Tutu and Havel endorse UN action on Burma
-24/09/05
Two retired leaders who are famous for their respective roles in liberating the people of South Africa and the Czech Republic, ex-archbishop Desmond Tutu and ex-president Vaclev Havel, have joined together to call on the United Nations for democracy in Burma (Myanma).
Introducing the report which lies behind a resolution now before the UN Security Council, Tutu and Havel declare: ìIn recent years it has become clear that Burmaís troubles are causing serious and possibly permanent problems that go well beyond human rights violations.î
They continue: ìBurma has now become a problem for the region and international community. Based on our review of this report and its recommendations, we strongly urge the UN Security Council to take up the situation of Burma immediatelyÖ Preserving peace, security, and stability in the region Ö now requires nothing less.î
The report urges Burmaís rulers to allow UN and international humanitarian organisations access to the country without hindrance.
The Security Council now has an opportunity to require Burmaís government to work with the Secretary Generalís office in ìimplementing a plan for national reconciliation and a restoration of a democratically elected government.î
The Union of Myanmar, formerly the Union of Burma, is the country with the largest land area in mainland Southeast Asia. It has been under military rule since 1962. Political and religious activity is severely curtailed.
The main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, won multi-party elections in 1990, with 83 per cent of the popular vote. But the junta have refused to hand over power and have continually harassed the NLDís acclaimed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, a Buddhist. She is now under house arrest.
In April 2004, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and others said that the Burmese army used chemical weapons in an attack on ethnic Karenni rebels.
Vaclev Havel served as president of the Czech Republic after the downfall of communism. He is an international figure embodying the non-violent struggle for freedom and democracy, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
Desmond Tutu rose to worldwide fame in the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. He was the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, and Primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa.
[Benedict Rogers has chronicled the story of the Karen people and region in his 2004 book A Land Without Evil]
Tutu and Havel endorse UN action on Burma
-24/09/05
Two retired leaders who are famous for their respective roles in liberating the people of South Africa and the Czech Republic, ex-archbishop Desmond Tutu and ex-president Vaclev Havel, have joined together to call on the United Nations for democracy in Burma (Myanma).
Introducing the report which lies behind a resolution now before the UN Security Council, Tutu and Havel declare: ‘In recent years it has become clear that Burma’s troubles are causing serious and possibly permanent problems that go well beyond human rights violations.’
They continue: ‘Burma has now become a problem for the region and international community. Based on our review of this report and its recommendations, we strongly urge the UN Security Council to take up the situation of Burma immediatelyÖ Preserving peace, security, and stability in the region Ö now requires nothing less.’
The report urges Burma’s rulers to allow UN and international humanitarian organisations access to the country without hindrance.
The Security Council now has an opportunity to require Burma’s government to work with the Secretary General’s office in ‘implementing a plan for national reconciliation and a restoration of a democratically elected government.’
The Union of Myanmar, formerly the Union of Burma, is the country with the largest land area in mainland Southeast Asia. It has been under military rule since 1962. Political and religious activity is severely curtailed.
The main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, won multi-party elections in 1990, with 83 per cent of the popular vote. But the junta have refused to hand over power and have continually harassed the NLD’s acclaimed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, a Buddhist. She is now under house arrest.
In April 2004, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and others said that the Burmese army used chemical weapons in an attack on ethnic Karenni rebels.
Vaclev Havel served as president of the Czech Republic after the downfall of communism. He is an international figure embodying the non-violent struggle for freedom and democracy, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
Desmond Tutu rose to worldwide fame in the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. He was the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, and Primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa.
[Benedict Rogers has chronicled the story of the Karen people and region in his 2004 book A Land Without Evil]