For information on Burmese Events in the UK please see:
http://burmeseeventsintheuk.wordpress.com
http://88newgenerationstudents-uk.blogspot.com/ 88 New Generation Students UK (New Website)
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/public-events/all-events Burma Campaign UK
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=11780 Amnesty UK Burma Events
http://dynamic.csw.org.uk/country.asp?s=gi&urn=Burma Christian Solidarity Worldwide
http://www.sasanaramsiuk.org/eng/ Sasana Ramsi Vihara Trust (Burmese Buddhists monks in UK, see for community Burmese New Year events)
http://www.totaloutofburma.org
Monday December 3rd
Military Brutality at Letpadaung mine project protest
You are cordially invited to attend the protest to condemn the oppressive Burmese regime’s brutal crackdown on a peaceful protest against the Letpadaung mine project, which will be held on 3rd December 2012.
Just last week the Burmese government forcibly evicted local residents from villages in the vicinity of the Letpadaung mountain range and illegally confiscated land and lay down steps which have ensured the seeds for the destruction of the natural habitat of these mountainous areas, as a result of the ongoing mining project.
With growing worry regarding these changes to the local community and environment by the mining project, local farmers, human rights, later joined by Buddhist monks, voiced their concerns by means of a peaceful protest asking for the government to suspend the project. The Thein Sein regime’s (lauded for their so called ongoing reform process) security forces responded to the peaceful protesters with tear gas, smoke bombs, and fire, leaving a number of protesters including Buddhist monks injured, severely burnt.
The Burmese government’s aggressive response to the peaceful expression of opinions included, directly targeting protesters with flare guns and chemical weapons. This is further evidence of the Burmese government’s oppressive crackdown on the basic human right, of freedom of expression. It is acts like this, which have always been the reason why, we the Burmese population have always doubted the true intentions of the government and tried the trust that we put in their so called democratic reform process.
We therefore call on the Burmese government to immediately
1) Completely shut down the mining project
2) Facilitate an independent investigation of the crackdown, by a team which includes international experts to provide justice for the innocent victims
3) Ensure that urgent and appropriate steps be taken to end such horrific offenses against the people of Burma
It is crucial that we stand by our people at home and show our solidarity in the fight for our basic human rights.
In this regard, we would like to invite you to join hands with us, to call for human rights and justice for our people in Burma.
Date: Monday December 3rd
Time: 12:00 - 13:00
Myanmar/Burma Military Regime Embassy 19A, Charles St, London W1J 5DX.
Tube: Green Park | Map: http://maps.google.co.uk/?q=W1J5DX
Monday December 10th
International Human Rights Day
Dear brothers, sisters and friends of Burma,
You
are cordially invited to attend the protest in front of the Burmese Embassy on
10th December 2012 to mark for the International Human Rights Day.
Across
the globe, people mobilize to demand justice, dignity, equality, more
participation to defend and protect the rights, enshrined in the Universal
Declaration throughout the year. However, sadly, in our country, the most basic
of globally recognized civil and political rights are not yet respected by the
government. The continued detention of political prisoners and the numerous
human rights violations on ethnic minorities, committed by the Burmese army,
are ever escalating over time.
Even
though the Thein Sein government enacted a few steps of limited political and
economic reform after it came into power 2 years ago, all these serious issues
of human rights violations has not been addressed as a matter of priority.
Tomás Ojea Quintana, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in
Myanmar, highlighted in his statement
issued on 5 August 2012, “Myanmar needs to tackle serious human rights
challenges for democratic transition and national reconciliation to succeed.”
We
are going to stage a silent protest to call on the Burmese government to;
1) Put an end to Human Rights abuses in all
the ethnic’s areas in Burma;
2) Ensure genuine general amnesty and
unconditionally release of all the remaining political prisoners in Burma;
3) Stop attacking the Kachin Land and all the
ethnic’s areas across Burma immediately;
4) Hold immediate peace talk and seek durable
political solution with all the ethnic groups;
5) Increase engagement with political parties
and implement genuine national reconciliation
We
would like to invite you to join hands with us, to strongly condemn the
on-going systematic violations of human rights and long lost fundamental
freedoms and our rights in every aspect.
Yours respectfully,
88 New Generation Students (UK)
Date: Friday December 10th
Time: 12:00 - 13:00
Myanmar/Burma Military Regime Embassy 19A, Charles St, London W1J 5DX.
Tube: Green Park | Map: http://maps.google.co.uk/?q=W1J5DX
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11.
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14.
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15.
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17.
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22.
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24.
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25.
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27.
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29.
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Check for any further events or changes to events:
http://burmeseeventsintheuk.wordpress.com
http://88newgenerationstudents-uk.blogspot.com/ 88 New Generation Students UK (New Website)
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/public-events/all-events Burma Campaign UK
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=11780 Amnesty UK Burma Events
http://dynamic.csw.org.uk/country.asp?s=gi&urn=Burma Christian Solidarity Worldwide
http://www.sasanaramsiuk.org/eng/ Sasana Ramsi Vihara Trust (Burmese Buddhists monks in UK, see for community Burmese New Year events)
LINKS
(For a comprehensive set of Burma links please see the Burma Campaign UK website links page:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/burma/links/all-links/37 )
News on Burma (in English)
The Irrawaddy www.irrawaddy.org
Widely cited by International News media.
Mizzima News www.mizzima.com
Online newspaper which specialises in Burma related news and multimedia
Democratic Voice of Burma: www.dvb.no
Source of underground documentary video journalism in Burma. Norway based exiled media station. Broadcasts radio and TV into Burma
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre www.internal-displacement.org
See Myanmar section. IDMC keeps online conflict displacement info for UN.
Burmanet www.burmanet.org/news
Coverage of news and opinion on Burma from around the world
Karen News www.karennews.org
Everyday stories cover a range of crimes against humanity – extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, forced labor, child soldiers, forced displacement, human trafficking. Among the carnage, however, are stories of hope, love and dignity.
Chinland Guardian www.chinlandguardian.com
Chin journalist ethnic news service striving for "free, open and democratic society"
Shan Herald Agency for News www.shanland.org
Campaign Organisations
Burma Campaign UK www.burmacampaign.org.uk
For email petitions, news and events this is the leading Burma focused group for members of the public to subscribe to and support in the UK.
Alternative Asean Network on Burma www.altsean.org
SE Asia networked advocacy. Has lots of info explaining Burma’s election, economy and human rights abuses.
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) www.aappb.org
Provides food and medicine to prisoners. Main source of prisoner info.
EarthRights International www.earthrights.org
Documents and takes legal action against human rights and environmental abuses. Lead the case against Total and Chevron (Texaco) abuses in Burma.
Burma Partnership www.burmapartnership.org
A network of organizations throughout the Asia-Pacific region, advocating for and mobilizing a movement for democracy and human rights in Burma.
Amnesty International UK www.amnesty.org.uk
Campaigns for prisoners of conscience and often holds events about Burma.
Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org
Reports on Burma the human right situation in Burma
Federation of Trade Unions Burma www.ftub.org
Based outside Burma. Forced labour, child labour, migrant workers issues etc
Christian Solidarity Worldwide www.csw.org.uk
Visits refugee camps and lobbies for aid on both Thai and Bangladesh borders.
National League for Democracy(Burma) www.nldburma.org
News and views of Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD campaigning activities.
Burma's Lawyers' Council www.blc-burma.org
Opposing injustice, restoring justice
Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (UK)
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/burma.htm
Burmese Activist and Ethnic Human Rights
Ethnic Nationalities Council www.encburma.net
Fostering unity and cooperation between all ethnic nationalities in a transition to democracy
Kachin Development Networking Group www.kdng.org
Kachin Relief www.kachinrelief.org.uk
Charity run by Kachin exiles for Kachin refugee relief
Karen National Union www.karennationalunion.net
The leading political organisation representing the Karen people, founded in 1947.
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) www.bro-uk.org
Arakan Rohingya National Organisation www.rohingya.org
88 New Generation Students UK www.88newgenerationstudents-uk.blogspot.com
Burmese student activists
Burmese Democracy Movement Association bdmauk.org.uk
Burmese Activists. Started The Little Burmese Tea Shop at Glastonbury.
www.thelittleburmeseteashop.wordpress.com
Burma Democratic Concern www.bdcburma.org
Campaigning to restore democracy, human rights and rule of law in Burma
National League for Democracy Liberated Area(UK) www.nldlauk.org
Exile organization for supporting the NLD
Burmese Muslim Association www.b-m-a.org
Restless Beings www.restlessbeings.org/
Raising awareness of human rights violations of silenced communities, recently the Rohingya in
Burma and Bangladesh
Environmental Activist
Burma Rivers Network www.burmariversnetwork.org
Protecting the environment and rights of communities
Arakan Rivers Network www.arakanrivers.net
Salween watch www.salweenwatch.org
Preventing the building of harmful hydroelectric power dams on the Salween River.
Charity
Thailand Burma Border Consortium www.tbbc.org
UK registered charity, 12 international NGO’s supporting refugees on Thai Burma border. IDP Maps on IDMC website are from TBBC.
Free Burma Rangers www.freeburmarangers.org
Sends medical/aid teams to villages under attack. Also documents abuses.
The Back Pack Health Worker Team www.backpackteam.org
Deeply committed to bringing primary health services to the remote and vulnerable populations inside Burma.
Mae Tao Clinic www.maetaoclinic.org
Health services for displaced Burmese populations along the Thailand-Burma border
Tourism
How to travel responsibly in Burma -
www.ecoburma.com/choices/responsible-travel-to-burma-101
Concerns over Tour Operators
www.tourismconcern.org.uk/uploads/Campaigns/How-tour-operators-are-supporting-Burma-regime.pdf
National League for Democracy statement on Tourism
www.nldburma.org/media-press-release/78-press-release/316-nld-statement-no-100511-released-on-20th-may-2011-regarding-tourism-in-burma-.pdf
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
(www.nd-burma.org )
ND-Burma formed in 2003 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 12 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to challenge the regime’s power through present-day advocacy as well as prepare for justice and accountability measures in a potential transition. ND-Burma conducts fieldwork trainings; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, an open-source software (www.martus.org ) developed by Benetech; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns. When possible, ND-Burma also collaborates with other human rights organizations in all aspects of its work.
