On 26 September, three years will have passed since Burma’s military regime began its bloody crackdown on the Saffron Revolution. The spirit of the monk-led Saffron Revolution that moved hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life, particularly young generation of Burma to hold protests throughout the country and inspired hundreds of solidarity events around the globe.

The bloody repression of the Saffron Revolution and the ongoing military offensive against ethnic nationalities in Eastern Burma provide compelling evidence of how the military regime uses its armed forces to oppress the people of Burma. At the same time that millions suffer from malnutrition in the country, the junta has continued to purchase arms and other military supplies from China, Russia, and India.

Ongoing military offensive and human rights violations including serious international crimes, especially in eastern part of Burma, continued unabated. The number of political prisoners continue to increase. Two hundred and fifty five monks continue to languish in Burma's prisons, accounting for more then 10% of the 2183 political prisoners. Rev. U Gambira who led the saffron revolution is serving his 63 years imprisonment.

Today, the Republic of Ireland became the 11th country to voice support for a United Nations Commission of Inquiry to investigate serious international crimes in Burma, as proposed by UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on Myanmar (Burma) Tomas Ojea Quintana. The creation of a UN Commission of Inquiry is imperative in Burma where military regime commits systematic and widespread  human rights violations against its own people particularly non-Burman ethnic communities. Since1996, military regime burned down 3500 ethnic villages, raped thousands of ethnic women and young girls, and forcefully displaced over 500,000 people from their homes, subjecting them to enslavement, threat of landmines and extreme deprivation including starvation.

The demands of the monks made during the Saffron Revolution are still valid, i.e.:

1. The military regime must apologize to the Buddhist monks and seek forgiveness for violations committed against monks peacefully acting on behalf of the people,

2. To immediately lower the prices of all basic commodities such as rice and cooking oil,

3. To release all political prisoners including Daw Aung San Su Kyi and all political prisoners,

4. To begin dialogue with democratic forces in order to solve the problems of the people and to have national reconciliation.

We, Forum for Democracy in Burma repeats the calls of the Ten Alliances for democracy and ethnic rights in Burma regarding the creation of a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the military regime. We believe that it will be a first important step towards justice and accountability in Burma where the generals have granted themselves blanket impunity in the 2008 constitution. The constitution was adopted in coercion by the regime immediately after Cyclone Nargis struck the Irrawaddy delta region and caused widespread devastation to the people.

The regime’s dissolution of five main political parties, including the National League for Democracy (NLD) and continued pressure against ethnic minority particularly cease-fire groups to transform so-called Border Guard Forces (BGF) have proven that it is not interested in engaging in a political dialogue. Therefore, we, Forum for Democracy in Burma, urge the international community to denounce and refuse to recognize the results of the November 7 elections. Additionally, we call on the international community to continue their unambiguous support for all those in Burma who strive for democracy, peace, and freedom.