Sir, - Not only is 1998 the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but it is also the 50th anniversary of Burma winning independence from Britain. Therefore, I would like to ask you and your readers to remember the people of Burma, unique in many ways but particularly in having every single human right listed in that declaration systematically expunged and violated by the illegal military regime there.
We are very much heartened by the support of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Andrews, who, by joining with like-minded colleagues from Denmark, the Netherlands and Britain, has succeeded in increasing EU pressure on the Rangoon junta. We in Burma Action-Ireland, will however, continue to campaign for even tougher sanctions and, in particular, call on the French government to desist from its role as apologist for and collaborator with Rangoon.
Aung San Suu Kyi has said that "there will be change because all the military have are guns". The people of Burma are facing those guns, unarmed but committed to peaceful change. They deserve all our help. - Yours, etc., Kathleen Forde,
Secretary, Burma Action-Ireland, Gaeltacht Park, Dublin 9.