Tag Archives: Aung San Suu Kyi

September 2017 Newsletter

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Welcome to this issue of the Peace / Justice newsletter!.

This newsletter is short – focused primarily on a couple of urgent actions regarding the Rohingya.  There is a window for movement on this ongoing tragedy and thus the need to take action which will bolster support for those wanting to show global desire for action.  A second time-sensitive action is related to our longitudinal issue of Darfur.

 

BURMA / MYANMAR: END ETHNIC CLEANSING OF ROHINGYA

In 2012 and again in 2014 this newsletter highlighted actions and concerns related to the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Burma.  While most people in Burma are Buddhist, and there are other groups and conflicts, the Rohingya have been marginalized for decades, officially deemed immigrants from Bangladesh.

Being stateless means diminished rights in an impoverished area.  It also means voiceless and thus open to increasing conflict and violence.  From our longitudinal study of Darfur, when people who want a nonviolent resolution, find all such avenues fruitless, eventually a few may take up arms both for protection and to highlight their case to the world.  Thus fast forward and we find again this is the case.

But the government disproportionately cracked down not simply on the insurgents but the entire Rohingya population, resulting in a UN official indicating the government’s response appears to be a “textbook example” of ethnic cleansing.  There have been over 400,000 displaced, with many villages burned, and an unknown number of people killed or raped.

The violence must be stopped, a path to full inclusiveness for all provided, and human rights violations on all sides must be investigated.  The following petitions address two audiences.  Avaaz {the site we sometimes use to explore the influence of massive petitions, in this case now over one million signatures} is targeting those governments supporting Burma’s military.  The Amnesty International petition is aimed directly at Burma’s military Commander in Chief.  Please consider signing both.

Nobel Peace Prize Laurate Aung San Suu Kyi: While previous newsletters gave her silence the benefit of the doubt, it is time to side with Desmond Tutu’s response where he pleaded with her to speak out for justice and unity and cautioned that “If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep.”

Take Action [Open to all; Consider signing both]:
Tell Governments To Stop Supporting Burma’s Military  [Avaaz]
Tell Burma’s Commander in Chief to Stop Ethnic Cleansing  [Amnesty International]

Background:
Summary of Current Crisis  [International Crisis Group]
How Years of Strife Grew Into a Crisis  [NYT]
How New Muslim Insurgency Arose [ICG, Dec, 2016]
Final Report on Fair Future [Chaired by Kofi Annan; very in-depth]

 

THE U.S. AND SUDAN SANCTIONS

The action on this issue from the last newsletter was part of efforts that may have helped dissuade the Trump Administration from lifting sanction on Sudan.  However that had a three month timeframe which is almost up now.  So new efforts are needed to help maintain the sanctions until Sudan changes its action and addresses the marginalization of all its peripheries, most especially Darfur and South Kordofan / Nuba mountains.  As noted before, the lifting of sanctions was shocking to many Sudan watchers, including myself, who feel it was based on murky logic (see Current Status, June 25, [UntilAll.org] or the Background links below).

Thus there is urgent need to tell President Trump not to permanently lift the sanctions.  Even if one felt progress was being made, six months is far too short, as Human Rights Watch argues, below.

Take Action:
Don’t Lift Sudan Sanctions  [Act For Sudan]

Background:
Sudan Sanction Review Fails 8 Benchmark Tests [HRW]
{Counter View} Repeal Sanctions, There are Still Others in Place [Crisis Group]

 

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=== FOLLOW-UP TO PREVIOUS ACTIONS AND ARTICLES ===
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At Least 200 Environmental Activists Slain In 2016:

This newsletter has taken action to safeguard environmental activists throughout the world, and for good reason.  This year saw the most deaths ever.  While India had a three-fold increase, Latin America remained the deadliest region.   Mining, oil, agriculture and logging were the industries most associated with the deaths.
Most environmental activist killed in 2016 [Globe and Mail]

 

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=== ARTICLES OF INTEREST ===
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Chinese Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Liu  Xiaobo, Died

In a sad note over the summer, Liu Xiaobo died.  He helped lead the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy uprising for which he was imprisoned.  Upon release he continued to lecture about democracy and human rights, including helping to draft Charter 08 which laid out the comprehensive changes needed, such as a new constitution, for legislative democracy.  He was imprisoned again where his health deteriorated.

http://time.com/4848696/liu-xiaobo-dies-china-nobel-prisoner/

November 2015 Newsletter

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Welcome to the November 24, 2015 edition of this Peace/Justice action email!

This newsletter contains two topics of note.  The first is a brief comment on the recent Paris terrorist attacks.

The second topic contains a global action for November 29 and is why the newsletter must go out now.  The overall topic is the upcoming world Climate Change conference in Paris.  While this newsletter has touched on the climate issue several times, the complexity of the topic itself is beyond the scope to address.  No one can predict accurately what impact humanity will have on our climate (due primarily to carbon dioxide emissions, as well as methane, etc.).  But the overwhelming consensus leans heavily toward a negative long-term impact if emissions are not reduced.  Long before such a consensus (though noting it is not scientific unanimity) this newsletter voiced a stance of using the Precautionary Principle, whereby the greater the risk, the greater the need to fall on the side of caution (and thus in this case to take mitigating action).  The blog link, below, was created particularly for issues such as this, that gives rise to many perspectives and thoughts – so please feel free to share respectfully your views.

Also included are articles on the recent Myanmar elections and such topics as antibiotics concerns.

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Pour la traduction française: cliqueter ici; et cliqueter alors le bouton de traduction sur la page Web.
Para la traducción española: clic aquí; y entonces hace clic en el botón de traducción en la página web.

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GLOBAL CLIMATE MARCH (NOVEMBER 29!)

Global climate change talks take place in Paris, November 30 – December 11.  While many people do not feel that substantial progress will be made, a signal of grassroots support – in the form of a global march – is a critical component to show that a large constituency for such change exists.

Paris was going to be the centerpiece of the Global Climate Change march, which will take place around the world on Sunday November 29.   However the Paris rally was cancelled due to the recent terrorist attacks.

Thus it becomes more essential that people around the world bring a strong, vibrant voice supporting a robust action plan on climate change!  Please consider attending by checking the link below (thus far over 2300 events worldwide)

Find An Event Near You:
http://globalclimatemarch.org/en/
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/event/globalclimatemarch/?blog

Add Your Name to the Global List:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_date_nov29_loc/?cl=8930374888&v=68264

 

 

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BRIEF REFLECTION ON PARIS ATTACK

For the Western world, the Paris terrorist attacks were extremely jarring.  They also evoked wide sympathy for all those affected by such a senseless loss of innocent lives.  I will defer analysis here – the attacks have already resulted in a massive stream of commentaries.

Instead I will simply voice a hope based on the “well-being of all.”   Such senseless loss is rightly an affront to one’s sense of humanity.  The hope is simply that everyone might use the above sense of sympathy to expand or refresh our sense “of all”.

It is hard to break through the typical narrow news that comes to us and recognize how tragically prevalent such loss is encountered through various forms of barbarism.  For instance using our longitudinal study, on a typical day (Nov. 22) in Darfur two children and others were burned to death in a militia raid while in a separate militia attack six women were raped.

May we continue to expand our sense of who is affected by any senseless loss of life.  And may it lead us to advocate for solutions better grounded in the well-being of all and thus less susceptible to any influence of undue fear-based reactions.

 

 

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SAVE INDONESIA’S FOREST AND PEOPLE’S HEALTH

Most environmental issues impact several other domains.  In this case people are burning areas of rainforest and peatland so they can grow palm oi and for paper products.  This impacts climate change both in the release of CO2 and for the peatland, methane which has a 100-fold greater impact.  It also destroys the habitat of some endangered species. The smoke and smog also affects the farmers’ health. Plus mono-culture farming is the worst on the ecosystem and least sustainable.  For all these reasons please consider sending a letter to Indonesia’s President and the CEOs of the companies in question to tell them to stop such destructive practices.

Take action:
Tell Indonesian President and CEOs to end crisis  [Greenpeace]

Background:
Effect of Palm Oil production in Indonesia

 

 

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=== FOLLOW-UP TO PREVIOUS ISSUES ===
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Burma (Myanmar) Elections Provide Hopeful Direction

The November 8 elections resulted in a landslide for the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, even though she is barred from being president.  As noted earlier there has been a hopeful shift in the last couple of years.  Now begin the delicate dance among Suu Kyi, the newly elected representative and the military who retain control over security and have a fixed minimum 25% of the seats.  The path exists for a better country overall.  It may be quite uneven since for instance Suu Kyi has ignored the plight of the Rohingya, though it is not known if that is a terrible blind spot or political calculus that such an embrace would be one step too far.

https://www.hrw.org/blog-feed/burma-elections-2015

 

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=== ARTICLES OF INTEREST ===
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The Future of Conflict:

On the 20th anniversary of the International Crisis Group they have produced a set of 20 articles about the future of conflict by significant world leaders and thinkers.  It can provide nothing more than interesting glimpses including “The Failures of Democracy”, “Globalistan’s Challenges”, and “Faith in Islam & Faith in Women: Why Gender Justice is Key to an Islam Without Extreme”.  To further enliven this set, it should be noted that some counter critiques would name some of the authors as part of the problem not the solution.
https://medium.com/the-future-of-conflict

 

Serious Alarm: World Running Out of Antibiotics

A recent Lancet report has raised serious alarm about a turning point where our top antibiotics will no longer work.  In short an infection could become lethal.  The basic concern, echoed for decades, has been the overuse of antibiotics, particularly in animals and in not keeping antibiotics for animals and humans separate.

Our last current top antibiotic – colistin – now has a mutation that renders it ineffective and is easily spread.  It is in Southeast Asia and is spreading.  While science may come up with another answer, leading scientists depict a highly troubling future of staying ahead of superbugs, and of doctors having to simply say to patients with an infection, “There is nothing more I can do.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34857015

June-July 2012 Newsletter

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Welcome to the June – July edition of this Peace&Justice action email!  To alter your profile, follow the steps at the end, where your profile is listed.

This issue provides actions on Syria, Sudan and Burma, among others.  The previously mentioned new feature of these newsletters – occasional sections that focus more in-depth on an issue – will be delayed until the fall.  The first such focus will remain the issue of “Mental Health”.

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SYRIA: STOP THE KILLINGS

What started as peaceful protests over a year ago in Syria has now escalated into an armed conflict throughout the country. Some 15,000 people are dead, thousands have been arrested and many tortured with hundreds dying in custody. Over one million people have fled or are internally displaced.  As well, opposition fighters have also reportedly tortured and killed captured members of the army and their supporters.

The international community has struggled to take effective action. On March 27, 2012 the Syrian government accepted a ‘six-point plan’ by UN Special envoy Kofi Annan and a ceasefire was agreed on April 12. Yet the fighting has continued unabated.

The Russian Federation supported the peace initiative. Yet that same government has repeatedly used its veto at the UN Security Council to block or weaken resolutions aimed at stopping the violence in Syria, while remaining the main weapons supplier to Syrian forces.

Please consider sending a message to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, calling on him to help stop the bloodshed.  While it would be naïve to assume such letters themselves would change his decision, it is important that the international community not be silent.  As well, given that Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad could face war crimes charges, at the end of the day, what regime wants to be found on the wrong side of history?

Take Action:
Tell Russia to Help Stop Syria’s Bloodshed

Background:
Eyewitness of Houla Massacre [Guardian]
Battle for Aleppo [Globe&Mail]

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US: SUPPORT SUDAN PEACE & ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

Consider sending a message to your member of Congress asking them to cosponsor the Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2012. The act calls for a comprehensive strategy to end serious human rights violations in Sudan, to create incentives for other governments and persons to stop supporting Sudan and its resulting atrocities, and to reinvigorate genuinely comprehensive peace efforts in Sudan.  It aims to change Sudan’s calculus using diplomatic measures and {non civilian targeted} sanctions. It also advocates policy to help end human rights violations in Sudan.

This newsletter has highlighted how Darfur and Sudan move in and out of the news spotlight – such is the nature of long-standing conflicts.  But as noted in Current Status, there continues to be significant political oppression, and various areas of either atrocities or humanitarian crises.

Take Action (US citizens only: Enter your zip-code for correct Representative):
http://www2.americanprogress.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=205

Background:
Status of Bill HR4169

 

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U.S.: TELL US REPRESENTATIVES TO MAINTAIN SANCTIONS AGAINST BURMA

After such a long period of political oppression, and at times areas that verged on ethnic cleansing, it has been an almost stunning to see the signs of change, as indicated by recent events surrounding Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.  Yet while this forward momentum toward democracy should be encouraged, it needs to be mixed with much caution, so that it does not reward a government that is still carrying out severe human rights abuses against innocent civilians — particularly in Burma’s ethnic minority states.

Thus the following action calls on the U.S. to renew the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act which will continue to prohibit products made in Burma from being imported into the United States — it will deny hundreds of millions of dollars from getting into the hands of Burma’s military.  While such sanctions punish everyone by prohibiting economic growth, in this case even Aung San Suu Kyi indicates that they need to remain until real political change occurs.  She sees this as a real leverage point that should not be lost.  Lifting them without real change will primarily reward the military with only minimal help for the citizens.

Take Action (U.S. only):
https://secure3.convio.net/sdc/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=723

 

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WALMART AT 50: DO MORE TO ELEVATE CONDITIONS

Walmart recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.  As the world’s largest retailer, its policies hold tremendous clout.  Thus in the action below, you can send a greeting which includes birthday wishes to improve workers’ lives, and to sign on to national or global agreements that strengthen local communities, ensure labour and safety standards, and freedom of association.

Send Special Birthday Greetings:
http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/select-an-e-anniversary-card-for-walmart-below-2/

 

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=== FOLLOW-UP TO PREVIOUS ISSUES ===
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Failure to Achieve Arms Trade Treaty

It has been hugely disappointing to see the failure to negotiate a new Arms Trade Treaty.  The proliferation of arms around the world has helped turn local conflicts into large-scale human tragedies for civilians.  Our longitudinal study of Darfur is a case in point, where the flood of simply small arms in the 1980s turned local conflicts in the deadly explosive scenarios we have witnessed.  The flood of arms did not generate the conflict, but they did allow the manipulation of the various conflicts to be highly magnified, resulting in enormous civilian tolls and allowing the entrenchment of political/power landscapes.  The only positive note is that the door is open for further talks and a vote could occur by the end of the year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/28/arms-trade-treaty-william-hague

 

UWAA:  This endeavour is being placed under the overall rubric of “Until Well-being is Achieved for All.”