Resolution on Burma

The Executive Committee of Liberal International, meeting at Interlaken just before the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

• deplores and condemns the ongoing lack of democracy, the continuing violation of democratic rights of the members of the National League for Democracy and its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi;

• asks the Burmese authorities to start a fair and open dialogue with the National League for Democracy (NLD) including their democratically elected representatives which won the elections in 1990;

• suggests strongly to include in this dialogue the leading representatives of ethnic minorities to make it a trialogue, as a decisive step towards the recuperation of peace and democracy;

• asks for the dissolution of the „National Convention“ as a first step in order to start a real democratisation process;

• asks for the liberalisation of the media, a cease-fire and an end to all violent conflicts in the country concerning all ethnic groups and regions to enable everybody to participate in the reinstatement of democracy;

• invites the government and the democratic groups to agree upon a number of concrete steps or measures and a definite timetable for the democratisation process, ending up with the handover of power to a democratic government elected in free and fair elections;

• recommends that liberal parties, groups and foundations exercise their domestic political influence to encourage their governments to bring pressure to bear on Burma to restore human rights and democratic institutions.