US Urged To Engage More In Burma's Issues

Van Biak Thang
Chinland Guardian
03 June, 2009

Three representatives of the Chin National Front (CNF) met with official from the Department of State and Senior Professional Staff Members of the Senate Relations Committee in a 4-day trip to the US from 29 May to 2 June 2009.

The delegation urged the US government to take a leading role in bringing China, India and ASEAN to support the political dialogue, to keep on pressurizing for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, and to provide financial assistance to Burma's democratic movements and ethnic armed resistance groups as they thanked the US government and its people for their supports in Burma' issues.

In a statement issued last week, the team led by CNF Chairman, Mr. Zing Cung, Joint General Secretary-1, Dr. Sui Khar, and Deputy Secretary of External Affairs Department, Salai Thla Hei, said: "Burma’s political crisis is the product of more than just a lack of democracy and human rights. It stems as much from the military regime’s systematic deprivation of the rights of Burma’s ethnic nationalities."

"This fundamental problem has its roots in the failure to implement the 1947 Panglong Agreement, which was the agreed basis for the establishment of the Union of Burma just before the end of British rule. Military rule, brought about by the military coups of 1962 and 1988, has only exacerbated the marginalization of Burma’s ethnic nationalities and led, in more recent years, to their systematic persecution and alienation."

The CNF strongly rejected both the new constitution and 2010 election, saying the constitution will not solve the crisis of Burma, instead will provide legitimacy to the current military dictatorship, and that the 'tripartite dialogue' is crucial to a durable peace in Burma.

The triplet also highlighted the ongoing bamboo-and-rat-related 'food crisis' that has been facing the Chin people since late 2006, making no less than 100,000 people in starvation and in need of further assistance for their survival.

After five decades of systematic human rights violations, with ever increasing conflict, growing narcotics and human trafficking and ongoing persecution of Burma’s ethnic nationalities and opposition groups, the political crisis in Burma is no longer seen just as a domestic issue, but rather as a threat to international peace and security and as a matter of serious concern for both regional states and the international community, the statement added.

The team called on the US government for increasing its efforts to bring Burma issues to the UN Security Council till legal binding resolution is passed.

The delegation also met with Chin Communities and Burmese opposition groups in Washington DC Area to discuss the current political situation and develop action plans.

The Chin National Front was formed on 20 March, 1988, dedicated to securing the self-determination and rights of the Chin people, to restoring democracy, and to establishing federal Union of Burma. CNF, actively working together with Ethnic Nationalities Council (Union of Burma) and a member of Chin National Council, is not only a member of the National Council of Union of Burma but also the National Democratic Front, which has been fighting against the military regime for 33 years. CNF is an only armed group of Chin people and represents the Chin people in international political arena.