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Myanmar Freedom Campaign
Nepalese monks stand in solidarity with Myanmar, demanding respect for the 'three freedoms'. 29 October, Kathmandu. © AI Nepal.
Myanmar (Burma) held its first election in 20 years on 7 November 2010 against a backdrop of widespread human rights abuse.
Tens of thousands of people were prevented from voting. Many of those who turned up to vote faced intimidation and harassment. Foreign media and international election monitors were banned and the internet was hit by repeated failures, widely believed to have been orchestrated by the military to control information.
Given the ongoing restrictions on the three freedoms of expression, association and assembly, the election outcome was always expected to be deeply flawed.
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Good news - Aung San Suu Kyi freed
Aung San Suu Kyi's release is great news but there are still 2,200 political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, currently being held in deplorable conditions for simply exercising their right to peaceful protest. Find out more. |
Six days after Myanmar's elections, Myanmar's pro-democracy leader and best known prisoner of conscience, Aung San Suu Kyi, walked free after spending 15 of the past 21 years unjustly under house arrest.
Demanding Freedom for Myanmar
In the lead up to Myanmar’s election hundreds of thousands of Amnesty supporters around the world took action to demand an end to the violence against ordinary Burmese people who simply wanted to have a say in how their country is governed.
And here in New Zealand, many of you helped us to raise awareness about human rights in Myanmar and lobby for change.
- Together, we brought Burmese human rights activist and former prisoner of conscience Aung Khaing Min to New Zealand, to tell his story about life inside Myanmar.
- Together, we watched our Members of Parliament pass a unanimous motion supporting our calls demanding the ‘three freedoms’ in Myanmar, and for the release of more than 2,200 political prisoners.
- Together, we sent thousands of messages to Association of South East Asian (ASEAN) leaders, urging them to speak with one voice to tell Myanmar’s authorities to uphold the ‘three freedoms’.
A massive thank you to everyone who has taken action so far for Myanmar.
We still need to put the pressure on
It is no surprise that the elections did not bring about real and lasting change for the people of Myanmar. So we must continue to demand freedom for Myanmar.
You can help us to continue putting pressure on Myanmar’s authorities by:
- Continuing to urge ASEAN to call for the 'three freedoms' by adding your face (if you haven't already) to our "Demand the three freedoms for Myanmar" online action, here.
- Making a donation to our Myanmar appeal here.
- Joining one of our Local Groups or Regional teams - to allow you to take regular action for human rights in your communities, learn more here.
Things will only change if we speak up together and support those in Myanmar campaigning to make their voices heard and their rights respected.
Together, we can let the people of Myanmar know that they are not alone, and that we have not forgotten them.
Learn more
- Learn more about Amnesty's Myanmar 'Freedom' Campaign.
- Meet Aung Khaing Min, Burmese human rights activist and former prisoner of conscience.
- News: NZ parliamentarians support Freedom for Myanmar (13 October 2010)
- Open letter to ASEAN leaders at the ASEAN Summit (28-30 October 2010, Hanoi) from AI's Asia-Pacific Directors
