Hillary Clinton Addresses Human Rights Concerns in Burma

How We Won

Dec 02, 2011

On November 30, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a historic visit to the Southeast Asia country of Burma.  She became the first American Secretary to visit the country in over 50 years.  Exiled monk and Burmese activist, U Pyinya Zawta did not want this to be a missed opportunity for human rights in Burma, so he started a campaign on Change.org calling on Secretary Clinton to call for the release of all political prisoners and an end to military attacks on ethnic groups as necessary steps for ongoing democratic reforms.
 
Over 50,000 people from all over the globe joined U Pyinya Zawta’s campaign in just 48 hours, calling for Clinton to take a stand for human rights in Burma -- on the first day of her visit she did just that.  Upon meeting with Burma’s President Thein Sein, Secretary Clinton stated,  “President Thein Sein has taken the first steps toward a long-awaited opening.  His government has eased some restrictions on the media and civil society, opened a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, rewritten election and labor laws, and released 200 prisoners of conscience.  The president told me he seeks to build on these steps, and I assured him that these reforms have our support.  I also told him that while the measures already taken may be unprecedented and certainly welcome, they are just a beginning.  It is encouraging that political prisoners have been released, but over a thousand are still not free.  Let me say publicly what I said privately earlier today.  No person in any country should be detained for exercising universal freedoms of expression, assembly, and conscience.”

Upon hearing Clinton’s statement, U Pyinya Zawta’s was overjoyed with the good news.  He says, “We are very grateful to have the voices of so many people calling for positive changes in the lives of Burmese people.  To have your support and now the support of Secretary Clinton in upholding human rights and a just political process gives us all hope that a peaceful and prosperous future for our people is possible. This is one positive step in a very long journey and we look forward to working toward this goal together.  Thank you very much.”

We demand the unconditional release of all political prisoners, the end to military attacks on ethnic groups in Burma, and changes to the flawed 2008 constitution that will permit a true democracy to develop in the country.

On December 1, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be the first American Secretary of State to visit the Southeast Asian nation of Burma in 50 years. Her visit is a way for the United States to assess the sincerity of the Burmese military regime’s commitment to human rights and democracy -- including democratic elections and the release of Nobel Peace Laureate and pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi.

The November 2010 elections were highly flawed, and many parties (including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy) boycotted them altogether knowing that their real goal was to install retired military officials and the generals' cronies.

Additionally, though Burma's most famous political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi, is now free, over 1,600 political prisoners still remain in Burma, including Buddhist monk U Gambira -- a leader of the 2007 Saffron Revolution led by Burma's monastic community.

While Burma's government prepares to welcome Secretary Clinton, it is still attacking ethnic minorities throughout Burma, using rape as a weapon of war, forced labor, torture and extrajudicial killing.  Over 3,700 villages have been destroyed and over 600,000 people are internally displaced or on the run from the Burmese army.

On the occasion of her historic visit to Burma on December 1, Secretary Clinton must push publicly for the unconditional release of all of Burma's political prisoners, including the venerable U Gambira, and she must insist on an end to hostilities in Burma, and insist on changes to the 2008 flawed constitution.

Why People Are Signing

Recent Signatures