Press Release
October 9, 2007

RP SUPPORTS IPU RESOLUTION CONDEMNING
MYANMAR MILITARY JUNTA OVER ATROCITIES

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND -- The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has adopted a resolution condemning the military rulers of Myanmar for their continued repressive rule and urging them to stop the violence inflicted on innocent civilians, including Buddhist monks, who are demanding the adoption of democratic reforms.

This was reported today by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban), who said that the Philippines combined our own resolution and fully supported the resolution on the Myanmar issue that was initiated by Indonesia.

Pimentel, a member of the Philippine delegation to the ongoing IPU conference, deplored the brutal and merciless manner by which the military junta is trying to retaliate and punish the Burmese people who have joined the campaign to restore democracy in the country, by taking part in protest rallies and marches.

He said the events obtaining in Burma are "atrocious and horrifying, to say the least, where you see thousands of unarmed protestors marching peacefully, chanting prayers, only to be met by a hail of gunfire coming from fully armed and battle-tested soldiers of the Myanmar regime."

The protests against the Myanmar military regime escalated when prices of fuel were raised beyond the capacity of the people to absorb. At first, the civilians struck and staged the mass protest. Subsequently, the Buddhist monks came in to denounce the insensitivity of the regime.

As a reprisal, Pimentel said the government troops raided the monasteries and locked the gates so that the Buddhist monks cannot get out.

"There were reported instances where the monks were forcibly loaded on trucks by armed men to be executed and dumped into the forests and set on fire to eliminate tell-tale signs that the incidents had happened in the course of their repression of the Burmese people," he said.

Pimentel said that if the military junta does not stop the atrocities against these Burmese people, the international community should impose sanctions against Myanmar.

"Perhaps, it is time for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to suspend the membership of Myanmar from the organization. We must prod the military rulers of Myanmar to ease up on their repression of the people of Burma. And if they do not do that, then Myanmar should be expelled from ASEAN," Pimentel said.

Citing the experiences of peoples in various nations who fought against fascist dictatorial rulers, Pimentel said "so many lives will have to be sacrificed in the altar of freedom."

"But sometimes, it is necessary, as the saying goes, the tree of liberty must be kept alive by the blood of martyrs. In other words, people sometimes have to sacrifice so that their nation can live in justice and in peace."

In the meantime, Pimentel said that the Department of Foreign Affairs should ban the members of the military junta running Burma and those identified with inflicting violence upon the unarmed demonstrators from freely entering the country even as they are officials of Myanmar which is a member of ASEAN.

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