organizations.

The CISL also asks the Italian Government to work to urge the EU to strengthen the selectively targeted economic sanctions, with the inclusion of the financial and insurance sectors, the ban on new investments, and sure and reliable control procedures. Furthermore, in view of the ILO Board of Directors’ meeting, Italy cannot remain silent, and must request a strengthening of the ILO measures for the immediate abolition of forced labour and for trade union freedom, also through recourse to the International Court of Justice.

Lastly, considering the major political and economic interests of the Asian countries, in particular China, the CISL asks for a greater commitment from the EU with regard to these countries, also during the upcoming ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting).

This post is in: Press Release

Italian Confederation of Workers Trade Union Condemns Junta’s Election Laws

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