Filipino Activists Mark Anniversary of Burma Crackdown
- 14 years ago
Dozens of activists demonstrated in front of the Burmese embassy in Manila on Friday. It was to mark the three-year anniversary of the crackdown against peaceful protests dubbed the Saffron Revolution.
In September 2007 Buddhist monks in Rangoon and other cities in Burma staged peaceful marches to protest against political repression and poor living standards. The protests swelled in the following days, provoking a military crackdown that killed at least 20 and imprisoned hundreds.
Around 50 Filipino activists joined Friday's anniversary protest, denouncing the lack of democracy in Burma three years after the demonstrations. They are also joining various international rights groups in denouncing the planned election in November, calling it a sham designed to entrench military power in the isolated Southeast Asian nation.
[Egoy Bans, Free Burma Coalition-Philippines]: (English)
"We are calling on the United Nations to create a commission of inquiry, to look into the crimes against humanity in Burma perpetrated by the military junta. The commission of inquiry should investigate, stop and bring justice to the victims of these crimes. United Nations also should denounce these elections, as the elections will not be fair and just under this situation of continued crimes."
Human Rights Watch said an estimated 2,100 political prisoners are detained in Burma, half of whom were arrested during the 2007 demonstrations.
Election laws released this year effectively bar detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in the election. And last week the junta rejected the candidacy of a dozen former leaders of a major ethnic group, the Kachin, raising doubts about its openness to ethnic participation.
In September 2007 Buddhist monks in Rangoon and other cities in Burma staged peaceful marches to protest against political repression and poor living standards. The protests swelled in the following days, provoking a military crackdown that killed at least 20 and imprisoned hundreds.
Around 50 Filipino activists joined Friday's anniversary protest, denouncing the lack of democracy in Burma three years after the demonstrations. They are also joining various international rights groups in denouncing the planned election in November, calling it a sham designed to entrench military power in the isolated Southeast Asian nation.
[Egoy Bans, Free Burma Coalition-Philippines]: (English)
"We are calling on the United Nations to create a commission of inquiry, to look into the crimes against humanity in Burma perpetrated by the military junta. The commission of inquiry should investigate, stop and bring justice to the victims of these crimes. United Nations also should denounce these elections, as the elections will not be fair and just under this situation of continued crimes."
Human Rights Watch said an estimated 2,100 political prisoners are detained in Burma, half of whom were arrested during the 2007 demonstrations.
Election laws released this year effectively bar detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in the election. And last week the junta rejected the candidacy of a dozen former leaders of a major ethnic group, the Kachin, raising doubts about its openness to ethnic participation.