The Norwegian Burma Committee (NBC) welcomes the news that Charm Tong, right, (25) of Burma has been awarded the Students´ Peace Prize for 2007, for her work for peace and democracy in her own country. Despite her young age, Tang is already a seasoned human rights activist, whose work has brought her to meet some of the most influential people in the world, among them US President George W. Bush. (15-JAN-07)

Based on the Norwegian Burma Committee´s press release, this article has been translated and prepared for publication here by HRH F / Niels Jacob Harbitz.

Aase Sand 2 100.jpg -The peace prize is an important acknowledgement of Tong´s work. It is particularly positive that a candidate working for women´s rights has been chosen. This will help recognising the role of women in the Burmese democracy movement, says Åse Sand, right, information officer in NBC.

Charm Tong with George W. Bush.jpg -These women have contributed very significantly
Tong (left, with George W. Bush in the White House) took part in establishing Shan Women´s Action Network (SWAN), a women´s organisation in the state of Shan. It was SWAN who in 2001 produced and published the now famous Licence to Rape-report, documenting for the first time that the military junta systematically uses rape as a weapon in its suppresion of ethic minorities. Other women´s organisations have since documented similar practices in other parts of the country. -Tong is part of a nework of strong Burmese women, working for women´s organisations from their exile in Thailand. There is no doubt that these women have contributed very significantly to putting Burma on the international agenda, adds Sand.

-More concerned with their own profit
Tong is the second Burmese to receive the Students´ Peace Prize. In 2001, Min ko Naing of All Burma Federation of Student Unions was awarded the same prize. Naing was imprisoned from 1989 to 2004 and was therefore hindered from coming to accept the prize himself. Last autumn, he was arrested again, once again without charge or trial. He was only released last week (for further details, click here ). His release strategically precided the UN Security Council´s voting over a proposed resolution on Burma that took place Friday 12 January. Despite the majority voting in favour of the resolution, it could not be adopted, since both the People´s Republic of China and the Russian Federation made use of their right to veto. -China and the Russian Federation are more concerned with their own profit than wwith contributing to the national process of reconciliation that the opposition has tried to initiate and that could have been going on right now. Both the People´s Republic of China and the Russian Federation are important providers of weapons to the military regime. They are also keen to invest in Burma´s rich oil and gas reserves, says Sand.

For further information about Tong:
ISFiT: http://www.isfit.org/fredsprisfakta
Adresseavisen: http://www.adressa.no/student/article785683.ece
________________________________
For more information about NBC and its work, please call Åse Sand at
+47 22 47 92 37/ +47 98 45 97 16 or email her at info@burma.no .