Messages from Students in Burma

There is much cause for optimism in Burma. The past year has seen the release of hundreds of political prisoners; the signing of ceasefires with many of the ethnic national armed groups; the engagement of the NLD (National League for Democracy) as a political partners; and in April the promise of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi running in bi-elections.These events in Burma have caught the attention of media across the world, promoting the suspension of travel sanctions by the EU and talk of democracy.

Yet recent messages from students in Shan State highlight the ongoing concerns affecting many of the ethnic nationals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxJAhg8OapY

As Baroness Cox also argues:  “If there is a genuine desire among the Burmese leadership for change, the international community should seize the opportunity to encourage the regime to promote reform, reconciliation and reconstruction. But this must not be ‘peace at any price’ – especially the price of the continuing suffering of the ethnic national peoples who comprise 40 per cent of the population of Burma.”