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Open Letter on Myanmar to UN and ASEAN Secretaries-General


Demonstrators display placards calling for the release of detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and flash three-fingered salutes, a symbol of resistance, against the military coup during a protest in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Protesters continued to gather Wednesdayin Mandalay breaching Myanmar's new military rulers' decrees that effectively banned peaceful public protests in the country's two biggest cities. (AP Photo).

The Young World Federalists, along with Democracia Global, Citizens for Global Solutions, and the World Citizens Association Australia, is calling on the Secretaries-General of both the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to facilitate multilateral action to put an end to the deaths of demonstrators and restore the democratically elected government of Myanmar. We are proud to stand with other world federalists to defend the dignity of and right to self-government of the people of Myanmar. See below for the full open letter.


The February 1st, 2021 Myanmar coup d'état is an offense to the Burmese people’s inviolable right to self-determination and self-government. The subsequent violence against demonstrators and elected officials is abhorrent and constitutes crimes against the humanity of the Burmese people. Elected representatives were forced to create a government-in-exile, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH). We recognize that the current international order struggles to address oppressive regimes, nonetheless, we call on the UN and the ASEAN Secretaries-General to facilitate multilateral action to restore Burmese democracy by recognizing the CRPH as the legitimate government of Myanmar.


Both the UN and ASEAN have expressed discontent with the violent turn of events and ousting of a democratically elected government. Yet, these statements have been ignored by the military junta in favor of student demonstrators being murdered, ambulances being shot into, hospitals being ransacked, nightly arrest raids, communications blackouts, roadblocks, and airplanes dropping chemical agents. We call on the UN and the ASEAN to facilitate emergency meetings of their Member States to determine a collective international response to these atrocities.


The whole sum of the people in Myanmar have united against the military junta, including ethnic minorities such as the Rohingyas. Police officers and civil servants have also joined the demonstrations. The UN and the ASEAN must follow the example of the people of Myanmar and unite against tyranny and authoritarianism. The international community must follow the example of the thousands of students marching in the streets and bravely stand up for humanity’s right to democracy and dignity.


Immediate multilateral action is necessary to prevent further deaths of Burmese students and to protect the dignity of all people of Myanmar by:

  1. Calling an Emergency Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly to take effective collective measures for the removal of threats to the peace under the 1950 Uniting for Peace Resolution.

  2. Calling an emergency meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council to recognize the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw as the legitimate government of Myanmar.


You have spoken up for the Burmese people, now stand with them and say:

ခိုင်မာ ပီပြင် တော်လှန် ပစ်မလေ

Let's bravely fight for democracy.


Sincerely,

Young World Federalists

and,

  • Asociación Civil Democracia Global - Movimiento por la Unión Sudamericana y el Parlamento Mundial

  • Citizens for Global Solutions

  • World Citizens Association Australia (WCAA)

Open Letter on Myanmar
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