The rocky road to Burma goes through Myanmar

Irish MEP Colm Burke, speaking at the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, France, called on the UN Security Council to somehow intervene in Myanmar, the former Burma, where peaceful civilian protests against government-imposed fuel price hikes were brutally suppressed by the ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
He was involved in drafting a strongly-worded condemnation of the Myanmar government. During the debate, Burke said “We find ourselves, today, having to once again strongly react to the unacceptable actions of the military junta in Burma.”
The recent crackdown on peaceful protesters, who were demonstrating their right to associate, has merited yet another condemnation by the European Parliament. The scant regard the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has for its own people has become all the more evident with their recent imposition of a fuel price increase of 500 percent. The SPDC clearly wants to further impoverish its people, but Burmese civilians have shown unbridled bravery in coming out to demonstrate.
Not only were demonstrators beaten violently by police, but multiple arrests were made. Members of the ‘88 Generation Students’ group have been re-imprisoned. I call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those who have been detained since the protests began, as well as Aung San Suu Kyi, probably the world’s most famous imprisoned democratic leader.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. The international community is doing little, while the Burma Junta is perpetrating atrocities against its own people. How long can we justify allowing this evil to reign?”
This Parliament now leads the call for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to consider the recent events in Burma. We need a strong and binding resolution on Burma at this level as this crisis now impacts upon the overall security of this region. Countries like China and Russia - who prevented the adoption of the last UN Security Council Resolution on Burma in January of this year - need to play a more responsible role regarding this country and should lend their support to any future UN resolution.”