Statement of Democracy in Burma Concern Group

Today is the 58th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China. Fifty-eight years ago, the Chinese Communist Party got its legitimacy by "liberating" people from an oppressive and corrupted government under the Republic of China, with a vision of building a country for the peoples. However, while people fighting against the ruthless regime in Burma; while protestors are killed and tortured by the military regime, the Chinese government reaffirms its position of non-intervention policy in other states' internal affairs. It seems that it forgot its own history that how it got its power.

The Chinese government reiterated its non-intervention foreign affairs policy in contradiction with its constitutional dispositions. The preamble of the People's Republic of China Constitution, proclaims that "[China] supports the oppressed nations and the developing countries in their just struggle to win and preserve national independence...and strives to safeguard world peace and promote the cause of human progress." Nations are formed by the people and for the people, when people are oppressed, people should have rights to overthrow the brutal regime. It just likes what the Communist Party has done. The Chinese government should support the just cause of the protesters in Burma according to the vision it set in the Constitution.

According to various human rights organizations, China has been regularly supplying the Burmese army with military equipment since 1988 and became the most important trade partner in 1990s. As the neighboring country, when the Chinese government supports the Burmese junta with arms, doesn't it know that people in Burma have been suffering for more than 40 years? Doesn't it know the slave still exists in Burma but changed into the name of forced labour? Doesn't it know military plunders the crops from people day by day? Doesn't it know people can be executed without any reason? It is the chance that the people in Burma can alter their fate. We need to restate it again, protestors in Burma are just doing what the Communist Party did when they overthrew the Republic of China. People in Burma do not want to be slave!

Now the whole world is watching the actions of the Burmese junta as well as the reactions of the Chinese government. At this critical moment, millions Burmese, Chinese and the international community are looking upon the Chinese government to intervene. We strongly demand the Chinese government:

1. Must not exercise its veto power again when the Security Council of United Nations brings the Burma issue into agenda.

2. Condemn the bloody crackdown of the democracy movement in Burma.

3. Pressurize the Burmese junta to release all the political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

4. Facilitate democratic dialogue between the freedom fighters and the military to restore peace in Burma.

5. Stop supporting the junta with arms and money.

When the Chinese government brutally crackdown the Pro-democracy Movement in 1989, the tremendous grief still existing in the hearts of millions of Chinese. If the Chinese government keeps turning a blind eye to the suffering of the people in Burma, it will be another blunder that the whole world can never forget.

Democracy in Burma Concern Group,

Human Rights Studies,

Mahidol University, Thailand

CHAN, Sze Wan Debby (China), M.A. Student of Human Rights Studies, 2007

ABBOUD, Noufal (Sweden), M.A. Student of Human Rights Studies, 2007

HAMIM, Anis (Indonesia), M.A. Student of Human Rights Studies, 2007

ARYAL, Sanjaya (Nepal), M.A. Student of Human Rights Studies, 2007

BANGPRAPHA, Wanee (Thailand), PhD. Student of Human Rights Studies, 2007

SUNTARADEJA, Medhapan (Thailand), M.A. Student of Human Rights Studies, 2007

MALIKAEW, Sutthida (Thailand), M.A. Student of Human Rights Studies, 2007

NAPAUMPORN, Bongkot (Thailand), M.A. Student of Human Rights Studies, 2007

KLANGNARONG, Supinya (Thailand), Lecturer, Human Rights Studies

WAHYUNINGRUM, Yuyun (Indonesia), M.A. Student of Human Rights Studies, 2006

LARNEY, Marjorie Lea (USA), M.A. in Human Rights, Mahidol University, 2003

SAPKOTA, Dhani Ram (Nepal), M.A. Student, M.A. Student of Human Rights Studies, 2006

WIRATRAMAN, R. Herlambang Perdana (Indonesia), Deputy Director Human Rights Law Studies, Faculty of Law, Airlangga University, Surabaya-INDONESIA