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Burma: calls for UN inquiry on Aung San Suu Kyi's 65th birthday


Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is marking the 65th birthday of Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week by renewing its call for the establishment of a United Nations Commission of Inquiry, to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma. CSW is also calling for a universal arms embargo on the regime.

In March, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, recommended a Commission of Inquiry. The recommendation followed his report to the UN Human Rights Council which concluded that the human rights violations perpetrated by the military regime against Burma's ethnic nationalities may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Australia and Slovakia have expressed support for the initiative. CSW urges other countries to publicly support the idea.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient who will celebrate her birthday on 19 June, has been held under house arrest for almost 15 years. The latest judgment by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is that her ongoing detention is in violation of international law. Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won 82% of the parliamentary seats in the election in 1990, but the regime rejected the results, imprisoned the victors and intensified its grip on power with a campaign of violence. The NLD is boycotting the regime's upcoming elections, planned for later this year, following the introduction of new electoral laws.

CSW's East Asia Team Leader, Benedict Rogers, author of Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma's Tyrant, said: "CSW calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, an end to military offensives against civilians, and an end to violations of religious freedom. In addition to a commission of inquiry, CSW urges the UN Security Council to introduce a universal arms embargo on the regime. CSW calls on the international community to reject the regime's sham elections, and to increase pressure on the regime to engage in a meaningful tripartite dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy movement and the ethnic nationalities."

CSW is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.

For further information see: www.csw.org.uk.

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