Burma supporters call for United Nations intervention
on UN Day

"People are still being arrested, tortured and killed"

Protesters marched from the Chinese Consulate to UN Plaza in San Francsico Wednesday to call on the United Nations to intervene in Burma, to protect the Burmese people from crimes against humanity committed by the country's military regime.
Photos by John Han and Luke Thomas

By Luke Thomas

October 24, 2007

A peaceful rally was held on the 62nd anniversary of the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco Wednesday to call on the UN to intervene in Burma.

Organized by the Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA), the rally began outside the Chinese Consulate and ended at United Nations Plaza where a candlelight vigil was held.

Led by monks, the protesters are pleading with the UN to fulfill its responsibility to protect the Burmese people from crimes against humanity committed by the Burmese military regime.

The group hopes to pressure the Chinese government to relax its opposition to UN action against Burma. If successful, it is expected Russia will follow suit, changing the politics of the UN Security Council and increasing pressure on the military junta to end its terror campaign.

In the last month, military rulers have stepped up their campaign to squash a popular uprising. Among the images of brutality to have emerged from the protests was one of Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai, who was shot at close range while documenting the protests.

"We recognize that the United Nations has many accomplishments," said Nyunt Than, president of BADA, "but it has consistently failed the people the Burma. The UN Security Council issued a presidential statement deploring the use of violence against protesters, urging the early release of prisoners, and calling for genuine dialogue. In response, the junta raided residences in an all-out hunt for protest leaders. People are still being arrested, tortured, and killed everyday."

Although the U.S. Secretary of State has called for an international presence in Burma, the UN special envoy to Burma is not expected to return to Burma anytime time soon and there are presently no plans by the UN to compel the military junta to fulfill demands made by the UN Security Council.

"The world must intensify pressure on China and Russia to not block stronger actions by the UN," Than said. "We need swift, immediate, concrete actions now; we need collective sanctions; we need a multilateral arms embargo; we need intervention by the UN peacekeeping force before it's too late."

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