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Baroness Cox Co-Signs Letter Published in The Times Calling for Justice for Burma

18 March 2021

 

The letter, published yesterday, reads as follows:

 

Justice for Burma

Sir, Burma’s coup undid a decade of political reform. The protestors who have demonstrated in their thousands throughout the country against the military coup and for democracy deserve the support and admiration of the world (“39 killed in escalation of anti-coup protests”, world, Mar 15). The crackdown, using live ammunition and lethal force, must be unequivocally condemned.

But words alone are not enough. The world must make it clear that the military regime has no legitimacy. Burma’s ambassador to the UN, whose electrifying speech to the General Assembly last month won worldwide respect, should continue to be accredited as his country’s legitimate representative. The elected MPs should be recognised as the democratic choice of the people. A government in exile, when formed, should be recognised.

Robust, targeted sanctions against military enterprises are urgently needed. A global arms embargo is long overdue. And the UN secretary-general should lead a high-level delegation to Burma and the region to exert the strongest possible diplomatic pressure on the military to step back, end its brutal repression and restore the legitimate, democratically elected government.

Rushanara Ali MP; Baroness Cox; Jeremy Hunt MP; Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws QC; Andrew Mitchell MP; Baroness Northover

 

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