Protest Rally at Jantar Mantar - Against Military's 2010 Election in Burma
- Burmese Democratic Forces India -

2 November 2010

Dear Sir/Madam,

We, India-based Burmese democratic forces invite you to join a protest rally on 3 November 2010 against the upcoming Military's 2010 Election to be held from 7 to 13 November 2010 in Burma.

Brief Information about the election

The proposed "military's election" will enact the 2008 Constitution, which not only contains many undemocratic measures including giving the military effective veto power over decisions made by the new parliament and government, but also depriving people of their basic human rights by stipulating "exception clauses," and preserving draconian laws that explicitly prohibit freedom of speech, association, and assembly. Thus, this constitution is designed to keep the dictatorship in power and will not bring any new freedom to the people of Burma.

Furthermore, the election cannot be free and fair under the present situation. Democracy activists in Burma have been imprisoned, intimidated, tortured and put to death for demanding justice, peace, human rights and a democratic government. Presently, there are over 2,200 political prisoners in Burma, including Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, recipient of Jawaharlal Nehru's Award for International Understanding, who has been under house arrest for 15 of the past 20 years and is being barred from participating in the elections.

During the protest a petition will be submitted to the Government of India by Burmese democratic forces in India and Indian civil society groups not to endorse Burma's military regime sham constitution and elections as they will only lead to the entrenchment of military rule in Burma. The petitions also urge the Government of India to support the three benchmark listed below:
1. All political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Khun Htun Oo and Min Ko Naing, must be released before the elections.
2. Inclusive dialogue with key stakeholders from all pro-democracy groups and all ethnic nationalities must be convened, including a comprehensive review of the 2008 Constitution.
3. Systematic human rights abuses and criminal hostilities against ethnic groups, political activists, journalists, and other civil society organizations and individuals must be stopped.

About 1000 Burmese and Indian will be joining the protest with their respective traditional dresses. It is expected that this event will be one of the biggest and most remarkable one. We need your cooperation to cover the event by sending reporter/photographer from your esteem news agency to show solidarity to the people of Burma.

Date: 3 November 2010
Time: 11:00am to 1:00pm
Venue: Jantar Mantar

Sincerely,
Burmese Democratic Forces India

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This information is sent to e-pao.net by M Kim (Burmese Democratic Forces India) . The sender can be contacted at kimbo119(at)gmail(dot)com
This PR was webcasted on November 02, 2010.

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