Malaysia Press Release 13 Aug

[082903@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Malaysia Press Release 13 Aug


MEDIA ALERT

A delegation of activists and representatives will deliver a public statement
to Wisma Putra objecting to the state visit of General Than Shwe, head of
Burma's murderous and brutal State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). 
The statement will be handed to the Department of Foreign Affairs, which has
organised the state visit, at Wisma Putra at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, August 14.

For more information, contact
Fan Yew Teng
Tel: 603 758 3272 / Fax: 603 758 3273
Debbie Stothard
Fax: 603 732 7325 / Email: deb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PRESS STATEMENT

We, the undersigned organizations, wish to state our concern and objection to
the state visit of Gen. Than Shwe, head of Burma's murderous and brutal State
Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).

We are shocked by the willingness of our government to consort with a regime
notorious for its atrocities and disregard for the basic human rights of its
citizens.

This is the regime guilty of the massacre of thousands of unarmed civilians
exactly eight years ago, the regime who refuses to honour the result of the
1990 election which it organised, the regime who continues to jail, torture,
murder and enslave thousands of Burmese.

As General Than Shwe arrives in Malaysia, tens of thousand of Burmese Muslims
continue to be oppressed in humiliating and life-threatening ways.  This
includes the desperate situation of the Rohingyas, who still continue to seek
refuge in Bangladesh, despite repatriation efforts.  At this time 50,000
Rohingyas continue to be refugees in Bangladesh, with more people fleeing the
brutal SLORC every day.

General Than Shwe's regime has also refused to honour the outcome of the 1990
elections, an election which  the SLORC itself organised.  Instead, it has
continued to harass and plague the elected representatives of the Burmese
people, jailing with impunity these MPs and their supporters. In May, more than
260 members of the National League for Democracy, including elected MPs, were
arrested and detained without trial.  Torture, murder and other atrocities
against supporters of the will of the Burmese people continue under General
Than Shwe's regime. Deaths in custody are common, notably, U Hla Than, the
elected representative from the Cocos Island constituency, who died as a result
of torture, last week.

Hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens continue to be subjected to forced
labour under hazardous and life-threatening conditions for the SLORC's
so-called "development" projects.

Therefore, it is extremely unfortunate and disappointing that Malaysia has put
itself in a position to be seen as an accomplice of the SLORC.

We call upon our government, to use this opportunity to express concern at the
crisis in Burma and encourage the SLORC to cease these atrocities against our
47 million neighbors.  It is clear that the situation in Burma is not an
internal matter.  Malaysia set an excellent example in the context of Bosnia
and South Africa, let it not jeopardize its credibility by unconditionally
supporting a regime smeared with the blood of hundreds of thousands of our
fellow Asians.

ENDORSED BY:
ABIM (Malaysian Youth Muslim Movement)
ASA Media Centre
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development
Burma Solidarity Group Malaysia
Cenpeace
Center for Orang Asli (Indigenous Peoples) Concerns
Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth
Ideal Time
INSAN
JUST World Trust
Labour Resource Centre
Parti Rakyat Malaysia (Peoples Party Malaysia)
Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Youth
SUARAM
Support Committee for Urban Pioneer Settlers
United Chinese School Teachers Association