SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY IN BURMA

WHEREAS, Burma has been ruled by a brutal military dictatorship since 1962; and

WHEREAS, in May 1990, in a free and fair parliamentary election the National League for Democracy (NLD) "led by Aung San Suu Kyi" received more than 80 percent of the national vote; and

WHEREAS, the military government has refused to honor the results of the 1990 election, and instead has continued to persecute the NLD leadership and other democracy activists and conducted a war against its own people; and

WHEREAS, the actions of the dictatorship "including the extensive use of torture, extra-judicial killings, forced labor, forced repatriation and rape as methods of political repression" have been condemned repeatedly by the United States, the United Nations, the European Union, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and every major human and labor rights organization; and

WHEREAS, Burma is a signatory to ILO Convention '87 on "Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize" and yet was condemned by the ILO in June 1997 for the "total absence of progress in the application of the Convention"; and

WHEREAS, Burmese teachers "like all other workers" face imprisonment, or worse, if they engage in trade union-related activities; and

WHEREAS, according to recent United Nations figures the dictatorship spends twice as much of the national budget on the military than it does on health and education; and

WHEREAS, Human Rights Watch reports that the military supports its development and war efforts by forcing thousands of children as young as twelve to work without pay building roads, bridges and other public works or portering for the army; and

WHEREAS, according to UNICEF estimates, as many as one-third of Burmese children aged 6-15 work instead of attending school; and

WHEREAS, the military government has shut down the universities for seven of the last ten years, and has frequently closed secondary schools, denying Burmese youth their right to an education; and

WHEREAS, the Burmese democracy and trade union movement has repeatedly called for support by the U.S. labor movement in its peaceful struggle for a free and democratic Burma:

RESOLVED, that the AFT strongly condemn the Burmese government's violations of human and trade union rights and urge it to end its persecution of democracy and trade union activists; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT urge the military government to enter immediately into unconditional political talks with the leadership of the National League for Democracy  "including Aung San Suu Kyi" that will lead to the restoration of democracy in Burma; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support U.S. government's actions, including economic sanctions, aimed at the returning democracy to Burma; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT encourage its members to participate in local, state and national campaigns' including "selective purchasing" and "disinvestment" campaigns targeted at U.S. corporations doing business with Burma, and the "Open-the-Schools" campaign urging the military to re-open the country's universities and secondary schools' aimed at putting pressure on the dictatorship to enter into dialog with the NLD and other democracy activists; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT join with the NEA, AFL-CIO, Education International and the international labor movement to pursue all possible actions in support of the restoration of trade union and human rights in Burma; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT engage in an education campaign to inform its members "and the U.S. and international labor movement" about the current situation in Burma, and actions they can take individually and collectively to support the Burmese peaceful struggle for democracy.