No Subject Given

[bwunion@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Statement of the BWU on the tenth anniversary of military coup in Burma

Since the National League for Democracy's decision for convening Parliament
in September, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has been repeatedly
making groundless accusation that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was holding British
citizenship. Moreover, SPDC has threatened that she should be deported from
Burma. The British embassy has issued a statement that Daw Aung Suu Kyi had
never been a British citizen and enjoyed any  privilege of the British
citizen. Under the Burmese laws, citizenship can not be revoked from any
Burmese citizen for being married to a foreigner. Such condemnation has been
never made to other leaders in previous military regimes in Burma, but only
to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who gains people's support for her struggle for
democracy. Burmese Women's Union believes this action is a sex-based
discrimination to the female political leader.

Military regimes in Burma has ratified the 1952 Convention on the Political
Rights of Women and 1981 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) aiming to cheat the world that they are
promoting the status and rights of women in Burma. Ratification these
conventions protecting women from discrimination is contrary to the SPDC's
current all-round attacks, based on their inferior complex, to Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi. BWU also believes that this action not only insult to Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi but to all women from Burma regardless of ethnicity.

SPDC-sponsored Myanmar National Working Committee for Women's Affairs and
its "Group Working on the Protecting Women from Violence and Rehabilitation"
are claiming in SPDC's propaganda media that they are taking responsibility
to safeguard women from physical and psychological violence. If they are
genuinely protecting women in Burma from abuses, BWU urges them to make
effort with sincere will in protecting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who is famous
both inside and exile. BWU also urges the women in Burma including women
family members of the armed forces, with their strong faith on their
strength in Burma's political affairs, to support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
her leadership by all means, in order to solve the political problems by
political ways.

It has been a decade the military has staged a coup and has been attacking
and making groundless accusations on the female leader who is struggling for
restoration of democracy in Burma. BWU reminds the SPDC that it is a time to
stop all the destructive hard-core account on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and it is
time to start bring peace process to Burma. 

Central Executive Committee
Burmese Women's Union
September 17, 1998