(September 26, 2007/ Manila) The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), which is presently chaired by the Liberal Party of the Philippines, has expressed full support for the rising tide of democratic protests led by monks in Burma. CALD has passed a resolution calling on the international community and the United Nations Security Council to support calls for political dialogue and press Burma towards democratization.
“The CALD and the LP stand in full solidarity with the cause of democracy in Burma, led by Nobel Peace Laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi,” stated former Senate President Frank Drilon, who is currently LP President and CALD Chair.
The National Council of the Union of Burma, led by Suu Kyi and the National League of Democracy, has been a founding member of the CALD, which was formed in 1992 as the first regional grouping of liberal and democratic parties in Asia. “We in the LP identify with the Burmese people’s struggle for democracy, losing our own former Secretary-General Ninoy Aquino in the struggle for freedom and democracy,” noted CALD Secretary-General and former Congressman Neric Acosta.
“We hope that this growing movement led by monks all over Burma will at long last usher in democratic space and freedom for the long-suffering Burmese people,” Drilon added. The use of new technologies like the Internet and cellphone cameras have opened new possibilities for international support and solidarity, which were absent two decades ago when the Burmese junta cracked down on student protesters and nullified the 1990 parliamentary elections, which Suu Kyi and the NLD overwhelmingly won.
“We fear the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) will resort to increasingly repressive measures against these forms of dissent, that is why it is imperative for the whole world to closely monitor events as they unfold in Burma,” Acosta said. The UN Security Council has recently voted to formally include in its agenda this week. The US has of late led the call for a tightening of economic sanctions against Burma, over the objections of China and Russia, which are close allies of the SPDC
“This shift in the attention of the US and the UN represents a fresh impetus for democracy in Burma and several other repressed countries around the world,’ Drilon added.
Click here for the full text of the resolution.
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