Appeal Letter to Smt Sonia Gandhi by Burmese orgs in India on Mahatma Gandhi Birthday

By Burma Centre Delhi • October 2, 2010

On the 141^st birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, Burma Centre Delhi on behalf of all the Burmese democratic organizations in India submitted an appeal letter to Smt. Sonia Gandhi, President of All India Congress Committee (AICC) seeking her support to bring about genuine democratic change in Burma.

The letter which was endorsed by 44 Burmese organizations in India carries a very powerful speech of Aung San Suu Kyi on non – violent approach. Read the letter below or download the PDF here.

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2 October 2010

Smt. Sonia Gandhi
President
All India Congress Committee (AICC)
24 Akbar Road, New Delhi

Subject: Appeal for your kind support to bring about genuine democratic change in Burma

Respected Madam,

On this auspicious day, which marks the 141st birthday of Mahatma Gandhi and also recognized as International Non-Violence Day, we, Burma Centre Delhi (BCD) together with other Burmese organizations in India would like to seek your kind attention on the struggle for restoration of peace, human rights and democracy in Burma by non-violence means.

It is unfortunate that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a living symbol of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha and Nobel Peace Laureate and recipient of Jawaharlal Nehru’s Award for International Understanding, has been under house arrest for 15 of the past 20 years and is being barred from participating in this year’s elections.

Today, we are honored to quote Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech that clearly reflects her deep commitment to Gandhi’s non-violence method – “if we consider a country like India which was very much influenced by Gandhiji’s non-violence philosophy you can see how clear the military has kept away from politics. India has had many political upheavals and it has faced many problems and it probably will have many problems to face in the future. But I think the seed of non-violence that was planted before independence has helped them a great deal in resolving the problems in a democratic way as is possible under the circumstances. So we want to keep to the non-violent approach”.

The upcoming election in Burma on 7 November 2010, which was proposed by the military regime as an attempt to entrench and legitimize military rule, is being condemned by people around the world. The elections will enact the 2008 Constitution, which not only contains many undemocratic measures including giving the military effective veto power over decisions made by the new parliament and government, but also depriving people of their basic human rights by stipulating “exception clauses,” and preserving draconian laws that explicitly prohibit freedom of speech, association, and assembly. Thus, this constitution is designed to keep the dictatorship in power and will not bring any new freedom to the people of Burma.

Furthermore, the election cannot be free or fair under the present situation. Democracy activists in Burma have been imprisoned, intimidated, tortured and put to death for demanding justice, peace, human rights and a democratic government. Presently, there are nearly 2,200 political prisoners in Burma. According to NGO reports, in the last 14 years, the Burmese army has destroyed 3,500 villages in eastern Burma alone.

Burmese democratic organizations and activists have continuously called on the military regime to meet three benchmarks to bring about peace and stability in Burma:

All political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Khun Htun Oo and Min Ko Naing, must be released before the elections.
Inclusive dialogue with key stakeholders from democracy groups and ethnic nationalities, including a comprehensive review of the 2008 Constitution must be convened.
Systematic human rights abuses and criminal hostilities against ethnic groups, political activists, journalists and civil society must be stopped.

Though we were deeply upset with the Government of India for accepting Senior General Than Shwe as a state guest during his recent visit, our hope and expectation is that India will live up to its position as the world’s largest democracy and a country that has continually believed in the virtue of ethics, democracy, equality and human rights.

We believe that India can play a crucial role in the process of national reconciliation and restoration of democracy in Burma. We therefore strongly recommend the Government of India not to endorse Burma’s military regime’s sham constitution and elections, as it will only lead to entrenchment of military rule in the country.

We earnestly urge the Government of India and All India Congress Committee (AICC) to join with the UN and the international community in taking concrete action to secure the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ensure genuine democratic change in Burma.

We reaffirm our appreciation to the Government of India, especially to the late Prime Minister Shri. Rajiv Gandhi, and the people of India who stand with the Burmese people in their struggle for peace, justice, human rights and democracy in Burma.

Sincerely,

Burma Centre Delhi (BCD)
(On behalf of all Burmese democratic organizations in India)

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Shri Rahul Gandhi – General Secretary, All India Congress Committee (AICC)

Tags: 2010 Elections, Burma Centre Delhi, India

This post is in: Press Release

Appeal Letter to Smt Sonia Gandhi by Burmese orgs in India on Mahatma Gandhi Birthday

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