CSW urges British government to bring Burma crisis to UN

Burmese Exiles in London protested today outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to call upon the UK government to do more to resolve the current crisis in Burma. In support of the protest, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has released a statement urging the UK Government to bring the crisis in Burma to the UN Security Council. Representatives from CSW and Burma Campaign UK also joined the protest today.

Last week, hundreds of people joined some of the largest demonstrations held in Burma in a decade. The protests were sparked in response to the military regime’s decision to raise fuel prices by 500 per cent. In response, the regime has launched a severe crackdown on protestors. Over 100 people have been arrested in the last week, including almost all the leading pro-democracy activists, and demonstrators have been savagely attacked by police and pro-junta mobs.

On 22 August, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Meg Munn MP, condemned the detention of leading activists who were arrested the previous day, and called for their immediate release.

Commenting today, CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said: “We welcome the remarks last week by the Foreign Office Minister. However, it is extremely disappointing that the UK government has so far only issued this one statement on the current crisis. Given our history with Burma, we have a special responsibility to provide a much more robust and proactive approach in order to prevent the situation deteriorating further.

“We urge the United Kingdom to take the lead in calling for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to address the situation. We also urge the United Kingdom to bring the issue of Burma to the agenda of the next EU Foreign Ministers meeting, and to raise Burma in other EU and UN forums as a matter of urgency. We call on the United Kingdom to put pressure on China, India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to use their influence with the regime to stop the crackdown on protestors and demand the release of those activists who have been arrested.”

For more information, please contact Penny Hollings, Campaigns and Media Manager at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on 020 8329 0045, email pennyhollings@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.

CSW is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.