Carta a Moratinos por los civiles Karen- Enviala- ELECCIONES EN BIRMANIA

Dear Foreign Affairs Ministry

We, BIRMANIA POR LA PAZ are writing to you regarding a new wave of attacks by the Burmese Army against ethnic Karen civilians in Eastern Burma.

As Karen people in this country who have ourselves been forced to leave our homeland because of attacks, persecution and other human rights abuses, we appeal to your government to take action to stop the new attacks.

The news we have received from our homeland breaks our hearts. For six decades our people have been suffering. Since mid January the Burmese Army has stepped up attacks:

· Villagers have been shot on site

· A school has been mortar bombed

· One villager has been beheaded

· More than 80 homes have been destroyed

· Schools and health clinics have been burned down

· More than 2,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes

· Food stocks being stolen and destroyed

· The regime is stopping aid reaching people who are hiding in the jungle

If these attacks had taken place in Rangoon, there would be an international outcry. However, they took place in the mountains and jungles of Karen State, eastern Burma, against ethnic people, and not one government has spoken out or taken any practical action.

We would like to request that your government 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 must demand an immediate end to the attacks, which break 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.

· Publicly call for a global arms embargo against Burma

·

A dictatorship that is genuine about reform does not fire mortar bombs at schoolchildren. Fake elections due later this year will not bring change to Burma, and we are concerned that most of the international community only looks at what goes on with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD), while ignoring abuses against ethnic people.

The new wave of attacks is linked to the fake elections due in Burma later this year. The dictatorship is trying to crush all 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 protection to ethnic nationalities. In fact, it is a death sentence for ethnic diversity in Burma.

We ask that your government take the above action, which we believe will save lives. We look forwards to your response.

Birmania por la Paz