A Speech from Naw Pa Saw Htee - KCA UK at Global Day of Action 09.03.2010

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak on behalf of the Karen Community Association-UK. First of all I would like to thank everyone who is present here today in solidarity.

The reason we are gathered here today is because the Burmese Army is conducting a new wave of attacks towards our fellow Karen in Eastern Burma. Karen communities in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Canada, United States, Australia, Japan, Korea and Malaysia are also participating in this Global Day of action. Even though we can live freely in this country, we too once lived under this brutal regime and feared for our lives. So it breaks our heart to hear such news from our homeland. It is our duty to tell the world and we the Karen in UK have a duty to tell our host country to take action upon these brutal attacks on innocent civilians who do not have arms or ammunitions to defend themselves.

From what we’ve learned so far there has been shooting of villagers on sight, mortar bombing of a school, beheading of one villager, forcing more than 2000 civilians to flee their homes, stopping aids reaching people who are hiding in the jungle, etc. And the list goes on.

If these attacks occur in big cities the international community would be aware of, but because they occurred in the mountains and jungles in the Karen State, Eastern Burma and against our ethnic Karen, no international government has raised their concern or taken any practical action.

That is why we are here today to call upon the UK government to take the following actions:

• Publicly call for an end to attacks against the Karen and other ethnic people in Burma.

• Call on the United Nations Security Council which must demand an immediate end to the attacks, that is breaking the international law.

• Provide funding for cross-border aid, which is the only way to provide food, medicine and shelter to those on the run from the new attacks.

• Express public support for the United Nations setting up a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by the Burmese dictatorship.

A dictatorship which is genuine upon reform would not mortar bomb a school full of innocent young children. The fake election due by the end of this year would not bring any change to the country. And we are deeply concern that most of the international community only looks at what is going on with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy; while they keep on ignoring the abuses taking place against ethnic minorities.

This new wave of attacks is linked to the fake election which is due later in this year in Burma, and the dictatorship is trying to crush all the resistance to their rule. They are following the doctrine of the Burmese Army: “ One Blood, One Voice, One Command”. The new constitution drafted by the dictatorship guarantees no rights or protections for the ethnic nationalities. In fact, it is a death sentence for the ethnic diversity in Burma.

Therefore we would like to urge the UK government to take the above actions, which we strongly believe could save lives.

And we would also like to urge you all who are here today to write to your local MPs about the situation in Burma and put pressure on the UK government.