UN urged to obtain freedom of political inmates in Burma

The letter comes just after a group of 112 former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 50 countries wrote to the Secretary General, also urging him to meet the year-end deadline in travelling to Burma to secure the release of all of the over 2,100 political prisoners in the country.

Members of Parliament from Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia joined the effort by parliamentarians from Asia who are extremely concerned about the lack of progress in Burma's human rights situation.

"It is important that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travel to the country himself and engage in serious dialogue with the military regime and impress on them the calls by leaders and lawmakers from Asia and around the world for the release of all political prisoners," said Kraisak Choonhavan, President of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, who hosted the petition.

"The suffering of the people must not be allowed to continue and the world can no longer sit idly by and only assist them when there is a devastating natural disaster," he added, in a separate cover letter to the UN Sec-Gen.

A total of 241 parliamentarians from these eight Asian countries collectively reminded the UN Sec-Gen that the United Nations Security Council, General Assembly, and Human Rights Council have all called on Burma's military regime to immediately release all political prisoners, a call the military junta has defied.

Letter 

December 5th 2008

Dear UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon,

As parliamentarians from across Asia, we are elected to represent our peoples in our governments and to the world.  We are writing to you on a matter of grave concern: the ongoing imprisonment of over 2,100 political prisoners in Burma/Myanmar.

As you know, the United Nations Security Council, General Assembly, and Human Rights Council have all called on Burma's military regime to immediately release all political prisoners in Burma.

In direct defiance of the international community the military regime has not only failed to release political prisoners and enter into genuine dialogue, but instead in the past year almost doubled the number of prisoners to more than 2,100.

Further, Burma's military regime has used prisoners of conscience as political pawns, releasing a handful during and after visits by UN envoys while avoiding a complete release that would allow pave the way for true national reconciliation.  After UN envoys leave from Burma, more arrests always continue.

We understand that you may travel to Burma in December, 2008 and encourage you to take this trip.  We urge you to seize this opportunity to obtain the release of all political prisoners by the end of 2008.

The release of all political prisoners in Burma would be a significant step forward, and an obvious and concrete first step to begin a process of national reconciliation in Burma.

However, the release of only a limited number of prisoners would represent a continuation of the same games the military regime has used to extend its power for decades.

The suffering of the people have Burma has been going on for decades. We have a moral duty to do whatever we can to help the people of Burma reach a peaceful and sustainable political settlement. No effort should be spared in the endeavor.

We trust in you and your good offices to work to achieve this concrete benchmark, and offer our full support to you in doing so.

Sincerely,

Members of Parliament from:

Thailand

1. Kraisak Choonhavan  

2. Buranaj Smutharaks  

3. Somkiat Pongpaiboon  

4. Pojanart Kaewpaluk  

5. Pusadee Tamthai  

6. Rosana Tositrakul  

7. Varin Thiemcharas  

8. Rachada Dhnadirek   

9. Rachadaporn Kaewsanit  

10. Boonyod Sooktinthai   

11. Attaporn Ponlaboot  

12. Thanitpol Jayanandana   

13. Samart Piriyapanyaporn   

14. Kovit Tarana  

15. Alongkorn Ponlaboot  

16. Korn Chatikavanij  

17. Chanin Roongsang 

18. Sirichok Sopha  

19. Ananong Kanjanachusak  

20. Supacharee Tummapetch  

21. Wirat Wiriyapong  

22. Surachat  Masadit  

23. Sombat Yasin  

  Cambodia

24. Son Chhay   

25. Sam Rainsy   

26. Cheam Channy   

27. Kimsour Phirith   

28. Mao Munyvann   

29. Ke Sovannroth   

30. Eng Chhai Eang   

31. Tioulong Saumura   

32. Nuth Rumduol   

33. Khy Vandeth   

34. Thak Lany   

35. Long Ry   

36. Men Sothavarin   

37. Mu Sochua   

38. Chiv Cata   

39. Chea Poch   

40. Yim Sovann   

41. Kong Bora   

42. Ho Vann   

43. Kuoy Bunroeun   

44. Ly Srey Vyna   

45. Tok Vanchan   

46. Yont Tharo   

47. Kem Sokha   

48. Chan Cheng   

49. Yem Ponhearith   

50. Khim Laky   

51. Ou Chanrith   

52. Pot Pov   

Japan

53. Masaharu Nakagawa

54. Keiko Itokazu

55. Kiyomi Tsujimoto

56. Motohisa Ikeda

57. Azuma Konno

58. Tetsuji Nakamura

59. Tsurunen Marutei

60. Satsuki Eda

61. Tetsuo Kanno

62. Kantoku Teruya

63. Tomoko Abe

64. Tomiko Okazaki

65. Masahiko Yamada

66. Seiichi Kaneda

67. Yukihisa Fujita

68. Tsuneo Suzuki

69. Ryuichi Doi

70. Ritsuo Hosokawa

71. Hiroyoshi Nishi

72. Tsutomu Hata

73. Toshiko Hamayotsu

74. Yoshinori Suematsu

75. Kazuko Kori

76. Ken Kagaya

77. Koichi Takemasa

78. Nobuo Matsuno

79. Mizuho Fukushima

80. Yoko Komiyama

81. Yukio Hatoyama

82. Ryuhei Kawada

Korea

83. Song Young Gil   

84. Ahn Min Seok  

85. Cho Young Teck  

86. Oh Jae Sae  

87. Choi In Kee  

88. Cho Jeong Sik  

89. Shin Hak Yong  

90. Ahn Gyu Baek  

91. Kim Sang Hee  

92. Lee Jong Kul  

93. Park Jie Won  

94. Park Joo Sun  

95. Kang Bong Kyun  

96. Kim Boo Kyum  

97. Kim Dong Cheol  

98. Choi Young Hee  

99. Choi Gyu Sung  

100. Choo Mi Ae  

101. Hong Jae Hyong  

102. Yang Seung Jo  

103. Kim Hyo Seuk  

104. Kang Sung Jong  

105. Park Young Sun  

106. Kim Sung Gon  

107. Jeon Hae Sook  

108. Seo Jong Pyo  

109. Cho Kyoung Tae  

110. Kim Hee Chull  

111. Lee Seok Hyun  

112. Woo Yoon Keun  

113. Noh Young Min  

114. Choi Jae Sung  

115. Chung  Sye-kyun  

116. Baek Won Woo  

117. Lew Seon Ho  

118. Kang Chang Il  

119. Kim Woo Nam  

120. Jang Se Hwan  

121. Kim Jong Yull  

122. Park Eun Soo  

123. Kim Choon Jin  

124. Ooh Che Chang  

125. Kim Yoo Jung  

126. Song Min Soon  

127. Lee Kang Rae  

128. Lee Sung Nam  

129. Cho Bae Sook  

130. Shin Nakyun  

131. Jung Jang Seon  

132. Joo Seung Yong  

133. Choi Chul Kook  

134. Byun Jae Il  

135. Kim Yung Rok  

136. Moon Hak Jin  

137. Kim Young Jin  

138. Moon Hee Sang  

139. Lee Yongsup  

140. Kim Jin Pyo  

141. Kim Jae Kyun  

142. Park Sunsook  

143. Kim Jeong Kweon  

144. Kim Dong Sung  

145. Kim Tae Won  

146. Won Hee  Ryong  

147. Koh Seung Duk  

148. Yim Tae Hee  

149. Choi Moon Soon  

150. Nam Kyung Pil  

151. Lee Jung Hyun  

152. Shin Young Soo  

153. Hur Won Je  

154. Lee Jung Hee  

155. Kwon Young Ghil  

156. Hong Hee Deok  

157. Kwak Jung Sook  

158. Kang Ki Kab  

159. Moon Kook Hyun  

160. Lee Yong Hee  

161. Lee Kwang Jae  

162. Chough Soon Hyung  

163. Lee Yoon Seok  

164. Kim Se-ung  

165. Kim Jae Yun  

166. Lee Nak Yon  

 Malaysia

167. Anwar Ibrahim

168. Teresa Kok

169. Lim Kit Siang  

170. Tian Chua  

171. Fong Po Kuan  

172. Tony Pua  

173. Nurul Izzah Anwar  

174. Teo Nie Ching  

175. Charles Santiago  

176. Chow Kon Yeow  

177. Er Teck Hwa  

178. Lim Lip Eng  

179. M. Kula Segaran  

180. Johari Abdul  

181. Sim Tong Him  

182. Sivarasa Rasiah  

183. Fong Kui Lun  

184. Tan Tee Beng  

185. Liew Chin Tong  

186. Gobalakrishnan N.  

187. Jeyakumar Devaraj  

188. M. Manogaran  

189. Chong Eng  

190. Salahuddin Ayub  

191. Abdul Aziz Abdul Kadir          

192. Amran Abdul Ghani  

193. Hee Loy Sian  

194. Gwo Burne Loh  

195. Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid  

196. Tan Kok Wai  

197. Mohamed Azmin Ali  

198. Zuraida Kamaruddin  

199. Zahrain Mohamed Hashim  

200. Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri  

201. Ahmad bin Kasim  

202. Saifuddin Nasution Ismail  

203. Zainal Abidin Ahmad  

204. Azan bin Ismail  

205. Rashid bin Din  

206. Yusmadi Yusoff  

207. William Leong

208. Md. Puad Zarkashi  

209. Chong Chieng Jen

Philippines

210. Lorenzo R. Tañada III

211. Eduardo Nonato N. Joson

212. Antonio V. Cuenco

213. Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra

214. Alfonso V. Umali Jr. 

215. Proceso J. Alcala

216. Matias V. Defensor Jr

217. Mujiv S. Hataman

218. Liza L. Maza

219. Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay

220. Luzviminda C. Ilagan

221. Cinchona Cruz-Gonzales

222. Del R. de Guzman

223. Ana Theresia Hontiveros

224. Albert Garcia

Singapore

225. Charles Chong  

226. Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim  

227. Michael Palmer  

228. Inderjit Singh 

Indonesia

229. Djoko Susilo

230. Nursyahbani Katjasungkana

231. Eva Sundari

232. Marzuki Darusman

233. Yuddy Chrisnandi

234. Anna Muawanah

235. Jeffrey Massie

236. Happy Bone

237. Jacobus Mayong Padang

238. Slamet Effendy Yusuf

239. M. Djunaedi

240. Zulkifli Halim

241. Agung Laksono