A global petition signed by nearly 680,000 people urges U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to make the release of more than 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a "personal priority."
Former political prisoners and human rights activists who launched the petition drive told a news conference Tuesday they are also urging the U.N. Security Council to establish a commission of inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity by the ruling generals in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
A delegation of ex-prisoners and activists delivered the petition with names from 220 countries and territories to the secretary-general's top envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, on Monday.
"Mr. Gambari is going to transmit the petition to the secretary-general who has been calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners in Myanmar," U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said.
Khin Ohmar, who has lived in Thailand since 1988, when she took part in the revolt against the ruling junta, and is now foreign affairs secretary of the Forum for Democracy in Burma, said getting into the U.N. to deliver the petition "is a huge step" in the call to release political prisoners. She said the delegation would have liked to meet the secretary-general in person.
"We urge Mr. Ban Ki-moon to accept nothing less than the immediate and unconditional release of all Burma's political prisoners in his current negotiations with the regime," Ohmar said. "Further delay should not be an option."
"The release of all political prisoners is the essential first step towards our geniuine national reconciliation in the country. Without their release, Burma cannot move another step," she said.
Unless the regime stops attacking ethnic groups, including a counterinsurgency offensive against Karen rebels, the country will also be unable to move forward towards reconciliation or change, Ohmar said.
The petition was delivered ahead of Suu Kyi's 64th birthday on Friday which she will spend in Yangon's notorious Insein prison. She faces charges of violating terms of her house arrest by harboring an American who swam uninvited to her lakeside home.
The junta is widely expected to deliver a guilty verdict, which could put the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in prison for up to five years. She has already spent more than 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest.
Nyi Nyi Aung, a delegate whose mother and two cousins are serving jail terms of up to 65 years for their pro-democracy activities, said the secretary-general's words show he takes the issue seriously.
"But now I want to see what action you will take to secure the release of my family and all Burma's political prisoners," he said.
Since October, more than 350 of the more than 2,100 political prisoners have received harsh sentences of up to 104 years.
Aung Din, a former political prisoner who is now executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, said the petition needs to be followed up by Security Council action. That will be challenging because Myanmar's allies, China and Russia who are both veto-wielding permanent members, oppose tough measures.
"It will be very difficult," he said. "It will be the mission impossible, but we have to push forward."
Ohmar said members of parliaments in southeast Asia and Britain are already calling for the Security Council to set up a commission of inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity against people in Myanmar.
She urged council members "to listen to those calls."
The petition drive, launched in March, collected signatures in 10 weeks both online and in refugee camps and in Myanmar itself where 40,000 people signed even though they risked arrest, Ohmar said.
Ricken Paten, executive director of AVAAZ, a global online community that takes action on major issues, said the petition will remain open for signatures until Suu Kyi and all the other political prisoners are freed.
___
On the Web:
http://www.avaaz.org
