Free Burma’s Political Prisoners’ Now!

To:  UN Secretary-General

Dear Friends,

Re: Free Burma’s Political Prisoners’ Now! Campaign

As you know, the release of all of Burma’s political prisoners is a crucial first step in creating an atmosphere conducive to the process of national reconciliation and nation building. Important advocacy work on the issue is already being carried out at many levels, but has not yet been streamlined into global action. The Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPP) and Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB) have launched the Free Burma’s Political Prisoners Now! Campaign, in support of the ongoing advocacy work.

The main aims of this popular campaign are to collect 888,888 petition signatures, calling for the release of all political prisoners, and to highlight the plight of Burmese political prisoners with various events. The global campaign focus period will be from 13 March – 24 May 2009. 13 March is Burma’s Human Rights Day, whilst 24 May is the day Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is due to be released from her sixth consecutive year of house arrest. There will be a big global push then to collect signatures for the target, which symbolises 8.8.88, the day of the junta’s massacre of some 3,000 people who dared to protest for democracy. The voices of 888,888 global citizens will add vital weight and credibility to the ongoing advocacy work.

This popular campaign is unique in that it is run by exiled activists and former political prisoners, for political prisoners in Burma. Many groups in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond are already collecting signatures to call for the release of all political prisoners. We want to bring these actions under the umbrella of the Free Burma’s Political Prisoners Now! Campaign. Group contributions to our campaign target of 888,888 signatures can have a massive impact. After the 24 May, we will hold a media event to hand the petition to UN representatives. With this petition, we will show Ban Ki-moon just how much the world cares about the issue of political prisoner in Burma, and call on him to take concrete action to secure their release.

What groups in the Asia-Pacific region can do
We would like groups in the region to endorse the Free Burma Political Prisoners Now! Campaign, and in doing so, make a commitment to collect petition signatures during the big global push from 13 March – 24 May 2009. We also encourage you to hold various media and public events to highlight the campaign. If we work together, this target is totally achievable.

We are currently developing materials in support of the campaign, which we will share with you as soon as they are ready. This includes a campaign package with up-to-date information about political prisoners, which the groups in the network can translate into their own languages.





Current Context
Despite the October 2007 UN Security Council Presidential Statement calling for the release of all political prisoners and assurances from Burma’s military junta that no more arrests would be carried out, the relentless campaign of arrest, harassment, and intimidation of pro-democracy activists continued in the wake of last September’s Saffron Revolution. The number of political prisoners in Burma has increased to 2,137, up from 1, 150 in July 2007.

On 21 July 2008, ASEAN released a communiqué calling for the release of all of Burma’s political detainees, to pave the way for meaningful dialogue involving all parties concerned. On 3 December 2008, 112 former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 50 countries sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging him to press for the release of all political prisoners in Burma by the end of 2008. 241 legislators from all over Asia also sent a public letter to the UN Secretary-General on 5 December conveying the same message.

Despite this international pressure, Burma’s regime ordered its courts to expedite the trials of political activists. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPP), at least 283 activists have been sentenced since the start of October. The majority of those recently sentenced were activists involved in last year’s Saffron Revolution. U Gambira, leader of the All Burma Monk’s Association, who played a key role in the Saffron Revolution, received sentences totalling 68 years. Min Ko Naing and other 88 Generation Student Group leaders received sentences of 65 years and 6 months.

In recent weeks the authorities have also systematically transferred at least 183 political prisoners to prisons all around the country, far from their families. This is another form of psychological torture by the regime, and is a huge burden for their families.

Given the current crackdown by the regime, this campaign is more important than ever.

I know that we can count on your support, and we look forward to discussing this with you in more detail.

With warm wishes,

Ko Soe Aung
On behalf of the Free Burma’s Political Prisoners Now! Campaign Committee
www.fbppn.net

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Free Burma’s Political Prisoners’ Now! Petition to UN Secretary-General was created by and written by Panithida Phongphaew (ginger_snaps39@hotmail.com ).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.