အမ်ဳိးသားဒီမုိကေရစီအဖြဲ႕ခ်ဳပ္ လြတ္ေျမာက္နယ္ေျမ ( နယ္သာလန္ )

NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY ( LIBERATED AREA ) THE NETHERLANDS

A STATEMENT ON THE 64TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNION DAY IN BURMA

Today marks the 64th anniversary of the Union Day of Burma. 64 years ago today the Panlong Agreement was successfully signed
by ethnic nationalities. London’s pretext to divide Burmese and the ethnic minorities by giving the partial independent of Burma
without all the ethnic groups had led General Aung San, our national hero, to make a last attempt tour to all the region of Burma
extensively and relentlessly with an aim to lay down a foundation for the national unity. On February 12, 1947, a historical
agreement was signed at Pinlong in Shan State, Burma by the key leaders of the major ethnic groups. With this agreement, the
infrastructure of the unity laying a common ground for the independence of Burma was enacted to establish a union where all the
nationalities of Burma would live together as a nation.

However, fifteen years later the military dictatorship has completely come into term in Burma under the rule of General Ne Win,
who ignored the Pinlong Agreement and abolished all the democratic institutions ever since then. National dialogue to discuss the
differences on part of the minorities in a civil manner was never been in place. The ethnic arm factions, who struggled for their
fundamental rights and equality, became the scapegoat for the military rule by claiming that Burma has needed military rule in
order to protect from the collapse of the union of Burma until today.

Burma indeed is at the labyrinth and maze for the people whether to go back to the ominous rule of Than Shwe dynasty or to end
it once and for all. Today’s Than Shwe junta is much worse than Ne Win’s rule. Evil Than Shwe’s parliament was convened on
January 31. Thus, our dreams are stolen and the nightmare comes true under his nepotism. Than Shwe is set to go forward to form
his new government by ignoring the ongoing human rights violations such as the releasing of the prisoners of conscience, the
tortures in prisons, the ongoing civil-wars, the atrocities against the ethnic minorities, the floods of refugees into Thailand, the use
of prisoners as porters at the war-zones, the military draft and the human rights rapporteur Mr. Quintana’s call for the Commission
of Inquiry that have never been effectively addressed by the world body as well.

The neighbors like China, India and ASEAN will welcome the new government for sure. The sad reality is that the western world
might not have to want to go against China by defending the democracy of such a small country like Burma. They in the
meantime put themselves on the sideline by taking time to calculate what kind of advantage would reward9k for them out of Than
Shwe’s promise.

In conclusion, we the whole nation have nothing but on our own to struggle. Due to the prevailing circumstances, we the people of
Burma must fight for the restoration of freedom and democracy in Burma in order to enjoy the real independence of Burma. The
time has called the unity of all the ethnic minorities and the general people of Burma. Make no mistake! Daw Suu had repeatedly
said that if you really want democracy, put your own effort. We have no luxury to wait for somebody else help. We are the ones
who can make up our own history by showing the world that we can achieve the international standard democracy at our own cost.
Our courage, unity determination and consistency will be tested in this battle. There fore, we urge:

1. Than Shwe regime must stop the parliament and start the “dialogue” with NLD now.
2. All the ethnic groups need to engage in NLD’s call for 21st Century Pinlong Conference that is essential to unite and fight
against the dictatorship collectively.
3. The military leaders must abandon Than Shwe rule and join hands with the people to restore freedom and democracy in
Burma.
4. The UN and the international governments must not recognize the parliament and its new government that will never
represent the will of the people in Burma.

NLD-LA (THE NETHERLANDS)

Date: February 12, 2011