Burma: Call for action on Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday

|PIC1|Christian Solidarity Worldwide has called on the United Nations Security Council to take immediate action to secure the release of Burma’s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The persecution watchdog has issued the call to coincide with the democracy leader's 64th birthday on Friday.

CSW wants to see the release of all political prisoners and an end to the Burma Army’s offensive against civilians in the east of the country.

It is calling on the UN to take up its "Responsibility to Protect" mandate by imposing a universal arms embargo and launching a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, is currently being held in the notorious Insein Prison where she is on trial and facing new "fabricated" charges, says CSW. She has already spent the last 13 years under house arrest.

The group warned of intensified attacks on civilians in Karen State by the Burma Army and its proxy militia, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). According to the Free Burma Rangers, a relief organisation working in Burma’s conflict areas, two teenage Karen women have been raped and killed by Burma Army soldiers. Naw Pay, 18 years old, was eight months pregnant and Naw Wah Lah, aged 17, had a six month old baby.

Earlier this month, more than 4,000 displaced people were forced to flee from a camp when it was attacked by the Burmese Army troops and the DKBA. Many of the camp residents are now sheltering across the border in Thailand. According to the Free Burma Rangers, the Ler Per Hur camp is now under the control of the Burmese Army and DKBA. CSW has made many visits to Ler Per Hur in the past, most recently in February.

CSW’s East Asia Team Leader, Benedict Rogers, who has made almost 30 visits to Burma and its borders, said: “On Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday, it is time for the international community to turn its tributes into action.

"Her unjust detention violates international law, and the continued imprisonment of over 2,100 activists is a scandal.

"The gross violations of human rights in Burma, particularly against the Karen people at this time, including the use of rape, forced displacement, destruction of villages, torture, forced labour and extra-judicial killing must be addressed."

He urged UN Secretary General to make the release of Burma's political prisoners his "personal priority".