Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion is to draw attention to the plight of the approximately 54 million people of Burma, Myanmar, who not only live in poverty but also live in fear. I would like to give my thanks and appreciation to the honourable member for Pearce, who is joining me in supporting this motion tonight. I know that the issue has bipartisan support.

The motion draws attention to the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is known to all of us in this place and beyond. It talks about her birthday, which was on 19 June, so it is a belated happy birthday to her. Aung San Suu Kyi’s plight is shared by many others, by all of her people. She does not seek attention for herself. She seeks to draw attention to the plight of the people of Burma and also her fellow political prisoners, of whom there is a large number. The number is always debated, but it could be as many as 2,000 people. U Tin Oo is a prisoner and he is one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s deputies. The UN committee on arbitrary detention has declared that he is being arbitrarily detained. I am familiar with that matter because I lodged the application with the committee and got that declaration. U Win Htein was recently released from prison for between 15 and 17 hours in Katha and then taken back into custody following a radio interview. No-one knows where he is. I express my sentiments to his family, who are obviously very distressed about those events. Khun Htun Oo and Sao Hso Hten were given prison sentences of 90 years and 75 years respectively, which seems excessive when their ‘crime’ was political action. And then there is Su Su Nway and many others.

Burma is a state that has silenced political voices, political leaders, by incarceration. But it can change—and everyone wants change in Burma. I welcomed the release of U Win Tin, Burma’s longest-serving prisoner, who appears to be as intellectually robust as ever. He said through the media that he was not released but evicted, and he stayed in his prison blues to make a point about how bizarre it is. He was one of just seven political prisoners among the 9,002 prisoners released. It looked great—9,002 prisoners released—yet only seven of them were political prisoners.

Burma’s situation, as we know, is dire. The challenges are many, including reconciliation. Reconciliation requires discussion, it requires dialogue, it requires conversation—and that is one of the missing elements there. There was a constitution which went through a process in May. It was declared to be the constitution that the regime is going to the election with. The process was neither free nor fair. In 1973 they went through the same process, which was neither free nor fair, and that heralded a constitution that did not bring any political settlement, any constitutional settlement, any reconciliation to the state. It feels like history is being revisited.

Change does not come easily, but the people desire it. Even those who rule the country can change. If asked to define a characteristic that has marked or seared the psyche of the nation of Burma, I would have to say fear. There is fear at all levels—fear of authorities, fear of speaking, fear of doing, fear of acting, fear of thinking—because people end up being trapped in straightjackets. Despite their record of brutality and inept government at all levels, the top generals are also afflicted by fear—fear of foreign incursions and fear of their own people, particularly the ethnic nationalities. The reality is that, for reconciliation to occur and for peace and prosperity to prevail, the generals—led by the SPDC Chairman, General Than Shwe, and the SPDC Prime Minister, General Thein Sein—need to be bold enough to step up to the plate of leadership. That is what the other leaders, like Aung San Suu Kyi, have challenged them to do. As they only rule with command and control, they do not lead. They must lead efforts to broker peace, because it is peace that is missing in Burma. Such a transition would ideally include a range of initiatives, and it would have to include speaking to each other.

Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are many dreadful human rights abuses in the world, and the previous motion by the member for Sturt gave us a glimpse of the terrible trade in children for the purposes of the cocoa industry. Amongst some of the worst human rights abuses in the world are those hideous human rights atrocities perpetrated on the people of Burma by the regime in that country, and I want to thank the member for Page tonight for bringing again to the attention of this place the incredible courage of and the sacrifices made by Aung San Suu Kyi and of course her brave and loyal followers, because they have endured much in trying to bring democracy and freedom to the country of Burma and to the people of Burma.

Burma is ruled by one of the most brutal military dictatorships in the world, a dictatorship charged by the United Nations with crimes against humanity for its systematic abuses of human rights and condemned internationally for refusing to transfer power to the legally elected government of the country, the party led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. When one sees the challenges facing Burma, one begins to appreciate how very fortunate we are to live in a politically free nation where people have freedom of thought and action. It is something we often take for granted. But unfortunately the Burmese people do not have that luxury.

Consider the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi, now in her 13th year of detention. She is not allowed to see her family or friends, as all visitors are banned. Her phone line is cut and her post is intercepted. She is now serving her third term of house arrest after being detained on 30 May 2003 after the regime’s militia attacked her convoy and killed up to 100 of her supporters.

People outside Burma are becoming more aware of what the Burmese people are enduring, and a global movement to bring democracy and human rights to the country is gathering considerable momentum. However, this cannot be achieved without the governments of the world, who must stand united against Burma’s brutal military dictatorship, and that is why I welcome this motion calling for continued advocacy for democracy in Burma.

Given our geographical position, Australia must take a leading role in calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and for democracy and freedom for the people of Burma. This issue does have bipartisan support, calling on the government to continue to put pressure on the Burmese regime. As the motion suggests, the Australian government must push for the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as other political prisoners in Burma. This includes those members of parliament who have been imprisoned.

I join the House in congratulating Aung San Sui Kyi on her 63rd birthday, which she actually celebrated on 19 June. In this world some people have a choice and that choice is whether they live for nothing or die for something. Despite having numerous chances to leave Burma, including when her husband was dying, Aung San Suu Kyi has proved that she is willing to die for what she believes in—a free Burma. She has never turned her back on her people and what she believes to be right. We must in this place applaud her bravery and her commitment to delivering democracy both to her country of Burma and to the people of Burma. We must also applaud the incredible bravery of those who follow her in that quest.

Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.