Joint Statement of All Burma Monks' Alliance and the 88 Generation Students group

A joint statement issued by two prominent human rights organizations that organized peaceful protests in August and September last year against the military junta in Burma, also known as Myanmar, the All Burma Monks' Alliance and the 88 Generation Students group, in support of the report on Burma, submitted by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly on October 20, 2008.

The All Burma Monks' Alliance and the 88 Generation also call on the UN Security Council to reinforce the mandate of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for realizing of democratic change in Burma, by taking effective and collective action.

Joint Statement Issued by
All Burma Monks' Alliance and the 88 Generation Students
Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma)
6 November 2008

Burmese Monks and Students Call on the United Nations Security Council to Reinforce Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Mandate for Realizing Democratic Change in Burma

(1) The All Burma Monks' Alliance (ABMA) and the 88 Generation Students, two prominent organizations working to restore freedom and democracy in Burma, today issued a joint statement welcoming the report, submitted by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the General Assembly on October 20, 2008 on the situation of human rights in Burma.

(2) We appreciate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his clear understanding of the position of key stakeholders in Burma, including the National League for Democracy party, Members of Parliament-elect, ethnic political parties, as well as other relevant groups, such as the 88 Generation Students, the All Burma Monks' Alliance and the All Burma Federation of Student Unions. We all declared our rejection of the military junta's new constitution and its illegitimate conduct and use of force and fraud to adopt it. We sincerely believe that immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the realization of a meaningful and time-bound dialogue between the military junta, the National League for Democracy party led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic representatives are the most important issues to address in order to pave the way for national reconciliation and democratization.

(3) In his report, the Secretary-General rightly stated that "specific suggestions of the United Nations to improve the credibility and inclusiveness of the political process have thus far not been taken up by the Government."[1] We fully agree with the conclusion made by the Secretary-General that "there is no alternative to dialogue to ensure that all stakeholders can contribute to the future of their country. In this regard the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners will be the key for the resumption of an enhanced, all-inclusive, substantive and time-bound dialogue".[2]

(4) Thus far, we have found no evidence that the military junta in Burma is endeavoring to implement the recommendations made by the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy, contained in the successive resolutions from the General Assembly and Human Rights Council as well as in the Presidential Statements of the Security Council. More than 2,100 democracy activists are still incarcerated, hundreds more are before the kangaroo courts, all fundamental rights of the people are severely restricted, the junta's civilian militias are more aggressive in harassing NLD party members and human rights defenders, military offensives in ethnic areas have intensified, recruitment of child soldiers has become more and more widespread, and tens of thousands of people are fleeing the country every day to be free from human rights abuses.

(5) Therefore, we earnestly call on the UN Security Council to take effective and collective action in support of the Secretary-General's good offices role in Burma. Without strong enforcement from the Security Council, the military junta that rules our country of Burma will continue to undermine the Secretary-General's good offices mandate and the United Nations, and more and more people of Burma will die unnecessarily.