The campaign sees this as a first and most important step towards national reconciliation and democratisation in Burma. The targnet number of signatures is 8888, symbolising 8.8.88, the date the junta massacred 3000 people who bravely stood up against the regime in Burma’s biggest demonstrations for democracy to date.
3 December 2008, 112 former heads of state from 50 different countries sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, right, in which they urged him to put pressure on Burmese authorities for the release of all political prisoners in Burma before the end of 2008. Today, more than 2100 political prisoners still suffer in Burma’s prisons.
Tate Naing, a former political prisoner and Secretary of the Burmese organisation Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, has said: ‘Political prisoners are not criminals. All they have done is to stand up for freedom and democracy. Without the release of all political prisoners, there will not be peace and stability in our country. But we need the strong leadership of the UN Secretary General to achieve this. With this campaign, we wish to show Ban Ki-moon how many people there are around the world who care about this’.
The signature campaign lasts from 13 March to 24 May.
This is the letter that your signature will be added to, and that will be sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon:
To UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
“Until all of our political prisoners are free, none of us can say that Burma is now truly on the road towards democratic change”.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobels Peace Prize laureate 1991, held in house arrest for 13 years since 1989.
The release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, Khun Tun Oo and Min Ko Naing, is the first and most important step towards freedom and democracy in Burma.
We encourage UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to make it his personal priority to secure the release of all political prisoners in Burma.
To sign the campaign, click here.
