Demonstrations demanding democracy in Burma were held on Wednesday outside a dozen Chinese embassies worldwide to mark the 12th year that Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has spent in house arrest.
Suu Kyi is the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and the other six women who have won the award wrote in a joint letter to the British newspaper The Guardian: "The detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is the most visible manifestation of the regime's brutality, but it is only the tip of the iceberg."
In Australia, where a demonstration was held outside the Chinese diplomatic representation in Sydney, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced on Wednesday his government was applying sanctions against more than 400 members of the regime, their families and business people.
In London, a demonstration was organized outside the Chinese embassy by the Burma Campaign-UK. Demonstrators wore Aung San Suu Kyi masks.
“We urge the Chinese government to stop using their veto power [in the UN Security Council],” said Zoya Phan, a Burma Campaign UK campaign officer. China was being targeted in demonstrations because of its support for the Burmese military regime.
“If the Chinese government cares about human rights, peace and democracy in Burma, they should influence the generals and pressure the military regime to cease their human rights violations and encourage political dialogue with Burma’s opposition and ethnic representatives,” she said in an interview with The Irrawaddy.
In January this year, China— along with Russia—used its veto to block a US and British- sponsored resolution in the UN Security Council to bring the Burma situation before the chamber. China maintained that the Security Council was not the right forum to discuss Burma since the regime there did not represent a threat to international peace.
Apart from London, protests were also being held outside Chinese embassies and consulates in Paris, Berlin, Dublin, Vienna, Sydney, Washington, Toronto, New York, Brasilia, Bangkok and Cape Town. Candle-lit vigils were being organized in other cities.
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| Activists wearing masks of Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi chained themselves together during a protest outside the Chinese embassy in Bangkok on Wednesday [Photo: Reuters] |
In Australia, where a demonstration was held outside the Chinese diplomatic representation in Sydney, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced on Wednesday his government was applying sanctions against more than 400 members of the regime, their families and business people.
In London, a demonstration was organized outside the Chinese embassy by the Burma Campaign-UK. Demonstrators wore Aung San Suu Kyi masks.
“We urge the Chinese government to stop using their veto power [in the UN Security Council],” said Zoya Phan, a Burma Campaign UK campaign officer. China was being targeted in demonstrations because of its support for the Burmese military regime.
“If the Chinese government cares about human rights, peace and democracy in Burma, they should influence the generals and pressure the military regime to cease their human rights violations and encourage political dialogue with Burma’s opposition and ethnic representatives,” she said in an interview with The Irrawaddy.
In January this year, China— along with Russia—used its veto to block a US and British- sponsored resolution in the UN Security Council to bring the Burma situation before the chamber. China maintained that the Security Council was not the right forum to discuss Burma since the regime there did not represent a threat to international peace.
Apart from London, protests were also being held outside Chinese embassies and consulates in Paris, Berlin, Dublin, Vienna, Sydney, Washington, Toronto, New York, Brasilia, Bangkok and Cape Town. Candle-lit vigils were being organized in other cities.
