World leaders call for UN Secretary General to push for release of political prisoners
Posted on December 4, 2008
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112 former presidents and prime minister representing 50 countries have signed an open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to push for the release of all political prisoners in Burma. They want Ban to travel to travel to Burma before the end of the year in order to secure the release of 2,100 political prisoners being detained by the junta.
Former Norwegian Prime Minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik, is leading the initiative. Other signatories include Tony Blair, Junichiro Koizumi, Margaret Thather, John Howard, Jacques Delors, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Brian Mulroney, Vicente Fox and Corazon Aquino.
The letter says, “We urge you to make it clear that all political prisoners in Burma must be released by the end of this year, regardless of whether you travel to Burma.”
They go on to call for the UN Security Council to take concrete action to secure the release of political prisoners. ”The Burmese people are counting on the United Nations to take the required action to achieve the breakthrough they desperately need to both restore democracy to their country and address the serious humanitarian and human rights challenges that they face.”
In the last month, more than 215 activists have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms in trials that have been widely denounced as unfair.
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