Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, responds to Burma issues! At behest of Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

Dear Mr. Ayrs:

The Office of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, has forwarded to me on September 27, 2007, your email concerning the situation in Burma.

I regret the delay in replying to you.

I share your concern about the situation in Burma and the safety and well-being of its people. Over the last months I have made several statements on Burma. I have strongly reiterated Canada's condemnation of the use of deadly force by the military and police against monks and other protesters in Burma who were exercising their right to peaceful dissent.

I sent a Canadian diplomat to Rangoon to assess the situation and to show Canada's support for the democratic movement.

Canadian embassies and high commissions around the world have been working with representatives of other like-minded countries to seek creative solutions and to coordinate our approach to Burma.

In Ottawa, senior officials of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) called in the Burmese Chargé d'affaires to ensure that Canada's interest in this matter was clearly understood.

I have also called upon the Government of Burma to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

On October 2, 2007, I stated at the United Nations General Assembly that it was imperative to restore democracy and human rights in Burma.

I invite you to view my news releases and statements on Burma at:

w01.international.gc.ca/minpub/ListPublications.aspx?isRedirect=True&PubTypeId=261&Year=2007&language=E.

On October 17, 2007, the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, tabled a motion in the House of Commons to confer honorary citizenship on Aung San Suu Kyi, which was adopted by all party agreement.

In doing so, he stated: " We must ally ourselves with those in the world who share our values, and especially those who are denied them...the adoption of today's motion sends a message to her, her people, and the world, that Canada stands up for the universal values that are under siege in Burma today."

On November 14, 2007, I announced that Canada intends to impose economic sanctions against Burma under the Special Economic Measures Act in order to demonstrate Canada's abhorrence for the regime's complete disregard for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Burma. These sanctions, the toughest in the world, will:

*Ban all goods exported to Burma, except those humanitarian goods
*Ban all goods imported from Burma into Canada
*Freeze assets in Canada of designated Burma Nationals
*Prohibit the provision of Canadian financial services to Burma
*Prohibit the export of any technical data to Burma
*Ban new investment in Burma by Canadian persons & companies
*Prohibit Canada's registered ships or planes from docking/landing
*Prohibit Burmese ships/aircraft from docking & passing thru Canada

Furthermore, a number of measures have been taken at the multilateral level to address this situation.

At the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting in New York on September 26, 2007, I joined my counterparts in unanimously condemning the violence in Burma and calling for a resumption of dialogue.

Canada continues to urge Burma's neighbours such as China and India to encourage Burma to undertake genuine reform.

On October 12, 2007, I issued a news release following the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) statement on Burma, which strongly deplores the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators and emphasizes the importance of the early release of all political prisoners and remaining detainees.

Moreover, Canada welcomes the UNSC's reaffirmation of its strong and unwavering support for the mission of Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Burma, as well as its recognition of the resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council on October 2, 2007.

Canada also welcomes the efforts of Mr. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, to address the situation in Burma, and has called upon the Government of Burma to facilitate his work.

Canada will continue to work with the international community to put pressure on the Burmese government to respect the human rights and fundamental freedom of the people of Burma, and engage in a genuine dialogue with the democratic opposition.

The promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of Canadian foreign policy. Canada will continue to stand up for human rights and take principled positions on important issues to ensure that freedom, democracy and the rule of law, values that define our country, are enjoyed around the world.

Thank you for writing and sharing your concerns.

Sincerely,

Maxime Bernier
Minister of Foreign Affairs

Myanmar...black hole in Internet!

Over the weekend, thousands of activists marched overseas to protest the shocking and disturbing mistreatment of Monks in recent weeks by the Military junta in power in Myanmar.

The conflicts originally began a couple of weeks ago when Monks - engaged in peaceable assembly, protesting the rise of fuel prices - were beaten and dragged off to prison to face criminal charges for allegedly causing a disturbance in the region formally known as Burma.

When I initially reported the issues, an unnamed spokesperson for the Military junta, assured the media that a higher authority had issued a command not to "arrest" or interrupt the religious leaders' peaceful marches in the streets.

Shortly after my post appeared - within twenty-four hours, in fact - information leaked out on the Internet that there was a violent confrontation in the streets, in which a handful of Monks were killed, and others were dragged off to face prison terms of up to six years.

As the news reports travelled with lightning speed around the globe, again...the junta assured concerned onlookers - world leaders, the media, the UN - that the situation was under control, a curfew had been enforced, and that there was peace in the streets.

Again, the pap amounted to lies and deception.

The next day, disturbing reports emanated from within Myanmar's borders, confirming that - with photos of protesters in hand - the guards proceeded to frantically turn houses upside-down in search of participants in the protest marches, so they could be hauled off to jail.

In my own post, I recommended that citizens of the world contact their respective leaders, or government officals, and urge immediate action.

Seeking to do "my part", I e-mailed my "post" to my own Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, in Ottawa (Canada); with additional copies to the PM in England, the Head of State in Japan, and our own President here in the U.S., George W. Bush.

Within twenty-four hours, a representative of the Prime Minister's office in Canada responded with assurances that my protest had been turned over to the Minister of Foreign Policy for review and appropriate action.

In addition, I received a heartfelt thanks from the Head of State in Japan, thanking me for my communication.

Likewise, Prime Minister Brown's office promptly responded with an e-mail.

A few days later, Gordon Brown announced to the press,

"The anger of the world has been expressed about the outrages that have taken place against the people of Burma."

And, he noted that he called for new European Union sanctions against the junta, including a ban on future investment in the country.

At this juncture, the Military agreed to meet with a UN Representative, confessing their aim to avoid unwanted sanctions.

In fact, the junta expressed a willingness to work with the UN envoy...but once again, their dishonesty was laid thread bare for the world to see.

Photos of more violence, and reports of more atrocities within Myanmar's borders, leaked out...so, in a deceitful effort to curb the negative press coverage, the Military "pulled the plug" on the Internet.

Now, there is a pot hole - a black hole, if you like - on the Internet Information Superhighway!

The world had been watching, and in view of the Internet leaks, the junta had to quash the source of their troubles.

If the power of the World Wide Web was not apparent to some, the truth now rings out loud and clear! The internet is a potent tool, an omnipresent instrument of communication, that just may be able to topple governments!

In the final analysis, at this stage of the game, demands must be made; no one on high or in any low place, can let up.

The marches at the end of this past week were intended to send the message to the junta that the "world is still watching".

"Burma is not a human rights emergency of today, last week, or last month," said Amnesty Secretary-General Irene Khan,

"It is a human rights emergency that the world has chosen to ignore to forget for the last twenty years. We will not forget this time around; we will not let the people of Burma down."

In a recent press conference, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said that the United States would introduce a resolution demanding sanctions if Myanmar did not cooperate with the the U.N. envoy recently involved in talks to mediate the issues.

He noted in particular that he was,

"...greatly disturbed to see that the regime resumed unlawful detention of citizens just hours after the U.N. envoys' departure."

While China and Russia appear to be reluctant to align themselves with the military's detractors, the U.S. plans to apply pressure in the form of new measures - such as the freezing of the U.S. assets of 14 senior officials and a U.S. travel ban that would apply to more than 200 officials and their family members.

Meanwhile, Monks toss flower petals in the river Thames, and chant,

"free Burma, free Burma"

I pray there is an accord on the horizon, and a transition to peaceful shores that is swift, problem-free, and without any further violence.