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a tribute to the courage of the people in
Burma fighting for freedom and democracy, as
well as to the people around the world who
have rallied to their cause
music by Stevie Wonder, "Free"
"China's unilateral foreign policy on Burma
has completely paralyzed the United Nations
Security Council, and as a result the Council
has been unable to act, just as it acted far
too late in Rwanda and Darfur. China's
unilateralism is undermining responsible
conflict resolution and the Secretary General
himself," said Aung Din, policy director of
US Campaign for Burma.
For 15 years human rights advocates have
hoped that by 'speaking softly' China would
be convinced to play a constructive role in
national reconciliation in Burma, as called
for by consecutive UN General Assembly
resolutions. Specifically the UN is calling
for "trip-partite" talks in Burma between the
military regime, Aung San Suu Kyi's political
party the National League for Democracy, and
the country's ethnic minorities. However,
China has not responded to entreaties,
instead stating simply that Burma is an
"internal affair".
Human rights advocates believe that China is
in a unique position, possessing the leverage
to bring Burma's military regime to the
dialogue table. China is the Burmese
military regime's single most important ally,
supplying billions in weapons, aid, and
trade, while shielding the regime from
international action by the UN Security
Council. In January 2007 China vetoed a
peaceful UN Security Council resolution that
would have empowered the UN Secretary General
in his negotiations with the Burmese military
regime. Without China's backing, the
Security Counci has remained paralyzed.
China's position on Burma is coming into
greater focus as the 2008 Olympics will be
launched on August 8th, the anniversary of
the military crackdown in Burma that resulted
in the death up to 10,000 demonstrators in
1988.
Campaigners are planning a year-long effort
to expose how "China is responsible for
keeping Burma's military regime in power,"
added Aung Din.
China also appears to be undermining its own
neighbors on Burma. Over the past 3 years,
Filippino Foreign Ministers Alberto Romulo,
Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid, and
Indonesian former foreign minister Ali Alatas
have all traveled to Burma to seek the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only
imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
China declined to back any of the missions,
while providing diplomatic, financial, and
military aid to the regime.
Burma is ruled by one of the world's most
brutal military regimes, which has destroyed
3,000 villages in the eastern section of the
country, forcing over 1.5 million people to
flee their homes. The Associated Press has
compared the military regime's attacks on
civilians in eastern Burma to the tactics of
the Sudanese government in Darfur, labeling
eastern Burma "Southeast Asia's Darfur". The
regime has also recruited 70,000 child
soldiers, far more than any other country in
the world. Many campaigners believe Burma is
the most serious crisis in the world that has
never been addressed by the Security Council.
Tags : Burma Rangoon Aung San Suu Kyi Buddhist monks freedom democracy military junta Stevie Wonder free |
