September 28, 2007

The Open Society Institute condemns the Burmese military's use of deadly force against unarmed and peaceful demonstrators, and calls on the international community to intervene.

The military junta ruling Burma, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has launched a violent crackdown in response to the public protests against its rule, which have swelled to hundreds of thousands of people in the last week. We are receiving reports that soldiers have fired live ammunition into crowds, killing an unknown number, and that thousands of monks have been beaten and arrested in night raids on the monasteries. The use of excessive force and all forms of arbitrary detention of peaceful protesters are strictly prohibited under international law.

"The courageous people of Burma are again risking their lives to win their freedom," says Maureen Aung-Thwin, Director of OSI's Burma Project. "This time, the world-and the United Nations-must come to their aid."

We call on the United Nations and international actors to act decisively to stop the crisis in Burma before more lives are lost.

What can you do?

• Ask governments and regional/intragovernmental organizations to communicate to the SPDC that it must continue to respond to the situation with restraint; that the international community is watching closely, that any use of military force against protestors is unacceptable; and that the SPDC will be held responsible in the event of any staged "provocation" used to justify force.
• Use all channels of pressure to influence China and ASEAN states to send the same message to the SPDC.
• Call on UNSC members, including current and future presidencies (France and Ghana) to act decisively in today's meeting of the Security Council, and target South Africa, China, and Russia (which have previously voted in opposition to UN resolutions on Burma) for advocacy.
• Ask network partners with government contacts to ensure that officials are aware of events in Burma and are pressing the UN to act.
• Sign on to the Avaaz.org emergency petition, and encourage others to do so:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/